Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Profiles of mediocrity!



Ben Arment made a post about fitting volunteers to needs rather than fitting needs to volunteers.

I think that a lot of times in the church world, we're so happy when someone volunteers at all that we'll stick them wherever our most glaring need is, regardless of how capable or gifted they are in that area. What ends up happening most times when we simply put a body into a need is we fill a whole bunch of needs with mediocrity.

I would rather have some needs go unfilled, but use volunteers in areas where they are gifted than simply have a need and stick the next person who volunteers to help out into it.

Here's why:

I don't think mediocrity invokes change in its surroundings. Mediocrity doesn't invoke passion. Greatness does. I would rather, as a church and as a person, be great at a few
things and lousy (or negligent) at some others than be mediocre across the board.

(here comes the prototypical starbucks example)

Take Starbucks, for example. Starbucks makes great coffee. They don't really do anything else that great. But (almost) nobody complains about how their food isn't that great. And, although it's lame to charge for the internet at a coffee shop, that doesn't really hurt their business that much. Starbucks is wildly popular because they do one thing and do it well.

I'd rather the church do one thing (or a few things) and do them well than to do a bunch of things very very average.

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