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Sarah Palin had a lot of lines that brought huge applause in her speech to the RNC. One of my favorite moments did not make a lot of the post speech highlights on the news. Her remarks about Trig and about advocacy for special needs children touched my heart. My wife devotes her career to helping special needs kids. And Palin’s remarks reminded me of an earlier post written in response to an email from our youngest son.

Brett had a big sister that he never knew. Katie was born with a terminal birth defect and died when Brett was just a baby. Yet he is aware of  the amazing impact of Katie’s short life. She would have been twenty-three in March. Her story is detailed in When Bad Christians Happen to Good People . Here is Brett’s note.

P.S.  Katie’s life affected a lot of people tonight when I shared her story after a guy was struggling with seeing God’s purpose for everything.  It also made me realize how valuable her life has been in sharing God’s word.  Think about the speeches you have given about her and the amount of people that have read about her in your books.  God works in amazing ways.

As I reflected on Brett’s note I remembered an article I had written about a man who has a very different view of lives like Katie’s and lives like Trip Palin. A couple of years ago the Dallas Morning News ran an op-ed feature called ‘10 ideas on the way out’. Here are excerpts from that post.

The subtitle of ’10 ideas on the way out’ confidently proclaimed that by 2040 many of the things we take for granted will no longer exist. I quickly scanned the list to see if major league baseball’s designated hitter would be an idea that would not endure. Sadly, that did not make the list. The list was a mixture of intriguing and frightening. According to these experts monogamy will be a quaint ideal from a less enlightened era and it will no longer be the norm. I am glad I will be dead before my wife finds that out. Another predicts the demise of the British Monarchy. But the one that rocked my world was seeing the number one item on the list was an article on the sanctity of life penned by a man named Peter Singer. I believe he is one of the most dangerous people on the planet. That seems like a pretty bold statement because he is a rather average looking academician at Princeton University. He is ironically the Chairman of the Ethics Department at Princeton and his ideas are widely accepted by those with bigger brains than you and me.

Let me quote some of Mr. Singer’s predictions for the future about the sanctity of life. My thoughts are italicized.

“During the next 35 years, the traditional view of the sanctity of human life will collapse under pressure from scientific, technological and demographic developments. By 2040, (here comes a good part) it may be may be that only a rump of hard-core, know-nothing religious fundamentalists will defend the view that every human life, from conception to death, is sacrosanct.”

Since there is a good chance I will have checked out by 2040 I am considering forming a secret organization to maintain the “rump” of hard-core, know-nothing religious fundamentalists. Let me know if you would like to be a charter member of the “Rumps of the Know-Nothings”. For Monty Python fans we will be the knights who say no, not ni. But in all seriousness, it is dismaying for Mr.Singer to dismiss all who believe in the sanctity of life as know nothings. I believe that Peter Singer knows a lot. He is a very smart man. I just believe he is wrong. Could he not extend at least that much courtesy to me and the other rumps? Continuing with Mr. Singer’s piece…

“When the traditional ethic of the sanctity of human life is proved indefensible at both the beginning and end of life, a new ethic will replace it. It will recognize that the concept of a person is distinct from that of a member of the species Homo sapiens, and that it is personhood, not species membership, that is most significant in determining when it is wrong to end a life.”

Who determines “personhood”? If it is always in the hands of the family you can get very different views. If it is in the hands of the government I shudder. Does a doctor determine “personhood”? I have had a very personal stake in this debate. Surprisingly, so does Peter Singer. More on that in a moment. Singer makes an interesting concession that may be the future argument about the beginning of life.

“We will understand that even if the life of a human organism (note the terminology) begins at conception, the life of a person – that is, at minimum, a being with some level of self-awareness – does not begin so early.”

My cynical side reacts that if we took out everyone without a level of self-awareness we would thin the herd significantly. But the tacit admission (sort of) that there is no other logical point except conception for the beginning of life is interesting. The argument now becomes the elusive point at which the “organism” achieves “personhood”. And that is a frightening judgment to make apart from some standard and the standard of personhood cannot be a shifting standard. (Know noting religious rump warning) I believe that personhood is not tied to utilitarian value to the culture. I believe personhood is a divinely ordained. Paul wrote this to the Galatians.

But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah wrote these words.

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.

