The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Cowboys (Page 31 of 55)

All-Time Low

December 13, 2010 / / 4 Comments

The storied history of the Dallas Cowboys contains many embarrassing moments. Clint Longley’s sucker-punch of Roger Staubach, Jay Saldi’s acting, Rod Hill, Barry Switzer’s gun arrest, Switzer’s “Load Left,” the 1986 Christmas video, the White House, “No, Danny, no!”, Campo’s three years, Tex Schramm’s treatment of Lee Roy Jordan, Jerry Wayne’s treatment of Tom Landry, Rafael Septien’s sin, the price of nachos at the new stadium. Plenty of things the Cowboys would rather sweep under the rug.

Does anything compare to the utter shame in what happened in the seconds immediately following last night’s three-point loss to the Eagles?

It happened right at midfield, just a few feet from the giant Cowboys star that, at one time, was worth defending. After a gut-wrenching home loss to the hated division rival Eagles that officially eliminated Dallas from postseason contention, there was Cowboys running back Tashard Choice chasing down Philly quarterback Michael Vick for an autograph. Like a star-struck eight-year-old, thrilled to death to just be in the presence of such greatness, Choice beamed wide-eyed at Vick as he scribbled his name across Choice’s extended glove.

I hit the backup button on my DVR and watched it four times before I could really comprehend it.

Sickening.

I understand I’m not a young man anymore. I know it. I hung our Christmas lights on the house Friday and my legs are still killing me today. And I know I sound like an old man when I criticize Choice for his ill-timed request of his conquering foe. But, good gravy! These are not the Cowboys I cheered for as a kid.

The Cowboys I cheered for were led by Harvey Martin, who once threw a funeral wreath into the Redskins locker room after a division-clinching win. They were captained by Dennis Thurman, whose “thieves” once famously broke up the Washington Fun Bunch in the Texas Stadium end zone. Cliff Harris wound up on his rear end, but he didn’t let Jack Lambert push him around. Jimmy Johnson chased down Buddy Ryan to give him a piece of his mind after a game in ’89. When Joe Theisman ran around in the back of the end zone to run time off the clock before kneeling for a safety in a 9-5 win, Charlie Waters almost decapitated him. George Teague did his thing to T. O. long after I stopped rooting for this team, but I appreciated his attitude.

Tashard’s autograph request was an all-time low. His explanations and excuses are running a close second. I was bothered by the ho-hum reaction to DeSean Jackson’s pirouette and Nestea iced-tea plunge at the one-yard-line during what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Terrence Newman and Gerald Ball just stood there. But I’m more disturbed to think that while the Cowboys offense was gathered on the sidelines in the closing minutes, hoping for a final shot to win or tie the game, Choice was busy looking for a pen.

Over the past five weeks, I’ve found myself secretly hoping for success for Jason Garrett. If he’ll send Choice to the “asthma field”  this week for his nationally televised post-game brain-lock, Garrett might could win me all the way back.

Peace,

Allan

Turn Out The Lights

December 6, 2010 / / 1 Comment

I didn’t get the news until about 8:45 this morning, right before our church staff meeting. My sister, Rhonda, texted me:

Dandy Don is dead. Turn out the lights…

Our Youth Minister, Jason Brown, walked by my door. I told him, “Don Meredith has died.” Jason looked at me with a blank stare. “Who’s Don Meredith?”

I know. I just shook my head. Dismissively.

Don Meredith, the very first Dallas Cowboy, signed to a personal services contract in the fall of 1959, months before the franchise was admitted into the NFL. All-America quarterback for SMU. Captained the Cowboys from 0-11-1 expansion futility to the brink of glory as “Next Year’s Champions.” (Eddie LeBaron was only a caretaker until the future of the franchise, Meredith, could be ready.) Cowboys Ring of Honor. Monday Night Football icon. Movie star. Life of the party. Legend.

Meredith never got along with Tom Landry. A quarterback who sang “Honky Tonk Angels” in the huddle during the fourth quarter of division games, of course, would rub the Stoic One the wrong way. Landry never thought Meredith worked hard enough or took things seriously enough. Dandy Don thought Landry needed to lighten up. The two made it work and, I think, earned each other’s respect until Meredith was too beaten up physically and emotionally to take it anymore. He always regretted that, on the day he walked into the coach’s office to announce his retirement, Landry didn’t try to talk him out of it.

He was under appreciated as a Cowboy.

