Category: Church (Page 42 of 61)

By All Possible Means

March 17, 2010 / Allan / 5 Comments

“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” ~1 Corinthians 9:22

There are stumbling blocks in the Gospel message. Big-time stumbling blocks. The cross of Christ is a huge one. The call to sacrifice and service messes people up. The Resurrection can get in the way. The requirement to surrender is a problem. The directive to die is another one. The Lordship of Jesus can be a real issue.

Those are all certainly necessary components to the Good News. But if we’re not consistently preaching and teaching and living those things, then it’s not Christianity. It’s another religion, entirely.

Our mission as God’s Church is to remove each and every unnecessary obstacle, to strip away the things that would prevent an unbelieving world from accepting the grace and forgiveness of Christ. That doesn’t mean running away from our traditions or carelessly discarding our practices. It doesn’t mean we treat our heritage flippantly.

It does mean we are constantly evaluating the things we do and the reasons we do them. It means we are always thinking and reflecting. And we measure our message against the will of our God and the mind of our Christ: not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

It means that when we consider a change, we don’t ask, “How will this affect me?” or “What if this upsets one of our members?” We ask, “How will this reach someone on the outside?” And if it might, we take the risk and we do it. Boldly.

We need to be less concerned with our own congregations and church structure and organization and worship practices and much more concerned with understanding our culture, getting inside the heads of the people around us and determining what makes them tick. We should be eaten up with trying to figure out their access points to the Gospel.

We should never ask, “How many Church of Christ people live within ten miles of our building and how do we get them here?” We should ask, “How many lost people live within ten miles of our building? And how do we win them for Christ?”

Yes, we need to be faithful to our past. But we also need to be faithful to our future. That’s a God-ordained responsibility, too.

Paul says “by all possible means.”

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More empty tomb “tags” from around our community:

How about that “tag” on the grave marker there? Paul Brightwell’s dad died almost a year ago. He sent me that picture last night with these words: “I laughed; then I cried, thinking, someday, because of the empty tomb, we will see each other again; and then I rejoiced.”

That’s what Resurrection Conversations are all about. That’s what the power of the Resurrection and the hope of the Resurrection is all about.

Keep applying those decals. Keep dropping those cards. And when people ask, tell them that the tomb is empty. And tell them that means death has nothing on you. And neither does sin.

Peace,

Allan

We Put Up With Anything…

March 16, 2010 / Allan / 1 Comment

“We put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ.” ~1 Corinthians 9:12

Most of the rules and regulations we devise to keep our “decency and order” intact in the church are motivated, I believe, by our deep desire to keep from offending our brothers and sisters. And that’s not an awful motivation. It’s noble, I think, to not want to do anything that would hurt a fellow Christian. It’s very Christ-like, actually.

The problem comes when those brothers and sisters insist on rules and regulations — and even more rules and regulations — so they’re not offended. When believers impose their own comfort zones and cultural or generational preferences on fellow Christians so as not to be offended, it’s just flat-out wrong. They use the “weak” brother position as a weapon of power. They use “weak” as a means to control. And it’s ungodly.

Paul tells us to be careful that the exercise of the great freedom we have in Christ does not become a stumbling block to the weak (1 Cor. 8:9). In that same context — same paragraph — Paul defines the “weak” as a brand new Christian who was just worshiping idols in the pagan temples a few days earlier. These “weak” Christians are still wet behind the ears, figuratively, of course. Still dripping from their very recent baptisms (8:7). And then he goes on to explain that causing a “weak” brother or sister to stumble means to cause them to participate in activities that violate their own consciences (8:10-11).

Generally speaking, the complainers among us are never in a million years going to adopt the practice(s) against which they are railing. Generally speaking, those who gripe are never going to defile their conscience by participating in the debated activity. Generally speaking, these brothers and sisters we’re trying so hard not to offend are not brand new Christians, either. They should know better.

“Why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?” ~1 Corinthians 10:29-30

Paul says we should not cause anyone to stumble, not “grumble.”

If you see a fellow Christian drinking a beer or worshiping God with a piano or sporting a nose ring or vacationing in Vegas or taking communion on Saturday night, leave it alone. Even if you’re really offended. Leave it alone. The only complaint you have is if by seeing these offending practices you begin participating in them yourself and violate your conscience. Let me know when that happens.

“I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” ~1 Corinthians 9:19

“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” ~1 Corinthians 9:22

“Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” ~1 Corinthians 10:24

“I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” ~1 Corinthians 10:33

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Corey and Emily Mullins, Legacy’s missionaries to Australia, are now proud parents of a brand new baby boy. Enoch Elian was born yesterday at 6-pounds-2.5-ounces and 18.5-inches long. Congratulations! You can read all about it and see all the pictures by clicking here to the Mullins’ blog. I got an email last night from Mark Hooper that simply said, “The Mullins’ baby was born naked. Please pray for him.”

