Category: Evangelism (Page 12 of 20)

That They May Be Saved

November 8, 2010 / Allan / 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 / Allan / 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

Doing Church

October 8, 2010 / Allan / 2 Comments

I’m holding it in my hands right now. It’s a brochure published by one of our larger Church of Christ universities promoting their on-line Bible courses. Each course is 13-weeks, perfect for the quarterly Bible school cycle of most of our congregations. One of the classes is “Christian Leadership Training.” Here’s the course description:

A plan for teaching a men’s or young men’s training class. Specific instructions on how to lead in various aspects of worship, from making announcements to leading in singing and making talks. Also has a section on doing personal work. Even includes critique sheets for in-class presentations.

It’s official. Announcements are now one of the five acts of worship. Which one did we take out?

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In his book Forgotten Ways, Alan Hirsch contrasts the differences between what he calls Church as an “organic missional movement” and Church as “institutional religion.” I would classify it as the difference between “being church” and “doing church.” Same thing.

I can’t duplicate his chart on this blog. I don’t know how. (Help me, John!) So, I’ll have to do this in a linear way.

~According to Hirsch, an organic missional movement has pioneering missional leadership as its central role while institutional religion avoids leadership based on personality and is often led by an aristocratic class who inherit leadership based on loyalty.
~A missional movement seeks to embody the way of life of the Founder; institutional religion represents a more codified belief system.
~Missional movements are based on internal operational principles; institutional religion is based increasingly on external legislating policies and governance.
~Missional movements have a cause; institutional religion is the cause.
~With a missional movement, the goal is to change the future; institutional religion seeks to preserve the past.
~Missional movements tend to be mobile and dynamic while institutional religion tends to be more static and fixed.
~Missional movements are decentralized networks built on relationships; institutional religion is characterized by a centralized organization built on loyalty.
~The movement appeals to the common man as opposed to religion which tends to become more and more elitist and therefore exclusive.
~With missional movements, spiritual authority is the primary basis of influence, unlike religion which leans to institutional authorizing as the primary basis of influence.
~It’s being a people of the Way versus being a people of the Book.

I find these descriptions interesting. And provocative. And accurate. How about you?

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Some people say it’s better to be lucky than good. I’ll say it’s even better to be both. Yes, in their first two ALDS games in Florida, the Rangers have benefitted from two judgment calls at home plate that could easily have gone the other way. Carlos Pena thought he had a 3-1 count with the bases loaded against Cliff Lee in Game One and James Shields thought he had struck out Michael Young with two on yesterday in Game Two. The thing that makes the calls important is that Lee went on to strike out Pena and Young went on to blast a game-breaking three-run homer into centerfield.

Evan Grant has written a beautiful piece in today’s Dallas Morning News about Young. Click here to read it.

Michael Young is one of the things that makes it so easy to root for the Rangers. There are many others. C. J. ‘s determination. Antlers and claws. Hamilton ignoring his broken ribs to crash into the wall. Again. Nolan and Ruth Ryan in the owner’s box. A leadoff batter named Elvis. Who bunts for singles. Kinsler’s smile. Feliz’s fastball. Darren Oliver going 2-1/3 innings at 40 years old. Moreland’s dives into foul territory. The perfect blend of youth and innocence and age and wisdom.

I’m still embarrassed by Ron Washington’s horrible grammar. I cringe with every sentence out of the skipper’s mouth.

But this team’s headed to the American League Championship Series against the Yankees next week. And, man, are they fun to watch.

Peace,

Allan

Real Brothers and Sisters

June 22, 2010 / Allan / 4 Comments

Like many of you, I receive a two-page email from David and Olivia Nelson every Monday afternoon. The Nelsons are Legacy’s missionaries to Kharkov, Ukraine, the ones Carrie-Anne and I traveled to see a couple of weeks ago. The weekly email is a prayer request list. Two pages of names and circumstances that David and Olivia would like for us to lift up to our Father in intercessory prayer.

Confession: I have always just skimmed the email.

I’ve always just looked for the highlights. I look for two or three big things — by my definition of big, right? — and I pray about those. And then I print the email and stick it in the Legacy Morning Prayers folder for the other ministers and elders until the next list comes the following Monday.

The email came yesterday, right on schedule. And I must have spent 45-minutes on it.

After spending eleven days in Ukraine with these brothers and sisters in Christ, they’re real to me. After spending a week-and-a-half over there with these people David and Olivia know, these folks with whom they’re sharing the great news of salvation from God in Christ Jesus, they’re real to me. This weekly prayer request list from six-thousand miles away in Kharkov is no longer a black-and-white ledger of names. It’s a techni-color, HD, 3-D, surround-sound, IMAX presentation of the power of God in his people. These names have faces now. And families. And stories. And dreams. These people have history and heartache and hope. They laugh and they cry and they work and they worry. They have funny accents and peculiar habits and quirky customs.

And God is doing something with them. With all of them.

