Category: 4 Amarillo (Page 6 of 9)

Yes, I have torn a muscle in my lower back trying to dead-lift a four-million pound concrete flower box on our front porch. And I remain in the blur of a medically-induced haze as a result of the muscle relaxers, pain killers, and steroids prescribed by my doctor. I missed Central’s Family Camp this weekend, flat on my back, alternating between ice packs and heating pads. It’s one of those almost embarrassing things you’d rather not everybody know. But when the preacher doesn’t show up, people ask questions. Greg did his best to tell folks at Blue Haven I had broken my back while baptizing a really overweight man. But it didn’t hold. Everybody knows, as evidenced by the wheelchair that greeted me this morning as I arrived in my office.

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At 5:30 this afternoon more than a hundred volunteers from our four downtown churches will come together in our Sneed Hall to sort and pack thousands of school supplies for Wills, San Jacinto, Bivins, and Sunrise elementary schools. It was this event one year ago at Polk Street Methodist that served as the official “first” 4 Amarillo cooperative effort. Since that time all four of our churches have worshiped together in each other’s buildings, we’ve run neighborhood Bible schools and block parties, we’ve remodeled a house, and we’ve eaten a lot of ice cream.

That the world may believe.

Putting aside our denominational differences, tearing down the walls that divide us, and focusing only on our common Savior is a compelling testimony to the power of our Lord. When we come together in Christ we are proclaiming in word and in deed that Jesus really is the Prince of Peace, that he really is all about reconciliation, and that he really does transcend all human divisions.

What an honor to host this event tonight at Central. What a joy to be right in the middle of something Jesus actually prayed for on the night he was betrayed. What a tremendous blessing to live and serve in the very heart of what God is doing in his world.

Peace,

Allan

The four downtown churches got together here at Central last night to celebrate what our God is doing through our “4 Amarillo” coalition with a homemade ice cream social. And, wow, what an event! We CofC’ers do pretty well when it comes to food. We may not be social drinkers, but we are certainly social eaters. We had a great relaxed evening of eating and sharing and laughing together, renewing old community bonds and forming new friendships determined not by our differences, but based on what we have in common: Christ Jesus our Lord. And ice cream.

Today is the last day for the Block Party / Bible schools at the Wills and San Jacinto school parks. But the work on the Chavez house is expected to go through tomorrow and probably in to Saturday. What fun it is to see men and women and children of all ages and from all denominational backgrounds scraping and painting, sanding and sawing, pulling down dead trees and laying new floor together. Together.

Of course, when we’re washing paintbrushes together, the Methodists use a lot less water than I think they should. The Presbyterians feel like they’re predestined to spend all of their time in the kitchen — they don’t have a choice. The Baptists keep trying to organize us into small classes. And the Church of Christers have a tendency to think we’re the only ones there. But it’s working. It’s working because Jesus Christ is Lord and he is very interested in his disciples showing the same love and grace to one another as he shows to us. It’s working because we all realize we’re part of something so much bigger than our four individual congregations or our four distinct denominations. We’re all a part of the eternal Kingdom of God. And when we work and worship our God together, the world sits up and takes notice.

In case you missed it, here’s a link to the story KAMR-TV did at the Chavez house yesterday.

And here’s a link to yesterday’s Globe News story about Central’s Gifted 2 Go.

All four churches are gathering at First Baptist Sunday night in another combined worship assembly. We’re planning to praise our God together in song and prayer, to share a bunch of stories from the block parties and the food bank and the house project, and to celebrate the privilege it is to partner with our God in redeeming all of creation back to himself. We’re hoping Ray and Gloria Chavez can be there. If you live in Amarillo, I’m hoping you’ll be there to witness and experience what it’s like when God’s people put the needs of others ahead of their own. And I’m praying that our God continues to bless us with his spirit of unity and cooperation among all the Christians in our city.

Peace,

Allan

The incredible partnership between the four downtown Amarillo churches extended into new territory today with the beginning of a “4 Amarillo” week of Bible schools and service projects in our local neighborhoods. We’ve spent all day today, side by side, serving and working together in the name of our Lord Jesus for the sake of his Kingdom. Presbyterians and Baptists, Methodists and CofC’ers, teaching memory verses to little kids in the parks, praising God, making bracelets, painting pictures, and sharing a meal.

The most impressive display of unity and cooperation, though, is to be seen on South Buchanan Street, just a couple of blocks from our church buildings, where a house is being renovated by an army of Christian volunteers. We first came into contact with Ray, the owner of the house, through Christmas in Action, a local charity organization that repairs homes for the elderly and disabled. Ray’s wife, Gloria, suffered a series of strokes during an operation several years ago and is confined to her bed and a wheelchair and requires Ray’s around the clock attention and care. So, by God’s grace, we’re working together to do it up right.

All the windows are being replaced by First Baptist. The kitchen is being completely remodeled by First Presbyterian. Wheelchair ramps are being built and installed by Polk Street Methodist. And Central Church of Christ is widening all the doorways. In addition to that, scores of volunteers are scraping and caulking and painting the exterior of the house, replacing rotting wood and repairing leaky faucets, and cleaning up around the inside and outside of the home. It’s quite the scene!

It’s unbelievable, really.

It’s beyond my abilities to really write about it. I don’t know how to describe it. I think maybe you have to have lived our CofC traditions, and even bought in to our sectarian arrogance yourself at some point, to fully comprehend and appreciate the magnitude of this. Only God, maybe, knows how truly wonderful this is.

I would ask that you please keep this week long effort in your fervent prayers. Ask our merciful Father to please use the visible unity and cooperation between our churches as an undeniable testimony to our community of the power and grace of God.

Peace,

Allan

It seems that following our official corporate expressions of the “4 Amarillo” efforts with the other downtown churches, I get asked several times by members of our family here at Central, “Why does it feel so good?” It’s not quite guilt, I don’t think; sometimes I think the question comes from a place of surprise. More than that, I assume it’s a legitimate search for an explanation for the really, really good feelings we have.

I believe it’s because we’re doing what we were created by God to do. It’s like a fish swimming in water instead of flopping on the sidewalk. It’s like an engine running on motor oil instead of lemonade. It’s like tightening a bolt with a wrench instead of a hammer or baking a cake in the oven instead of the washing machine.

It feels good, it feels right, to break down barriers between God’s people and unite under the holy name of his Son for the sake of his Kingdom. It feels right to worship and work with other Christians, to sacrifice our own preferences, to give up our own comforts, to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit,” to be a part of a significant something that’s bigger than us or our own particular group.

It’s like feeding the hungry or clothing the poor or any of a number of other good works. It makes you feel good to do those things because doing those good things is precisely why you were created and called by our God. We were created to live in Christian community with one another and to express Christian unity in ways that will astonish the world and testify to the power of our Lord.

Burt Palmer and I are swapping pulpits this Sunday morning. I’ll be preaching both services at Polk Street United Methodist Church and Burt will be preaching here at Central. Please be in fervent prayer this week that our God will bless our attempts at Christian unity. Ask our Father to use “4 Amarillo” for the sake of his Kingdom in our city. And, if you live anywhere in the panhandle of our great state of Texas, make plans to be at Central to welcome and bless Burt and to hear the Word powerfully proclaimed by one of God’s faithful servants.

My assumption is you’re going to feel really good about it.

Peace,

Allan