Just Say No To Mediocrity

In my first Army unit we were a bit of a hodgepodge of young Soldiers who were preparing for war. By my observation I noticed two kinds of leaders who were training us. Those who properly prepared and those who didn’t. However, the difference didn’t begin with the planning, but how they implemented lessons learned from the previous training event. Let me explain.

In something as simple as planning a day at the rifle range, the one in charge begins by looking at the goal and works backwards. What’s the goal? It is to get all Soldiers who need to qualify on their weapon, qualified and safely. This means that the leader must plan to have range safeties who implement safety procedures, trainers and coaches who prepare Soldier before they head out on the range, and you need to make sure you have all of the supplies necessary.

It sounds simple enough until you have to do it. There are a lot of moving pieces and Murphy’s Law will inevitably take over and something or many things will go wrong. Hardly ever does every Soldier qualify, you likely have too much or too little ammo, and why does the Armorer who runs the Arms Room always show up late? It all comes down to planning. We can’t plan for every circumstance every time because we can’t always think of every eventual variable. Therefore, it is imperative that those who participate in the event conduct and After Action Review of Debrief so that they can discover lessons learned.

This is the difference between mediocrity and success. It isn’t talent or luck, it is going the extra mile and ensuring you learn from both what went right and what went wrong. When planning for an event you must schedule time to conduct this review so that you can improve on your next go around. I’m going to introduce you to the three phases of any event whether it is a military operation, church function, or business venture. You can use this method in every area of your life, but we will pay particular attention to how it pertains to the Church.

Planning

In the planning phase of an event or activity the following things must be accomplished: define the purpose, objectives, resources required, resources on hand, and then work out how the whole event will be accomplished.

Purpose is the whole reason the event is needed. The purpose of going to the rifle range in the Army is to get Soldiers trained and qualified on their weapons. This supports the overall Unit purpose, which is to defeat the enemy in combat wherever the Army sends it. The purpose of a local church’s worship service is to worship God and build up the saints. This supports the overall mission of the Kingdom of God, which is to glorify God and make Him known.

Objectives of the rifle range could include no safety incidents, 90% qualification, and 30% qualify as Expert, which is the highest score possible. You could have minor objectives as well such as the Range Officer training another Officer to be in charge next time, accomplish the mission within six hours, and have everyone pass the qualification on the first attempt. The local church may have objectives of their worship service to include Scripture saturation, inclusion of both genders, incorporation of multi-generations, and to not distract from the worship of God.

Resources needed for the rifle range are pretty extensive so I’ll only cover the most obvious. To successfully run a rifle range the unit would need rifles, ammunition, water, food, eye protection, ear protection, range paddles, sand bags, targets, air horn, range safety officers, ammo team, and so much more. The local church that gathers for worship needs Bibles, music, and a preacher. However, to meet the identified objectives they’d need people of both genders and multi-generations to pray, read Scripture, and preach (depending on your theology you only need one gender to preach).

Resources on hand for the rifle range would likely include everything mentioned for resources needed, however gaps when identified will necessitate the acquisition of those resources. You will likely need to coordinate water and food, the Armorer to open the Arms Room, order ammunition, and tasking Soldiers to serve as range safeties and on the ammo team. The local church needs to look at its own resources. Does it have the leaders who are equipped and ready to pray, read Scripture, and preach? Does it have people to greet others as they enter the gathering? How many people are trained to run the sound booth?

Now it is time to work out the details of the event. You begin to assign responsibilities, provide instructions and expectations, work on the liturgy or order of worship, etc. When running a rifle range the Officer in Charge is typically given their goals, expectations, and timeline. Working with people can be messy, but it becomes less messy when clear expectations are given. One might be tasked with offering an opening prayer. The Pastor could instruct this person that they should read a Psalm and focus their prayer on corporate thankfulness for the opportunity to worship Him at this time. The one doing announcements might be told what to announce and give a time limit. The Worship Leader could be given instructions such as time and focus.