I look at this two-page list of emailed prayer requests and I see Andrei’s name. But it’s not Andrei’s name anymore, it’s Andrei. I see him. He’s the funny little guy who looks like Billy Crystal but thinks and speaks like he just stepped out of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. He was baptized in the McDougle’s bathtub on a Lord’s Day last fall. He took off work to personally walk me through Liberty Square. He showed me the 500-year-old cathedrals. He got me into the second-largest Jewish synagogue in Europe. He beat my back almost bloody with some kind of a ceremonial branch in a Ukrainian sauna. We talked together about leadership in the Church. He’s pushing their group to get involved with a local orphanage. Andrei. I love Andrei. Not a name. A great man whom God is saving.

There’s Victoria’s name again. But it’s not just a name anymore. I know Victoria. I’ve shared wonderful meals with Victoria. Of course, she just stared at the walls and didn’t say more than two words the times we were together. She asked me about Texas and then quickly looked away while I told her about 12-lane highways and 900-member churches and sprawling metropolitan cities and suburbs. Victoria. Shy. Bashful. An intelligent teacher of elementary school children. David and Olivia are studying the Old Testament with her. God is working on her.

Valerie. As Costanza would say, Valerie is a “well-proportioned young man.” He looks like he could walk on and play ball right now for your alma mater. Red hair. Big dreams. He says he wants to preach. I’ve seen that he already does. His English is as good as his Russian. He translates for preachers and teachers all over Ukraine. He works with disadvantaged children. He translated for me as I preached upstairs in the Hindman’s apartment last Sunday night. I waited while he figured how to communicate my American-isms like “wrapped around her finger” and “jump for joy.” He talked with me afterward about how he had no Russian word that spoke to Christ’s love that “compels” us. We also talked about his long-ago marital problems and separation from his wife Julia. And about how God brought them back together. Restoration. Reconciliation. Gospel. God’s preparing Valerie to do something huge for the Kingdom.

Kevin. I travel halfway around the world to Ukraine to meet a guy from Japan with an American name. Kevin’s in Kharkov getting his Master’s degree in sports management. I taught him how to throw an American football in an American spiral. He calls me coach. He leaves to go back to Japan in three months. I’ll probably never see him again. And I have no clue what God is going to do with him.

Alexander. He’s a dentist and an oral surgeon. He told me in front of everybody that drinking diet soda was bad for my teeth. He’s very deliberate in word and deed. He knows the Bible. He speaks pretty good English except when he uses the word “naked.” When we were reading Genesis 3, he kept saying “nak-d.” One syllable. He never made fun of me when I mispronounced “Ochin Priatna” (nice to meet you). So I never laughed when he said “nak-d.”

Yelena. David and Olivia’s Russian language teacher. Faked being impressed by the six words I knew. Taught me how to say “love” (lublu). Laughed with Carrie-Anne and me as we learned about “choot-choot.”

Vlad. Huge smile. Super quiet. Unless he’s singing. Very loud and wonderful when he’s singing.

Robert seemed to understand every single thing I was preaching that night. Gene knows all the differences between our English NIVs and his Russian text of the Scriptures. Katia is a tireless servant. Masha is an energetic fire-ball. Sasha looks Asian, talks like a California valley girl, volunteers with the Peace Corps, and can’t manage the Kharkov trains system. Valeria, Olivia’s doctor, is a generous and compassionate care-giver in any setting. Sergei, who once served hard time in a Ukrainian prison, is now preaching the Gospel in the northeast part of Kharkov with a ten-year-old congregation of about nine souls. He shook my hand and said, “Please tell the brothers and sisters at Legacy ‘hi’ for us and that we are praying for them.”

These are real brothers and sisters. These are real flesh and blood children of God. I have worshiped our Father with them. I went there to encourage them. But, instead, they encouraged me. They moved me by singing “Nearer My God to Thee” and “Lamb of God” in Russian. They honored me by sharing with me the bread and the wine. They thanked our Lord that we were there and prayed for our safe travels. They opened up their homes and their hearts to us.

That burden of the church I feel just got heavier. I care about these people. I worry about these people. I love this little growing group, this little community of faith, God is constructing six-thousand miles away. And now I need much, much more time with David and Olivia’s weekly prayer requests.

Peace,

Allan

On The Front Lines

June 8, 2010 / Allan / 1 Comment

“Never pity missionaries. Envy them. They are where the real action is; where life and death, sin and grace, heaven and hell converge.” ~R. Shannon

I heard Terry Rush say one time that every single American Christian ought to be required to spend at least one year in a foreign mission field. If everyone spent twelve months of sacrifice and service in a place where the Church is not strong and every soul is regarded as precious and every Christian brother and sister is valued as important, there would be no more arguing or complaining or bickering in our American congregations. We wouldn’t fight about anything. We would understand acutely that the Kingdom of God is so much more important and so much bigger than our small version and definition of it, whatever our small version and definition may be. We would be shaped in such a way as to finally believe that being together in a Body of believers, a family of Christians, is the most wonderful thing in the world. And we would do everything in our power to preserve it.