Twenty three years ago a daughter was born into our family. We did not know that anything was wrong with her before the delivery. Katie was born with a birth defect that caused an absence of brain development. By Mr.Singer’s standards she was not a “person” because she could not achieve any level of self-awareness. According to Mr.Singer, Katie would have been a candidate to be aborted or euthanized after birth (yes, he has advocated that) because she had no potential for personhood. But the fourteen month life of Katie was an amazing blessing for our family. In retrospect I shudder at the prospect of aborting her life. Yet it might have seemed the right thing to do in the emotion of the moment. But my reaction to Katie’s life is just the emotional response of a religious rump…right? Let’s see what happens when Mr.Singer had to apply his theories to real life.

Peter Singer’s mother suffered from Alzeiheimers. By his own definition she did not have the measure of self-awareness that defines personhood. So how did Mr.Singer respond? Like a person who deep in his being believes in the dignity of life. He poured thousands of dollars into her care when there could be no return for the greater good of society. That money would be far better spent on those who have societal value and not just, as Mr. Singer described, possessing species membership. That is money wasted in Singer’s ultilitarian worldview.

Peter Singer addressed the dilemma. “I think this has made me see how the issues of someone with these kinds of problems are really very difficult. Perhaps it is more difficult than I thought before, because it’s different when it’s your mother.” When it became personal Singer’s ideas didn’t work so cleanly. Peter Singer’s mother had value and deserved to be cared for until her last natural breath. Our daughter had value and deserved the same. She was precious in our sight and in God’s sight. It is the same with Trig Palin. That is my worldview. I can live with mine consistently.

Note: Dear friend Angie has created a facebook group called “Rump of Hard-Core Know Nothings”. If you would like to join this very elite group you can click here.

There is a little saying that I have heard all of my life.

If you can’t say something nice about someone…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 of this church, that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone—myself, another pastor, an usher, a choir member, or anyone else—you have authority to stop that person in mid sentence and say, ?Excuse me—who hurt you? Who ignored you? Who slighted you? Was it Pastor Cymbala? Let’s go to his office right now. He will get on his knees and apologize to you, and then we will pray together, so God can restore peace and unity to this body. But we will not let you talk critically about people who are not present to defend themselves. New members, please understand that I am entirely serious about this. I want to help resolve this kind of thing immediately. And meanwhile, know this: If YOU are ever the one doing the loose talking, we will confront you.

If every church practiced this I suspect we have far less division in the church. An interesting thought about gossip comes from Frank A. Clark. “Gossip needn’t be false to be evil – there’s a lot of truth that shouldn’t be passed around.”

Ouch. That convicted me. I have vented and shared things that were true. Somehow that made me feel better that I was venting truth. But I later realized that my venting was not edifying to the body of Christ. I may have been right but I was not righteous. One of the biggest lessons I am learning about the spiritual dangers of gossip is the Piranha Syndrome.

The Piranha is an interesting fish. I wrote about visiting the National Aquarium in New Orleans several years ago in my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. The potentially deadly fish swam peacefully and quietly in the tank. I read the sign about the behavior of the fish. Piranha are peaceful when they are fed, water levels are normal and food sources are readily available. But when the water gets low they feel crowded and threatened. When you add hunger to that situation the entire personality of the Piranha change. They get angry, aggressive and prone to feeding frenzies. They begin to attack anything in the water, including one another.  

I have seen too many churchgoers become emotionally frenzied like these Piranha. When we (Christians) are well fed and happy we swim happily about the sanctuary. But if the environment changes you had best watch out. When the Pew Piranha feels threatened or change is instituted the frenzy can begin. Just like our fish counterparts, a feeding frenzy is never a solo act. Others get caught up and join in. And before long the blood of division is in the water. And it is a tragedy for the church, the body of Christ and for those who get involved.

I have witnessed emotional feeding frenzies in many churches. It is truly amazing the emotional power that is generated by a group of passionate people (often very good people) sharing their frustration and anger apart from prayer, repentance, and forgiveness.

King Solomon wrote that “a perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.” How tragic. But that is happening every single day in the church. Later he notes that “without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”

So my challenge to you and to me (as I look uncomfortably into the mirror) is to not add any fuel to the gossip fire. I have too often added kerosene instead of kindness. I want to be tender and not tinder. I cannot use the lyric from the old Billy Joel song as an excuse that “we didn’t start the fire”. Jesus is asking us to not spread the fire and, whenever and wherever we can, to extinguish it with grace.

