I know I haven't been alone in my thinking when some whack job does something wacky. There's plenty of these people out there. But then it's made so much more enjoyable when said whack job gets a microphone shoved in front of himself and they claim the reason for their wackiness is they are a Christian.
Awesome!
Well, Dave Burchett was thinking the same thing when he wrote When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. As he said early on, 'this book is for everyone who has been disgusted by the hypocritical arrogance of a church congregation or its leadership. It is also for Christians who inflict the wounds.'
I thoroughly enjoyed Dave's style, as he didn't mince words, but readily acknowledged that all Christ followers can be both the offended and those who offend. He spoke openly with Christians about our style and approach to all sorts of topics. But he also spoke about the expectations of non-Christians.
Some of these arguments have indeed been made before. But the honesty in which Dave approaches this topic doesn't leave one feeling chastised. Rather, it is more like a good conversation one knows he needed to hear.
As a pastor, I can see this being a great small group resource, so that perhaps whole pockets of people could begin to enact change within their churches. Let's face it, when we get together in large groups, we can do some pretty dumb and awful stuff.
On the other hand, we can also grow and learn together how to accomplish this great mission Jesus has called us to. This way, when the next microphone gets shoved in front of one of us, the rest of us might not wince with expectant doom.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
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