Our church is undergoing a huge renovation project. Carpet, tile, woodwork, paint, signs, bathrooms, etc. While observing the transformation, it occurred to me: we pastors hire skilled people to lay carpet, hang drywall, plumb, and much more in our church. We engage capable people because we want the building to look good, to give a great first impression to guests. So if we put time and skilled resources into the building (as we should), why are we OK with putting unskilled people in ministry roles they’re ill-suited for? Why do we settle for mediocre when it comes to ministry?

Paul Tripp writes: “The standards you set for yourself and your ministry are directly related to your view of God. Mediocrity is not a time, personnel, resource, or location problem. Mediocrity is a heart problem.” Ouch and ouch.

“Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.” 1 Chronicles 15:22 (NIV). Fifteen times in 1 & 2 Chronicles we see people assigned to a specific role because they were skilled at it. Psalm 139: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb… all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be…” These words seem to indicate the way God wired us in-utero is linked to our purpose. He’s given specific gifts to us intentionally. A huge part of a leader’s job is to help people find their fit.

Why don’t we do this better? Why do we often settle for mediocre? Here are a few ideas:

Fear

Sometimes we’re afraid if we set reasonably high standards, the recruiting pool will shrink. I disagree. Excellence breeds more excellence. A compelling vision + excellence is a leader/team member magnet. Maybe we’re afraid people won’t like us if we expect excellence. Or that we’ll have empty slots. An empty slot is better than a slot filled with the wrong person. It’s important to understand excellence is not the same thing as perfection. Excellence is doing the very best you can with the gifts and resources you have.

Laziness

Most pastors I know overwork and overschedule… so I’ll just mention this point in passing: climbing out of the pit of mediocre requires sustained effort—a clear vision, effective recruiting and training systems. Leaving mediocre behind requires intentional energy applied to the right activities. I get it… some weeks are firefighting weeks. Unplanned stuff happens. But if every week is firefighting week, mediocrity will be your companion long-term.

Eye Fatigue

I used to live in Traverse City. My daily commute included driving down a hill overlooking the crystal-clear blue waters of the Grand Traverse Bay. Such a stunning view. But after two months of the same view—even though it was still beautiful—I didn’t notice or appreciate it as much. I suffered from eye fatigue.

Many churches (and businesses for that matter) struggle with eye-fatigue. It happens when we limit input from the outside. When we become inward-focused and refuse to allow others to bring a fresh set of eyes to the party. And as our eyes get fatigued, mediocre can become normal. And difficult to detect.

If we have the most important mission in the world, why would we settle for mediocre? Can I encourage you to not settle? To keep growing as a leader? As a church? To become discontent with mediocre? Because when the right people are serving in the right places (proper gift fit), they are self-motivated, productive, and God’s work advances. And we make Him look good to a watching world.