THE NEED OF THE HOUR: MEDIOCRITY
Let's lift our glasses (of lemonade) to mediocrity. We need more of it. Bring on more mediocrity and less A+, Number 1 perfection.
I know. I know. This goes against the grain of 99% of the sermons preached around the world. Whoever heard of a sermon or a book entitled, "In Praise of the Mediocre Man?" Every sermon every Sunday urges the faithful on to excellence. Every homily and every book shout, "If you're mediocre, you're a loser; we want only the best."
Our military doesn't want the average; it wants "The few, the proud." It wants "The best you can be." Commercials flood from our TVs and inundate us with slogans which use, overuse, and abuse the word, "Excellence."We are sloganeered by the constant use of the word.
But, are we missing something here? I asked a group of long-time church-going, Bible-soaked believers to tell me the number one reason why they never witness for Christ. Their number one answer was, "We don't know enough."
Wait! Let me get this straight: you've been sitting in a church for thirty years or more, a church in which every sermon and every Sunday school lesson come drenched in biblical truth, and you say, "I don't know enough?"The Gospel is baby food, not rocket science. There aren't reams of pages to memorize to evangelize.
All you have to do is open your mouth (that's easy, you do it all the time) and discuss with people the fact that Jesus Christ as the Son of God died and rose again to pay the penalty for their sins and will give them eternal life when they trust Him alone for it. (Count the words in that statement.) Can you memorize John 3:16 or perhaps Acts 16:31? Those verses don't strain the brain.
Wait! Let me get this straight: you've been sitting in a church for thirty years or more, a church in which every sermon and every Sunday school lesson come drenched in biblical truth, and you say, "I don't know enough?"The Gospel is baby food, not rocket science. There aren't reams of pages to memorize to evangelize.
All you have to do is open your mouth (that's easy, you do it all the time) and discuss with people the fact that Jesus Christ as the Son of God died and rose again to pay the penalty for their sins and will give them eternal life when they trust Him alone for it. (Count the words in that statement.) Can you memorize John 3:16 or perhaps Acts 16:31? Those verses don't strain the brain.
Maybe those dear people, bless their hearts, gave that reason, because they've been brainwashed to believe that if their presentations of the gospel aren't A+ #1 EXCELLENT, and they can't answer every question every member of the human race might ask, they'd better not try.
How deep does this I-have-to-be-excellent-before-I-do-anything-idea go? How many don't teach anybody anything about the Bible because their Bible study won't be excellent? How many ministry dinners for others have gone uncooked because they might not turn out like Emeril's? How many songs have never been sung?
Dr. Joseph Parker, who was the pastor of the City Temple of London, England, attended a concert by the great Polish pianist Paderewski. The concert was during the day, and that night, Dr. Parker spoke to his congregation: “I have had, today, most forcibly presented to me, the folly of trusting in the power of a great example. Many of you know that I’ve always been a lover of music, and some of my friends have been kind enough to make me believe that I had some talent as a pianist.
"It has often been my delight, when weary of other things, to sit down at my piano and play some of the classical selections, or improvise according to my mood. But, today, a friend took me to hear that great master of the piano, Paderewski.
"For two hours, I listened, enthralled. I heard music that I had never heard in all my life, and when the last lovely note was struck and the applause had died away, I felt I wanted to slip out quietly, speaking to no one, with the thrill of it still stirring my soul.”
“An hour or so later, I was standing before my piano, when my wife called me to dinner. At first, I didn’t hear her, and when she came to me, I turned to her and said, almost in anger, ‘Bring me an axe!’
She looked at me and said, 'What do you mean?’
I said, ‘You know, I’ve always thought I was something of a pianist. But I’ve heard real music today, for the first time, and I realize now that what I thought was musical talent amounts to nothing. I feel like chopping my piano all to pieces. I never want to touch it again.”
Dr. Parker came to his senses; the axe never met the piano.
See what's going on? The Cult of the Excellent paralyzes us. If we won't step out for the Lord until we and everything else are perfect, we'll rot in atrophy. The Type A personality is the person most easily paralyzed by excellence because of his drive to the point of perfection. "If what I do can't be as good as what _________ does, I'm not going to do it," Mr. Type A says. (We often find this Type A personality highly competitive, a no-no in the Christian life. Phil. 2:3 )
How deep does this I-have-to-be-excellent-before-I-do-anything-idea go? How many don't teach anybody anything about the Bible because their Bible study won't be excellent? How many ministry dinners for others have gone uncooked because they might not turn out like Emeril's? How many songs have never been sung?
