are you like other people?

while in a staff meeting at church this week, the question came up, "do other churches do things this way?" we kicked around some ideas and theories, but the conversation moved on quickly and we didn't really give it another thought.
well, actually, i have given it another thought--and a third thought--and i think i might be about 3 degrees south of "consumed" by it. well, let me clarify that there is a lot of things on my plate right now and so i haven't given it tons of thought, but when my brain finds a spare minute, i've pondered the question.
it seems that deeper, broader questions are at the root. are we like other people? how do we compare ourselves? is there an ultimate standard for measuring the human condition? and in the realm of humans comparing, we go way back to cain & able (if not all the way back to thier parents).
here's what i've concluded so far (so you can compare your answers to mine)

• to the initial question, i don't think it matters if we are functioning like other churches. i fully believe we are functioning within the Spirit's will and with the Father's blessing. i believe strongly that we are abiding by Scripture and we are being blessed because of it. there are certain things in this life that just don't have to be exactly the same. that's the dynamic of teamwork. we all have different gifts in different proportions, so obviously, the dynamic is different. i compare it to marriage: rhonda and i have a system that works for us. we assume the biblical roles for husbands/fathers and wifes/mothers. but, within that framework, we have our gifts and passions and talents and skills that give us a balance within our home. it works for us. but, if john and jane doe tried to do things exactly like us, one of two things would happen: a divorce or a death (murder or suicide).
• but, at the same time, some comparisons, some standards need to be made. when we look to the example of Christ, we need to do more than recognize the standard, we need to live up to the standard. Christ was fully human (and fully divine) and He was sinless. therefore, we see a standard that a human can live sinlessly. i know that the Bible says "all have sinned", but that doesn't meen we have to stay in sin. we have free will and we can always choose the right things; we can always choose to not sin. we need this comparison--we need to compare ourselves to it and then work to bring ourselves us to it.

that's all i got for now. i'll keep pondering it as my mind has moments to ponder. if you have thoughts, post a comment. i'm sure this issue is far from over in my brain.