Category: Church (Page 51 of 59)

That We May Be One

February 24, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

“…that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” ~John 17:22-23

Jesus prays many things for us. He prayed for the apostles as they battled the wind on the sea. Hebrews says Christ lives to intercede for us. We can imagine that Jesus prays continually for our salvation, our sanctification, our bodies, and our souls. In John 17 he prays that his Father will give us eternal life, that his joy will be made complete in us, that God will protect us from the evil one and keep us safe, and that he will sanctify us in truth.

And he prays that we will be one.

“…so that they may be one as we are one.” (John 17:11)

“…that all of them may be one.” (John 17:21)

“…that they may be one as we are one.” (John 17:22)

“May they be brought to complete unity.” (John 17:23)

We read these prayers of our Lord and it’s difficult, most of the time, to take it to heart. It doesn’t seem like Jesus’ prayers make that much difference or carry much weight as far as the unity of his disciples. Christ’s Church is famous around the world for being contentious and mean-spirited. Instead of looking at our love for one another and seeing the Savior, people look at our contempt for one another and see the world. Or worse, the devil.

Where’s the unity?

I’m almost finished with Eugene Peterson’s latest book on theological conversations, Tell It Slant. The following is from his chapter Jesus Prays For Us.

Many Christians, impatient with what they perceive as the inefficiency of Jesus’ prayer, attempt to solve the problem by the imposition of unity, unity by coercion — that is, authority depersonalized into an institution. The style is hierarchical. The methods are bureaucratic. Any person or congregation who refuses to conform is excluded: anathematized, excommunicated, or shunned. Unity is preserved by enforcing an institutional definition.

Other Christians, also impatient with Jesus’ prayer, solve the problem by schism. They reduce the scale of unity to what can be managed by gathering men and women of like mind and temperament. Often there is a strong and charismatic leader who shows up to define the reduced parameters of the so-called unity. If persons or groups find that they no longer fit into the theological or worship or behavioral style that defines the unity, another schism is always an option — simply split off with others of like mind and spirit. Unity is preserved by personal preference.

The repetitive urgency with which Jesus prays that we be one, just as he is one with the Father, throws deliberate acts of schism into sharp relief as acts of insurrection, an eruption of violent willfulness in the very presence of the one who is interceding for our relational unity with one another according to the unity of the Trinity. The frequency of this violence done to the body of Christ, a violence justified by rationalizations without end, is nothing less than astonishing. Defying Jesus in the cause of Jesus. A huge scandal.

The scandal is often boastfully vaunted as necessary to preserve the church. But whatever the language used, whatever slogans are placed on the banners, it is pretty clear that the schismatics at some point walked out on John 17.

If we’ll just stay in the room with Jesus as he prays for us, we will acquire a readiness to embrace all the baptized as brothers and sisters. It may be slow in coming, but Jesus’ prayer will have its way with us. We will no longer define other Christians as competitors or rivals. Jesus does not evaluate or grade his followers as he prays. He does not lay out plans to settle the controversies that he knows will arise. He is praying us into an easy camaraderie. The longer we stay in Jesus’ praying presence the more we will understand that our impulses toward schism and sectarianism, our rivalries and denunciations, have no place in the room while Jesus is praying for us “to be one.”

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Collin and Marisa McCormick have just found out they’re having a boy! Congratulations! You can get the latest news from our displaced Texas brother and sister while they’re in Germany by clicking over to their blog here.

Peace,

Allan

The Gospel According To Potluck

February 23, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

I’ve been accused of many things. Most of those things are untrue. This latest allegation that surfaced last night in more than a couple of places from more than a couple of people must be addressed in an open forum.

I DID NOT IMPLY IN MY COMMENTS FROM THE PULPIT YESTERDAY THAT IF ONE DID NOT BRING BANANA PUDDING TO THE CHURCH POTLUCK ONE COULD NOT BE SAVED!!!

I merely commented that a church potluck isn’t really a church potluck without banana pudding. That’s all. The fact that we had about three dozen banana puddings at the dinner last night only proves I really didn’t need to say anything about it at all. Of course, I exaggerate. However, I’m taking bids now to secure my services for March 29. For the highest bidder, I’ll mention your favorite dessert from the pulpit while making an announcement about that night’s supper. Right now, I’m up to $35 for Key Lime Pie.

What a fantastic night last night. Well over 500 of us brought our favorite dishes and shared a common meal together a la Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 10 & 11. The quantity of food was mind-boggling. The variety was spellbinding. Only at a church potluck can you get chicken enchiladas, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the same plate. And love it. It was loud. It was chaotic. It was fun. And it was theologically beautiful.

Yes, a church potluck is a re-enactment of the gospel. A common meal. A common table. Every nation, tribe, language, and people. Everyone bringing something to the body. A gift of creamed corn. A talent of chocolate pie. A blessing of homemade egg rolls from our brand new sister in Christ who’s still wet behind the ears from her baptism that morning. All these abilities, all these contributions, all these gifts brought to the table to form one amazingly wonderful meal that serves to nourish the entire body.

