Category: Ministry (Page 29 of 35)

Surrounded

March 26, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

I love Missions Month here at Legacy. For 31 days we zero in and focus on God’s call to seek and to save the lost, in our own neighborhoods and in Ukraine and the Philippines, in our own subdivisions and on the streets of downtown Fort Worth and Nairobi. We get to meet and hear our missionaries who are doing Kingdom work all over the globe. We get to see pictures and hear stories about the salvation work of God through Christ. We get to witness the ongoing reconciliation of the world back to its gracious Creator.

And it energizes me. It’s strong. It fills me with a renewed sense of purpose and mission. (It also fills me, in some ways, with envy. These missionaries are on the front lines of the Lord’s battle with Satan. They’re making a real difference in people’s lives, having a genuine eternal impact on the Kingdom. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like a “religious shopkeeper,” to borrow a Eugene Peterson term. Sometimes I feel like I’m just a chaplain for a local congregation. But that’s a different post for another day. Stay on task! Stay on task!)

This past week, through the miracle of the internet skype, our wonderful young missionaries in Kharkov, Ukraine, David & Olivia Nelson, were able to join us live from their bedroom for our Sunday morning worship assembly. There they were, up on the big screens in the worship center, talking to us about life in Eastern Europe. And David kind of poured his heart out to us.

It was unexpected. It was unscripted. It was open and honest and real.

David looked right into the camera, right into our eyes, and thanked us for the prayers and the money and the cards and the calls and the letters. He praised God for our partnership in spreading the great news. And then he told us, point-blank, that the honeymoon’s over. Life as a missionary in Ukraine isn’t nearly as glamorous now as it was when they got there six months ago. It’s hard. Nobody speaks English. It’s dark and cold. It hasn’t stopped snowing. Different language. Different culture. Different habits. Lonliness. Rejection. It’s tough. And David told us. It’s difficult.

And our hearts broke.

David read the passage I had selected from 1 Timothy about being rich in good deeds. And he led us in a beautiful prayer from nearly six-thousand miles away. But I think we were still processing the things David had said earlier.

We were all deeply touched by their honest confession. And divinely inspired and encouraged by their Christ-like resolve. All of us. I know that because apparently most of our church family bombarded the Nelsons with phone calls and emails as soon as our service was over.

Olivia sent out their weekly prayer list on Tuesday and started with this:

“Surrounded. That’s how I feel today as I’m sitting here writing you all. I feel surrounded by so many of you, and most of you are really far away right now! How God can use his Body to give us hugs that seem to reach across oceans is beyond me, but he does and I’m grateful. Yesterday David and I were able to worship with Legacy from our bedroom. David briefly shared with the congregation about how things were going here, then read a scripture and prayed for us all. We spent the next hour sitting on our bed, singing, praying, and glorifying our Lord with our family in Fort Worth. Since then, emails have been popping into our inbox, encouraging us and spurring us on, each one of them touching us in different ways. He is using you all — your prayers, your notes, your emails, your phone calls — to remind us of his love. Thank you! In Him Always, David and Olivia.”

How does God work on both sides of the world at the same time to inspire a thousand people in North Texas and to encourage a lonely missionary couple in Ukraine? I have no idea. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Peace,

Allan

Go and Do

March 9, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

The lawyer in Luke 10 wants to justify himself. His question, “Who is my neighbor?” seeks to create a distinction. He’s suggesting that some people are neighbors and some are not. He implies that God’s people are only called to love God’s people. And we get to decide who those people are! This expert in the Scriptures is saying that, whether due to geography, heritage, ancestry, skin-color, or socio-economic factors, some people are non-neighbors.

That’s what Jesus is reacting to when he tells his story.

A priest walks by and sees the victim by the side of the road and does nothing. A Levite sees this half-dead man and does nothing. Two religious leaders who’ve known and taught the Great Command — Love God and Love Neighbor — for as long as they can remember. They saw and they passed by on the other side.

And then Jesus gives us the emotional twist that both astonishes and convicts.

A Samaritan walks by and sees. Then he went to him. The two verbs here are so important. He saw and he went. And then he verbed this man completely back to health. He gave this victim, this helpless soul, this desperate and dying man created in the magnificent image of God, everything he needed. Look at all the verbs.

He went to him. He bandaged him. He poured on oil and wine. He put the man on his own donkey. He took him to an inn. He took care of him. He took out his money. He gave his money to the innkeeper. He promised to return and reimburse.

And Jesus says, “Now, define ‘neighbor’ for me. Who’s the ‘neighbor’?”

Then our Savior looks this expert right in the eyes and gives him two verbs: Go and Do.

