The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Church (Page 46 of 59)

Why Was I Surprised?

September 14, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I sat alone in our Legacy worship center Saturday night and again early Sunday morning, asking God to do that thing he always does. Do something great, God. Manifest your Holy Spirit in this place. Move among your people. Convict us. Change us.

I’m begging God to do this thing. And I have in my mind exactly what it’s going to look like. I’m asking God to do something powerful, but I’m dictating to him how it needs to be done. I’m asking him to do very specific things in very particular ways. Mind you, I don’t realize this at the time. My prayers are holy. I believed I was having a wholly submissive conversation with my Lord. But, looking back, I see clearly that I was telling God how to do his job.

What I wanted to happen yesterday didn’t happen. Not even close.

Here’s what actually happened.Immeasurably More

A 19-year-old young man who’s been abandoned by his parents, living with his grandmother, battling health issues, and struggling to complete his high school education, came down to the front while we sang, “How sweet, how heavenly is the sight…” and told us he wanted to give his life to Christ in baptism. This young man who’s been coming to Legacy for almost a year now, walking nearly two miles to get here sometimes when he can’t get a ride, this young man who’s told some of us here that this is the only place in his life he’s ever felt accepted, this young man who’s overcome so much already in his few short years, tells the church today’s the day! A new day! Today he’s giving his life to his Lord! And I introduced him to the congregation. “Church, this is Jarrett!” Jarrett turned to face his new family. And smiled. Big. And when he came up out of the water he was smiling even bigger. He told Jason and Lance afterward, this is the happiest day of my life.

One of our dear sisters, Rebecca, came down to the front during that same song to ask the church to pray for her mother who’s having life-and-death stem-cell-transplant surgery later this month down in Houston. Their whole family is facing a “road marked with suffering” right now. There were tears in Rebecca’s eyes. There were tears in the eyes of everyone in the room who’s been down that same road with their own parents. Tears and hugs and prayers.

Rebecca’s son Taylor was sitting in the pew right behind us. Crying. He’s a sixth-grader. On either side of him were Drew and Tommy, two of his friends. Sixth graders. Boys. Loud. Rowdy. Funny. They think they’re cool. They pick on each other and everybody else all the time. And Drew and Tommy have their arms around Taylor. They’re patting his back and rubbing his shoulders. Holding him. Sabrina, a seventh grader two or three seats over is crying. She’s sitting by our Valerie who’s also got tears running down her cheeks. I turn around to talk to them about what’s happening. Sabrina tells me, “I can’t look at people crying, especially my friends. It makes me cry, too.” And I grabbed Sabrina and Valerie, right there over the pew, and I told them, this is what it looks like to bear one another’s burdens. We laugh and rejoice with each other when they’re laughing and rejoicing. And when they’re crying, we cry with them. That’s how we carry one another. This is exactly what we were talking about in the sermon. This is true intercession. This is burden-bearing. This is doing things together.

And then the Drake gets up to lead us in our table thoughts for the Lord’s Supper. And he starts rambling about baseball. He’s talking about double plays, 6-4-3. And he actually compares Ian Kinsler’s turn and jump and throw toward first with a runner barrelling down on him to our Lord’s sacrifice and death on the cross. The second baseman does the right thing by giving up his body, maybe his season, possibly his career. Like Jesus. And I’m thinking to myself how inappropriate this is. My word, this may be the most inappropriate thing that’s ever been said at our Lord’s table! How could the Drake dare to compare Christ’s holy death to what a baseball player does every day? We’ll never have the Drake up there again. And then the Drake interrupts my judging by reminding us how neat it is to share this communion with our brand new brother. Jarrett’s still wet from his baptism. And because of God’s grace, Jarrett communes with us as we all commune with our risen Lord. The Drake begins to read Jesus’ words of institution. And he can’t make it through because he’s crying. And I saw the Drake’s heart. He showed us his heart. And I was convicted. And I was moved.