Nobody was tougher under the circumstances. Nobody endured more. Nobody took more abuse. Nobody ever exhibited the same grace. Quarterbacking that lousy expansion club full of walk-ons and other team’ rejects as well as he did should be seen as the heroic thing it was.

“Number 17 in your program, number one in your heart.”

It’s sad that a lot of really good people don’t get their due, they don’t receive the recognition, until they’re dead and not around to experience it. I’m thinking that’s what’s going to happen with Dandy Don. We’ll see clips on the news tonight of Meredith throwing long passes in a near-empty Cotton Bowl, eluding would-be tacklers as the pocket breaks down yet again, stomping around in the ice in Green Bay. ESPN will bring us tons of his best barbs and one-liners from the ABC broadcast booth at the expense of Howard Cossell. And they’ll all talk about what might have been. If Landry could have relaxed a bit, then Meredith would have excelled and would be considered one of the all-time greats. Meredith was great but the team around him was so lousy.

As Dandy Don himself always said: If “ifs” and “buts” were candies and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.

Turn out the lights, the party’s over. They say that all good things must end.

Peace,

Allan

Give Away Day Still Going

November 9, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Right at 160 total families, including more than 500 children, were given blue jeans and sweaters and coats and pillows and shirts this past Saturday as Legacy took Give Away Day to Siempre Familia and the Rosemont neighborhoods of South Fort Worth. Estimates range from 150 to 200 actual volunteers who worked the event. Of course, the numbers of those who built racks, transported equipment, served food, sorted clothes, and cleaned up afterward go way beyond even that.

People were served in the name of Christ. God was praised. Our Lord was given glory and honor. People who don’t know Jesus were shown his love and mercy.

And then Give Away Day ended.

But God’s work and the work of his church at Siempre Familia did not.

At least seven families who received assistance at Give Away Day showed up for Sunday night’s combination Spanish/English song service where they received even more compassion and grace; where they received an even bigger sense of community; where they made even more connections. The names and contact information for each of the families who were served were tacked up on a cross at the front of the worship center. The congregation was asked to take one of those cards, to adopt one of those families, to make phone calls and visits, to commit to taking care of these families through the rest of the year.

And by the end of the service, all the cards were taken. By the end of this week, every family will be contacted by phone or personal visit. By the end of this month, I anticipate sharing with you stories of Bible studies and baptisms.

There’s something very powerful about reaching out to people in our own zip codes, about jumping in to our own communities with the truth of salvation from God in our risen Savior. Those of us who were there Saturday understand that much better now. There were connections being made in every conversation. There were friendships being formed and fostered with every interaction.

I walked a few people to their cars with a Christian volunteer named Raul. I don’t know how long Raul’s been a part of that Siempre Familia church. I have no idea. I’d never met Raul before. But Raul asked every person he met where they lived. Where do you work? Where do your kids go to school? How long have you lived here? And with every answer, Raul would exclaim, “I know somebody who lives on that street!” or “My cousin works there!” or “Do your children know so-and-so? Their kids go to that school, too!”

See, that kind of thing never could happen with Give Away Day here at Legacy. The people who came to Give Away Day didn’t live here. The people who live here don’t come to Give Away Day. But it’s different now at Siempre Familia. There’s already a level of trust between the church and the people. There’s already a bond there. There’s already a strong sense of community there. And our God is using it to expand his Kingdom in those parks and streets around Rosemont.

Thank you to all who gave of their time and energy and money and emotion. May our God continue to use Give Away Day to his eternal glory and praise.

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I feel sorry today for Wade Phillips. I feel sorry for Jason Garrett. I feel sorry for Paul Pasqualoni. I feel sorry for Chan Gailey and Dave Campo. I feel sorry for every head coach and coordinator who has had to work for an owner who is also the general manager. It’s not fair.

I’m not sure how Jerry Wayne can keep going the way he’s going. I don’t know how he can break from a meeting about the boxing match at Cowboys Stadium to run to the coach’s offices to mandate a lineup change to answer a phone call about a merchandizing deal with an auto parts chain to sprint down to the film room to evaluate the upcoming draft. It just doesn’t work. This 51st season of Cowboys football will go down as the most bitterly disappointing in franchise history. Does Jerry Wayne need more proof that his way won’t cut it?

One playoff win in 14 years. They’ve missed the playoffs seven times in eleven seasons. How does that make the Cowboys any different than Seattle or Carolina or the Cardinals? Oh, yeah. Those teams have all been to Super Bowls since Dallas.

