Category: Ministry (Page 30 of 35)

Messy Sunday Nights

December 9, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

I look around the circle in my living room Sunday night. What a mess! Wow, what a mess!

A divorced single mom, struggling to make ends meet, dealing with fatigue and a teenage son. She’s cancer-free now for three years, but fighting other battles that just won’t go away. A couple who’ve just come back to the Lord after several years of living for themselves. Two teenaged children next to them. One was just baptized. One just gave birth to a baby girl last week. A single woman who just moved here from West Texas a couple of months ago for a job that now appears to be heading south. She’s stressed like you wouldn’t believe. And confused. A single dad with two teenagers. He’s dealing with all kinds of physical ailments like diabetes and bone and joint problems. A recently blended family, the product of infidelity and deceit. Four kids. All of them scarred by rejection and hurt. An older guy, a veteran soldier of Christ, struggling with his own arthritis and pain problems. An Hispanic couple from Puerto Rico with two young daughters; he’s burned out at work, she’s home-schooling the kids.

And I see myself in the mirror over the antique stereo in my living room. A new preacher filled with self-doubt. Overwhelmed by the enormity of his circumstance. Battling insecurities. Inadequacies. Ego. Sin.

In that circle on Sunday nights, we give our messes to our God and to each other. We carry each other. We serve each other. We encourage one another and affirm that our Father is holding our hands and walking with us on our journeys. We go around the circle and pray for each other. We go around the circle and tell our stories. We go around the circle and admit shortcomings and pledge to do better. We buy a baby stroller together and shower the new child-mother with the love of Christ. And we show that God forgives. We go out to dinners with the families struggling to renew their faith. And we show that God protects. We raise money for the single mom and present it to her as a gift of God’s grace. And we show that God provides. We visit hospitals and even a mental health facility once to help bear one another’s burdens. And we show that God cares.

And a week doesn’t go by that tears are not shed. Tears of gratitude. Tears of sorrow. Tears of joy. Tears of astonishment that our God can be so good.

I’m not sure what’s happening in the other 36 Small Groups at Legacy. I hear stories almost every week about members of our church family who are being carried and served by their Small Groups. A single dad in the hospital with emergency gall bladder surgery. A young police officer injured in a motorcycle accident. A neighbor displaced by a house fire. Small Groups providing meals and prayers and rides and support and money and strength to the kinds of people who would normally slip through the cracks in a church as big as ours. Without Small Groups, these folks have no connection, they have no one to call, no one to take care of them in a crunch, much less day-to-day and week-to-week. With Small Groups, they have everything. And more.

Our God put us in community. He calls us to be together. It’s his plan. It’s his purpose for his people. To minister to one another. To provide and protect and defend and lift up one another in the name of our Christ. We are, afterall, a Kingdom of Priests. Sacrifice and service. Giving up everything and dying for others. Being transformed. Becoming more like him.

We’ve got a wreck of a group in our house on Sunday nights. All kinds of problems and issues. Tons of baggage. But we’ve all seen, we’ve all experienced, every one of us without exception, our God working in us and through us together to draw us closer to him and to a realization of his divine purposes for our lives. We are not inadequate. We are not insecure. We are not weak or unable. We have our powerful God, the Creator of the Universe. And we have each other. Just the way he intends.

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December 9, 2008

The final regular season “KK&C Top 20″ college football poll reflects not only the standings in most other highly respected lists, but also the national outcry (again) against the system that determines the national champion. OU receives four first place votes to leap into the top spot, followed by their title tilt opponent Florida. At just one point back, Texas falls to third, out of the only game that matters. In fact, a total of just four points separates our top three teams with Alabama and USC rounding out the top five.

Our die-hard regulars contributed their same great, entertaining comments to go with their votes. Familiar themes such as Mike Gundy’s manly boasts and Joe Pateno’s decaying hip make expected appearances. David Byrnes reacts typically to the postseason matchups: “Alabama vs. Utah? There’s no BCS computer! Someone’s just drawing names from a hat!” Charlie Johanson finishes strong with one final (for now) Oregon Duck crack. But his comment about Cincinnati and WKRP shows little knowledge of what a real TV sitcom should look like; or a pre-plasticized Loni Anderson.

