PROVERBS 30:15-16 NLT
15 The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied— no, four that never say, “Enough!
16 the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.
Sincerely there is one more thing that should be included in this list of insatiable elements…it’s called the appetite for excellence!!!
Oh how I love excellence and how I try to pay attention to details in the assignment that God has committed to my hand really.
I pastor in ilorin, I am about 5 hours minimum from any major metropolitan city in Nigeria, things are relatively cool out here, you can almost get away with putting little in your ministry and no one will complain. Everyone will understand. At least you are not in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt. Many things are not available for purchase here, to get anything of standard quality, you need to reach out to someone in Lagos to send it to you or go to amazon… but truth is that we try within our ability to push to be the best of ourselves that we can be. We dig in to bring out the WINE IN OUR GRAPES. Excellence is not just a thing to desire, it’s a necessary bait in this “fishing of souls” assignment. It’s who we are also as Christians. Excellence brings orderliness and tidiness into a place of worship and enlarges the heart of members sincerely . I believe in it as a tool of service in life but not as a vision for church. You can’t say the vision God gave us is to be excellent. That will be misplaced. The vision of a carpenter can’t be the hammer or saw but rather carpentry itself. Excellence is a tool not a vision.
Now if you are not careful, it will seek to make itself the vision of your church. It will elevate itself from your tool box to your vision board.
NEVER ALLOW EXCELLENCE DO THAT TO YOU.
Now one thing you must realize about excellence is that it’s like the 4 things Solomon mentioned in the verse above that never says it’s enough!!! The drive for Excellence is NEVER enough.
There is always a better way to do things, there are always better equipment to buy, there is always a trending laptop, the latest camera, brighter stage lights, finer speakers, newer keyboards, modern guitars, bigger AC…most recent tiles, Italian door handles, 21st century toilet bowls, L.E.D toilet mirror… Shure mics are outdated, go and buy Sennheiser mic now, line arrays are in vogue all manner of things demanding your attention and finances?
Are these things wrong in themselves , not really. Remember I said it’s a bait for this work we do…but if you spend all your money on these things till you have no savings and everything flows in the direction of new gadgets and latest equipment YOU ARE ROBBING YOUR MINISTRY OF ITS FUTURE
There are things in our church that I have left deliberately undone that may affect someone’s perception of us where excellence is concerned. Those things don’t bother me if doing them will rob us of focusing on the future of the ministry. They can be done as we go through life and ministry. Pay attention to savings. It may be little but do so urgently really. It will bring a smile to your face eventually. Never ever spend it all. Never ever eat it all just to look like a modern church.
Don’t bother your head about people who can’t go through process with you. Let them go. For over 1 year plus, CLC didn’t have sound equipment and instruments but we never reduced, we kept increasing. I spent my time praying, fasting, studying and being kind to people and we never stopped growing. All these things I still make priority, excellence is secondary priority to me…but i consider it a necessary secondary priority. ?. But don’t let it steal into your savings. I hope it’s clear and simple. Welcome to Freedom