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For weeks I have been watching the work crews building a fiber-optic network in our neighborhood. I could not wait to get rid of my cable service. I won’t mention the company by name but it rhymes with Dime Corner. I was so excited to switch to the new technology. I was giddy when the installer showed up yesterday. I told him that I would be happy to allow his company to videotape me telling my current provider to take a flying leap. His response was professional.

And convicting.

“We don’t say bad things about our competitors. We just tell you about our product and let you decide.”

This was not an aberration. I recalled a similar exchange I had with another employee when I set up my installation. I was joking again about doing a commercial about getting rid of cable and she replied gently.

“We don’t criticize our competition.”

Two things hit me. First was how professional these employees were when I teed it up for them to bash their competition. They didn’t even think about swinging the club of criticism. Kudos to Verizon and their management. The new technology is called FIOS and I am delighted with the results of that installation. The only bad thing is that the HD signal is so spectacular that I just watched Meerkats for an hour when I had other things I needed to do. But that is my problem.

The second thing that hit me is that I could learn from the responses of these professionals. When I have a chance to bash other denominations, churches and leaders perhaps I should simply say I don’t criticize others. I just want to tell you about Jesus and His grace. I want to tell you about my Savior. I want to tell you about love that is unconditional.

If I represent Jesus and His message well then I won’t have to bash. Genuine seekers of truth will figure out the difference on their own. I am not saying that I will never challenge or even criticize another ministry or leader. I am saying that such conversation needs to be in an appropriate forum and presented in grace and truth. I want to steer away from the cheap and easy bashing that comes so naturally to me.

Paul’s words to Timothy are timely.

Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.  (2 Timothy 2, NLT)

So I was blessed yesterday with eye-popping HD signals and a little loving correction from the Lord. Gotta go now. They are imploding buildings in HD with surround sound. Awesome!!!!

 

 

 

I have a new business idea. When faith gets challenged or offended by a movie, book, television show or stupid celebrity quote I am going to sell an evangelistic hyperventilation bag. This paper bag, featuring stylish cross artwork on one side and a fish insignia on the other, will allow beleaguered Christians to witness as they hyperventilate over the latest dire e-mail warning to boycott, plunder and protest.

The most recent threat to faith and, according to some distraught sources, God’s sovereign plan on earth is an upcoming movie called The Golden Compass. I recall that God and His people have somehow weathered other recent crises like The DaVinci Code, The Book of Daniel TV show, Madonna’s stage presentation, the Lost Tomb of Jesus and a veritable parade of books by atheists who could use the non-religious version of my hyperventilation bag when discussing God.

Yet somehow, the God that I believe created the heavens and earth has survived the punches of Hollywood, television and print. What a surprise. In fact it appears that they have not made a dent in His plan. May I suggest to you that this has been going on since the creation. My position on such issues is based on the game plan that the Apostle Paul outlined in the book of Acts. Yes, he was angry that Athens was full of idols and false gods. But he chose not to organize noisy protests or a boycott of the tourist attractions in Greece. His plan was simple.

• Be aware
• Be informed
• Be faithful

Anytime we have a chance to engage others in a discussion about authentic faith, Jesus and grace in the natural flow of culture I think it is an open door. This movie is another treasure chest of opportunities to discuss faith in real life. Paul is the working model of engaging a culture that is often less than sympathetic. Paul went fearlessly to the intellectual epicenter of his day.

The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got–all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols. He discussed it with the Jews and other like-minded people at their meeting place. And every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along. He got to know some of the Epicurean and Stoic intellectuals pretty well through these conversations. Some of them dismissed him with sarcasm: “What an airhead!” But others, listening to him go on about Jesus and the resurrection, were intrigued: “That’s a new slant on the gods. Tell us more.”

These people got together and asked him to make a public presentation over at the Areopagus, where things were a little quieter. They said, “This is a new one on us. We’ve never heard anything quite like it. Where did you come up with this anyway? Explain it so we can understand.” Downtown Athens was a great place for gossip. There were always people hanging around, natives and tourists alike, waiting for the latest tidbit on most anything. So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, TO THE GOD NOBODY KNOWS. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with. (The Message – Acts 17)

Paul was aware of the opposition to his faith and to the God he believed in. He was informed about the philosophies of those who opposed his faith. He engaged them in intelligent and probably spirited debate. The book of Acts honestly records the results.

 Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, “Let’s do this again. We want to hear more.” But that was it for the day, and Paul left. There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, and stuck with Paul–among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.

