Ron Harris

Excellence is a difficult thing to define. Even the dictionary struggles. Webster’s tries to nail down the meaning of excellence this way: “…the quality of being excellent.” That doesn’t help a lot. Yet most of us know what excellence is when we see it.

I have led conference sessions in many places around the world. One of the key topics I speak on is excellence. A well-known American football coach, Vince Lombardi, expressed great wisdom with his thoughts on the subject.

“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

As leaders in ministries and Christian organizations, it often falls to us to push the team to do their best to achieve the most. I often think of the title of Oswald Chambers’s book of devotionals: My Utmost for His Highest. What a great phrase to capture what we should be about in our ministry, our work, our families, and our lives.

Here are four keys to excellence:

• Consistency – Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, said, “Excellence is not an act, it’s a habit.” Strive consistently for excellence and soon you will be developing a habit of great accomplishments.
• Improvement—We need a heart to constantly get better. A successful college baseball coach asks his players to get one percent better every day. That’s a good start toward excellence.
• Creativity – Our Lord is a creative God, and we are made in His likeness. We have creativity within us. No doubt, it is seen better in some than others, but we all have the ability to break new ground and find innovative ways to solve problems.

Going the extra mile – Someone has said that responsible people do what is expected of them. Excellent people routinely do more than asked.

Ryan Denison of the Denison Forum wrote on the topic of excellence.

“There is something about the pursuit of excellence that is easy for people to notice and appreciate, regardless of the context in which it occurs. Perhaps it is easier to recognize when it comes to music, athletics, or other more public displays, but the principle applies to our work, our relationships, and our personal pursuits as well.”

Denison then examines Daniel’s life in the Old Testament as an example. He lived a life of excellence that was quickly noted by Nebuchadnezzar.

The Apostle Paul reminded the believers in Colossae that our best efforts…our excellence… are found in service to our Savior.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Colossians 3:23 NLT

Along with the obvious reason for pursuing excellence in our Christian life, there are other benefits. Again, the great football coach Vince Lombardi made a profound statement worth pondering and retaining.

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

God is honored when we serve Him with excellence. Other lives are impacted by the effort we exhibit toward excellence in ministry. And the quality of our own lives is enhanced by our commitment to excellence.

It sounds like we all gain from a life of excellence. And the Lord is honored. Oswald Chambers sums it up this way:

“Worship is giving God the best He has given to you. Be careful what you do with your best.”

God’s best,

Time killers. All of us can look back on days when things just didn’t get done. And if we look close enough, we can see times we failed to make a decision, and soon other things ground to a halt.

Leadership expert Fred Smith says there are three key things he has observed that waste time and slow down our ability to make a decision.

1. Procrastination – Smith cleverly wrote, “If I ever get around to it, I am going to run for President of the National Procrastination Society. The problem is I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

Sometimes, we don’t make the decisions out of fear of making the wrong one. We over-analyze. Or we wait until we have all the information. Sure, we need to do our due diligence on key issues. But if we aren’t careful, we will be shuffling papers and gathering information and still put off the decision. In Texas, we often say we are, “fixin’” to do something. We are thinking about it. We are planning for it. But we never get around to doing “it.” Fred Smith says, “Exhaustion without results is a waste of time and energy.”

1. Rationalization – It is better to own your mistakes than to try to explain them away. We sometimes spend more time explaining why something went wrong than we do in moving to the right decision.
2. Indecision – This area not only slows down progress but also affects the rest of your team. John Maxwell says, “When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.” It was Joshua who urged the Israelites to make a decision, not to waver.

…choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15 NLT

Decide to decide. Don’t let indecision, rationalization, or procrastination sidetrack you as you lead others. And don’t let the definite answer be – MAYBE.

God’s best,

Everyone in leadership has had those times. First, a small problem will come. Soon, that is compounded by another one, even bigger than the first. And then these challenges fall like great torrents of rain. Before long, we feel we are drowning, with no life raft in sight.

If you have been in leadership for any time at all, you have no doubt gone through a testing time like this. If you are in Christian ministry, you wonder why you must deal with these overwhelming challenges as you try to share God’s hope with those who need to know Jesus and His love.

I was recently reminded of the time Job questioned God. By human standards, he had every right to challenge his Lord about the disasters he experienced. The loss of his children, his wealth, and his health. And Job’s friends…even Job’s wife…were not much help. His wife told Job, “Curse God and die.” Not a lot of comfort.

