Month: June 2007 (Page 3 of 4)

Sunday Night Fever

The average attendance on our Sunday nights at Legacy for the 21 weeks from January to May was 349. And maybe (from what I’ve heard, remember, I’ve only been here for less than a month) nearly half of that number were not in the worship center with everyone else. They were up in the Attic, our youth facility, teenagers and adults, worshipping with the Youth Group.

We’re making a push this summer to reunite our church family on Sunday nights. A letter went out to all 556 family units last week, inviting everyone to come together on Sunday evenings for a time of worship and fellowship. And the response to what happened last Sunday night has been overwhelming! The place was packed with an official count of 440. There was hardly an empty seat. There was a “Sunday Morning” energy and excitement in the air that had us grinning from ear to ear. And it seems that everyone there was inspired by the beautiful singing, uplifted by the Scripture reading, and moved by the prayers. I’ve received emails, phone calls, and pats on the back all week. People who had not been to a Sunday night assembly in months were encouraged. Those who only come sporadically have vowed to never miss again.

 I’d like to take credit for it. I’d like to say it was me. (This honeymoon period is really nice, by the way.)

 But it’s our God.

Something special happens when ALL of God’s people come together to pay honor and glory to him. Something significant always happens when the ENTIRE family of faith gets together—young & old, men & women, babies & teenagers & parents & grandparents & great-grandparents—to praise our Father.

See, when we’re doing our own thing, we’re doing our own thing. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s certainly a time to get together with your own peer group and your own age group and your own economic group to worship and study and fellowship. And maybe Sunday night is a good time for that. I don’t know. But I think too much of that and too little of ALL OF US together can inadvertently foster feelings across the age groups of “if it doesn’t speak to me and it’s not planned with me in mind and if it’s not geared toward me and my group and serving my needs, I’ll go somewhere else. I’ll do something with my group that we’ll get something out of.”

Again, I think there is a time for that. But look at us now. We have two services on Sunday mornings, separate Bible classes on Wednesdays, and until last week, separate worship services on Sunday evenings. There was never a time when the ENTIRE church family was together in the same room doing the same thing together at the same time. Sunday night is our only opportunity to do that. And we were all moved by the experience.

 A family is only a family when the members of that family give and sacrifice for each other. The more we’re together, the more family we become. I don’t think it’s a generational thing. Older people blame the younger people and younger people blame the older people for whatever they perceive is wrong with the church. But it’s always surprising to me that when everybody sits down at a table together and just talks, we all think alike on just about everything. We just don’t realize it because we don’t do as much together as we used to. The more we’re together, the more we’ll see and feel and experience just how alike we all are. Our differences become small and insignificant when I’m sitting right next to you and singing with you to our God. Whatever our differences in age, background, race, or economics, they disappear in our worship.

 Our Life Groups will begin meeting again once school starts in September. And I’m convinced that those small groups are wonderful for forming meaningful relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. I’m excited about the evangelism potential and the disciple-making possibilities of a reworked and rebooted Life Groups Ministry. Let’s do it.

 But this summer, I hope to see you with us at the building on Sunday nights.

OK, I’ve spent so much time and space on this, I have little room to go on and on about #77 in our countdown to football season. The greatest player to ever wear the #77 is the Galloping Ghost, Harold “Red” Grange. RedGrange

Grange the very first professional football “star,” drew enormous crowds for the Chicago Bears in the 1920s. One could argue that, without Grange, the NFL never would have gotten off the ground. He made it. He was what people paid to see. He single-handedly beat the Giants in the very first ever NFL Championship Game. A charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Red Grange is the best player to ever wear #77.77-RedGrange

Peace,

 Allan

"I AM"

We began Monday’s weekly staff meeting with a look at a couple of the more familiar call narratives in the Old Testament—Jeremiah’s appointment as a prophet to the nations in Jeremiah 1 and Moses’ call at the burning bush to lead God’s people out of Egypt in Exodus 3. I’m certain every single person in ministry, generally most of you reading this article, and definitely all of us around the table Monday, feel some sense of a call from God to be doing what we’re doing for him and his Kingdom. “Call” is a tricky concept. We all have different definitions and different feelings about the idea of being called or ordained or sent by God to perform a particular task for him. But we all at least feel some sense of it, I’m sure.

 And we all, at some points, can feel overwhelmed or intimated by the tasks before us or inadequate or even incompetent to perform them. But listen to the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah. “Do not be afraid for I am with you and will rescue you.” Every single time Moses gave God an excuse at the bush—five or six depending on how you count—the excuse centered on Moses’ shortcomings. And each time God answered with something along the lines of, “It’s about me, dummy, not you!”

 Moses asks, “Who am I?” And God says, “It’s me, not you.”

 “I will be with you,” God says in Exodus 3:11. “I AM WHO I AM,” he says in verse 14. And then the kicker in Exodus 4:11, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

I think it’s Wiersbe who said God’s “I am” is more than my “I am not.” Great words of encouragement and comfort and a source of confidence and courage to anyone who feels the call of the Lord.

