Blog

Sometimes we wonder if God is still there. Sometimes we wonder if He really cares about what is happening in our lives. Sometimes we wonder if it will ever get any better.

Those are questions that every honest follow of Jesus has wrestled with. My friend Bart Millard of MercyMe was pondering those questions when he wrote one of the most powerful songs from their amazing new record Lifer. I found it interesting that in the same time frame I was writing a chapter about doubt in my new book Waking Up Slowly.

Bart can write in a stanza what it takes me hundreds of rambling words to say. But both of us experience the same struggle. We share the hope of grace. We write and sing about how our identity is not worldly success but who we are in Christ and who God says we are because of that relationship. You should be extremely grateful that Bart Millard is the one who sings. We both try to communicate that on your worst day you are loved and cherished by the Father.

But when you write about grace and identity you know that life and/or the Enemy will give you a pop quiz. The lyrics from Even If are powerful

It’s easy to sing
When there’s nothing to bring me down
But what will I say
When I’m held to the flame
Like I am right now

I know you’re able
And I know you can
Save through the fire
With your mighty hand
But even if you don’t
My hope’s still you alone.

As I finished the final edit for Waking Up Slowly I had my test. And I had to decide if the words I was about to share with you in a hardcover book with a pretty cover were true in my own life. I remember talking to my sweet wife about the situation.

“Nothing that happens in my life is a surprise to God. So I will either receive blessings I never expected from this, I will grow in my faith, or a combination of those two.”

“Is that how you feel?” Joni quizzed.

“NOPE!” I responded honestly. “But that is what I am trusting and if I keep believing those truths my feelings will follow.”

I can tell you that they have. God has been present. I have seen His hand in so many ways. I wrote these words in a chapter called The Doubt Bout about my own struggles.

I am drawn to Jesus. I believe that God decided to redeem man through this outlandish plan. No religion offers redemption without works other than the gospel of Jesus. I believe I have seen His hand over and over in my life. But if I am wrong and had the opportunity to live my life over again, I can honestly say I would change nothing.

I consider a life pursuing the impossible goal of becoming like Jesus to be more valuable than any honor or possession I could attain. The teachings of Jesus are so amazing and so radical that I cannot imagine that any man could have imagined them. If you drill down into just His words you will find a sacred pathway that is worth seeking.

Because I have followed the teachings of Jesus, I believe my marriage is still intact. I don’t say that lightly. I honestly believe that without that faith commitment, Joni and I would not have survived. Whatever kind things that my friends and colleagues might say about me are in large part due to how I believe I should respond to them based on the words of Christ. I have been shaped and matured by this radical Rabbi who changed history. He changed me.

The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less. ~ Tim Keller, The Reason For God

I have been changed by these truths. I have confronted my doubts and I have chosen to stay focused on the claims of this Rabbi from Nazareth. If I am wagering my eternity, I choose to wager on Jesus.

Taken from Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett copyright © 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jesus is not an easy choice at times. The Apostle John wrote that many followers were deserting Jesus after some difficult teaching.

At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:66-68, NLT)

Indeed. I plant my flag of faith on that hill of eternal truth. Jesus is my hope. Even if…

I know you’re able
And I know you can
Save through the fire
With your mighty hand
But even if you don’t
My Hope’s still you alone
I know the sorrow
I know the hurt
Would all go away
If you’d just say the word
But even if you don’t
My hope’s still you alone

I am trusting that today.

 

 

 

I am grateful that the Barnes and Noble Booksellers chain has embraced Waking Up Slowly and most of their stores should have copies in stock (if not they can order it promptly).

I would like to support and thank them by encouraging you to drop by your local Barnes and Noble store and pick up a copy of Waking Up Slowly. I am offering a special deal and a fun promotion if you shop Barnes and Noble. Send me a picture of you and the book at your local Barnes and Noble. Be creative! I will have some unbiased judges (my wife and dog Maggie) pick one fun and creative pic to receive personalized copies of Waking Up Slowly, Stay and When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. Send your pic to dave@daveburchett.com, post it on Facebook and tag me or post on Instagram.

Everyone who picks up a copy from Barnes and Noble stores or BN.com between now and April 15th is eligible to receive a free autograph plate to place inside your book. You can get up to 3 plates per person. Just send your mailing address and how you want the plates signed to dave@daveburchett.com and I will get those out to you promptly.