Job had an interesting exchange with Almighty God. Listen to his comments about his multiple losses and see if you might also think along these lines as you face your challenges.

If only someone would listen to me!
Look, I will sign my name to my defense.
Let the Almighty answer me.
Let my accuser write out the charges against me.
I would face the accusation proudly.

Job 31:35-36 NLT

Here are some things to note:

• God listened to Job’s complaints and questions.
• God responded to what concerned Job.
• God blessed Job despite his questioning and lack of understanding.

At the same time, the Lord didn’t let Job’s wrong thinking go unchecked. In Job 38, He asked Job penetrating and sobering questions:

• Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
• Where were you when I set the oceans in their place?
• Where were you when I put the constellations of stars in position?

We see things from a narrow and simplistic viewpoint. God knows what He is doing, whether we see it or not. And Job, to his credit, replied to Almighty God in a way that should be our response when we question the Lord and our circumstances.

You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.

Job 42:3 NLT

We need to admit that we don’t understand God’s ways—they are not our ways. Yet we also need to remember that our Lord loves us greatly. After all, He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins. What greater love could there be?

Problems? Challenges? They can seem to be overwhelming. But the God who put everything in our world in place is still in charge. He will listen to you. And He will bless you. That is His nature.

God’s best,

I was sitting at a signal light the other day, rather impatiently, I must admit. I was trying to “will” the light to turn green. No surprise. The light didn’t change when I wanted it to.

Many of us take that same attitude into our personal and spiritual lives. We want God’s will to happen right now on our timetable. It is not easy to see things from the Lord’s perspective.

One online site that deals with biblical questions mentioned the difficulty of waiting on God’s timing.

“Waiting on God is not only difficult; sometimes it seems impossible. We want things to happen in our own timing, according to our plans. But God doesn’t operate on our schedules, and expecting that He will… sets one up for disappointment.”

Our expectations and God’s plan don’t always align. I recall a challenging season of waiting for the Lord to open a door and show me a path…and waiting…and waiting…for almost a year. When God finally set things in motion, it was more than I could have hoped for. But to be honest, those many months were spiritually grueling. Yet, it was during this time that I experienced significant spiritual growth.

Dr. David Jeremiah wrote in one of his ministry blogs about the challenges faced when it comes to our timing versus God’s timing.

To wait on the Lord is to trust that God is at work, even when His timetable is longer than we’d like. It goes against our nature, but part of the problem is how we define “waiting.” Biblical waiting involves actively walking in step with God as He unfolds his plans. It is far more than sitting around, twiddling our thumbs.

So, if you are willing to wait, what do you do? First, be prepared for others to not understand why you are waiting. God’s voice speaks to you, but others may not hear or understand His will for you.

Pastor Charles Stanley has six things a person needs to do to wait on God successfully.

1. You must trust God. Do you believe the Lord has a plan for your life? Then, you must trust He is working it all out for your good and His purpose.
2. You must have patience. The Psalmist wrote:

Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.

Psalm 37:7 NLT

Dr. Stanley reminded us, “You never waste time waiting on God.”

1. You need courage. Joshua didn’t know all that God had for him. The Lord had to remind Joshua repeatedly to be strong and of good courage.
2. You need to be determined. Waiting when others urge you to do something takes determination. You must listen to the Holy Spirit over the voices of others.
3. You need strength. The waiting task gets harder the longer it takes. Lean on the one who is our strength… Jesus.
4. You must endure… until God moves.

The words of Isaiah ring true today for all of us who find ourselves waiting.

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

So… when necessary…let’s wait… on the Lord.

God’s best,

Let’s do something different today. Take out a piece of paper and a writing instrument. Got it?

Now…write down the top one or two problems that are keeping you from accomplishing your God-given task. You probably won’t have to think too hard. They are probably before you every day you try to lead and serve. Or, what problems are keeping you from being all God wants you to be?

Now, hold onto that paper while I tell you what God showed me as I was reading through Numbers in the Old Testament. Some of these passages are rather tedious. Counting men who could fight. Rules and laws for living lives that please the Lord. Sacrifices and gifts to be given to atone for sin and shortcomings. Many of them become repetitive. So, I often ask the Holy Spirit to teach me something through these passages.

