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Body of Christ: Imitation

March 18, 2026 / / 0 Comments

As the Body of Christ, God’s Church is the physical, flesh-and-blood presence of Jesus in the world. By our baptismal participation in his life, death, and resurrection, we are commissioned by Christ to do the things he did in the ways he did them for the sake of others. Why? So people will see Jesus. So people will experience Jesus. If anybody’s going to meet Jesus in this world, they’re going to do it through the Church.

Words are never enough. Not even God’s words. That’s why his Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. That’s Incarnation. Jesus was not crucified because of his words. His words are not what changed the lives of broken people, his words are not what united fractured groups, his words are not what turned the whole world upside down. It was his presence. It was the physical things Jesus did while he was in the body. It was the healing and feeding, the forgiving and praying, the eating and sharing with all the wrong people, the refusal to recognize man-made boundaries, the lavish love, the liberal grace–that’s what got him killed. That’s what altered forever the course of history. That’s Incarnation.

Our words are never enough. The things we say in the safety of our sanctuaries aren’t going to change the world. Abstract truth doesn’t stir anybody’s heart. Theological concepts don’t compel faith and love, even when they’re true. But when that truth becomes embodied, when it’s up close and personal truth, real flesh-and-blood truth, that’s when truth gets interesting. That’s imitation. If we are to be the Body of Christ, the Church must be in the business of imitating our Lord.

The apostle Paul says he always carries around in his body the death of Jesus so the life of Jesus may be revealed, so Jesus’ life may be revealed in our (plural) mortal body (singular).

So, as the Body of Christ, we always side with the oppressed, never with the oppressors. We always stand with the minorities, we always take care of the refugees, we always protect the weak. We never discriminate, we never divide, and we never use violence or force. We always give, always forgive, and we always show love. That’s how people see Jesus, how people experience Jesus. We do the same things Jesus did in the ways he did them for the sake of others. If anybody’s going to meet Jesus today, they’re going to meet him through the Church, the Body of Christ.

Luke 3 tells us that huge crowds of people were coming to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. And the people being baptized asked John, “What shall we do?” John answered, “If you have two coats, give one of them to somebody who doesn’t have one. If you’ve got food, give it to somebody who doesn’t have any.”

Tax collectors were being baptized, and they asked, “What should we do?” John replied, “Stop stealing from people, stop taking advantage of the weak, treat everyone equally.”

Some soldiers were being baptized, and they asked, “What are we supposed to do?” John said, “Stop using threats and force to get your way, stop accusing people and lying about people.”

People are being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, they’re going into the water for a salvation relationship with God, and the instructions are not about saying the right words or believing the right things or thinking the right way. The instructions are about doing. The expectation is for real, physical actions toward the poor; tangible concrete actions for the oppressed; flesh-and-blood actions for the outcast, the marginalized, and the exploited and the weak. Not the words we say in the safety and comfort of our church buildings, but the real actions we take in our communities; the real, physical skin-and-bones actions in the interests of others–all others!–bold, courageous, Christ-like actions that go against the grain of the culture and will cost us our reputations, our relationships, and our resources. That’s the imitation of Christ that makes the Church his body.

Our Lord Jesus is the One who brings life where it feels like death is in charge. He breaks down walls, he reconciles enemies, he forgives sinners, and he welcomes prodigals home. He brings light to darkness, he provides hope where there is despair. That’s our Lord Jesus! He is still saving people right now today! He is still forgiving and reconciling and redeeming today! That world says that’s not possible. They say Christ’s power alone isn’t enough for all the crises we’re facing, and they are wrong! The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the grave and ignited the first Church is working right now, awakening hearts, renewing minds, and empowering us as the Body of Christ!

So, we faithfully love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Why? So people will see Jesus.

We don’t just act on behalf of all people living inside the womb who might be harmed, we also act courageously on behalf of all people living outside the womb who might be harmed. Why? So people can meet Jesus.

We forgive those who sin against us, we lay down our rights for the sake of others, we stand firmly with the oppressed. Why? So the world will know the Kingdom of God is here!

This broken world is sick and tired of the Church’s words–words–words–words–words. They’re all sick of it. This lost world desperately needs the real, concrete, physical, flesh-and-blood actions of the Body of Christ.

