Life Isn't Single-Elimination

"All-or-none" deals are crazy. I love the NCAA basketball tournament for that reason. Boise State and TCU football are pretty much in the same boat. Lose once and you're done.

A team could have a great season but lose one game, the wrong game, and there's no way to recover. If it's in the basketball tournament then the season is over. If TCU would have lost to Oregon State or Boise State lost to Va Tech, their season's wouldn't be over but there's no way they'd get to play for the national championship at the end of the year. They'll still get a good bowl game, but not THE bowl game.

Life just isn't that way in too many other arenas. One bad day. One mess up. One weak moment and you're done; for life. It happens enough to scare us. Drink and drive once and life might end. Unprotected sex once and she might get pregnant thus drastically altering the course of your life.

Even the most drastic circumstances, and their systemic consequeces usually can be recovered from. Grace covers just about everything. There's only one sin that can't be forgiven, unbelief. Our bodies heal. Relationships can be restored. Emotions can moderate and get back to normal.

So, are we looking for only perfect men to be elders? If that were the case Jesus wouldn't have assigned us the task of being his witnesses and continuing the work. Either he wouldn't have left or he'd have assigned the job to another species.

So, then, are we looking for a bunch of screw ups to lead? Well, there's an interesting over-reaction. Since nobody's perfect can we expect men to live their lives somewhere well above the bottom level of performance?

Absolutely!

Elders are to be chosen from a group of men who, though are not perfect, maintain a lifestyle of holiness and an attitude of humility at least a little better than the rest. These are men who mess up from time to time but apologize and make it right soon after conviction. These are men who don't mess up as often. These are men of integrity and character. Their public persona matches their private activities. These are men who have a picture in their mind of what God is calling them to be, their family to be and their church. They don't over-react. They don't under-react. They communicate well.

I'm just glad God doesn't deal with us on a "one-loss-and-done" basis. I'd have been done a long time ago. Grace is good.