Category: Legacy Church Family (Page 15 of 37)

Catching Up

December 29, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Spike Dykes…

Since the last post (Good gravy! Was it really two weeks ago? Sorry.) we’ve been up to Searcy for Harding’s winter graduation. My brother, Keith, led the invocation; his wife, Amanda, walked the stage to get her diploma; and we all hung together there for a couple of days and knocked out Christmas. I picked up great pastoral points for being up there for two of our Legacy kids: Jordan Bailey with a perfect 4.0 on the President’s List and Jonathan Stein with a 3.95. All the really smart kids go to Legacy. The highlight of the trip came during lunch at a Searcy restaurant Sunday afternoon when a lady from Paris, Texas recognized my dad from the 1.5 seconds they show his picture on the Tyler TV station as a weather watcher. We think he’s being stalked.

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We were extra blessed to be able to spend the night on the way to Searcy and again on the way home in Benton, Arkansas with our great friends, Jimmy & Elizabeth Mitchell. Jim & Mandy Gardner have moved back to Benton after three years or so at the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, California to preach at his hometown congregation where Jimmy is the youth minister. So it was a great reunion with the Mitchells and Gardners. Our three families grew really close during our nearly two years together in Marble Falls. And we did all of our catching up at Larry’s. Where else?

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Here at home it snowed like crazy all day and most of the night on Christmas Eve. So much so that we were forced to cancel our Christmas Eve Service. It was the first white Christmas in DFW in 80 years. The kids and I drove out here to the church building to change the sign and send out a mass email regarding the evening service. And then we did donuts in the parking lot and threw snowballs at each other until we couldn’t feel our fingers or toes. We spent the later part of the night curled up with big bowls of popcorn and glasses of egg nog and Carrie-Anne’s favorite Christmas movie, Albert Finney’s “Scrooge.” Christmas morning, Santa brought Whitney a cell phone, although she seemed just as excited about her Colt McCoy jersey. Valerie got all kinds of clothes and accessories, many with a zebra-print theme. And Carley got a stereo and a watch. None of our girls are little anymore.

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The Pope and I are finally in agreement on a very sticky theological issue. The head of the Catholic Church came out last week and praised “The Simpsons” on the show’s 20th anniversary. He cited the show’s clever writing and acknowledged the show’s important social criticism of religion. You can read about it here. I’ve long said “The Simpsons” is the only prime time television show on a major network in which all the characters regularly go to church, good is rewarded and evil is punished, sex outside marriage is portrayed as wrong, and people who drink and smoke are viewed as disgusting. You can’t find those kinds of Christian values on any other TV show. I join the Pope in congratulating “The Simpsons.”

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And the Cowboys have clinched a playoff berth. Jerry Wayne’s team is the only team in the NFL that hasn’t won a playoff game in the past twelve years. (The Texans don’t count; they haven’t been around twelve years.) In fact, there are only three teams in the NFC that haven’t played in the conference championship game in the past twelve years: Detroit, the Redskins, and Dallas. Why would anybody think this version of Jerry’s kids will break the string? Wade Phillips has never won a playoff game in his head coaching career. The Cowboys are 3-5 against teams with winning records this season. And they are zero for their last 19 in a row on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 dives by Marion Barber. Plus, has anyone else noticed that they’ve got Mark Cuban playing linebacker?

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Lastly, Jim McDoniel and Jennifer Gambill are dominating our Legacy office college football bowl challenge. They are. But there are still 23 games remaining. It’s a long way from over.

Go Bruins and Canes,

Allan

Several Bells

December 14, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

Still basking in the glow of what was a fantastic day yesterday here at Legacy. Our God blessed us with a beautiful day of worship and fellowship and thanksgiving and praise.

During our worship assembly we were able to hook up with two of our young missionary couples via the miracle of the internet skype. David and Olivia Nelson joined us from their living room in Kharkov, Ukraine where they were just beginning their Sunday evening Russian worship service at the same time we were beginning our Sunday morning assembly. The greatest part of that five minutes was being able to meet Andrei, a brand new brother in Christ who was just baptized last Sunday. Our people at Legacy broke out into joyful clapping when they saw Andrei and heard David tell his story. What a blessing! Andrei was able to physically see and hear and participate in a part of this larger, world-wide, international, eternal Kingdom of which he’s now a member. How great for Andrei to feel some kind of connection, even if for just a moment through an internet camera to a group thousands of miles away, to God’s Church which is assembling all over the world to celebrate our common salvation in Christ. How cool!