Peace,
Allan

Body of Christ: Incarnation

March 17, 2026 / / 0 Comments

In the beginning, our God spoke words into the darkness and chaos to create light, to create the heavens and the earth. Our God spoke powerful words from a smoking mountain in the middle of the desert to bring forth a holy nation, his sacred people. Our God spoke words through his prophets in Israel–words of truth and grace, comfort and encouragement, judgment and mercy and love.

And God’s words were not enough. Words are never enough. So God’s Word became flesh. God’s Word became a body.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ~John 1:14

The holy Son of God has a body. We know Jesus has a body–a real, physical, flesh-and-blood body. Jesus ate and drank, he slept and wept, he walked and talked, he worked and played, he taught and prayed in a real skin-and-bones body. He bled real blood. He suffered bodily pain. And he died a real, physical death. Jesus died.

And when God’s Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the grave, he raised him to life in a resurrection body–a real, physical body. Our risen Lord Jesus, in his real resurrection body, was recognized by everyone who knew him. He ate and drank with his followers, whether he was invited or not. He walked and talked with them, he taught them and prayed with them. It was Jesus’ real, physical, flesh-and-blood body that proved to them he was really alive. It was remarkable.

What’s even more remarkable is that our ascended Lord Jesus is reigning right now today and forever at the right hand of the Father in heaven, but he still has a real, physical, flesh-and-blood body on this earth. Jesus still insists on being skin-and-bones present in this world. Jesus has a body. He still does.

It’s us! It’s the Church! We are the Body of Christ!

Through us, by his Church, our Lord Jesus wraps his real, physical, tangible, concrete, flesh-and-blood presence around the whole world. Today, the physical, skin-and-bones Body of Christ lives and breathes and moves and acts in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the utter ends of the earth–even to West Texas!

That’s us. The Church.

Now, you’ll hear people say sometimes that Jesus never intended to start the Church. These are mostly well-meaning people, I think. They’ll say Jesus was a holy man; they’ll even say he’s the Son of God and the Savior of the World, but he never wanted to start what we call the Church.

Baloney!

That was his plan all along, from the very beginning of the story. Jesus started the Church when he called together that first group, that first body of twelve apostles. The Jesus Movement was always a corporate, social movement–it was never just a collection of religious individuals. The Church was always meant to be the Body of Christ. That’s the way Jesus meets people today, how Jesus interacts with people now–through his Church.

It’s not just a metaphor. This is about Incarnation. This is about who Christ is and who we are in him and what it means for the risen and reigning Son of God to remain physically present in this world through a people.

Jesus’ body, his physical presence on this earth, is the Church. They are inseparable. You can’t have Jesus without his body. You can’t know Jesus without his body. You can’t be in a relationship with Jesus outside his body. Jesus is the Church; the Church is Jesus. Seriously. That’s not just how the apostle Paul sees it (1 Corinthians 6:15, 10:16-17, 12:12, 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23). That’s the way Jesus sees it. This is how Jesus talks about it. This is how he always planned it to be.

Saul’s on the road to Damascus when the risen Christ appears and blinds him with his divine light. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:1-19) Saul’s thinking, “I’m not persecuting you, Jesus; I’m arresting all these so-called Christians who are blaspheming Scripture.” But Jesus makes it clear that if you mess with the Church, you’re messing with him.

When Jesus sends his disciples out in Luke 10, he commands them to do the same things he’s been doing. “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near!'” (Luke 10:9) Then he adds, “The one who listens to you listens to me; the one who rejects you rejects me” (Luke 10:16). Jesus says the exact same thing in Matthew 10:40. He says that he and the Church are functioning in the same way. Jesus sends his Church as his body on earth to do all the things he did: “I have given you the authority!” (Luke 10:19)

On that last night, at dinner with his gathered followers, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (John 14:12).

And we do! We heal the sick and proclaim the Kingdom of God! And we turn the other cheek and we go the extra mile and we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Why? Jesus says, “So you can be like me. So you can become sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.”

When we forgive the ones who sin against us, people see Jesus. When we’d rather be wronged than to fight for our rights, people see Jesus. When we sacrifice and serve, when we consider the needs of others more important than our own, people will meet the Lord Jesus in us.