Maybe that is why we are often more comfortable decrying the culture instead of engaging it. Most of us don’t like being labeled as airheads (The Message) or as a babbler (NIV).  I certainly don’t enjoy the very real fact that some will laugh at me and walk off making jokes. But perhaps some will want to hear more. And the reason for taking the chance is that some will be convinced. How do I know that such a strategy works? I have been able to introduce my faith naturally while discussing every one of the perceived threats listed above (DaVinci Code, Lost Tomb of Jesus, et al). The door opened naturally because of the culture. Isn’t it amazing what God can use for His purpose if we will just let Him?

 

 

Truth can be so annoying. If annoying truth was a Jeopardy category it might look like this…

“I’ll take Annoying Truths for $100, Alex.”
This famous preacher said,  “Give me five minutes with a person’s checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.”
“Who is Billy Graham? I’ll take Annoying Truths for $200, Alex.”
This missionary to India said, “You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.”
“Who was Amy Carmichael, Alex. I am getting very uncomfortable with this topic so let’s take “Sins that make you worse than me for $100.”

Money is an uncomfortable topic for followers of Jesus. One anonymous writer noted that a lot of people are willing to give God the credit, but not too many are willing to give Him the cash.

Twenty-seven years ago a man in Kansas City made a choice to give away the cash. It was a choice that changed his life and the lives of thousands more. The Associated Press reported that for the next 27 years, a man known only as Secret Santa roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa handed out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. He anonymously gave out about $1.3 million. It was a long-held holiday mystery: Who is the Secret Santa? Last Christmas, weakened from chemotherapy and armed with a desire to pass on his belief in random kindness, Secret Santa decided it was time to reveal his identity.

Larry Stewart, a 58-year-old businessman from the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit, Mo., made his millions in cable television and long-distance telephone service. While Stewart also gave money to other community causes in Kansas City and his home town of Bruce, Miss., he offered the simple gifts of cash because it’s something people didn’t have to “beg for, get in line for, or apply for.”

His epiphany happened just before Christmas in 1979. His circumstances were dire. For the second year in a row he had been fired just days before Christmas. He admits that he was wallowing in self-pity when he learned that giving returned an inexplicable joy. That simple discovery changed him, the entire city of Kansas City, and beyond. Let’s pick up the story as Stewart was nursing his wounds at a drive-in restaurant after getting fired once again. He describes that December day in his own words.

“It was cold and this car hop didn’t have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She’s out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,”‘ he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change. “And suddenly I saw her lips begin to tremble and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. She said, `Sir, you have no idea what this means to me.”‘

Larry Stewart was deeply touched. He decided to go to the bank that day and took out $200, then drove around looking for people who could use a lift. That was his “Christmas present to himself.”  He hit the streets each December every year after that Christmas. Last January Larry Stewart died died from complications caused by esophageal cancer. He was only fifty-eight years old.

Even after his passing his mission lives on. Stewart spoke often to community groups about his devotion to kindness and to inspire others to donate their time and money. “That’s what we’re here for,” Stewart says, “to help other people out.”

Larry Stewart learned the reality of money and possessions that was eloquently expressed by author Thomas Fuller. “Riches enlarge rather than satisfy appetites.” 

As a follower of Christ I think Stewart has it half right when he notes that we are here to help other people out. The religious scholars asked Jesus what a purpose driven life should look like.

“Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?” 
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”   (Matthew 22, The Message)

During this Christmas season I am challenging you to join me in trying Larry Stewart’s experiment. Go buy yourself a gadget or outfit or bauble. Note the reading on your personal joy meter. Then go give money to a desperate Mom trying to make ends meet. Or give some cash to an elderly couple who can’t pay the heating bill. Deliver a Christmas gift to children who would not receive gifts any other way. Then see which action has given you real joy. Was it acquiring more stuff or meeting real needs in the lives of others? Larry Stewart learned that lesson. And the world is a better place because of the revelation he experienced on a cold December day twenty-seven years ago.

Pray about what you can give this Christmas. Remember that Larry Stewart started small. I pray that you will receive the kind of joy that drove the Kansas City “Secret Santa” for twenty-seven years. The chance to witness the surprised joy of a person receiving an unexpected and much needed gift. Kind of like salvation, isn’t it? That is the gift that Jesus brought to Bethlehem two millenia ago. And that is another gift we should be eager to share this season.

