So what is the key to becoming more effective in service?

For me it is the simple concept of baby steps. I am not going to be where i want to be in just six weeks or after a twenty-one-step program or a three-point sermon. When I view where I am versus where I would like to be, I get discouraged. The old concept that the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step rings true with Christian growth. If I want to run a marathon, I must take take certain actions to accomplish my goal. If I only talk about running a marathon, I will last about a half a mile. If I go to seminars and absorb wisdom from the top runners in the world, I will still last about a half-mile. If i study the best journals about running and learn eveything there is to know about kinesiology, I will get about a half-mile into the race. Running a marathon involves getting up, getting out, and getting started. The first run may only be a few yards. Then you can run a mile, a couple of miles, then five, then ten and so on. it's a marathon, and you can't will yourself through discipline or even faith to finish without taking small steps first. There is no other way to go about it. (Lest anyone get confused, i am not advocating a works theology. i am advocating that growing in the faith does involve getting over the sin of inertia and getting the derriere moving.)

Don't worry about the size of the commitment. I have learned that when you venture out and do something, the rewards keep taking you back to it. The concept of receiving more than you give is never truer than when you serve others for Christ.

(by Dave Burchett, When bad Christians Happen to Good People)