--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but…" description: "\"“We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but often accept mediocrity in our souls.”\" — Barna Group" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg" --- # We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but often accept… ![“We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but often accept mediocrity in our souls.” quote by Barna Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg) > ““We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but often accept mediocrity in our souls.”” [Barna Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barna-group/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We expect high spiritual insight from religious leaders, yet accept mediocrity within ourselves. **In simple terms:** Expecting brilliance, tolerating mediocrity. Key Takeaway Seek personal spiritual growth. Themes spirituality expectations self‑critique humility Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice observation When to use this quote - church life - personal meditation - self‑reflection - leadership Key Concepts religion personal development psychology Questions to Reflect On - What standards do you hold for yourself? - How to balance expectations and acceptance? A Different Perspective Self‑criticism can be harsh. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-mediocrity-1669147/) [Brilliance Pulpit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance-pulpit-4010640/) [Mediocrity Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity-souls-4010641/) [Pulpit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulpit/) [Pulpit Accept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulpit-accept-4010642/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [The way that I am now, I don't want to accept mediocrity. I don't want to accept the easy road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-nichols/the-way-that-i-am-now-i-don-t-want-to-accept-mediocrity-i-don-t-want/) [Joe Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-nichols/) > [We shouldn't accept mediocrity as the best a politician can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manchin/we-shouldn-t-accept-mediocrity-as-the-best-a-politician-can-do/) [Joe Manchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manchin/) > [“He had not even the self-complacency that enables stupid people to accept their mediocrity with unction; he had on the contrary an engaging modesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maugham-w-somerset-william-somerset/he-had-not-even-the-self-complacency-that-enables-stupid-people-to/) [Maugham W. Somerset (William Somerset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maugham-w-somerset-william-somerset/) > [Let the fear of being average push you to a status above the average fear. Refuse to accept mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-the-fear-of-being-average-push-you-to-a-status-above-the-average/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Men of the cloth live in this monologue, it is their due: nobody talks back to a pulpit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-sinclair/men-of-the-cloth-live-in-this-monologue-it-is-their-due-nobody-talks/) [Iain Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-sinclair/) > [“What could be more full of meaning?—for the pulpit is ever this earth's foremost part; all the rest come in its rear; the pulpit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/what-could-be-more-full-of-meaning-for-the-pulpit-is-ever-this-earth/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [If a preacher is not first preaching to himself, better that he falls on the steps of the pulpit and breaks his neck than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/if-a-preacher-is-not-first-preaching-to-himself-better-that-he-falls/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The Negroes of America had taken the President, the press and the pulpit at their word when they spoke in broad terms of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negroes-of-america-had-taken-the-president-the-press-and-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The pulpit only "teaches" to be honest; the market-place "trains" to overreaching and fraud; and teaching has not a tithe of the efficiency of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-pulpit-only-teaches-to-be-honest-the-market-place-trains-to/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/it-won-t-ruin-our-movement-if-someone-gets-killed-in-an-animal-rights/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon/my-hope-arises-from-the-freeness-of-grace-and-not-from-the-freedom-of/) [Charles Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon/) > [The humble were the elect of God. Did not the priests teach so, in their gemmed, kingly robes, from their towering pulpits?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/the-humble-were-the-elect-of-god-did-not-the-priests-teach-so-in/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [Preaching is fire in the pulpit that melts the ice in the pew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/preaching-is-fire-in-the-pulpit-that-melts-the-ice-in-the-pew/) [Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/) > [Poetry and preaching do not go well together; when the preacher mounts the pulpit the poet usually goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/poetry-and-preaching-do-not-go-well-together-when-the-preacher-mounts/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) ## More by Barna Group > [“when we expect the church to entertain us, it limits the church’s ability to challenge us. Entertainment rarely transforms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barna-group/when-we-expect-the-church-to-entertain-us-it-limits-the-church-s/) [Barna Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barna-group/) [Explore all 2 Barna Group quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barna-group/) ## More Pulpit quotes > [Poetry and preaching do not go well together; when the preacher mounts the pulpit the poet usually goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-hamilton/poetry-and-preaching-do-not-go-well-together-when-the-preacher-mounts/) [Edith Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-hamilton/) > [Preaching is fire in the pulpit that melts the ice in the pew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/preaching-is-fire-in-the-pulpit-that-melts-the-ice-in-the-pew/) [Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/) > [The humble were the elect of God. Did not the priests teach so, in their gemmed, kingly robes, from their towering pulpits?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/the-humble-were-the-elect-of-god-did-not-the-priests-teach-so-in/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon/my-hope-arises-from-the-freeness-of-grace-and-not-from-the-freedom-of/) [Charles Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon/) > [It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/it-won-t-ruin-our-movement-if-someone-gets-killed-in-an-animal-rights/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [The pulpit only "teaches" to be honest; the market-place "trains" to overreaching and fraud; and teaching has not a tithe of the efficiency of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-pulpit-only-teaches-to-be-honest-the-market-place-trains-to/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The Negroes of America had taken the President, the press and the pulpit at their word when they spoke in broad terms of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negroes-of-america-had-taken-the-president-the-press-and-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [If a preacher is not first preaching to himself, better that he falls on the steps of the pulpit and breaks his neck than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/if-a-preacher-is-not-first-preaching-to-himself-better-that-he-falls/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“What could be more full of meaning?—for the pulpit is ever this earth's foremost part; all the rest come in its rear; the pulpit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/what-could-be-more-full-of-meaning-for-the-pulpit-is-ever-this-earth/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Men of the cloth live in this monologue, it is their due: nobody talks back to a pulpit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-sinclair/men-of-the-cloth-live-in-this-monologue-it-is-their-due-nobody-talks/) [Iain Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-sinclair/) > [Some people do not like to hear much of repentance; but I think it is so necessary that if I should die in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/some-people-do-not-like-to-hear-much-of-repentance-but-i-think-it-is/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Perhaps the chief cause which has retarded the progress of poetry in America, is the want of that exclusive cultivation, which so noble a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/perhaps-the-chief-cause-which-has-retarded-the-progress-of-poetry-in/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [If science exterminates a disease which has been working for God, it is God that gets the credit and all the pulpits break into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-science-exterminates-a-disease-which-has-been-working-for-god-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ “There exists indeed an opposition to it \[ building of UVA, Jefferson's secular college \] by the friends of William and Mary, which is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-exists-indeed-an-opposition-to-it-building-of-uva-jefferson-s/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 243 Pulpit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulpit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but often accept mediocrity in our souls.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barna Group" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barna-group/we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but-often-accept-mediocrity-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pulpit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barna-group/we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but-often-accept-mediocrity-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c8/barna-group-110058_pulpit_we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but_461876.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We expect brilliance from the pulpit, but often accept mediocrity in our souls.” — Barna Group", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barna Group", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barna-group/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We expect brilliance from the pulpit,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barna-group/we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but-often-accept-mediocrity-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barna-group/we-expect-brilliance-from-the-pulpit-but-often-accept-mediocrity-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```