Messy Games Day yesterday with the Legacy Youth Group. Egg volleyball, water slide, mustard, ketchup, oatmeal, flour—a truly disgusting display of what a little imagination and a lot of condiments can do to a teenager. Whitney looked and smelled like a salad bar gone bad. MessyWhitI’m really impressed by what Jason & Lance come up with to stay involved in these kids’ lives and their dedication to being with our teens. It’s non-stop around here. With no breaks. They’re gearing up to host the area-wide Summer Youth Series here at our building tomorrow. Praise God for the energy and enthusiasm of our young people for the Kingdom!

 Finally, there are only 78 more days left until football season. And #78 in the countdown is longtime Oakland Raiders offensive lineman Art Shell.

Art ShellShell and Gene Upshaw anchored the left side of Al Davis’ Rai-duhs OL for 14 seasons from 1968-82. Shell was named to eight Pro Bowls, he played in nine AFL/AFC Championship Games, and won two Super Bowls. His single greatest accomplishment may have been holding the great Alan Page and Jim Marshall to zero tackles and zero assists in the Super Bowl XI win over the Vikings. Bengals Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz and Colts & Cowboys great Big John Dutton receive honorable mention. But the best player to ever wear #78 is Art Shell.

Not Leon Lett.LettDown

Peace,

Allan

The Lamb of God

What a great night together Sunday evening with God’s children at Legacy! I’ve received several emails and phone calls from a lot of you, telling me how much you appreciated the time of focused worship to our God and reflection on his Word and his will. A young mother of two small boys wrote me yesterday (I’m trying to talk her into letting me use her letter publicly) to say how much she enjoyed worshipping together, everybody at the same time. Her comment, specifically, was that we always see the kids and we always see the parents, but we rarely see them together. Singing the contemporary songs, she says, takes her back to her time at Harding. And singing the classics takes her back to her time growing up in the church. Thank you all for your kind words and encouragment.

The singing was really good, wasn’t it?

We spent our time Sunday night exploring in Scripture and song and prayer the concept of the Lamb of God. You know, the term actually ties the entire Bible—all the people, places, history, promises, stories—into one beautiful picture. Young Isaac asks his father Abraham in Genesis 22, “Where is the lamb?” The prophets all proclaim, “The Lamb is coming.” The Gospels declare, “The Lamb is here!” And then Revelation just explodes with the eternal praise of everyone who seeks and finds and trusts in the Lamb, singing “praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!”

 The sermon—a lot of you are asking—was inspired by a sermon I heard preached a little over two years ago by Ray Vander Lann. I was further encouraged by Mark Shipp, my OT professor at Austin Grad, to explore the history and the richness of the lamb imagery. Looking at sacrifice rituals and covenant ceremonies of the ancient Near East, including those of the Israelites and Hittites and the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and seeing how the culture of that time opens up the Genesis 15 and Jeremiah 34 passages led to my exegetical paper on Genesis 15. And finally to Sunday night’s sermon.

 Understanding that God walked the path in our place, that God promised to pay for our sins, and that his people for centuries sacrificed a lamb twice every day—at 9am & 3pm every day—to remind each other and the Lord that the promise had been made, and then realizing that the Gospels tell us that Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9am and he died at 3pm……that speaks to me. And it apparantly spoke to many of you Sunday evening. Praise God for the way he works his Word and his will into our lives. And give him honor and glory for his faithfulness to his promise of salvation in Christ!

There are 79 days until football season. And today’s #79 is Forrest Gregg.Forrest Gregg

He was born in Birthright, Texas; played his college ball as an offensive lineman at SMU; and was the #2 pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1956. Vince Lombardi called him “the greatest player I ever coached.” He played on ten NFL championship teams: seven of them before the Super Bowl era, the first two Super Bowls with the Packers, and the Cowboys first Super Bowl championship team of 1971. It was with the Cowboys that year he wore the #79. He was, admittedly, #75 with the Packers. Gregg went on to coach SMU and to serve as that school’s Athletics Director. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. And while the “Beautiful” Harvey Martin of Doomsday II fame deserves runner-up status, Forrest Gregg is the all time best ever to wear #79.

 Peace,

 Allan

80 Days!!

There are 80 days until football season.

80 days until Thursday August 30, when the first day of the college football season climaxes with an SEC tilt between LSU and Mississippi State from Starkville on ESPN.And I can’t wait.

I never realized how long the NBA playoffs were when the Mavericks were in it to the end. But after they embarrassed the entire state of Texas with their heartless exit to Golden State, I haven’t really cared that much for any of it. The Spurs are up two games to none, right? Who cares?

The Stars can’t seem to get past the first round since Eddie Belfour put on his FUBU shirt and kissed Big D goodbye. And despite my die-hard love for the hapless Rangers……

when’s football season?

