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We are blessed to have a little neighborhood park about a half-mile from Casa Burchett so dog friend Hannah and I headed there this morning.

I have walked this park dozens and dozens of times over the years. But today something funny happened. There is an old joke for my sports inclined readers.

I went to a fight today and a hockey game broke out. Today’s Bad Christian paraphrase is I went on a walk today and worship broke out.

It started routinely enough. Hannah was busy checking new messages left along the path by other canine buddies. Apparently she had a lot of mail to catch up on.

I was listening to the Grace Romans CD series with Bill Thrall in my ear. For some reason I began to notice what had been around me all along.

The park has a play area for kids, an open area for soccer and Frisbee and dog running and a wooded area with some natural fields. I first noticed some toddlers playing in the wood chips around the playground toys. I smiled at their delight to see Hannah. I thought about their innocence and complete trust that Mom was taking care of them. I suspect that was what Jesus was talking about when He told us to be like little children. Not that we should become childish but that we would trust completely like a child because we can’t do this Christian thing ourselves.

Around the bend I saw three squirrels running and playing. I thought how much cuter they are in the field than they are in the attic of my house. The cavorting squirrels inflamed Hannah’s sin nature but the critter’s seemed to know she was safely restrained.

For some reason I was taking in all that was going on in this quiet little park. A blue jay darted through the bushes. We walked over the wooded creek area and I watched the fascinating, darting flight of a dragonfly. The wildflowers carpeted the field in a swaying tapestry of color. Some sparrows hopped along the path ahead.

On the next lap I watched a toddler running across the field. Is there anything cuter than watching a little one run with their own distinct style? I thought how much that little boy’s running was like my Christian experience. Making progress but always with the potential for a major face plant at any moment.

I felt so alive. So much of what is good on this troubled planet was right here around me. It was routine. But it was life. Young moms and precious children. God’s awesome creation ranging from amazing blue skies to brilliant red cardinals to annoying fire ants. So why do I tend to only think about the fire ants when there is so much more?

On the final lap a butterfly flitted among the wildflowers and one of my favorite analogies from the book TrueFaced came to mind.  

Have we already been changed?  Yes.  As day is from night, we have been changed.  We have received a new heart, for crying out loud!  We have a brand new core-identity.  We have already been changed.  Now we get to mature into who we already are. 

…Nature provides many examples of this incredible discrepancy between who we appear to be and who we truly are.  Consider the caterpillar.  If we brought a caterpillar to a biologist and asked him to analyze it and describe its DNA, he would tell us, “I know this looks like a caterpillar to you, but scientifically, according to every test, including DNA, this fully and completely a butterfly.”  Wow!  God has wired into a creature that looks nothing like a butterfly, a perfectly complete butterfly “identity”.  And because the caterpillar is a butterfly in essence, it will one day display the behavior and attributes of a butterfly.  The caterpillar matures into what is already true about it.  In the meantime, berating the caterpillar for not being more like a butterfly is not only futile, it will probably hurt his tiny ears! 

So it is with us.  God has given us the DNA of godliness.  We are saints.  Righteous.  Nothing we do will make us more righteous than we already are.  Nothing we do will alter this reality.  God knows our DNA.  He knows that we are “Christ in me”.  And now He is asking us to join Him in what He already knows is true!”

That is when worship broke out. Being in His creation with good dog friend Hannah enjoying good enough health to walk briskly and good enough eyes to see His beauty. Seeing children laughing and playing. Life teeming all around me on the ground and in the air and in the trees. And then realizing that this same God that created this world had changed this creature named Dave Burchett into something I never thought possible. Godly. A saint. Righteous. Are you kidding me? But that is what God says is true about me. And can be true about you if you put your full trust in Christ.

What a day. What a Savior! How I wish for everyday to be just another walk in the park.

