I read a quote recently that the difference between a professional and a amateur is that the professional has standards.
I know that all of you are volunteers in your ministry here, but for us to be the church God wants us to be we have to strive for excellence in every ministry we do. Being a volunteer doesn't mean that you can cut corners or be lazy about something. There is a difference between doing something with excellence and doing something poorly. We should never have poorly done ministries.
If we can't do something well, it is better to not do it. Really. None of our ministries are needed to the point that they need to be done poorly. Because not doing a ministry isn't as detrimental as doing it poorly. If something needs to be done, then we need to put the time in to do it well. It is better to do less things well, than it is to do more things poorly.
Our ministries should always be changing and trying to improve. If your ministry hasn't changed something in the last year, it should be a warning sign that you have started to coast. We always need to improve. We can fail and do a bad job, but it should never be a result of a lack of preparation, a lack of communication, or a lack of self-examination on how to improve.
So I just want to encourage all of us, in every one of our ministries, to pursue excellence. Prepare. Look for improvement. Be self-reflective. And seek to glorify God in all that we do.
