The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

I got so wrapped up in writing yesterday’s post about the origin of the Four Horsemen (not THESE four horsemen!!!) I completely forgot about the 80-days of football. Sorry about that. Let’s get caught up.

Yesterday was #62, Dallas Cowboys glory-days center John Fitzgerald. Fitz anchored the middle of that Cowboys offensive line from 1971-1980, helping lead the team to seven NFC Championship Games, four Super Bowls, and two World Championships. When Tom Landry first suggested the shotgun formation to Roger Staubach, it all really hinged on Fitzgerald. And the rest is history. Former Texas and Denver Broncos offensive lineman Dan Neil, who visited us at the Marble Falls Church ocassionally back in the day, gets honorable mention. He’s co-hosting a midday sports talk show now in Austin with old Ticket workhorse Kevin Scott. And Jerry Fontenot, of Aggies and Bears and Saints fame, deserves a mention. But America’s Center, John Fitzgerald, is my #62.

#61 is a guy you’ve probably never heard of. But he was truly the first ever genuine middle linebacker. He practically invented the position. And it’s only fitting he played his career in Chicago with the Bears and became the great ancestor to the Monsters of the Midway. Bill George (two first names) was the Bears number-two pick out of Wake Forest in 1951 as a noseguard. Every team in football played a five-man front and George was drafted to anchor that Bears defensive line. But in a game against the Eagles that rookie season, George stood up and backed away from the line right before the snap and tackled the running back after just a one yard gain. On the very next play, George did the same thing and wound up making an interception. For the rest of that game George lined up in a standing position about six yards off the ball, and the 4-3 defense and the middle linebacker were born.

Tomorrow, Sunday, is day 60 in the countdown. But I’ll go ahead and do it today. It’s the weekend, and this is kinda fun stuff anyway. #60 is one of those no-brainers. Tommy Nobis is the hands-down best ever player to wear the number. Nobis was an incredible two-way player at Texas, the only sophomore starter on the 1963 National Championship team. Darrell Royal called him the best two-way player he ever coached. A guard on the offensive line and a middle linebacker on defense, Nobis averaged 20 tackles per game, he made All-America twice, All-SWC twice, he was the Longhorns team MVP in ‘64 and ‘65, team captain in ‘65, he won the Outland Trophy in ‘65, and finished seventh in the Heisman voting. Texas went 27-5 during Nobis’ three years as a Longhorn. He was Texas’ first-ever overall number-one NFL pick when the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in 1966. The AFL Houston Oilers also picked him number-one, but Nobis signed with the more traditional and stable NFL franchise. He led the Falcons in tackles nine of his 11 seasons. He was NFL Rookie of the Year in ‘66. And he played in five Pro Bowls. Following his retirement, Nobis worked for years in the Falcons front office. And he still serves the team as a consultant. Super nice guy out of San Antonio Jefferson High School. One of the all-time greats.

(I must also pay respects to Chuck Bednarik. Yes, he was a great #60 and deserving of mention. But mainly because I love this picture of Bednarik standing over the fallen Frank Gifford.)

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I don’t want to be overly critical of Mark Cuban. That’s not the stated or intended purpose of this blog. But it is the weekend. Give me a little freedom here. I believe he may be the worst owner in the history of professional sports in Dallas. And, good night, we’ve had some awful ones. Bum Bright. Eddie Chiles. Ross Perot, Jr. But has any one owner, repeatedly and consistently, singlehandedly embarassed his team, his league, and his city more than Cuban? His whining after Game Five of the Finals against Miami last year was so childish and petty. And it was so bad that even Avery Johnson got caught up in it. The team took the cue from Cuban and the rhetoric was so bad and embarassing during the two days between Games 5 & 6, I actually rooted for the Heat in that last game. It’s awful.

His reality show. Remember? The most self-serving, egotistical, embarassing thing any owner has ever done in the history of professional sports. Ever. His in-game behavior is childish at best. I could go on and on. I don’t mean to. I really think he’s awful. I can stand outrageous. But childish and petty and embarassing are really too much.

And now he’s suing former Mavs coach and GM Don Nelson because Nellie used “inside information” to destroy Dallas in the first round of the playoffs two months ago. What?!? The claims in the suit are ridiculous. Randy Galloway’s column sums up most of it. His best line in the story is this: you wanna sue somebody over the Golden State series, why not sue Dirk? Suing an opposing coach for using insider information after that coach thumps your team in an historic upset sounds like something a five-year-old would do. But certainly not any right-thinking adult. Cuban makes it very hard to root for the Mavs.

I’m sure I’ll be in a better mood tonight at the Medina Children’s Home Auction and Dinner. Avery Johnson is the guest speaker. I see on Richard Brown’s run sheet that Avery gets 20 minutes to speak. And I’ve been allotted one minute for the opening prayer. 60-seconds! I’m scheduled to pray at 7:16 and then Dan Branch is making an announcement about dinner and the end of the auction at 7:17. Can you imagine?

Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Allan

Something deep and profound happened to me in 2001. My life changed that year. My focus, for the first time ever, began to shift from me and my dreams and my goals to my Lord and his Kingdom and my purpose in it. In February of that year, David Bazillion and I planned a Men’s Advance weekend for the Mesquite Church. Four intense sessions with Dale Bresee from Tulsa. Intentional worship out in the woods. Meaningful discussions—no fluff—honest and open talk about who we are and what we’re doing here. Five hours of paintball. Prayer. Lots of prayer. Rededication. Recommitment to my Lord and my family. Like Cortez, I burned my boats that weekend. Change. Dramatic change.

I came back from that Advance a different person.  Different. Changed. With a purpose. So did Jason. So did Dan. So did Kevin.

 We began meeting together at 6am Tuesdays for Bible study. I really didn’t have anything in common with any of these three. Kevin’s a laid-back, even-keeled, think through things, super-smart kind of guy—an architect— who wears starched shirts. His belt and shoes always match. Dan was in retail, a jewelry salesman at the mall who didn’t really like his job. Hyper. Never without a smile on his face. I’ll never forget Dan getting lit up with frozen paintballs from point blank range during Gary’s Vietnam flashback. Dan was bruised and bloodied all up and down his side. And he smiled and laughed the whole time. Everything’s positive with Dan. All the time. Jason was a Garland cop. Hard. Cynical. Tough. He rode rodeo bulls in high school and busted crooks for a living. Not a whole lot in common. But we started praying together and studying together because each of us needed to. And we grew close.

The first time we knew it was special, something bigger than just four guys, was around my breakfast table one morning when I had invited those three to visit with me about what we were going to do regarding some turmoil that was going on in the Mesquite church. A couple of hours of heavy prayer and frank discussion led us to resolve together to serve the Lord and his church and never look back. We took all seven elders of the church out to dinner one night, brought them back to the building and prayed for them. With them. At a time when they were expecting us to tell them we were leaving the congregation, we lifted them up and vowed our full support. We began making trips to downtown Dallas to feed the homeless who camp out between the library and City Hall. Kevin would fund it, Dan would pray over every sandwich as we passed them out, Jason would keep his hand on his pistol, and I’d try to organize everything. We began the Second Saturday Servants in an effort to reach out to the Mesquite community with the love of Christ. We started eating together with our families at the building every Wednesday night before Bible classes.

Six years later: Jason and I have both quit our secular careers and are both gospel preachers. Dan is working for Kevin and planting a church in Forney. Kevin owns his own architectural firm, one of the largest in the state of Texas, and does so much work for the Kingdom behind the scenes with the blessings God’s given him it’s embarrassing. Kevin financially supported both Jason and me while we went to school to prepare for our ministries.

We first started calling ourselves the Four Horsemen after that morning around the breakfast table in my kitchen in Mesquite. It was kind of natural. I think Jason started it. And it stuck. We don’t even know what it means. The Revelation imagery is one of punishment and justice. That’s not what we’re about. The Zechariah picture is of those sent by God who find peace and prosperity among God’s people and bring news of God’s renewed blessings for Israel. I do like that. And then there’s the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame football lore. Dan and I like that. But Jason and Kevin have no clue what that means.

Jason and Kevin and Dan are my three dearest closest friends. I can count on each one of them to move heaven and earth to help me. And they know I’d do the same for them. We support each other. We pray for and with each other. We dream together. We push and encourage each other. Every February we spend a weekend camping together. Just us four. And we’re amazed at what God has done with our lives over the past six years. And we have no idea where to go from here. We each feel very strongly that our Lord has specific plans for each of us individually, and something huge for us four together. Something soon. Something big.

Today begins a new Horsemen adventure. As busy as all four of us are, we’ve vowed to drive to Dallas once a month to have a long lunch together. Once a month. Every month. We’re never going to miss. And it starts today. We’re all four going to be sitting together with our wives at the same table at tomorrow’s Medina Children’s Home Auction and Dinner at the Fairmont. But today’s lunch is really going to be special.

These three men have no idea how they have inspired me and encouraged me and pushed me to be who I am and to be doing what I’m doing with my life right now. I tell them all the time. But they don’t know.

Kevin, thank you for the big dreams and the huge vision and all your encouragement. Dan, thank you for your eternal optimism and your boundless energy and your beautiful prayers and all your encouragement. Jason, thank you for your phone calls and your constant presence in my life and for showing me what it means to put our God first in our lives. And for all your encouragement.

What’s next? More than we can ask or imagine.

Saddle up!