And then the nearly 83-year-old Candy Man gets up to make his annual Give Away Day announcement. And he spoke lovingly about those in our church family who’ve gone on before. Conrad. Aloma. Jo. He captivated everybody in the room with his passionate words that called us to remember what’s been handed down to us by those who’ve gone before. He even broke up a couple of times. It was a powerful reminder of what we are called to do as disciples of Jesus.

And when our time in the assembly was over, I was exhausted. And exhilarated. God did not do what I had asked him to do. He had done immeasurably more.

Why was I surprised?

Our God showed us yesterday in Jarrett’s head of uncombed hair that’s been dyed a few too many times and his well-worn Heath Ledger Joker t-shirt a clear image of what Jarrett “was” and, now, what Jarrett “is” by God in Christ. And we were all reminded that God is also making us into something much different than what we were when we first gave him our lives.

Our God showed us through Rebecca and Taylor how he cares for us and provides for us through his people. A visitor from Houston ran down the aisle as soon as we were finished and told Rebecca that his church will provide a place for Rebecca’s mom to stay during the four months she has to be in and out of M.D.Anderson. For all I know, God may have been orchestrating that “chance” meeting yesterday in our worship center for years.

God showed me in the Drake a man who has a firm grasp on the enormity of being saved by God’s grace. This is what it feels like for him. This is what it looks like and this is how he relates it to others. It’s real. And it’s strong. And it drives big and strong men to their knees in tears. Our God convicted us (me) in the middle of my judgment to see inside somebody’s heart. This is where God himself looks. This is where God makes his judgments. Not on what is said or done, but on the condition of a man’s heart. And when I saw the Drake’s heart, my attitude changed. My mind and my logic was rocked.

And through Coleman, our God reminded us that we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves and our time. My prayers earlier had been for a specific moment on a specific day. And God answered those prayers by showing me that his view is much larger. This wonderful body of believers at Legacy was working for God and being moved by God long before I arrived on the scene. In fact, it’s their lives of faith by his mercy that have me on this scene at all. And this body will be working for our Lord and doing beautiful things for each other and for this community long after I’m gone.

We spent 30-minutes in our staff meeting this morning just reflecting on all the powerful things that happened in our assembly yesterday. We had all, at some point yesterday, been moved to tears by something somebody said, or a song that was sung, or something somebody did. Everyone one of us yesterday had been moved to hug someone we hadn’t hugged in a long time.

God didn’t do what I had asked him to do yesterday. He did immeasurably more. Why am I surprised?

Peace,

Allan

Why Was I Surprised?

September 14, 2009 / / 3 Comments

I sat alone in our Legacy worship center Saturday night and again early Sunday morning, asking God to do that thing he always does. Do something great, God. Manifest your Holy Spirit in this place. Move among your people. Convict us. Change us.

I’m begging God to do this thing. And I have in my mind exactly what it’s going to look like. I’m asking God to do something powerful, but I’m dictating to him how it needs to be done. I’m asking him to do very specific things in very particular ways. Mind you, I don’t realize this at the time. My prayers are holy. I believed I was having a wholly submissive conversation with my Lord. But, looking back, I see clearly that I was telling God how to do his job.

What I wanted to happen yesterday didn’t happen. Not even close.

Here’s what actually happened.Immeasurably More

A 19-year-old young man who’s been abandoned by his parents, living with his grandmother, battling health issues, and struggling to complete his high school education, came down to the front while we sang, “How sweet, how heavenly is the sight…” and told us he wanted to give his life to Christ in baptism. This young man who’s been coming to Legacy for almost a year now, walking nearly two miles to get here sometimes when he can’t get a ride, this young man who’s told some of us here that this is the only place in his life he’s ever felt accepted, this young man who’s overcome so much already in his few short years, tells the church today’s the day! A new day! Today he’s giving his life to his Lord! And I introduced him to the congregation. “Church, this is Jarrett!” Jarrett turned to face his new family. And smiled. Big. And when he came up out of the water he was smiling even bigger. He told Jason and Lance afterward, this is the happiest day of my life.