I began to think of those Israelites who left Egypt and wandered for forty years in the wilderness. By many accounts, they numbered over two million people. That’s huge. As I figure it, there were probably four hundred thousand family units throughout the twelve tribes. And God gave Moses instructions for them to make sacrifices.

“…This is the special gift you must present to the Lord as your daily burnt offering. You must offer two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. Sacrifice one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening.”

Numbers 28:3-4 NLT

So, each family was to make this sacrifice. Four hundred thousand lambs in the morning. Four hundred thousand lambs in the evening. That’s eight hundred thousand lambs a day. And in five days…that’s four million lambs sacrificed. And this was to go on and on, week after week, month after month, year after year. Where did all these sacrificial lambs come from?

Someone calculated what it would take to feed these two million people. The primary food needed each day was over four million pounds worth. To bring that much food would have taken three trains of boxcars, each over a mile long. And for water…it would have required eleven million gallons each day and a freight train with tanker cars over eighteen hundred miles long… each day.

Of course, they didn’t have trains!

I could go on and on detailing the magnitude of these people’s challenges and what it would take to meet their needs—impossible, but God!

Now…grab that piece of paper you wrote on a few moments ago. Look at the items you wrote down. My question to you…how big is your problem…for God?

Over and over throughout God’s Word, we hear God saying:

Is there anything too hard for the Lord?

The question then is this: Do you trust God or not? Do you believe Him or not? Is He the same yesterday, today, and forever?

The writer of Hebrews has good instructions for us as we trod the often-difficult path of life the Lord has for us.

…let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

OK…one more time…look at those things you wrote down. Then, look to Jesus and place those problems before Him. He has been waiting for you.

God’s best,

When I was in my preteens, I decided I wanted to learn how to juggle. I grabbed three old tennis balls and began to toss them into the air, trying to catch them and toss them up again and again. At first, I started the process over my bed so I wouldn’t have to chase the balls so far. Smart move for me. Eventually, I could do some very elementary feats of juggling. Then, I decided to add a fourth tennis ball to the mix. Disaster. I quickly learned that what I thought I could handle was way out of reach…literally.

It is always interesting to look at Jesus’ life and see how he lived out His purpose and ministry. I don’t see evidence of Jesus juggling. He was laser-beam focused on what His Father had for him to do. In His pre-teen days in the temple, he declared, “I must be about my Father’s business.”

When the disciples urged Jesus to stay in Capernaum, where the Lord had very successfully healed the sick and defeated demons, He announced to them:

I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.

Luke 4:42 NLT

While we multitask and try to juggle several ministry tennis balls, our time with the Lord suffers. We move between family, work, church, and community activities with scarcely time to breathe.

One secular study concluded:

A major hurdle in multitasking is keeping your focus razor-sharp. When your attention is divided among several tasks, it’s tough to concentrate fully on any one of them. This often results in a fragmented focus, diminishing your effectiveness on individual tasks.

While we may not be able to avoid giving attention to multiple projects and activities, we need to do as Jesus did…find quiet time to listen to the Father and stay on task for what God says is a priority.

Jesus said:

• I must be about my Father’s business.
• I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

What is the Father’s “business” for you?

God’s best,

Hearing that from me may come as a shock. For over a decade I have written and recorded these blogs on how to be more effective in media and leadership. Often, it means moving from the ranks of an amateur to that of a professional—learning techniques, applying principles, and building confidence in what you do…and why.

So, why am I now saying, “Don’t be so professional.”

Over twenty years ago Pastor John Piper wrote a book titled Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. Piper was pleading with pastors to make sure they didn’t abandon their God-given calling for the sake of professionalism.

“The mentality of the professional is not the mentality … of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry.”

I realized many years ago that we can become so professional in our ministry work that we don’t rely on God. I’ve sometimes said, “If we aren’t careful, God could take His hand off our ministry, and we might not notice it for several years.”

Well, what’s the point? What does it take to have a successful ministry? It is a matter of our focus and of our heart. What drives us in our work? Where do we turn for guidance? Do we read more professional books than God’s Word? Do we listen to leadership experts more than we listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice? Do we spend more time in seminars than in personal prayer with the Lord?

What is the focus of our lives and, therefore, our ministry?