Winnie the Pooh character Tigger often departed by saying “TTFN” (Ta-Ta For Now). Today is a NTTW (No Time To Write) day for me. So I have gone back to the dusty electronic archives and pulled up a well received article full of grace and truth. Okay, to be honest it was published earlier and it is full of something. I hope to swing by the insight market and whip a fresh blog for next week.

Blessings, Dave

One of my favorite ancient characters is Diogenes of Sinope. Born in Turkey about 400 years before Christ, he was a student of Antisthenes (444-370 BC), who was himself a pupil of Socrates. His philosophy was “marked by an ostentatious contempt for ease, wealth, and the enjoyments of life.” Diogenes would have had a field day skewering the consumerism and materialism in modern day America. One of the things that I love about Diogenes is his moniker. The irascible philosopher was known as Diogenes the Cynic. What a great name! How cool would that be to have a title like that? It certainly is better than Diogenes of Sinope. I would gladly swap Dave of Garland for Dave the Self-Deprecating as my appellation any day.

One story relates that while Diogenes was sunning himself, the powerful and feared Alexander the Great came up to him and offered to grant him any request. “Stand out of my light,” he replied. For a man who lived in a tub that was probably all he needed at that point in time.

When asked what wine he found most pleasant to drink, Diogenes replied, “That for which other people pay.” (So I actually do think like some of the great philosophers at times). But the name Diogenes is most known to the general populace as the man who would stroll through the Agora at full daylight with a torch (or, as legend sometimes has it, a lantern). When asked about it, he would answer, “I am just looking for an honest man”.

While I part company on much of Diogenes philosophy his search for an honest man resonates with me. This will likely sound harsher than intended but sometimes I feel like taking up the lantern and going out in search of one authentic Christian. Please hold the emails about how negative and judgmental I am. I know they are out there. But what breaks my heart is how many people are not living an authentic and transparent life as followers of Jesus. That is what those outside of the body of Christ see far too often. Is that a smokescreen to avoid the question of who Jesus really is? Of course it can be. But I do not want on my ledger that I was a person that someone looked at to evaluate the Christian faith and they saw nothing. Or at least not enough to find it compelling.

That is why I would choose Dave the Self-Deprecating as my title. I am not using the definition of self-deprecating that means to undervalue one’s abilities. That would be a false humility. I am talking about being able to see and admit your shortcomings. Simply being honest and real.

I began my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People with this disclaimer.

I am a hypocrite. I can be arrogant and selfish. I have been known to stretch, conceal, or slightly massage the truth. I am sometimes inconsiderate and insecure. I struggle with lust and impure thoughts. My ego often rages out of control, and I battle foolish pride. I can be lazy and foolhardy with my time. I get angry, petty, and ill-tempered. I am sarcastic and cynical.

I am a Christian.

That is real. I am a sinner saved by grace. The parts of Diongene’s philosophies that apply to me are summed up in these points.

• Living by personal example
• Exposing the falsehood of conventional thinking
• Exposing vice and conceit

That would be a decent road map for a follower of Jesus.

• Walk what you talk
• Share the hope that is in Jesus, not in this world
• Hold one another accountable in our walk

If Diogenes were walking around Garland with his lantern looking for one authentic Christian and ran into me…would he put his lamp down? Would his quest be complete if he encountered you?

 

Much has been made recently about the Evangelical Manifesto. First of all, I really dislike the word manifesto. Perhaps because I immediately think of the Communist Manifesto when I hear the word. The Evangelical Manifesto seeks to clarify the definition and beliefs of evangelicals. There is much in the document that I welcome and endorse. I don’t agree with everything in the document. But I am pretty sure that no one agrees with everything I say. Including me.

One central idea makes me shout AMEN loudly. That idea is that Evangelicals should be defined theologically and not politically, culturally or socially. Since I am not smart enough to produce a document as eloquent as the Evangelical Manifesto I have decided to issue my own smaller brain version.

Without any adieu I present “The Bad Christian Mini-festo”.