Last night’s dinner was even more special as we witnessed our junior high boys and girls make vows of purity to their parents, to their friends, to their church family, and to their God. Over the din of crying babies and clanging forks, their parents made similar vows of love and availability and support. And then the whole church body stood and made vows to those families, vows to hold them accountable, to encourage them, to celebrate with them in their victories and mourn with them in their defeats. In the presence of our heavenly Father and each other, in the name of Christ, and by the power of his Holy Spirit. Running the race together. Passing the baton of faith. Through laughter and tears, promising to act like a real family.

And as great as all that was, the real capper of the evening was the sharing of the communion meal together as a church family. Around the table(s). Real tables and real chairs. In the context of a shared meal. A real meal with real food and real drink. A public acknowledgment that we are enjoying this meal together because of what God has done for us in Christ. A recognition that we are brothers and sisters together because of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Again, over the noise of restless toddlers. Through the “distractions” of extra activity. Looking people in the eyes instead of staring at the backs of their heads. Giggling with each other when someone dropped a tray in the back. An encouraging wink during and after the prayers. A pat on the hand. Personal, but not private. Putting the “community” back in communion. “Recognizing the body of the Lord.” Making communion truly communal again.

Legacy is one great potluckin’ church! And I’m so grateful to belong to this body of believers that sees and understands the gospel value of a shared common meal.

Peace,

Allan

A Delivered People

February 16, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” ~1 Corinthians 6:11

We are Christians, yes. We are God’s children. We are his Church. Yes, we are sheep. We are saints. We are co-laborers with the Lord. We’re disciples. We’re a family. Yes.

But who we are only has meaning, it only brings us great joy, it only really matters, in relation to who we were.

Immoral. Idolaters. We are sinners. We are enemies of God. We’re dead. Dead in our transgressions. Dead in our sins. We are disobedient. Rebellious. Following the ways of the world. Following our own evil desires and thoughts. We are prisoners of Satan. Slaves to iniquity. We’re held captive by the devil. We’re in jail. We’re not going anywhere. Condemned by a holy and righteous God. Destined to be forever separated from the One who created us. We are hell-bound. Facing an eternity in a lake of fire and powerless to do anything about it. Powerless. We can do nothing. This is who we are. Not tired, not asleep, not sick, not even in a coma. Dead! It’s over. We’re finished. No hope. No luck. No chance. Only a promise. The promise of eternal damnation.

But…

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions.” ~Ephesians 2:4-5

The noose was around your neck. The chair had been kicked out and your legs were dangling when God rode in and rescued you. Through no merit of your own — nothing! not a single thing you did or could ever do — you were saved.

You were dead, but now you’re alive. You were lost, but now you’re found. You were headed to hell, but now you’ve been re-routed to heaven. And you’ve never done anything to deserve it. Christ Jesus took the punishment for you. Jesus took your place. Jesus stepped in and did for you what you could never do for yourself.

His love, his mercy, his grace, it makes no sense. It’s incredible. It’s amazing.

We are saved!

And this is what identifies us. This is who we are. This is what shapes the way we think and informs the way we behave. This is at the very heart of how we view our God and ourselves and one another. This is what gives us our great joy.

Who we are in relation to who we were.

Praise God for his amazing grace!

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“The one unifying constant that defines whether or not such a congregation is included…is the practice of a cappella worship services.” ~Carl Royster, from his introduction to Churches of Christ in the United States

Wow. I had no idea we had just added a quarter-billion Eastern Orthodox to our movement! Who says our numbers are declining? Cool.

Sarcastically and sadly,

Allan

Unconverted Membership

February 12, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Our greatest trouble now is, it seems to me, a vast unconverted membership. A very large percent of the church members among us seem to have very poor conceptions of what a Christian ought to be. They neglect prayer, the reading of the Bible, and the Lord’s Day meetings, and, of course, they fail to do good day by day as they should. Twelve years of continual travel among the churches have forced me to the sad conclusion that a very small number of the nominal Christians are worthy of the name.” ~James A. Harding, 1887

Is it comforting or disturbing?

When you read the stories of Israel in our ancient Scriptures and recognize that we, today, continue to fall away from the Lord, cry out to him in time of trouble, come running back to him vowing a renewed life of total commitment, only to fall away again a short time later, how do you feel? Does it make you feel better that some things never change, that God’s people have always acted like this and always will? Does it ease the pain of our own shortcomings and rebellions to know that God’s used to it? Or does it really bother you? You mean we’re still acting as God’s people the same way we acted four thousand years ago?!? Are you kidding? How depressing. What are we doing? Are we ever going to get it?

Over and over again. Nothing changes.

When you read a statement made by Harding 120 years ago that sounds like it could have been written yesterday, is that good or bad? Does it comfort you or disturb you?

I go back and forth on things like this. It mostly depends on what kind of day I’m having. My mood changes. My outlook on Christian progress, the advance of the Kingdom in this country, the sanctification of God’s holy people, it changes from time to time based on recent experience, I suppose.

