In the past three weeks I have traveled to two different Lutheran schools in Kansas and served on their National Lutheran School's accreditation team.  Though each experience was different, the commitment I witnessed of providing a Christian education for children, and a faculty and staff working together as they grow in God's love and build a community relationship with each other, was a shared joy.

What is accreditation?  It is a process of self-evaluation based on national standards that helps a school to improve in eleven areas.  Accreditation helps preschools, elementary, and high schools evaluate not only their academic quality, but especially the spiritual dimension of the school.  It provides accountability to the community, constituents, and congregations and gives evidence of professionalism by the school and its staff.  It is a thorough process that involves a variety of different stakeholders to make recommendations on each of the various standards.  

As the stakeholders look at the different National Lutheran School Accreditation standards, they are asked to rank the 187 statements in one of four ways:  Met in Full, Mostly Met, Rarely Met, or Not Presently Met.  It is a strenuous process, one that takes normally eight to twelve months to complete, but is worth the time and effort as the educational setting seeks to improve the different components of the school.

Should Christians undergo an accrediting process?  If each of us were to take time to reflect on the thoughts, words, and deeds of our day-to-day life, what would we see?  How would we rank ourselves using the above scale in regards to any of the standards set forth in the Ten Commandments?  

Have you placed anything above God, such as trusting or loving someone or something more than Him so far today?  Has the priority of a job, an assignment, sleep, or a sporting event pushed time with your Heavenly Father aside?  Are you content with what your Creator has given you and assisted someone as you share those blessings?

I am never able to rank my merits before God at the highest level.   His standards are high, and He realizes that I will never totally meet them in full.  Because He saw my human frailty He sent His son, Jesus. Through the shedding of Jesus' blood, my sinful pride, the daily mistakes, the imperfections that cause me to not meet the standards set before me have been washed away.  And it is the same for you!  Because Jesus perfectly met the standard God set before me, I want to live each day and every hour of my life for Him.  

Lutheran schools and other schools throughout the country seek accreditation because they recognize that a standard is needed in order to communicate to parents that the education program offered is one of quality.  God set before us standards because He recognized that the people of His creation needed guidelines as we express our love to God and our neighbor.  How thankful I am that through Christ's death and resurrection, I have been "fully met" in God's eyes!

Enjoying the ride,