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More than 900 empty tomb T-shirts arrived here this morning. Many wonderful volunteers are tirelessly sorting and packaging the shirts for pick-up on Sunday. We also received 300 more empty tomb decals today to meet the still-steady demand. And we still have nearly 3,000 of the empty tomb cards ready to go.

More importantly, the stories keep coming in, too.

The Legacy Church of Christ is engaging our community with the Gospel. Resurrection Conversations are happening out there. Mike Trader with his IT guy at work who saw the empty tomb on Mike’s phone. Keith Alexander and a group of 30 by-standers at a Goodwill store who were intrigued by the “saw blade” design and the “piece of toast.” Richard Ashlock at work. My family at Rosa’s. All the Legacy school kids having Resurrection Conversations in class, during lunch, and in the halls.

We’re hoping that saturating our community with the empty tomb images, and the resultant conversations, will get people into our building during the Resurrection Renewal here April 4-7. A wonderful side benefit for us is that our mindset is being directed to people and things outside our building, not inside. We’re looking out now, not in. And that’s critical for anyone who calls himself a disciple of Christ.

Peace,

Allan

Love Builds Up

March 15, 2010 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.” ~1 Corinthians 8:1-2

The “gray areas” of Christian faith and practice are always the ones that get us in trouble. Beliefs and actions that are neither good nor bad in and of themselves tend to be the very things that polarize us and cause ungodly strife and division.

Paul sees the Corinthians church dividing over, among many things, the practice of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols in pagan temples. The apostle goes out of his way to tell the Christians there that 1) what is good for one believer may not be good for another, 2) true discernment in these matters takes love, not knowledge, and 3) disciples of Jesus have no right to demand their own way.

Whew! That’s tough.

See, the easy thing to do is to just make a whole bunch of rules that legislate exactly what Christians can and cannot do. An even easier solution is to just allow everything, tolerate everything, in the name of Christian grace. The more difficult thing is to advocate and practice that crucial balance between total permissiveness and complete legalism.

Unfortunately, I get the feeling that we’ve been guilty of prohibiting the “gray area” practices that are amoral — neither good nor bad, such as eating meat sacrificed to idols — and allowing or ignoring practices in our churches that are clearly immoral — evil, un-Christ-like. We’ve wound up tolerating immoral behavior and outlawing things that really don’t matter at all.

We’ve gotten it so messed up, maybe, because it’s so much easier to just make a bunch of rules and judge people and praise people and condemn people—even our own brothers and sisters—according to our own pleasures and comfort zones. We tolerate adultery in our churches but we hold meetings and produce positions on clapping hands during “Shine, Jesus, Shine.” We look the other way on drunkenness and shady business dealings but condemn Christians who worship God with guitars. We laugh at and forward racial emails and jokes that make fun of or attack people based on nationality or income or geography but we worry to death over a Christian drinking wine with his lasagna or enjoying an evening of dancing.

“Food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” ~1 Corinthians 8:8

There’s no spiritual advantage in allowing these “gray areas” or in prohibiting them. None. So, Paul says, concern for your Christian brother or sister is what takes priority. That’s what it really means to follow Christ. That’s really what “love builds up” means.

(Concern for offending your Christian brother or sister by your actions is NOT what Paul’s talking about here. He says don’t cause your brother to “stumble,” not “grumble.”

Maybe we’ll talk about that tomorrow.)

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The “Caps for Tags” deadline is tomorrow, Tuesday March 16. Those empty tomb decals are showing up all over Northeast Tarrant County and flooding my inbox. We’re judging them in three categories: visibility (seen by lots of people), originality (I never thought of putting a sticker “there”), and hospitality (a picture of the decal and the people who gave you permission to stick it). As always, click on the picture to get the full size.

Keep ’em coming!

Peace,

Allan

Expectation #7

February 19, 2010 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” ~Matthew 22:37-40

Love is the beginning and the end of our righteous relationship with God — and everything in the middle. Love pushes us. It motivates us. It defines us. Love is what Scripture says binds everything we do together in perfect unity. We must place unconditional, God-ordained love in the supreme position of our hearts and minds and in God’s Church.

God’s love for us depends completely upon his character, not ours. Everyone stands before our God equally. No human being can ever do anything to earn God’s love. That fact that we are sinners is woefully inescapable. The fact that God still loves us anyway is amazingly wonderful. And we respond to that matchless grace and undeniable love by loving him back and by loving all people the way he does.

And that doesn’t mean surface relationships. It doesn’t mean love at arm’s length. It doesn’t mean love all people, but don’t get involved in their lives. It means imitating God’s gutsy love, his all-in love, a love so full and so complete that it compelled Christ to suffer and die to show us.