The Church. The Body of Christ.

Peace,
Allan

Being Changed on Mission

February 11, 2026 / / 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I told our GCR church a story about my three Horsemen friends and I attempting to feed the homeless in downtown Dallas. This was in the summer of 2001, before I was preaching. Jason, Dan, Kevin, and I had never done anything like this; we had no idea how to do it, or where. But we had made some recent commitments together to stop griping about our church and stop complaining about our own needs and start serving other people. So, we made plans to feed the homeless.

We scrambled together $200 on a Tuesday afternoon, purchased 200 sandwiches off the dollar menu at the McDonald’s next to the downtown Greyhound bus station, and drove to an empty parking lot across the street from the downtown Dallas library. And within about four minutes, we had 13-million homeless people surrounding our minivan and grabbing for food.

That’s what it felt like.

We apologized for not having enough food, we got everyone to line up single file, we prayed over every cheeseburger and McChicken sandwich, and we did the best we could. We were uneasy at first; it was a little tense. And, yeah, we ran out of food fairly quickly. And everybody was… cool. Gracious. Thankful. Very thankful.

We wound up having a lot of conversations. We prayed with probably 20 people. And some of them prayed for us. We laughed together about the food shortage and how we didn’t know what we were doing. I was in a place I had never been with people I had never engaged. We heard a lot of stories. We talked about God. And we stayed there until almost dark.

Almost dark.

I’m telling you, that three hours changed me. It profoundly changed me. We did that once a month for a couple of years and it transformed me. It’s a big part of the things that led to me transitioning out of radio and into preaching. It helped set me on that path.

Actually doing some ministry, having a mission–not just talking about it or studying it or agreeing that it’s good–changes you. When you risk going to new places, meeting new people, and trying new activities, the uneasiness creates some space for change. New experiences challenge your beliefs and assumptions. Ministry when you’re in over your head forces you to face your fears and surprises you with resources and strength from God you didn’t know you had. Hearing the stories first-hand, seeing the places and the people, makes the needs in our world and the opportunities to serve more urgent and real. The Scriptures become more alive and more “right now” when you connect them to real ministry. It pushes us out of the comfort of theory and rhetoric and into the places where God really is changing the world.

To empty yourself for the mission of God like that feels good. You know it feels good, because you’ve experienced it, too. The reason it feels so good is because it’s our God-created and God-ordained purpose. He made us to put other people first. When we do that, we are being Christ-like. That’s why it’s so powerful. When we serve others, when we live in the mission zone, we live better. We worship better. We pray better. We love better. Everything’s better.

And you’ll be changed.

Peace,
Allan

Praying on Mission

January 30, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Interesting tidbit to begin this post. Eight teams qualified for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs this year: Rams, Seahawks, Bears, Pats, Broncos, Texans, ‘Niners, and Bills. Seven of the eight quarterbacks who started those games weren’t even born the last time the Cowboys won a divisional playoff game! The lone gray-hair, Matthew Stafford, was seven-years-old in January 1996–a cute little 2nd grader in Highland Park with a Troy Aikman jersey. Sam Darnold, the starting quarterback for Seattle in next Sunday’s Super Bowl, wasn’t born the last time the Cowboys made it to the postseason’s third week–and he’s already played for five NFL teams!

This 30-year drought is moving out of the realm of a generational thing and into oblivion.

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In Ephesians 3, the apostle Paul prays this beautiful prayer for the church. He prays about transformation, that God may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, that Christ may dwell in your hearts, that the church may be rooted and established in love, that we would have power together with all the saints to grasp the love of Christ, to know the love of Christ, to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!” ~Ephesians 3:20-21

The prayer is for God to do a whole lot, for God to do incredible and unimaginable things with his power that is at work in the Church. This prayer is not a wide-open request for God to demonstrate his power in random ways. This is a specific request for God to act in spectacular ways through us, through his Church. The transforming power of God belongs to us. So, we’re not asking God to do great things while we sit in the pews and wait on it. And study it. And talk about it. And agree that it’s good. The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power!

