The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Central Church Family (Page 44 of 54)

So Much Glory

January 3, 2013 / / 0 Comments

We’ve just completed a year-long study here at Central of the foundational words of our God in Exodus 34:5-7. This is the passage in which our God describes himself in his own words to Moses and his people at Mount Sinai. It’s the longest such passage in all of Scripture and paramount to the understanding of our heavenly Father and his ways. These words describe God’s eternal nature, his character, his mode of operation, his glory.

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.”

As a church family, we dove into these holy words in January of this past year and worked through them together a little bit each month. By God’s grace, we are trying to assimilate these words into our own lives. We want to live into these words. We want to become, as a people of God, everything these words tell us about our God. And we want to get better at seeing and recognizing the glory of God all around us.

A few weeks ago, as we were getting close to wrapping up the series, I asked our congregation to submit photos that, to them, reflected this eternal glory of God. Send me the pictures, I begged, that communicate God’s faithful love, that demonstrate his patience, that speak to his great forgiveness, that represent his holiness, that show his compassion and grace. Send me pictures that, to you, show God’s glory. And the pictures came in by the dozens.

Nearly a hundred different pictures accompanied by nearly a hundred different stories, representing God’s glory in nearly a hundred different and beautiful ways. Our enormously talented worship minister, Kevin Schaffer, arranged all the pictures and set them to music in three separate slide shows our church family enjoyed together during the sharing of communion on Sunday January 30. (You can see all three videos by clicking here.)

And I learned so much.

I learned about grace and forgiveness from Andrew and Stephanie and Evie. Mike showed me the connection between a newborn baby and a glorious sunrise. Mary Ellen spoke of God’s glory as reflected in her parents’ marriage of 73 years and John Todd saw it in his mother’s long and faithful friendship with Marilyn. I learned that Lyndsay was baptized by Paul Sneed, that Shirlene’s kids weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to move back to Amarillo, and that Joe and Margie once saved Becky’s life. My brothers and sisters at Central see the glory of God in hummingbirds and rainbows, in mountains and sunsets and in pink balloons at a sweet teenager’s funeral. Josh and Brittany see God’s faithfulness in their chocolate lab, Connie sees God’s patience in the spiritual journey of her grandmother, and many of us experience God’s grace in Judy and Linda as they so courageously battle cancer. Pictures taken in Africa and New Mexico, Brazil and Oklahoma, Canada and right here at home. There is so much of God’s glory. God’s glory is everywhere, testifying to his love, reminding us of his grace, showing us his forgiveness, witnessing to his faithfulness.

Through those pictures and the stories, I have learned so much about my church family at Central. I’ve seen inside your hearts a little more this past month. You’ve revealed to me a little more about where you’re coming from and how you think and how you experience God. That makes me a better preacher today than when this project began. And we’re all interested in that!

I pray that in thinking about these pictures and then sending them in, we all were forced to consider God’s nature in new and exciting ways. I hope we’ve all grown to begin seeing the presence and the power of our God in places we’ve never before thought to look. And my desire is that we will all seek to reflect that same heavenly glory so that our kids, our neighbors, our city, if facing a similar assignment, would feel compelled to send in pictures of us.

Peace,

Allan

In Shipp Shape

December 3, 2012 / / 0 Comments

It’s a tricky thing to bring a highly respected biblical scholar / professor into a church setting to teach a Bible class or preach a sermon. Some of these guys can be a little stuffy. They can use too many big words. They can have a difficult time relating to and communicating with the average guy or gal in the pews. At best, a lot of these scholars are just awkward in front of a bunch of people in church; at worst, some of them can be downright narcissistic and rude.

We brought Dr. Mark Shipp from Austin Graduate School of Theology up to Central this past weekend with no worries.

For four hours on Saturday morning, Mark presented his class notes on the Minor Prophets to 25 of our adult Bible class teachers. And for another hour yesterday, he spoke to 550 of us in a combined Bible class, kicking off our ten weeks congregational series on the Book of the Twelve. And the Shipp who inspired me while sitting at his feet for 22 months at Austin Grad also inspired our church. Shipp’s passion for the Word of God that captured me in his graduate courses also captured our church. His knowledge of the Scriptures and the application he always made to my life was appreciated by the congregation as they realized the application in their own individual and church settings. And it was really quite neat.

The passion I have for the Old Testament comes, in large part, from Dr. Shipp. The ways I interpret the Hebrew Scriptures, the ways I see God revealed, the ways I see our Christ predicted, all come from Shipp. When I use words like mishpat and hesed and tsedaqa, they have come from Shipp. My confidence that every word of the Old Testament is relevant for God’s children today is a gift from Dr. Shipp.

