Last week, we began this blog series on the S.E.R.V.E. team by looking at the first letter of the acrostic "S" which stands for Spiritual Maturity in Christ. Today, we will examine the next letter, "E": Excellence in Service.

There is one fast food restaurant that has set the golden standard for customer service. You probably already know what company I am referring to. Here is a dead giveaway: "My pleasure." That's right. It's none another than Chick-fil-A. From the way they prepare your food, to how they greet you in the drive-thru line, even to how they will accommodate your requests for more sauce packets, everything about their service screams excellence.  

But we have an even better example of excellence...actually the best example, and that is God Himself. From creating the world to redeeming us from sin and everything in between, our God does all things well (Mark 7:37)! And we want to reflect the excellence of our God in how we serve. Serving in an excellent way is comprised of at least three elements - elements we must pursue and acquire: 

1. Knowledge - Learning how the Holy Spirit has gifted us to serve the church and/or the needs of the church that we are able to meet.  

2. Training - Sitting under the coaching and expertise of someone who is more skilled and experienced in a gift or ministry than we are. 

3. Feedback - Receiving constructive criticism on how we can get better at our gift or acts of service. 

In addition to all of this, we must remember that to be excellent in service calls for us to be excellent in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).

God the Father gave us His best in His Son, Jesus, for our salvation. In gratitude, we should in turn give our best in service to Him and His church.