Ball State fell out (nobody loses to Bufallo and stays in our poll) along with Boston College and Missouri, replaced by Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Michigan State.

The final, final, final “KK&C Top 20″ will be released Friday night, January 9 after the coaches have voted the winner of the national championship game national champion, as per the arrangement.

As always, click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab in the upper right hand corner of this screen to get the full poll, all the comments, and complete profiles of all the voters.

Peace,

Allan

Beware The Shadows

December 5, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

We spent a lot of time in San Antonio Tuesday talking with Lynn Anderson about the mission of God’s Church. If we understand the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, Scripture shows us clearly that God’s people are to live their lives in such a way as to be lights of truth and salvation to the world. Our unity, our common love, our sacrifice and service should be so obvious to others they can’t help but wonder about the Savior who empowers us to live so differently from the rest of society. That’s God vision. That’s his purpose for his Church.

And that’s our vision as preachers and teachers and shepherds. Living like Jesus. Acting like the Christ. Being transformed more and more into his image. That’s what we proclaim. That’s what we profess.

But if we’re not careful, especially in moments of crisis, we can become driven by other things. Lynn calls those things our “shadow missions.”

When things get tough or shaky or uncertain, when things aren’t happening the way we planned or as quickly as we’d like—in other words, when Satan attacks—we have a human tendency to fall back on our human plans and human needs to meet our human expectations and defeat our human fears.

We often measure success in human terms. And those needs for numbers and applause and buildings and affirmation and contribution cause us to react in one of two ways: we either go into “success mode” or “survival mode.”

Church decisions made and policies produced in success mode are focused on new programs and perceived excitement and manufactured enthusiasm. Generally it’s done for the sake of the buzz it creates and the accompanying noise and bright lights. We become more “like the nations around us.” That’s not the Jesus Way.

Survival mode decisions and actions focus on the numbers; not offending anyone for fear they’ll leave; not upsetting anyone for fear they’ll stop giving money; not challenging anyone to grow for fear we won’t be able to pay the mortgage or the bills. That’s not the Jesus Way.

Lynn calls those our “shadow missions.” These kinds of things are always there, always lurking in the background, always a temptation. And a crisis will often cause these motives and these goals to overtake God’s vision. Our personal mission becomes a higher priority than God’s vision. It’s actually in contradiction with God’s vision.

We all have these shadow missons. We all have needs and wants that don’t necessarily jive with God’s vision. Close inspection reveals that most of our shadow missions are exactly the opposite of what Jesus teaches it means to be like him. Our Savior never knew success or money or buildings or prestige or applause. He didn’t seek it. He didn’t want it. Our challenge is to determine, in everything we do, that God’s vision for his people will never become second to our own missions for ourselves.

Jesus came to earth with absolutely no desire for success and certainly no intention to survive.

Peace,

Allan

Legacy To The World

October 15, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

Between 60-70 of us turned out for a quick breakfast here at Legacy this morning and a send off of our missionaries to Ukraine, David & Olivia Nelson. David’s from New Zealand. Liv’s from Lubbock. They met in the AIM program at LCU. They’ve been married for a little over two years. And they’re committing to a six-year stint as Christian missionaries with a team in Kharkov, Ukraine. They’ve only been with us here at Legacy for about three months. But we’ve all come to love them as our own. And this morning’s send off was pretty neat.

We all told them how much we love them. We charged them with being strong and faithful. We reminded them that they were joining in what God is already doing there in Ukraine, redeeming his creation, his people, back to him. And we recognized that we are joining them, too. We circled close around them, put our hands on them and our arms around them and each other and lifted them up to our Father. We prayed for courage and faith and protection. And we commited them and their work to him. Our hearts and our prayers go with David and Olivia as they head to Europe.

You can keep up with the Nelsons via their blog by clicking here. I’ll also keep it posted on my blog roll on the right hand side of this front page.

