Category: Ministry (Page 23 of 35)

You Give Them Something To Eat

October 27, 2010 / Allan / 0 Comments

Who figured last July 13 when the National League won the All-Star Game for the first time in 13 years that it would cost the Texas Rangers home field advantage in the World Series? Who would have ever believed that the number one best pitcher in the sport is the Rangers’ ace? Who would have thought that, if the Rangers ever actually got to the Fall Classic, they would actually be favored by the national media and experts to win it?

It will never be this special again. It will never be this exciting. The first time is always the best. It can never happen again. The Rangers could win the next ten championships in a row and none of them will be as special as this first time experience. As I tell my girls, let’s really savor this moment. Let’s really enjoy this series. Let’s cheer for every hit. Let’s high-five for every stolen base. Let’s hold our breath on every 3-2 count. Let’s run in place like Ron Washington on every play at the plate. Let’s grin with every Cliff Lee “K.” Let’s cringe with every Vladdie whiff and erupt with joy every time he makes contact. Let’s appreciate every re-telling of Josh Hamilton’s redemption story. Let’s swell our chests out with pride every time the TV cameras show Nolan and Ruth. Let’s allow our hearts to start and stop with the drama of every single pitch. And let’s live and die with this team for the next week and a half as they make more history with every passing minute.

Get your antlers up and, if you haven’t already, allow yourself to fall in love with these guys and this story.

Go, Rangers!

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In Matthew 14, Jesus is teaching and healing the crowds on the other side of the lake. They’ve all been together most of the day. Huge crowd. Five thousand men. Who knows how many women and children? And it’s getting to be dinner time. It’s getting late. Evening is quickly approaching. And there’s not a Cheddar’s or a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru in sight.

All these people are hungry. They need food. And the apostles are concerned for these people. The apostles are worried. They tell Jesus, “Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus has a better idea:

“You give them something to eat.”

Yeah, right. How in the world are these twelve disciples going to feed more than five thousand people in the middle of this remote place? Even if there was a Kroger around the corner, how would they pay for it? Surely Jesus is kidding. We’ve got a total of five little loaves of bread and two tiny fish. Seriously, Lord, what’s the plan here?

“He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”

Same thing in Matthew 15: “…he broke them and gave them to his disciples, and they in turn to the people.” Mark 6: “…he gave them to his disciples to set before the people.” Mark 8: “…he told the disciples to distribute them.” Luke 9: “…he gave the bread to the disciples to set before the people.”

Church of Christ — yes, forgive us — we’re always looking for a pattern. You want a pattern? Here’s a pattern that the apostles and the writers of Scripture and God’s Holy Spirit feel like is pretty important. We find the exact same quote, the exact same words of Jesus, preserved in each of the synoptic Gospels: You give them something to eat.

You give them something to eat. Here’s the pattern: Jesus gives to his disciples; in turn, his disciples give to others. That’s the plan. That’s the way it works. Throughout his earthly ministry our Lord was intentional about equipping and empowering his followers to do the work. He sent them out, over and over again, two by two, giving them authority and power to heal and feed and minister and love. Luke 9. Luke 10. Mark 6. Jesus sends his disciples to do his work, he says don’t take anything with you, depend on the Father to protect you and provide for you and work with you and through you. And in every instance, Scripture tells us they did. And they were blown away by the results.

“Even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”

And around the table on that last night, he reminded his disciples, “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (John 14:12).

As a child of God and a disciple of his Christ, you don’t need any special permission to serve and minister to others. You’ve already got it. When Jesus says, “You give them something to eat,” he’s talking to you. You have the power. You have the authority. You have the right. And the obligation. We were all created and redeemed by the Father to be his kings and priests. All of us. And we — all of us — need to start acting like it.

