Most of the world insisted on excellence; that's how you succeeded in life. But the church was content with mediocrity. Individual Christians weren't necessarily content with mediocrity, of course; in their particular jobs, they could be just as outstanding as their peers. But in a grace-filled church arena-in ministry, music, literature, and the pursuit of understanding-there seemed to be an unwritten rule that whatever we do in the name of the Lord is good enough, even when it isn't our best.