My husband, an educator and fierce advocate for students, recently suggested we apply No Child Left Behind principles to other professions.  We ended up jokingly deciding that perhaps pastors should measure their success not by number of congregants but by whether or not they had achieved zero percent sin rate among their membership.  Sadly, some Christians already seem to be taking this idea seriously.

It never ceases to amaze me the rampant legalism among conservative Christians.  I certainly don't doubt their sincerity of belief; but I question whether, for many people, believing means much more than "not sinning."  Too often I hear people trying to equate loving our neighbors as no more than being polite when people irritate us.  Purity (in word and deed) trumps all else as the measure of holiness.  Reaching out is achieved by talking to anyone and everyone about our faith (the hairdresser, the grocery clerk, the nurse in the doctor's office).  Helping those in need becomes little other than participating in holiday food and gift basket collections.

None of those things are bad.  But they fall a little flat.  I wonder if we've forgotten that being a faithful Christian is more than a list of things we're no longer supposed to do, a Personal Purity Inventory of sorts.  In order to show the world that you are a true disciple of Christ, you make regular tick marks on your PPI, thus demonstrating how far you've come from your days as a depraved sinner.

The result of that is a bunch of people who freak out over trick-or-treating, Santa Claus, and sex, (not necessarily in that order), while failing to see the very real horrors all around us.  For example, on Halloween this year, Mark Hall of Casting Crowns posted a picture of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150463031618793&amp;set=a.432381688792.209583.48842713792&amp;type=1">himself in an Incredible Hulk Costume</a>.  The end result was miles and miles of comments, attacking Mark for his costume, attacking others for attacking him, and supporting Mark.  I think my favorite response to it was his own: "Last night, I learned everyone has a whale to save."  Why not put that same effort into achieving peace between nations, ending poverty, and preserving our natural world?

Maybe it's time all of us put more of ourselves into what really matters.  Because when we do, we will almost certainly achieve No Sinner Left Behind.