Jesus’ words, Go and Do, totally end the conversation. No more questions. No more answers. No more religious loopholes and religious line-drawing and religious double-talk. No more interpretations of Scripture. No more using God or the Word of God as a way to avoid or dismiss the real hurting men and women we see in our lives.

When we understand the story, we understand that something big is going on and I’m told I can get in on it. Actually I’m told, “Go! Get in on it!”

It’s not “Who is my neighbor” as if some people are and some people aren’t. That’s the wrong question. The question is, “Will I be a neighbor?” Everybody sees all the pain around us. Everybody sees all the hurting people. Everybody sees all the lost. God’s people, though, see and do. We see and render aid. We see and provide help. We see and then we sacrifice and serve in joining our God to make things right.

Go and Do. In Northeast Tarrant County and Nairobi. In our subdivisions and in downtown Fort Worth.

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Another Four Horsemen Campout/Advance in the books. Twenty-four hours at Tyler State Park. 55-degrees warmer than last year. Four hours of sleep. Seven bags of chips. No major injuries. This one, though, to be forever remembered for three things.

1) The Food. All of it provided and cooked by Kevin. Four-inch-thick ribeyes and football-sized baked potatoes. And salad! Salad? Yeah, I know. Followed up by perfectly-prepared eggs, toast, sausage, and bacon Saturday morning and ham and turkey sandwiches Saturday afternoon. No offense to Jason and his water-in-a-jug pancakes from years past. But the food this year was, by far, the best ever.

2) The Raccoon. He stole Kevin’s bag of marshmellows from right underneath his chair while we were all sitting by the fire. He came within a couple of feet, twice, of nabbing my bag of jalapeno potato chips right next to my chair. While we were all sitting there. Jason had a clean shot at him with a football from about four feet, but short-hopped it bad. Choked under pressure. Somewhere, in the deep recesses of Tyler State Park, a raccoon is throwing up 48-jumbo marshmellows. I hope.

3) The Near-Death Experiences. Falling trees. Flying ax handles. Slides down dangerous cliffs (OK, just the hill from the parking lot to the lake). Jumping rocks. It was an adventure.

The best part, though, is always the mutual encouragement, the prayers, the study, and the counsel that’s shared. Every year. We know each other so well that the prayers are always dead-on. I mean, right-between-the-eyes, yes, thanks I needed that, kind of prayers. We pray for each other’s ministries, each other’s churches, each other’s families, and each other’s personal walk with Christ. We ask God to give us all the strength and power to do his will, the courage and boldness to do it his way, and the character and integrity to do it with pure hearts and clean motives, above reproach.

I’m blessed to have three such great friends, such great men of God who love me and take care of me. They know exactly when I legitimately need genuine encouragement and they know exactly when I just need to suck it up and get over it. God continually touches me and speaks to me and blesses me through these great men. They challenge me and push me. They model for me what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus. I can’t imagine trying to do it without them.

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And Terrell Owens is in Buffalo, where in December it’ll be 19-degrees with a 35 mph north wind. The Bills will be 5-9 at that point, they’ll be playing the Ravens, and he’ll be split out wide where he can get a good view of another running play. The 13th play out of their past 15 that have stayed on the ground. Sweet.

As Dan Miller would say, “Life is good.”

Peace,

Allan

All That Jesus Began To Do

February 27, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

This Sunday marks the beginning of Missions Month here at Legacy. Our entire local and foreign missions budget for 2009 will be funded by one single church offering on March 29. Between now and then we’re going to focus on what God is doing with us and through us to save the world. Guest speakers this month include Mark Hooper from Missions Resource Network and our own church missions ministry, Charles Coulston from Made In The Streets in Nairobi, Darin Campbell from Let’s Start Talking, and Salvador Cariaga and John Bailey from the Philippines and Body and Soul Ministries. Michael Thames from Fortress Youth Development Center in Fort Worth will join us. So will Corey Mullins from Australia and David Nelson from Ukraine, via the miracle of the internet skype.

We’ll share together our plans and vision for the year. More missionary teams. More church planting. More teaching. More training. More preaching. And we’re asking our whole church family to get personally involved. We’re asking everyone to seriously discuss Missions giving with their spouses and kids. We’re asking everyone to adopt a missions mindset. We’re asking everyone to pray and reflect on our role in the gospel story.

Because the story’s not over.

We’re still writing sacred history. As disciples of the Christ, we are the next pages in the continuing account of God’s good news of salvation to the world. Every time a person is treated or cured in the name of Jesus, another page is added to the gospel. Every time a church is planted in the name of our Christ, another line is written. Every time a hungry person is fed, another paragraph is etched.

