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Enjoy a gently read blog today. Blessings, Dave

I am changing careers. I have decided to start issuing official sounding studies about obvious things. I have a keen sense of the obvious. Why not profit from that? My career epiphany came as I read a study that found that college students are self-centered. Seriously?

I am planning to release my first groundbreaking study soon. My thesis is that people stuck in rush hour traffic are less friendly. I am pretty sure I am right.

While the conclusion of the study about today’s college kids isn’t shocking the conclusions about the reasons are indeed interesting. According to the study’s lead author, psychology professor Jean Twenge, the reason narcissism is now epidemic can be traced to an unhealthy desire to boost self-esteem.

Narcissism is defined at dictionary.com as excessive love or admiration of oneself. The second listed definition smacks of irony.

A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem.

So our out of balance attempts to artificially boost self-esteem actually creates an unhealthy self-esteem deficit in many young men and women. Very interesting.

Here are some excerpts from the Associated Press story.

In the study released today, researchers warn that a rising ego rush could bring personal and social problems for the Millennial Generation, also called Gen Y. People with an inflated sense of self tend to have less interest in emotionally intimate bonds and can lash out when rejected or insulted.

“We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said the study’s lead author, San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge. “Kids are self-centered enough already.”

Some of the rise in narcissism was probably caused by self-esteem programs that many elementary schools adopted in the 1980s, the study suggested. It noted that preschools began to have children sing a song to the tune of “Frère Jacques” that proclaims: “I am special, I am special. Look at me.”

Other trends such as permissive parenting, increased materialism and the fascination with celebrities and reality TV shows may also heighten self-regard, said the University of Georgia’s W. Keith Campbell, a study co-author.

Dr. Twenge has written a book titled “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young American are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – and More Miserable Than Ever Before”.

Let’s be honest here. Maybe the “Mellennials” are a bit higher on the narcissism scale but this self-absorption is not confined to the university level. I would suggest this has been a growing phenomenon since the Baby Boomers starting crawling around America’s nurseries. The effects of America’s heightened self-regard has filtered into our churches as well. You could do a church version of Dr.Twenge’s book called “Generation(s) Me: Why Today’s Christians have more Teaching, Programs, Resources – and are more Miserable Than Ever Before.” Sadly, you can too often see Christians who don’t realize who they are in Christ lash out when rejected or insulted just like the students in the study. Why? The answer for Christians is that we have forgotten or don’t understand what Christ has done in our lives.

Self-esteem for collegians or congregations does not come from singing songs and being told you are special. The foundation of such shallow self-esteem is built on sand and is easily washed away by life’s storms.

But healthy self-esteem is possible. I believe it can be accomplished through applying some timeless truths.

1. It is not about you. Dr.Stephen Bramer, a teaching pastor at our church, shared that he was taught as a child that you find joy by living with clear cut priorities. The plan is simple and uses joy as an acronym.   J – Jesus comes first, O – Others come next, Y – You come last. When I have lived my life in that order I have found joy. Unfortunately my percentage of days lived in that order needs to get higher.
2. You are special. But you are special because you are created in the image of God and not because of a group sing-a-long.
3. I believe that every one of God’s children is gifted to contribute to His church and to His plan. Having a part in the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus gives you significance that has eternal value.
4. Self-worth is found in being loved unconditionally by the Creator of the Universe. Jesus said “I love you” when you were unlovable. Having a personal relationship with God gives you self-esteem that is built on a solid foundation and that can withstand life’s storms.
5. We were created to be in community and being self-absorbed sabotages that plan. I can enjoy the benefits of community only if I put things in the right relational order.
6. All of these truths come together when you become a child of God and allow Jesus total access. The old self must go away. Paul wrote powerfully about our potential to live new lives in Christ Jesus. Take a moment to read Romans 6. Good stuff.

The conclusion of the narcissism study made me chuckle. Dr. Campbell did note that narcissism can have benefits, suggesting it could be useful in meeting new people “or auditioning on American Idol.” So if the primary benefit of narcissism is getting shredded by Simon Cowell I think I will pass.

When I awoke today I thought about these words of Jesus.

