Excellent

If you're like me, when you read that word you think of Mr Burns stretching out the sounds as he wrings his bony hands. The meaning of excellent or excellence is something easily forgotten.

I am very excited and more passionate about ministry right now than I have been for a good while. I believe we have been given a huge responsibility with Jr High students and parents trusting us every week when they show up to AMPED. But there have been things that have plagued AMPED ever since I have been a part of it, even as a volunteer.

Have you ever heard the saying that 20% of the people do 80% of the work? Usually the 20% get bitter and burned out and the 80% never think that there is anything to be worried about because they do not operate out of a spirit of excellence; usually because they have never been challenged to have that spirit of excellence.

Let me ask you, Is God excellent? Look at this:

Phil 4:8 Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.NLT

Why do we need to think about these things? I believe one reason is because if we focus on things that are excellent, it will produce a motive and spirit of excellence in us. Operating with a spirit of excellence prevents us from doing it half way, or just "getting by". Ask yourself this, does God do everything with excellence? If He does, why shouldn't we? Especially when it comes to doing His work!

1 Cor 15:58-16:1
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work , for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
NLT
Gal 6:4-5
4 Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct. NLT
Eph 6:6-86 Work hard, but not just to please your masters when they are watching. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. NLT

The only thing we have to worry about is being mediocre. What insures against mediocrity?

Creativity

Excellence

Work ethic

Passion

Commitment

Discipline

If you notice, I put some buzzwords in there. Words that are tossed around so much that they almost lose meaning when they enter our head. Really think about them. Really think about how they affect you and if they have a hold on you. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

I want your life to reflect this, no matter what you do because in all you do, you represent the Almighty. As a pastor, I concern myself with your life and all that it entails. I feel like you have given me that right because you have enlisted yourself and your work in an area of ministry that God has entrusted me with. I want to see you personally live, work, love, minister, everything as if you are doing it directly for the God of the universe. I want to see you soar with eagles and have the blessing of God touch every area of your life. I care about you that much. I really do.

Because I care for you and I also care for Every Jr High student that we have the ability to influence, all of us need to have the same spirit of excellence at AMPED. That means creativity, work ethic, passion, commitment and discipline. If I have been given responsibility for our Jr High students, I have to hear from God concerning this ministry and then be a good steward of what He has told me, what we have been given, and with every leader and student involved. That goes for you too. When you come, I want you to soar with eagles and be challenged by what we do and how we do it. How will we do it? My goal is that we do everything as unto the Lord and with a spirit of excellence.

How does this flesh out? Be committed and responsible. If there is a certain time we need to do something, on time is 5 minutes too late. If there is a task to be carried out, make sure it is done completely. If there is something we can volunteer for, be the first to offer. I really hope you get the picture. We are serving our Lord by serving these students, not Keith and not Kam.

I want you to pray about this and how it affects you. Especially if this makes you upset. If you genuinely seek the heart of God about this and you are still upset with me, maybe AMPED is not the best ministry placement for you. That's okay because I don't want you to get frustrated in ministry. I don't want to keep you from your potential in ministry. But know that AMPED will do all that it does with excellence, because God deserves no less.

I hope that in this blog entry, you have heard my heart. I really want to make an impact for the kingdom when it comes to Jr High students and their families. We cannot operate at our fullest potential without excellence, and if no excellence, we cannot expect God to pick up our slack.