Recently I opted to watch the in-flight movie to help pass the time. The movie being offered was called The Bucket List and it featured two of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. The storyline is that two men of very different financial stratas are both dying within months. The create a “bucket list” of things that they decide to cross off as a team.  Things they wanted to accomplish before they “kick the bucket”. One of those things was to visit the Pyramids and that scene was of particular interest. Morgan Freeman’s character Carter tells Jack Nicholson’s character Edward about a belief of the Egyptian people.

“You know, the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death.  When their souls got to the entrance to heaven, the guards asked two questions.  Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not.  ‘Have you found joy in your life?’  ‘Has your life brought joy to others?’”

I don’t know enough about the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians to verify the truth of that dialogue. But I thought the questions were fascinating. It also amused me that perhaps the ancient Egyptians had their own version of “a guy dies and he meets Saint Peter at the pearly gates” jokes. For example…

Recently a teacher, a garbage collector, and a lawyer wound up together at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter informed them that in order to get into Heaven, they would each have to answer one question.

St. Peter addressed the teacher and asked, “What was the name of the ship that crashed into the iceberg?
They just made a movie about it.”
The teacher answered quickly, “That would be the Titanic.”
St. Peter let him through the gate.

St. Peter turned to the garbage man and, figuring Heaven didn’t *really* need
all the odors that this guy would bring with him, decided to make the question
a little harder: “How many people died on the ship?”

Fortunately for him, the trash man had just seen the movie.
“1,228,” he answered.
“That’s right! You may enter.”

St. Peter turned to the lawyer. “Name them.”

I thought about what the real question is to be admitted into heaven. For me it is pretty simple. Oddly the real question is the one that Saint Peter himself had to answer to reach those “pearly gates”. The questioner was Jesus and the answer was the truth.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. (Matthew 16, NLT)

That is the real question. Who do I say that Jesus is? I have confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The Gospel is the good news that, in and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has redeemed me.

So that is the real question. Who do you say Jesus is?

The answer to that question has framed my answer to the two questions posed in the movie.

Have I found joy in my life? Yeah buddy. I have found joy because of Jesus. I have found joy because of my beloved wife Joni. I have found joy because of three wonderful sons, Matt, Scott and Brett and two awesome family additions in daughter-in-law Holly and Caroline. I have found joy in my extended family and my bride’s family. I have found joy in great friends. I have found joy in His creation and in simply enjoying the journey.

The second question is a little tougher. Has my life brought joy to others? I think so. But here is one thing I am sure of as I ponder that question. If I have brought joy to others a very large part of what I have contributed is because of the big question. Who do I say Jesus is? Because of Him I am learning to live out of His grace and share that with you. And I pray that brings you joy.

I have have been blessed to hear that occasionally the humble ramblings help one of my readers as they journey with Jesus. My mission for this blog is clear.

Helping tens of readers feel superior in their Christian walk for over forty months.

It is a burden that I am willing to carry. But I recognize that you are always looking for authentic Christian writers who get it. May I suggest that you check out a weekly offering from my friend Ed Underwood. I wrote an earlier article about Ed, his journey through the trial of cancer and his ministry to Joni as she faced cancer.  His weekly musings are called the Tipping Point. Here is an excerpt from Ed’s most recent offering.

Why is it that we’re so careful when we read the Bible’s instruction on marriage, family, morality, culture, creation, and church but so sloppy when we interpret Jesus’ lessons on money. We explain away His hard sayings with complicated interpretations and excuse our disobedience with absurd reasoning. But I think Jesus would have some tough questions for us if we were offering these explanations and excuses to Him.

Ed is the real deal. I know him and I trust him to write with authenticity and grace. You can receive his thoughts in your cybermailbox by clicking here and subscribing. If you are not completely satisfied I will refund your money. It is an offer I am always willing to make for things that are free. The other benefit is that Ed is not nearly as verbose as me. Great content in less time. Check him out. And tell him a “Bad Christian” sent you.

 

 

A Peanuts comic strip features Charlie Brown’s sister Sally struggling to spread frozen butter on her toast. Finally she exclaims, “Nobody told me life was going to be this hard!”

I can understand Sally’s frustration. Life is hard. Sometimes even more difficult than frozen butter. Things happen that were not in the brochure. Or at least that is what I once believed. In fact that very information is in the brochure. The Bible is very clear that life will be a journey of struggling to spread frozen butter and worse (that is a paraphrase). Much worse. The “frozen butter times” are part of the journey. God has given us a wonderful gift that we too often leave unwrapped. Even if we have unwrapped this gift we too often leave it unused. The gift is laughter. The following excerpt is from my sporadically selling book “Bring’em Back Alive – A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church.” 

