Excellence. It is the act of doing something at a high level and perhaps even the highest level possible. It is the term given to those who are at the pinnacle of their field. It is the act of dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s in such a way that no ends are left loose. Excellence is what we should all strive for in our life. It is the goal of life because it is God’s standard for us.

²³ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Col 3:23-24)

We are to do every task that He has called us to with the realization that the expectation is excellence. Our efforts in His service should not lack an “i” without a dot. They should not be filled with ends that could have been tied if only we were up to the challenge.
Excellence is not easy. It requires sacrifice. It requires dedication. It starts with actually caring about what you do for God. It is achieved by caring enough to make it a priority.

Excellence is hard enough in life. It’s even harder when it is attempted to be achieved by a team. To achieve excellence as a team you need to have all the qualities that define excellence as an individual while expecting the same from your fellow workers as you achieve a goal together that is often set by those above you. Excellence in a group demands selflessness, responsibility, trust, and above all correction. To achieve excellence you must be willing to be corrected and also to courageously correct others. Habits that prevent excellence must be addressed and corrected if the goal is ever to be reached.

For these reasons excellence in the local church is rarely an ideal that can be achieved.  God commands it to be sure.  However, the path to it demands that we all live as Christ commanded, dead to ourselves.  Cherishing our own ideals, demanding thanks for our service, and rejecting correction because after all, “I’m not paid to serve Jesus,” are all death traps when it comes to achieving excellence.  Most churches never get there.

Excellence is yet another reason why I am delightfully surprised at the health of Blue Ridge Community Church.  They write excellence on their wall and then strategically pursue it.  Excellence is not something that only paid employees are judged by.  Excellence at Blue Ridge is an ideal tied to the very Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This past month they have focused on excellence in our service groups.  I have seen the fruit of it long before I knew it was one of their core values.

This past Sunday I experienced first-hand how excellence is actually produced.  While serving this past Sunday I was unknowingly crowding around the kids checking table talking with my fellow Blue Ridgeites.  I felt a tug on my arm and initially wondered if it was our group leader asking me to do something new.  After all I pride myself in being an excellent greeter. It would only be logical to ask me to do something “special”.  Instead I was told in a loving a very direct way that my socializing had caused me to miss a new family who was trying to figure out how to check their child in to Kids Community.  She told me that I should have seen them much farther away than I did.  In short, she told me that I was falling short of excellence!  I returned to my work much more aware of the job I was given and also became the subject of playful joking amongst my team members that I “got in trouble.”

I write this story because it is the evidence of how excellence happens.  The team leader could have ignored my ignorance. She could have reasoned that correcting me was not worth the confrontation.  She could have lowered the bar of excellence for the sake of peace and comfort.  Instead she confronted me.  Excellence was important to her because it is important to Jesus.  Through her courageous correction I am now a better greeter.  I’m also even more aware of what makes Blue Ridge the most healthy church I’ve ever seen.

Thank you for all who have gone before and currently carry the banner of excellence at Blue Ridge.  You are all a part of the formation of so many hearts through the power of Jesus Christ.  Of whom, I am blessedly a member.