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

That makes me feel pretty good about myself today.

I love football season. The start of NFL camps got me fired up and ready for some football. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek reference to football in my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I looked at how we assemble our church “team” using football imagery.

You start with a couple of All-Conference performers and a few other pretty good players. But you also have several who just started playing and don’t even know the rules or terminology of the game. Add some dreadfully out-of-shape, middle-aged players who have been around for years, who never work out or train, but who expect to get playing time nonetheless. You have a few who just don’t care anymore and don’t want to practice, learn the plays or listen to the coach. But you can’t cut them from the team or even bench them without causing big problems. There are some who try hard but are too weak or injury prone to be effective. A few regularly miss games and practices without notice and then reappear expecting to play and even start. Toss in some … umm… “mature” players who remember the way the game was played back when it was really good. You also have some players who think the coaches and assistant coaches are total idiots. Some passionately believe that the offensive game plan is totally wrong and that all the other players need to change to comply with their personal team philosophy… now! And then you have some who try to run their own plays when they go into the game. Many of the players meet regularly at Denny’s after each game to disparage the coach and staff after saying grace over a Grand Slam breakfast. How do you think this team would perform? If they ever won a game, it would be a miracle. 

Yet that is a rather common blueprint for a church. A team that is all over the map in maturity, knowledge, experience, passion and ability. Is it a surprise that our church team sputters at times? Maybe we should function more like a football team. Hold spiritual tryouts before you let anyone join the church. Cut the most of the rookie believers or send them to another church to gain experience. Waive all of the Christians with bad attitudes or poor work ethic. Fine any church members who are late to meetings or services. Make the deacons run laps when they miss a row while passing the offering basket. Fifty pushups for the pastor if he goes too long (poor clock management). With that kind of discipline you could shape up the church and it would cease to be the body of Christ.

The church will always be a little (or a lot) dysfunctional because people like me and you are on the team. So don’t be surprised when a committee member fumbles, an elder misses a block or a staff member tosses an interception. Part of our assignment on our church team is learning how to love those we would like to trade or waive. So we might as well keep our eye on the Coach and look for the fun in our dysfunction. Jesus established this team (church) and I am just glad to be on the roster. Paul wrote this to the church at Galatia.

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.  Gal 6 Msg

Our training camp paraphrase:

Be a good teammate. When someone makes a mistake, get over it, encourage them and be a leader. You might need some encouragement too before the game is over. Help them up and reach out to a teammate that is down. Play as a team according to the Coach’s playbook. If you think you are better than your teammates you will hurt the team and yourself.

Have a great season!

 

 

There is a very smart website called SmartPastor.com. The site links interesting tidbits, articles, blogs and other resources for pastors. The man behind the curtain is a pastor from Loveland, Colorado named Jeff Berg. His bio describes his humble beginnings.

Born naked, helpless and unable to fend for himself, Jeff Berg overcame his inauspicious start to become the Pastor of Family Ministries at LifeSpring Covenant Church in Loveland, Colorado. 

How can you not root for an underdog story like that? Occasionally Jeff will tarnish his Smart Pastor credentials by linking to my humble ramblings. The last time that Jeff linked to my site he described me in a way that brought tears to my eyes.

Dave Burchett, the most entertaining Christian author you never heard of, finished his series of posts, “Sentences that change your life.”

I was not prepared for such an honor. But I have quickly scribbled some notes on one of my books that hasn’t sold. So here goes…

I would like to thank the thousands and even millions of you who have not purchased my books for making this award possible. I would also like to thank the hundreds of churches who have not asked me to speak at their retreats and services. I would like to thank the bookstores who ruthlessly tossed my book on the half-price table. Without all of you I would not have been able to claim this title. To quote the Great Carnac from the great Johnny Carson: “May a camel caravan make a pit stop on your lawn.”

Note to the humor impaired – The preceding paragraph was tongue-in-cheek. I do not write to get famous or rich (although I am willing to accept either for the Kingdom). However God chooses to use these efforts is fine with me. At least the SmartPastor thinks I’m entertaining. If you are curious about what so many of you have managed to miss you can check out the books by clicking here. Hey, I may be anonymous but I am not shameless!