When Madison, our sweet sixteen-year-old sister here at Central died almost a year ago, I wouldn’t have thought to go first to Habakkuk for comfort and grace and understanding for our congregation, except for Dr. Shipp.

I had so much fun this weekend sitting at Dr. Shipp’s feet again. I learned so much. Again. I enjoyed talking to him about raising teenaged daughters. I was blessed to introduce him as my teacher and my friend. I was honored that he expressed so much admiration for our church. We talked together about reading and writing, teaching and preaching. We talked about God’s people. I learned much more about Dr. Shipp’s story, his family, his history. Shipp had fun talking Longhorns football with us at Blue Sky on Saturday, holding back a bit (only a bit) when he discovered that Tim’s not that opposed to replacing Mack Brown, and falling just short of admitting that the cheeseburger and vanilla shake had indeed changed his life . I think he also had fun critiquing my sermon yesterday (Yes, I know the noise and terror at Sinai was intended for God’s people, not the nations! I know!).

We’re better off as a church family for Dr. Shipp having spent the weekend with us. Our teachers are more confident. They’re armed and equipped and maybe even a little dangerous. And I’m thankful. He relates to us and he inspires us. And I’m thankful. I can’t wait to dive in to the Minor Prophets in our Bible classes together this next Sunday, knowing how ready we truly are.

Peace,

Allan

One Faith

November 20, 2012 / / 1 Comment

“…that all of them may be one… that the world may believe.” ~John 17:21

We just concluded our latest three-week church orientation classes here at Central. Three or four times a year, Matthew Blake and I host brand new members and anyone else who wants more information about our church family. We talk about our history and our future, our goals and our dreams. We describe in detail the clear expectations we have of our members. And we spend a good deal of time on our congregation’s vision that, we believe, has been handed to us by our God.

A very important question came up last week as we were discussing the “reconciliation” part of our vision. See, we take the prayer of Jesus in John 17 very seriously. We believe it is God’s holy will that all of his children, that all disciples of his Son, be reconciled. We think God’s great desire is for all Christians to be brought together as a powerful witness to the world of his love and grace. We believe that when Paul writes that Jesus died on the cross to break down all the barriers that exist among men and women and between mankind and God, that includes the barriers between Christian denominations. We’ve very much in to tearing down walls and destroying barriers because our God is very much in to tearing down walls and destroying barriers.

So, I’m talking to this group of thirty people or so about our cooperative efforts with the other churches in Amarillo. I’m discussing our partnership with the Southlawn Assembly of God on the pantry plant, the pulpit swaps with the Christian Church on Washington Street, our prayer breakfasts with the Presbyterians and Methodists, my lunches at First Baptist. We believe these kinds of cooperative efforts and expressions of Christian unity are good for the Kingdom and very beneficial to the city of Amarillo. We believe it shapes our own people more into the image of the Son and moves toward reclaiming our whole city in the name of Jesus.

“But how do you deal with the fact that a lot of these people you’re working with aren’t baptized like we are?”

The question came from my right. And I’ve heard it before. I hear it quite often, actually. There are many variations of the question. “They don’t believe the same things we believe; how can we fellowship with them?” “What about our differences?” “Are they saved?” “Are you saying we’re all the same?” “What are we teaching our kids?” The woman who asked the question on Sunday quoted the same passage I’ve heard quoted many times in these types of discussions: “…one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” from Ephesians 4:3-6. But this woman wasn’t accusing anybody. She wasn’t aggressive or confrontational. She really wanted to know. She was genuinely wrestling with it.

Yes, there is indeed one faith. That is what we believe and what we profess. There is one faith: that the almighty Creator came to this earth in the form of a human to restore that which was broken by sin and to save that which was lost by evil; that he lived and died and was raised to eternal life by the Spirit of God; that he reigns right now at the right hand of the Father in heaven; that he calls us to follow him by denying ourselves and submitting completely to his Lordship, receiving forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Spirit of Truth, and participating fully in his sufferings as we work toward that same restoration and salvation for the sake of his world; that he is coming back very soon to reclaim what is his, including all of his faithful disciples, and that he will live with them face-to-face forever. That’s the one faith. That’s it. And the Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists and any other Christian denomination you want to lump in there all hold to that one faith and that one Lord with the same white-knuckle death grip as you.

It’s one faith, not one expression of faith.

