A perfect ending... to eighteen years on staff at Northside. First of all, my Mom (Dixie), my sister (Heidi) and niece (Emily) drove all the way from Tulsa, OK to be here for this celebration.

My last official act as a Northside staffer was to baptize my friend Andy Deo. What an incredible testimony this man shares. We quickly reminisced over the last 18 months about him coming to understand his own identity in Christ. Having his boys, Ben and Nick, looking over the glass into the baptistery was a special moment.

My friends at Northside planned the perfect party for my exit. It was all about baseball! It started with the National Anthem and my mom throwing out the first pitch. There was plenty of food (brats, sausage & dogs, cotton candy, nachos and of course Cracker Jacks). We split up teams and played some good ole boy softball.

One of the cool things they did was produce a set of "Rusty Kennedy" baseball cards and t-shirts. So the whole field was full of fun, food and memories. It was great to hang out with friends and family (some that I hadn't seen for quite some time). What had been forecasted as a chance of thunderstorms turned out to be a perfect day of weather with bright sunshine and a cool 75 degrees.

Perfect... That is a word that drives many. For others, it is unfathomable. It is an adjective that can be good or bad depending on the noun. It is a description that I have come to embrace about myself. It is not my opinion. It is clearly stated in the Word of God. Have you ever considered yourself perfect? If you know Jesus as your Savior... God views you as perfect! Oh my! That is greater news than any perfect party!

Coming to the understanding of perfection in Jesus could cause others to view that as an arrogant claim. Absolutely NOT! It is because of my weakness that Jesus' grace makes me perfect. Once again, it is nothing that I have done but everything God did.

It was perfect... It is perfect... It is finished.

Rusty

Leavener... it's a change agent. If I have chosen to name this ministry Leavener, then I most likely embrace the opportunity for change. But at the same time I am a loyalist. (i.e., I have served Jesus at Northside for the past 18 years and I am even still a Dallas Cowboy fan post-Landry era). So, as much as I respect loyalty and commitment, I also look forward to change and being on the cutting edge. Oh yeah... I even carry a picture of Michelle and me from when we were in high school (25 years ago)... ask me... I'll show it to you... We have changed a little!

Some people have referred to this new adventure in ministry as the biggest change in my life. I cannot agree with that statement. It was about seven years ago that I learned the greatest change in my life occurred when I was eight years old. That means it took me 27 years to come to that conclusion. You may be thinking I am a slow learner. No, I was a loyalist who didn't want to change my mind. I was churning out my life and ministry but never reaching my desires. Nothing was ever good enough... including myself.

It was about seven years ago that I realized the change God made through His Son that caused me to be changed when I was eight years old. Get this... In Acts, Stephen was accused of proclaiming that Jesus will change the customs that came from Moses. Thank God for that change. You see, it was that very change in God's plan that allowed me as a child to die from the law and be free as a child of God. The problem is, I never understood that change until seven years ago. I was a freebird who lived my life under many restrictions and yet, never knew it! I repeatedly tried to be the best I could be and would always fall short of even my own expectations (not to mention many other's expectations). It was at that point of understanding that I no longer felt the pressure of what other people thought about me or the things I was doing. God's Spirit changed my heart and allowed this truth (Romans 2:28-29) to be discovered. I will never be the same. I have been changed.

I truly believe this misunderstanding of the truth that I lived under for 27 years is prevelant in today's church. It is the evil one's way of keeping children of God bound up and even non-believers wanting nothing to do with Jesus. It has been that way for a long time. Even Paul tells the church in Rome they don't have to be bound up and fearful. They have the ability to see God as their "Daddy". It doesn't get any better than that. Truth that changes lives. It absolutely has changed mine and I can't do anything but be loyal to that transformation.

I don't want to hear any comments about that picture... I've changed!

Rusty