Can Perfection Be Obtained?

Education Nation is all over the news. The rumor is that we have a problem with our education system in America and therefore a summit has been put on to see if the problem can be resolved. We want a perfect education system.

I have two boys in the current education system and they are doing well. The two of them make decent grades and they both handle themselves very well when dealing with others. They even deal with stressful situations in a very healthy way. But they are not perfect and I am glad. Some parents want perfect kids.

What is our definition of perfect? Many would say a perfect student is one that maintains a 4.0 grade point average since kindergarden. Another would say that perfection would be seen in a student that has the 4.0 GPA, an athlete, comedian, great debater, in ROTC, dresses well, has perfect hair, and serves meals to the homeless. Oh, and he or she is involved in a religious organization. Many want perfect students.

Just recently I was in a funny discussion about what congregations want in a pastor. We were saying that the perfect pastor must be a male, married, 2.3 children, good looking, athletic, funny, in late twenties, and have forty years of experience. On top of all that he must never offend any congregant. The perfect pastor looks different to each person, therefore their could be many more criteria added to the list. Many want to have the perfect pastor.

What does the perfect church look like? Thom Rainer and Ed Stetzer have released a book entitled Transformational Church. They have surveyed over 7,000 churches and interviewed over 250 pastors in order to gather data to see what churches out there are doing that is making a difference in peoples lives. They have realized that a new score card for churches exist and it does not match the grade card of the past. The perfect church is different for each individual, but most of the grading scale of the past depended on number or people, square footage, and budgets. The larger the better. Many want the perfect church.

Can perfection be obtained in our students, pastors, and churches? We all want to strive for perfection but it is very difficult to define perfection with so many different perspectives.

There is one perfect perspective that comes from a perfect creator. When we read God's word we see that all of His plans worked out perfectly for His glory and each time the plans were out of this world. We continue to find that no one would plan for Moses to become the leader of God's people in the manner in which he did. No one would plan for Joseph to go through what he went through in order to become the most powerful man in Egypt. Which in turn was the salvation of God's people. People thought Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman empire in order to save God's people. God's plans are perfect.

Can perfection be obtained? Yes. Perfection is obtained when God's will is done and He gets all of the glory. So, what are we doing to achieve perfection? We can conclude that dealing with man's plan will not achieve perfection.

Is God the center of the Education Nation summit? Is God the center of our students lives? Is God's will what we all are seeking for a pastor? Is the church seeking God's will?

I am reconciled with God and that is perfect. I am still a sinner and not perfect, but I want God's perfect will for my life, my wife, my children, my family, my church family, my community, and the world.

When Christ returns He will set up His perfect kingdom here on earth. You can be apart of that kingdom if you will pray to God and admit you are a sinner. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins. Believe that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for you sins and follow God's plan by serving Him, not man. Get involved in a Bible believing church where you can work out your salvation with a body of imperfect, forgiven people. Nothing is more perfect in the world than being a child of the king.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

"Can't we all just get along?" That is a quote that was famous a few years back when a young man was interviewed after being beaten by police. This phrase came to my mind as the recent news of Dr. Terry Jones wanted to burn some books. My mind also flashes back through history as I think of all of the book burnings that Martin Luther was dealing with in his time. We all can remember the book burning in the movie Footloose. If we are scared of it then we need to destroy it, suppress it, or run from it. The black man that was beaten in Los Angeles asked if everyone couldn't just get along and I want to ask if Christians can't just get along with those that do not know or understand the truth and even get along with each other.

Islam is a religion of peace. They base their religion on five principles or pillars. Followers must (1) profess Allah as the only one to worship and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (2) Pray (3) Give (4) make pilgrimage to house of Allah once in life (5) and fast. It is obvious that Islam is not Christianity and they do not believe that Jesus is God, but they do not have any pillars that seem to be violent.

Islam has some zealots just like Christianity has zealots. There are many times that I have put myself in the same category as Peter when Jesus put him in his place. Peter is the one that cut the ear off of the soldier that was taking Jesus into custody.

Dr. Jones was wanting to make a statement that he and his church love God and this country and they want to do what they can to stamp out anything that is an attack on either. We must give the church in Gainesville some love as they try to recover from this outburst and we must show the love to the Muslims as they deal with the effects.

The Jesus I follow is about the LOVE.

We can get along. Share the gospel with a Muslim.

We didn't even touch on Christians getting along with one another.

Wouldn't it be great?

BE QUIET

Worship this Sunday was unique in that I had to come up with some filler due to some technical difficulties. Some how the CD player got disconnected in the sound booth and there was a little time that the service was simply sitting in total silence. Of course, you're thinking like everyone else. The pastor needs to get up and do something. I did eventually get up and provide some filler, but the silence I let envelope the service. Many of us would call it awkward silence.

It is amazing how we can think that the silence would mess up the service or that the silence was not in the bulletin and therefore no one would know that the silence was coming. Some would think the entire service was a disaster. I tell you that the service went great and that silence was a great segment of the worship service. We are so tied up in society with everything being fast and furious. Information flying and fast food is not fast enough. Television is even set up to have no pauses in order to keep our attention. Silence is a great thing and silence in worship is an act of worship in itself.

Jesus was teaching the Pharisees in Luke 11 that they were so caught up in the prestige that they were missing out on the main thing. He told them that they were more caught up on the idea of where they stand in the synagogue than they were caught up on worship.

May we not ever get caught up on how the service is supposed to go every Sunday. May we not focus what is on the outside, but let us focus on worship. The pharisees where mad at Jesus because he didn't wash his hands before he ate. Like Jesus needs to wash his hands to do anything. May we not get caught up on the process, but let us be caught up on the greatness of the God who loves us.

I got up and broke the awkward silence by speaking on the blessing of awkward silence in our lives. BE QUIET TODAY and read Psalm 46:10 and Zechariah 2:13.

Put Down Da Roots

Jesus may not have anywhere to lay his head, but he provided us a house.

My family and I are now in a house after living in Chattanooga for a year and we are officially settling down in Chatt town. It is relieving and stressful all at the same time. The house needs a great deal of work and yet we now have space to not be on top of each other. Having a house frees our mind of thinking about getting one and yet our commitment level to the area has just gone up. We are no longer in an apartment where we can just get out of a lease and move on. We are committed to this area and when we get the house looking good we may have to be committed to a another facility because we may go insane.

It has been difficult moving around and being in transit for the past four years. It is difficult to do many things. Raising children is difficult. Balancing a family budget can be difficult. Running a business and even pastoring a church is very difficult. Jesus teaches in Luke 10 that it is very difficult to follow him. He actually spends time talking people out of following him. My family and I are here to testify that it is true. It is difficult to be committed to Christ, but we are having the time of our lives.

BJ and Brett are doing great in school. They are making numerous friends and building relationships that will last a lifetime. They are sharing their faith with numerous lost friends and BJ is filling up the pews on Sunday mornings. The boys are putting down da roots.

Karen is having a great time in her job. She is working hours that she loves and getting to develop some great relationships with many that don't know Jesus. She has been placed in a great position to help balance her family and her career. She is leading the youth bible study at church and leading a women's bible study every other week. Karen is putting down da roots.

As for me, things are going great also. The Holy Spirit is doing great things in my life. Things such as four people coming to be baptized, finding a house in the perfect location, getting to share my faith, and all the way down to us finding two lab puppies next to a garbage can. Every detail of my life is super duper. My personal relationship with God is more intimate than ever and I am having fun. I too am putting down da roots.

What now?