Blessings and grace,

What’s His Name

Today’s blog is guaranteed to generate response that is completely unrelated to my point. So I decided to review again one of my favorite public service films of all time. It was called Duck and Cover and the film featured a turtle named Bert. You can enjoy a couple of chuckles by watching this film here.

The film spent nine terrifying minutes telling you a nuclear bomb could detonate at any moment. To be fair, the film primarily advocated finding appropriate shelter. But if such shelter was not readily available the very serious announcer suggested you should duck and cover when you saw the bright flash of detonation. While I guess such an action is better than nothing it seems ludicrous that this would be of much value in the event of nuclear attack. When I took a break from being terrified I wondered about some important questions. Like why does a turtle wear a safety helmet? How could the helmet fit inside the shell when Bert ducked and covered? And how did the monkey in that tree get his hands on dynamite? Hopefully today’s post will raise some questions even more important than those vital queries.

Yesterday I came across the type of story in The Dallas Morning News that used to make my blood boil. It was a report about a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled parent in a Dallas suburb. Here is the report:

David Wallace Croft says he is fighting against the influence of “Judeo-Christian monotheism.” He defines himself as an atheist, an “optihumanist” and a Libertarian. Over the past several years, he has fought any signs of religion at the Carrollton school his three children attend. He complained about Boy Scout rallies held during school, fliers sent home about Good News Bible Club meetings and the inclusion of “Silent Night” and a Hanukkah song in holiday concerts. The rallies and fliers stopped, and in some cases the songs were removed or altered, angering other parents.

There was a time when reading that would have made my blood pressure soar to dangerous levels. Now it just makes me perplexed. I do not understand the level of anger and/or paranoia that drives people like Mr.Croft. The overwhelming majority are affected because of a handful of squeaky wheels. My kingdom for some reason and and ounce of common sense.

Mr. Croft, 39, often stopped by the campus looking for violations. He took photos as evidence of “In God We Trust” posters hanging on the wall and complained about a teacher wearing an Abilene Christian University shirt.

How about stopping all cash transactions at the school cafeteria? Every time a coin is used the student is exposed to “In God We Trust”. I cannot imagine how many humanists/atheists have come to a profound faith after reading a nickel.

His largest fight to date is set to play out in federal district court in Dallas (this week). He and his wife, Shannon, are suing Gov. Rick Perry and the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, arguing that the state’s minute of silence, in effect since 2003, is unconstitutional and amounts to state-sanctioned school prayer. The lawsuit says a Rosemeade teacher told Mr. Croft’s son that the minute of silence held each morning was specifically for prayer. She then bowed her head, clasped her hands and began to pray.

If the school crossed the line I am sure they will respond appropriately. Lawsuits like this one have put the fear of God (or whatever force you happen to fear) into educators. This would be what small minds like mine would call a “mistake” and not a state sponsored agenda to convert Mr.Croft’s son. Teachers will learn how they should handle the minute of silence and we move on. Right? No! Because that would make sense and would not get your name in the paper.

Here comes one of the most ridiculous arguments I have ever encountered.

“Moment of silence bills have been popping up in additional states,” Mr. Croft wrote on his blog. “To have millions of public school children waste a minute of education each day for a practice that has no secular purpose seems to me like a great sin.”

If Mr.Croft is really prowling the halls of his local school he knows that that the one minute of silence is not the biggest time waster in our educational system. And I could suggest that wasting my tax dollars for law suits like this might also be a great sin.

Mr.Croft gives me tired head. Another story that crossed my electronic desk struck as being a far bigger issue. Christian parents seemed surprisingly unconcerned about their spiritual condition according to researcher George Barna. The Barna Report noted that evangelical parents seem most concerned about the culture.

Evangelical Christian parents were three times more likely than other Christian segments to identify responding to the declining morals and values of society as a major challenge. They were also notably more likely than other Christian parents to feel they failed to devote enough time to their faith – even though they invest a larger share of their time each week to faith-related activities.

