Yesterday I had the joy of driving from scenic Garland, Texas to every bit as scenic Waco, Texas. Despite the mindboggling beauty of the I-35 transit I was able to get in some iPod time on the way. One song that struck me on the journey was a recent Grammy Award winner. The artist is John Mayer and he won a statue for Best Male Vocal Pop Performance with a song called “Waiting on the World to Change”.  The song is written as an explanation of sorts for the apathy displayed by many of Mayer’s generation toward political and social activism. The song is powerful and, to me, a bit depressing. Me and all my friends We’re all misunderstood They say we stand for nothing and There’s no way we ever could Now we see everything that’s going wrong With the world and those who lead it We just feel like we don’t have the means To rise above and beat
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Some days are too busy to write. So if I may paraphrase the classis bit from Johnny Carson… “I have in my hand some earlier posts, a child of four can plainly see these posts are hermetically sealed. They’ve been kept since noon today in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnalls’ porch. No one-but one -knows the contents.”  With no further ado we open the seal to one of these earlier posts. Hope you enjoy. Dave I used to be terrified by Dracula when I was a kid. Bela Lugosi played the Transylvania terror and I did not sleep well for many nights after seeing that movie. The standard defense methods against a vampire were generally not available to an eight year old kid. I did not have any silver bullets, did not possess a crucifix, was too chicken to think about the wooden stake, and could not figure out an excuse to put garlic on the shopping list. So I hunkered down
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There was a little saying that I have heard all of my life. If you can’t say something nice about them…then don’t say anything. Had I practiced that very wise advice I would have had many more “quiet times” in my life. I have not always practiced that simple principle even though I have read and nodded solemnly in agreement as I read James and Paul warn of the dangers of gossip and an uncontrolled tongue.  Whether you call it venting or sharing it is always perilously close to gossiping. That is one of those “fine line” challenges. Like Dave Barry’s quote that “there’s a fine line between ‘hobby’ and ‘mental illness’.” I would submit that there is a fine line between venting/sharing and gossip. Gossip is one of the favorite tools that Satan has in his toolbox. Brooklyn Tabernacle takes gossip very seriously. New members hear this charge as they become members of the church.  And now, I charge you, as pastor
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I have tried to avoid the whole Anna Nicole Smith tragedy that is dominating so much of TV “news”. But an ancillary story caught my eye. The article in the Dallas Morning News was titled “Smith joins ranks of Playmates dead before 50“.  Apparently a disproportionate number of women who have posed in Playboy magazine have died tragically before the age of 50. Automobile accidents, drug overdoses, homicides, a plane crash — all have claimed the lives of Playmates. What caught my eye was a comment from a photographer for the magazine. “It’s sad how many girls we’ve lost,” said Peter Gowland, who photographed a number of centerfolds for Playboy in the 1950s and 60s. “It’s a curse to be beautiful,” Gowland said. No, Mr.Gowland, it is a gift to be beautiful. The curse is young women being exploited for their beauty by self-centered men. The curse is believing that your significance and value is found in being a object of lust for selfish men.
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Last weekend the striking Mrs.Burchett accompanied me to Nashville to visit eldest son and his lovely bride. We spent Saturday night with a few hundred of our closest friends enjoying a Valentine Concert with Ricky Skaggs and the Nashville Symphony. The venue was the spectacular new Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. This facility is one more reason to love Nashville and if you have a chance, check it out. What a beautiful hall and the acoustics are amazing! Ricky Skaggs was also amazing along with his band Kentucky Thunder. Ricky sells t-shirts that proclaim that “Bluegrass Rules” and he is spot on. If you have a pulse you will be tappin’ your foot during his music. But the song that stuck with me days later was not a toe-tappin’ bluegrass tune. It was a moving ballad that Skaggs sang as an encore. Perhaps the song resonated with me because of the recent journey that Joni and I have been traveling. The song is called
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I picked up USA Today today (that drives the grammar check crazy) and found a story about The Secret. What is The Secret? It is a controversial self-help book and DVD that claims to know the secret to happiness. Author Rhonda Byrne says the secret is the law of attraction. If you think positively you become a magnet that pulls everything you want toward you. Whether you want a new job, a million dollars, or a gorgeous girlfriend. I apparently need to reverse the polarity of my magnet because I tend to only pull dog hairs and dysfunctional people toward me. So I was intrigued. Especially when I discovered that The Secret carries this centuries’ version of the Good Housekeeping Seal…an endorsement from Oprah. Like she needs another million or a new job. Byrne is an Australian reality-TV producer who discovered “the secret” to obtaining everything you want through studying religious and philosophical texts. “Everyone has to have their own experience
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I have made many new friends through my one year association with the good folks at Crosswalk.com. I suspect that the cool redesign of the website will cause a few more to stumble into my cyberspace and ask the question that nearly everyone asks. “Who the heck is Dave Burchett?”  Because time is precious I have put together a linked list of the most popular articles I have written out of the over 300 times I have strode to the blog batter’s box and tried to connect with you, the reader. These are the ten most read blogs that I have posted with a brief excerpt from each one. Sample one or two or ten by clicking on the title and see if this is a spot that you will want to revisit. I hope it is. But most of all I hope you find grace and joy as you follow Jesus today. 10) You have been warned! I think
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