Later in our service we got Corey and Emily Mullins to join us from Australia. And what a blessing to see Emily’s pregnant belly from the other side of the world! I just asked her to stand up in front of their camera so we could all see the evidence of their little boy who’s going to be born at the end of March. And, somewhat surprisingly, she did! So there’s Emily’s belly at 3:00 AM Monday morning in Wollongong on the big screens at Legacy. And again, the laughter and clapping and great joy that broke out in our worship center. It was so wonderful.

Christmas time is great. It reminds us of friends and family we don’t get to see as often as we’d like, like the Nelsons and Mullins. And it reminds us that this Gospel story we own and live is for everybody. It is intended to be told to and shared with the whole world. It really is good news of great joy for all people. I also think just reflecting on the nativity story does us a lot of good. We recall that God loves us so much he came down to this earth in the form of a helpless baby. To relate to us. To totally identify with us. He lived with us, walked with us, became one of us. He died for us and was raised for us in order to save us. That is Jesus. That is the Gospel. And that’s a story worth telling. It’s worth repeating. And it’s worth celebrating.

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Last night we all participated in our annual Legacy Family Christmas. All of our children’s classes sang Christmas songs. And we smiled and laughed and took pictures and shot video. We all sang “like Columbus!” after “you’ll go down in hist-or-y!” And a lot of us remembered when our own children were that young and cute.

A few adults also climbed up on the stage and sang Christmas songs for us. We admired their courage. And their harmony. And Gary Giles’ music stand.

And then the Legacy ministers and staff performed what’s become our traditional rendition of a Christmas classic. I’m not sure anything will ever top last year’s “Working for the Church at Legacy” to the tune of “Winter Wonderland.” But it was still pretty good. Starting our number with the Bible class bells that are hooked into our building’s fire warning system is always good for a cheap laugh. Many people clapped their hands and whooped with the mention in our song of our new children’s minister, Jennifer Gambill. And our playful jabs at Jim’s new area of ministry, the crowded church hallways, and our new pictorial directories also seemed to be appreciated.

Two of you have asked me to put the words to our song on the blog like I did last year. And, to echo the words from the last lines of last year’s number, hope I’m still employed at Legacy!

“Several Bells”

Several bells, several bells;
That noise is not very pretty.
Hear them ring, endlessly;
Don’t we all love Legacy?

Crowded concourse, busy concourse,
lots of signs and displays;
in the hall there’s a feeling of chaos.
Turkey boxes, baby baskets,
fifty-two sign-up sheets;
And behind every table, you’ll hear:

Candle sales, cookbook sales,
it’s hard to walk through the concourse.
It’s the hall; not the mall!
But we still love Legacy.

Staffing classrooms, work the nursery,
who is teaching fifth grade?
All the work will be done now by Jennifer.
Trips to Branson, games and movies,
this is Jim’s ministry.
And at evening assemblies you’ll see:

Silver hairs, silver hairs,
potlucks and quilting and Jack’s class!
Hobo stew, it’s what they do.
Soon it will be Jackie Crain!

Fill your card out, use your own pen,
you won’t find one in here.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha – ha, ha, ha.
New directory, take your picture,
awkward smile after smile.
Just who are all these people in here?

Ministers and the staff
wish you a very merry Christmas.
Ring-a-ling, hear us sing.
We sang this song without Lance!
Don’t we all love Legacy!
Yes – we – all – love – Leg – a – cy!

Peace,

Allan

Feeling Psalm 88

November 10, 2009 / Allan / 1 Comment

Have you ever read Psalm 88? I would encourage you to read it. First, a word of caution: don’t read it as the last thing you do before you go to bed tonight. Don’t read it when you’re all alone. Or on a cloudy day. Try to read it in brightly-lit room full of your closest friends. Because Psalm 88 is a downer. It’s tough.

“My soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.”

Of the 150 Psalms, nearly half of them are labeled as lament psalms. Lamentations. Anger. Doubt. Bitterness. Confusion. Questions. Complaints against God. Even accusations against God. And Psalm 88 may be the most uncomfortable.