That highlights a critical mistake that I have made and many other Christians make. We spend time on causes instead of time with Christ. This brings me to the change in my walk with Jesus. I care about cultural issues. I am involved politically. But my biggest point of emphasis is learning how to follow Jesus and what that looks like in my daily life. Jesus gave us a very short to do list.

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

Making disciples means you have to live your faith out. Living your faith means that others see Jesus in your life. I wonder if we don’t fight the wrong battles when it comes to spiritual matters. George Barna, who directed the survey, emphasized the importance of so many parents listing the challenge of spiritual training for their children.

“Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age thirteen boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life,” the researcher stated. “Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else.” Barna also expressed surprise that the percentage of parents indicating such concern was so small. “This was a study exclusively of Christian parents with young children in their household. Given companion surveys showing that such parents often convey dismay over the eroding cultural environment for raising children, and how difficult parenting is these days, we anticipated a broader emphasis upon the challenges related to bringing up spiritually whole and healthy children.”

Parents are the most important factor in a child’s faith. I wish that we didn’t have to worry about every little offense that might irritate those who do not have faith. But their influence on our children’s lives is insignificant compared to our own. Let us not lose sight of the real battle. That is putting on the armor of God, living for Him every single day and modeling that for your children.

 

 

Parenthood is a tough gig. We have been blessed with three wonderful sons who are, thank God, grownups. My gratefulness that they are grown relates to the current hyper-competitive race to give babies an edge. Today I read a story that may bring a little sanity to infant competition.

Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, according to a new study reported by The Los Angeles Times.

That made me chuckle. Can you imagine spending a couple of hundred bucks on baby DVD’s and junior becomes Homer Simpson.

Mommy: What do you say when you drop your bottle?
Baby:  D’oh!
Mommy: Are you hungry?
Baby: UMMMMMM….Donuts!

Perhaps the babies don’t literally become Homer but the study did find that for every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as “Brainy Baby” or “Baby Einstein,” they knew six to eight fewer words than other children. Parents aiming to put their babies on the fast track, even if they are still working on walking, each year buy hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of the videos.

Unfortunately it’s all money down the tubes, according to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Christakis and his colleagues surveyed 1,000 parents in Washington and Minnesota and determined their babies’ vocabularies using a set of 90 common baby words, including mommy, nose and choo-choo.

Are you ready for the amazing discovery?

Christakis said children whose parents read to them or told them stories had larger vocabularies.

Amazing. Who knew? Reading and interacting with your baby is better than watching a video? The whole trend to fast track toddlers is disturbing. I suppose every parent dreams of having a child that is really special. We need to start believing they are special the way they are designed and not by how we can “improve” them. 

Gary Smalley wrote a book some time ago called “The Blessing” in which he encouraged modern fathers to pass spiritual blessings on to their children. He said that it’s more than taking them to church or praying with them or setting a good example. He talks about five practical ways to pass on a blessing.

1. A meaningful touch. Jacob embraced and kissed and laid his hands on his sons and grandchildren. By giving a hug or a touch or an arm about the shoulder, we communicate love and a blessing. When children get loving touches from their parents, they are less likely to seek touch from harmful sources later in life. The Bible affirms this concept too. It relates this incident about Jesus:

   People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

   One study has shown that it takes eight to ten meaningful touches each day to maintain emotional and physical health. If you can find ways to do that, your own children will be blessed.

2. Verbal affirmation. Children long to hear their dads say, “I’m proud of you.” “You’ve done that well.” “I love you.” That is hard for many men. Get outside your comfort zone and learn to say those things but be sure you mean it. Kids have finely tuned sincerity (bovine excrement) meters. Don’t be phony.
3. Pass along a blessing by attaching value. To bless means to honor. We honor our children by letting them know that they are valuable to us-they’re the most important people in the world to us. That means we sacrifice time for them. That means we look them in the eye when we talk to them, and we stop and we listen to them. When I surveyed my sons about their favorite memories all three related simple things like playing catch or coaching their teams. Those things mattered because they felt valued by the time spent with them.
4. Picture a positive future for them. Jacob pronounced a positive future on Reuben and Judah and Dan and Asher and the others. We can bless our children by attaching high value to their gifts and then picturing for them a positive future.
   “You really love people. You’d make a great salesman some day.”
   “The way you love animals, you’d be a good veterinarian.”
   “You want to be a policeman. That means you’re courageous.”
   “The way you love church, you may be a great church leader some day.”
   We have always tried to celebrate the uniqueness of our children.
5. Bless your children is by an active commitment. It’s not enough to speak the words. There has to be a willingness in the parent to sacrifice for the child, to pray, to spend time in helping develop their gifts, to spend money for lessons and for higher education.

