There's a big misconception in church these days. It's that once someone starts coming and gets saved, they're supposed to be perfect from that point on. Without need of repair. Fixed. Never to sin again.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to work like that.

I remember having this conversation with my friend Nathan one day at baseball practice. We were stretching just before we did some drills and I said, "You know Nathan, I am saved, but I'm not saved."

He was really confused.

When someone first accepts Christ, they are "saved" from the power of hell and begin a journey toward following God. If the Lord were to come back on that day, I fully believe that person would be called with other believers.

But in a sense, that person isn't quite there yet. They aren't completely "saved" from the impact of their sin. It still has a hold on them. Paul the apostle wrote about his constant struggle to want to please God, but not really having the capability within himself t do it. He wasn't quite saved yet.

Neither are we.

We are saved, but we are in the process of being saved as well.

Why can't the church get that through her head?

This completely changes how we engage other Christians. We understand that people will mess up.

And you know, right now, the church (at least the churches I've been a part of) is incredibly stringent. If you make one mistake, you're not welcome. You're looked down upon. You should be ashamed. One strike and you're out.

So how do people respond? They put on a front! And how could we blame them? If they were really honest about their shortcomings, we'd kick them out or make them feel like idiots! They lose their opportunity to teach, they can't sing in the choir anymore, they can't be a deacon, they can't be an usher, they can't be a greeter, they can't go on visitation, they can't go on missions trips. 

The thing that really throws a wrench in all of this is there are actually very, very few people in church who don't have serious problems. Pastors look at porn. Deacons are dying of lung cancer. Women leaders have bitterness issues.

If this is the case, then we're all just full of crap then aren't we? What's the answer?

We've got to understand this one thing: You don't have to have it completely figured out yet. Really.

You should be getting there, so to speak. But you don't have to be there yet. No one is. We're all striving to get there, and we're all in this together. But you don't have to have it all figured out yet.

May we all accept each other in grace and humility, knowing none of us are perfect, and that those who are in Christ are striving to get there. Let's get rid of the fascade and create places where people can be honest about their journey.

Jacob