Here is a definition of this pervasive disease:

MEDIOCRITOSIS:  A mental disorder that affects all functions of the body often causing the afflicted to become lazy, procrastinating, complaining, and generally fatigued.  The disease is fatal over a long term.  The spread of the disease is caused by a chemical change in the brain that allows the victim to suffer unaware while infecting others.

I know this sounds a bit contrived, but think with me about your experience as a Christian.  Are you lazy with your faith?  Do you put off things you should be doing and know you are doing because you just don’t have the energy?  Do you fashion every circumstance you encounter in life into a “Look at how this affects ME” scenario?

I recall a letter that Paul wrote to the Colossian church when he was speaking to those who were the workers, (3:23) “Whatever you do… do it with excellence, as doing it for God and not for men.”

Somehow we’ve not only gotten caught up in the mundane rat race, trying to make a way for ourselves and our families, but we’ve accepted that mediocrity is the answer.  This answer bleeds from our work lives into our faith lives and the result is lackluster Christian character that ends up running our church and running people away from faith in general.

God’s example is nothing short of excellence.  Christ Jesus’ example is nothing short of excellence.  We are called to be like Christ, so how is it that we accept, teach, and breed mediocrity?  If you are living a mediocre faith life, then you have failed to be obedient to God.

God’s will, if you recall, is simply to love him with all that you are out of every fiber of your being and to love others as yourself.  Muddling through life wondering when the next shoe will drop is a miserable existence that is not supported in scripture.  Christians have accepted the idea that if we cloister ourselves inside pretty buildings and design really cool, average worship services, that somehow people will be compelled to walk inside and join you.  Really?!?  Think about that for a minute.  Is that all church is about?

Excellence is what happens when you get out of the mold of mediocrity and actually begin to serve others.  God asks for our best, and we give him our worst.  Why not spend a day or two reviewing your walk of faith and asking yourself, “how can I do this with excellence?”

Excellence is an ideal that not only invigorates your life, but it compels people to ask you where to get that “attitude”.  Simply put, excellence is going above the norm to do something as you are presenting it to God.

A few days ago, I was informed that I would need to help my daughter work on a science project.  Naturally, my first reaction was one of dread.  I’ve been through school, I work all day, I’ve done my share of projects, I’m tired, and I don’t feel like doing it – all symptoms of mediocritosis (the chief symptom being myopia:  how this is all going to affect ME).

After wallowing in my dread, I opened my eyes and saw an incredible opportunity to not only spend some really cool time with my girl, but I realized that my reaction and my actions were teaching her more about life than any words.  I remembered Colossians 3:23 and decided that all things must be done as if doing them for God.

Good or bad, whatever I do or put my hands on has to be done with passion and intensity.  I live with the idea that everything… and I mean everything… is a reflection on me, my family, and my faith.  The last thing I want to do is shine a light on God that is dim, half assed, and less than what He deserves.

If you have known me since childhood, you’ll know that this new found way of life is quite far from where I was as a teen or young adult.  Mediocritosis will infect you and leave you worthless.  Excellence comes from keeping your eyes on God and working in all things for him and not yourself.

Excellence in faith means that you go the second mile when only asked to go one mile.  It means you speak your faith when backed into a corner.  It means that you spend time learning who God is by reading his word.  It means that you actually do something to help your neighbor rather than worrying about how you’ll be treated.  It means that you stop dreaming of things you could do and start doing them.  It means that you take the time to do everything in your life to the best of your ability without holding anything back.

Excellence in your church means that regardless of your task, you do it as if it was life or death.  It means that if you mow the grass, you make it as perfect as you are able every single time.  It means that whatever your role… you do as if it were the prominent feature of your congregation.

Excellence is a learned trait.  It takes energy to get you moving and it takes commitment to keep you moving.  Don’t buy into the idea that someone else is better equipped.  And don’t burden yourself with the idea that Excellence means running the whole show.  Excellence means that you give 100% of your efforts to whatever your hands are touching using the God given talents to complete the task – without complaint.

Mediocritosis is nearing plague status in the Christian faith.  I’m sick of watching people sit on the sidelines and complain about how the world is going to hell.  I concur… the world will go to hell if you don’t get off your butt and actually start living a life of Excellence.

May your prayers be that God show you where you’ve become mediocre at living your faith, and reveal to you how to change to a servant of excellence.

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*sigh* We would have it made… if we just knew how the mind of an ordinary guy worked.

Why is it that we have this picture of being a Christian as someone who is remarkably extraordinary? Why can’t Christian guys just be ordinary guys? I’ve talked to hundreds of guys over the years who have expressed a general lack of interest in living out their faith because they just don’t think they can elevate themselves to the “perfect” standard.

Wake up and give me a break. Christ Jesus rolled into town and chose his disciples from the cast offs and left behinds of the elite leaders. In ancient Jewish society, the school system was learning the Old Testament. The young boys would begin their education around the age of 6 or so and begin memorizing the Torah (First 5 books of the Old Testament – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). At the end of this process, the boys now about age 10, would be quizzed on what they’ve memorized. Those boys that could apply and connect understanding with recollection would be invited to advance their education in order to come closer to being excellent. The boys that just didn’t have it would be kicked out and told, “Go about your father’s business… learn a trade… you’re not good enough.”

When Christ began His ministry, he did not go looking for the best or the brightest. He wasn’t looking for disciples that had it all figured out. In fact, Christ picked a rag tag bunch of deviants that were willing to listen and follow Christ’s teachings. Then Christ left His entire ministry up to a bunch of ordinary guys. And they changed the world.