Peace,

Allan

I’ve seen many more pictures of the flooding in and around Marble Falls and talked to many more of our dear friends down there since yesterday’s post. Thank God they didn’t receive hardly any additional rain last night. But the devastation from Tuesday night’s flood appears today to be worse than anybody originally thought. At least 150 homes and businesses have been damaged. They are able to produce a little bit of water for residents, but they first have to boil every drop they use. Because of that, most every business and restaurant in Marble Falls is still closed today. Mayor Raymond Whitman, a member of the church in Marble Falls, is estimating millions of dollars in damages to the city’s infrastructure, mainly in washed out bridges and roads. Here’s a short story from the Statesman on Marble Falls’ situation. They’re expecting up to six more inches of rain today and tonight. Here’s an interesting series of charts and tables from the LCRA on all five of the Highland Lakes. Scroll down and check out the spikes on the lake levels at Lake Marble Falls and Lake Travis. They’re still in a “major flood event” this morning on Travis. Here are some pictures and commentary from my good friend Jimmy Mitchell, the youth minister in Marble Falls. And here’s a whole bunch of great pictures from KXAN-TV in Austin. And, I can’t help it. Here are the ones that have impacted me the most. I’m not very good (any good at all, actually) at positioning these pictures where I’d like. Help me, John!!! Pardon the weird style of all this.

This is  the creek behind the Methodist church and Margarita’s, between 1431 and Mission Hills Drive, where we lived for the past two years. This is a portion of Avenue J near downtown that’s been washed out. This is Commerce Street where Dan Burdett lost four or five of his storage units. A couple of boat shops and BFI’s Burnet County headquarters are there and received lots of damage from the flooding of Whitman Branch.  Here’s a picture of one of many cars that were washed out on Highway-1431 just east of town.    Johnson Park is still under water.  This is the view from the skate park looking towards Johnson Park and Backbone Creek. Here’s another of Johnson Park.  This is Lakeside Park where all the picnic pavilions were under water.  And this is the section of Broadway, right there by the Boys & Girls club, leading up to the old Marble Falls Elementary.   Here’s some more of the damage that was done to the businesses along 281 next to Whitman Branch. Cars and boats and debris thrown around and into other cars and boats and windows and buildings.  Next to the shots of Johnson Park, this is the picture that overwhelms me most. This is the arm of the Llano River that shoots out onto the Kingsland Slab. That bridge that’s covered there is only for cars. If you want to get out into all that, you generally just step across on the rocks. I’ve never seen that more than knee deep. Never. That’s where you take the little kids to play in the water and picnic. I can’t believe how deep and wide it is today!  Finally, arial shots of Wirtz Dam between Lakes LBJ and Marble Falls  and of Starcke Dam between Lakes Marble Falls and Travis.  To all our dear friends in the Hill Country and along the beautiful Highland Lakes, we love y’all and we’re thinking of y’all and praying for y’all.

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63 more days until football season. And the all-time #63 is Gene Upshaw. Out of Texas A&I Kingsville (Javelinas?), he was the Oakland Rai-duhs #1 pick in 1967 and played on the offensive line with Art Shell and John Madden for most of his 15 NFL seasons. Upshaw played in ten AFL/AFC title games and three Super Bowls. He played in 307 career games and became the first ever exclusive offensive guard to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He’s making big-time news now as the long-time head of the NFL Players Association and catching all kinds of heat for taking care of current players but ignoring and neglecting all the old-timers who can’t get out of bed in the mornings because of their chronic injuries and illnesses directly related to their football careers.

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“Therefore, this is what the Lord says, ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty. Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says, ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”     ~Zechariah 1:16-17

 Peace,

Allan

19-1/2 inches of rain in less than ten hours on top of already saturated ground and swollen rivers and creeks produced some major flooding overnight and early this morning in our home away from home, Marble Falls. Our old house on Hackberry, in the Pecan Valley Subdivision two streets off the lake where we called home for almost seven years, is under water. Johnson Park, where I’ve MCed beauty pageants and battles of bands, pushed my girls on the merry ground, prayed with youth groups, swung on the monkey bars, and eaten HowdyFest chili is underwater. Lakeside Park is flooded. A house across the street from Kyle & Marti Futrell was struck by lightning and burned to the ground because 1) fire crews were too busy rescuing people from their flooded-out homes and 2) they couldn’t get up there to fight it anyway. Highways 281, 29, and 1431 into and out of Marble Falls were flooded. Meadowlakes residents are trapped. There are 30 families trying to dry out at the Marble Falls Middle School, about two blocks up from the Futrell rent house we called home for the past two years. Great friends Jerry & Cindy Jamar had their house flooded. Clint & Tiffany Young are flooded. Dan Burdett, one of my closest friends, lost four of his commercial buildings on Commerce Street. There have been over 40 water rescues made since 4:00 this morning. There’s no water coming out of the city pipes. None. No drinking water. No bathing water. Everything’s shut down. A state of disaster has been declared. The National Guard has moved in. The Red Cross has set up shop at Cattleman’s Bank next to the HEB where they’re passing out bottled water. Apache helicopters and rescue units have arrived from Fort Hood in Killeen and have set up at Home Depot. All the floodgates on all five dams on the Highland Lakes are open, and the water levels are still rising. Lake Travis, not a small lake between Marble Falls and Austin, has risen over five feet since last night. The boundaries of the 100 year flood plain have been breached. Big time.