• I am a follower of Jesus.
• I believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe the Bible is the inspired and authoritative Word of God. I believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, His sinless life, and miracles.  I believe in His atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. I believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

Let me tell you what this particular evangelical Christian does not believe…

• I do not believe you have to be a Republican to be a Christian. Like it or not, heaven will be bipartisan and I am totally fine that there will not be sides of the golden aisles.
• I do not believe that God is “judging” America for any particular sin. But if He is judging this country I would suspect it is for the massive squandering of wealth and resources that America has been blessed with while giving back an average of less than three percent.
• I do not believe in ranking sins for their offensiveness to me. Some things are more offensive to us but all sin is equally intolerable to a Holy God.
• I do not believe that censorship, boycotts, or politics will redeem this culture…only a spiritual renewal can accomplish such redemption.
• I do not believe that it is my place to relish or desire eternal punishment for others. I am willing to leave that to a righteous and just God who sees the real heart and motives for each one of us and Who will judge justly.
• I do not believe that I should follow a spokesperson that represents all Evangelicals. I engage Scripture, my conscious, research, debate and prayer into my decisions as a Christian and as a citizen of this country.

Here is my complete agenda.

• To try and see everyone through the eyes of Jesus because my eyes are prejudiced and prideful.
• To try and love them like Jesus because my love is selfish apart from Him.
• To let them others know that my relationship with Jesus has changed my life, given my life purpose, given me strength to endure tragedy and real hope for the future.
• To authentically relate how this personal relationship with the living God saved my marriage and made me a better father to my sons.
• To be gentle in relating the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to people in every situation and mired in any sin. My goal is to introduce them to Jesus and let them work out their salvation in fear and trembling.
• To exhibit grace and forgiveness to those who oppose me.
• To love my wife and family sacrificially and well.
• To be an example of the living Christ to everyone I come in contact so that I can be salt and light to my little circle of influence.
• To be a advocate for those wounded by the church and other Christians. Our lack of unity must grieve the Lord who prayed for unity of the body during His final agonizing hours before His betrayal, mock trial and crucifixion.
• To try to never be surprised or repulsed by the actions of those who do not have a relationship with Jesus. The Lord Himself was always gentle with sinners and always tough on religious hypocrites. We have reversed his example far too often. We are too tough on sinners and too gentle with the hypocrites.
• To try and give generously of my time and treasure to those who have not been as materially blessed in my neighborhood, my country and around the world.
• To let people know that I love Jesus and I am not at all ashamed of that fact.

I believe that Jesus gave me a very simple game plan.

1. “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[e] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22, NLT)
2. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”  (Matthew 28, NLT)

And finally, I believe the truth of this promise that Jesus made. 

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

That’s it. I care about the environment and politics and issues but I am passionate about Christ. He is where I have found hope and change.

 

Last year I wrote an article about a “reality” TV show that was so far from reality that it couldn’t see it with the Hubble telescope. The show is called The Girls Next Door and it sleazes up the E! Network on a regular basis. The premise is to look inside life at the Playboy mansion. Another sign of the apocalypse is that this is the fourth season of this show.

Three gorgeous young women vie for the affection of octogenarian Hugh Hefner while they all live under the same roof. Now that is reality! Hefner rates the girls and appoints one of the girls as “number one” like some weird parody of Dr.Evil. In fact, the Mike Myers character Dr.Evil makes this appropriate comment in the movie.

“There’s nothing as pathetic as an aging hipster.”

Last year The New York Post reported that the show might have a ratings gimmick planned. They hinted that Hefner might just marry “Number One”. Here is an excerpt from that Post story.

“This is very secret, but the word is ‘yes,’ ” one insider told Page Six. “Hef has decided he will marry Holly, and he wants it for his show, ‘The Girls Next Door.’ Hef thinks business all the time, and looks for a new hook, although he also does really love Holly.”

Hmmm….he thinks business all the time and is looking for a new hook. The afterthought that Hefner “really does love Holly” must certainly have made Number One feel really special and valued. Hefner reportedly wanted to delay the marriage because monogamy would “kill the show”. Another reason for Number One to be wildly optimistic. So I was not a bit surprised when this followup to this ridiculous story appeared today.  