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?

~~~~~~~~~~~

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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

One Last Angle on Dry Bones

October 4, 2010 / Allan / 0 Comments

Monday afternoon. Eight days since our Dry Bones lesson at Legacy. Two more emails, another card, and another phone call today about that lesson. It still blows me away. And, apparently, a lot of you are still thinking about it, too.

Allow me to use this space to make one more observation about that day.

You keep telling me it was a great day. Why?

On August 1 we presented a needy family to our Legacy congregation and nearly 400 people responded that hour with money and jobs and transportation and food and housing. You told me it was a great day. Why?

The men’s ministry held its 24 Hours of Prayer last month. So many of you told me how powerful it was, how important it was, how good it made you feel. You told me it was a great weekend. Why?

Here’s what I think: I think these moments and these days and these times are so powerful and so moving and make us feel so much closer to our God and to one another because, in those moments and during those times, we’re not thinking about ourselves. We’re thinking about other people. We’re not worried about ourselves. Our attention is fully riveted on the needs of others.

My personal preferences take a back seat when I’m holding the names of eight people in our church who are suffering with cancer. They’ve asked me to pray for them. In that situation, my personal comforts go straight to the back burner. And so do yours.

How can I complain about anything — especially church stuff! — when I’m concentrating on the four or five people in my family who don’t know Christ? I’m not going to argue or debate anything when I’m trying to help Tim find a job.

When we’re thinking about others, when we’re praying for others, when we’re more concerned about others, we are living into what it means to be Christ. This is our God-created, God-ordained purpose. He made us to take care of others. When we do that, we’re being Christ-like. That’s why it feels so good. That’s why it’s so powerful. When we think of others instead of ourselves, we live better. We worship better. We pray better. We love better. Everything’s better.

The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.

Yeah, us, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, I’m worried about Josh Hamilton’s ribs. Yes, I’m aware that David Murphy is not even close to 100%. I know the Rangers have lost 13 of their past 16 games to the Rays, including a three-and-oh sweep at Tropicana Field three months ago. I know the Rangers have the worst road record of any playoff team and the worst record in day games of any playoff team.

I know.

Still…

…Cliff Lee goes eight innings in a 4-2 Rangers win on Wednesday. Texas comes home tied 1-1 after a loss in a barn-burner on Thursday. And then they take both games in Arlington to advance to the ALCS for the first time in history.

Don’t ask how or why. It’s time. It’s just time.

Peace,

Allan

How Would Jesus Do My Job?

September 8, 2010 / Allan / 4 Comments

This is the question Jim Martin hit us with yesterday during our afternoon session of the Waco Alliance. If Jesus were the preacher at Legacy, how would he go about his day? What would his week look like? What would he do that you do? What would he never do that you find yourself doing every day?

Weird question.

Weird, because I can’t imagine Jesus as a preacher at a church. Not a church in the way we do church today.

I look at Jesus in the Gospels and, yes, I definitely see a preacher. “Repent!” he preaches. “The Kingdom of God is near!” Oh, yeah, Jesus was certainly a preacher. And he ministered to people. All kinds of people. He taught Nicodemus. He consoled Mary and Martha. He healed the crippled and blind. He encouraged the outcast. He ate with the sinner. Jesus was a pastor/shepherd. On the road. In the desert. At the lake. In people’s homes. In the temple. At the market place. Jews and Gentiles. Sinners and saints. He preached and ministered. He did all the things I long to do. He is all the things I long to be.

But how would he be the preacher at Legacy?

The preacher at Legacy has an office. Four walls. Book shelves with lots of books. A desk. The preacher at Legacy is expected to be in this place, this preacher space, every day. An office. With a phone. And a computer. A lamp. Paper clips and staples and a printer. Emails and messages and blogs. Writing sermons. Practicing sermons. Re-writing sermons. Pens and paper. Budgets and meetings and meetings about budgets. Lunch at the drive-thru and then back in my space.

I imagine Jesus would not keep regular office hours. He might not have an office at all.

And I sometimes find myself living in this office. Living here.

How would Jesus do my job?

I wrote three more paragraphs here and then, after re-reading them a couple of times, deleted them. I’ve got some soul-searching to do. I’ve got some serious questions to answer. I have to be a disciple of Christ first and a church “preacher” second. The lines are blurred more often than not. I’ve got to figure out if that’s good or bad.

Peace,

Allan