Dr. Joseph Parker, who was the pastor of the City Temple of London, England, attended a concert by the great Polish pianist Paderewski. The concert was during the day, and that night, Dr. Parker spoke to his congregation: “I have had, today, most forcibly presented to me, the folly of trusting in the power of a great example. Many of you know that I’ve always been a lover of music, and some of my friends have been kind enough to make me believe that I had some talent as a pianist.
"It has often been my delight, when weary of other things, to sit down at my piano and play some of the classical selections, or improvise according to my mood. But, today, a friend took me to hear that great master of the piano, Paderewski.
"For two hours, I listened, enthralled. I heard music that I had never heard in all my life, and when the last lovely note was struck and the applause had died away, I felt I wanted to slip out quietly, speaking to no one, with the thrill of it still stirring my soul.”
“An hour or so later, I was standing before my piano, when my wife called me to dinner. At first, I didn’t hear her, and when she came to me, I turned to her and said, almost in anger, ‘Bring me an axe!’
She looked at me and said, 'What do you mean?’
I said, ‘You know, I’ve always thought I was something of a pianist. But I’ve heard real music today, for the first time, and I realize now that what I thought was musical talent amounts to nothing. I feel like chopping my piano all to pieces. I never want to touch it again.”
Dr. Parker came to his senses; the axe never met the piano.
See what's going on? The Cult of the Excellent paralyzes us. If we won't step out for the Lord until we and everything else are perfect, we'll rot in atrophy. The Type A personality is the person most easily paralyzed by excellence because of his drive to the point of perfection. "If what I do can't be as good as what _________ does, I'm not going to do it," Mr. Type A says. (We often find this Type A personality highly competitive, a no-no in the Christian life. Phil. 2:3 )
We have a cliche: "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." How about changing that to: "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing."
This idea that we must show excellence in everything we do is a debilitating distraction. How about Paul? He made tents. Do you think his tents were the best in the land? Probably not. Were Peter, James, and John the best fishermen on the Sea of Galilee? I doubt it.
This idea that we must show excellence in everything we do is a debilitating distraction. How about Paul? He made tents. Do you think his tents were the best in the land? Probably not. Were Peter, James, and John the best fishermen on the Sea of Galilee? I doubt it.
We live in the cult of the professional and the celebrity. Everyday, television brings into our homes those who dazzle us with the artistry of their craft. Their speaking, acting, and singing drips with expertise. The one who brings us the nightly news does so with perfect pitch, diction, timing, and elocution. His pear shaped tones impress us. He is beyond good.
Then there are the awards shows for "The Best." The best movie, best song, best actor, best TV comedy, drama, and documentary. You name it, and there's an awards ceremony for the best. These awards shows brainwash us, making us feel that we're competing with other believers, just as the world competes. We must be better, or we don't enter the "contest." In the the Cult of the Excellent, if they can't be the best, the most excellent, they don't do anything.
Is this a plea for the shoddy? Not at all. Hebrews 6:1 tells us that we should be maturing in our service for the Lord. Those who teach the Word can mature in their teaching by listening to excellent speakers and teachers; they can read good books on communication. Those who evangelize can mature in their presentation of the gospel and their people skills by observing others and immersing themselves in the gospel. Those who write can read good authors and build their vocabulary. They can put their minds to telling the old, old story in new ways with the written and spoken word.
No, this isn't a sonnet for the sloppy or a laudation of the lazy.
There are no statistics, but I'd be willing to bet that a huge percentage of the service for the Lord is done by mediocre people like you and me who are filled with the Spirit, under the control of the Word. You and I will never win awards for giving the best SS lesson, delivering the best sermon, writing the best book, singing the best song, showing the most appropriate mercy, having the most faith, being the best leader, cooking the best dinner for the sick, giving the most money to help the most people, or being the the best evangelist, but, . . . . so what?
If something is worth doing, isn't it worth doing?
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Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."
Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:
notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
competitiveness, drive, perfectionism
competitiveness, drive, perfectionism
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