One of our dear sisters, Rebecca, came down to the front during that same song to ask the church to pray for her mother who’s having life-and-death stem-cell-transplant surgery later this month down in Houston. Their whole family is facing a “road marked with suffering” right now. There were tears in Rebecca’s eyes. There were tears in the eyes of everyone in the room who’s been down that same road with their own parents. Tears and hugs and prayers.

Rebecca’s son Taylor was sitting in the pew right behind us. Crying. He’s a sixth-grader. On either side of him were Drew and Tommy, two of his friends. Sixth graders. Boys. Loud. Rowdy. Funny. They think they’re cool. They pick on each other and everybody else all the time. And Drew and Tommy have their arms around Taylor. They’re patting his back and rubbing his shoulders. Holding him. Sabrina, a seventh grader two or three seats over is crying. She’s sitting by our Valerie who’s also got tears running down her cheeks. I turn around to talk to them about what’s happening. Sabrina tells me, “I can’t look at people crying, especially my friends. It makes me cry, too.” And I grabbed Sabrina and Valerie, right there over the pew, and I told them, this is what it looks like to bear one another’s burdens. We laugh and rejoice with each other when they’re laughing and rejoicing. And when they’re crying, we cry with them. That’s how we carry one another. This is exactly what we were talking about in the sermon. This is true intercession. This is burden-bearing. This is doing things together.

And then the Drake gets up to lead us in our table thoughts for the Lord’s Supper. And he starts rambling about baseball. He’s talking about double plays, 6-4-3. And he actually compares Ian Kinsler’s turn and jump and throw toward first with a runner barrelling down on him to our Lord’s sacrifice and death on the cross. The second baseman does the right thing by giving up his body, maybe his season, possibly his career. Like Jesus. And I’m thinking to myself how inappropriate this is. My word, this may be the most inappropriate thing that’s ever been said at our Lord’s table! How could the Drake dare to compare Christ’s holy death to what a baseball player does every day? We’ll never have the Drake up there again. And then the Drake interrupts my judging by reminding us how neat it is to share this communion with our brand new brother. Jarrett’s still wet from his baptism. And because of God’s grace, Jarrett communes with us as we all commune with our risen Lord. The Drake begins to read Jesus’ words of institution. And he can’t make it through because he’s crying. And I saw the Drake’s heart. He showed us his heart. And I was convicted. And I was moved.

And then the nearly 83-year-old Candy Man gets up to make his annual Give Away Day announcement. And he spoke lovingly about those in our church family who’ve gone on before. Conrad. Aloma. Jo. He captivated everybody in the room with his passionate words that called us to remember what’s been handed down to us by those who’ve gone before. He even broke up a couple of times. It was a powerful reminder of what we are called to do as disciples of Jesus.

And when our time in the assembly was over, I was exhausted. And exhilarated. God did not do what I had asked him to do. He had done immeasurably more.

Why was I surprised?

Our God showed us yesterday in Jarrett’s head of uncombed hair that’s been dyed a few too many times and his well-worn Heath Ledger Joker t-shirt a clear image of what Jarrett “was” and, now, what Jarrett “is” by God in Christ. And we were all reminded that God is also making us into something much different than what we were when we first gave him our lives.

Our God showed us through Rebecca and Taylor how he cares for us and provides for us through his people. A visitor from Houston ran down the aisle as soon as we were finished and told Rebecca that his church will provide a place for Rebecca’s mom to stay during the four months she has to be in and out of M.D.Anderson. For all I know, God may have been orchestrating that “chance” meeting yesterday in our worship center for years.

God showed me in the Drake a man who has a firm grasp on the enormity of being saved by God’s grace. This is what it feels like for him. This is what it looks like and this is how he relates it to others. It’s real. And it’s strong. And it drives big and strong men to their knees in tears. Our God convicted us (me) in the middle of my judgment to see inside somebody’s heart. This is where God himself looks. This is where God makes his judgments. Not on what is said or done, but on the condition of a man’s heart. And when I saw the Drake’s heart, my attitude changed. My mind and my logic was rocked.