I came into this dad thing wanting a star athlete, a brilliant scholar or an amazing musician. I never stopped to consider how they were supposed to acquire those genes. I deepened my gene pool considerably when I married Joni but she could only contribute so much. They still have my genetic strand gumming up the mix. What I got were three guys ranging from average to good athletic ability. Intelligent but not Einsteins. What God gave me was three godly men of integrity. I have been blessed beyond my grandest dreams.

Allow your children to be who God designed them to be. In Deuteronomy we read these instructions.

Make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

Follow that simple advice and you will give them a blessing and receive many in return.

Saturday was a fascinating day in professional sports. Two enormously gifted men achieved personal milestones. One superstar received adulation and praise. The other generated a mixed response of praise and open disdain. Michael Irvin was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame this weekend. The other superstar, Barry Bonds, tied the revered home run record of Hank Aaron on Saturday.

Barry Bond’s story has been well chronicled. While the accusations have never been proven it is overwhelmingly suspected that Bonds benefited from performance enhancing drugs. Bonds has been defiant, arrogant, angry, and sullen as he relentlessly closed in on the record. Fans have taken to wearing asterisk shirts at San Francisco Giant games to make the statement that any records set should have an asterisk attached to denote that the mark is tainted. Barry Bonds has not made it easy to be a fan of his.

But the fascinating juxtaposition from Saturday was the adulation poured on Michael Irvin. Irvin was also once an angry, arrogant, and defiant athlete. He was reviled by many fans. He made some very poor judgments that hurt him, his team, and his family. So how did Irvin find himself being showered with affection this past weekend?

One word. Redemption.

Michael Irvin seems to be a changed man. On a day when he was being recognized as one of the best football players to ever take the field you would expect that Irvin would display more than a little pride in his athletic giftedness. He chose to humbly confess his sinfulness. I believe it took more courage to utter some of the words Irvin spoke Saturday than it took to catch a pass knowing that a linebacker was drawing a bead on his chest.

Irvin started with a prayer. He alluded to the success on the football field. But the comments that won my respect were his up front and honest confessions at a event that rarely sees such moments. This excerpt from The Dallas Morning News is a sample of Irwin’s amazing speech.

Then came some very personal and emotional apologies for his failures off the field during the 1990s – the parties, the women, the drug arrests. He spoke directly to his wife, Sand, bringing a tear to her eye.

“For better or worse – those are the vows we take before God in marriage,” Irvin said. “It’s easy to live with the ‘for better,’ but rarely can you find someone who sticks around and endures the ‘for worse.’

“Sand, my wife, I have worked tirelessly to give you the ‘for better.’ But I also gave you the ‘for worse’ – and you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve it.”

Irvin broke down in tears about 21 minutes into his speech when he addressed his sons, Michael and Elijah.

“That’s where my heart is,” Irvin said of his sons. “I say to God, ‘I have my struggles, and I made some bad decisions, but whatever you do, don’t let me mess this up.’ I say, ‘Please help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than I.’ ”

And suddenly a night dedicated to football had nothing to do with football at all.

I did not used to be a fan of Number 88. He is winning me over. Partly because he could play at the highest level of professional sports. But mainly because he was man enough to recognize his mistakes, humble himself before his Savior, realize what really matters, and confess all of that when he really did not need to.

Most men have also caused some (or many) ‘for worse’ moments in their marriage. Most of us have fallen short now and then from what we should have or could have been as dads. But Michael Irvin modeled something far more important than football on Saturday. He showed us what redemption looks like. Michael and his family demonstrated the power of love. The amazing grace of Jesus. And that humility is the greatest strength that any man can possess. Some other blog sites have questioned his sincerity. I believe his comments were honest and real. That does not mean he will be perfect for the rest of his life. But I have learned that when you realize the depth of your fallen Ness you are ready to begin your journey toward Christlike Ness.

