Today I decided to revisit the whole “Confessions of a Bad Christian” blog title. I periodically receive an email that asks something like this. “Why do you call your blog ‘Confessions of a Bad Christian’? Do you really think you are a bad Christian?” And my answer is always something like this. Yeah.  Sometimes I am. Sometimes “badder” than on other days. The blog heading of “Confessions of a Bad Christian” started out as a bit of a joke. It was based on the title of my first book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. But I will tell you that I have grown attached to the title of this blog. I have come to grips with the truth that I can, in fact, be a bad Christian. And that is the point of the title. It is a daily reminder to me that I am capable of thoughts and actions that do not reflect Jesus. I have found that the realization that I can be
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Today I am reposting the most highly rated post that I have ever written about rodents. This is also the only article I have written about rodents… but the truth of sentence one is unchanged. Gritty rats and mice living in sewers and farms seem to have healthier immune systems than their squeaky clean cousins that frolic in cushy antiseptic labs according to recent studies. The lesson for humans: Clean living may make us sick. That was the AP story that caught my attention. And I pondered the odd theory that these disgusting rodents may offer a clue to ineffectual Christian living as well. Let us explore. Associated Press Science writer Seth Borenstein writes about the recent research. The studies give more weight to a 17-year-old theory that the sanitized Western world may be partly to blame for soaring rates of human allergy and asthma cases and some autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The theory, called the hygiene hypothesis, figures that
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This has been a tough month for those living with cancer and those who live with them. The recurrence of cancer for White House spokesman Tony Snow and political wife Elizabeth Edwards has been sobering to say the least. Those voices that I wrote about a few days ago start trying to get your attention. It is easy to despair. But God is sovereign. He sent me a postcard of encouragement this week. His name is Ed. Ed is one of those friends that you don’t see for years and when you get together you pick up right where you left off. He is in town this week and we are hanging out, laughing, debating, laughing, and enjoying every minute. Regular readers of these ramblings might remember a reference to some Ed guy in previous posts. Move to the head of the class. I asked you to pray for him and wife Judy in October of last year. There was fear that Ed’s
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I started a series on not becoming a victim recently excerpted from my book “Bring’em Back Alive – A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church”. I took a break from that series last week but I thought I had better not leave any potential victims hanging. So here is the last installment in this series. In the Christian walk hurts are inevitable. Feeling like a victim and deciding to stay there really is optional. The Apostle Paul was a pretty fair theologian and was hand picked to spread the message of Christ. He was not able to avoid trouble and hurts. To the church of Corinth he wrote, “As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses.” 2 Cor 6:4  Doesn’t sound like the type of message that would lead to a successful televangelist career. Paul obviously encountered difficulties in his walk with Jesus and he related his appreciation for
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I started a series on not becoming a victim recently excerpted from my book “Bring’em Back Alive – A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church”. I took a break from that series last week but I thought I had better not leave any potential victims hanging. So here is the next installment. Blessings, Dave All of this leads to a hard truth that I am unable to avoid. It is incredibly easy to embrace victimhood when we are hurt. It is even more problematic when we are wounded and we are sure in our hearts that we have done nothing to deserve such treatment. In the last chapter we saw how Jesus asked the blind beggar what he wanted from Him. In the gospel of John we see another example of how Christ asked a seeker to make a decision to leave his woundedness behind, knowing that he could never again fall back on that as his identity.  Soon
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Last weekend the striking Mrs. Burchett accompanied me on a speaking engagement in Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent a few days at a cabin in Pigeon Forge and did the tourist thing. One of the highlights took me by surprise. My bride loves pottery so one of my “sacrificial” ways to love her is to accompany her to pottery shops. Guys refer to that as “hitting behind the runner” or “taking the charge”. We stopped by a local shop called Alewine Pottery and I was immediately fascinated by the open work area. There was the owner making vases and pots right before my eyes. Behind me were shelves of the finished products – colorful and beautiful and functional. I watched him take a nondescript piece of clay and skillfully make an unique and beautiful creation. The verse from Isaiah came to mind. O Lord, you are our Father.       We are the clay, and you are the potter.       We all are formed by your
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I have always longed for a more distinct appellation. A more colorful moniker. A memorable sobriquet. Instead I am named Dave. I share my very original name with 3,553,128 other citizens of this great country according to the website howmanyofme.com. My name is the 7th most common male first name in America. Los Angeles has a population of about 3.8 million so you could populate about 94 percent of LA with Daves and Davids. I looked throughout history and I saw many distinctive names that I considered for my upgraded cognomen. I am envious of the title given to Diogenes. The philosopher was known as Diogenes the Cynic. My wife quickly vetoed “Dave the Sarcastic” since that is one of my gifts that she is trying to downsize. Some of the names in history were powerful. William the Conquerer and Richard the Lionheart conjure up images of strong and courageous leaders. Some names would not make the hearer real comfortable. “I would
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