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This Sunday is Friends Day at Legacy. And we’re hoping to break our attendance record of 1,349 we set back on August 17. Last Sunday we made available to the congregation ten thousand bags of microwave popcorn. Several volunteers had spent a few days putting Friends Day invitation stickers on the popcorn that say “Pop in for a visit.” The popcorn bags have our church address, phone number, website, and assembly times on them. And we’re trying to flood all our Northeast Tarrant County neighborhoods with these bags of popcorn. We’re calling it Operation Popcorn. Valerie and I figured out yesterday it takes two Wal-Mart bags full of the popcorn and about 30-minutes to do three streets. We’re going to try to do six streets later today. We still have about four thousand bags left in the concourse here at Legacy. I hope they’re all gone by the end of our worship service tonight.

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Valerie’s sixth grade choir gave their first public performance of the school year last night at Birdville High School. She was great, of course! Four different choirs sang at least one hymn or spiritual during their times on stage. Really cool. They all did a good job. Before the performance, the choir director pointed us to a list of rules posted on the back of the program the audience is to follow during a formal concert. She went over all the rules with us. All cell phones turned off or on vibrate. Absolutely no texting during the concert. No getting up and moving during songs. If you have to leave your seat, do it inbetween songs. No cheering or yelling or whistling or calling out names. Polite applause at the end of a number only. How is it we can all follow these rules at a middle school choir concert but not in a Sunday morning worship assembly? I need that lady to do our Call to Worship this Sunday. (The two girls with Valerie in this picture are the loud, crazy girls I took to see City of Ember Friday night. They’re great friends to our middle daughter. Good kids. And a lot of fun.)

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David B points out that Jerry Wayne’s zero-tolerance policy regarding PacMan Jones was obviously a “zero-tolerance-unless-you’re-a-superstar-or-Terrence-Newman-is-hurt” policy. How utterly embarrassing this must be for the Cowboys owner. The commissioner of the NFL has to step in and do what Jerry Wayne would not. Wow.

And Richard A tells me the reason the Cowboys traded for Detroit receiver Roy Williams is because they saw the Lions on the schedule, realized they had no way to cover him, and made a quick deal to get him in a Dallas uni. Look for Tori Holt to become a Cowboy today or tomorrow.

Peace,

Allan

For Christ's Sake, I Delight…

October 1, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

“For Christ’s sake I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~2 Corinthians 12:10

Terry Rush is good. Man, he’s good. Four out of five of his daily posts on his blog The Morning Rush are written to encourage preachers. They always encourage me. Always. And they always seem to be written especially for me at exactly the time I need it the most. Yesterday’s post by Terry, “A Tough Lesson To Learn,” couldn’t have been timed any better.

I’m beginning to understand that most, if not all, the things that hinder me or slow me down or rattle me or depress me or derail me or anger me or otherwise get in my way of serving our God and preaching his Word and ministering to his people are from Satan. He doesn’t want me to preach. He definitely wants me to get upset and cynical and angry and depressed. He wants me to feel ineffective. The devil wants me to be defensive and suspicious. He would much rather me withdraw than reach out.

So I’m trying to see all these things as positive signs that God’s Holy Spirit is empowering me and Christ Jesus is ruling me and the Father is loving me and Satan can’t stand it. I’m trying to, like Paul, delight in these things. Because God through my crucified and resurrected Lord gives me strength.

Here’s Terry’s post from yesterday:

Years ago Memorial was going through some tough stuff. Conflict was in the air. I watched as one of the families passed letters out to a few on a Wednesday night. They handed one to me. I didn’t need to read it. This family and a few of their friends had been on the elders’ case for quite some time. I didn’t open the letter. In disgust I tossed it on my desk and went home. I did go home and call a couple of friends of the elders asking them to give them a call as I knew letters were being handed out against them. I knew they must be hurting. I felt sorry and defensive for my men.