This is a great chance to pick up gift copies and have them personalized for Mothers’ Day or other events. Hurry to Barnes and Noble stores or BN.com and get Waking Up Slowly.

But hurry! This is a limited time offer.

 

(A sample chapter from Waking Up Slowly. Hope you enjoy!)

 Jesus is coming soon. Look Busy.
~ Bumper Sticker

I was thinking about the sad humor in that bumper sticker when I heard a thump. Then another thump.

It was silent for a few moments so I went back to my writing.

Thump!

Okay, now I had to investigate. What I found was a beautiful male cardinal flying around one of our windows. He would hover near the window and then peck aggressively at the pane.

 

Thump!

He fluttered around some more and then thumped the glass!

The very focused bird stayed busy for several minutes repeating this odd behavior.

Joni and I had admired a pair of cardinals nesting in a tree just over our back fence for several weeks, but this was new. I did some research and found that cardinals are very territorial. This beautiful bird apparently was seeing his own reflection in the window, and he was letting that intruder know he was not welcome!

We are investigating some ways to reduce the reflection so he can go about the business of raising little cardinals and allowing us to enjoy his gorgeous plumage. I worried that he was going to hurt himself defending his family against a nonexistent  threat.

How often do we wear ourselves out and even beat our- selves up trying to defend our “territory”? Invariably, our busyness is generated to counter imagined threats or a need to prove our worth.

We are often button-bustin’ proud of how busy we are! Somehow being busy has become an indication of significance and value. If you are not busy, you are not worthy.

A New York Times op-ed by Tim Kreider offered this thought-provoking analysis: “Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.”1 Busyness as a hedge against emptiness. That is a brilliant synopsis of our need to appear busy and feel needed. Kreider concluded that “it’s not as if any of us wants to live like this; it’s something we collectively force one another to do.”

All of us are adding to that pressure every day. Christians are just as caught up in busyness.

The Christian Post reports that in data collected from more than 20,000 Christians in 139 countries (though mostly in America) and between the ages of 15 and 88, “more than 4 in 10 Christians around the world say they ‘often’ or ‘always’ rush from task to task. About 6 in 10 Christians say that it’s ‘often’ or ‘always’ true that ‘the busyness of life gets in the way of developing my relationship with God.’”

The survey also found that “by profession, pastors were most likely to say they rush from task to task (54 percent), which adversely affects their relationship with God (65 percent).”

What a tragedy that the pastoral shepherds we hope will show us the way are also caught in scheduling pressure. I don’t mean to throw pastors under the bus. The church community puts such unrealistic expectations on pastors to be available 24-7, visit every sick person, spend forty hours on a kick-donkey sermon, and have a perfectly adjusted family. Just typing those expectations made me tired.

Letting my busyness get in the way of my relationship with God shows how out of balance I have let my schedule become. Nowhere in Scripture will I find this command.

Be busy, and know that I am God.

My busyness does not please God. My faith pleases Him. And I can’t have faith and trust in someone I am too busy to know. Day in and day out, I need to heed this truth:

Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10

Solomon wrote about the wisdom of knowing when to let up.

Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.
Proverbs 23:4

I have a remarkable role model for how to balance busyness and priorities. Jesus never allowed the tyranny of the urgent to supersede the ultimately more important reward of relationships. He didn’t feel the need to drive Himself to exhaustion to teach and preach.

Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house.
Matthew 13:36

It is instructive that Jesus withdrew from the crowd (and the obligation I likely would have felt) to spend time with His disciples. The most important thing for Jesus was to pre- pare His disciples and not to “friend” several hundred people on an ancient FaceScroll. Clearly, it was valuable for Jesus to be teaching the crowds. But His relationship to His ministry “family” trumped the public gathering priority.

Jesus gave another example of schedule priorities:

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.
Mark 6:45-46

Jesus understood that He must say no to people who really wanted His attention in order to spend time doing what mattered most. This passage follows Jesus’ miraculous feeding of five thousand people. If I had performed such a feat, I would have hung around for hours to soak up the praise and accolades, sign a few autographs, and take some selfies. But Jesus knew what He needed in that moment— time with His Father.

I need to know when to say no. Busyness does not define my worth. Being a schedule martyr does not make me more righteous. Overscheduling keeps me from spending time with the One who gives His righteousness to me.