Execution

Most people only see the execution phase of an event. Whether it is a training exercise, concert, or worship service the majority of people that are active in the event weren’t part of the planning phase. For this reason many might not appreciate all the work that goes on behind the scenes. A new Private in the Army might only see that she has to show up to pick up her weapon, attend training, bring equipment, and qualify. In the best case scenario the Range is well run; ammon is provided, hearing protection, coaching, and everyone seems to be a first time “Go.” She doesn’t see the hours of preparation that included half a dozen or more people. She doesn’t realize the pressure put on the Officer in Charge to coordinate and plan everything. If something goes wrong the young Officer is likely to get chewed out by their Company Commander. If planning went well then the experience of everyone should be smooth. However, there are variables. You could have some folks who are truly terrible shooters, people might not follow instructions, no one can predict the weather. For the most part, intelligent people will understand those variables.

In the local church we have the same kind of situation. You can tell how much planning goes into the Worship Service with some variances. A local church that’s been gathering for years with the same liturgy or order of worship won’t likely need as much time as a church that has made some changes. The same goes with those involved in the service. If it is the same rotation of people doing announcements, prayer, singing, and preaching then they won’t likely need as much time as they once did. However, they still need to properly plan and that takes time. Most agree a pastor needs 18-25 hours a week to prepare a sermon. It could take a couple of hours to gather information about announcements and practice what to say and how. Someone who isn’t accustomed to praying in public might take a couple of hours to write out a prayer. The music team might practice for a couple of hours per week in addition to the hours they practice their parts at home. There is likely countless hours of prayer by the leaders and all involved each and every week. Congregants who come and worship on Sunday morning are participating in that worship and can notice when things have been well thought out and planned.

When it is all said and done, the event can often be a fraction of the total time taken up through planning. If a Range day is eight hours, which is common, it probably took several days dedicated to planning. A typical worship service is between 60 and 90 minutes. The Pastor’s sermon might be 45-60 minutes. He most likely spent at least 15 hours in preparation. The music might be 15-20 minutes and took several hours of practice. Announcements and prayer might be two to five minutes a piece and took those folks no less than an hour to plan.

Review/Debrief

The difference between Army Units that fall below the standard, meet the standard, and exceed the standard comes down to how serious they take their debriefs. Why? Because if a Unit takes its debrief seriously then they will take planning for the next event seriously. They will implement lessons learned and improve upon what they did the last time. The debrief is where you discover what went right and what went wrong. You keep what went well and replicate it. You fix what went wrong and improve. It sounds basic, but lethargy, laziness, and complacency can really creep in so that the debriefs are skipped over.

Debriefs are an area in which churches can really improve. Every facet of a worship service can be debriefed as much as any other event. Let’s take the sermon as an example. Did the sermon achieve its goal? Did it move people towards Christ? Did it teach the text? No. Why? The preacher could have gone down too many rabbit trails that led people away from the text. He could have stuck to the text really well, but it lacked any application. He said that Jesus died and rose again, but didn’t tell me what I must believe to be saved. The preacher did a wonderful job telling me that I need to love my brother, but not how. These are all things that happen weekly across the world as the people of God gather to worship. Pastors and preachers would do well to look over their sermons after they’ve preached and give a gracious and honest assessment. I even encourage trusted constructive feedback. The same thing should be done with every other aspect of the service.

My Encouragement

What if we implemented this same strategy to everything we did? These debriefs don’t need to include everyone, but it could. That’s something each church must decide among themselves. We should assess our worship services, fellowship events, small groups, sunday schools, Bible studies, and outreach events. Did these events meet their purpose and subsequent objectives or goals?

This should encourage us as we seek to serve the Lord and follow Him in our mission to make Him known. We aren’t going to do things perfectly. Perfection doesn’t even need to be the goal. We are imperfect people who make mistakes and sin. As a preacher I’m always looking for ways to improve my sermon preparation, study, and delivery. Sometimes I write out a manuscript and other times an outline. I can often forget to apply the text while at other times I focus almost solely on application. If I didn’t assess or debrief my sermons then I’d plateau in my growth instead of growing in the craft that God has called me to. The same can be said in just about every other aspect of the church.

You can further practical resources from me regarding discipleship at the below links.

Go! Teaching All That Jesus Commands to Those Jesus Commands Us To Reach

Discover Ancient Truths For Today

After Action Review/Debrief

Event:________________________________

Date:_______________

What happened?

Describe the event and actions that took place during the event.

What was supposed to happen?

Describe what the event and actions that were supposed to happen during the event.

What went right?

Describe the events and actions that went according to plan.

What went wrong?

Describe the events and actions that didn’t go according to plan.

What did we learn?

What lessons can we take away from this event so that we can improve next time?