I believe a sense of humor is one of God’s gifts to help get us to the finish line. One of the things I learned from writing When Bad Christians Happen to Good People is well stated by humorist Dave Barry. “No matter what happens,” Barry writes, “somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.” AMEN, Brother Barry! Some people take and took some of my observations way too seriously. One of my core principles is summarized by Mary Hirsch’s observation that, “Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”

An examination of the life of Jesus would indicate that He possessed a sense of humor. The writers of Scripture did not set out to author a joke book so you won’t find the phrase “a Sadducee, a Pharisee and a Roman walk into a bar.” Still, you find glimpses of humor and sarcasm in the words of Jesus. For example, I can see the humor in this exchange when the disciples came running up and asked Jesus the following question.

“Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?” Matthew 15:12 (MsgB) 

I can see them looking at Jesus and waiting to hear Him say something like, “Really? I had better go get that straightened out. The Pharisees are some important guys.” I expect the Lord’s answer first stunned and then amused them.

“Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.” Matthew 15:14 (MsgB) 

You will also note that Jesus was an oft invited guest at weddings and banquets to the point where those appearances drew the ire of the Pharisees. Think about it. If Jesus was a holier than thou, uptight religious, suck the air out of the room sourpuss would you want Him at your wedding party? A deadly serious, stuffy theologian type would likely not be an “A” list party invitee either. Jesus must have been able to laugh and enjoy the common fellowship of others and he was obviously welcome and desired at the festivities. Let’s join Luke at Levi’s dinner party that included some unsavory people and see what happens.

Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. “What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and ‘sinners’?” Jesus heard about it and spoke up, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders-an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out.” They asked him, “John’s disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?” Jesus said,
“When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn’t the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. Luke 5:29-34 (MsgB)  
  
I am not trying to be flippant (this time) but clearly Jesus knew how to party in the good sense of the word. He knew how to interact warmly with others and connect with those around Him. And He knew where to find those who needed the touch of forgiveness the most.
  
I also think about the eclectic group of followers that Jesus assembled. They were a fascinating blend of common laborers and professional types. Imagine today if Christ went to the local pier to recruit some fishermen, dropped by the IRS to pick up a follower, then over to the medical clinic and so on. This would be (at least initially) a fairly coarse group. I don’t suspect that the earthy sense of humor possessed by such men was immediately dispatched when they dropped their nets to follow Jesus. Part of any healthy and dynamic group relationship is having fun together. I believe that there were times when Jesus and the twelve told jokes, fish stories and made fun of the Pharisees. I think that Jesus understood that the language and topics of those outside the faith may be a bit uncomfortable. John Wesley once walked through the London market with a young man who desired to join the ministry. The coarse language offended the young man and he clearly wanted to leave. But Wesley told him to, “Stay, and learn to preach.”

So let’s all join in that familiar Sunday School song with a slight lyrical modification…

If you’re happy and you know it,
Tell your face,
If you’re happy and you know it,
Tell your face.
If you’re happy and you know it,
Then it seems your face should show it.
If you’re happy and you know it,
Tell your face.

A lack of humor in the church apparently this has been a problem for a while now. Teresa of Avila prayed this simple prayer in 1582, “From somber, serious, sullen saints, save us Oh Lord.”  Amen…and Amen. Laughter is a gift from God. Don’t be afraid to enjoy it.

I remember hearing the late entertainer Merv Griffin joke that he was going to put these words on his tombstone.

“I will not be right back after this message”

I happened upon a story recently about humorous tombstone messages and I found out that Merv kept his word.

There have been some brave souls over the years when it came to tombstone epitaphs. Like this apparently long suffering husband who paid less than his respects to his departed bride.

John Dryden (1631-1700):

Here lies my wife: here let her lie!
Now she’s at rest, and so am I.

On Margaret Daniels’ grave at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia: She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her.

On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:

Here lies
Ezekial Aikle
Age 102
The Good
Die Young

And he had so much to live for!

From a cemetery in Ruidoso, New Mexico:

Here lies
Johnny Yeast
Pardon me
For not rising.

I started wondering what I would like to put on a grave stone as my final message. Should I be funny?

Hope he was just kidding about the Bad Christian stuff.

