The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Church (Page 41 of 61)

The Real Thing

May 18, 2010 / / 1 Comment

“I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” ~2 Corinthians 11:28-29

The Real ThingScripture puts before us, unashamedly and unapologetically, the great challenge of living together in community. The Gospel message of salvation from Christ Jesus is a message that breaks down all the barriers between God and man and between man and man. It’s a holy reconciliation that draws all people to God and to one another. It’s a common experience in a common Savior around a common table that unites us to God and to one another.

And we live it together in relationships. We live into it together in community.

Paul claims to identify so closely with his brothers and sisters in Christ that he hurts with them when they hurt. It really bothers him. When a brother is led away into sin, it tears him up inside. He can’t stand it. And he’s compelled to do something about it, not because he cares about himself or the reflection it may have on him as a teacher, but because he loves these people so very much. He lives and dies daily with and for his church family. He rejoices with those who rejoice and mourns with those who mourn. He’s truly invested in these people. Paul’s committed to them so much that their individual ups and downs impact him physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

It’s real.

How bothered are you to hear that a sister in Christ has been taken to the emergency room? Bothered enough to call? Bothered enough to visit? How upset are you to learn that a brother in Christ has lost his job? Upset enough to send a card? Upset enough to send a check? How concerned are you to find out a member of your church has left the Lord and is living in rejection of God’s grace? Concerned enough to take him to lunch? Concerned enough to talk to him all night on his back porch?

These kinds of relationships with and feelings for one another are not built during the Sunday morning worship hour. Those kinds of things — the “for real” things between us — occur on Sunday nights at IHOP and in our living rooms and kitchens. It happens in the Legacy quilting room on Monday mornings and in hospital rooms on Thursday nights. Relationships are built during Tuesday Bible studies and at the movies on Friday. Christian community happens at the Senior banquet in May and the campouts and retreats in July and the football games in the fall.

It takes time. It takes energy. It takes a dedication to something bigger and more important than self. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it’s not necessarily fun. But all the time, living in deep Christian relationship with one another is the divine will of our God.

Peace,

Allan

Badge Of Discipleship

May 17, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Badge of Discipleship“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ~Jesus, John 13:34-35

How do you know if a Christian is for real? How do you know if somebody’s a legitimate Christian? Who are the real disciples? How do we know?

In radio, they gave us huge badges with our pictures on them to identify us as legitimate members of the press. I belonged on the court before a Mavericks game or in the clubhouse after a Rangers game. I had the badge. I was authentic. I had Genuinethe proof that I was who I said I was.

Teachers in our schools wear ID badges. Police officers and delivery truck drivers, doctors and jurors and the kid operating the roller coaster at Six Flags. You may be wearing one at work today. The badges identify us as the people we claim to be. It clears up any doubts. It answers all the questions.

How do you know if a Christian is for real?

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

CertifiedBaptism is not the badge of true discipleship. A certain worship style is not the mark of a Christian. Neither is the name of your church or its leadership structure or your opinion on the hot church issue of the day. The authenticity of a follower of Jesus is proven by his love for others. Genuine love. Sincere love. Self-giving, sacrificial love. The kind of love Paul describes in Romans 12:9. Unhypocritical love. That’s how people know.

It’s not baptism. We all know people who’ve been baptized who aren’t living for Christ, right? It’s not church. You and I both know people who are at church all the time who are filled with anger and bitterness and hate.

The world looks at our love to determine whether we’re for real. And so does Jesus.

You can be baptized, you can claim Christ as Lord, you can sit in the pews four times a week. Without love for others, though, you’re a liar. And everybody knows it. It’s like walking into the Cowboys lockerroom without a badge. You stick out as an imposter.

You might say, “love is not the only badge of discipleship, Allan.” And you’d be right. It’s not. But it is the most important Badge of Discipleshipone. It’s the primary one. Without it, the others don’t mean a thing. John couldn’t be more clear: If you don’t love your brother, you’re not a child of God (1 John 3:10). If you don’t love your brother in need with actions instead of words, the love of God is not in you (1 John 3:17-18).

Authentic love — agape without hypocrisy — is the thing that characterizes children of God. And it’s the thing that characterizes the Christian community. It marks us as disciples.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart.” ~1 Peter 1:22

Peace,

Allan

Truly Belonging

May 3, 2010 / / 1 Comment

“In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” ~Romans 12:5

We belong to each other because we belong to Christ!

