Raising the Level of Excellence

If you are a football fan, then you are well aware that Christmas came early for the Denver Broncos. I know, I know…those of you who are T-Bow fans are a little bothered at the moment. Yes, T-Bow is a good guy, a solid Christian and apparently a good teammate. But the Broncos needed a quarterback who can throw for more than 90 yards in a game with a QB rating better than 32. And by the way, don’t get mad at me for repeating the stats. Some people, who shall remain nameless (Kurt Johnston), think I’m hating on T-Bow but really I’m not.

I do want to point out something in all of this and pose a challenge to you.

With many questions still unanswered, we know for sure that Peyton Manning is now a Bronco. One other thing we know for sure, the other Bronco players are feeling a little more confident tonight. Why? Because Peyton will raise the level of excellence on that team and they all know it.

This situation caused me to pause today and think about my leadership. A few questions came to my mind like:

• What do others at my church think when I walk into the room?
• Do I inspire the others around me to lead and serve at a higher level?
• Do I create confidence because people know they can count on me?
• Am I more interested in pleasing or leading?

The truth is it’s very difficult to answer these questions on our own. In fact, its impossible to be completely objective about ourselves. There are times I think I’m doing ok and someone will say “what’s wrong with you?” (typically my wife). And there are times I think I’ve blown it and someone might say “wow, that was great” (typically a 1st grader who doesn’t even know what they are saying). The point is this, we need people in our life who will speak authentically and honestly out of a spirit of love.

The “out of a spirit of love” is the tricky part. It’s not difficult to find a person with an opinion. But to find someone who genuinely cares for us enough that they are willing to lovingly speak truth, now that’s a treasure.

Do you have someone like that in your life?

If not, here’s some simple steps:

1. Take a little time to think and pray about who that person might be (sounds obvious enough).
2. Start at an “entry level.”  Ask someone to evaluate your children’s service, sermon or event. This is a lot less intense and you can treat it as a “trial run.”
3. Adjust your perspective so you can receive constructive criticism without being defensive or getting your feelings hurt.

We should all want to raise the level of excellence in those we serve with and lead. This is one way we can make that happen.

Go ahead, be Peyton Manning (no disrespect to T-Bow).