My thoughts turned back to Barry Bonds. Perhaps I should extend a little grace to him. Maybe someday he will stand before us as a changed man. Maybe I should pray for that miracle instead of praying that a hamstrung injury will preserve Apron’s record. I never would have believed that Michael Irvin would move me so much while he was living his former life. That is what redemption is all about. A Savior who stands always ready to meet us at the moment we turn to Him. Michael Irvin did it. I did it. Barry Bonds is not a bigger sinner than me or Michael Irvin. We are all the same in the eyes of a Holy God . All of us, whether rich or poor, famous or anonymous, face the same question about how we can be reconciled to God. Paul summarizes it nicely in Romans.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Paul goes on to say that we can not take credit for any of this.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.

Redemption is available for all of us. Even super stars.

 

Today is a travel day so there is no time to write. I hope you enjoy this gently read post from the past.

When I used to visit my family in Kentucky I remember the saying they used when someone thought a little differently.

“That boy ain’t right!”, they would note with a smile and shake of the head.

That is how I feel today after my “ain’t right” brain somehow linked two widely disparate stories. Story number one was found in The Week Magazine and told about a growing number of multimillionaires who are leaving their money to themselves in the hope they will someday be brought back to life. The Wall Street Journal had originally reported that these very future investors are having themselves cryogenically frozen with the hope that medical advances will allow them to be revived. I don’t know about you but I am really not interested in coming back to life on this planet. Woody Allen’s classic line comes to mind when he said, “I refuse to believe in reincarnation because I don’t want to have to sit through Ice Capades again.” According to the story, these assets are frozen (just like the investor…sorry, couldn’t resist) in something called “personal revival trusts” that will be waiting for them when they wake up in a century or two. Predicted first words…”Is it just me or is it really cold in here?”.  I can add these people to my “ain’t right” collection. I believe what is written in Hebrews.

Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. (Hebrews 9, The Message)

Story number two that my brain oddly linked was about a man I have always admired. USA Today had a feature about the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you are not familiar with the story Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian and pastor in Germany who was deeply opposed to Adolf Hitler from the beginning of his rule. He broadcast against the Nazi movement and joined a Christian resistance movement called the Confessing Church. In 1939 he left Germany to be a teacher at Union Theological Seminary in New York but he left the safe haven of America to return to his home after just a month.

“I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America,” he wrote. “I shall have no right to take part in the restoration of Christian life in Germany after the war unless I share the trials of this time with my people.”

Writer G.Jeffrey MacDonald writes in USA Today about Bonhoeffer’s return.

Bonhoeffer used family connections to gain a post in the military intelligence unit, where he operated as a double agent. There he helped arrange for a bomb to explode at the Führer’s headquarters on July 20, 1944. But Hitler was only wounded, and Bonhoeffer, 38 and engaged to be married, was among the dozens arrested. He was hanged April 9, 1945, just days before American troops liberated Flossenbürg.To many, Bonhoeffer’s name is synonymous with moral courage and with the importance of thinking deeply about right and wrong.

That was the inspiring aspect of Bonhoeffer’s life. His thoughtful anguish over how to deal with evil in this world is more than applicable today. As I struggle with the concept of grace and Christ’s love for all sinners I am challenged by words like these from Bonhoeffer. “How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?” Applying that principle alone would turn the American church upside down. But it was the way that Bonhoeffer faced death that caused me to relate his story to wealthy people who are trying desperately to deny the reality of death and judgment. Again quoting from the excellent story written by Mr.MacDonald.

For Bonhoeffer, being authentic meant facing death as destiny. His most famous line highlights the sacrifices required in Christian life: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” His final act was to celebrate Communion with some fellow prisoners. Witnesses reported his final words. “This is the end for me, the beginning of life.” 

You see Bonhoeffer knew that truth of Phillipians when Paul wrote to live is Christ, to die is gain. I like the rendering of Paul’s words in The Message.

Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.

Indeed.