May we be a people who receive one another as Christ receives us, who forgive others as we’ve been forgiven by God, and who love God and others as fearlessly and unconditionally as he loves us.

Peace,

Allan

Created For Community

February 16, 2010 / Allan / 1 Comment

There’s an old story about D. L. Moody visiting a businessman in Chicago when the topic of church membership and involvement came up. This man told Moody, “I can be just as good a Christian outside the church as inside it. I don’t have to be involved in church in order to be right with God.”

Moody reportedly said nothing. He just calmly walked over to the fireplace, removed one red-hot burning coal from inside the fire and placed it on the hearth.

The two men sat together and watched the ember die out.

“I see,” the other man said.

None of us were ever intended to do any of this alone. We were created to be together. We desperately need each other. I need you. And whether you admit it or not — or like it or not — you need me. You need me to love you. I need you to encourage me. You need me to challenge you. I need you to correct me. I need your strength when I’m tired. You need my support when you’re down. I need your patience when I have none. You need my joy when you have none. We all need to remind one another about the story and our parts in it. We need to be able to look around and see clearly that we’re not in this thing by ourselves. We’re together.

I’m convinced that’s why Christ gave us his Supper in bread and wine. You can’t do it without being within arm’s reach of each other. You don’t email the crackers or download the juice. It’s not a drive-thru thing. We have to sit by each other and touch each other to make it happen.

We were created for holy community. To bear one another’s burdens. To rejoice together and mourn together.

Communion. Community. A big, burning fire. Countless coals feeding off one another’s energy and light and warmth.

Jump right into the middle of it. It beats doing this thing alone.

Peace,

Allan

Pat Collins on a Jackhammer

February 11, 2010 / Allan / 2 Comments

We woke up this morning under an incredible blanket of the prettiest snow we’ve seen around here in a long time. Not like the Christmas Eve snow when it was blowing sideways at 50 miles per hour. These are big, fat, fluffy, wet, sticky flakes falling peacefully to earth. The scene here at Legacy today is beautiful. And the mood is playful. Snow like this always seems to put everybody in a great mood. Bonny and Suzanne actually brought snowballs into the building to peg me in the hallway. That was after I had hidden Bonny’s breakfast in her office. Lance is taking tons of pictures. Jason is talking about building a huge snowman out on Mid-Cities Boulevard. The kids down at Circle of Friends seem to have a little more energy and are making a little more noise than normal. And I’m not sure if anybody’s going to get much work done today.

As always, click on the pictures to get the full size. We already have over four inches on the ground here in North Richland Hills. And it’s supposed to keep snowing all day and into the night. I think there will be at least one snowman in our front yard by nightfall. I love the snow. And I love what it does to people here. Praise God for the beauty of his creation and the grace in his blessings.

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Why perform works of service? Why selflessly give to others? Why spend time and energy helping other people? Paul gives us very specific answers: “…so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

Steve Prescott has been suffering with foot and leg and hip problems since long before we arrived here at Legacy. It’s a bone deterioration problem that I don’t fully understand. And neither do his doctors. Steve had one foot amputated almost a year ago. And now, on the heels of another injury and similiar concerns about deterioration in his other foot, he’s in a wheelchair, using a walker, and wearing a bulky protective boot. To make Steve and Pat’s long story short, their home in Watauga just isn’t wheelchair or walker or bulky boot friendly. Narrow doorways. Cramped bathrooms. Wall-to-wall carpet. And not enough time or money or energy to fix things the way they need to be.

That’s where their circle of brothers and sisters here at Legacy has just absolutely taken over. The money has poured in from several Bible classes. Volunteers have been working for the past two weeks on ripping out carpet and toilets and door frames and making things smoother and wider for Steve. New tile. New facilities. New doors. New paint. New wiring.

There’s a great difference between doing church and being church. This, my friends, is being church. Being church to one another. Showing the Prescotts’ neighbors what being church looks like. Expressing Christian love and concern for one another. Sharing resources and strength. Coming together in the name of our Savior to rescue this family.

I know Steve and Pat are blown away. So am I. I’m so grateful to be a part of this body of believers. I’m so thankful to belong to this loving and sacrificial group. They understand that this is the very thing that fosters and proves Christian maturity. This is the kind of thing that reflects real knowledge. This is what it looks like to attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

I also know the real reason you read down this far was to see a picture of Pat Collins on a jackhammer. Well, I don’t want to disappoint.

I’ve read something just this week that fits well here. I can’t remember if it was Eugene Peterson or Marva Dawn or Josh Graves. It was one of those three. (I’ve got to stop reading three books at a time!) He or she said the essence of a thing is in its doing. Not knowing. Not believing.

Doing.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Church (Page 42 of 61)

By All Possible Means

We Put Up With Anything…

Love Builds Up

Expectation #7

Created For Community

Pat Collins on a Jackhammer

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