The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

“My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” ~John 15:12

I’m blown away by the fact that Jesus showed his apostles how much he loved them by washing their feet the night he was betrayed. The Lord and Master of all got up from the meal, took off his coat, wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a bowl, and washed their feet.

He washed their feet.

The King of the Universe knelt down and scrubbed 120 filthy, stinky, sweaty, dirty, disgusting toes. And all the stuff in-between the toes. He even washed the feet of Judas.

Knowing what Judas was planning to do — what he was about to do — Jesus still humbles himself and washes his feet. Jesus loves Judas that much. And then hours later he dies for Judas, this one who betrayed him. He dies for Peter, this one who denied him. He dies for all the apostles who fled and disowned him. He dies for the Jews who demanded he be killed. He dies for the Romans who carried out the execution. He dies for me, who’s just as guilty as any of these men in Scripture.

That’s a Savior’s love. No ifs, ands, or buts. Jesus never says I’ll love you if you treat me right. He doesn’t say I’ll love you when you get your act together. He doesn’t say I’ll love you when you grow up. Jesus’ love is not conditioned by right behavior or a good performance. It’s not based on your IQ or money or skin color or clothes or education or bloodline or status. Jesus actually says I’ll die for you when you’re my enemy. I’ll serve you while you’re sinning against me. I’ll give my life for you when you’re only thinking of yourself.

Because I love you this much.

And then he says, “Love each other as I have loved you.”

We don’t think about that enough. We don’t take it seriously enough.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is more important than preaching and giving and good works. Incredibly, he even says love is bigger than faith and hope. And if love is really more important than those things, then our conclusion must be that love is more important than everything. Love trumps our worship assemblies and worship styles. Love is bigger than our business meetings and budgets. It’s bigger than our doctrine and our tradition. Love is bigger and more important than any thing else out there that could ever possibly divide us.

If so — and I believe it with all my heart — then why aren’t we as committed to loving each other as we are to those other things that divide us and lead to arguing and fighting? Seriously. If love is the most important thing — and if you don’t believe that, then we’re not reading the same Bible — why do we fuss and complain?

As children of God and disciples of his Son, we must place unconditional, God-ordained love in the supreme position of our hearts and our minds and our church. All of our time and energy and strength should go into loving each other as Christ loves us.

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52 days until the Cowboys begin their 2009 regular season against the Bucs in Tampa Bay. Of course, training camp and pre-season games are right around the corner. But, honestly, who can watch that? We’re all pointing to Sunday September 13. And to help us get there, we’re recognizing the second-best players in Cowboys history according to jersey number.

Today’s #52 is tiny linebacker Dexter Coakley.

OK, he’s not exactly tiny. 5′10″ and 236 pounds is good for a small 1-AA school like Appalachian State. And despite setting all kinds of national tackle and interception records there and winning every defensive award there was, Coakley slipped all the way to the Cowboys in the third round of the 1997 draft.

And they got a steal.

Coakley wound up starting in his rookie year and played eight seasons in Dallas before giving way to Bradie James and Bill Parcells’ 3-4 defense. He was named to three Pro Bowls playing on a Cowboys defense that was built on speed and pursuit. And he wound up all over the Cowboys team record books. Coakley racked up a team record seven consecutive seasons of at least 100 tackles. He’s got the fourth highest total tackles record in team history with 1,046. And he’s tied with Dennis Thurman for the most defensive TDs in a Cowboys career with five.

Despite his size, Coakley was durable, too. In his eight seasons in Dallas, he only missed one game. He started all 127 games he played for the Cowboys. None of those games, by the way, were playoff wins. But he’s still the second-best #52 in Cowboys history.

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I’m still looking for information regarding the commemorative patch the Cowboys are going to wear on their uniforms this season to mark their 50th year. Anyone with info on that?

I’m also thrilled to share this bit of news with you: the NFL is going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the old AFL all year long. The original eight teams of the old American Football League will wear 1960 throwback unis for three games this season, several of them matchups between AFL alums. Of great interest to me is the old Houston Oilers. Yes, the Titans are going to throw on light blue jerseys with light blue helmets and white derrick logos and gray facemasks for three games this season. Plus, they get the bonus game at the Hall of Fame on August 9. I can’t wait to see that.

Of course, the Jets will be sporting their New York Titans uniforms and logos this year. And the Boston Patriots will be giving us the classic triangle-hat wearing-Revolution-soldier-snapping-the-ball look on their helmets.

The Cowboys will also be involved in something pretty neat. When they travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs, they’ll actually be lining up against the old Dallas Texans. The Chiefs will be wearing bright red jerseys and helmets with the all-white Texas-shaped decal, including the gold star that designates the location of Dallas. Some Chiefs fans are upset that their team will be wearing a huge map of Texas on their hats this year, especially in a game against the Cowboys. But I think it’s super cool. The Cowboys and Texans never played a regular season game against each other before Lamar Hunt moved his team to Kansas City. Too bad this one’s at Arrowhead and not at the Cotton Bowl.

Peace,

Allan

Ever seen a burning bush?

If you ever did, how would you respond?

How about the clear, unambiguous call of God to his Church — to us! — to apply the holy words of Scripture to our lives, to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ, to connect with each other and to minister to one another and to serve each other like family, and to take the good news of God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness into our neighborhoods and communities?

That’s a huge burning bush! That’s an Aggie bonfire towering in front of us, crackling with possibilities and blazing with the fire of God’s call!

The spiritual leaders of the Legacy church body, the elders and ministers, are all firmly convinced that the proper response to this eternal inferno of God’s commission is best made in weekly Small Groups Church.

Last year’s first cycle of SGC began with 692 men, women, and children and ended last month with 778. And we certainly anticipate bigger things in this next cycle that starts in April. With an average of 21 people in each of our 37 groups, there’s no room to grow. We need every former Co-Leader and at least 30 others to sign up this Sunday. If you already have your co-leading partner, please sign up. If you want to Co-Lead but you’ve not yet secured a partner, sign up anyway. There’s time to find your buddy. We need 100 total Co-Leaders to lead 50 groups when we start up again in April.