Truly BelongingThis was our theme here at Legacy last night. These are the words we said together during our call to worship. We repeated the words together a couple of times during our lesson from Romans 12. And we said the words to one another as we shared the communion meal of our risen Lord.

We belong to each other because we belong to Christ!

What if we really did belong to each other? What would that look like? What if we really functioned, not as a group of individual Christians with individual ministries but together as a whole? What if we thought in terms of the whole? Not what’s best for my age group or what’s going to benefit my kids or how this is going to meet my needs. What if we thought and acted like members of something bigger than ourselves? What if our thinking was community-oriented? What if the whole really were greater than the individual? What if we took the inspired apostle Paul seriously? What if we really belonged to each other? What would that look like?

We belong to each other because we belong to Christ!

What if we were truly community? Not just community like the people in your neighborhood or the guy across the street. Not like the people you see two or three times a week and say ‘hello’ to when you run into them at Wal-Mart. What if were community, a body, belonging to one another like, maybe, an army platoon?

Now that’s a community! An army platoon! United by a shared purpose and goal. Working together to achieve something great. A community formed under pressure, shaped by great difficulty. Not just church membership, but a sacred covenant with one another in order to serve the Kingdom for which Christ died. A community of faith inseparably bonded in order to do something together that eternally matters.

We belong to each other because we belong to Christ!

What would that look like?

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The Stanglin girls make their debut on the small screen! Carley and Valerie still have no idea who Austin Jackson is.Two Saturdays ago we went to the Rangers game with 20 of our Legacy brothers and sisters and wound up in the big middle of 175 Austin Jackson fans in the left field bleachers. Austin Jackson is the Detroit Tigers’ rookie centerfielder who grew up and played his High School ball at Denton Ryan. And when Jim Knox did his man-in-the-stands interview on Fox Sports Southwest in the bottom of the fourth inning, Carrie-Anne, Valerie, Carley, and Carley’s friend, Victoria all got in the pictures. They actually helped this “A.J.” fan club hold up their big banner for the interview.

Whitney did a one-on-one with Jim Knox in-between innings.   The Third Day concert was sponsored by I Am Second. I don’t know any of their songs. I’m lost on contemporary Christian music now that Audio Adrenaline’s done. Josh Hamilton spoke during the show. It was cool.   Carley & Tori at the pre-game Third Day concert, just a couple of hours prior to their television debut.

We had a great time at the Third Day concert before the game, hanging with the Ashlock boys who ate for the cycle during the game, and rooting the home team to an 8-4 loss. Base-running and fielding errors are killing this team, huh? Hopefully Kinsler’s return will spark some offense and shore up that middle part of the defense. And while the Rangers are technically in first place today, I’m worried about this team.

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DirkI’ve been convinced for ten years now that the Mavericks will never win a title as long as Dirk is their best player. I hope he’s not finished as a Mav. I can’t stand the thought of our DFW sports scene losing Mike Modano and Nowitski, two wonderful human beings and pillars of the community, two Hall of Famers (and media friendly to boot!), in the same year. Cuban just needs to find a way to pair Dirk up with a transcendent LeBron-esque superstar to cover his weaknesses on both ends of the floor. Somebody the other 12 guys on the roster will respond to in a crisis. I love Dirk. But he’s never been enough.

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The Legacy Prime-Timers held their annual Hobo Stew this past Saturday night. Valerie and Sarah and Maddie (The Three Amigas) were on hand to entertain and inspire with their beautiful voices. Kent drew the catcalls and hoots everytime he drew his own number for door prizes. Vic did Elvis. And Mack and Shirley blew us all away with their costumes. What a great night. Carrie-Anne and I were honored to be a part of it.

Mack & Shirley - they were at the party for 20 minutes before anybody realized who they were!  Don White won best male hobo with this getup  Three Amigas - they all have such wonderfully amazing parents!

Peace,

Allan

Watching Closely

April 22, 2010 / / 1 Comment

“Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely.” ~Mark 3:2

“One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.” ~Luke 14:1

Watching CloselyJesus was constantly being watched. He was always under the microscope. The religious leaders carefully watched Jesus so they could pounce on him the minute he broke one of their rules. These synagogue sheriffs kept their eyes on him so they could jump on Jesus the moment he violated one of their traditions.