In Matthew 9, Jesus tells his followers to pray for workers to send to the fields. Pray about it. This is what we want the Father to do: raise up workers. Then in the very next verse–one verse!–he’s giving them the authority and giving them the power and sending them into the fields to do the work! Have you ever noticed that?

Be careful when you pray. The answer to your prayer might be God moving you into his mission.

If you pray for God to use your church, or to work through your church, you’d better be prepared to get off your pew and into the mission. If you pray for the hungry and the sick, if you pray for God’s will to be done in your town just as it is in heaven, you’d better open your eyes, your ears, and your heart to how God wants to work through you to do it.

Peace,
Allan

 

Baby Blessing, Mission, and Derrell

January 20, 2026 / / 0 Comments

We were in Tulsa this weekend for the Baby Blessing ceremony at the Jenks Church where our daughter Valerie and her family worship and serve. Elliott and Samuel are six-months-old, the perfect age to steal the show at a baby blessing. And they did. We were listening as the parents of all the babies born in that congregation over the past year made vows to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of our Lord, we affirmed our own promises to help these parents raise their children in Christ, but everybody was distracted by the cuteness of our twin grandsons.

Or was that just me?

I don’t know, man, they’re super cute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David’s parents and his sister, Claire, were there from Virginia to really add to the fun of the long weekend together. There was a massive yard work project, big meals, football watching, and packing up the tubs of clothes the boys have already outgrown. But mainly we spent our time holding and playing with and loving Elliott and Sam. Elliott is taking steps now in his walker. Kinda. They’re both eating really well from jars now, and beginning to experiment with drinking from cups. They laugh and shriek at each other and are figuring out how to get their way. Elliott didn’t mind the lemon slice I had him try at Hideaway Pizza. Sammy hated it. We thought Elliott said “ma-ma” one time. He didn’t. But it was close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of looking at those boys from way across a crowded room and watching them light up with recognition through those big eyes and wide-open smiles. How can I describe something like that? It’s crazy.

If you don’t have any, you should get some grandkids. It’s really awesome.

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The fastest way to get out of a spiritual rut is to dive head-first into a mission.

Having  the mind of Christ, being transformed into the image of Jesus with ever-increasing glory, means increasingly doing for others. It means sacrificing and serving others. Philippians 2 says your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, and describes that attitude as considering others better than yourself and looking not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 1 Corinthians 10 tells us to seek the good of many. Romans 15 instructs us to please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

Actually doing some ministry like that–not just talking about it or studying it or agreeing that it’s good–changes us.

When we risk going to new places, meeting new people, trying new activities, the uneasiness creates some space for change. New experiences challenge our beliefs and assumptions. Ministry when you’re in over your head forces you to face your fears and surprises you with resources and strength from God that you didn’t know you had. Hearing the stories first-hand, seeing the places and meeting the people, makes the needs and the opportunities more urgent and real. The Scriptures become more alive when you connect them to real ministry. It pushes you out of the comfort and theory of rhetoric and into the places where God is changing the world. To empty yourself for God’s mission like that feels good.

You know it feels good. Because you’ve done it before. And the reason it feels so good and refreshing and real is because it is your God-ordained purpose. He made you to put others first. When you do that, you are being more Christ-like. That’s why it’s so powerful. When we serve others, we live better, we worship better, we pray better, we love better–everything’s better!

Living your life on mission means more people in our world will be blessed. And more of us will be changed.

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Derrell Havins, a gentle man of deep faith and a dear friend in Amarillo, finished his race this afternoon. And he ran well. Very well.

I love Derrell because he first loved me. I count Derrell among the greatest sources of encouragement I had during our ten years of ministry at the Central Church of Christ. He’d start all of our conversations with a smart-aleck comment about my tie or my hair or something I had said in a sermon, and then move immediately into an encouraging word. He told me on multiple occasions to never stop preaching. He told me to never let up. He told me to keep speaking the truth, even when it was difficult. And sometimes it was.

He and his loving wife, Nola, took us out for burgers at Buns Over Texas and catfish at that all-you-can-eat place in Umbarger. They were a fixture at Central’s annual Family Camp. And his smile–I never saw Derrell frown, unless he was faking something.

