In my work as a leadership coach, I often encounter church leaders who are frustrated with a lack of resources, progress, or vision–and sometimes all three at once. After twenty plus years of serving the local church, I’ve had plenty of those moments myself. The most difficult time was when things didn’t turn out as I had envisioned them.
I bet you share my passion for doing things right and doing things well. But how do you do that when it seems like your resources aren’t keeping up with your vision?
Perspective
First, let’s talk about our perspective. There’s a striking story in 2 Kings 4. In verse 1, a widow comes to the prophet Elisha and says, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
Not only does this woman have tremendous debt, but she doesn’t have enough to live on. She’s lost her husband, and now she may lose her son, as well. I can feel her sense of urgency and desperation.
The story goes on:
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.”
2 Kings 4:2 (NIV 1984)
Have you ever felt like that? When you look at what you have available to you, it feels like nothing. What happens in the rest of the story is nothing short of miraculous:
Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
2 Kings 4:3-7 (NIV 1984)
Here’s the key: the widow didn’t have everything she thought she needed, but God needed everything she had–even though it seemed like nothing to her.
The same is true for us: often, we must surrender our “not enough” to get to God’s “more than enough.” Sometimes, we dismiss or devalue what we have because we forget whose hands we place it in. God can take what seems like nothing to us and turn it into something we could never imagine!
The first question for us, as we consider what excellence looks like is, “What do you have in your house?” What is your “nothing at all, except”? Don’t discount it. Choose to give it to God wholeheartedly.
Practical
Now that we’ve adjusted our perspective let’s get practical! What’s most important to remember is that excellence scales. There is not one “standard of excellence.” It has to be relative to your context. Why?
Excellence is, first and foremost, a posture, not a product.
In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, the master doesn’t scold the person with two talents for not turning them into ten (like the person who started with five could do). Each servant was given according to their ability. It wasn’t about the outcome, as much as their obedience.
Not only can unhealthy comparison steal your joy, but it can also steal your vision. You can get so fixated on the talents in someone else’s hand that you essentially bury yours in a hole! Stop trying to compete with the church down the street. Stop comparing your church with the conference you attended or what you see on YouTube. Those things can be beautiful sparks of innovation, but you were intended to be a creative, not a clone.
Here are a few practical things to help you on your journey:
- Rekindle Your Expectation. If you’ve grown weary or discouraged, it’s time to dream again. Take it all to God and ask Him to reset your vision.
- Set Your Standard. Excellence is relative. As a team, discuss what excellence will look like for you. What areas are hitting the target? Where do you want to go? Who do you want to invest in? Once you set the standard, revisit it at least quarterly. Measure what matters, and don’t get distracted.
- Grow on Purpose. Now that you know where you’re headed, look for opportunities to take on “bite-sized” areas of development as you get started. Don’t try to grow in every area all at once. Be on the lookout for leaders with potential and then create opportunities to equip them.
- Increase Your Capacity. In the story, the widow filled as many jars as she gathered. You increase your capacity by creating environments that will foster the kind of growth you want to see. Look for ways to invest in the areas or people that need support. Add more time to your rehearsals. Schedule monthly team workshops. Build relationships with other local churches to share best practices and even resources.
It can be hard to see all that something could be while living in what it is today. Don’t let the enemy discourage you. God has called us to be good stewards of what he has given us and He knows what you need. Obedience is our part; the outcome is His!
If you are interested in learning more from Brian Taylor, check out his breakout class from FILO 2024 “Getting the Right People in the Right Seats on the Bus: Hiring, Promoting, and Firing in a Ministry Environment”.
