Fair warning and disclaimer; you might become quite angry while reading this book. So many speakers and authors nuance and adjust for political correctness what they think and feel you may have become anesthetized by their gumdrops and lollipops lovey-dovey genteel manner. This is not an "everyone gets a trophy" "feel good about me" book. This is the real deal, our authentic condition, and my assessment as to why we are here and what to do. There will be other books in my series. By the end of my series I hope I make you mad enough to do something, throw the book, scream at the book, maybe even kick the book - but not at a dog or cat! I am hoping you become angry and fed up enough to do something, anything to help stop the bleeding in this country! No pressure, but it really is all up to you.

EXCELLENCE KILLED THE CHURCH!

How Mediocrity is Destroying AmericaBy Shawn M. Greener

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Dr. Shawn M. Greener
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-2866-1

Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................1If we build it well they will buy it here, if we teach excellence........................................13What does that have to do with church?...................................................................17Back to hip trendy cool comfy convenient church..........................................................24The Value of Real Productivity...........................................................................30Real Motivators..........................................................................................34Church work is work......................................................................................36When you learn the mission of your company, you do the mission, you earn your worth!.....................40Erasing Mediocrity in the School System..................................................................55The Role of Labor Unions in Mediocrity...................................................................84Methodology..............................................................................................89Conclusion and Recommendations...........................................................................91Appendix One.............................................................................................103Appendix Two.............................................................................................105Appendix Three...........................................................................................107Appendix Four............................................................................................111Appendix Five............................................................................................113Bibliography.............................................................................................115About the Author.........................................................................................119

Chapter One

If we build it well they will buy it here, if we teach excellence

You cannot teach what you do not know. In the days of traditional craftsmanship, the problem of authority vs. culpability was rarely seen because the craftsman had self-determined equal amounts of each. He or she determined what it took to produce the product with excellence and then developed a setting in which he could consistently produce quality goods. He practiced improving his abilities and his setting, aiming for a state of productive mastery. The craftsman was revered because in those days, our nation highly valued quality over quantity and quickness.

What in the world does this have to do with the church? Hang in there; it will all fit together like a finely crafted puzzle shortly!

When we examine the church with a critical eye we must acknowledge that in years past the Pastor of the church knew and loved all of his congregants personally because he treasured them, his relationship with them, and their relationship with Yeshua (the Hebrew Name for Jesus, His real Name.) I do not intend to throw all pastors under the Sunday school bus; however, we must address what truth is present. Just as there are cases in which the teacher should not be a teacher, there are also cases in which the preacher should not be the preacher. "I am a people person" said in a droning monotone from the corner of a room instead of in the midst of the people his job is to engage and disciple. More on this later.

In years past "the called" were trained in lieu of the trained being called. In years past Preachers knew their Bibles with excellence such that beget a life knowledge. Congregants personally knew "their" pastor. "Their" pastor knew their Bible, had deep Scriptural wisdom because they had well worn the pages, dog eared and notes written in all available space in the margins. Their Bible was a central, primary part of their lives. They knew the Bible because they lived the Bible.

Back to the factory

Today, the thought of developing craftsmanship in either the secular or Christian sector has taken second-stage to automating. Indeed, automation has its place and it can at least guarantee a certain level of quality and production quotas. However, by adding craftsmanship back into the production equation, quality can be better served. What is quality today? How do we define and measure quality? Better yet, how do we recognize it? Quality is such a rarity nowadays that finding and recognizing it is tantamount to photographing Big Foot!

Back to church

In the post-modern church, there are more insular layers between the pastor and his congregants that he no longer is the true shepherd because he is far removed from the process of discipleship.

As an aside, in touring many churches I find few references to Bible study and memorization in this day in age as compared to those in my youth. Electronic Bibles have automated that task, even in many seminaries. This is not to impugn the value of electronic Bibles, rather to illustrate that many can no longer be bothered to locate and carry their physical Bible any longer.

Back to work, barely

The overall attitude of the average American worker is one of job preservation and not job excellence. Do enough to retain your job. "Just enough to not get fired."

According to Hickman (2000), however:

"Unfortunately, many employees are not interested in mastery, let alone craftsmanship, but they should be. Furthermore, every manager should be interested in developing a state of mastery for each employee. Because if employees strive to become craftsmen then management can become an empowering provider that serves up the right mix of automation and resources that, in turn, enables the producer to concentrate on craftsmanship. This empowering loop places everyone in a viable and productive part of the production cycle and removes more than only the common problem of authority versus culpability.

Back to church, barely

Within the modern church, especially large ones, it is important that the pastor not be expected to perform all the jobs in the church all of the time; however, there are certain functions the pastor must never abdicate in favor of committees or program/ministry managers.

Risks

According to Orlich,

"History is not kind to idlers. The time is long past when American's destiny was assured simply by an abundance of natural resources and inexhaustible human enthusiasm, and by our relative isolation from the malignant problems of older civilizations. The world is indeed one global village. We live among determined, well-educated, and strongly motivated competitors. We compete with them for international standing and markets, not only with products but also with the ideas of our laboratories and neighborhood workshops. America's position in the world may once have been reasonably secure with only a few exceptionally well-trained men and women. It is no longer."

What does that have to do with church?

The Bible is clear on idleness and laziness:

Ecclesiastes 5:12 (ESV)

12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

Proverbs 24:30-34 (ESV)

30 I passed by the field of a...