Last year I wrote this post about eight months into Joni’s breast cancer journey. As Thanksgiving looms I thought it might be worth a revisit. We feel so blessed for every day together.

Ronald Reagan had a favorite joke that he told so often that the joke itself became a joke with staff members. A CBS News piece related the story as remembered by former Reagan aide Ed Meese. The joke was told about twin boys who were six years old. Worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities — one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist — their parents took them to a psychiatrist.

First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears. “What’s the matter?” the psychiatrist asked, baffled. “Don’t you want to play with any of the toys?” “Yes,” the little boy bawled, “but if I did I’d only break them.”

Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his out look, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist. Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands. “What do you think you’re doing?” the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist. “With all this manure,” the little boy replied, beaming, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

“Reagan told the joke so often,” Meese said, chuckling, “that it got to be kind of a joke with the rest of us. Whenever something would go wrong, somebody on the staff would be sure to say, “There must be a pony in here somewhere.’”

This may seem like an odd lead in to a Thanksgiving article but regular readers know that odd linkings are part of my brain function. On this Thanksgiving Joni and I could choose to be the pessimist in the joke. This has been a tough year. Joni has been in the middle of her breast cancer treatment for eight very long months. Her prognosis is good but we know it is never certain. So we could choose to wonder why this has happened to us.

Forgive me if this is a bit crude but I can tell that when you start digging through the crap of life on a fallen earth you will often find the pony. We have found so many blessings in the midst of the storm. This is just a partial list of the blessings we are grateful to God for on this special day of Thanksgiving.

• Experiencing the peace that is inexplicable. How can we find peace in the middle of a battle with cancer? It is only through the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Paul talks about this in his letter to the Church at Philippi.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• The friends who have been there with us throughout this trial.
• The countless “strangers” who are praying for us. Many are praying for Joni because of this blog. Others through prayer lists around the country. What an amazing blessing to realize that people who don’t even know us are praying for us.
• The privilege of glorifying God through this trial. When I first told our Sons about their Mom’s diagnosis I told each of them the same thing. “If our faith in Christ doesn’t work now it is not of much value”. It has worked. And it is of great value.
• The realization that we can get through anything with Christ.
• A changed perspective on life’s little irritants. Joni’s cancer has changed how I view my world. My biggest concern is that I will forget when the treatments end and the tests are good. In the words of the Apostle Paul…God forbid.
• An even deeper appreciation for my bride. Her courage and faith have been inspiring…and humbling.
• Priorities…priorities…priorities. I want my life to count for eternity. Every day is a precious gift and not to be taken for granted.

As you face this Thanksgiving you may be looking at circumstances that may make it hard to be thankful. I understand that it can be hard at times. But I also know the value of continuing to dig through the pile. More often than I would have ever dreamed there is a “pony” in there somewhere. Don’t miss a blessing this Thanksgiving.

We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

I pray on this Thanksgiving that you will never give up. And never quit digging for the blessings that are hidden. They are the greatest treasures to find.

 

 

There is nothing more self-affirming than a good round of feeling stupid. Jeopardy usually fulfills that need for me.

“I’ll take categories I don’t have a clue about for $50, Alex.”

Today I picked up the Metro section of the local paper and saw a little feature called “Good Kid”. Every week they highlight (not surprisingly) a good kid from the community and ask them about their likes, hobbies, etc. Today the good kid was a young man from Rowlett, Texas named Marcus Pyle. He is a good looking young man and obviously gifted. His favorite subject is epistemology. Not that any of my regular readers don’t know this, but epistemology is the theory of knowledge. My favorite subject was wood shop and I still plan to finish that end table. Marcus’s resume at seventeen is better than my current one. But what made me feel stupid was his answer to this statement.

The people I’d most like to meet are: Jacqueline du Pré and Dmitri Shostakovich

Uhhhhhhh. These are the two people he would most like to meet in the world and I have any idea who they are. At seventeen I would have said I would have most liked to meet Raquel Welch (based on her poster from One Million B.C.) and The Monkees from TV. What an intellectual fest that would have been.

If you are feeling as stupid as me then I will help you out. Jacqueline du Pré was generally acknowledged as one of the greatest cellist performers ever. Dmitri Shostakovich was a Soviet composer. Both are now dead. At least my people were alive.

