Dave Burchett's Blog, page 14

An Antidote to Fear

Many historians believe that 1968 was one of the most turbulent years in American history. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Race riots and Vietnam war protests created massive unrest. International peace was unsettled as the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia. A bestselling book by entomologist Paul Ehrlich called the Population Bomb predicted that overpopulation would lead to hundreds of millions of people starving and there was nothing we could do about it. In the Christian world a movie called Thief in the Night came out with a frightening story about the rapture and tribulation. I didn’t sleep well for weeks because I did not want to get left behind. My parents thought the end was near. I was 15 years old. The news was terrifying. I was a new Christian and I had virtually no discipling for what faith in God meant when confronting fears. I didn’t know if I would get a chance to drive, vote, get

Confessing my “Hidden Agenda”

The title “Evangelical Christian” seems to have become a pejorative to many in the media and culture. I understand the frustration (I have written about it a lot) when very vocal or celebrity Christian leaders fail spectacularly. I share your anger when a religious person espouses hateful or judgmental comments. I grieve when an institution or leader fails to protect the innocent. Critics say that Christians have an agenda and dangerous desire to control other people’s lives. I confess that has been true for some religious types. But the followers of Jesus that I have gotten to know over many decades don’t resemble that stereotype at all. Perhaps that is why Jesus warned so plainly about the dangers of power. The selfless, giving, and caring believers get little notice in this world but I believe they are quietly and faithfully making a difference. Jesus upset the organizational chart by placing those who serve at the top. I thought about what

Tired? Feeling Defeated? You’re Ready for Grace!

Recently I had the opportunity to see Willie Nelson performing at the age of 90. I had forgotten that my music list had a thought provoking song from Willie called “I’m Tired”. Hearing the lyrics of “I’m Tired” again caused a lot of reflection, a bit of sadness, and prayer. The narrative tells about the life of a factory worker who is, sadly, merely going through the motions of life. Married Rebecca back in seventy-sevenI still love her and I guess she loves me tooWe go to church on Sundays `cause we want to go to heavenMe and my family, ain`t that how you`re supposed to do That describes so many people that I know. Tired of their job. Treading water in their relationship. Going to church because they don’t know what else to do. It is particularly sad that so many Christians settle for a faith that leaves them discouraged and prone to sing the chorus of this song. But

What Does a Real Christian Look Like?

Recently I passed a highway billboard with this message. Real Christians Obey Jesus. I get the intent of the message. Too many folks leave their Sunday Lesson in the parking lot as they drive to lunch. But exactly what does it mean to be a “real Christian”? We subtly (or in my own experience, not so subtly) program Christians to believe that growth is about doing more right things. That righteousness somehow involves my extraordinary efforts for Jesus. We imply that change can only happen when you are trying hard and being disciplined to obey Jesus. The truth is that a dramatic change has already happened when you make that faith commitment to follow Jesus. I think one of the biggest problems in the church is that we don’t teach clearly and repetitively what happens at the very moment we put our faith in the finished work of Christ. Let’s just hit the highlights. Scripture tells you that at that

God Changed My Name

I love the music and lyrics of Christian artist Matthew West. This week I listened to a song titled “You Changed My Name” that resonated deeply in my heart. You changed my name, You changed my nameFrom Too Far Gone to Saved By GraceAnd now I am forever changedAll because You changed my name I still have a tendency to forget that amazing gift of grace from God. He changed my name when I put my faith in Jesus as my Savior. My new name, mentioned several times in the New Testament, is “child of God.” To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12-13 You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26 Because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the

The Song “I Love This Bar” has a Lesson for the Church

I write a lot about the importance of Christian community. I too often hear from wounded churchgoers that have not found a place of grace and caring. At the risk of riling the ever present spiritual hall monitors I want to suggest a reason so many people leave the institutional church in frustration and pain. My thoughts were triggered by a song titled  “I Love This Bar” by Toby Keith. If you will hang with me to the end before grabbing your judgement gavel I think you will at least see my point. I understand that bars can be a dark place to anesthetize pain. But there is a dynamic of these gathering spots that we can learn from. In my oddly constructed brain I listened to this song and dreamed of what a community of seekers and followers of Jesus should look like. Toby Keith loves that bar because any type of person can show up and be welcomed without

You Don’t Have to be a Perfect Dad to Have a Powerful Impact

Singer Dan Fogelberg was one of my favorite singer/songwriters. Every Father’s Day I think about a song written about his dad called “Leader of the Band”.  Fogelberg’s father was a musician and he passed that talent down to Dan. Parts of the lyric made me think of my Dad in his final years.. The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing oldBut his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul  I thank you for the music and your stories of the roadI thank you for the freedom when it came my time to goI thank you for the kindness and the times when you got toughAnd, papa, I don’t think I said ‘I love you’ near enough  My Dad knew how much I loved him. Still I wish I had told him more often. But this is the portion of the song that continues to impact me as a son. My life has been a poor

Science Suggests that Jesus and the Apostle Paul were on to Something

A recent study published by the Psychology Department at the University of Essex looked at the negative emotional and cognitive effect of hearing bad news only. Here is the opening statement from the study. Journalists employing the maxim “if it bleeds, it leads” seem intuitively aware of the negativity bias people have in attending to and remembering bad events over good ones. Indeed, negatively valenced news dominates the press and is shared on Twitter more frequently than positively valenced news journals.plos.org The study went on to note that “news featuring others’ immorality captivates people, it can have aversive affective and cognitive impacts, increasing emotional disturbances and negatively skewing people’s belief in the goodness of others”. I think we have witnessed that increasing and divisive effect on our culture. The authors are correct that such reporting of bad news “captivates” and leads to lots of unhealthy biting on the clickbait of negativity. The study examined an interesting counterbalance. Would showing acts

How Your Smallest Deeds Can Matter Forever

One of my favorite Christian writers and thought provokers went home to Jesus recently. Pastor/Author Tim Keller had an amazing ability to synthesize deep and powerful concepts into a couple of profound sentences. His writings had a deep impact on my grace journey. Tim Keller had the gift of challenging his readers to examine their walk with Jesus honestly. For example, the idea of justice in our culture is constantly debated. Christians often wonder how it should look and how we should respond to the concept. Keller made a pretty simple and convincing argument that Christians should go toward justice consistently and naturally because of one word. Grace. “If a person has grasped the meaning of God’s grace in his heart, he will do justice. If he doesn’t live justly, then he may say with his lips that he is grateful for God’s grace, but in his heart he is far from him. If he doesn’t care about the poor,

Hold Me Jesus

One of my peers recently noted that “getting old is not for sissies”. Indeed. Even if you escape personal difficulties you will undoubtedly have family and friends who are going through physical, emotional and spiritual trials. One of the songs that I default to when I am walking through valleys with others is from singer/composer Rich Mullins. The song is from his CD called Songs and it is simply titled “Hold Me Jesus”.  Well, sometimes my lifeJust don’t make sense at allWhen the mountains look so bigAnd my faith just seems so small Right now I am in a pretty good place in my life and journey with Jesus. But then I started thinking about the many friends and loved ones who could relate completely to those lyrics in their current situation. And I can certainly remember seasons of my life when those words accurately reflected the condition of my soul. And I wake up in the night and feel the darkIt’s so hot inside my