What is The Overflow? Part 5

EXCELLENCE: Less is more
1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalms 29:2, 71:8, 96:6, 96:9, 104:1, Matthew 26:6-13, John 2:1-11, 12:3, 2 Corinthians 8:7, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Peter 4:11

The Overflow has decided to do ministry with a certain attitude or outlook. Actually, we've made a decision to live our lives a certain way. We don't cut corners just to get by. We don't "wing it" and hope it works out. We refuse to simply go through the motions of worshiping God on Sunday mornings. We believe that in order to most effectively communicate the message of Christ to this generation, we must be committed to excellence. We must do things in a way that reflects the seriousness of our relationship with Christ and gives glory to our Savior. If we don't take God serious in all that we do, how can we expect the unchurched to take God serious? (For those people who don't think God expects our best, simply go back to Exodus and read through the very specific and detailed directions that God gave to the Israelites in regards to builing the tabernacle, making sacrifices, etc. That's the same God we serve today.)

Practically speaking from a ministry perspective, this means we won't try to be everything to everybody. If you've been around church at all, you know that within most churches there are typically more "things to do" or "programs" than we can count. The problem with this approach is that while we may offer a lot of options, we usually end up stretching our church so thin that we don't do anything well and no one knows the true vision of the church. From my experience, about 15-20% of the people in the church end up wearing themselves out trying to keep programs going that in reality aren't accomplishing anything. You then end up with a lot of people doing nothing, and a few people doing everything which isn't accomplishing anything of eternal significance. Don't get me wrong, there are some churches who do many things very well, and this approach is working for them; however, this is not the norm.

To clarify what we mean by excellence, consider these three things.

1) Clarity, not perfection. Most people think excellence means things have to be perfect and that unless we have the "best" people in every role then nothing will get done right. As a result, this type of thinking ends up burning out those who serve and frustrating those who lead. For us, we think of excellence as... "removing all potential barriers so the gospel can be clearly communicated." We don't want our lack of preparation or attention to detail to hinder or distort the message we are trying to communicate. When we are at our jobs during the week, we are committed to working in such a way that Christ is clearly communicated through how we work!

2) We'll do a few things well rather than many things at an average or below-average level. We are focusing our efforts on our Sunday morning worship experiences, Overflow Volunteer Opportunities & Partnerships, and Overflow Groups, and to spark a movement of people who embrace the vision of this church. We won't stretch ourselves thin by trying to do too many things. All that we do as a church will flow from these three ministry areas.

3) We'll help people serve out of their passions and abilities instead of simply begging people to fill a role. One of the worst things churches can do is to put the wrong people in the wrong position. Just because someone is willing to fill a spot doesn't mean they should. On the other hand, just because a spot isn't filled doesn't mean we should take just anybody for that role. When we do this, no one is happy, everyone is stressed, and the gospel isn't moving forward. Therefore, we'll help people find a role that allows them to use their gifts, passions, and abilities to overflow God's love!

Additionally, this means I and the other leaders won't do everything. The norm in most churches is that the pastor and staff do almost all of the work. Check out Ephesians 4:11-13. Now, this verse doesn't mean the leaders do nothing, but instead, it means we have a calling to equip with excellence. As leaders, we believe the more people we empower, the greater the impact our church will make!