But after a little serious thought I think this would be my final words.

Here lies Dave Burchett.

He was so amazed by the grace of God that he couldn’t stay quiet about it.

Warning: The following post may contain humor. This blog was produced in a program where irony and satire are processed. May contain sarcasm fragments. If you have negative reactions to sarcasm or satire please avoid this product. Thank you.

 

If you read When Bad Christians Happen to Good People  you know that I am not a fan of “Jesus Junk”. That is a term for the often tacky, sometimes offensive and generally puzzling ways that we try to merge Christianity and our culture. The products range from the Jesus bobble head dolls to Christian breath mints. I had never considered bad breath to be a spiritual battle but I am still learning in my journey.

 

People now send me links to this stuff just to annoy me. I found out about a new Talking Jesus action figure. Herobuilders.com of Connecticut, USA, added a new hero to their ranks of action dolls – “the ONLY real hero,” in fact. Standing fully 12″ tall, the Jesus Christ Action Figure comes with an optional microchip.  When Jesus speaks he sounds like the late John Facinda of NFL Films narrating the 10 Commandments. You almost expect  Jesus to follow “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house” with some stirring music and “across the frozen tundra the mighty warriors rumbled.”  

 

Apparently the talking Jesus doll ministry is exploding. Amazon features a whole range of talking Jesus figures. If you hate your Jesus doll quoting the wrong Bible you can order the Timecapsule Toys version that goes old school with King James only. The product features are a bit confusing at the Amazon.com site.

 

    * Talking Action Figure has a 4 min. audio chip allowing it to speak 25 different phrases in the First Ladies own Voice!  (Uhhhhhh….maybe we should proofread after the cutting and pasting for each action figure)

    * Figures are limited in production and include an individually numbered certificate of authenticity. (How reassuring to know that your Jesus is authentic)

    * Figures also include a biographical pamphlet that includes a comprehensive timeline specific to each figure. (Also known by such names as the Gospels and New Testament)

    * Figures come dressed in period correct clothing that is period correct and been hand tailored to suit the figure. (I would not want period correct clothing that was not period correct or redundancies that weren’t redundant)

    * 8 and up. (Apparently that is the age of accountability to own this doll)

The reader’s reviews offered this gem.

My 10 year old asked for this for Christmas. He listens to the scriptures often. He loves it!!!!! The voice of Jesus is a little too loud.

Verily. Especially when the Jesus doll doth saith things like this.

 

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19, KJV)

How many times have we wished Jesus would lower the volume on some of those hard things He asks us to do? Good observation from that reviewer.

Having the neighbors over for breakfast and don’t know how to witness? How about ordering the Jesus Pan and put the imprint of the Lord right on their pancakes.

That’s right. Heavenly hotcakes to jump start your evangelism! The ad proclaims that the Jesus Pan was featured on The Tonight Show! I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr.Leno was making a few jokes about imprinting Jesus on your grilled cheese sandwich instead of marveling at the eternal impact. By the way, you get two pans when you order now! If your friends refuse to listen you can use the second Jesus Pan to whop’em up the side of the head. Imagine when they go to the emergency room with the image of Jesus on their forehead. That will get the ER buzzing and you can keep the ministry going.                                                

The list of Jesus Junk is astounding and embarrassing. You can buy Jesus Adhesive Bandages (sticking closer than a brother) and Jesus pencil toppers.(He erases your sins).

While this whole thing is embarrassing to me as a follower of Christ there is also a strange comfort in all of this. Perhaps one of our strongest apologetic arguments is that Christianity is flourishing around the world despite Christians. Clearly there is something far more powerful than our often sorry attempts to represent Jesus to the world. I wrote a chapter called “Godly or Gaudy?” in When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. Here is an excerpt from that chapter. 

 

Last night I had a dream.  I went shopping with Jesus.  We were browsing through a Christian book superstore.  He stopped at the What Would Jesus Do? bracelet display.  I found out what He would do.  He moved on.  Jesus picked up the Testamints breath mints and examined them.  Next He saw the Jesus and His dog statue portraying a young Jesus with a German shepherd.  Did I see Him chuckle?  The Jesus Saves air freshener for cars caught His attention.  He looked around at the rows of products and aisles of books, row after row of books about Jesus and how to know Him and be like Him and so on and so on.  “Why do you make faith so complicated?”  He asked quietly.  “I didn’t say figure Me out.  I said follow Me.”  That woke me up.