And through Coleman, our God reminded us that we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves and our time. My prayers earlier had been for a specific moment on a specific day. And God answered those prayers by showing me that his view is much larger. This wonderful body of believers at Legacy was working for God and being moved by God long before I arrived on the scene. In fact, it’s their lives of faith by his mercy that have me on this scene at all. And this body will be working for our Lord and doing beautiful things for each other and for this community long after I’m gone.

We spent 30-minutes in our staff meeting this morning just reflecting on all the powerful things that happened in our assembly yesterday. We had all, at some point yesterday, been moved to tears by something somebody said, or a song that was sung, or something somebody did. Everyone one of us yesterday had been moved to hug someone we hadn’t hugged in a long time.

God didn’t do what I had asked him to do yesterday. He did immeasurably more. Why am I surprised?

Peace,

Allan

Not Far From The Kingdom Of God

September 7, 2009 / / 2 Comments

You Are Not Far From The Kingdom Of God

Mark 12 – Jesus is debating with the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders. They’re walking through the temple courts. I imagine they’re somewhere on the South side of the temple, probably on the huge steps that led up to the Huldah gates and the temple’s main entrance. If not, they were probably somewhere in the maze of courtyards below, the busiest and most crowded area of the temple grounds. They’re going back and forth on all kinds of things: Jesus’ authority, the rejection of the Messiah, politics and taxes, marriage and the resurrection.

Then one of the teachers engages our Savior in a topic that really matters. This question counts. “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus answers with what he always said perfectly summed up every word of the Law and the Prophets: Love God and love neighbor. “There is no commandment greater than these.”

The teacher of the Law agrees. In a humorous way, only because we know Jesus’ true identity as the holy Son of God, he actually commends Jesus for his wise and true answer. “Well said, teacher. You are right.” (Duh! Jesus was there when the commands were given!) But he takes it a step farther. In fact, this teacher of the Law, a comrade of those who were questioning Jesus and attempting to trick him and trap him and get him out of the picture, takes it one huge, giant, leap forward. He makes the bold claim, to Jesus and in front of all his cohorts, that loving God and loving neighbor is “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

I imagine this teacher actually pointing to and gesturing toward the people and the animals and the altars, the priests and the books and the chants, that surrounded them in this scene. Loving God and loving neighbor trumps all of this, he says to Jesus. Loving God and loving neighbor means more, it is more, than anything that happens in here!

And our Lord — does he smile? Does he wink? Does his face break out in a massive ear-to-ear grin? — looks this teacher right in the eye and says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

I often wonder what Jesus was thinking at this point. “This man gets it! Here’s a guy who really understands! He’s in the middle of all the trappings of the religious establishment, he’s being blocked and detoured and slowed down and held back by all the rules and regulations and rituals and ceremonies, but he understands it’s not about any of these things! He gets it!”

“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

When people asked Jesus about the Kingdom of God, not once did he ever say, “It’s that group over there that meets on Sundays for worship and Bible class.” When Jesus explained the Kingdom of God, he never once said, “It’s identified by those who take communion once a week on the Lord’s Day and sing acappella.” Jesus never told a story about the Kingdom of God and interpreted it by claiming, “You’ll know the Kingdom when you see two songs and a prayer and announcements either at the beginning or the end. Or sometimes both.”

No.

Jesus always says the Kingdom is about hurting people being comforted. It’s distressed people being encouraged. It’s cold people being warmed. It’s the outcasts being brought in and made a part of the family. It’s God using his people to help other people.

The true marks of the Kingdom have very little, if anything, to do with what happens inside your church building between announcements and prayers. Instead, the Kingdom of God is grounded firmly in the weightier matters of justice and mercy and love and faithfulness. The requirements of living in the Kingdom are not keeping the rules as much as they are about acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God.

Maintaining our institutional status quo is not necessarily the same as being faithful to Jesus and his mission. Being a member in good standing or a middle-of-the-road church is not necessarily the same as living under the reign of God.