Well, I went into the office the next morning and there was that danged letter. So I opened it to see what they had to say this time about our guys. Oh, boy! It was about me! They handed out a letter voicing there dissatisfaction with me! While things like that hurt, I just had to laugh because I was so worried about the elders….and they had gotten the letter and were worried about me.

Some of you get that treatment. I don’t anymore from within the congregation. For those who are treated this way, I encourage you that everything will be all right. Don’t fight this kind of person. And, don’t fold up believing you are notoriously no good. Leave it up to God. He will take care of these matters. He will.

Insults aren’t easy for sensitive leaders like us. Yet, God says to be thankful for them; to brag about them (II Cor. 12:10). He is telling us the truth. Yes, they really hurt. And yes, we have it coming because we are walking in Jesus’ footsteps. The cross is not convenient and some will try to kill us….and we have it coming. If the church has real authentic hope, one of the reasons will be when the leaders refuse to retreat when injured. We often play the game hurt.

And while we do, God works! It is a tough lesson to learn; but surely worth applying each day. Keep your spirit smiling….even in the midst of pain. I feel sure somebody needed this right now.

Don’t quit.

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John Danks! Wow! Eight shutout innings in a critical do-or-die game for the White Sox! He dominated! Wow! Wouldn’t it be great if the Rangers could ever—I mean ever!!!— come across a kid like this? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Rangers could ever find a pitcher like this? What could happen if the Rangers could ever be so fortunate as to sign a guy like John Danks?

Oh, yeah.

Nevermind.

Crud.

Typing Above The Growls

September 9, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

“While the human body can survive only a short time without air or water, it can go for many days without food before starvation begins.” ~Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

We generally think of fasting as an individual spiritual discipline. The first words Jesus said about fasting question the motives of those who fast as part of an individual routine. “When you fast…” he says in Matthew 6. But there is great benefit and great biblical example of corporate fasting as a group of God’s people who want to focus their corporate energies toward a common matter of importance. Just as the congregations in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch prayed and fasted during the appointment of their elders (Acts 14:22-23) and before the commissioning of their missionaries (Acts 13:2-3), the Legacy church today is fasting and praying together as we begin our process of selecting new elders. We’re using our normal eating time to pray. We’re allowing our hunger pangs to remind us that we are submitting our wills to God and not to our growling appetites. And we’re making ourselves open to God’s direction during this time as we seek his guidance for Legacy.

There’s something neat about feeling my stomach growl and knowing I have hundreds of other brothers and sisters here who are going through the same thing today for the same reasons. It’s encouraging and inspiring to know we’re all doing this together. I got a text message from a buddy late last night:

“Fasting prep—big dinner, three chocolate chip cookies, Snickers, and two bowls of cereal. I hope I make it. If you don’t see me Wednesday, check the morgue or Pizza Garden.”

Isn’t it great to be going through the same thing and thinking the same things together with the whole church? No donuts or breakfast burritos at the Bible study this morning. We spent all of our 75-minutes together today talking about and praying about the elder selection process, asking for God’s guidance and wisdom. The corporate fast can be a wonderful and powerful experience when the people are prepared and are of one mind.

To the folks here at Legacy, let’s use this time to also consider your part in this body. Your voice, your vision, your discernment in this very important matter is no less important than anyone else’s. Your participation is critical. Please take your responsibility to the body seriously. And you men who will be asked to serve as elders: you, too. Take your role, your calling, your responsibilities to this branch of God’s Kingdom seriously. We need you.

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A powerful time with my brothers down in Waco yesterday. Nine preachers and an elder. We’ve been getting together monthly since March for mutual edification and study and prayer. Yesterday was the first time we were all together in the same room since David Hunter’s wife, Denise, died. David is the preacher at the church in Robinson, just south of Waco. Not a dry eye in the house as David re-told and re-lived that awful week. And as we gathered around him for an intense period of prayer and blessing, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude to our Father for giving us friends and family to minister to us when we deal with life’s injuries and injustices. And so thankful that his Son has overcome all those things in his life and death and resurrection and that we can all participate fully in that awesome victory.