I love Derrell because he loved our daughters. He and Nola doted on our girls constantly, telling them how pretty they are, how talented they are, how important they are.  They hugged all three of our girls every Sunday. Valerie and Carley always referred to Nola and Derrell as “our favorite old people.” Derrell stood on the stage in that old Central chapel in the summer of 2020 as I walked Valerie down the aisle at her wedding. He’s the one who asked who was giving away this beautiful young lady in marriage. Valerie was blown away. Astonished. She had no idea Derrell would be up there. I remember when the doors opened and she took one step into the aisle and saw Derrell, she turned to me and said, “Oh, my word! It’s Derrell!” And started crying.

I’m typing through tears as I’m writing this right now. Remembering what Derrell would say every time we ate lunch together at the Burger Bar on Polk Street. He would order the Monte Cristo. Every time. And he would say, “Don’t tell Nola.” Every time.

After Nola died suddenly in March 2015, Derrell’s encouragement to me became a one-track stuck record. He ordered me to tell Carrie-Anne how much I love her. Every time we spoke, and at least a couple of times every Sunday, Derrell would insist. “Promise me,” he would say, “that tonight you’ll tell her. Tell Carrie-Anne you love her. Again.”

So, tonight, in honor of Derrell and Nola and their 57 years of marriage that truly reflect the glory of God and serve as a powerful testimony to our Lord’s love for his people, tell your wife tonight how much you love her and how much she blesses your life. Tell your husband how much he means to you and how you can’t imagine living without him.

God bless all the Havins and Vaughans in Amarillo tonight, and all the people who love Derrell so much. Rest in peace, Derrell. May our faithful God receive you into his loving arms.

Peace,
Allan

Micah 6: You and Me

November 7, 2025 / / 3 Comments

“He has showed you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” ~Micah 6:8

The three things in Micah 6 are not new. This isn’t a revelation to God’s people in the 7th century BC and it’s not new information for you and me this week. This has always been at the heart of God’s covenant with his people: Treat everybody the way I’ve treated you.

 

So, how has God treated you?

Allow me to remind you.

When it comes to your shortcomings and failures, when it comes to your rebellion and transgressions against God and neighbor, when it comes to your sin, our Lord Jesus looked at the Father and said, “Put that on my account.”

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to the Father through the death of Jesus. God has brought you life-changing justice and he has shown you amazing mercy. Not because you are so good or because you are somehow chosen or special–this is the way he is with everybody! And his number one priority is that you and I would act the same way, that bringing justice and showing mercy would be your top priority and my top priority.

Because then people would see him in us. People would experience God in us if our priorities and God’s priorities were the same.

Jesus showed people God. He invited people to follow him, to walk with him along the way. He ate with people he wasn’t supposed to eat with. He hugged people he wasn’t supposed to touch. He forgave people who were unforgivable. And they saw God.

You know how to do that. You know how to forgive someone who’s done you wrong. You know how to just sit with someone and be present. You know how to pray for somebody who wants to see you hurt. You know, because you’ve done that with your daughter. You’ve done all that with your son. You move heaven and earth to practice justice and mercy and love for your children and it doesn’t matter where they are or what they’ve done. It’s beautiful.

Jesus says, “That’s where I am.” The hungry and thirsty, the foreigner, the naked and sick, the people in prison; people who’ve done wrong, people who’ve messed up, people who can’t take care of themselves.

I can’t solve all the issues being created by the government shutdown. I can’t fix crime or cancer. I can’t solve unemployment or racism or poverty or addiction. I can’t fix that. You can’t figure any of that. We don’t have the solutions.

But I can have breakfast with a guy whose wife is dying. I can treat a lonely person like she really belongs. I can forgive someone who will never tell me they’re sorry. I can pray with someone who hasn’t been to church in years. I can stand with somebody when it might be easier to take the other side.

Isn’t that what you want to do with your life? What else would you want to do? Don’t you want to be that guy? Don’t you want to be that woman?

On that day of glory, when you get to heaven, the Father will look you right in the eye and smile and say, “Well done.” For what? Well done? Why would the Father say “Well done?”

Well done for going to the right church and worshiping correctly a couple of times a month?

No.

Well done for acting justly, for loving mercy, and for walking humbly with me.

Peace,
Allan

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