Lousy Leaders and Sorry Sheep

September 6, 2010 / Allan / 1 Comment

(You’ve got to read Ezekiel 34 — the whole chapter — before you read this post.)

Ezekiel 34 troubles me. Just exactly like the rest of this book of prophesy, it’s strong. Bold. In-your-face. It pulls no punches. It’s convicting. Condemning, even. Powerful. You never have to wonder what God is thinking when he speaks through Ezekiel. And that’s true with chapter 34. I’m troubled because so much of this chapter seems to be speaking so directly to our churches today.

God rips into the bad shepherds because they’re ignoring the fat sheep who are oppressing the other sheep. And I see us. Sometimes. Sometimes elders don’t want to challenge the church bullies because they don’t want to stir up any conflict. They want to keep the peace. And, sometimes, the fattest sheep are the biggest givers. Sometimes preachers hold back on what God’s telling them to preach because they don’t want to offend anybody. They don’t want to answer the phone calls and emails Monday morning. They don’t want anybody to leave. They don’t want the emergency meeting with the elders.

Elders and ministers don’t always take care of the weak sheep like we should. Taking care of sheep is hard. It’s painful. Time-consuming. It’s work. And, sometimes, church leaders do crave the attention. Some of are tempted by the spotlight. Sometimes we really do just want our own way. Sometimes we do only act in an effort to save our own necks. And our selfishness and inconsistencies can drive the sheep away.

God help us.

We can also — all of us — sometimes be really sorry sheep. We can be territorial about our ministries or areas of service. Or our pews. We don’t let anybody in. We can shove brothers and sisters out the door by being dogmatic and unyielding about our own personal preferences. We can push people to the curb by insisting they believe and think and worship and sing and dress and pray just like me. We’re so good at it, so oblivious to it, that sometimes we can actually take the official position of a weak sheep and use it like an 18-pound sledgehammer to bully and head-butt and ram other sheep into my comfort zone and my lines and boundaries.

There are sheep in our flocks who’ve been in our flocks for years and who’ve never been invited to anyone’s house for dinner. They’ve never been asked to go out to eat. There are sheep in our churches who feel like they don’t matter because we have absolutely run them over on our way to the next committee meeting or service project.

God help us.

God says, “No, I’m just going to do it myself.”

“I myself will shepherd my sheep”

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”

Jesus knows how to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. To those who relied on their own righteousness, Jesus ripped away all their excuses and forced them to see their deep need for his grace. To those who were burdened and marginalized, Jesus drew them to God. He showed them that God did not delight in their death but was begging them to come to him so he could give them eternal life. They needed to know there was a place in God’s flock for the weak and the sinful.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our great shepherd. He’s bold and courageous and single-minded in his mission to seek and save the lost, to restore the lost sheep of Israel. And he’s so committed to it — he’s so committed to us, his sheep — that he lays down his life for us. He dies for us. He stands in the gate — he says in John 10 he IS the gate! — between us and the ravenous wolves and the muderous robbers who would kill us and eat us. He’s unwilling to sacrifice even one of us to the enemy. He’d rather die first.

And he did.

God’s people are scattered. We’re all over the map. We bicker and argue. We’re lost and injured and sick. And God through Christ keeps his promises to search and bring back and strengthen. The Good Shepherd makes us one. And he gives us peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Rangers are 2-5 right now on this ten game road trip. They’ve gone oh-fer on the season in the Twin Cities. They’ve lost four straight. Josh and Lee are both out indefinitely. Just a little speed bump, right?

Peace,

Allan

The Big Picture in Benton

August 13, 2010 / Allan / 2 Comments

Four weeks ago we spent seven days with our great friends Jim & Mandy Gardner and Jimmy & Elizabeth Mitchell at the Northside Church of Christ in Benton, Arkansas (home of Cliff Lee). They always bring in a guest speaker for the adults during their Vacation Bible School. And I was honored to preach the Word from John 14-16 with a reflective and hungry group of disciples.

Side note: I was walking into our church building here at Legacy the Sunday I returned when Kent and Norma Robinson drove up and welcomed me back home. Kent asked me how it went and I told him it was great, but I was exhausted. I said, “They had me speaking twelve times in five days and I didn’t think I had that much to say.” At which Norma leaned over in the truck and responded, “I find that hard to believe!”