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Legacy is the organizing church, the hub—I’m not sure what you call us—for the Lifeline Chaplaincy program that’s being established now in Tarrant County. We had over 125 people here for a kickoff breakfast and meeting Saturday morning representing 12 different congregations. Praise God in advance for all the wonderful things he’s going to do with us and through us as we join together to visit and minister to the sick.

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I’ll write more about the Cowboys next week. My policy on the Cowboys is that if I can’t say anything bad, I shouldn’t say anything at all.

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Speaking of football, The Kingdom, The Kids, and The Cowboys Top 20 College Football Poll is out. I posted it late last night on the “KK&C Top 20” page. And I’m adding it below in this post.

USC retains its stranglehold on #1. Florida jumps up three spots to #2. Georgia drops to #3. OU stays at #4. And Missouri’s in at #5. Texas and Texas Tech retain their positions at #8 and #13. Of course, some of our panelists are unable to keep their biases from impacting the integrity of this thing. Paul puts OU (zero u) at #20 in his poll while Jerry puts Texas (tu) at #19. And Richard won’t rank USC #1. He puts Southern Cal and Georgia as two #2s at the top of his list.

East Carolina debuts today at #16 while South Florida shows up for the first time at #19. Jim G’s not the only one casting votes for Fresno State this week. Ohio State fell hard from #3 to #7. More of our pollsters are talking smack, mostly against the Buckeyes and the Longhorns, although a nice theological debate is brewing over the Arizona State mascot. Larry attached the audio from the Mississippi State fight song to his poll. And I’m not publishing anymore comments about Oregon’s uniforms unless they’re really funny or really original.

September 9, 2008

1. USC (9-1st place votes; 306 total) “Will take Jim Tressel’s overrated crew behind the Coliseum woodshed” JimG; “They’re going to destroy Ohio State!” MR; “Trojans are licking their chops!” PD; ”Go USC, but only for this week” JennG; “Sorry MD, too many horses. USC 27, Ohio St. 17″ SF; “They will kill Ohio St” JK; “Needs a better kicker” BW; “The NFL is proving USC is a bunch of frauds” LT;

2. Florida (1; 275) “Listen, you can hear it: Te-bow! Te-bow! Te-bow!” LT; “Defense wins championships-gratuitous cliche’” CJ; “The Florida-USC National Championship Game will be sweet” KW; “Looking good, especially on defense” AG; “Speed kills. Vols may be in trouble in two weeks” SF; ”Has Urban Meyer joined Rick Neuheisel’s office pool?” JimG;

3. Georgia (3; 273) “A shaky 2-0, but still there” JR; “Overrated! Overrated!” CJ; “Number Two in the SEC” BW; “Refuse to put USC at the top when there’s a deserving SEC team” LT;

4. Oklahoma (1; 272) “I voted them number one, totally homer, I know. Cincy’s not exactly a dog” JR; “I like watching them play, but I’m tired of that Boomer song” KW; “Dominant team in Big 12″ AG; “Defense and special teams a bit ragged” PD; “This might be their year” LT; “The Sooner Schooner looks un-de-rail-able right now” JimG;

5. Missouri (250) “Really liking them this year” JennG; “Will get more respect from me if they win in Austin” CJ; “Chase Daniel is one heck of a football player” LT; ”Squatty quarterbacks are cool” KW; “104 points in two games!” AG; “I was tempted to move them way up” PD; “OU and Texas better keep an eye on the Tiger” LT (yuck, give me a break); “Most potent offense in college football?” JimG;

6. LSU (1; 247) “Still packed with athletes” AG; “Still defending champs” BW; “Gustav showed pity on Baton Rouge and I’ll do the same for one more week” LT;

7. Ohio St. (237) “For now” JK; “Mark it down, USC will roll!” JS; “Overrated before Well’s injury…they stink” RA; “Tressel’s failed to live up to ‘big game’ status…this trend will continue Saturday” CJ; “THE Ohio State University is THE most overrated team of this decade. Yes, decade.” JimG; “Will this be six in a row?” PD; “Who’s the beanie counter?” BW;