80 Days!

And to celebrate every day of the countdown, to rejoice in every day we get closer to the glorious beginning of the only season that really counts, I’m going to unveil the best football player of all time to wear the jersey number corresponding to that day. The football players on my list aren’t necessarily my favorites to wear that particular number. But they are certainly the best. Some of them are college. Some are pro. Most of them played at least parts of their careers in Texas.I hope you enjoy the countdown as just a small part of this daily blog. It won’t dominate the blog. It’ll enhance it.

Today’s #80 is Jerry Rice.

Jerry RiceNot my favorite #80 of all time. Steve Largent gets the nod there, with Kellen Winslow and even Tony “Thrill” Hill somewhere in the mix. #80 was also my number as a wide receiver at Dallas Christian High School for Larry Richmond’s Bomb Squad teams of the mid ’80s. (That’s a nod to you Dean Stewart and Terry Godoy, wherever you are.) But it’s impossible to argue with Rice’s career:

20 NFL seasons, 13 regular season records, 8 playoff records, eleven Super Bowl records, two Pro Bowl records, and 3 Super Bowl rings. Out of little bitty Mississippi Valley State, he was the 16th pick of the 49ers in ’85. The attitude that occasionally flashed—including the time he complained of racism when Joe Montana was given a Super Bowl MVP award instead of him—detracts from some of his accomplishments in my book. But he was undoubtedly the best to ever wear #80.

Happy Birthday, Sharon. I love you, little sister. I can’t wait for y’all to get back from Europe and show me all your amazing pictures.

Peace,

Allan

Exciting in a Good Way

I can’t begin to describe how busy it is around the building(s) here at Legacy. I was so used to my little office just off the back corner of the fellowship hall in Marble Falls. I never had to search out an area of retreat or a separate fortress of solitude when I needed to research 8th Century BC Ammonites for a school paper or go over a sermon or spend time with my God in prayer. That little office was isolated in its own way. Plus, there were only three full-time members of the church staff. And aside from the occasional Retired Teachers Association lunch or that month before VBS, there never was a whole lot going on outside Ann’s office up front.

That is NOT the case here.

I remember Don Savage making announcements toward the end of a worship service very early on in our relationship here—this was back last fall—and he said, “This is a church that’s doing things. We’re not like a bunch of other churches not doing anything. This church is busy!” I cringed at the slight to “other churches.” And I smiled and appreciated his energy and enthusiasm for Give Away Day and the other benevolent works of this place. And then two Sundays ago Jack Roseberry made a similar statement from the pulpit, “We’re an exciting church! Exciting in a good way! Not like some churches that are exciting in a bad way. We’re exciting in a good way!” Again, I cringed at the reference to other churches. But I so love the heart and the attitude behind the comments. It seems that everyone here is doing something all the time.

I get here before 8a and there are Jason and Lance with 50 or so teenagers getting ready to go paint houses in downtown Fort Worth. Donna Croft and Sarah up here decorating for a wedding. Shanna Byrnes and several other ladies and half a dozen little kids painting the new Club 56 room and getting it ready for Sunday. Todd and his crew setting up for whatever Boy Scouts, AA, or Weight Watchers meeting is happening that night. The Quilting Ladies moving their tables around upstairs. The Letters From Dad group getting ready for their gathering. The Benevolence Center that’s open every day and doing a tremendous work in this community. This place is busy! And it’s so encouraging to see and hear so many disciples of our Savior busy about the work of our Lord. Praise God!

I seriously doubt I could find any corner anywhere on this sprawling campus, day or night, where I could be completely alone for an hour with my Bible and my God. But I’m still looking.

Peace,

Allan

Jesus is the Lord of Life

“Eternal life is not a quantity of life that begins when we die, but a quality of life that begins when we’re born again.”

Jesus called himself the light of the world. And he made it much more than a concept when he gave sight to the blind. He called himself the bread of life. And it became much more than an abstraction when he fed the 5,000. Christ also called himself the resurrection and the life. And he makes that thought a reality by raising Lazarus, the widow’s son, and Jairus’ daughter. But those ideas realize their fullest meaning in the ultimate defeat of the forces of sin and death in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

However, it’s critical for us as children of God and followers of Christ to understand that our hope is not anchored merely in the far future resurrection at the Last Day, but to a present experience with Jesus. There is something in Christ that exceeds for us the promises we have at Judgement Day. Jesus brings a present reality to victory over death.

And we ought to live like it.

Paul writes in Ephesians 1:18-21 that the power that brought Jesus out of the tomb is the same power we possess “not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

Yes, life is ours beyond the grave. Yes, if we belong to Christ, we will not suffer death in eternity. But let’s grab hold of the promise that we can enjoy that eternal life right now. We don’t have to wait until the end of human time and history in order to claim the power of Jesus and realize the fullness of everything our God has planned for us today.

Peace,

Allan

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