Our King came into this world to sacrifice and to serve and to save. And that is the business of his subjects, too. When we get it through our heads that this calling trumps every other calling we think we might have as children of God and followers of the Son, then we are not far from the Kingdom of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carley’s 10! 

Carley’s ten. Or at least she will be Thursday. We had her party at the house Saturday. A whole bunch of silly 4th grade girls. Kate won the limbo contest. Elizabeth took the hula hoop prize (although Carrie-Anne beat her later in a head-to-head). And then Whitney and I beat it for the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and the OU-BYU football game.

At BYU-OUOur great friend Glenn Branscum set up a bunch of guys from Legacy with seats in his suite for the game. And when I say seats in his suite, I mean huge, fat, oversized, reclining leather seats with armrests and cupholders. Most every one in the room was a big Sooners fan. That’s why they were invited. Of course, most every one of the 80,000 in the stadium were Sooners fans. And everything Norman Southwas great.

Until about halfway through the second quarter when it became obvious that OU has some serious offensive line problems and some major gaps in the secondary. It got really quiet in there when Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford went down with his injury near the end of the first half. Whitney was excited (“Darling, you can’t cheer an injury. He’s a real person” “But, dad, this is good for BYU!”), but most of the rest of our crew spent the last two hours of the evening in a dark, dark, depression. Brandon didn’t say anything or look at anybody. Paul chewed off all his fingernails and then started working on the coasters. Dillon was in a catatonic trance. Ken and Ada prayed the whole second half (I’m sorry, God is NOT an OU fan). And I spent those last two quarters trying to keep Whitney from rubbing it in.

Words can’t describe this stadium. I have a lot to say about it. Maybe nothing you haven’t already read somewhere else. But I’ll save it for later. My sincere thanks to Glenn and Karen and the Branscum family for setting us up with a fantastic evening together. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimmy Shay MitchellAlways a blessing to see great friend Jimmy Mitchell. He and his youth group and sponsors from the Northside Church in Benton, Arkansas worshiped with us at Legacy yesterday after a weekend at Six Flags. “Hi” to Elizabeth and Jenniva. We wish we could have seen y’all, too.  And update your blog, Jimmy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim SederJust six more days until the Cowboys kick off their season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And the second-best player in Cowboys history to ever wear #6 is Tim Seder. He was a kicker from Ashland who played two seasons in Dallas (2000-2001). He converted 72% of his field goals (36/50) during his tenure here and never missed a PAT (39/39). The interesting thing about Seder, though, is that he scored rushing touchdowns on fake field goals twice, once in each of his two years. I don’t have time to look them up. Who cares?

Yesterday’s #7 is quarterback Chad Hutchinson. Sorry, I just can’t go with Randall Cunningham, just like I couldn’t give Red Ribbon Review #7the nod to Harold Carmichael a couple of weeks ago. Hutchinson entered the picture during Jerry Wayne’s brief period of fascination with baseball-playing quarterbacks. He preceded Michigan’s Drew Henson in Dallas by a season.

Hutchinson had played the 2001 season as a reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals where he appeared in three games, allowing 16 baserunners on nine hits and six walks and a hit batter in a total of four innings of work. He gave up eleven earned runs and completed his MLB career with a 24.75 ERA.

Chad HutchinsonAnd he didn’t fare much better with the Cowboys. Following a four-interception performance in a loss to Arizona, Jerry pulled Quincy Carter and handed his team to Hutchinson, promising that this pitcher from Stanford was the future. However, his first ever start, at Texas Stadium against the Seahawks on October 27, was overshadowed by Emmitt Smith’s historic breaking of Walter Payton’s all-time rushing mark. The Cowboys, as you recall, lost that day. And Hutchinson went 2-7 in his nine starts that year, completing 51% of his passes for seven TDs and eight interceptions. The second-best #7 in Cowboys history is just another mediocre quarterback in a revolving door of them since Troy Aikman stepped down nine long years ago.

