State Rep. Todd Courser (Photo by DarKen Photography)

By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com

Call it "Coursive," call it whatever you like, State Rep. Todd Courser is known for a certain dramatic writing style that tends to sometimes run thousands of words deep and reminds many of a sermon a pastor would deliver.

In his longest written statement since the controversies began, Courser quoted the Bible and said the dramatic situation is his "cross to carry," asking critics to target him, but leave his family alone.

Courser says he will issue another statement Tuesday morning...

The approx. 4,000 word piece can be read below.

"My lack of righteousness does not negate God’s righteousness –

In all of this – it is nothing short of a massive earthquake for me and my family and those who have supported me and even to those who hate me; thru this a series of common themes have emerged and many will take days weeks months and generations to see the full fruit of, but one that is clear is that I am now the poster boy for those who would say “God is dead,” or “ Christians are failures,” or “Christians are hypocrites.” Instantly I have been shown to be a hypocrite in my life, a liar, a laughable joke; much if not all of that is presently justified. But in spite of all of that I am a Christian and I am a follower of Christ, and my failures in no way reduce or negate God’s promises; no unfortunately they showcase Him and His promises –both positive and negative. He is still Holy and still righteous and still gave His all on the cross at Calvary so we can have salvation in Him; He did it, not because I am in anyway worthy or righteous, but rather because

I am not – I am nothing without Him and my actions do not show that He is less able or that His promises are less true, no my actions show just how corrupt this man’s heart is and how much he needs his Savior to walk righteously and to pay the price of sin and death on the cross!

There has been nothing more humbling than to know each and every day that I am a sinner and need a savior – nothing in my actions negates Him or His promises. What my actions showcase are my lacking and how far off the mark this man’s condition is from God’s Holiness.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:10-11 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

My actions come from my heart and showcase the fruits of sin in my own heart, they showcase what happens when sin has its way in a man’s life.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In my life sin had its root and it worked to undo so much and has yet to undo so much more; my life, my reputation, my relationship with my wife and children and my extended family; not to mention my relationships and reputation around the world. This sin in my life has been and will continue to reap its reward. In all of this many have commented publicly and have enjoyed the spectacle of watching a man burn and have reveled in the joy it has brought in themselves, but all of this has also brought so many who have been absolutely encouraging and supportive. A special group has been of those men who have come forward to express their own failures to me in fidelity and what guilt and shame they have felt for their own failures in their own faith and faithfulness to God, His holy word, and to their wives and children. Just having heard their stories has been some of the most humbling experiences of my life; with several have come forward to share their pain for participating in/and addicted to pornography and what that has wrought in themselves and their families. And finally a couple have come forward to express their guilt and shame for being faith filled but struggling with how to reconcile that with having homosexual tendencies and trying to reconcile that with their faith. In every one of these experiences it has been an incredibly humbling to me. I am not sure why all of this coming out about me has brought them forward, but I am eternally grateful for their words and their experiences. One pastor told me – “Todd I can’t condemn you, I have committed every sin in the bible, but for one and that is murder, and that last one I have thought about enough to be guilty of it.” He said and I am a pastor.

John 8:7 “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her.”

The most brutal things I have had to endure in my life have been brought from and thru this experience – the public humiliation was small and insignificant when compared to having telling my wife and children and my family – death will be a much richer reward, a much easier mantle, than having to share all of this, my wife and I have been dealing with this privately and unfortunately some just couldn’t allow it to remain private for our family to deal with; it goes with the politic territory – the wages of sin is death…so many have been viscerally hostile towards me – I deserve all of it and every word of anger and hostility. It is mystifying to be in the middle of this hurricane and to be totally here and be present and feel the full fury of so much condemnation. It seems to have brought out the best in some and the most vile in others; so many words of encouragement and yet so many people who revel in piling on and watching another burn alive. I hope all of you who read this can live without having to live thru this personally and I hope that in your lives you have no sin to be held accountable for and so do not need a savior; I am just clearly in need of one; my life and my actions in no way diminish Him, or His plan, or His hope and sacrifice for all who have sinned.
Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord.”

My life showcases what His promises are both positive and negative – He promises in His word showcase what a life in Him will bring in blessings and He also promises of what will come from sin in a heart; in no way can we be Holy as He is Holy but for being and resting in Him. We will still sin and cannot take out the sin nature, but in Him we do not have to live a life of sin and death.

Romans 7:7-25
“What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet .” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead. Once I alive apart from law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do-this I keep doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

Romans 8:1- “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not life according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”

I will say in closing, I seek your forgiveness, for those who can and have supported me thru this I am eternally grateful. And for those of you who feel you need to pile on your words of condemnation, please try to keep your condemnation on me, not privately messaging my wife and family; it is my cross to carry. My wife and children do not in any way deserve it; they have not brought any of this on themselves; so if you will, please remember that and if you have need to be making hostile comments please direct them at me and not privately or publicly at my family.

Thank you,

God bless you all friends and enemies alike-

In Christ Alone –
Todd

P.S. As I am personally walking this out I will just from time to time post and try to explain where I am at in all of this; your prayers and support as this all comes and goes will be most appreciated – there are plenty of parts to it all: marriage, family, official, political, as well as mental, emotional, and spiritual; I can’t always explain it all as it plays out around me and in my heart, but as the Lord leads I will bring forward and share. Thanks again."

>>>Read more below:

Blogger who supported Gamrat-Courser ended up chronicling their downfall

MLive: Courser+Gamrat: Evolution Of A Sex Scandal

WMP In Buzzfeed

WMP Featured On Fox 17 For Helping Break Courser/Gamrat Scandal

Selweski: Strange tea party soap opera at the state Capitol

__________________________________________________________
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.

>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com

Facebook

Twitter