And they’re anticipating 8-9 additional inches of rain tonight.

Praise God there have been no injuries or deaths reported. Everyone was warned ahead of time. The LCRA did its job in getting the weather reports and communicating their forecasts for what the lakes and rivers would do. I know from long discussions with Guy Nelson and Don Graves how stressful that is. The system worked. But if they get more rain tonight, tomorrow will look worse than today.

Please pray today for all our great friends in Marble Falls. The people and the church there are a permanent part of our lives. Our hearts are with them today. And I wish you’d lift them up to God right now. May our Lord bless them and deliver them from the waters. May he grant them peace and comfort in the midst of the turmoil and uncertainties. And may he use that church, that body of believers who meet in Marble Falls, to reach out to the hurting community with the compassion and love of Christ. May our God use this awful circumstance to impact the area with his grace. And may the church there have the vision and the passion to see the opportunities for Christian service that are literally washing up all around them.

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I delivered the Discipleship lessons I used at the Legacy Youth Retreat a couple of months ago to the teenaged children of the deaf people who are here for the annual National Deaf Christian Workshop. They were very responsive and enthusiastic about the pictures we have in our Scriptures regarding our God and his Son and what it means to truly follow him. Thanks to Collin Swofford for helping out and to Jason Brown for setting up my projector.

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64 days until football season. And #64 on my all-time jersey list is Packers offensive lineman Jerry Kramer. Some would list Kramer ahead of John Hannah and Rayfield Wright as the best pulling-guard to ever lead a sweep. I’m thinking you and I could pull pretty well if we were leading for Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung. But Kramer certainly belongs in the top five. He played for the Packers for 11 years, won five NFL titles, including the first two Super Bowls. But what he’s most remembered for is the clinching block he put on Jethro Pugh in the Ice Bowl NFL Championship game of 1966 in Green Bay to spring Bart Starr for the game-winning TD.

13-seconds left. Cowboys up 21-17. 3rd down and no timeouts. And they quarterback sneak it over Kramer for the winning score. A surprise call. A great block. And it made Kramer famous. End zone TV cameras captured the block so well, and they showed it over and over again for weeks. Kramer became the very first ever offensive lineman recognized nationally for his blocking. And it was all because of TV and instant replay. In fact, the name of Kramer’s excellent autobiography is Instant Replay.

I hate it. Had the Cowboys won the Ice Bowl, the Super Bowl trophy would be named after Landry instead of Lombardi.

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“During the night I had a vision—and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown, and white horses. I asked, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, ‘They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.’”

                                      ~Zechariah 1:8-10

Peace,

 Allan

How many church songs do you know by memory? How many praise hymns, gospel songs, and youth-type songs do you know by heart? If I gave you the title or sang the first line, how many church songs could you be able to finish? 100? 200? More?

Next question: how many times did you actually sit down with a song book and intentionally work on memorizing the words? How many hours did you spend in a room by yourself pouring over the lyrics to memorize those hundreds of songs?

I’m betting you never did that once.

But you know the songs. The songs are in you. The music and the words and the tunes and all the images and emotions and memories and feelings those songs stir up are in your head AND in your heart. Our songs are so important to our worship and to our growth as God’s children. They become a part of us. They become who we are. I think half our theology is learned in the songs we sing. We know the names of the 12 apostles because of the song. We run the song in our heads as we’re searching for Philippians or Thessalonians in our New Testaments. Everyone of us would be able to recite all 39 books of the Old Testament in order if only there were a song. The passages of Scripture we know best are the ones that have been turned into church songs. Our pictures of heaven, of the cross, of Jesus in the Garden come from our songs. Our songs have defined for us our ideas about salvation and forgiveness and love. Our doctrines are shaped by our songs. Our songs are critical, paramount to our faith.

That’s the first thing on singing: the importance of it for the church, the community of faith.  

The second thing is this: Sing!

Don’t just sit there. Sing.

Everything we do in America now is geared more and more toward consuming entertainment and pleasant diversion and less and less toward active participation. We watch and listen. We don’t do. And I’m struck by the words of Darryl Tippens in his book That’s Why We Sing:

“We are less and less a singing culture, more and more a listening culture. We are surrounded, day and night, by professionally produced music. As we move from active participation to passive listening, an even more ominous consequence emerges. In a world of “American Idol,” we have become entitled judges of everyone’s performance. In other words, we move from being singers to being listeners, then, finally, to being consumers and self-appointed critics. In such a consumerist world, congregational singing suffers. Instead of praise being understood as a sacrificial gift to God; it becomes a human performance subject to critical analysis. (What did you think of the singing this morning?)

We moved all the chairs in our Worship Center Sunday afternoon so that the rows all faced toward the middle. And we spent an hour Sunday evening singing to our God AND to each other. Praising God, yes; but also teaching, encouraging, challenging, and loving each other with our songs. Instead of the backs of their heads, I got to see the faces of my brothers and sisters in full throat and wide smile as we sang together. And it was powerful.