Why in all of creation would we think that we’ve got to have it all together to not only be a Christian, but to practice our faith? It’s no wonder why guys like you and me find it hard to fit into a religious culture that shuns us for our crude behavior and our rough edges. I don’t blame you for wanting to run the other way when the little gray haired ladies scowl at you for saying something unrefined.

There’s something you need to realize. You’re not perfect. You’re not exceptional. You are ordinary… and you’re in good company. There’s a myth that most of us hold and it’s the idea that you have to have all your junk worked out before you can kneel before God and join His fellowship. We’re all a little weird. We’ve all done some things we aren’t proud of. We all hang on to the past and wallow in our failures. God is asking you to come to Him just like you are.

There is a key to faith that most of you seem to miss. Salvation is often presented as a complicated process of somehow saying that you believe in Christ Jesus and that He is the savior of the world… and then you’re good. I’m going to challenge that. Salvation in Christ is understanding who He is… what He taught… and living the way He taught. The messiah came to clarify what God said over and over again to His people of Israel.

“Love God with all that you have… every fiber of your being. And you do this by loving your neighbor as yourself.”

Can you do this? I’m going to say that you can. The disciples (who were barely educated and nobody special) listened to Christ Jesus and transformed the way they saw the world and lived in the world. The disciples were just ordinary guys… what about you?

If you want to find some joy in your life and understand what Christ Jesus meant when he said… “Follow my teachings… they are easy… and they won’t weigh you down.” (Matthew 11.)

In the face of your adversity and your imperfection, you need to forget your own pain and find ways to help others relieve their pain. You’ve heard the old joke about the guy that went to the Dr. and told him that his toe hurts. Then the Dr. smashed the guys hand in the door to his exam room and asked him again… what seems to be your problem? And the guy said, “My hand is killing me!” And the Dr. then said, “what about your toe?” to which they guy replied, “my toe is fine compared to my hand.”

Your adversity is relative and always rudely poking its head into your life time and time again. You can quickly forget your pain when you focus on helping someone else. God’s provision for your life is found in the aiding and assisting of others.

The best I can tell… is that you’re just a self occupied lazy guy. That’s a shame. It’s time you put that stuff down and grow up in your faith. If you choose to complain about the world today… you better be ready to do something about it.

So what is your excuse now?

There is nowhere in God’s world that says you’ve got to be perfect to know Christ. All you have to be is Average Ordinary Everyday Dudes. And from what I see around me… there are tons of us walking around.

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There is a hot spot in hell for the man that suggested that this should even be considered a competitive event.  The idea that the human body would go into full sprint mode for ¼ mile is not only unnatural, it’s sheer torture.  I didn’t mind sprinting for 100 yards.  I kind of liked the sprint for 200 yards.  But 400 yards in full sprint is miserable.  There is something that happens when running this race… you quickly find out who skimped on training and who actually worked hard during training.  The boys that skimped would start out strong and die in the last half of the race while the well prepared would effortlessly glide from beginning to end losing no momentum.

There is a parallel to this particular competition to how we operate our faith life.  The more we pray and learn about God, the more efficient, resilient, and effortless we appear in our pursuit.  The less we pray and learn about God, the more gruesome, heavy, and miserable we become when trying to finish the race.

Living Bold requires stamina.  Stamina in your faith builds discipline, grit, and determination you need to stay the course.  I get very tired of listening to people say that faith is the easy way out of life.  Let me tell you something brother… faith requires such a large portion of self-control that you can get dizzy trying to fight it.

There was one race I was running on a Friday night.  I had big plans after the meet, all I had to do was finish the last race and head home.  I approached the starting block in my lane, my adrenaline flowing and the gun sounds.  I took off like a rabbit.  I was in front in the 1^st 100.  I maintained the lead in the 2^nd 100.  The field gained on me in the 3^rd 100, and I ran out of gas in the last 100.  Not only did I run out of gas… my legs became as heavy as led… I couldn’t breathe… my jaws and teeth began to hurt… and my lips were getting numb.  I finished a full 50 yards behind the leader and ended up 4^th out of 6.  I hit… the wall.  I left the track, went home, and laid in the bathtub for about an hour… still out of breath.

Have you ever gotten hold of a good thing and felt like your faith was strong and ready to roll… only to find that you were outpaced by the evil in your life?  How true Paul is when he writes that he will run the race and reach for the prize.

I never trained correctly for the 400 meter event… my attitude was never properly aligned with that of a true participant in that event.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not win that event.  Athletic ability, determination, and talent could only get me ¾ of the way.  Preparation and stamina is what carries you the last 100 yards.  The good racers know this.  They train for this.  The great competitors know when to let go of athletic will power and let their training take them across the line.  They are tired… just like me, but they finish strong because they know how.

Just like your faith.  You’ve got to do more than show up to run the race.  Doing that and nothing more will not only wear you out and leave you against the wall… it opens you up for evil to win over and over again.

Living Bold requires constant prayer, education, and partnership with your brothers in faith.  You will be challenged to a race from time to time… be able to finish strong.  Go get a coach and learn from others how they’ve trained to win.

God wants His men to go the distance.  Not only finish the race, but finish strong.  It seems that most of the church congregations are loaded with a few guys that will line up and start the race… but spiritually unable to finish.  How in the world can we expect to fend off the evil of the day if we can’t even go one lap?

Develop a training program that actually does something for you.  Stretch out beyond the normal routine.  Take the first step toward learning how to finish.  Understand that without stamina of faith… you don’t have a shot to fight off your demons or your addictions.

Your family, friends, and peers are counting on you to finish strong.  Do you have the stamina?  If not… start training.  Get together with your buddies and get busy with God’s program.

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