Every time a preacher is sent, a homeless person is given shelter, a sermon is preached, a woman is baptized, a jobless man is encouraged, someone is confronted for the first time with God’s love and mercy in Jesus, another page is added to the continuing gospel story. Every time.

What are we going to do? What are you going to do?

The Call

January 30, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

Ever seen a burning bush?

If you ever did, how would you respond?

How about the clear, unambiguous call of God to his Church — to us! — to apply the holy words of Scripture to our lives, to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ, to connect with each other and to minister to one another and to serve each other like family, and to take the good news of God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness into our neighborhoods and communities?

That’s a huge burning bush! That’s an Aggie bonfire towering in front of us, crackling with possibilities and blazing with the fire of God’s call!

The spiritual leaders of the Legacy church body, the elders and ministers, are all firmly convinced that the proper response to this eternal inferno of God’s commission is best made in weekly Small Groups Church.

Last year’s first cycle of SGC began with 692 men, women, and children and ended last month with 778. And we certainly anticipate bigger things in this next cycle that starts in April. With an average of 21 people in each of our 37 groups, there’s no room to grow. We need every former Co-Leader and at least 30 others to sign up this Sunday. If you already have your co-leading partner, please sign up. If you want to Co-Lead but you’ve not yet secured a partner, sign up anyway. There’s time to find your buddy. We need 100 total Co-Leaders to lead 50 groups when we start up again in April.

That’s the challenge. That’s the call. To you.

Now, what’s your objection?

“Nobody will follow me.” Abraham’s servant said that, and the Lord’s angel told him, God will make it happen (Genesis 24:6-7).

“I’ve tried it before and failed.” Moses said that, and the Lord said, it’s not about you, it’s about God (Exodus 3:12-4:17).

“It’s too hard for me.” Isaiah threw that excuse out there and he was promptly told, God sees and controls the big picture (Isaiah 6:11-13).

Jeremiah said, “But I’m not a good leader.” The Lord told Jeremiah, God is with you and will provide for you (Jeremiah 1:8).

Ezekiel was brutally honest and said, “I don’t want to go.” The answer came back over and over again, with God, there’s nothing to fear (Ezekiel 2:6).

“I’m too old.” That was Zechariah. The angel replied, God will give you signs and proof of his presence (Luke 1:19-20).

Mary said, “I’ve never done this before.” She was told, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

Paul said, “I’ve got a rotten past.” Christ told him, God is empowering you for his mission (Acts 22:21).

Ananias offered, “It’s too risky, it’s too dangerous for me,” only to be told, God is taking care of the details (Acts 9:15).

See, the deal is that we usually view God’s call and God’s will and God’s plan for me as all about me. This task is too big for me. It’s beneath me. I might make someone mad. I’m too busy. I’m not gifted. I’m not qualified. I don’t know how. I’ve never done that before.

And God says, you’re right. But it has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with whether or not you think you can handle it. God says, “I AM.” I am qualified. I am powerful. I am the God who’s doing this, not you. I just want you to jump into it. I just need you to trust me. Believe in me. Allow me to do this with you and through you for my purposes and my Kingdom.

The call is right in front of you. How do you respond? With every reason and excuse as to why you can’t or shouldn’t act? With reasons and excuses as to why you can’t go to Egypt? Or by throwing yourself completely into his mission, wholeheartedly, in total faith and trust, no reservations, brakes off, full steam ahead, no looking back? By hurling yourself into the project, confident in our Lord who promises to deliver?

Small Groups Church is messy. You put a thousand people in each other’s homes and in each other’s lives, it’s messy. It’s difficult. It’s a real challenge. It’s full of suprises. It’s full of hospital visits and funerals, soccer games and car pools, different dynamics and diverse discussions, some extra dusting and vacuuming.

And lots and lots of wonderful stories.

I beg you to jump into the middle of it — or at the front of it — as a Co-Leader at Legacy. Jump head first, all the way. And allow our Father to do amazing things with you and through you for his people within this church family.

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We just got home a little while ago from Scottish Rite in Dallas. They took Whitney’s cast off. (Shew-wee!) Dr. Herring grabbed a pair of pliers and pulled the four-inch pin out of her heel. (Yech!) And then he pronounced her perfectly well and the reconstructive surgery a smashing success. She’ll be weaning herself off the walker as she regains strength and flexibility over the next couple of weeks. Praise God for her healing! Thank you so much for your prayers, your cards, your calls, your visits, all the wonderful ways you’ve encouraged and blessed our oldest daughter over the past two months. God has showered us with his love through you, our dear friends.

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Last thing: I’ll never forget — ever — a telephone conversation I had with my sister, Rhonda, back on Super Bowl Sunday 1994. It was about 2:00. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but in the middle of the conversation, I told her I was skipping church to go to a Super Bowl party at a friend’s house.