When we start arguing about worship styles or leadership structures, when we start dividing about baptism methods or communion frequencies, we’re not working toward the same things for which our God is working. We’re not moving in the faith we profess, we’re actually moving away from it. Yeah, we’re all a little different. And none of us is perfect in our understanding or our practice. Not yet. So why would God’s grace cover me in my misunderstandings and misapplications, but not cover the other Christ-followers in the other churches in their misunderstandings and misapplications? That is the height of arrogance. An attitude like that actually denies the need for God’s grace.

(I came across this line from Alexander Campbell, penned in The Christian Baptist (ha!) in 1837, that perhaps explains much better what I’m trying to say:

“How do I know that any one loves my Master but by his obedience to his commandments? I answer, in no other way. But mark, I do not substitute obedience to one commandment, for universal or even general obedience. It is the image of Christ the Christian looks for and loves; and this does not consist in being exact in a few items, but in general devotion to the whole truth so far as known… He who infers that none are Christians but the immersed, as greatly errs as he who affirms that none are alive but those of clear and full vision… Every one who despises any ordinance of Christ, or who is willingly ignorant of it, cannot be a Christian; still I should sin against my own convictions should I teach anyone to think that if he mistook the meaning of any institution, while in his soul he desired to know the whole will of God, he must perish forever.” )

The conversation in our orientation class went on for almost fifteen minutes. A couple of our shepherds joined in, explaining that here at Central we like to concentrate on the things we have in common with other Christians, which are many and important, than on our differences, which are minor and fleeting. They described our deep desire to both teach other Christians and to learn from other Christians, recognizing that we cannot do either without being in loving  and trusting relationship.

I received a lengthy text from another woman in the class later that afternoon. In part, it read,

“After hearing the response from you and the elders to the question about baptism this morning, we know Central is the home for our family. We want to be part of a church that is seeking to be like Christ, focusing more on God’s Word than man’s traditions. My husband and I both need to grow in our knowledge and faith and feel that Central is the place to do that. We want our children to look for what people are doing right and not pick at what others are doing wrong…”

I’m never sure how our vision statements and mission explanations are going to be received by long time CofCers. As much as I hate it, and as much as our Lord’s heart is broken by it, there are still many in our faith stream who condemn Christians of other stripes who don’t baptize the same ways they do or sing exactly like they do or read the same English translations of the Scriptures that they do. It still happens. All the time. But I do know that we have to stay true to our God’s calling here at Central. We must boldly proclaim and practice the ministry of reconciliation and the doctrine of unity that are major and explicit in serious discipleship to Christ Jesus. We can’t ever compromise our teaching on the subjects for fear of offending a visitor or running off a potential new member. It’s better that people know exactly what they’re getting in to when they jump in with our congregation. It’s much better having these faith discussions in our orientation classes than a couple of years down the road.

By the way, the woman who asked the questions is officially placing her membership with us, too. I figured she would. Jesus promised that his great truths would set people free.

Peace,

Allan

In Line with Kingdom Priorities

November 14, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I won’t use those self check-out counters at Wal-Mart or Home Depot. I’d rather stand in line for ten minutes and talk to a real person at the register and even real people in line with me than swipe a card and punch a few buttons and have no human interaction with anybody. My kids say it’s because I’m old. I tell them, no, it’s more important to interact with people than to be in such a hurry.

I can’t show God’s love and grace to a machine. I can’t smile at a machine or talk to a machine (I suppose I could, but I’d probably get arrested). If a machine miscalculates my change or forgets to give me a receipt, my attempts at a Christ-like patient and pleasant attitude will have no impact on a machine. I can’t talk to a machine about the pictures of its grandchildren on its apron. A machine will never ask me about my empty tomb T-shirt or where I go to church.

Our time and technology — calendars, clocks, computers — are increasingly robbing us of more and more human interaction. This frantically hurried culture is chipping away at Scripture’s contention that we are not a collection of individuals but, rather, a Body with each member belonging to all the others.

We invest our lives in one another. We commit ourselves to one another. It happens at weddings and funerals. It happens at ballgames and graduations and potlucks.

“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality… Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” ~Romans 12:13-15

I can’t rejoice with you unless I know what you’re rejoicing about. I can’t mourn with you unless I know why you’re mourning. That’s where the time investment and the sharing come in. That’s where loving human interaction with one another should take the priority over our busy schedules.

Today, make that phone call you’ve been putting off. Tonight, reconnect with that family member or neighbor you’ve been too busy to visit. And ask the cashier about her grandkids.