Of course, I had a wonderful time reconnecting with Jim and Jimmy. We were all three on staff together at the church in Marble Falls while I was getting my degree at Austin Grad. Jim always impresses me with his knowledge of God’s Word and the straightforward way he delivers it. He’s very confident and very bold in the way he preaches. And he’s so very kind and gentle with and to the people in his congregation. Always has been. After spending about 30-minutes in his study with an especially cranky brother in Marble Falls one morning, Jim finally stood up and said, “We can do this all day long and accomplish nothing for the Kingdom. I’m going to make some hospital visits. You’re welcome to come with me.”

And the man did.

Jim sees the big picture.

And then there’s Jimmy. I was reminded all over again about why I love Jimmy. He’s a nut. He’s crazy. He has no shame. He’s hilarious. He’s not afraid of anything. He’ll sing any song and do any voice and play any part. He spent all week in VBS playing a ship’s first mate with the voice and mannerisms of a cross between Conan O’Brien and Harry Caray. He’s sensitive. And loving. And every single thing he does — everything! — is motivated by his love for the kids. He loves them. He’s in their faces all the time. He’s at their schools. He’s in their homes. All he cares about is those young people. And they love him right back.

Jimmy sees the big picture.

Ernest Miller is a 33-year-old Harding graduate from New Jersey. He and his wife LaDonna and their two girls just moved to Benton six weeks ago. He’s the brand new preacher at the Johnson Street Church of Christ in Benton, the black church on the other side of the tracks. I had lunch with Ernest that week at a Chinese restaurant owned by a guy named Jerry Jones — not that Jerry Jones! And then I had the honor of Ernest showing me around the Johnson Street church building and surrounding neighborhood. I had the pleasure of meeting and shaking hands with 83-year-old W. K. Hannah, one of the founding members of that church from almost 60 years ago. He was working the food pantry last Tuesday, just like he does every Tuesday. Greeting people with a warm, “How you doin’?” Moving sacks of groceries into the trunks of cars. Praying with visitors. Telling them goodbye with a heartfelt “God bless you.” Ernest moved gracefully around the parking lot and the building, calling people by name, hugging little old ladies and jousting with the kids like he’s been there forever. He encouraged everybody. He smiled at everybody.

Ernest sees the big picture.

And they’ve all three committed to working on the biggest of pictures: reconciling their two churches, bringing together their two congregations, reuniting the brothers and sisters at the Lord’s table. They want to make the white church and the black church one. One Church. One family. One building. One set of elders. One mission. One purpose. One Body.

Northside actually planted that Johnson Street church — literally on the other side of the tracks — back in the mid 1950s. Jim’s grandfathers, both of them, were elders at the time. Jim showed me a copy of the church budget from 1962 that lists “colored congregation” as their second largest mission item. It’s not that the Northside church had evil intentions or bad motives 55 years ago. I believe that their motives were pure. They were just wholly misguided. And Jim is working with Jimmy and Ernest and Fernando, their hispanic minister, to make sure that the Kingdom of God in Benton looks like and acts like the Kingdom of God in Holy Scripture.

These two congregations are already working hard to rise above the ungodly distinctions of the artificial boundaries our culture and, sadly, our churches have built between us. They already worship together at monthly gatherings. They eat together at special occasions. They supported each other’s VBS. The ministers from both churches have lunch together once a week.

Christ Jesus came to break down all the barriers, to destroy all the lines, to obliterate our differences. The dream in Benton is that God’s Church there will be an impossible-to-miss example, a living illustration, that in Christ there are no language or ethnic or cultural divisions. We are, together, one body. And all the members belong to each other.

It’s going to take a lot of sacrifice for both churches. It’s going to take patience and understanding and gentleness and kindness. It’s going to require a Christ-like attitude of selfless giving. And it’s going to take time. But it’s a worthy endeavor. It’s what’s demanded of all of us who claim to be followers of our Savior who went out of his way and left everything and gave everything to impartially call everyone to the Father.

I’m excited that tonight Whitney and I are going to join Jim and Jimmy and the Northside youth group at the Rangers game in Arlington. I’m excited that Jimmy is going to lead our worship at Legacy this Sunday, just like the good ol’ days in Marble Falls. And I’m so inspired by what Jim and Jimmy and Ernest and the Church is doing in Benton, Arkansas.

God bless our brothers and sisters there. May they point all of us to greater unity in Christ.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Ministry (Page 23 of 35)

You Give Them Something To Eat

Doing Church

One Last Angle on Dry Bones

How Would Jesus Do My Job?

Lousy Leaders and Sorry Sheep

The Big Picture in Benton

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