“But there is something worse than settling for mediocrity. It’s exclusivity.”

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Kindle Location 745). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book)

Back when I was young, a hundred years ago it seems, I set as a goal to not accept two things in myself personally. One was being negative and the other was accepting mediocrity. Worthy personal goals for me. I didn’t want to settle for mediocrity. But in the church “there is something worse than settling for mediocrity. It’s exclusivity.”

Larry says, “Everywhere I turn, I find well-meaning speakers, authors, and other highly committed Christians raising the bar (and taking pride in keeping it high) by redefining what it means to be a genuine Christian. Their teaching seems to suggest that a real Christian is someone who always chooses the harder path and then piles on a bunch of extra burdens for good measure. They call for greater sacrifice, deeper study, more evangelism, tutoring kids, adopting children, digging wells, stopping sex trafficking, living more simply, and a host of other things they see as the proof of genuine discipleship. Their drive-by guiltings can mow down an entire crowd.”

He goes on, “You may wonder, 'What’s wrong with that?' It sounds like a recipe for radically committed Christianity. But it’s not. It’s a recipe that leaves out lots of important ingredients. It emphasizes a select few favorite verses and teachings from Jesus while pretty much ignoring the rest of the New Testament. It’s not a recipe for discipleship. It’s a recipe for Phariseeism. Now, I’m not saying that anyone is intentionally trying to produce a brood of Pharisees. In most cases, people who prescribe a more radicalized and activist faith have the best of intentions. They want our churches and people to reach their full spiritual potential. They don’t want to settle for mediocrity.”

He then says, “But there is something worse than settling for mediocrity. It’s exclusivity. It’s the temptation to up the ante and to raise the bar of discipleship so high that it disqualifies all but the most committed, and thus thins the herd that Jesus came to expand.”

Life will thin the herds. Our task is to expand, not to be exclusive, isn’t it?

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