That’s the challenge. That’s the call. To you.

Now, what’s your objection?

“Nobody will follow me.” Abraham’s servant said that, and the Lord’s angel told him, God will make it happen (Genesis 24:6-7).

“I’ve tried it before and failed.” Moses said that, and the Lord said, it’s not about you, it’s about God (Exodus 3:12-4:17).

“It’s too hard for me.” Isaiah threw that excuse out there and he was promptly told, God sees and controls the big picture (Isaiah 6:11-13).

Jeremiah said, “But I’m not a good leader.” The Lord told Jeremiah, God is with you and will provide for you (Jeremiah 1:8).

Ezekiel was brutally honest and said, “I don’t want to go.” The answer came back over and over again, with God, there’s nothing to fear (Ezekiel 2:6).

“I’m too old.” That was Zechariah. The angel replied, God will give you signs and proof of his presence (Luke 1:19-20).

Mary said, “I’ve never done this before.” She was told, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Paul said, “I’ve got a rotten past.” Christ told him, God is empowering you for his mission (Acts 22:21).

Ananias offered, “It’s too risky, it’s too dangerous for me,” only to be told, God is taking care of the details (Acts 9:15).

See, the deal is that we usually view God’s call and God’s will and God’s plan for me as all about me. This task is too big for me. It’s beneath me. I might make someone mad. I’m too busy. I’m not gifted. I’m not qualified. I don’t know how. I’ve never done that before.

And God says, you’re right. But it has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with whether or not you think you can handle it. God says, ”I AM.” I am qualified. I am powerful. I am the God who’s doing this, not you. I just want you to jump into it. I just need you to trust me. Believe in me. Allow me to do this with you and through you for my purposes and my Kingdom.

The call is right in front of you. How do you respond? With every reason and excuse as to why you can’t or shouldn’t act? With reasons and excuses as to why you can’t go to Egypt? Or by throwing yourself completely into his mission, wholeheartedly, in total faith and trust, no reservations, brakes off, full steam ahead, no looking back? By hurling yourself into the project, confident in our Lord who promises to deliver?

Small Groups Church is messy. You put a thousand people in each other’s homes and in each other’s lives, it’s messy. It’s difficult. It’s a real challenge. It’s full of suprises. It’s full of hospital visits and funerals, soccer games and car pools, different dynamics and diverse discussions, some extra dusting and vacuuming.

And lots and lots of wonderful stories.

I beg you to jump into the middle of it — or at the front of it — as a Co-Leader at Legacy. Jump head first, all the way. And allow our Father to do amazing things with you and through you for his people within this church family.

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We just got home a little while ago from Scottish Rite in Dallas. They took Whitney’s cast off. (Shew-wee!) Dr. Herring grabbed a pair of pliers and pulled the four-inch pin out of her heel. (Yech!) And then he pronounced her perfectly well and the reconstructive surgery a smashing success. She’ll be weaning herself off the walker as she regains strength and flexibility over the next couple of weeks. Praise God for her healing! Thank you so much for your prayers, your cards, your calls, your visits, all the wonderful ways you’ve encouraged and blessed our oldest daughter over the past two months. God has showered us with his love through you, our dear friends.

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Last thing: I’ll never forget — ever — a telephone conversation I had with my sister, Rhonda, back on Super Bowl Sunday 1994. It was about 2:00. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but in the middle of the conversation, I told her I was skipping church to go to a Super Bowl party at a friend’s house.

She was genuinely surprised. “You’re skipping church to watch the Super Bowl?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You’re kidding.”

I said, “Rhonda, come on! You know me!”

And she said, “I thought I did.”

That was the last time I ever skipped church to watch a TV show. I urge you to make the same switch in your lifestyle and in the message you send your kids and your friends starting this weekend. Please don’t skip church this Sunday night to watch a TV show.

Peace,

Allan

Is there anybody in America who was not watching that game last night? Midway through the fourth quarter, long after the excruciating pre-game shows had become just a horrible memory, I asked Carrie-Anne, “Who’s not watching this?” Is it even humanly possible for someone, anyone, even a non-football fan, to flip over to the game to check it out and then after 15 seconds say to themselves, “Nah, let’s see what else is on.”

(Quick aside on Fox’s broadcast: I understand it’s the Super Bowl, I understand selling ads and creating product to use as a conduit for those ads, and I understand the network wanting to make their broadcast bigger and better than anyone else’s before them. I get all that. But Ryan Seacrest on a contrived red carpet? I thought it was insulting. I thought it was insulting to all real football fans, I thought it was insulting to the movie stars and entertainers he interviewed, and insulting to the human race as they shamelessly used that red carpet to plug their own shows and specials. I don’t want to see Paula Abdul lip-syncing her new song one hour before kickoff. I don’t want Nick Lachey’s Super Bowl prediction. I don’t want Seacrest asking some unknown B-movie actor to comment on how great Tom Brady is, especially in light of the “scrutinization” he’s under. Frank Caliendo delivered a good line in questioning Fox’s choice of Seacrest, “What? They couldn’t get Richard Simmons?”)

The numbers are in. Last night’s Super Bowl was the second most watched American television broadcast in the history of civilization. An estimated 9.7-million people watched the Giants ruin the Patriots’ story, second only to the 106-million who viewed the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983.

Who couldn’t watch it? Who wasn’t captured by it? I’m still having a hard time believing what I saw. It reminded me so much of Texas and USC in the BCS game in the Rose Bowl three years ago. Southern Cal was already being coronated as the greatest team in the history of college football. Even during the game the broadcasters were calling them the greatest ever. And Texas pulled off the upset. Just like the Giants last night.

This is why we watch sports, right? Because we never know how it’s going to turn out. It’s the only true reality television. The plots were set. The scripts were written. We knew the outcome. The whole world knew. And then the Giants played better and harder and came up with some huge plays at critical times and gave us more excitement and drama than we ever anticipated. I still can’t believe what I saw.