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65 days until football season. And #65 is old Houston Oilers great Elvin Bethea. You know, I’m a sucker for the old Houston Oilers. He played defensive end for the Oilers for 16 seasons, from 1968-83 and is the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks with 210. He played in 135 straight games until his streak was ended by a broken arm against the hated Raiders in ‘79. Bethea is old school—he played in the very last AFL All-Star game in ‘69. He was a vital part of those Luv Ya Blue teams of the late ’70s. But he was also the best player on those lousy teams of the late ’60s and early ’70s. He racked up a record 17 sacks on a 1-13 team in 1973. That’s why he was so beloved. The Oilers retired his #65 in 1983. But his memory lives on in the countdown.

Peace,

Allan

Christian ministry is a series of interruptions. And it’s our attitude toward and our selfless service in those interruptions that define our ministries.

My outlook on time and my control over my time was radically altered almost 20 years ago, the very first time I read C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape, the affectionate devil, tells his protege nephew in chapter 11 that “man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time; it all comes to him by pure gift.”

 Screwtape goes on to say that if in our “total service of the Enemy (God)” he demanded one day for us to do nothing more than listen for a half hour to the “conversation of a foolish woman,” we would be much relieved and happy to serve. If, one day, that’s all God wanted, just for you to pay attention for a little while to this person who needs you to listen, we’d be thrilled to obey. We’d be honored that God would choose us to be used by him in that way, that day. And then Screwtape concludes his thought by telling Wormwood, “if the man thinks about this assumption for a moment, even he is bound to realize that he is actually in this situation every day.”

Jesus, the Christ, is our perfect example of selfless service. And, apart from the cross, that service is best seen in the interruptions to his schedule. Jesus washed feet, hugged lepers, and called tax collectors down out of trees. Despite the strain on his schedule and the personal risk to his reputation and his position, people always came first to the Son of God. When a blind man or a beggar or a lonely woman called out to Jesus, he didn’t reschedule them or avoid them because it wasn’t in his plans that day. He healed them. He taught them. He served them.

Christian ministry is not in the things we schedule as much as in the interruptions to those schedules.

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Speaking of schedules, there are several big items on the calendar this week. Here at Legacy we’re honored to host the annual National Deaf Christian Workshop. Over 500 deaf Christians from all over the country are meeting here tonight through Thursday for a series of sessions revolving around the Texas-inspired theme “Deep in the Heart of God.” The lectures and classes focus on spiritual matters and deaf ministry issues and include such topics as “Improving Church Interpreting,” “Facial Expression in Interpreting,” and “A Heart for Interpreting.” This place has been buzzing with activity since before 7:00 this morning. And the unmistakable energy and enthusiasm in the air will only build through the week up to Tom Ramey’s message “Hearts That Are Heaven Bound” Thursday night. Congratulations to our own deaf minister Terry Heidecker and his wife Cindy, Bill and Katie Baker, and the dozens of others who’ve worked so hard to pull this off. May our God bless the workshop and use the workshop to spread the borders of the Kingdom!

I’ll begin a new tradition with some old friends this Friday in Dallas. The Four Horsemen are riding together with increased frequency and fervor. Woe to those who would………

Nevermind. More on that Friday.

And this Saturday night is the annual Medina Children’s Home Dinner and Auction at the Fairmont in downtown Dallas. I’ve been privileged in the past to work with my good friends David & Linda Cause in gathering autographed items from the Rangers and Stars and Mavericks to be auctioned off at the dinner. But this year I’m honored to be leading the invocation. Mavericks coach Avery Johnson is the guest speaker. And I’m looking forward to a wonderful night with dear friends to support a great cause.

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The resource page is beginning to take some kind of shape. Check it out for bulletin articles, book reviews, exegetical papers, and essays I’ve written in the past. And feel free to use them anywhere and anytime you’d like.

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Finally, there are 66 days until football season. And #66 in the countdown is the Packers long-time Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Nitschke. Nitschke was the core of the Green Bay defense during their dynasty days of the ’60s. They won five NFL titles in seven years, including the first two Super Bowls with Nitschke wreaking havoc for opposing quarterbacks and enforcing his will on opposing running backs. He kept his teeth on a shelf in his locker. His autobiography was entitled “Mean on Sunday.” In 1969 he was named the best linebacker in the history of the NFL. He was the first Packers defender from the ’60s to get into the Hall of Fame. And it’s amazing to me that he only played in one Pro Bowl. And of course, in that one Pro Bowl, in 1964, he returned an interception for a TD. Ray Nitschke is, without doubt, the best player to ever wear #66.

Catching up from the weekend (there’s gotta be a better way to do this): Russell Maryland is my #67. Maryland won two national championships and the Outland Trophy at the University of Miami, he won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys as their #1 draft pick in ‘91, and finished his career with the Raiders and Packers. He was a great football player on great teams. His timing was impeccable. But more than that, he’s a really great guy. I had the pleasure of working with Russell at a benefit golf tournament three years ago for Athletes in Action and listened to him at dinner passionately tell the golfers about his conversion to Christ and his life as a disciple. God bless him and John Weber, John Wetteland, and Sean Payton for the work they’re doing for our Lord.