Peace,

Allan

Not Far From The Kingdom Of God

September 7, 2009 / / 0 Comments

You Are Not Far From The Kingdom Of God

Mark 12 – Jesus is debating with the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders. They’re walking through the temple courts. I imagine they’re somewhere on the South side of the temple, probably on the huge steps that led up to the Huldah gates and the temple’s main entrance. If not, they were probably somewhere in the maze of courtyards below, the busiest and most crowded area of the temple grounds. They’re going back and forth on all kinds of things: Jesus’ authority, the rejection of the Messiah, politics and taxes, marriage and the resurrection.

Then one of the teachers engages our Savior in a topic that really matters. This question counts. “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Jesus answers with what he always said perfectly summed up every word of the Law and the Prophets: Love God and love neighbor. “There is no commandment greater than these.”

The teacher of the Law agrees. In a humorous way, only because we know Jesus’ true identity as the holy Son of God, he actually commends Jesus for his wise and true answer. “Well said, teacher. You are right.” (Duh! Jesus was there when the commands were given!) But he takes it a step farther. In fact, this teacher of the Law, a comrade of those who were questioning Jesus and attempting to trick him and trap him and get him out of the picture, takes it one huge, giant, leap forward. He makes the bold claim, to Jesus and in front of all his cohorts, that loving God and loving neighbor is “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

I imagine this teacher actually pointing to and gesturing toward the people and the animals and the altars, the priests and the books and the chants, that surrounded them in this scene. Loving God and loving neighbor trumps all of this, he says to Jesus. Loving God and loving neighbor means more, it is more, than anything that happens in here!

And our Lord — does he smile? Does he wink? Does his face break out in a massive ear-to-ear grin? — looks this teacher right in the eye and says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

I often wonder what Jesus was thinking at this point. “This man gets it! Here’s a guy who really understands! He’s in the middle of all the trappings of the religious establishment, he’s being blocked and detoured and slowed down and held back by all the rules and regulations and rituals and ceremonies, but he understands it’s not about any of these things! He gets it!”

“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

When people asked Jesus about the Kingdom of God, not once did he ever say, “It’s that group over there that meets on Sundays for worship and Bible class.” When Jesus explained the Kingdom of God, he never once said, “It’s identified by those who take communion once a week on the Lord’s Day and sing acappella.” Jesus never told a story about the Kingdom of God and interpreted it by claiming, “You’ll know the Kingdom when you see two songs and a prayer and announcements either at the beginning or the end. Or sometimes both.”

No.

Jesus always says the Kingdom is about hurting people being comforted. It’s distressed people being encouraged. It’s cold people being warmed. It’s the outcasts being brought in and made a part of the family. It’s God using his people to help other people.

The true marks of the Kingdom have very little, if anything, to do with what happens inside your church building between announcements and prayers. Instead, the Kingdom of God is grounded firmly in the weightier matters of justice and mercy and love and faithfulness. The requirements of living in the Kingdom are not keeping the rules as much as they are about acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God.

Maintaining our institutional status quo is not necessarily the same as being faithful to Jesus and his mission. Being a member in good standing or a middle-of-the-road church is not necessarily the same as living under the reign of God.

Our King came into this world to sacrifice and to serve and to save. And that is the business of his subjects, too. When we get it through our heads that this calling trumps every other calling we think we might have as children of God and followers of the Son, then we are not far from the Kingdom of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carley’s 10! 

Carley’s ten. Or at least she will be Thursday. We had her party at the house Saturday. A whole bunch of silly 4th grade girls. Kate won the limbo contest. Elizabeth took the hula hoop prize (although Carrie-Anne beat her later in a head-to-head). And then Whitney and I beat it for the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington and the OU-BYU football game.

At BYU-OUOur great friend Glenn Branscum set up a bunch of guys from Legacy with seats in his suite for the game. And when I say seats in his suite, I mean huge, fat, oversized, reclining leather seats with armrests and cupholders. Most every one in the room was a big Sooners fan. That’s why they were invited. Of course, most every one of the 80,000 in the stadium were Sooners fans. And everything Norman Southwas great.