8. Auburn (198) “Doing it the old fashioned way with defense, special teams, and field position” JimG; “SEC rules! LT; “Enough of the SEC already!” JK;

9. Texas (195) “Way too high” RA; “Weakest schedule of any team in the Top Ten” LT; “Yawn. Arkansas is down. Should be another lopsided win” CJ; “Can they beat OU?” JennG; “Who’s this week’s patsy?” JimG; “That Opie sure can play!” KW; “Will lose to OU” AG; “Texas 34, Arkansas 20″ SF; “Colt back in form” PD; “Needs to start games earlier than 9:15pm” BW;

10. Wisconsin (184) “This may be too low” PD; “Fattened up on Marshall before their trip west to Fresno St” JimG; “Gaining on Ohio St” BW;

11. Kansas (137) “Riding the ‘No one gives us respect’ wave” CJ; “I don’t know about anybody else, but is it weird watching them on TV? Kinda boring” KW; “Will not match the basketball team” BW;

12. Arizona St. (124) “Erickson gives me hope for things to come in College Station” CJ; “I know I shouldn’t, but the devil on the helmet is a mascot I’ve liked since I was a kid” KW; “Why would anyone allow their child to play for a team with a mascot of devils?” JimG;

13. Texas Tech (122) “Defense was better. I have to keep believing” JS; “I’m not buying this team as a legitimate contender in the Big 12″ RA; “They must prove they can win a physical game on the road before I give them props” JimG; “Almost took them out of my Top 20 but they are so dangerous” PD;

14. Alabama (112) “Love him or hate him, Saban’s a good coach” CJ; “Alabama people are fun” KW;

15. Oregon (86) “Genuine” PD;

16. East Carolina (80) “Rockin’ the purple house!” JennG; “Can’t be a fluke if you do it twice, right?” CJ; “Looking like a BCS bowl” KW; “Skip to my Lou!” PD (new front-runner for Skip Bayless line of the year); “Who is this??” BW; “Say hello to this year’s BCS buster” JK; “A skip off the old block” JimG (hold the phone, we have a challenger);

17. Penn St. (73) “Hope Paterno and Bowden are even at the end of the year and settle it in a bowl” CJ; “Number One on most boring uniform poll” KW;

18. BYU (42) “A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ but do you really feel good about how that went down?” CJ; “A poor call by officials keeps them in the Top 20″ SF; “Agree with celebration penalty” BW;

19. South Florida (31) “Did they really stop him?” JS; “Because I couldn’t let BYU and their sham remain in my poll” JimG;

20. West Virginia (18) “…and dropping” JK; “Probably should be further down but East Carolina could be better than anyone thinks” JS; “National title hopes destroyed! Thanks ECU!” CJ; “Will get offense going” BW;

Also receiving votes: Clemson (17); Wake Forest (14); Fresno St. (10) ”Welcome Wisconsin in the most anticipated home game in school history” JimG; California (9) “Boy, those tree huggers sure are fast” KW; Utah (8); TCU (7); Tennessee (6) “Will beat either Florida, Georgia, or Auburn to go 7-4 and earn the 20th ranking” AG; Oklahoma State (6) “The surprise team in the Big 12″ CJ; ”699 yards of offense!” JR; Illinois (3); Nebraska (1) “Bo knows” DM; Mississippi St. (1)

As always, click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab at the upper right hand corner of this page to see the poll and meet the pollsters.

Peace,

Allan

God's Worldwide Reach

July 16, 2008 / Allan / 5 Comments

Once again a Texas Ranger drives in the winning run in the All-Star Game. Michael Young’s game-winning RBI on a one-out sac fly in the bottom of the 15th at 12:37 this morning won it for the American League. And I’m paying for it this morning. Great game. Excellent pitching early and tons of drama late as both benches and bullpens emptied and both teams put runners in scoring position time after time but couldn’t bring any of them around. Last night’s mid-summer classic set all-time All Star Game records for longest game (290 minutes; 4 hours, 50 minutes), most runners left on base (28), most players in the box score (63), most pitchers used (23), and most strikeouts (34). I just wish once, just once, the Texas Rangers would figure as prominently on the national stage in October as they seem to in the middle of July. (Kinsler was safe at second in the bottom of the 11th. Bad call.)