She was genuinely surprised. “You’re skipping church to watch the Super Bowl?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You’re kidding.”

I said, “Rhonda, come on! You know me!”

And she said, “I thought I did.”

That was the last time I ever skipped church to watch a TV show. I urge you to make the same switch in your lifestyle and in the message you send your kids and your friends starting this weekend. Please don’t skip church this Sunday night to watch a TV show.

Peace,

Allan

Convenient Sacrifice

January 27, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

While reading a commentary on 2 Samuel last night, I came across this prayer written by Joe Seremane in 1998 in his book Celebrating One World. Seremane is a social justice activist (so is God). Unlike God, Seremane is an African.

I tell you that only to disclose that, yes, I understand the context of this prayer. But I understand this plea to our Father as also completely appropriate in the context of our church families here in America. Maybe, specifically, in our suburban, upper-middle class churches in America.

The call from our Savior is to a life of sacrificial service to others. Be like Jesus. Give up everything I have and give it to other people. And that’s hard. It’s harder for some of us than it is for others. But our adherence or lack of adherence to that command doesn’t lessen its preeminence for us as disciples of Christ. The call is to a constant sacrifice, not to a convenient sacrifice. It’s not to an act of service when it’s convenient.

The call is to sacrifice for and serve others when it’s not convenient. When it’s hard. When the very last thing you want to do is forget about your self and your own needs and give everything to the needs of those around us. There was nothing convenient about Jesus’ suffering and death for me. Gospel evidence shows me he was looking for a Plan B, for another way. But he did it. Because it is the only way.

Apply this prayer to the way you live in your church. The way you act within your Small Group. The kind of wife you are. The kind of son you are. The kind of co-worker you are. The sort of neighbor you are in your community, your school, your subdivision. Pray this prayer. Be challenged by it. Be changed by it. Be blessed by your renewed commitment to our Father to be shaped by it.

You asked for my hands
that you might use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment,
then withdrew them, for the work was hard.

You asked for my mouth
to speak out against injustice;
I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.

You asked for my eyes
to see the pain of poverty;
I closed them, for I did not want to see.

You asked for my life
that you might work through me.
I gave you a small part, that I might not get too involved.

Lord, forgive me for my calculated efforts to serve you
only when it is convenient for me to do so,
only in those places where it is safe to do so and
only with those who make it easy to do so.

Father, forgive me,
renew me,
send me out
as a usable instrument
that I might take seriously
the meaning of the cross!

The Way Of The Kingdom

January 15, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

Jerry Plemons and I met for about an hour Tuesday with the principal and a couple of counselors at Thomas elementary school less than three miles south of our church building. They had contacted us first, asking if there were anything we could do to help them and the children in their school. Sixty-five percent of these children are on free and reduced lunch, economically-disadvantaged kids with only one parent, barely one pair of shoes, and no sense of community beyond their 8:00 to 3:00 school day behind the bricks. The school is lacking adequate funds for playground equipment, day planners, uniforms and underwear and socks. They need scholarships for field trips and science camps.

Can we help them? You bet!

And we are. Legacy is committed to giving every penny of our Sunday night contribution for the next 12 weeks—hopefully over $6000—to Thomas Elementary. We’re going to organize a rotation of volunteers to greet kids at the door in the mornings and read with the children in the afternoons. We’re going to adopt this school in much the same way we’ve adopted Walker Creek Elementary across the street. It’s a no-brainer.

I’m reminded of N. T. Wright’s comments about how to live in the Kingdom of God. In his book The Way of the Lord: Christian Pilgrimage Today, Wright says the royal decree of our King, the Christ, is “an invitation to a Kingdom-spirituality, invoking the power of the King to liberate those held in Satan’s bondage.” So, living in the Kingdom looks like this: a life of complete submission to the King, a life marked with loyalty and love and total commitment to his cause. It means taking up his cause and planting the flag of his Kingdom in territory currently occupied by enemy forces. Territory like Thomas Elementary.

“You commit yourself to the work of healing and liberation, both actual and symbolic. You commit yourself to freeing slaves, to loosening the bonds of debt, to bringing good news to the poor. And you commit yourself to doing these things, not as a grand social action which you will implement by your own energy and ingenuity, but in the power, and with the weapons, of the Kingdom of God: by prayer and fasting, by truth and righteousness, by the gospel of peace, by faith, by salvation, by the Word of God.”

Category: Ministry (Page 29 of 35)

Surrounded

Go and Do

All That Jesus Began To Do

The Call

Convenient Sacrifice

The Way Of The Kingdom

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