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Congratulations to Central’s own Ellie Cornett and Logan Brittain! Man, we’ve got some really talented kids at this place! Ellie just won the Class 2A State Cross Country Championship as a member of the Bushland High School Lady Falcons. It’s the first ever state title for Bushland. And Ellie’s got a great shot at repeating next year as a Senior. And Logan has just made it official, signing with the University of Texas Longhorns as a Class 4A High Jump Champion from Randall High. As a Senior this year, Logan also stars as a wide receiver and defensive back with the Raiders playoffs-bound football team and as the starting point guard for Randall’s basketball team. Congratulations to these great kids and their wonderful families. We’re very proud of these two.

Peace,

Allan

Net Gains

November 9, 2012 / / 0 Comments

During a staff meeting this week we found ourselves hashing and re-hashing the results of Tuesday’s presidential election. We were cussing and discussing United States politics and election laws, health care and tax cuts, states’ rights and federal freedoms. Less than ten minutes into our conversation we were mercifully interrupted by a 54-second video, emailed to the church office by Silvance Okoth, the principal at the Alara School in Kenya.

He sent the video in order to thank the Central church for the 135 mosquito nets we purchased for them three weeks ago. He wanted to let us know that the young children and the school staff were now safe from the malaria-carrying mosquitoes that are infecting that whole region with disease and death. The $400 we sent them last month, he wanted us to know, were saving lives in that church and school community.

Most of the Pre-K through 4th grade students in the Alara School have lost loved ones and friends over the past year because of the malaria outbreak. Some of them have lost parents and grandparents; some of them have lost neighbors and playmates. Today they are receiving comfort and protection. They are no longer afraid, because we bought some mosquito nets. Tonight they are sleeping in peace, because we sent them $400.

What a powerful reminder of our focus as children of God. What an awakening to our mission as disciples of our Christ. Our Father is changing the world through self-giving love and sacrificial service. He’s showing mercy and grace to the widow, the orphan, and the stranger in the gate. What a blessing to participate in that holy work. How marvelous to partner with the Creator to redeem and restore in the manner of our Lord. What a shame when we allow anything — ANYTHING! — to distract us or get in our way.

Peace,

Allan

What “Sent” People Do

October 31, 2012 / / 1 Comment

Today is Halloween and I’m wearing a Tony Romo jersey in the office. He’s the scariest quarterback in the NFL; I think it’s appropriate. If I’d had the time, I would have completed the outfit with eye black, a Cowboys cap on backwards, super dark glasses, and a seeing-eye dog.

Today is Wednesday. It’s a church night. What to do?

Well, I don’t know what your church is doing tonight, but here at Central we’re cancelling all of our Bible classes. We’re not doing anything here at the building. The doors are going to be locked and the lights will be out. But we’re not just canceling church; we’re taking church to the streets in order to better engage our community with the Gospel of Christ. Many people in our neighborhoods will be out in our streets and walking our sidewalks tonight. They’ll be walking right in front of our houses, in a lot of cases, even walking up to our doors to ring the bell. Most of the people in our neighborhoods who aren’t trick-or-treating are at least anticipating that their doorbells will be rung. They bought candy and set it by the door. They’re turning on their porch lights and getting ready. Most everybody in our city tonight will be in a receiving mood, expecting to interact with people in their neighborhoods, preparing to meet new people, to learn new things.

It seems like a really bad time for God’s people to be holed up by themselves in a building somewhere.

We’ve been asking our people at Central to not just skip church tonight, but to be creative in taking advantage of the mood this evening to interact with their neighbors. We’re urging our people to be intentional about engaging others with the love and grace of Jesus. Pray about it. Make a plan. Get others involved. Think outside your normal Halloween routines. Don’t just trick-or-treat with the kids. Don’t just hand out candy from your front door for three hours. Be creative and bless the people around you on purpose.

I spent about two hours last night stringing up orange and purple Halloween lights in our trees and along the front of our house. We’ve replaced the front porch light and the lamp post light in the front yard with creepy black bulbs. We’ll have funny Halloween music blasting from a CD player in the bushes. Carrie-Anne has already purchased ten gallons of hot apple cider and we’ve got 250 little styrofoam cups. We’ve moving all the backyard furniture, including our big fire pit, into the front. And we’re going to set up a little warming station at the corner of Oakhurst and Roxton.

I have no idea how this is going to work. I don’t know what will come of it. I’m hoping that after two or three years of this, we’ll come to be known as the house where people in our neighborhood can warm up by a fire and drink some cider while they’re trick-or-treating. I’m hoping we’ll meet a lot of people who will see our kind and gracious God in the ways we interact with them. I don’t know where this will lead. But our family will pray about it tonight during a rushed and early dinner, anticipating that our God certainly knows what to do with this. In faith, we’re giving this to him. And we trust that he will use our little neighborhood warming station for his purposes and to his eternal glory and praise.

Peace,

Allan

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