Until about halfway through the second quarter when it became obvious that OU has some serious offensive line problems and some major gaps in the secondary. It got really quiet in there when Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford went down with his injury near the end of the first half. Whitney was excited (“Darling, you can’t cheer an injury. He’s a real person” “But, dad, this is good for BYU!”), but most of the rest of our crew spent the last two hours of the evening in a dark, dark, depression. Brandon didn’t say anything or look at anybody. Paul chewed off all his fingernails and then started working on the coasters. Dillon was in a catatonic trance. Ken and Ada prayed the whole second half (I’m sorry, God is NOT an OU fan). And I spent those last two quarters trying to keep Whitney from rubbing it in.

Words can’t describe this stadium. I have a lot to say about it. Maybe nothing you haven’t already read somewhere else. But I’ll save it for later. My sincere thanks to Glenn and Karen and the Branscum family for setting us up with a fantastic evening together. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimmy Shay MitchellAlways a blessing to see great friend Jimmy Mitchell. He and his youth group and sponsors from the Northside Church in Benton, Arkansas worshiped with us at Legacy yesterday after a weekend at Six Flags. “Hi” to Elizabeth and Jenniva. We wish we could have seen y’all, too.  And update your blog, Jimmy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim SederJust six more days until the Cowboys kick off their season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And the second-best player in Cowboys history to ever wear #6 is Tim Seder. He was a kicker from Ashland who played two seasons in Dallas (2000-2001). He converted 72% of his field goals (36/50) during his tenure here and never missed a PAT (39/39). The interesting thing about Seder, though, is that he scored rushing touchdowns on fake field goals twice, once in each of his two years. I don’t have time to look them up. Who cares?

Yesterday’s #7 is quarterback Chad Hutchinson. Sorry, I just can’t go with Randall Cunningham, just like I couldn’t give Red Ribbon Review #7the nod to Harold Carmichael a couple of weeks ago. Hutchinson entered the picture during Jerry Wayne’s brief period of fascination with baseball-playing quarterbacks. He preceded Michigan’s Drew Henson in Dallas by a season.

Hutchinson had played the 2001 season as a reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals where he appeared in three games, allowing 16 baserunners on nine hits and six walks and a hit batter in a total of four innings of work. He gave up eleven earned runs and completed his MLB career with a 24.75 ERA.

Chad HutchinsonAnd he didn’t fare much better with the Cowboys. Following a four-interception performance in a loss to Arizona, Jerry pulled Quincy Carter and handed his team to Hutchinson, promising that this pitcher from Stanford was the future. However, his first ever start, at Texas Stadium against the Seahawks on October 27, was overshadowed by Emmitt Smith’s historic breaking of Walter Payton’s all-time rushing mark. The Cowboys, as you recall, lost that day. And Hutchinson went 2-7 in his nine starts that year, completing 51% of his passes for seven TDs and eight interceptions. The second-best #7 in Cowboys history is just another mediocre quarterback in a revolving door of them since Troy Aikman stepped down nine long years ago.

Peace,

Allan

The Kingdom Of God Is Here!

September 4, 2009 / / 2 Comments

Jesus preaches the Kingdom. “Repent!” he says, “The Kingdom of God is near!” And then what does he do? He frees the prisoner, heals the blind and lame, rescues the oppressed.

Those are the signs of the Kingdom.

John the Baptist sends to find out if Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus says, look, you know what the signs are. “…the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

That’s the Kingdom.

Distressed people being encouraged. Cold people being warmed. Hurting people being comforted. The outcasts being brought in and made family.

The Kingdom of God.

When we talk about the Kingdom strictly in terms of church and the institution and the rules and the order — when that’s our whole idea of Kingdom — we quickly lose sight of the very things that the Kingdom of God what it is. Centuries of church development and decision-making and rule-making can cloud our vision. When we see the Kingdom exclusively as church, we tend to focus only on the features and characteristics of the church.