So I was feeling a little intimidated by young Mr. Pyle when I came across a story that made me realize that my lack of intellectual depth, like everything that happens to you in this country, was not my fault. According to a new study released by a group of scholars with not enough to do, your name can determine your academic prowess. USA Today reported the breakthrough study.

Psychologists in marketing at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.

Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out, according to the report published in the December issue of Psychological Science.

“We found that our own-name liking sabotages success for people whose initials match negative performance labels,” the report says.

Ah-hah! Because my name starts with a “D” I never had a chance to be a great student. I was predisposed to get poor grades. If my parents had named me Albert I would be doing the meaningless studies at Yale today.

Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale conducted five studies over five years (including one lab experiment) using information from thousands of individuals: 6,398 baseball players (377 had K as either a first or last initial); 15,000 MBA students; 294 undergraduate students; 170 law schools with more than 390,000 lawyers; and 284 participants in their laboratory experiment.

The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.” 

So there you have it. It was not my fault that my initial showed up on my report card several times during an uninspired high school career. My name conspired against me. But I have added a pretty cool title to beef up my resume concerns that I mentioned earlier.

Dave Burchett – Child of God. 

And it doesn’t matter what your given name happens to be. You can have the same designation.

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  (John 1, NIV)

Child of God. I have to admit it. I like the ring of that name.

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the delay in the wildly anticipated “Ask A Bad Christian” feature. Yesterday on a business trip I got to circle Nashville for an hour or so and then fly to Huntsville, Alabama to wait out a thunderstorm in the Music City. So that put a dent in the writing schedule. However, the questions are pouring (okay, dribbling) in and we start with a question from Cheryl.

Hi there.

I have begun to wonder about my political affiliation. Always I have considered myself a conservative politically and a Republican but I wonder now if I should be a Democrat or Independent. I have changed so much recently. I am bothered by the conduct of many Christian conservatives and do not wish to be grouped with them. I do not see myself voting for any of the present front-runners, especially considering that the Republican in the lead stood beside Pat Robertson and proudly accepted his endorsement.

Dave, what is your advice concerning politics and Christianity?  Cheryl

Wow. Good question. I have been registered as a Republican for most of my voting career. I will likely change that to Independent because of my discomfort with both parties. I will still likely vote for conservatives because of some issues that are important to me but it will not be automatic. I think that Christians need to be engaged in the political process. We should be knowledgable. I have no problem with Christians entering politics or working on campaigns. I do have a problem with the thinking that we can redeem the culture through politics or media or any vehicle other than through the hearts of individuals. Jesus had a chance to be political. He said to render unto Caesar what was his but Jesus clearly chose to work in the hearts of men and women. I suspect that He could have had a Damascus Road encounter with influential rulers or philosophers. He chose to change the hearts of twelve regular men who helped change the world. I believe we must be good citizens and part of that is voting wisely.

So 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 we have been blessed with while giving back an average of less than three percent.

So I get uncomfortable with leaders who claim that America is being judged for this sin or that sin.

Dr.Gregory Boyd said that, “Christians are not to seek “power over” others – by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should seek to have “power under” others – winning others hearts by sacrificing for those in need.”

And that is indeed what Jesus did. That is EXACTLY how a group of men and women in the first century with NO political power turned the world upside down.

Dr.Boyd also noted that “America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.”

Hard to argue with that. American has been blessed beyond measure. But I fear we are in danger of forfeiting the blessings God has bestowed by becoming self-absorbed and not generous. I have written often about the lack of giving in the evangelical community. We (protestants) give a paltry 2% on average. Evangelicals are only slightly better at 4%. If we simply tithed we would have enough resources to feed evey hungry person AND have enough left over to fund outreaches to tell the world about Jesus. But we choose to buy a better car, a bigger screen TV, and demand that politics make a difference. The fact is that laws and government can only restrain. Jesus can change the heart and change behavior from the inside out. 

I am not smart enough to decide what God has called people to do. If He has placed a desire for people to impact the culture through political action I am not about to question their motives. But I do agree that His house should be a house of worship and not a house of political promotion. Political outreaches should, in my opinion, find venues outside of the sacred space that is God’s sanctuary.

I am active politically. I study issues and candidates and I always vote. I give to causes that I believe in and I would be willing to work for a candidate that shared my goals for our country. But Sunday should be about Jesus. I think the church (on Sundays) should steer clear of politics. God’s Word taught effectively will mold followers of Jesus that will view social issues wisely. Moralizing on sexual issues has produced guilt but not real results. Jesus forgave the woman caught in sin and THEN said go and sin no more. My goal is to introduce people to Jesus, disciple them into a real relationship with Him, and then  watch as the Holy Spirit changes what my sermonizing cannot.

