12 Nov Don’t Settle for Average

Nelson Searcy in the book Renegade Pastor talks about a battle that many pastors and church leaders face that really isn’t talked about. Yes, we talk about the pastor’s spiritual battles. The wars waged against Satan, the demon in the audio equipment on Sunday morning, the growth wars, and the blackness of our own sin nature that always creeps up. But Nelson is talking about a different battle; one that is waged in churches all across this country. It’s the battle of average.

Well, what’s so wrong with average? I’ll tell you. Average sucks. There is nothing about the life and plan that God has for us that is average. Average marriages end in divorce, average relationships with kids mean that you barely communicate, average family dinners, mean at different times and mostly in front of a TV. If you think that it’s okay to be an average pastor, you are missing so much of who God intended you to be. Name one thing about our God that is average…..I’ll wait….Okay no I won’t, because you won’t ever come up with anything. There is nothing “average” about God and I can guarantee you, there is nothing average about the plan that He has for you. Settling for average is choosing to settle for less than God intended for you. Period.

Now, with that being said, it is a battle to rise above average. Making average choices is always easy because you already know the results and you know it won’t cost you much. But God has called you to make above average choices, to take risks, and be a difference maker. In the midst of living a sold out life for Christ comes the biggest barrier to living above average–mediocrity. Over time, any task becomes boring. For goodness sakes, I get tired of writing these blog posts. What seems exciting at one point, now seems like a menial task that just needs to get done in order to cross it off the list. For me today, it’s lack of sleep. Other days, it’s the list of tasks needing to be done at home, it’s the stress of filing taxes on time, or dealing with health insurance claims. These things cause the more important things in life to seem less valuable. I put less time and effort into accomplishing these things to make up mental and emotional energy for somewhere else. The battle comes with making a daily commitment to place the right focus on the right things and allow my choices to make a difference.

Nelson continues on in his book to give 7 commitments that a Renegade Pastor must make so if you want to check those out, watch our summary video on www.ministrylibrary.com. One last important thing to talk about is not to let your day take you by storm. Instead, be ready to control your day. I know this can’t happen all the time, but if you don’t plan out your time, someone else will for you. Be intentional. Don’t leave the important things to chance. This will mean that you make sacrifices, but your sacrifices should never include your sanity or your family. Live your life to the fullest and squeeze every last drop of awesomeness out that God has planned for you. The short time you have here to make a difference will be well worth it in eternity. Make a difference.

For on this, and other ideas, check out our video on Renegade Pastor.