And #68 is old Cowboys nemesis L. C. Greenwood. Out of little bitty Arkansas Pine Bluff, he was a 10th round pick of the Steelers, but became the team’s all-time leading sack man with 73-1/2. On the famed Steel Curtain defense he played left defensive end next to Mean Joe Green, Ernie Holmes, and Dwight White; a defensive line that posted five shutouts in the last eight games of 1976. He wore those awful gold high top cleats, remember? And the NFL fined the team after every single game for the uniform violation. And Art Rooney wrote the checks with a smile. Greenwood sacked Roger Staubach three times in Super Bowl X. He was 6′6″, super quick, and unstoppable coming around that corner. Cowboys offensive lineman Herb Scott gets my #68 honorable mention. But Greenwood’s the best.

Peace,

 Allan

Earth’s crammed with heaven.
And every common bush aflame with God.
But only those who see, take off their shoes.
The rest just sit there and pluck blackberries.

                        ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Paul Dennis sent me this quote a few days ago. And it reminded me of the premise of Eugene Peterson’s great book Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. In it, Peterson explains that Jesus Christ is at the very center of everything—every single thing that has ever happed, is happening, and will ever happen. Everything that was, is, and is to be is because of the Son of God. Everything that happened before the Incarnation was pointing toward Christ. And everything since that moment is because of Christ. Peterson writes that Christ is “behind and in” all of living creation. And he states that “Jesus is the dictionary in which we look up the meaning of words.” Everything around us exists in and through and because of the power of Christ.

As for recapturing the wonder we used to have about our world and our place in it, nothing works better for me than experiencing it through my daughters. They never cease to be amazed at the things they see and smell and touch and taste at the zoo, at the park, down by the creek, or on the short walk from the driveway to the front porch. I’m assured of at least one excited shriek of delight from one of them every time we’re together. They find the greatest pleasure in the simplest things.

And it helps to remind me that every single thing we experience is given to us by our God. The yellow butterfly that Carley can’t quite catch was sent to our backyard by our Father to make me smile. The chimpanzees that make Valerie laugh were created by the Creator for me. The thunder and lightning that cause Whitney to jump in my lap are gifts from above.

Peterson says we should live this wonderful life with all its experiences and gifts and wonder with Christ. Our lives should not be a performance for Christ, but a life lived with him. And as a minister of the Word of God, I’ve got to try to get people to see the same thing. The Son of God is present in every single breath we take and in everything we see and do. And an increased awareness of that will strengthen our faith and increase our joy as his followers.

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I just started last night reading another Peterson book, Working the Angles, on the three fundamental, inescapable daily practices of the preacher upon which every single thing the preacher is called to do is built: fervent prayer, reading of Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. His premise is that preachers can fake all three of those things and still be respected and regarded and highly paid as great gospel preachers. The introduction and the first 43 pages are gold. I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you on all of this next week.

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There are 69 days left until football season. And #69 on the all-time jersey number countdown is Denver Broncos great Mark “Stinky” Schlereth. Schlereth won three Super Bowls as an offensive lineman, one with the Redskins and two more with Denver. He was the first ever Alaskan-born player in the NFL. He actually played both ways—on the offensive AND defensive line in college at Idaho. And now he works as a very popular football analyst on ESPN TV and radio. But the thing that distinguishes Schlereth and gets him on my list is his medical record.

28 surgeries plus a kidney stone procedure.

That’s a record.

20 of those surgeries were on his knees—15 on his left knee, five on his right. He’s had surgery on his elbow, back, ankle, and one for a nerve disorder. And they never really slowed him down. He played a Monday night game about six hours after the kidney stone procedure. He lasted 12 seasons and played in 156 games, about twice as much as the average player with no surgeries!

But don’t expect me to write about his nickname, “Stinky.” You have to look that up on your own.

Peace,

Allan

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”  ~Revelation 14:13

What a week it’s been.

It started when Erna West passed away Sunday afternoon. Erna is the grandmother of John West, the friend who is helping me almost daily with this blog. He’s the tech guy here at Legacy, but I feel like since I’ve been here he’s been my personal computer guy. Love him. His wife, Suzanne, is our secretary here. The sweetest, kindest, funniest, most sensitive lady you’d ever meet. Love her. And they were both extremely close to their “Granny.”

Tuesday one of the dear sweet ladies of this congregation, Doris Burleson, was taken from a rehab center where she’d been since a recent car accident to the HEB hospital for a scope to determine the extent of a staph infection and blood disease. I prayed with her and her son, Fred, and her grandson, Taylor, about 30-minutes before the surgery. And then yesterday, I prayed with her and six of her kids and grandkids about 30-minutes before she died.

 That was about three hours before Erna’s funeral down in Hillsboro at which John & Suzanne both spoke of their love for their “Granny” and had the whole house in tears and laughter at the same time. And now I’ll be preaching Doris’ funeral on Saturday in Bedford.