I feel sorry for Wade and Garrett. And Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden. Or whoever’s going to coach this team next. It’s not fair.

Peace,

Allan

That They May Be Saved

November 8, 2010 / / 1 Comment

We had just an incredible Give Away Day at Siempre Familia on Saturday. We experienced forgiveness here at Legacy on Sunday in ways that only the Holy Spirit can cause. And I think Jerry Wayne is firing Wade Phillips even as I’m writing this post.

I’ll get to all of that tomorrow. Today, I want to make good on finishing up my thoughts on Knowledge Puffs Up.

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In 1 Corinthians 8-10, Paul is addressing the single most volatile, divisive issue in the early Church. This is the issue that threatens to split God’s Church right in half. This is the thing that is polarizing the disciples of Jesus. It’s a “salvation issue.” It’s causing division, pitting Christians of one viewpoint and one mindset against Christians with different backgrounds and understandings. This is women’s roles and leadership structures and instrumental praise and worship teams and pantsuits and kitchens and divorce and multiple cups and missionary societies and R-rated movies all rolled up into one explosive church issue.

And here’s what the inspired apostle Paul has to say about it:

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (8:1).
“We put up with anything rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ” (9:12).
“I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible” (9:19).
“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (9:22)
“Everything is permissible” (10:23).
“Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (10:24).
“I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved” (10:33).

A careful reading of 10:25-30 shows us that, in matters of controversy, Paul clearly favors freedom over abstinence. If it’s true that the strong Christians should not act in ways that harm the weak — and it is! — it’s also true that the weak should not accuse the strong of sin. It’s a two way street when it comes to disciples of Jesus in God’s Church.

But please note that his many instructions to this strife-torn congregation in Corinth share a common theme: in order that those on the outside, those without Christ, would come to know and receive salvation from God.

Paul refuses to engage in anything that may “hinder the Gospel of Christ.” His ultimate goal is to “win as many as possible.” His mission is to “save some.” He seeks the good of others “that they may be saved.”

I really believe that Paul knows, no matter what he does, he’s going to offend some people. You ever feel like that? No matter what you do, somebody’s not going to like it? Somebody’s going to complain? Somebody’s going to be offended? I know preachers feel that way. So do most elders I know. I really believe that Paul’s conclusion is that he would much rather offend a fellow Christian who’s already secure in Christ than an unbeliever who might turn away from the Gospel for unnecessary reasons.

The Gospel message already contains a few major stumbling blocks. There’s that whole idea of a crucified Savior. Hard to swallow. The call to die to ourselves and give everything to Christ. The imperative to sacrifice and give to others. Those are tough hurdles standing between the lost and a full acceptance of salvation from God in Christ. But those obstacles can never be taken away. Those things are the very essence of Christian discipleship. What we don’t need is a legalistic mindset that depicts Christianity as submission to a long list of dos and don’ts and conforming to a bunch of man-made rules. That’s the unnecessary hindrance to the faith that Paul, I believe, wants to abolish forever.

Me, too.

Peace,

Allan

Give Away Day 2.0

November 5, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I’ve got at least one more thing to say about yesterday’s topic, Knowledge Puffs Up. Seriously, it’s beyond me how men and women can argue and debate and complain about each other and about the Church in the name of Christ. In light of Holy Scripture and salvation from God in Jesus, I don’t get it. And, quite frankly, it’s easy for me to understand why people are leaving the Church. And I completely understand why outsiders don’t want any part of it. But let’s save that for Monday. Today, I want to write about something I’m really excited about.

Not this open letter from Sports Illustrated football expert Peter King to Jerry Wayne. This letter is excellent, yes. And I have enjoyed reading it. But it’s not today’s main topic.

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For 27 years now, Give Away Day has been the highlight of Legacy’s outreach and benevolence ministry. We do many other things in the areas of outreach and benevolence. But Give Away Day has always been our signature event. Our mission identity is wrapped up in Give Away Day. It’s almost become who we are.

And that’s a good thing. It’s a very good thing. It is certainly something to be proud of. I tell people all the time about our Give Away Day. I think it’s tremendous. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people lined up for hours around our building. We love these people. We pray with these people. We fall in love with these people. And we help tons of people. Over the years, we’ve helped untold thousands of people with food and clothes and household items and mercy and love and compassion and grace. It’s wonderful for the people who are helped. It’s an incredible blessing for Legacy. And our God is glorified.