The Dallas Morning News reported that since she first laid eyes on the Playboy mogul in 2001, Hugh Hefner’s “lead” girlfriend, Holly Madison, has made it no secret that she wants to get hitched to the geezer. (Perhaps the first stop should be getting a thorough vision check)

But it seems she’s starting to give up on her dream. “We are no closer to getting married than we were years ago,” she said at last week’s “Playmate of the Year” luncheon in Los Angeles. “It’s like a car stalled at the side of the road.” (So many lines…) She looked away as he added, “I love Holly very much and I think we’re going to be together the rest of my life. But marriage isn’t part of my puzzle.” (Anyone shocked by this besides Number One?)

Madison was quoted during season one about the odd arrangement she had agreed to live with at the mansion.

She said she “couldn’t believe” that she’s sharing her boyfriend with the other two busty blondes. But, she noted, “you do funny things when you’re in love.”

I would suggest you do funny things when you are infatuated by money and fame and material comforts. You do loving, sacrificial things when you are in love. You sacrifice for your wife and children. You place your mate first. You love her just as much when her body reflects the effects of child bearing and age. You take seriously the words of Paul when he admonishes followers of Jesus to love their wives.

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives.  (Ephesians 5 – The Message)

Hugh Hefner is living the fantasy of many young men. I used to be one of them. But I do not envy him one bit. Because he will never understand what I have been blessed to experience. A wife who has loved me when I was unlovable. A wife who doesn’t care if I am rich or famous or powerful because that is not what she bases her love on. A relationship that has weathered storms together and emerged stronger. Joni’s strength and dignity during her cancer journey took my respect for her to a new level.

She is number one. There are no other contenders. And there never will be.

 

This will be the second Mother’s Day since my Mom died. This is a piece that I wrote right after her death. It is a story of incredible grace and redemption. I pray that it will encourage some of you.

Blessings, Dave

There is the sadness of loss that is tempered with the joy of seeing her relationship with the Lord Jesus in her final months. The last year of my Mom’s life caused me to think of Al Michael’s famous question from the 1980 Olympics. “Do you believe in miracles?”

I do believe in miracles. I have seen one.

I loved my Mom but our relationship was challenging. She was raised in a family where love was not expressed. She could be very negative and her comments had stung me over the years. I knew that she loved me fiercely but I will admit that I grieved for a more gracious expression of her love. My Mom could be really difficult.

As her health declined I prayed that her relationship with God would be clear to her and to her family. The summer before she died I journeyed to Ohio to visit her. A group of Christian friends in Texas told me they would pray that I could discuss salvation with my Mom. I thanked them for their concern but in my heart I felt they were naive. They did not know my Mom.

Fast forward a few days as I am sitting with my Mom. The conversation is mundane. Out of nowhere she dropped this bombshell.

“How can you be sure that you are going to heaven?”

You could have knocked me over with a feather and I immediately thought of those saints in Texas praying for exactly this moment. And I felt a bit of shame because I was the naive one who doubted the power of prayer. I shared the gospel with my Mom. She assured me that she had trusted Christ as her Savior. The next question was nearly as surprising.

“What if you trusted Christ but haven’t lived it?”

Wow. What do you say to that? I chose to tell her the truth. That she was a child of God but she had forfeited a lot of joy by not walking more faithfully with Him. She had likely missed chances to serve and probably many blessings the Lord had desired her to experience. Still, there was a nagging question in my mind that I lacked the courage to address. I knew there were people who had hurt my Mom deeply and she showed no signs of forgiveness. I was fairly certain she would take that bitter anger to her grave.

But Mom took those comments about living for Jesus to heart. She chose to try to live for Him with the rest of her days. She told my niece that she had prayed more in the last year than she had in her whole life. She regularly asked me to pray for her and told me she was praying for me and especially for Joni as my bride battled breast cancer.