We were rooting hard for the Giants, but not nearly as hard as we were rooting against the Pats. Maybe New England’s kind of become the Yankees or Notre Dame with their championships AND their attitude. Maybe it’s just Belichick’s demeanor or refusal to follow the rules. I think I’d like to see somebody go 19-0 some day. Just not them. I think I’d like it to be unexpected when it happens. Like if Denver or Seattle were to do it next year.

 I did lose the exotic wager I made on the game. I owe Kevin Welch a Dr Pepper because the game ended after 9:00 instead of before 9:00. If Tom Petty had played three songs instead of four, I would have won that bet.

Congratulations to Eli, who’s a little more likeable and realistic—less robotic and corporate—than his brother Peyton. Kudos to the Giants D, David Tyree, and Tom Coughlin, who was almost fired in week three. And hats off to the giant Doritos rat, the e-trading baby, the screaming forest animals, Alice Cooper, and the heart that just quit and walked out the door.

25 more weeks ’til training camp.

 Peace,

Allan

Only got two suckers to jump in and post corny preacher and corny Bible jokes yesterday and early this morning. I thought we needed a little humor after a couple of days of pretty heavy stuff on the blog. Sure enough, that’s what we got. Very little humor. If you have corny Bible or preacher jokes, it’s not too late to share. Just hit comments on yesterday’s blog and pile on.

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IF the Pats win it Sunday, they end all debate about the best team in pro football history. Period. It’s over. As we’ve said all season long, especially as it pertains to the Cowboys, it’s difficult to get wins in the NFL. Forget beating everybody, it’s hard beating anybody in that league. They’re all so equal in talent and skill and coaching and scouting and payroll. To do what New England has done is remarkable. And if they pull it off against the Giants on Sunday, it blows away what the ‘72 Dolphins did.

How many playoff teams did that Miami squad beat during its run to 17-0? Zero. They didn’t play a single playoff team that year. In fact, they only played two teams with winning records: the 8-6 Chiefs and the 8-6 Giants. And you can’t downgrade what New England has done this year because the AFC East is so weak. The ‘72 Dolphins’ division opponents that year were the 7-7 Jets, the 4-9-1 Bills, and the 3-11 Patriots. One of thier other wins was against the 1-13 Oilers.

Contrast that with what the Pats have done this season. New England faced seven teams with winning records, seven playoff teams, during the regular season and won by an average score of 37-17. New England scored at least 27 points in every game but two and only gave up more than 28 once.

In their two playoff games, the ‘72 Dolphins barely squeaked by the Browns 20-14 and beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh 21-17. (Why did the undefeated Dolphins have to play the AFC Championship Game on the road? I might be looking at a bad list.) And they won Super Bowl VII 14-7 over the ‘Skins. The current edition of the Pats has won their two playoff games 31-20 and 21-12.

Go Giants. And if New York can pull off the biggest Super Bowl upset since Joe Willie’s Jets shocked the Colts in Super Bowl III, then the Greatest Ever tag belongs to the Dolphins without dispute. But if New England does what they’re expected to do, it’s over.

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Jesus preaches the Kingdom. “Repent!” he says, “The Kingdom of God is near!” And then what does he do? He frees the prisoner, heals the blind, rescues the oppressed.

Those are the signs of the Kingdom.

John the Baptist sends to find out if Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus says look, you know what the signs are. “..the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

That’s the Kingdom.

Jesus, show us the Kingdom. What does the Kingdom look like, Jesus? Where is it?

Not once did Jesus ever say, “See those people over there meeting every Sunday for Bible class and worship? That’s the Kingdom.” Jesus never once pointed out, “That group that takes communion weekly and sings acappella, that’s the Kingdom.” The Son of God didn’t say, “When you see three songs and a prayer and announcements either at the beginning or the end (or both), you’ve seen the Kingdom.”

Distressed people being encouraged. Cold people being warmed. Hurting people being comforted. The outcasts being brought in and made family. That’s the Kingdom.

When we talk about the Kingdom strictly in terms of Church and the institution and the rules and the order — when that’s our whole idea of Kingdom — we quickly lose sight of the very things that make the Kingdom of God what it is. Centuries of church development and decision-making and rule-making can cloud our vision. When we see the Kingdom exclusively as Church, we tend to focus only on the features and characteristics of the Church.

Our challenge as the Legacy Church of Christ is to occasionally flex our autonomy — you know, that autonomy we brag about — to insure that our identifying characteristics genuinely correspond to those of the Kingdom Jesus was preaching. Maintaining our institutional status quo is not necessarily the same as being faithful to Jesus and his mission. Being a member in good standing or being a middle of the road church isn’t necessarily the same as living under the reign of God.

The true marks of the Kingdom have very little if anything to do with what happens between prayers and announcements in our building. The

Our King came into this world in order to serve and to save. And that is the business of his subjects, as well. May our Lord bless us as we serve and rescue and save in his name.

Peace,

Allan

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat…After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them.” ~Mark 6:45-48

The disciples are in the deep water. Right where Jesus pushed them. He’s on the mountain. Praying. And he’s watching them.

He’s watching them as they strain at the oars because the wind is against them. They’re struggling. They’re troubled. They’re working, toiling, laboring against the wind. They’re disturbed inside, upset, as they battle the wind that’s keeping them from fulfilling Jesus’ command. Despite their best efforts, they’re actually being blown off course.

I feel that way all the time. Do you?

In my intense desire to follow Jesus’ will for my life, in my best and greatest efforts to obey my God, I feel like sometimes I’m beating my brains out against the wind. I’m rowing and rowing and rowing and not going anywhere. Or worse, I’m being blown off course.

And you feel it. I know you do, because there are so many things that fight against us, so many things that oppose us. Just living in the chaos of life in this godless culture. In this place, this world, where Jesus has set us, in the middle of crime and cancer and illness and death. We fight failure and rejection and ridicule and judgment. We’re distressed by division in the Church. We’re in turmoil over circumstances with our children or our grandchildren. We’re struggling with our jobs. We’re battling with our marriages. Temptation and sin and dishonesty and abuse. Vengeance and greed. Selfishness and lust.