Our challenge is to insure that our identifying characteristics genuinely correspond to those of the Kingdom Jesus was preaching. Maintaining our institutional status quo is not necessarily the same as being faithful to Jesus and his mission. Being a member in good standing or being a middle-of-the-road church isn’t necessarily the same as living under the reign of God.

Our King came into this world in order to serve and to save. And that is the business of his subjects, as well. May our Lord bless us as we serve and rescue and save in his name.

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Only nine days until the Cowboys kick off their 50th regular NFL season. One week from Sunday, they’ll tee it up against the Bucs down in Tampa Bay. And we’re counting down the days with what we’ve been calling the Red Ribbon Review. These are the second-best players in Cowboys history according to jersey number. The almosts. The also-rans. The not-quites.

Mitch HoopesToday’s #9 is Super Bowl punter Mitch Hoopes. (Doesn’t his picture just scream “Mid-70s”?) He was part of that historic Dirty Dozen draft of 1975, taken by Tom Landry in the eighth round out of Arizona. One of the few, if only, times the Cowboys have ever drafted a kicker. Hoopes was the punter as a rookie that year, posting a pedestrian 39.4 yards per kick average. Dallas made a shocking run to Super Bowl X, a heart-breaking loss to the Steelers in Miami, and then promptly brought in Danny White during the offseason to back up Roger Staubach.

And to punt.

Hoopes was released. And White became, in Staubach’s own words, “America’s Punter.”

Tomorrow’s #8 in the countdown is the only other player in Cowboys history to wear #8 besides the obvious Hall of Famer. Buzz Sawyer. His real name is Robert Meade Sawyer, according to pro football reference guides. But the Cowboys list him as Buzz. He was born in Waxahachie, punted for Texas A&M and Baylor, and wound up playing for the Cowboys scab team during the 1987 players strike. Three games. 16 total punts. 39.9 yards per kick average. And the only exclusively-scabs player to make the Red Ribbon Review.

Peace,

Allan

Your Church's Accusers

September 3, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Your Church’s AccusersWho are the people who voice the most complaints about your church? Do criticisms about your congregation come from inside or outside your faith community? Who are your church’s accusers? Is one of them you?

I was visiting with a young brother in Christ this morning about the life and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We were specifically talking about “The Cost of Discipleship” and “Life Together,” arguably his two greatest books. I’m re-reading a bunch of “The Cost of Discipleship” right now in preparation for the Fresno Spiritual Growth Workshop later this month. And skimming “Life Together” three or four times a year is just a smart thing to do if you’re a preacher or some other church leader.

I want to share with you this from “Life Together.” This is especially intended for us preachers and elders and deacons and ministry leaders in our Father’s Church. I was just casually glancing through it today when these underlined words screamed at me.

From Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together”“If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even when there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.

This applies in a special way to the complaints often heard from pastors and zealous members about their congregations. A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men. When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself.

Let him guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God. Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief. Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren. Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren. Let him do what he is committed to do, and thank God.”

Who are your church’s accusers? Don’t let it be you.

A better question, perhaps: Who are your church’s defenders?

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Red Ribbon ReviewThe failure that is the Red Ribbon Review is drawing to a close. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It’s not. Nevertheless, I won’t be deterred. We’ll keep counting down the days until Cowboys season by recognizing the second-best players in team history according to jersey number until they kick off the against the Bucs at high noon on Sunday September 13.

Today’s pickings are so slim, we’re having to actually name two players to equal anything worth mentioning. Even then, it’s a huge stretch. There are ten days left until the Cowboys season begins. And there are half a dozen backup quarterbacks and backup punters and backup kickers who’ve worn that number. And nobody else. Not one starter in the bunch.

So, let’s go with two backup punters. Let’s honor Duane Carrell: seven games in 1974 (a non-playoff year), 40 total punts, an average of 39.8 yards per punt. And let’s also mention Barry Cantrell who punted in two games during the 2000 season (another non-playoff year), racking up an average of 36.7 yards per kick on 10 total punts.

Sorry,

Allan

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