Becoming a dragon is a dangerously subtle process. You make a long chain of bad choices. The chain gradually wraps around you. Layer by layer, it begins to take on the aspect of scales. One day you glance at yourself in the mirror and a monster is staring back at you. You aren't who you used to be. You aren't who you want to be. You're not who you were created and designed to be. Instead, you're a dragon. When Jim Burgen was nineteen years old, he realized how easy it had been to become a dragon. He knew he didn't want to be one anymore . . . but how? No More Dragons is the story of our common, hopeful journey from dragonhood back to personhood. As Pastor Burgen narrates the remarkable process of reclaiming himself from himself, he implores modern church goers to shake off the trivialities of churchiness in favor of the substantive questions that make a spiritual transformation: “Is Jesus the only one who can undragon people?” “Why don't I like most churches?” “Where is God in difficult times?” “How do you shed decades of gnarly scales?” Some choices will lead you to a better life. Some will kill you. Some choices will add a new layer of scales to your dragon, and some will slough them off. No More Dragons is about asking Christ to deliver you and learning how to obey him. Jim Burgen studied Bible and Sociology at Milligan College. He spent the first twenty years of his ministry working with high school and college students in Kentucky. He has been the lead pastor of Flatirons Community Church in Boulder County, Colorado since 2006. He also serves on the board of SOZO International, an NGO focusing on holistic community empowerment in Afghanistan. NO MORE DRAGONS Get Free from Broken Dreams, Lost Hope, Bad Religion, and Other Monsters By Jim Burgen Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2014 James M. Burgen aka Jim Burgen All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4002-0562-2 Contents 1. You, Me, and Dragons What Is This Book About?, 1, 2. Monkeys, Naked People, and Traitors Only Jesus Slays Your Dragons, 25, 3. Your Past, Your Present, and Your Train Tracks Believing Without Aligning Is Useless, 47, 4. Elephants, Lions, and Depression What Happens When Dragons Hunt You?, 67, 5. Shark Week, Allergies, and Faith Faith Isn't What You Thought It Was, 93, 6. Prayer, People, and Pills So What Is Faith?, 115, 7. Missing Limbs, Burned Pizza, and Chreaster Services Why Are Some Churches Dragons?, 137, 8. Gay Guys, Gangsters, and Everyone Else A Challenge to Fight for Your Church, 161, 9. Scarred Guys, Sick Guys, and Small Steps Do You Want to Be Whole?, 183, 10. Truth, Grace, and Spiritual Poverty Being Un-Dragoned Is Better, Not Always Easier, 207, Notes, 233, Acknowledgments, 235, About the Author, 237, CHAPTER 1 YOU, ME, AND DRAGONS What Is This Book About? I've been staring at my computer screen for the last few days in an attempt to write the first line of whatever this thing is that I'm about to write. It's not off to a good start. I could do something along the lines of a twelve-step program: Hi, my name is Jim, and I'm a dragon . Then everyone in the circle chimes, "Hi, Jim." But that feels weird and kind of depressing. I could try the late-night infomercial route: Attention! Are you tired of being a dragon? Call now and we'll send you our No More Dragons kit. But wait! There's more! If you call in the next thirty minutes, we'll throw in some steak knives! I'm sorry. This is simply how my brain works. I should probably call my doctor and get my ADHD meds adjusted. (You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.) As usual, I'm getting distracted. Anyway, I guess I'll just start typing, and we'll see what comes out. I promise that somewhere along the way, I'll explain this "dragon" thing. FROM PK TO DRAGON I'll start with my story. I'm a PK. That's a "preacher's kid" for all you normal people. I was born in Texas in a little town that had one flasher (a traffic light at an intersection, not a creepy guy with a trench coat). My dad, Chuck, was the pastor of a church in this tiny town, but we didn't stay there long. One of the elders told my dad he wasn't allowed to baptize an African American man in the church baptistery. He said to my dad, "Chuck, someday you'll understand that them Negroes don't have souls." I've even cleaned up that quote. My dad went home, told my mom to pack, and we left that town in our dust. We spent the next several years in Oklahoma. I only have two real memories of our time there. Number one: We were at a rodeo when a bull got loose. Everybody had to run to the top of the fairground bleachers in order to escape sure death. Number two: I choked on a lemon drop during one of my dad's Sunday morning sermons, and my gagging pretty much hijacked the service. When you're a PK, the congregation believes they have the right to parent you, so everybody took turns punching me in the back like a three-year-old piñata and yelling, "Breathe!" I guess the Heimlich maneu