And we strain at the oars.

Please take comfort today in the fact that Jesus is watching you strain at the oars. He sees you. And he’s so very proud of you. You’re in the middle of the lake. You’re four miles out. But it’s Jesus who sent you there. And he’s watching you. He knows. He’s aware of every struggle. He’s aware of every battle. He knows the things that are causing you distress and heartache. Be comforted in knowing that Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of the World, is interceding for you right now as he reigns at the right hand of our Father in Heaven. Hebrews 7 says he lives to intercede for those who come to God. It’s what he does.

He watches the apostles and he prays.

He’s watching you. And he’s praying.

Be encouraged by that today.

It’s Jesus’ mission. It’s his deal. And he’s going to make sure nothing stops it. Paul tells us in Philippians 1, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Take joy in that.

Have no fear. We do live in a very windy world. But, by the grace of God in Christ, we will reach the shore.

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The thing I like most about sports is the unpredictability. I like the surprises. I like the out-of-nowhere shockers. I enjoy the unexpected. Eli Manning and the Giants going into sub-zero conditions at Lambeau, kicking a field goal in overtime to reach the Super Bowl was not even a possibility three days ago, certainly not three weeks ago. That’s what I love about sports.

And that’s why I’m rooting hard against the Patriots.

I don’t like something to be universally predicted and expected and then for it to happen exactly the way everyone thought. I hate that. Where’s the thrill in that? Where’s the excitement? Why watch?

The national media and most every football fan in the country has been predicting 19-0 for Belichick’s boys since early September. The Patriots were dubbed perfect and the greatest team in the history of the NFL before the season was half over. And now they’re one win away from fulfilling all the predictions and robbing us of any sense of mystery or wonder about this 2007 season.

Admit it. You loved it when the Chargers beat the Colts last week because you didn’t see it coming. It’s why we love the NCAA basketball tournament, because you-didn’t-see-it-coming happens every day.

I understand, I suppose, wanting to see history being made. I get it, I guess, wanting to watch a flawless machine of a team execute at the highest level. That’s all OK. Whatever.

Give me an upset instead. I’ll take a shocker over the favorite winning every time.

I don’t know if the Giants can beat New England. It doesn’t seem likely. I like New York’s run game. Manning’s playing with tons of confidence. And the Giants defense may be capable of pressuring Tom Brady and covering his receivers. Maybe. I’m more concerned with Tom Coughlin’s face. He’s going to need about a jar and a half of Vaseline to take care of that freezer burn.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Peace,

Allan

I’ll get to Tony Romo’s weekend later on in this post. But, first things first.

The Chart is for losers. You know, the two-point conversion Chart that every football coach references after an unsuccessful two-point conversion try. The Chart tells coaches when to kick the PAT and when to try to score two based on the point differential between the two teams being three or seven points. When you’re behind in a game, the idea is to do what you can to close the gap so there’s one full score difference between you and your opponent so you can tie or take the lead with a score of your own. If you’re ahead, do the same thing so your opponent can’t take the lead or beat you with a single score of their own.

 And, by overthinking it, coaches blow this call every single week.

 There’s only one reason the Steelers lost at home to the Jaguars Saturday: Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin went for two, not once but twice, when he should have just kicked the extra point.

The Steelers scored a TD with 10:25 to play in the game to pull to within 28-23. An extra point makes it a six point game. But Tomlin elects to go for two, even when a holding penalty on the play pushed the attempt back to the 12 yard line. There’s still two-thirds of the fourth quarter to play, and he went for two. And failed. The Steelers scored again at the 6:21 mark to go ahead 29-28. And now they HAVE to try for the two-point conversion so a Jacksonville field goal won’t beat them, it’ll only tie them. The run failed. And Pittsburgh’s only up one. And, of course, the Jags march down the field and kick the game-winning, not game-tying, field goal with 37-seconds left to win the game.

And somehow today Tomlin is still employed.

I haven’t done the research on the numbers in almost four years. But four years ago in the NFL, a one-point PAT was more than a 99% certainty while a two-point try was good only 54% of the time.

If Tomlin kicks the automatic point on both of his TDs there right in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Jaguars cannot beat them with a field goal. The worst case scenario is that the game goes to OT. And Pittsburgh’s at home!

And I knew Tomlin would invoke The Chart in his post-game meeting with reporters. I knew Tomlin would deflect all personal responsibility for the poor decision to go for two by blaming it on the chart. And he did.

“We’re playing The Chart. That’s not out of bounds. That’s just baseball; everybody’s got The Chart.”

But then when these coaches are pressed on it, when they ought to be, they get defensive.

“If I had a crystal ball and I knew we would lose by two, we would have kicked the extra point if that makes you feel good.”

Here’s my beef with The Chart: it’s just a lousy excuse for a coach who won’t take responsibility for his call. If the two-point try is successful the coach talks afterward about how they had scouted out the situation, they had planned for just that exact circumstance, they had seen something during the week they could exploit, they had prepared for just that moment and just that play. But if the try is unsuccesful, they blame it on The Chart. It was out of my hands. The Chart said to go for two, so we went for two. I have no control.

The problem is that football coaches are the most controlling freaks in all of sports. They demand complete control over every single aspect of their football teams. They take great public and private pride in over-preparing for every single hypothetical situation. They drill their assistants and their players on the minutiae of every single circumstance, real and imagined. They leave no rock unturned. They don’t leave anything to chance. They’ve studied and re-studied every single angle looking for the edge. And we’re to believe that in the fourth quarter of a playoff game they say to their offensive coordinator, “Let’s just go with The Chart.”

No. They make the decisions every time. You only hear about The Chart when they’re wrong.