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About three weeks ago I received a call here at the church building from a woman who lives in another city in another state, over 660 miles away from North Richland Hills and Legacy. This stranger introduced herself to me over the phone and proceeded to tell me all the details of several tragic things that had happened in her life over the past few months including, but not limited to, a teenage daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock, an unauthorized abortion, and an unwanted divorce. This woman was in tears—she was trembling, I could hear it—as she told me of the dark valley she was walking through. And the whole time I’m listening to her I’m trying to understand why she had called me. Why was she telling me these things? Who is she? What’s the connection?

And then she says, “Allan, your three sermons on Habakkuk are the only things that have gotten me through the past couple of months.”

My jaw hit the desk and chills ran up my arms and my back as she told me how she was just searching church websites, looking for some encouragment and comfort, when she came across Legacy’s site and the audio of our Sunday morning sermons. Accidentally. She can’t even remember what she googled to get there. But she appreciated the sermons. They provided her strength and comfort. They gave her hope. And she just wanted to call me and thank me and ask me to pray for her.

Wow.

Of all the amazing things that have happened to me over the past three years, I believe that was the absolute most unbelievable. I preach my guts out to a thousand people here at Legacy and those three sermons meant more and did more for a lady I’ve never met who lives three states away than they did for the people I’m actually preaching to.

Some weeks it’s kind of a hassle to get those sermons up on the website. I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using that resource, if it’s worth the trouble. Suzanne and Bonny have to track everything down and load it and check it and all kinds of stuff. And this lady hits me between the eyes with a sledgehammer to remind me that, yes, our God is using those sermons!

Sometimes I wonder about this blog. Some days it’s kind of a hassle to get something written here. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful, sometimes, in that I want what’s written here to be meaningful and important and helpful. And I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using it, if it’s really worth the trouble.

And then I read all the comments on my post regarding Jade Lewis’ death last month. That simple request to pray for Hank and Janet has turned into an internet meeting place where all of Hank and Janet’s friends scattered from Texas to Florida are posting prayers and sympathies and well wishes for that precious family. The Lewises have been so encouraged by the response. Everyone who’s read Hank’s comment have been encouraged. And as I read and re-read all those comments, I’m blown away by the fact that our God is using this blog!

I’m appealing to our God today to use this blog to his glory again. And I’m asking you—personal friends and family of mine and Carrie-Anne’s, Christ’s Church here at Legacy, our brothers and sisters in Marble Falls and Mesquite, all you sweet people in Florida, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell’s church families in Arkansas and California—please pray for Debbie and Dan Miller.

As I mentioned yesterday, Dan is one of my nearest and dearest friends. He’s one of the main reasons I’m preaching God’s Word today. He means more to me than I can put into words. And I’ve tried over the past couple of days.

They just found out Thursday that Debbie has cancer. She underwent some emergency surgery at Medical City in Dallas Saturday. She’s still there, undergoing all kinds of tests, probably for the rest of this week. They still don’t know everything they’re going to know in the next couple of days. I spent a couple of hours with them both yesterday. Debbie is strong, of course. She’s prepared for the fight. She’s ready. She’s determined. Her faith and her trust is in our God. For the first time since I’ve known him, Dan seems shaken. Completely understandable. His faith is strong. But he’s asking tons of questions. And he seems rattled. And tired. And I love them so much.

Pray for them today. In the powerful name of Jesus, please ask our Father today to heal Debbie and to comfort her and Dan and their three precious children.

And, Lord, please use this blog to work an amazing thing in their lives. And may you, Father, receive all the power and all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.

And all God’s people reading this today say “Amen!”

Peace,

Allan

Category: Ministry (Page 30 of 35)

Messy Sunday Nights

Beware The Shadows

Legacy To The World

For Christ's Sake, I Delight…

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