“You have put me in the lowest pit…”
“You have overwhelmed me with all your waves…”
“You have taken from me my closest friends…”

Psalm 88 is the only lament psalm that doesn’t, at some point, turn to praise. There’s no praise here. No thanksgiving. There’s not even any hope that God will eventually change his mind or eventually rescue. The psalmist here declares that praying to God is doing no good. God has abandoned him completely. And there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

“Why, O Lord, do you reject me?”
“Your terrors have destroyed me.”
“The darkness is my closest friend.”

Maybe you’ve never read Psalm 88. But have you ever felt Psalm 88?

This past Sunday here at Legacy we read Psalm 88 and then we prayed it. We lifted up to God our despair and depression, our confusions and doubts. We lifted up to God all those in our congregation suffering from cancer and other disease, those dealing with divorce, those struggling with unemployment, those battling family issues such as rebellious children and abusive spouses, our people who are suffering through the loss of loved ones — both recent and a long time ago. On Sunday we were honest with our God about our faith and our fears. We asked him the hard questions. Why are these things happening? How long will they continue? We told God plainly that we don’t always understand.

Those aren’t easy words to pray. It’s unusual in that we rarely pray this way at all, especially in a corporate Sunday morning setting. But the reading and the prayer and the open and honest theme of the day seemed to be especially meaningful to the many, many, many, many people of our church who are feeling Psalm 88.

It would be impossible to share with you in this space the more-than-usual number of phone calls, emails, and pop-in visits I’ve received in just the two days since Sunday’s service regarding what we did together as a church family. Being publicly and completely honest with God and with ourselves about our pains — physical, emotional, and spiritual pains — resonated with young and old, men and women, from every background and worldview imaginable. It touched people. It bonded people. Because a whole lot of us are feeling Psalm 88. At some point, most of us have felt Psalm 88.

Some still balk at using this kind of language with God, even though all of God’s people in Scripture, from the Patriarchs and Judges and Prophets to Christ himself and the Saints in heaven, have used the language of lament to voice their complaints to God in the middle of great trial. But there’s great comfort in unburdening yourself. There’s great relief in unloading and getting things off your chest. There’s solace in knowing that he’s listening.

You know that.

It’s OK. God loves you, remember?

Peace,

Allan

The Wrecking Ball Outside Your Window

October 13, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

When a Christian yells or screams at somebody or bosses somebody or gossips or uses foul language or acts in other un-Christ-like ways, we can’t ever say, “Well, that’s just the way she is” or “he’ll never change.”

Wait a second! He’s been baptized! That’s NOT the way he is! She has to change!

The whole point of submitting to Christ, to having your life hidden with Christ, is to be changed. Radically changed. Dramatically changed. It’s never, “He’s always been that way, he can’t change.” Instead, it’s always, “Wow! Remember when he used to be that way? Now, he’s a brand new person. It’s not even him anymore. He’s so different.”

Sometimes we act like that, when we become Christians, God walks into our house and begins rearranging things. God comes in and looks around and starts making changes. You know, he starts cleaning up. Let’s get rid of these magazines. Let’s move this couch. We need to throw out that table. These three walls need to be repaired and painted. You think that’s what’s happening.

But just look out your window. Look out there. God has this huge wrecking ball out there poised to demolish the whole thing. The reality is that God believes your whole foundation is shot and you need to start over from scratch. Everything needs to be destroyed. New creation. New order. New self. New nature. New everything.

When we submit to Jesus, when we’re baptized, our old nature is not renewed or reformed. Our old nature, our old self, is not restored or fixed. It’s not even saved. It’s destroyed. It’s gone. It’s dead and buried. Baptism is never an overhaul of our sinful personalities. We don’t add Christian values and practices into our old worldly values and practices and then get really good at acting better and better. We don’t put our new clothes on over our old clothes. The old clothes are stripped off and burned!

Baptism’s never a minor adjustment or a legal formality. It’s death. The key element to living in Christ is, first and foremost, dying with Christ. It’s submitting to that wrecking ball. Come and demolish all of this. Create in me something brand new.

Scripture always focuses on what a believer is instead of what a believer does. And what a believer is, is a brand new creature.

