To be average is to be OK. Not great but not bad. It means that half the people are above you and half the people but the good news, for you anyhow is that half the people are below you. Average in school is a C. Average at work means that you probably aren’t going to get fired but it also means you probably aren’t going to get promoted.

Average is safe, which is why so many people are happy being average. Another term for the same thing is “Mediocrity.” It really means the same thing but it sounds a lot worse. Mediocrity is a curse convincing us that a partial effort — 80 % if necessary, 50% when we can get away with it — is always good enough. Mediocrity does what it can to avoid a bad showing, but rarely concerns itself with an excellent showing.

We see this all too often in worship. We see it in worship leaders who approach their task with the idea of “This is good enough for 75 people; we’ll put forth more effort when we have a bigger crowd.” And we see it in congregations who fill up the back rows first and engage themselves half-heartedly in a worship service.

We also see it in our approach to ministry, from the way we print Sunday bulletins to the way we train our volunteers to the extent of our efforts to reach the lost. Many churches are held back only by their commitment to mediocrity.

In talking about his approach to ministry, Paul said, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one get the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

He’s talking about pursuing excellence in everything: in the way we strive for holiness, in the way we reach out to others, in the way we live for Jesus. His words echo the words of Solomon: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Every now and then churches need to take a mediocrity check: Is there an area of responsibility that we are approaching only half-heartedly? Is there something we could be doing better? Am I giving my all?

Howard Hendricks said, “I have never met a Christian who sat down and planned to live a mediocre life. But if you keep going in the direction in which you are moving, you may land there.”

Let’s do our best to move in the direction of excellence, running to win the race. ?ere