The Apostle Paul set the Philippians straight on this topic. In Philippians 3 he writes:

We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

Paul was saying, “I could run my credentials by you and show you how ‘professional’ I am, even more so than others.” Then he tells them:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

Paul didn’t throw away all he had learned and all he had gained in wisdom and knowledge. He put it in perspective. And he nailed it down with these words:

…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Paul’s perspective and focus was on God’s call on his life, not his personal achievements. It’s not about building a successful ministry; it’s about being obedient to the Lord and His assignment for you.

God doesn’t need your professionalism. He needs you to hear His voice and follow. Then, when your ministry achieves anything (by worldly standards), it will be for His glory.

So, what will you do today…this week…that may be less professional but more in the center of God’s will?

God’s best,

In this frantic and pressure-filled world, what role could simple kindness play? A big one! Relationship experts Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott talk a lot about kindness as they help people understand how to build strong and lasting relationships.

Never underestimate the impact of one kind word.

One of the Bible verses I was taught early in life was from Paul’s letter of instructions to his Christian friends in Ephesus.

And be ye kind one to another…

I’m sure my mother quoted that to me and my siblings when we were being anything but kind. It had a lasting impression on me. Today, reading the whole verse helps explain why we should show kindness to others.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV

My experience over the years has convinced me of the overwhelming value of this verse and the practice of a kind word aptly spoken. I have learned that it costs nothing on my part to show such kindness to others.

The Parrotts have also said consistency is valuable in building strong relationships.

“The solid commitment between faithful friends is established by thousands of seemingly insignificant commitments over the long haul.”

Paul pointed out to the Colossians that kindness was among the traits that would mark them as God’s special people.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Colossians 3:12 NLT

By the way, being kind is not the way of our world today. In the corporate world, in school, and even in families, most people don’t rank “kindness” as something to be desired in their lives. Some think it almost equates to “weakness.” Not so.

It begins with a heart that recognizes the gracious kindness the Lord has shown us, and it spills over to those around us. Someone has said, “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”

The eighteenth century American Quaker missionary Stephen Grellet urged us not to miss an opportunity to show kindness to others.

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Someone around you may need a kind word right now. Don’t miss the opportunity to do something powerful and godly in their life.

God’s best,

When I was growing up, there was a simple TV show called “So You Want to Lead a Band?” People would volunteer to lead, step to the podium, take the director’s baton, and start directing the onstage band. It was usually funny and sometimes disastrous.

Have you wanted to be a leader? Have you wanted to command a group of people in a way that had an impact and accomplished something amazing? Or maybe the conductor’s baton was handed to you, and you weren’t prepared to be the leader. Most of us have been there at one level or another.

There is a somewhat humorous saying called “The Peter Principle.” One definition for this principle is this: “Employees are promoted according to their current progress rather than the required skills and aptitude.” Or, as the originator of the Peter Principle, Dr. Laurence J. Peter put it, “…people in a hierarchy tend to rise to “a level of respective incompetence”

That’s a bit scary, but it happens again. Leadership groups, including the Harvard Business Review, address this topic again and again.

Fred Smith, a mentor to ministry leaders, talked about leadership, which gives us a clear picture of what it is.

“Leadership is not a position; it is a function. It is not a title that grants power over others. It is a skill you perform, a service you render for the entire organization or institution.”

One of the reasons MEDIA Alliance holds leadership Forums around the globe is to help those who have stepped into the role of a leader be better equipped with the skills needed to guide the team God has given them.

Where do you find yourself? Has the Lord put you in a leadership position and you don’t feel adequate for the job? Join the crowd. Most of us have felt that way. It’s a good idea to read those first chapters of Joshua. This leader was following on the heels of Moses, who had led the children of Israel for forty years. I’m sure Joshua felt inadequate for the role. Maybe that’s why the Lord bluntly told Joshua:

“Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people…”

Joshua 1:2 NLT

The Lord then repeated over and over, “Be strong and of good courage.” God went on to tell Joshua that He had guided Moses and He would guide Joshua in what to do to be the leaders the Lord needed for that day.

The same truth holds for you. If the Lord has placed you in leadership, and you don’t feel you are prepared…that you have risen to your highest level of incompetence, then be strong and of good courage. And look to the Lord for the wisdom needed for the task.

So… grab that conductor’s baton and a copy of God’s Word, and lead!

God’s best,