I tried to pin Bill Parcells down on all that following a Monday night game in Seattle in which he had gone for two in the second quarter of what wound up being a nail-biting win against the Seahawks. He, too, claimed The Chart. He said he went with The Chart everytime. But on their very next TD in that same game, The Chart would have said go for two also. But Parcells kicked the PAT. When I pointed that out, he got defensive and used the crystal ball answer that Tomlin threw out there Saturday. They only reference The Chart when they’re wrong. And they attempt to escape all blame by saying they always use The Chart in every situation. And when the inconsistencies are pointed out, they get angry.

I’m not really sure there is a Chart. I think, instead, there’s an agreement among the coaches to call it a Chart when they mess up the two-point conversion.

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What do you think the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys was doing this past weekend? Up at Valley Ranch watching film or getting some treatment or maybe working out? He was at least hanging out at the house and watching the wildcard games, right?

No. Your quarterback was with Jessica Simpson and Jessica Simpson’s parents in Cancun.

Somebody explain to me what this guy’s doing!

You’re the quarterback of a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in over a decade. Your team has really struggled, especially the offense, over the past four weeks. You’ve already been in the news way too much with your celebrity girlfriend. The last time she was seen with you publicly you turned in the worst performance of your career. What are you doing?

Do you suppose Peyton Manning or Brett Favre thought the wildcard weekend would be a good time to get out of the country and hit the beach?

I doubt Simpson has much, if anything, to do with Romo’s execution on the field. But Romo knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he went to Cancun with his celebrity honey and her parents right in the middle of the playoffs it would dominate the conversation in the media and in the Cowboys lockerroom all this week. And he decided to go anyway. He knew his teammates and coaches wouldn’t be thrilled with his very public romance being headline news again, but he decided to go anyway. At best that shows a lack of judgment. At worst it shows that he doesn’t care.

I didn’t hear all of Wade Phillips’ media session with DFW reporters today. But I heard enough of it to know that Romo’s weekend getaway with Daisy Duke was the main topic. Not the Giants. And not the New York pass rush.

Add to that Tony Sparano and Jason Garrett jetting all over the country for job interviews with the Falcons and Dolphins and Ravens. Who’s actually thinking about Sunday’s game against New York?

Peace,

Allan

Living like Jesus is not something we do to get salvation. It is our salvation!

After Jesus was born we know that he grew in wisdom and stature in a normal God-designed way. We see in the life of Jesus decisions made and actions taken as a result of his education in Scripture. His regular fasting. His continual praying. The time alone he spent with God. The time he spent in Scripture. The time he spent in the synagogues, helping the needy, healing the sick, blessing the downtrodden, teaching his disciples. All of these things were formative experiences for Jesus.

And if we’re going to look like that, individually and as a church, we have to realize that there aren’t any shortcuts. Prayer, study, reflection, instruction, and experience all play a vital role in maturing us and transforming us more and more into the image of Christ. God designed these processes. And he’s so commited to them that he became human and went through them himself. To show us how.

We have to take very seriously the call to collaborate with God in this. We have to design and pursue on-going programs of spiritual formation.

 Baptism should never be seen nor ever taught as the last rung on the steps to salvation. We have to go beyond simple conversion and ask the church to commit — to be resolved — to a lifetime of growing in our relationship with our Father; growing in prayer and study and the other spiritual disciplines; growing in our love and service to one another in Christ. Living like Jesus. This is our salvation.

I know you’re going to lose weight. I know you’re going to give more. You’re going to spend more quality time with your family in 2008. I know. But as we’re making our spiritual resolutions for the coming year, let’s find ways to join our God as partners in redeeming the world back to him.

May we pursue God’s Kingdom plans in humility and submission. May we reach out to others without distinction. May we honor and celebrate our differences in the Body of Christ. May we grow and mature in the faith through the spiritual disciplines of prayer and study and service to others. And may our God bless us by completing in us his work of salvation.

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The Cowboys needed to win yesterday to achieve the highest single-season victory total in club history. They lost. Jason Witten needed six catches to reach 100 for the year. He got two. Marion Barber needed 19 yards to hit a thousand for the season. He lost six. The Cowboys lost their regular season finale for the eighth year in a row in miserable fashion. They finished with a franchise record low one total yard rushing on 16 carries against the Redskins. They went 0-11 on third downs, eight of those tries needing at least eight yards for the conversion. They allowed a one hundred yard rusher for the first time all year with Clinton Portis’ 104.

Yuck.

It’s been weeks since this team looked any good. Wade Phillips said they were uninspired and took the blame himself. But yesterday’s loss in Landover reflects the poor-to-mediocre play of this team for the past month and a half. You always want to be playing your best ball heading into the playoffs, but the Cowboys are in the middle of their worst four week stretch of the season.

And there aren’t any more warm up games before the postseason. They go into the next two weeks with a horrible taste in their mouths and nagging doubts about their legitimacy as a Super Bowl contender. Five weeks ago they were a lock to represent the NFC in Arizona. Now nobody would be shocked if they lose in the divisional round to Seattle or these same Redskins.

Romo’s thumb. The Gurode, Newman, Ratliff, and Owens injuries. The disappearance of the running game. Poor tackling in the secondary. Wade Phillips’ record as a playoff coach. All of these things now become magnified in the wake of yet another December swoon.

And to think (this is the part I really love!): most of all this hinges on Terrell Owens.

The Cowboys have not scored a single touchdown since he was injured against Carolina. Without Owens, Jason Witten’s drawing double coverage. Patrick Crayton’s drawing attention. Defenses are stacking the box to stop the run, unconcerned with the prospect of Austin Miles or Sam Hurd beating anybody deep. Without Owens, the Cowboys offense can’t go. And Phillips said last night that Owens is “iffy” to make it back onto the field for that first playoff game on the 13th.

That’s usually how it happens, Jerry. When you sell your soul to the devil, the payback usually comes at the end. 

