Wow, I look on the blog and see that it’s been almost one YEAR since I last did anything related to this blog.  Crazy how time gets away from you.  And for me, crazy how the urge to write comes and goes.  I feel it tonight though and want to share.  You see, tonight I went to the Cole County CharacterPlus Kickoff event held at the Miller Center here in Jefferson City.  Dan Westhues, Ryan Freeman, and Gara Loskill did a great job spearheading the effort to draw all of Cole County into the effort and 12 values were selected that we are going to focus on in Cole County schools over the next 12 months.

It was amazing to see how many people came out to support the effort.  It was amazing to see our community come together.  And I was proud to be a part of it and I am happy to support it (even if the word I defined didn’t get picked ).  It is a great thing that so many people care that our students turn into men and women of character.  It is refreshing to understand that we all have a stake in this.  It is nice to be a part of a community that would care to do this.

I only want to add one thing.  And this is the moment where everyone in the room goes “of course a pastor has to preach”.  You see, we can turn out responsible, respectful, polite, compassionate, kind self-disciplined, trustworthy, honest, dependable, hardworking, motivated, accountable, forgiving, and integrity-filled students.  And a person who fits that description is a good person.  It’s a good thing to shoot to produce that kind of person.   It is a commendable goal to strive for.

But as a pastor, I say to all of those students that if they display those things that’s great.  They are a person of character.  But when you stand before God, I plead with you not to TRUST in those character traits to justify you before God.  There is one notable character-flaw in all of us.  Sin.  And it trumps all the 12 positive character traits we are teaching you.  And when you stand before God, and He asks you why you should be allowed to spend eternity with Him - I plead with you not to make your answer “because I was a person of character“.  No matter how well you master these 12 characteristics.  No matter how good of a person you are, there is one, and only one, answer to your greatest character flaw.

The Cross.

And it was on that cross that your greatest character flaw was dealt with.  And it is that cross by which we are justified before God.

I stand in unison with all of the sentiments expressed at tonight’s event and am truly thankful that God is at work in our city and in the people of this city’s collective hearts.  What I have said contradicts none of it.  I say what I say merely to say “I would only add one thing”.

I can’t wait to see those banners!