Why does that happen time and time again to followers of Jesus? My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities, suggesting that change can hap- pen only when you are trying hard and concentrating on the spiritual disciplines.

That was my struggle for forty years before I realized a simple truth. Dramatic change took place the moment I made that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Scripture tells me that when I decided to become a follower of Christ, the following things happened immediately:

I was given a new identity.

I became a new creation.

I received the gift of the righteousness of Christ.

I struggle with that concept because I am not always righteous in my behavior. That may well be the biggest under- statement in this volume. Here is the amazing theology of the gospel: God sees me as righteous and worthy because of my relationship with Jesus. Nothing I have done or ever will do could earn that righteousness. It is a gift of grace because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

I was changed completely when I put my trust in Christ as my only hope for salvation. I did not have to struggle with futile performance to change. I was changed that day. But it has taken me forty years to know Him better, never realizing I had been carrying around the key to that kind of relation- ship since day one.

Now I see a different picture. I see Jesus standing at my side and explaining that I am completely changed. I see Him telling me that my sins are forgiven and I can quit relitigating past mistakes. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. I see Him repeating that, because I tend to nod my head without really believing it. Jesus explains to me that no matter what the accuser might say, those things that used to define me are dead and buried at the Cross. I see Jesus telling me that I have the Holy Spirit to comfort me and provide an unshakable source of strength.

He reminds me gently that I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. He tells me for the ten thousandth time that sin does not have power over me anymore. And I see His demeanor being just as patient and kind as the first time He told me that truth. I hear Him remind me that power over sin is looking to Him for my strength and not trying to fight it with my busyness and resolve.

I see Jesus looking deeply into my eyes and tenderly expressing (again) that it is my trust in God that pleases Him. No other works are required. My faith is what pleases Him according to God’s Word. Nothing else. I picture Jesus embracing me and saying, “Relax. Rest. Let Me love you and then, out of that rest and love, you can love others. Quit making it so complicated, Dave.”

I have a hard time putting my full weight on those truths.

But I have learned that we can disabuse ourselves today of the notion that busyness is somehow related to godliness. I suggest a spring (or summer/fall/winter) cleaning of the calendar. Allow yourself time to spend with the most important people in your life. Schedule time with Jesus. Don’t allow guilt to monopolize every waking moment. Carve out time for friends, family, and yourself.

If Jesus could leave disappointed throngs behind for what was important, we should withdraw for recharging and time with God too. Write down where, when, and how you are going to find some time to relax with friends, family, and God. Be still, and know that God loves you and desires you. Your actions will naturally emerge from that loving relationship with Him. You don’t have to earn that love. It is yours.

GOD’S TAKE

Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10

A DOSE OF GRACE

Clean up your calendar by paring down your busyness. Limit or even eliminate activities, and create more time to be still with God and present with yourself and loved ones. What do you think can be readjusted to free up time for what’s most important?

Taken from Waking Up Slowly by Dave Burchett copyright © 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Want to see more? Go to wakingupslowly.com to read more free samples, see the official video, read endorsements, and see an awkward glamour photo of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The movie The Shack has reunited a wave of debate, hand-wringing, defensiveness and condemnation in some circles. The book and the subsequent movie has been called dangerous, subversive and heretical by many critics. I didn’t know any of this when a friend told me that he really enjoyed the book and I should read it many years ago. Since I have a book addiction I soon was in possession. I finished The Shack and I thought it was a good read. I was challenged and touched by parts of the story.  And, to be honest, I was a bit unsettled by some of it. After finishing the book I did some research to find out what others were saying about the book. Some of the critiques were thoughtful. These writers pointed out where the book deviated from scripture. Some of the orthodox theological missteps were outlined in clear detail. I will stay away from the theological debate because that has been discussed by so many. I am not endorsing the movie or the book. Instead I want to offer a few gentle propositions to consider for my fellow followers of Jesus as the discussion heats up.