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Congrats to the Patriots for their 16-0 season. It’s very difficult to get wins in the NFL. And they put 16 of them together in a row. That is an amazing accomplishment. In fact, it’s a unique accomplishment. And I don’t want to take anything away from that. But I do want to make this observation: the Pats racked up six of those wins within their own division, the lousy AFC East. That division would have to improve just to stink. The Bills, Jets, and Dolphins combined to win only 12 games this year. The Pats won 16, six of them against these awful teams.

They do not belong in the same class as that 1972 Miami team that went undefeated and won the Super Bowl. Not yet. That Don Shula squad is still the only frachise in the nearly 100 year history of the league to go without a loss all the way through to the championship. When Brady and Co. overcome the tremendous pressure and fight through the impossible expectations that do appear to be giving them trouble lately to win the Super Bowl, then and only then can the argument be made that they are the best team ever.

Plus, I do have a difficult time rooting for Bill Belichick, mainly due to his background with Bill Parcells.

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Speaking of the Dolphins, Bill Parcells met with the team’s GM, Randy Mueller, this morning and promptly fired him. He also canned the director of player personnel and the college scouting coorinator. He’s meeting with the coach tomorrow. If I were Cam Cameron, I’d be spending all day today updating the resume and downloading files. Won’t the Almighty Tuna conduct a three-month coach search and then declare at the end of the Spring that he’s actually the best man for the job himself? Won’t he use some sort of variation of the cooking-dinner-and-buying-the-groceries explanation?

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Finally, two more Cowboys notes: my otherwise sane little sister, Rhonda, gave me a Tony Romo jersey for Christmas. It’s the super nice one, too. Everything’s stitched on. And it’s the 1961-63 bright blue and white throwback style with the single star on the shoulders that I absolutely love. But I can’t wear it. It doesn’t say Lilly or Staubach or Howley on the back. It says Romo. And while I have nothing against Romo, he does represent the current configuration of the franchise which I cannot support. I’m not sure what she was thinking. But here’s the deal. If they win the Super Bowl, I’ll wear it for a week. Every day for a week. But that’s it. That’s the deal.

And if you’re still super bummed about the Cowboys loss yesterday and the fact that the Redskins are going into the postseason as the NFC’s hottest team, click here. It’s the old Tom Landry American Express commercial from 1982. Classic. If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, you’re hopeless.

Hidey,

Allan

The Screwtape Letters, a collection of theologically profound and provocative messages between a senior tempter and his protege in Satan’s service, is valuable to me in many, many ways. I suppose the main reason it is my favorite book and the overarching reason I find myself reading it from cover to cover every couple of years is that it reminds me in hard-hitting ways of the cosmic battle between God and evil. I can’t see it. But it’s going on all around me. And I can’t be too aware of it. C. S. Lewis’ book helps to focus my thoughts and my direction on the dramatic difference between appearance and reality, between the temporary and the eternal.

In discussing his patient’s response to the war, Screwtape advises his nephew/apprentice devil to give him a full account “so that we can consider whether you are likely to do more good by making him an extreme patriot or an ardent pacifist. There are all sorts of possibilities.”

The devil is in the extremes. He does his best work in the extremes. Extreme views and extreme beliefs and actions, as they relate to our world and to our fellow man, tend to shut out our neighbors and judge those who don’t share our views. Extremes tend to leave no room for mercy and grace.

Our call to discipleship is an extreme one. Following Jesus requires extreme decisions and extreme changes. As God’s children we should be radically different from the ones around us. And we’re called by the teachings of our Lord to take extreme action to get rid of the sin in our lives.

But let’s treat our extremes with caution. Let’s make certain our friends and neighbors, our brothers and sisters, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger in the gate are not excluded. Let’s never crowd out mercy and grace and love.

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Are you rooting for or against the Patriots to go 16-0? I want to know. And don’t just tell me “for” or “against.” Tell me why.

After last night’s game, the second in a row in which New England’s inferior opponent blew a late lead by collapsing on both sides of the ball, the Patriots were all the talk here at the building early this morning. Some are rooting for the Pats to do it because it’s neat to see that history being made. Some were rooting for the Pats to do it until Tom Brady shot his mouth off a couple of weeks ago about their glee in blowing people out. One of the many Cowboys fans here wants New England to lose just so they won’t have a better record than Dallas.

Where are you on this deal?

I’ve always admired Robert Kraft as an owner. When Terry Glenn was a rookie wide-receiver for the Patriots he received a ticket for speeding. And Kraft, as I’ve heard the story told, called Glenn into his office and told him that his players did not get tickets for anything. He fined him and told him it would be worse if it ever happened again. In a culture in which our professional athletes are celebrated as righteous role models, even when they plead guilty to obstruction of justice and lying to police in a double-murder investigation (see: Ravens MLB & Pro-Bowl, MVP, Madden cover, etc.,), that was refreshing.

But Bill Belichick. There’s something about him I don’t like. There’s something very Bill Parcells-ish and Bobby Knight-ish I don’t like about him.

But isn’t it also our tendency as Americans to root for the underdog? We love to see David take down Goliath. I despise the Ravens because of everything Ray Lewis stands for. But I surely wanted them to win last night.

Where are you on all this? Why?

The Pats may be 15-0, coming off a pasting of the 0-15 Dolphins, when they face the New York Giants in the regular season finale. Saturday night. On the NFL Network. History will be made. Those on both sides of the fence will be stoked. Casual fans and those indifferent to the plight of the Patriots will be interested. They’ll hype it for weeks. In fact, it’s already begun.

And it’ll be on the NFL Network, unavailable to almost 2/3 of our country.

Peace,

Allan

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter of his team’s win over Baltimore last night and whipped out a replica Pro Football Hall of Fame blazer with the words “Future H.O.F. 20??” on the back. He strutted around the sidelines wearing the coat, much to the delight of photographers and commentators who’d been guessing for weeks how Johnson would celebrate his first TD of the season.

Johnson is dumb. His agent must be dumber. If he really has designs on the Hall of Fame, this was a dumb move.

