There are nineteen more shopping days until Christmas. The big Christmas parade is past. The decorations are up. The parties are on. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. In the midst of jingle bells and Santa Claus, we find our way to church hoping to hear a few strains of “Silent Night.”

Instead, we are shocked to our senses by a pit bull-type preacher shouting REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR! Who is this back roads guy with no degrees, no titles, and not many clothes, whose only distinction seems to be his taste for Fear Factor food? Well, his name is John the Baptist and while only Matthew and Luke tell about the birth stories of Jesus, all four gospels report the preaching of John the Baptist. What message does this head- pounding, axe-throwing, name-calling, fire-fla…