What a week it’s been.

Death is our enemy. Hebrews 2:15 says the devil uses our fear of death as a terrible weapon against us. He holds the power of death, it says, and holds us in slavery, paralyzes us, by our fear. But praise God, death is no match for the Lord of Life! Thank God that for Erna and Doris and for you and me death does not have the last word. Death is not the bottom line. Jesus Christ is the ultimate power with the ultimate authority, and he always writes the last chapter.

Our Savior said he was the light of the world. And he made that much more than just a concept when he gave sight to the blind. He called himself the bread of life. And that became much more than just an abstraction when he fed the 5,000. Christ also called himself the resurrection and the life. And he proved it by raising Jairus’ daughter, the widow’s son, and Lazarus. But the fullest meaning of that—the resurrection and the life—is realized completely in the ultimate defeat of the forces of sin and death and Satan and all the things that work so hard to separate us from our God.

Christ is the one who personifies life & victory & resurrection as a powerful reality, an indisputable truth, an undeniable fact. And those truths, those promises, those guarantees belong to us! Death is swallowed up in our Lord’s victory!

“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly be united with him in his resurrection.”   ~Romans 6:3-5

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I hope the Rangers are happy. They brought an aging and selfish has-been with a tainted reputation to join a clubhouse of young and selfless superstars with reputations beyond reproach. They knew going in that all the focus of the entire season would be on their newcomer and that his pitiful self-centered chase for #600 and personal redemption would overshadow everything else the rest of the team would do. They knew that. And they chose to do it anyway. And they joined in, promoting Sammy Sosa and his quest above all else. And last night he did it. A solo shot in the bottom of the 5th with nobody on and two outs in a meaningless game in Arlington. Meaningless, because the Rangers are 27-44, 18 games back, and completely without hope. The Ballpark was packed with nearly 38,000 fans last night. And all their flashbulbs were popping to capture Sammy’s historic blast. But 22,000 of those fans won’t be back today. And they won’t be back next week or the week after. I hope the Rangers are happy.

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Wow. That was harsh and cynical. Sorry. That’s one of the reasons I got out of the business.

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On to much happier things: there are only 70 more days until football season. And there are SO MANY great #70s to choose from. Many of the giants of the game wore #70. Some of my favorite players of all time wore #70. And they all wore #70 in college, too, so I can’t play around with the numbers like I did with Bob Lilly and Merlin Olsen. The legendary Jim Marshall and the great storyteller and pioneer Art Donovan each wore #70. Ernie Stautner, the long time Steelers great who once punched a Giants punter, Tom Landry, in the nose and then coached the Cowboys defensive line to five Super Bowls wore #70. And so did the Big Cat, Rayfield Wright. Wright was maybe even better than John Hannah on leading the backs on sweeps. He was just so big and fast, a former basketball player like Too Tall Jones. And such a nice guy. I had the pleasure of getting to know Ray during his two tumultuous years of Hall of Fame induction votes and Ring of Honor honor. His stories have made it into a couple of my sermons. Great guy.

But the all-time greatest player to ever wear #70 has to be New York Giants great Sam Huff. Huff actually played for Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi on those Giants teams of the ’50s when Landry was the Defensive Coordinator and Lombardi the Offensive Coordinator. Huff was a fierce tackler, a super hard hitter, and the first defensive player in the NFL to gain national attention. He made the cover of Time magazine in 1961 following a national TV documentary titled “The Violent World of Sam Huff” that glorified the vicious hits and the bone-rattling colissions he was making famous. He played in six NFL title games and five Pro Bowls and became the first great middle linebacker of the NFL, the ancestor to Butkus and Lambert and Singletary. Sam Huff is the best of the great #70s.

Peace,

Allan

“In leaning over to speak to the modern world, I fear we may have fallen  in.” 

                                                     ~William Willimon, 1997

Willimon’s article from the Winter 1997 issue of Leadership should be required reading for every preacher and elder, and probably for every church member. I try to read it at least once or twice a month to remind me of what’s important and to shape my approach to Scripture and to preaching. I hear so often, daily it seems, that we need to reach the culture, we need to speak to the culture, we need to adapt what we do and how we do it to the culture. I find that a lot of the decisions we make regarding “church” are made in reaction to or in an effort to reach out to or even reflect our culture.

Willimon says, “the Bible doesn’t want to speak to the modern world; the Bible wants to convert the modern world.” Most of the time, I think, we treat our culture as if it were a fact, a reality to which we’re obligated to adjust, instead of merely one way of looking at things or doing things with which we might argue.

Again, Willimon: “Christianity is a distinct culture with its own vocabulary, grammar, and practices. Too often, when we try to speak to our culture, we merely adopt the culture of the moment rather than present the gospel to the culture.”

“The point is not to speak to the culture, “Willimon continues, “the point is to change it. And God’s appointed means of producing change is called ‘church.’”

And I think the apostle Paul would agree.