Jesus heard the whispers. He knew what was going on.

I wonder what he hears in our places of worship…

“Did you see what he’s wearing?” “Did you hear what she said in class?” “He’s raising his hands.” “She’s closing her eyes.” “He’s clapping.” “She’s kneeling.” “He won’t stand.” “She won’t sing.”

And our Savior asks, “Which is lawful on Sunday, to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”

Which is lawful?

To watch for those who might stray from my tradition and call them on it? Or to praise God with them with the understanding that we’re both redeemed by the blood of the Lamb?

To watch closely for someone who might violate my regulation and talk to them about it? Or to encourage them and be thankful you both share salvation from God in Christ?

To remove the barriers or burdens or hurdles from my brothers and sisters or to weigh them down with my rules and boundaries and preferences that act as chains and prison bars to those who’ve been freed?

If our God and his Church and his plan is all about people — much more so than laws — and if people always trump rules with our God, why is it that we bicker and argue so much about the laws and rules? Why are we sometimes worried about the laws and the rules, even at the expense of the people?

Who are you watching closely?

Now stop.

Peace,

Allan

Being Church

March 29, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Fourth Sundays at Rosa’sA year ago we challenged our Legacy Small Groups to act with one another the way they’d like to see the entire congregation act. We believe that what happens in our Small Groups will, eventually, over time, permeate our whole church family. So we started this past Small Groups cycle with this question: What if the whole church acted like my Small Group?

What if everybody at Legacy showed up for assemblies and church functions as consistently as I do for Small Groups? What if everybody at Legacy participated in church events as much as I do Small Groups? What if everybody at Legacy showed the same amount of grace and love to one another as is shared within our Small Group? What if the brothers and sisters at Legacy were as quick to understand and forgive? What if all of us at Legacy placed the same emphasis on hospital visits, delivering meals, helping others financially, and integrating visitors and new members just like we do it in my Small Group? What if Legacy worshiped and studied and prayed just like we do in my Small Group? What if Legacy looked exactly like my Small Group? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

In order to keep moving from simply doing church to actually and radically being church, we need to act individually and in small groups the way we’d like the whole congregation to act.

I’m so proud of my Small Group.

Sara’s Sweet HatOne year ago we met in David and Shanna’s living room and gave the upcoming twelve months to our God. We asked him to join us and move us and shape us through our Small Group. Carrie-Anne and I already had a great relationship with David & Shanna. But we really didn’t know anybody else in the room. I’d had only short, casual conversations with Doug & Phyllis. I knew Kirk, but I knew nothing of the great loss he’s suffered in his life. I’d shaken hands with Steve probably seven million times and talked with him about the Rangers for two years. But I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know Brian and Julie and their Why do the kids always go first?five kids or Michael and Christy and their four kids at all. (Why would anybody with all those children sign up for a group that already had so many kids?) But through our shared experiences this year, I have come to love every one of them like family. Like real family.

Steve & DakotaOur group loved and served and blessed and encouraged one another through two surgeries, an aging parent moving in, Cowboys wins and losses, communion bread that tasted like old pretzels, job changes, birthdays, and the tragic death of a niece. We also worked together to rescue David from a sure trip to the state prison. We sang “Days of Elijah” and “Awesome God” exactly 52 times in our 52 meetings. We shared 52 meals in five different homes and everybody brought something every week. We all took turns holding the kids and fixing plates and cleaning up afterward. We hugged and laughed and cried and wrestled with our God and his will for our lives.

And we brought in and loved and served a middle-school teacher who’s going through an incredibly horrible divorce right now. She’s letting us take care of her and her four children in the name of our Savior. We’re ministering to them through the sufficiency and competency of Christ. She’s become a member at Legacy and is doing her best to trust our God to deliver her through this dark valley.

I’m so proud of our group.

Last night we finalized our plans to become two groups for this next cycle in order to take what we’ve experienced by the grace of God to others at Legacy who haven’t tasted it yet. We’ve become four sets of co-leaders now instead of two. And we’re praying that our Father will use us in mighty ways to benefit his people and his Kingdom.

What if everybody at Legacy looked and acted just like your Small Group?

They will. Eventually.

Peace,

Allan

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