In a foreign mission field, the battles are against the powers and principalities, the dark rulers of this world, not one another. The smallest physical blessings are giant miracles. That one new soul added to the Kingdom is monumental. The problems of mankind are seen as what they really are: sin and death, not whether a brother isn’t happy with the song selection or a sister has a complaint about the room temperature.

Kingdom community means something in a foreign mission field. Utter dependence on God is real in a foreign mission field. Humility and gratitude and faith and brotherly love are not just empty church words in a foreign mission field. In a foreign mission field — in the middle of all the teaching and preaching and praying and giving and crying and building and compromising and learning — men and women are shaped by God’s Holy Spirit to see everything differently.

Everything.

I’ve been praying that God will use our trip to Ukraine to give me some of that “front lines” perspective. I want him to show me a bigger picture of his Kingdom. I want God to reveal to me exactly what he wants me to see. I want to know. I want to grow.

We’ve been here with David and Olivia for about 18 hours. And just in our brief reconnecting with each other, I’ve seen it. I see all of this big-picture, front-line perspective in them. You know, the things they wrestle with, the things they deal with, the things they have to endure for the mission of Christ in this place put all of our petty problems to shame.

All of them.

Our God is working right now to redeem all of his creation. He’s working in every corner of this huge world. He’s changing people, saving people; he’s healing and forgiving, loving and comforting; he’s giving mankind hope through his Son. And he’s robbing hell. Every day. In every part of this world. Every people, every nation, every tribe, every tongue.

I spend a lot of my time at Legacy worrying about whether so-and-so is happy.

Some of that time, I’m the so-and-so I’m worried about.

And I’m ashamed.

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I want to keep you updated with everything we’re doing, but I’ve already run out of time. It’s been a busy Tuesday (remember, we’re a full eight hours ahead of Texas time) and we’re just minutes away from an English-speaking Bible study here at David and Olivia’s. I’ve got to make up the bed and straighten up in this guest room before Carrie-Anne and Olivia get back from the market. I’ll update one more time before the day is over, hopefully with a few pictures.

Peace,

Allan

Ukraine Is Game To You?

June 3, 2010 / Allan / 1 Comment

Carrie-Anne and I are leaving Sunday afternoon for ten days in Kharkov, Ukraine to visit our good friends David and Olivia Nelson. David and Olivia are almost to the midpoint of a five year missionary commitment in Kharkov. And we’re going there to see the work God is doing in Ukraine, to join in that work, and mostly to encourage the workers.

I admit my only knowledge of Ukraine comes from the Label Baby episode of Seinfeld in which Kramer and Newman encounter a patriotic Ukrainian while playing Risk on the subway. (“The Ukraine is weak. It’s feeble. I think it’s time to put the hurt on the Ukraine.”) You can see the clip I’m talking about by clicking here.

I know the Nelsons are excited about us coming to see them. And it’s not just because we’re bringing new sheets and curtains and maternity clothes for Olivia and Tabasco sauce for David. I think they’re genuinely experiencing God at work in their lives and in the lives of the people they’re meeting and they want so desperately for somebody from their home congregation to see it first-hand. They want to share what they’re doing and what God is doing through them with the brothers and sisters here who are supporting them.

No, things have not been completely smooth for David & Olivia in Kharkov. I’ll never forget that Sunday morning in March last year when they told us over the skype on the big screens in our worship center how hard and difficult it is. David looked right into the camera, right into our eyes, and told us that missionary work in Kharkov is not glamorous. Nobody speaks English. It’s a different language, different culture, different everything. They’re dealing constantly with rejection and lonliness six-thousand miles away from family and friends who love them so dearly.

Since that time, David and Olivia have suffered through a miscarriage. There have been other setbacks, too. At the same time, they’ve seen the Russian speaking church there grow from nothing to almost a dozen disciples of Jesus. They’ve baptized Andrei. They’re studying the Bible every day with Christ-seeking Ukrainians. Their resolve is inspirational. Their commitment is beyond measure. And the God they serve is great.

Olivia has written before that they do feel “hugged” every time they receive a letter or a card or an email from Legacy. Carrie-Anne and I can’t wait to give them real hugs next week. We can’t wait to eat with them. To pray with them. To laugh with them and, maybe, even cry. We can’t wait to meet Andrei and Vitali and Galina and Valeria. I can’t wait to sit in on their Russian classes with Yelena and Vladimir. We can’t wait to read God’s Word with Nikita and Ura and Victoria. I can’t wait to share the communion meal with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, united by Christ, blessed together by his love and grace. To put faces and personalities with all these names we’ve been lifting to God in prayer for two years is going to be such a blessing.

Airport workers are on strike at Heathrow in London which could possibly affect our travel. We’ll be twelve days without Dr Pepper. David tells us the nicest restaurant in Kharkov is a McDonald’s. The only hot water in their apartment is provided by a portable heater in the bathroom.

But we can’t wait.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Evangelism (Page 12 of 20)

That They May Be Saved

Give Away Day 2.0

Doing Church

Real Brothers and Sisters

On The Front Lines

Ukraine Is Game To You?

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