“Since you died with Christ to the basic principals of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules?”         ~Colossians 2:20

 May we see our culture for what it is, a set of systems and values that are opposed to Christ and his Church. And may we strive together to change the culture for him and the Kingdom, not adapt to it.

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The Fort Worth Star-Telegram yesterday led off the front of the Sports section with a question: are these ’07 Rangers the worst team in the history of DFW professional sports? They compared the team to Jimmy Johnson’s first Cowboys squad that went 1-15 in 1989. (Troy Aikman was the second leading rusher on that team with 300 yards. Yikes!) And they also brought up the Mavericks ‘92-93 team that went 11-71 under the leadership of Richie Adubato AND Gar Heard. The Rangers are 26-44, 18 games back, and it’s not even July. Everything Jon Daniels has touched has blown up in his face. And Hicks just gave him the dreaded two-year contract extension / vote of confidence. I don’t think they’re the worst team ever in DFW. Probably not even the worst team ever in Arlington. Not yet.

Talking about the futility of past teams reminds me of the futility of our current teams. The Stars can’t get out of the first round, the Mavs embarrased all of us with their historic flop, the Cowboys coach is Wade Phillips, and the Rangers are marketing Sammy Sosa. A great friend already here at Legacy, Paul Dennis (two first names! That’s a radio thing!) pointed me to Jeremiah 12:5 and related it to the false hopes of the sports fans who think our teams are just one player or one tweak away from winning a championship. “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?”

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Finally, there are only 71 more days until football season. And my all-time #71 is the undisputed leader of the Fearsome Foursome of the Los Angeles Rams, Merlin Olsen. He played tackle on the left side with Deacon Jones for most of his 15 NFL seasons and went to a record 14 straight Pro Bowls. Olsen pioneered the art of stunting and looping from the tackle position to get to the QB. He was big, he was fast, he was agile, and he was super smart. And he dominated. And, amazingly, he never once played in a league championship or a Super Bowl. Of course, my girls only know Merlin Olsen as Jonathon Garvey on Little House on the Prarie. He was also Father Murphy and the long-time spokesman for FTD Florists.

And I know he wore #74 while he was with the Rams. But he wore #71 as a two-time All-America and Outland Trophy winner with the Fightin’ Aggies of Utah State. That’s not cheating. That’s making sure I get Olsen and Bob Lilly on the list.

Peace,

 Allan

“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the powers of the world.”   ~Karl Barth

In Exodus 17, Joshua is fighting the Amalekites at Rephidim. Moses has taken Aaron and Hur to the top of a nearby hill where Moses lifts his hands to God in prayer on behalf of Israel’s warriors. As long as his hands are up, God gives his children the victory. When his hands fall, the enemy prevails. It doesn’t take long for Aaron and Hur to recognize this. So they position themselves on either side of their aging leader and hold his arms up for him until Joshua and his army have defeated the foe.

Two pictures of the power of prayer are obvious here.

One, while the battles and skirmishes and fights are taking place in the valley, the real war is being waged on the hill. That’s where the ultimate outcome of the conflict is decided. God is the one controlling the entire situation. And his response is directly, unambiguously, related to the attitude and the practice of continual prayer.

Two, prayer is a team effort. It’s never just one person praying on behalf of the whole congregation of God’s children. It’s all of God’s people working together to lift up the arms of those who are weary, to pray with those who are burdened with the fight, to support those who love us and intercede for us with our own prayers.

After the battle with the Amalekites, Moses calls the place “The Lord is my Banner” because “hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.” May our lives reflect a constant attitude of prayer to our Father on behalf of those in the fight.

72 days until football season. And my greatest all-time #72 is NOT the flash-in-the-pan Fridge. To me, William Perry stands for everything that has corrupted professional football. Mike Ditka’s single worst coaching decision was to allow Perry the TD plunge in Walter Payton’s only Super Bowl. Perry became literally and figuratively bigger than his team and larger than life.

 It’s also not long-time Cardinal Dan Dierdorf whose TV analysis and commentary aren’t quite bad enough to detract from his outstanding Hall of Fame playing career.

My #72 will always be Ed “Too Tall” Jones.

The first time Jones ever played organized football was in college at Tennessee State. He was a 6′9″ basketball player!  But the Cowboys drafted him #1 overall in 1974 and he dominated the defensive end position in the NFC East for 15 seasons. He still today holds Cowboys records for most starts (203), most games played (224), and most fumble recoveries (19). Opposing quarterbacks couldn’t see over him and couldn’t run around him. He singlehandedly changed the other team’s gameplan. He racked up 106 career sacks despite playing ten years before the stat became official. He  blocked seven field goals, collected 1,032 tackles, and in his one year out of football to try his hand at professional boxing he went 6-0 with 5 knockouts! One of my most prized possessions is an autographed practice jersey that Jones wore during the ‘83 season. It’s been washed. Too Tall Jones had one of the best nicknames in sports. And he’s the all-time #72.

Peace,

Allan