This was not a spontaneous celebration. This one took plenty of foresight and planning. His agent was in on it. Several of Johnson’s advisors must have known this was coming. And apparantly they all told him it was a good idea. And even if they advised him otherwise, Johnson obviously overruled them.

Forget for a moment any opinions you may or may not have about how those kinds of staged celebrations call attention to the individual and disrespect the other 52 members of the team who helped score the touchdown. Forget the way those kinds of things alienate teammates and lead to disharmony on the bench and in the lockerroom. Let’s think for a minute about how the Hall of Fame Selection Committee views this.

The Hall of Fame Selection Committee, a fairly exclusive group of sportswriters and former players, mainly grizzled old-guard veteran types who see themselves as protectors of the dignity of the game, work unashamedly at keeping guys out of the Hall, not putting them in. It’s a brutal process. They disect every aspect of a man’s career, including off-field issues and whether anybody got along with the guy or not. If a man ever brings disgrace to the game or attempts to set himself up above the game and the teams, that man will have a very difficult time getting in. These guys on the committee hold grudges. They vote with bias and partiality. It’s not easy to get in. And if you violate any of their written or unwritten codes of honor, you have to hold a dozen league records and a couple of Super Bowl rings to even sniff a chance of being voted in.

I promise you, when Chad Johnson becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame, five years after his retirement, whenever that is, the stunt he pulled last night will come up. Some will claim he poked fun at the process, that he made light of the committee’s serious work, and that he desecrated the sacred beige blazer. Right or wrong, it will happen.

And as I thought about that while watching the game last night, I was reminded of a sermon I heard Jeff Walling preach at WinterFest and at Tulsa a couple of years ago. Making decisions based on the dot, not the line.

Walling had a bright red posterboard circle, probably two feet in diameter, and told us it represented “right now.” The dot represents the present. Today. And then he had a volunteer run a string of twine from the podium all the way down the center aisle, out the back of the foyer, and into the parking lot where we couldn’t see the end of it. The line. He called that “eternity.” And for 30 minutes that “dot” was up there on the stage and the “line” hung over our heads.

And he talked to us about making decisions based on eternity, not based on the here and now.

Adam and Eve were thinking only about the present when they messed up in the Garden of Eden. They were not thinking long term. Samson continually made decisions based on right now, not based on the big picture. When David was in the middle of breaking over half the ten commandments with Bathsheba, he was making the call based on the moment, not based on the future. The rich young ruler. Judas. Ananias and Saphira. The list of Bible characters who made decisions based on the dot and not the line is long.

And we would do well to learn from those lessons.

The decisions we make regarding how we spend our time. How we spend our money. What we say. What we do. Are we making those daily, hour-by-hour decisions based on the dot or the line? Do we take into consideration the eternal aspect of everything we do or are we driven only by what seems to be good at the moment? Do we reflect on what our actions mean for us and for others in the long run, in the big picture? What are the Kingdom ramifications? How does this impact God’s eternal will for my life? When we’re making our choices, do we consider these things at all?

What will this action do to my wife? How could this choice eventually impact my family? Could my spiritual well-being be compromised by this decision? Is there a chance, down the road, this could harm the Church?

It’s like the end of Moses’ great sermon in Deuteronomy 30, and the end of Jesus’ great sermon on the mount in Matthew 7. It’s like in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2. And it’s like the prophet’s answer to the king in Jeremiah 21. God always gives us choices. He always lays out the options in front of us. Life and prosperity or death and destruction. We make the call. Every day. Every hour. The choices are there. And they are ours. Choose life. Let us make our decisions based on the line, not the dot.

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

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We’ve always celebrated our children’s birthdays with a family dinner at the restaurant of the birthday girl’s choice. And so far, every kid, every year, we’ve avoided Chuck E. Cheese. Until last night. Carley was adamant. We couldn’t talk her into anything else. And so we went.

Carley and Valerie use their tokens on everything. They try it all. They especially enjoy the skeeball (Carley banged in four or five off the top of the game into the little 10,000 point loop) and they took several whirls on the roller coaster simulator.

Whitney, I think, spent every single one of her tokens shooting hoops.

Carley was absolutely thrilled with the Hannah Montana Barbie dolls, one for Hannah and one for Miley. You parents of elementary school girls understand. Everyone else, I don’t have the energy to explain. All I know is that Disney could take cauliflower and broccoli, turn it into a TV movie and a 30-minute show with a catchy tune, and sell millions and millions of pounds of it to pre-adolescent girls and their parents all over the world.

We couldnt’ find any candles in the house before we left so we actually stuck eight matches in the cake and lit them. You can see from the picture (notice the blackened matchsticks on the right of Carrie-Anne’s hand) that it wasn’t very smooth. Carley was blowing them out as we were lighting them.

And then to cap off the evening, Mr. Cheese actually sang Happy Birthday to the Bear.

We cashed in our nearly 300 tokens for three little toys that we could have purchased at Wal-Mart for 35-cents each. And we listened to Hannah Montana all the way home.

Next up, six little second graders for a sleepover / party Friday night. How do I get out of this to attend the Birdville-Richland football game?

Help.

Allan

This will forever be known as the day I became a perimeter player. But first…

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One of my dear friends in Austin — let’s call her Brooke — included in her comments yesterday regarding congregational singing this provocative nugget:

I’m not sure where the idea arose that worship should be “free from distractions.” I haven’t really thought it all the way through, but I think the incarnation implies distractions, even in worship.

I also have not worked all of this out in my own head and heart. But it is something I struggle with mightily. Big time.

As a deacon over worship for two different congregations and a song leader and worship leader for 25 years, I always thought I had a grasp on how worship should be structured and on what’s important and what’s not. And then, a little over two years ago, Thomas G. Long blew the doors off my worship theology at the end of the introduction to his excellent book The Witness of Preaching.

He writes of his childhood church experiences in rural Georgia, particularly of the stray dog that would wander into the sanctuary during hot summer days when the doors and windows to the building had been left open to catch whatever little breeze they could. The dog wasn’t there every Sunday, but almost. Long jokes that the “stray hound of indecipherable lineage” had a better attendance record than some of the church officers.