The body of Christ is about Jesus. About being a good citizen that respects authority. And about demonstrating His amazing grace to a desparately needy world. The message should be grace, redemption, and the forgiveness available to everyone. All parties are welcome at the foot of the cross. We need to spend more time there…for the good of America.

One of the wildly popular features (more than one person responded) in the history of these humble ramblings was the “Ask A Bad Christian” column. We are opening up the electronic mailbox again for your questions. I am posting an earlier edition of Ask a Bad Christian to give you an idea of how it works. Or doesn’t work.

Dear Bad Christian,

Question for you: Today in church the pastor said both he and his wife were asked this week if they are ever down. He said they both replied negatively since they have the Wonderful Counselor on their side they are never down or negative. I felt as if I should throw a BS flag or something. Or is there a level of communion with Christ where you never feel down? He didn’t mean it like this, but I twisted his words in my brain that if you are ever down you aren’t a real Christian.

Bridgette

Dear Bridgette,

First of all, you have to know that Bad Christian loves the idea of a “BS flag” to throw when we feel a member of the family says something that does not past the authenticity smell test. Throwing the “BS flag” would be like a replay challenge in football. The elders would review the tape and see if the statement is valid and defensible.

“After further review, the statement made from the pulpit stands as proclaimed. Start the clock, the sermon resumes from point 2”

Or the ruling might be,  “After further review the comment is overruled, the pastor is penalized 5 minutes from the sermon allowing us to beat the Presbyterians to Dennys. The sermon will resume from the spot of the flag.”

As for your actual question, I would have to respectfully disagree with your pastor. And I do mean respectfully. I would say that as you grow in your relationship with Christ that you will not stay down or negative. But I cannot say that you never get down or negative. I have found that the time frames that I remain down or negative grow shorter as I  mature a bit in my faith. But I have not personally reached the point in my journey with Jesus that I never get down. I have not come close to the point where I am never negative. Remember, I am a guy who has scoured the Bible to see if cynicism is a spiritual gift. But I can tell you that I am much better than I used to be. And that is what the journey is all about. I understand what your pastor is saying about the Wonderful Counselor retooling your emotional responses and that has and is happening in my life. But to say you are never down is unrealistic. As Jesus prepared for the Cross at Gethsemane it appears He was both down about the agony that was ahead and negative toward His sleeping Apostles.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”   (Matt 26)

So Bridgette…you have the full support of “Ask a Bad Christian.” And I am sure that is reassuring!

Dear Bad Christian,

I am 17. I describe myself as a “bad christian.” Why can’t I be a good christian?

Charles

Dear Charles,

Can I tell you something from the depths of my heart? You are well on your way to being a better Christian because you are honest enough to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal your condition. Calling myself a “Bad Christian” is not done to make me feel bad about myself or to punish myself. I use that description as a daily reminder of my potential to sin and the need to depend on Christ in every moment.

Do I really think that I am a “Bad Christian?” I often feel like the Apostle Paul who said this to Timothy.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Tim 1)

Notice something very important here Charles. Paul says “of whom I am the worst” instead of “I was the worst.” Paul knew that his walk was a daily dependence on Jesus. But I do not think that I am a “Bad Christian” in the sense that I am any less in the eyes of Jesus who shed His blood for me. The description is simply a daily reminder of my need for Him and my need to bathe daily in the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Honesty and the realization of your need for help is the first big step to becoming a good Christian.  I would suggest you spend time in God’s Word. Find a older mature Christian to mentor you (if you can). Try to enlist a couple of Christians who will help you be accountable. Realize that all of us are “Bad Christians” now and then. Also realize that not all of us admit that. When you are a “Bad Christian” you need to lean on the grace of Jesus, repair any damage you might have done, forgive yourself and keep going. This is not a sprint but a long and sometimes difficult marathon. I am praying that a few years from now you will look back and say what I often say. “I may still sometimes be a Bad Christian but I am a whole lot better than I used to be!”

I am praying for you Charles. Thanks for being real.

Dear Bad Christian,

Are you going to do this again?

Fake Poster Invented By Author to Conclude Blog

Dear Fake Poster Invented by Author to Conclude Blog,

I await the feedback of my tens of readers. Please don’t force me to make up letters to save face.

Grace,

BC