The problem is that we only see these people once a year.

The people who come to Give Away Day don’t live here. They’re not a part of our immediate community. They all drive 30-45 minutes to get here. I invite these people to worship with us knowing that it’s all but impossible. I ask for their phone numbers, only to learn on Monday that it’s a wrong number or it’s been disconnected.

That’s always been the frustrating part of Give Away Day. We’ve never been able to achieve our ultimate goals of bringing these people into our community of saving faith.

Hundreds and hundreds of the people who need Give Away Day and who need to come to God in Christ live in the Rosemont neighborhoods of South Fort Worth. That’s where they are. By God’s grace, our brother Manuel Calderon and the Siempre Familia Church of Christ are right there in the heart of that mostly Spanish-speaking segment of our county. Those 240 brothers and sisters live on the same streets as these people who drive 25-miles to get to Legacy’s Give Away Day. They work with them. Their kids all go to school together. They play ball together. They attend the same civic events. They are already a community with these people.

So tomorrow, we’re taking Give Away Day to the people. Instead of asking people to drive to us, we’re taking the clothes and diapers and coats to them. We are partnering with our God and with Siempre Familia to make Give Away Day bigger and better and more Kingdom effective than it’s ever been before!

There will be 100% follow-up with every single person we serve tomorrow. There will be Bible studies and prayers and ministry. Meaningful conversations. In-depth interactions. No language barriers. No long drives to a place that doesn’t seem like home. There will be baptisms. Souls will be saved and hell will be robbed!

My prayer is that we at Legacy can experience what it’s like to reach out into a local community with the love and grace of Jesus. My hope is that we feel deep inside us the joy of getting involved with people who live in our own zip codes. We’re doing that already in bits and pieces with a couple of the elementary schools around Legacy. But Siempre Familia does it on a grand scale, on a Kingdom-worthy, gargantuan scale! And I want us to catch that same Gospel fire.

We are thrilled to be partnering with our church family at Siempre Familia and joining God in the great work he’s already doing there in South Fort Worth. We are grateful to be counted worthy as our God’s co-workers in this salvation mission. And we humbly pray for his continued blessings as the powerful heritage of Legacy’s Give Away Day tradition enters this exciting new phase!

“May he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” ~Hebrews 13:21

Peace,

Allan

Nothing Sanctimonious About That

November 3, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Back in March, what if you could have put money in Vegas on the Texas Rangers having more postseason wins than the Dallas Cowboys’ number of regular season wins? How would you be spending those millions of dollars today for the Kingdom?

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“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” ~John 15:18-19

Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy is being vilified by many in the mainstream media as a sanctimonious finger-wagger. As a football analyst now for NBC, Dungy is being paid to weigh in on the issues of the game. But apparently not everybody likes what he has to say.

Reggie Bush was right to return the Heisman Trophy. Rex Ryan should cut back on his foul language. Braylon Edwards should have been benched for a full game for his DUI arrest.

Dungy is being bashed by critics who say he’s trying to force his own standards on others. According to a recent Sports Illustrated article written by Phil Taylor (Oct. 18, 2010), a Google search of Dungy’s name combined with the term “holier than thou” turned up 871 hits. A popular sports website shredded him last week with an article headlined “TONY DUNGY IS AN INSUFFERABLE #*@!+*!!”

Dungy says, “I’m not trying to be anyone’s judge or conscience. I’ve always been passionate about doing what’s right, about living as a Christian, and I’ve never hidden that.”

In my view, Dungy does it right. He’s not loud. He’s not obnoxious. He’s not an attention-seeker. He’s not mean. He doesn’t take pleasure in stirring up controversy. He criticizes and comments without mockery or sarcasm. And I’m not sure how this makes him insufferable. Or a jerk.

Unless it’s that he’s so different from the world. Unless his voice is just that unique. Unless his life stands in such contrast to the lives of those who hear him.

Taylor concludes his excellent article with this question and conclusion:

Could it be that Dungy’s virtue makes some of us uneasy? Maybe we’re so unaccustomed to a good man simply trying to apply his own set of values to the world around him that his critics have been reading him wrong. You needn’t believe he is always right to appreciate his efforts to always do right. There’s nothing sanctimonious about that.

Trying to always do right, no matter the consequences, regardless of whether it sits well with the culture around us. Now that’s something we can embrace. Actually, that’s exactly the thing to which our Christ calls us all.

Peace,

Allan

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