April 20, 2012 Many people have had great influence on my Christian life. One person who has had a tremendous impact on my Christian growth I had never met until fairly recently. The books and writings of Carl George have blessed me for years. In November of 2008 I had the pleasure of meeting him. As we talked and shared the thing that most impressed me was not his intellect (though he has a Ph.D.) nor his knowledge of church growth and consulting (he has probably forgotten more on either subject than I will ever know) but his passion for Christ. His eyes sparkled and danced any time he spoke about Christ or heard another speak about Christ. In his presence his charisma and passion for Christ were palatable. One of the greatest lessons which Carl taught me is that as a Christian I am to develop “fully indictable committed Christians” in my ministry. This is exactly what Jesus did. His disciples were “fully indictable committed Christians.” Listen to what the Sanhedrin council said about Peter and John after they had examined them. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (ESV) Were your Christian faith examined by a council, board or court, could you, would you be indictable? Could you be convicted of being a committed Christian? Would they find you guilty of being a casual Christian (some would argue that a casual Christian is no Christian at all), or would you be acquitted of being a Christian at all? What would Jesus have to say about your practice of Christianity? One day those who are His will hear him say Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21b (KJV) Living so that you may hear this statement from Jesus should be the central focus and most important goal in your life. If hearing this statement from Christ is your life’s ambition then it will effect your priorities and passions. What is most precious to you? If we are honest there are many things which we have placed before our passion for Christ. Each of these competing distractions are idols and must be cast aside.