“The ushers knew better than to try to run him off, the one and only attempt at that having driven him bounding toward the pulpit. So, while we sang hymns, the cur would sniff curiously at the ankles of the worshipers. Deacons would step around him on their way to take up the offering, and during the pastoral prayer the dog would wander aimlessly around the room. He was an endless source of mirth for us children, and he occasionally served as a handy and spontaneous sermon illustration in such references as ‘no more sense of right and wrong than that dog there.’

Looking back on it now, I realize what a trial it must have been for our ministers to attempt to lead worship and to preach on those Sundays when this mongrel was scampering around the building and nuzzling the feet of the congregation. I readily confess that I do not covet similar circumstances for myself, but there was something wonderful about those times as well. Whatever else it may mean, a dog loose in worship unmasks all pretense and undermines false dignity. It was clear to us all that the grace and the joy and the power present in our communion, and these were present in abundance, were not of our own making. We were, after all, people of little worldly standing who could not keep even our most solemn moments free of stray dogs. I want to believe that even our dark-suited, serious-faced ministers were aware of the poetic connection between a congregation of simple farmers and teachers in their Sunday best with a hound absurdly loose in their midst and a gathering of frail human beings astonishingly saved by the grace of God, grace they did not control but could only receive as a gift. If so, then in some deep and silent place within them they were surely taken with rich and cleansing laughter — and if they were, they were better preachers of the Gospel for it.”

I had always held strongly to the belief that worship should come off without a hitch. We should have our very best songleaders leading the songs, our very best readers reading the Scriptures, and the very best speakers and orators praying the prayers. I had always cringed when I had planned a Scripture reading or a song to be read or sung at just exactly the right moment only to have the person responsible for executing my plan mess it up. What will the visitors think? How does this reflect on me? It’s not our best we’re giving to God or each other.

Even though I still struggle and wrestle with this, I see now that kind of thinking is wrong at best and idolatrous at worst.

Long describes the “poetic connection” between simple, frail humans and the astonishing grace of our Lord. Grace that is completely out of our control. It’s a gift that God delights in giving and we gladly and humbly accept.

God views, and we must, too, not the misread passage or the ill-timed song or the confusion that new members sometimes bring to the Lord’s Table, but the people. We should see the people, the church, as an amazing collection of God’s children in all of our weakness and humanness. That speaks more to God’s love and mercy on a Sunday morning than anything we can plan. Instead of looking down when Brother Sam mispronounces “reconciliation,” I should look at the courage God gives him to read the Scriptures in front of the assembly. Instead of rolling my eyes when Brother Neil starts the song on the wrong note, I should roll my attention to the joy of the Lord evident in Neil’s service. And instead of shaking my head when Brother Joe goes down the wrong aisle during communion, I should praise God that Brother Joe is a brother!

It’s not the well-orchestrated, perfectly executed worship service we should strive for. It’s recognizing that God meets us, his Church, his children, in our imperfect songs and in our imperfect prayers and in our imperfect sermons.

There is no perfect sermon or perfect worship service. There is only a perfect God who loves his Church.

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Thursday is my basketball day at Fort Worth Christian with a bunch of other area ministers and coaches. An hour and a half of wide-open full-court hoops that gives me the exercise and the recreation I need to finish out the week strong. Today I was having an unusually good outing. In fact, I ended the first game by driving through the lane, around and through a couple of defenders, and scoring the winning bucket. As the second game was beginning to start, Eric, one of my teammates, and I were talking about driving to the lane and playing inside. Like Darrell Royal’s mantra that three things happen when you pass and two of them are bad, we both acknowledged to each other that good things happen when you drive the lane, and we vowed to do more of that during the second contest.

I was playing help defense early in that second game when one of the few young flat-bellies who plays with us began to drive to the hole. He had the ball down low. I stepped into the lane to take a swipe and he brought the ball up, nailing me right in the face with an 18-pound sledgehammer! I later found out it was just his elbow. But it felt like a Mack truck. I’m sure it wasn’t delivered with the same force as Kermit Washington’s punch to Rudy T. But it’s one of the first things that went through my mind.

That happened at about 12:30 this afternoon. The bleeding didn’t stop until about 1:30.

You know how a tornado can hit the rough part of town and people jokingly say the storm did about 17-million dollars worth of improvements? I’m hoping that, once the swelling goes down in my lip and my nose, I won’t be horribly disfigured but actually better looking. Right now my nose is crooked as a dog’s hind leg and one nostril is considerably bigger than the other one. My lip is busted. And I’m hoping like crazy that I’m not going to get two black eyes. I’d post a picture. But it would be so graphic that the filter on your computer wouldn’t even allow you to get to this site.

Playing down low is overrated.

I’ll be back. But today I have become a perimeter player.

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The Colts and the Saints kick off the NFL season at 7:30 Texas time tonight and I can’t wait. Just a few more hours. I know they’ve been opening the season on Thursdays now for a while. And I know for a couple of years now they’ve been playing on Thursday nights during the end of the season. And I guess this is the second season for Monday night doubleheaders. I always thought one of the main reasons NFL football became the national sport is because all the games were played at the same time on the same day. You gear up for it all week. You talk about it. You read about it. You get ready for it. And then BOOM Sunday comes and it’s crazy! And you spend all the next week analyzing the outcome and reviewing it play by play and then starting the process all over again for the next Sunday set of games.

 Is there any chance in the world, as popular and as unstoppable as the NFL appears to be, that the league could ever start to suffer from over exposure? Could NFL games on TV four days a week ever hurt professional football? I realize there are some who will move heaven and earth to be in front of the tube for every NFL game. But most of us (right?) can’t do that. We don’t have time for that every other night. And so we’ll miss a bunch of games and highlights. Will that ever cause us to care less? Will that ever plant in our minds the idea that we can live without it?

Probably not.

Go Saints. Love Drew Brees.

Peace,

Allan