When Bad Christians
Happen to Good People by Dave Burchett
Ok, so we all know the famous quote from Bara Dada,
"Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians -- you are not like
him." But while voices from those
on the outside looking in can easily be dismissed, when the cry comes from the
inside, we need to stop and listen.
Reading Burchett’s book can be compared to riding a roller
coaster. While for the most part the
ride is enjoyable – and Burchett is a master entertainer and comedian – there
are also many nail biting, terror-filled (scream: “oh no, that’s me!”), “ouch”
moments. Yes, the book is filled with
horror stories of emotional and spiritual in-house butchery (one in particular
is a very personal story about the author’s daughter, Katie), but it also has
golden-glow-sunrise, life-changing, joy-filled stories of Christians whose
reflection of the amazing grace and love they received served as the healing balm
of Gilead. The title seems to indicate
that the book is filled with finger pointing, soap-opera, “it’s all your
fault!” stories, but it is actually more like a reality check (his analogy of
going to the dentist fits well). Of all
the communities of the world, evangelical Christians are often the most
dishonest people, simply because being real may result in their being hurt by
other equally dishonest people. (Pastors
especially are privileged to provide their flock with so much to talk
about…“bless his heart”.) Burchett
shines the spotlight on us all and reveals that we are all broken, hurting
people desperately needing other broken, hurting people to understand our pain
and help us deal with the ups and downs of life in a fallen, dysfunctional
world…ahem…and Church.
To me, parts II and III are the most important sections of
the book. While Christians may be licking
their wounds received from other Christians (some of whom, sadly, never recover
enough to risk returning for a possible second dose), non-Christians turn their
heads away in disgust and walk away justifying their refusal to follow
Christ. Bara Dada is a case in
point. So, true: Jesus weeps…and still
does…but Burchett then moves on to deal with non-sugar-coated Gospel living in
a badly scripted, role playing world.
There are some amazingly jaw-dropping steep drops in this section as
well, but far from being a list of rules slapped on thickly like rancid butter
on too little bread, Burchett points us in the right direction. In my humble opinion, he hits a home-run on
page 176 where he says this:
“It is easier to be
critical than truly helpful. In the
gospel of John, Jesus talked about how we must be in relationship with Him
before we can be fruitful in our endeavors.
Simply stated, when you are in a vital relationship with Christ, your
thoughts and actions will reflect that connection.”
Jesus lived a very real and thus very
counter-(religious)-cultural life.
Burchett invites us to walk with Him.
And yes, there is a bonus.
An eight-session study guide to change knowledge gained to attitude
changed to conduct altered.
"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this
review."
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