My Mom began to regularly tell me she loved me. That was something you didn’t say in her family. You were just supposed to know it. A few weeks before she died she told me that she was sorry if she had hurt me with her words or actions. That was the first time I had heard those words from my Mom in 53 years. It was a powerful moment of grace and reconciliation between us. When I saw her last week she kissed me and said, “you don’t know how much you mean to me.” But she was wrong. I finally did.

But the real miracle happened in her last days. My niece asked Mom about a woman she had felt so much bitterness and hatred toward. When I was told about her response the words sent chills through me.

“Oh honey. That was in the past. I have forgiven her.”

What irony that I have been writing about forgiveness for so long and my Mom gave me a miracle of forgiveness as her final gift. Forgiveness can happen. It is never too late. For those who think they cannot forgive I will tell you that with God it is possible. I have witnessed a miracle to start the New Year. I am saddened that my Mom is gone but I am rejoicing in her victory. She was able to lay her burdens at the foot of the Cross and pass unencumbered into the presence of the Lord. I praise God that I have not lost my Mom. Nope. Now I know exactly where she is.

I am a big football fan. I often hear announcers describe a defense that gives up yardage but not points as a team that bends but doesn’t break. I think that is often an apt metaphor for our walk with Jesus. In the current season of my journey I have been sharing life with a lot of friends, family and readers who are dealing with a difficult and bumpy road. So I decided to revisit an earlier blog on the topic and add some recently gained insight.

During my occasional iPod devotional series I wrote about a song called Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.  Earlier I had written a very personal blog featuring a song by Rascal Flatts called Skin. Bless the Broken Road also became a hit for the group Selah. Here are some of the lyrics.

I set out on a narrow way, many years ago
Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two, wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn’t see how every sign, pointed straight to you

It is so interesting to look back over the landscape of three decades plus of my journey with Jesus. I can see God’s hand in so many events and even heartbreaks in my life. My early church experience was a broken road of legalistic and judgmental Christians who crushed the spirit of a young and fumbling Christian. That experience became the basis of my books. I have found many friends who have shared my journey. C.S. Lewis once said that “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one!” Sadly, many of us bear the wounds of dealing with imperfect people in the dysfunctional little gathering we call church. Still, God has blessed that broken road in my life.

The broken road for me included the devastating death of a beloved nephew thirty-three years ago. At that point I was a crossroads in my faith. Turn my back on God or get serious in my pursuit of Him. Along the broken road God brought a man named Wendel Deyo into my life (Wendel now heads up a retreat center in Southern Ohio) . His life challenged me and he helped me stay on the narrow way. That relationship led to my association with Athletes in Action. And while on staff with AIA I met the lovely future Mrs.Burchett. And again, God blessed the broken road.

Every long lost dream, led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Yes He did

It is hard to imagine life without Joni. Her cancer has forced me to realize the possibility of that. I am grateful that she is doing really well but I pray I will never again take her for granted. Each day is a precious gift and God has blessed the broken road by deepening our relationship and love.

I think about the years I spent, just passin’ through
I’d like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you

I remember with great sadness the years I spent working too much, taking my bride for granted, telling her that the schedule would soon “ease up”. But it rarely did. I really wish I had that time back. I would give it to her in a heartbeat. If I could say one thing to young couples and parents it would be to make time for your mate and your children. It took me too long to realize the hard truth that our schedule reflects our priorities. But somehow Joni hung with me. She had traveled her own broken road and found that God was faithful.

But you just smile and take my hand, you’ve been there you understand
It’s all part of a grander plan, that is comin’ true

Every long lost dream, led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

The journey is not easy. Never will be. One of the big mistakes we make as followers of Jesus (in my humble opinion) is making it seem like all troubles are over when you embrace Christianity. That is not in the contract. We will still have problems and heartaches and even tragedies. The guys at TrueFaced continue to challenge, inspire and change me with their insight into God’s word and this path of trusting God. They define the abundant life better than I could even hope to explain it. Here is the definition of abundant life from the TrueFaced Romans CD series.