This I know: through all the ups and downs of the cycles of God’s eternal people, he loves us. He loves us unconditionally. He sacrifices all and gives it to us. Uncompromisingly. He is a faithful God. Even when his people are faithless. He is patient with us. And he’s working on us right now.

Peace,

Allan

Flexing Our Autonomy

February 11, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

Wouldn’t it be great to be truly non-denominational? What if our Church of Christ stream of the Christian faith took our stance on autonomous congregations seriously? What if this philosophy—no, most of us would probably label it a theology—of autonomy were upheld in practice the same way we preach it in theory?

What if our flashing sign out on Mid-Cities Boulevard one morning began proclaiming “Legacy Church of Christ: A Non-Denominational Community Church”?

It’s everything we claim to be. It’s everything they tell me we aspire to be. But I’d never get away with putting it on the sign.

It’s a dream of mine that the congregation of believers at Legacy, and all families of disciples, would be guided by Christ and his Word, not ever by outside forces. Not by other congregations. Not by other denominations. Not by other faiths. Certainly not by the world and its standards and beliefs and practices. We’d have to jump totally off the A-B Line way of thinking to ever make that happen. And we can’t do that overnight. It’s going to take some time. It’s going to take an intentional shift in our thinking and our practices.

(Please refer back to my posts from last May Jumping Off The Line and Jumping Off The Line: Part Two. See, I’m pretty passionate about this.)

Some of our number glory in the recent decision by 21st Century Christian to remove from a Church of Christ directory 21 congregations who’ve added an instrumental worship assembly on Sunday morning. And they completely miss the irony when I say, “Well, somebody’s got to draw those lines if we’re going to be a real denomination!” Our brothers Stone and Campbell must be spinning.

On the issue of congregational autonomy, please take the time to read my brothers Terry Rush here and Patrick Mead here. Both of these posts were written in the past week.

Is autonomy important or not?

Yes. I think it’s important. I think it’s critical. I think it’s biblical. I think it’s theological. I think we’ve got a long, long way to go.

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I appreciate my friend Jim Gardner’s comments related to my plea that we don’t skip our Christian worship assemblies to watch the Super Bowl. I think we ignore the impact we’re having on our children and our neighbors when we make these kinds of choices. They’re not dumb. They see very well the message we believe and the message we’re sending. Whether it’s staying home to watch a TV show or taking our kids to their Sunday morning soccer game, what we’re saying is this: church is important, of course it’s important; it’s just not as important as this TV program or your ball game.

Peace,

Allan

Spurring On The Cloud

February 9, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

We combined the great exhortation in Hebrews 10 to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” with the “great cloud of witnesses” imagery in Hebrews 12 in a warm display of affection and encouragement at the beginning of last night’s assembly. What a night it turned out to be!

We asked everyone in our church family who was baptized 50 years ago or longer to wait out in the foyer. We wouldn’t let them come into the worship center. While the rest of us gathered inside, our older brothers and sisters were outfitted with makeshift “runners tags,” big numbers to wear on their chests declaring how many years they’ve each been running the race. Meanwhile, I prepped those of us waiting on the inside for what would come next.

We had just preached through Hebrews 11, the Faith Hall of Fame, earlier that morning. My observation is that we are surrounded by our own cloud of witnesses right here at Legacy. There are faithful disciples right here in our church family who have endured, persevered, fought the good fight, and run the race marked out for us. We have wonderful examples of faith and courage and sacrifice and service right here in the building. And as they run the race before us, as they show us the way, as they wrap up their races by finishing strong and handing the baton to those of us who are coming behind, let’s really cheer them on. They deserve our encouragement. They deserve our affection. They deserve our love and respect. And they deserve to know how much we appreciate them.

At that point, Norman Williams opened up the back doors and here they came! Right down the long, long center aisle. 60 year Christians. 70 year disciples. A couple of 80+ year followers of Christ. And we let them have it! A standing ovation. Clapping. Cheering. Whistling. Stomping. High fives. Hugs. Pats on the back. Salutes. Yelling. Hollering. Smiling. Laughing. Nearly 70 of our dearest, sweetest brothers and sisters entering our place of worship to such a roaring welcome. 300 more of us cheering them on.

It took a little longer than I thought it might. But if it had lasted three hours, I’m convinced we would have kept clapping and whistling. And everybody in the room would have kept smiling.

As a Christian community, we’re called to lives of mutual encouragement. Christians have a high calling to care for one another spiritually and morally. Our attention should be riveted to always looking out for ways to encourage others within the community of faith.

I’m always strengthened when I consider those who’ve been faithfully running this marathon twice as long as me. And so much better. With more grace. And courage.

I pray we were able to return some of that strength and encouragement last night.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Church (Page 51 of 59)

That We May Be One

The Gospel According To Potluck

A Delivered People

Unconverted Membership

Flexing Our Autonomy

Spurring On The Cloud

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