1. Be careful about disparaging The Shack’s author, William P Young. Please be cautious about assigning motives to a person you don’t know from Adam and Eve’s first house cat. I know that I have been called things that were really surprising by my brothers and sisters in the faith simply because they disagreed with something I wrote. Mr. Young apparently was deeply wounded by Christians who should have protected him. I don’t believe Mr.Young set out to write a book that would rock the evangelical community. Apparently he didn’t even write the book with the thought of being published. It was originally written for family members to help them deal with their pain. It doesn’t seem that he set out with sinister motives to undermine theological orthodoxy when he wrote The Shack. When his theology is nonorthodox I am suggesting that we gracefully discuss those areas and don’t attack Mr. Young. Defending truth with grace is always the most effective tactic. But our passion for truth too often makes grace the first thing we jettison.
2. Be careful how you share your concerns with others. When I read comments like “are these people just blind to heresy?” I cringe. Because you reinforce the feelings of so many people that are moved by this book and movie. They have experienced a Christianity that is judgmental and sometimes downright mean. If your heart is to be a guardian of truth you will damage that worthy desire by harsh criticism of those who are touched by The Shack.
3. Be prayerful about why this book and movie has connected so surprisingly with millions. I think I know some reasons why it is resonating with so many. Those of us raised in the desert of legalism are desperate for the cool, refreshing waters of grace. Those of us who have been wounded by other Christians want more than anything to believe that Jesus does love us and our experience is not how it should be in the church. We need guardians of the truth of God’s Word but we also need those guardians to be shepherds that care and not just condemn. Some of the articles have been so stern that I felt like I would be sent to after school detention just for enjoying the book. That doesn’t help a wounded believer. Jesus said to both feed and take care of His sheep.
4. Don’t automatically decide you won’t see the movie. Why should you consider doing that if you believe the theology is off base? Because of a principle that I harp on over and over. When people open spiritual doors we should have enough sense to go through them. Instead we tend to slam those doors and then go knock loudly on doors that are closed. Obviously this book and movie is connecting. There is a deep spiritual hunger in America. If a fellow believer or seeker comments on the movie it will do little good to look down our spiritual nose and let them know the theology is all wrong. You will be able to get through some pretty intimate doors that this story opens and have a great discussion of truth and grace.
5. Be aware that God is doing just fine. I have seen some pretty dire warnings about this book and movie. One of the critiques that I read often is that the book makes God small. Aren’t we also making God small by being so concerned about the possible damage done by this story? God can, will and is using this movie. The truth is that The Shack is causing many people to think about things they have never considered. Some are willing to try again after being deeply wounded. Shouldn’t we be praying that God will use us to come alongside these souls as they search and seek the truth?
6. Acknowledge that there are the things this movie does well. When you go negative it causes people to get defensive. It does more harm to make people who feel abandoned or hurt by the church feel “stupid” because they don’t know as much theology as you do. If you know that much theology don’t forget the grace sections.
7. Recognize the hunger in the body of Christ. We have done a poor job of teaching (or understanding) some of the key teachings of Scripture. Most of us get salvation. We could not be reconciled to a Holy God on our own. But then it seems to get a bit spotty. Too many of us don’t understand key theological truths like who we are in Christ, who God says we are and who God says He is. We know truth but don’t trust it. What is in our head doesn’t invade our heart. The Shack has touched the hearts of millions. The door is open for a thoughtful and real discussion about God. I pray that we don’t blow it.

 Instead of taking readers of The Shack to the woodshed let’s take them to the room of grace.

Check out my newest book on Grace, Identity and Faith entitled Waking Up Slowly..

If you are still thinking about checking out my new book you can read a sample by clicking the link. I would love to share this journey with you!

 

Download a Sample of Waking Up Slowly

Thanks for being patient (at least to my face) with all of the promotions and posts related to the release of my new book Waking Up Slowly. It is tough to get the word out when you are not a big-time author. Today the book is officially released to bookstores and the online sites.

Here is how you can help….

If you are considering buying a copy of the book at some point it would be much appreciated if you could order it today. It is important to make a splash on release day at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Here are the links to the book.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Post something on your social media sites or email your friends about the book. You can point them to WakingUpSlowly.com where they can see the video or read a chapter for free.

I am doubling my contribution to Patriot Paws from my portion of the proceeds for every sale of Waking Up Slowly and Stay in 2017.

And for my North Texas friends I will be at the Firewheel Mall Barnes and Noble today at 2 pm to sign copies of Waking Up Slowly. I hope to see you in person!

I would be grateful if you grabbed a copy today and tell your friends. I am blessed by your kind words and encouragement. Looking forward to sharing the journey of Waking Up Slowly with you!