THE INTENTIONAL SERVICE LEADER: BUILDING THE CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE – ECCLESIASTES 9:10a

INTRODUCTION

The church is a spiritual organisation an every service is an opportunity to worship and fellowship with God. All activities during a worship service centres on and revolves around God.

The nature and character of God define and display excellence. Every Service Leader is therefore expected to build and imbibe excellence as a ministry culture. Every role, task or service is best delivered through a connection that God deserves the best.

WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is simply defined as a way of life of a particular people or society. It includes the ideas, values, customs and social behaviour of the people.

In the church setting, culture involves attitude, values, beliefs, policies, mode of perception, language and habits of thoughts and activities of a particular church.

WHO IS A SERVICE LEADER?

By the reason of this retreat, we shall define a Service Leader as anyone who partakes in leading worshippers in one capacity or the other, or performs one activity or the other in connection with worship services. Not only those who climb the altar or mount the pulpit. They are ministers and must see themselves so. They function in one ministry or the other during worship services.

INTENTIONAL

To be intentional is to do something with intention or on purpose (intended). It involves making deliberate, voluntary and willing choices with full consciousness of the nature of one’s act and its consequences.

An intentional Service Leader is one who performs his tasks on purpose. Not accidentally or incidentally but deliberately.

The word BUILDING, as used here is from the action word BUILD, which means to make, develop, raise, form, create, cultivate, establish, find and maintain, focus with intention, in constant pursuit of betterment and improvement.

WHAT IS EXCELLENCE?

Excellence is defined as the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. The very best. It is striving to do more than the ordinary and regular.

Excellence is more than “packaging.” It is actually doing the RIGHT THING in an EXTRAORDINARY way. First is “doing the right thing” then delivering it in an “extraordinary way.” The key word is EXTRA, added to the ORDINARY. That is, doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways.

In Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon infers that, while having consciousness of death, it is our wisdom to make the best use of life that we can while it does last. It implies that we make the best use of every available opportunity by striving for the best.

EXCELLENCE AS A CULTURE

According to Aristotle, “excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intentions, sinere effort and intelligent execution. It represents the wise choice among many alternatives. Choice, not chance determines excellence.” Excellence occurs when opportunity meets with preparedness. That “preparedness” is the culture of excellence. You don’t become a thief because you stole. You stole because you are a thief.

Excellence has to do with mindset. If all Service Leaders can cultivate this mentality and form the mindset of it, it will run on every of their operational delivery.

HOW TO PURSUE AND BUILD EXCELLENCE AS A SERVICE LEADER

1.            Desire it

▪︎A desire to go above and beyond the ordinary. Don’t settle for less or average.

▪︎A desire to have order in all activities, even beyond church operations.

This can be powered through praying for the spirit of excellence.

2.            Get informed

▪︎Excellence is driven by the level of information available to you. What you hear, see and experience will provide the foundation to pursue excellence.

▪︎Get informed through books, videos, locations, interactions, meetings, seminars and mentorship.

3.            Get exposed to excellence (locations and people connected to excellence).

▪︎With proper planning, well documented and organised processes, training and seminars, accountability and orderliness.

▪︎Don’t be too big to learn from someone who knows more or is better than you. Be humble.

4.            Benchmark with the best

▪︎Consider a mentor or a leader who is excellent in his service delivery.

▪︎Set him as a standard for your personal operations.

▪︎Measure your performance against the standard.

▪︎Adjust where necessary.

These aid a consistent development until excellence becomes a culture.

5.            Intentionally Improve Your Time Management

▪︎To avoid persistent lateness. Promptness is a sign of culture of excellence.

▪︎Avoid rushing to church five minutes to the commencement of service. It makes you unsettled and disorganised.

6.            Document your assigned role in the service and how you intend to carry it out.

▪︎Document instructions given to you.

7.Be intentional through adequate preparation.

▪︎Never perform a role without adequate preparation, unless it is an emergency. Even at that, ask the Holy Spirit to help you out.

8.            Avoid reactive tendencies.

▪︎Learn to be proactive by thinking ahead for possible hitches.

9.            Pay attention to little details

▪︎When you ignore the details and deliver your tasks with no consciousness of ensuring all things are done well, it leaves tiny deviations with heavy repercussions.

▪︎As tiny as changing the battery in the microphone.

▪︎As tiny as checking the offering box to ascertain its legs are intact.

▪︎As tiny as checking to make sure the keyboard is not transposed, to avoid playing on the wrong key.

▪︎As tiny as reading the bible passage over and over again before mounting the pulpit to read to the congregation.

▪︎Always do a double check to make sure all things are in order.

Paying attention to tiny details can boost your (as well as the church) culture of excellence.

10.          If your task in the service involves you holding and using the microphone, learn basic Microphone Techniques and Management.

▪︎Know whether the microphone is “omnidirectional” (captures sound equally from all directions) or “unidirectional” (picks up sound from the top, with less than 50% from the sides and about 10% from the back).

▪︎Know how to power the microphone on and off.

▪︎Know how to position the microphone for maximum output.

▪︎Know how to position the microphone to avoid unpleasant feedback interferences (noise).

11.          For those in the Media and Technical, check and test run all the equipment at least 45 minutes before service starts.

12.          Always focus on delivering your task better than the last time.

▪︎Never try to show off or else you will be off the show

CONCLUSION

Excellence is not an incidental or momentary thing but a culture that is learned and built over time. It is powered by orderliness and commitment. Our God deserves the best and the best we should offer Him in our services. To joke with excellence is to swim in mediocrity. May that not be our portion in Jesus’ name.