The abundant life is comparing God’s character, faithfulness and ability with my particular circumstances and believing that God’s character trumps my circumstance.

Through the death of a nephew, daughter, both parents, an armed invasion robbery and the life-threatening illness to my spouse I have found that statement to be absolutely true. His character, faithfulness and love always trump my circumstance. I especially see that with the benefit of hindsight. God will bless the broken road. King David wrote these words while escaping down a broken road…

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
       he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18

C.S. Lewis also said that no one ever told him that grief felt so much like fear. Don’t be afraid to continue down the broken road. God will meet you there and together you will make it to the end.

 

Disclaimer to Internet hall monitors: This article is not meant to throw Al Gore under the bus. That would be an inappropriate use of carbon resources to fire up a nasty fume spitting fossil fuel wastin’ bus just to make a point. The point of this piece is to examine one aspect of the story from a spiritual viewpoint.

First, some background is in order. Al Gore has made an amazing personal comeback with his global warming documentary. I will not debate the claims of his film here. Instead I want to focus on a very inconvenient truth that all of us battle. We are natural born hypocrites. All of us. Gore outlined a list of sacrifices that we could all make to help the environment. Use a clothesline instead of the dryer. Drive a hybrid. Cut back on the thermostat and home energy consumption.

But Al Gore’s personal lifestyle severely damaged his message. (Hint to Christian readers…this is fore-shadowing) The Chattanoogan newspaper reports that Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES). In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh — more than 20 times the national average. In the month of August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh — guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year.

Bear with me, I am getting to the spiritual application. So how does Gore justify this apparent case of talk not matching walk? Mr.Gore purchases “carbon offsets” to make his consumption “carbon neutral”. By paying to plant trees or contributing to solar or wind powered energy it “offsets” the personal excessive usage.

Hmmm.

“Every family has a different carbon footprint,” said Kalee Krider, a spokeswoman for Gore. The official footprint of Al and Tipper is Sasquatch. The logic is interesting. Perhaps if I invest in companies that use sweat shop labor I can “offset” that by giving money to orphans and the  underprivileged.

The spiritual application is real and sobering. A messenger without commitment to the message loses effectiveness. Christians produce our own version of “carbon offsets”. We talk about the life changing power of Jesus and don’t demonstrate it. We talk about God’s love and don’t manifest that love. So we invest in “carnal offsets” like serving on every church committee or saying yes to every church request so that others can see how committed we are to the church.

“Look at how hard I am working.”
“I am doing so much more than that person.”
“All they do is consume the message every week, they never help out.”

And we spectacularly miss the point of following Jesus.

Jesus encountered an enthusiastic potential follower on His way to Jerusalem. The young man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. The Lord’s answer was encouraging…at first.

“…to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

His response stops me in his tracks. He was a good man. He was honest, lived with integrity, and was loving. The kind of guy that we assume should have stored up enough “sin offsets” to get in the gates. But Jesus saw what he worshiped and it was not God.

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

When he had to pay a price to follow Jesus the young man could not do it. 

Trying to live that foot in both worlds faith results in a life without much impact. The ire of Christ was never directed at sinners. His harshest words were directed at the religious types. Imagine walking up to a religious leader today and saying something like this…

Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Jesus said the cost of following Him was full commitment.

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

That is an “Inconvenient Truth” for me. I want a Savior because I desire eternal life. I am reluctant to want a Lord because I would have to deed over control to God. Until we as followers of Jesus are willing to deny ourselves we will remain marginalized in this country. When people see something supernatural in our lives they will listen.

If we do not daily depend on Christ we are prone (every Christian) to be hypocrites and frauds. Al Gore gives us a secular mirror for our own self deception. We can too easily offer “sin offsets” instead of the difficult offerings of submission and grace. Inconvenient? Yep. Uncomfortable? No doubt. But if we are not sensitive to that truth we will leave a very small eternal footprint.