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I told our church Sunday that every single person in the pews could get up and preach the morning’s sermon, based solely on our experiences together at Give Away Day. At the very least, we each had brought with us our own sermon illustrations. Steve Prescott emailed his sermon to me yesterday:

“As I collapsed exhausted into my recliner after Give Away Day, my three-year-old granddaughter asked, ‘Where have you been all day, Papa?’ I replied, ‘I’ve been working at church all day.’ She said, ‘No, Papa, church is tomorrow.’

It occured to me that Saturday we were being the church as we served others. On Sundays, we often are just doing church instead of really being church seven days a week. I am resolved to do better.”

Amen, Steve. Me, too.

Peace,

Allan

3,228 People, One God

October 12, 2009 / Allan / 6 Comments

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” ~Colossians 4:5

Our God brought 571 families through the doors here at Legacy Saturday during our 23rd annual Give Away Day. 3,228 men, women, and children were given clothes and socks and shoes and blankets and diapers and groceries and coats and toys. They came from all over. The Lord brought them here from Bedford and south Fort Worth, from Haltom City and Watauga, from right here in our neighborhood and from as far away as Irving. People without jobs. People without money. People without hope.

We did what we can. And we trust our God to do the rest.

We prayed in the parking lots with all of them. We prayed for broken families and broken dreams. We prayed for lost jobs and lost children. We prayed for spouses and cars and houses. We prayed for healing. We prayed for forgiveness and comfort and peace. We pointed people to Siempre Familia at Rosemont. We invited people to become a part of Legacy. We hugged. We shook hands. We cooked and served hot dogs and drinks. We laughed. And a few of us cried.

We did what we can. And we trust our God to do the rest.

We planted the seed. And our God promises to provide the growth. Even now he is working in the lives of Sofia and Gabby and Jorge and Maria and Axle. Even now he is comforting Loretta and Kimberly and Brian. Even now he is drawing these people to himself because Christ was lifted up to them.

The Legacy church family is to be commended for all the time and energy and money and hard work that went into yet another glorious Give Away Day. But above all, our God is to be glorified. He alone is to be praised for giving us the great privilege of joining him in his work and for allowing us to participate as he redeems the world.

Peace,

Allan

God Will Be Praised

October 9, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

It’s 4:00 Friday afternoon. And for the first time in about a month, the Legacy church building is relatively empty and quiet. Ada and Dianne are still working on some tables and boxes on the north end of the concourse. Katie is stacking a few more quilts. Bill is here and Quincy and Kent are visiting in the hall. But, for the most part, it seems as though we’re ready for Legacy’s 23rd annual Give Away Day tomorrow.

The hallways, the classrooms, the concourse, the lecture hall, the fellowship hall, the kitchen, every single square foot of space here at Legacy has been transformed. Racks and shelves and tables and chairs. Hundreds of boxes of clothes and linens and towels and toys and shoes and coats — new and used. It’s huge. You can’t believe it.

And I’m fully aware of the vision, the faith, and the guts it takes as a congregation to pull this off.It’s big. It’s almost overwhelming. And I’m so grateful for those who had the vision and faith and guts 23 years ago when this all started, and the ones who keep the vision alive with their own faith and guts year in and year out. Give Away Day is part of our Gospel story at Legacy. It is one of the biggest ways we, as a church family, join God in his work of reconciling creation back to him by reaching out in love and compassion to his people.Giving away food and clothes and household goods to people who so desperately need them certainly benefits the people in our community. Surely it communicates to them the love and grace of the God we serve. It has to show these people that they are loved and cared for by their Creator. But I wonder sometimes if it doesn’t do us at Legacy even more good. Give Away Day appeals to our common memory and connects us to those who went before us, those on whose shoulders we’re standing today. Keeping and repeating this particular tradition reminds us that it’s so much bigger than “me,” that our God was working in his world and in this church long before I got here and he’ll be working in his world and in this church long after I leave.It’s barely more than controlled chaos. But it’s shared by little kids, teenagers, young adults, singles, marrieds, whole families, newly retired, widows, and the elderly. We’re all in it together. And it’s beautiful.

Over 3,000 people will be served tomorrow. This church family will be brought closer together. Give Away Day will transform us as we are “being saved.” But, above all, our God will be praised. May he receive all the glory forever and ever.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Legacy Church Family (Page 15 of 37)

Catching Up

Several Bells

Feeling Psalm 88

The Wrecking Ball Outside Your Window

3,228 People, One God

God Will Be Praised

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