The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

AllanStanglin.com

Category: Texas Rangers (Page 20 of 34)

I Did Not Jinx the Rangers!

June 20, 2013 / / 1 Comment

I’m being accused of jinxing the Rangers. I’m using this space today to set the record straight. I did not jinx the Rangers.

Last Thursday, in the middle of our Great Cities Missions tour of churches in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, our group of seven took a boat trip across Lake Titicaca. Not only is it fun to say, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable body of water in the world at an altitude of 12,507 feet. The lake sits on the Peru-Bolivia border and contains the Island of the Sun, typically known as the birthplace of the Incan civilization.

It wasn’t a good day for sailing. We began the day by walking across the Bolivian border from Peru in the snow and the sleet. Uphill. I’m still not sure why the van couldn’t come across. But the driver parked about half a mile from the border and we walked the rest. It’s winter now south of the equator. And the weather conditions made for an interesting experience. Walking into Bolivia. In the snow. Wow. (As always, click on the picture for a larger view.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we received our travel visas at the immigration office — they meticulously checked our American dollars but never even looked in our bags and purses — we boarded the boat and headed to the island. Apparently, the worship of the sun by the Incan people began on this Island of the Sun. There are more than 180 Incan ruins on the island that date back to the middle of the 15th century, several little museums and shrines, zero roads or motor vehicles, and at least 800 families who still call the place home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one point of the tour, we were introduced to an island priest who proceeded to demonstrate to us the ceremonial prayers and sacrifices and rituals of his ancient religion. We weren’t quite sure how to handle this. Kelley later confessed to thinking about Romans during the ceremony and I admit I was wondering about a few passages in 1 Corinthians. But we all sat there quietly while this guy sacrificed a toy llama and some grains on a fiery altar and raised his hands to his god. The last part of the ceremony included this shaman sprinkling some kind of holy water in a sacred vase from the end of a ritual flower to the tops of our heads. I don’t have a picture of this, but Craig’s video clearly shows us nervously accepting the drops of water, and then Kelley and I immediately turning toward one another to make, what appear to be, wisecracks.

Not wisecracks. Hopeful curiosity.

I was wearing my Texas Rangers cap. The mystical shaman had blessed my cap with the holy water from the Island of the Sun. I told Kelley, “I think this means the Rangers are going to win the World Series.” And then I glanced at Kelley’s Texas A&M hat and remarked, “But I doubt the Aggies will win the SEC.”

We laughed together and thought nothing more of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toward the end of the tour, we stepped into a little museum which housed several different kinds of ceremonial masks. These ancient religious masks were all displayed on a large wall and we all had a little fun taking our pictures with them. There was one particular mask that stood out to me as especially creepy and, on a lark, when the tour guide wasn’t looking, I put my Rangers cap on top of it and took a picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig accused me of breaking the rules. I answered by saying he just wished he had thought of it first. I was going to use the picture as a screen-saver on my laptop. And as we were joking about it, the lights went out in the museum. It was pitch dark. A couple of the ladies screamed and we hustled out of there as fast as we could. The tour guide said it was the snow and sleet that had probably knocked out the power. Yeah, of course.

That was Thursday. That night the Rangers lost to Toronto 3-1. Over the following three nights they lost 8-0, 6-1, and 7-2. They suffered a four game losing streak and fell three games back of the A’s in the AL West. They were outscored 24-4 during that stretch, went 1-for-20-something with runners in scoring position, and haven’t recovered since. Whatever had knocked the power out of the museum had also knocked the power out of the Rangers. It all seemed like a horrible coincidence until the news broke that A&M’s Heisman winning quarterback, Johnny Manziel, had tweeted that he couldn’t wait to leave College Station.

What had I done?

There were various explanations given by the other members of our group that included references to a Brady Bunch movie and various episodes of Scooby Doo. A couple of days later, I was tempted to dunk my cap in the holy water at the 15th century Spanish Catholic cathedral in Santiago in an attempt to reverse the curse.

But, having been back in the States now for a couple of days and having watched the Rangers play, I’m convinced their sorry streak of offensive ineptness has nothing to do with the Island of the Sun. It wasn’t me or the mysterious shaman or the religious masks. It’s injuries to key hitters and a bunch of young guys pressing too hard. Seriously, that losing skid didn’t start last Thursday. They had lost the two previous nights to Cleveland. The string of bad play was part of a nine losses in eleven games free fall that began long before I had ever laid eyes on Lake Titicaca. Plus, they’re pitching Grimm and Tepesch and Lindblom. Of course, they’re going to lose those games.

It wasn’t me.

Just in case, I wore my cap backwards on the 13-hour flight from Chile to Amarillo Monday night. The Rangers won that night 8-7. They scored nine runs last night. And if they win this afternoon, they will have taken three of four from Oakland and pulled back to within one game of the A’s for the division lead.

I didn’t jinx the Rangers.

But, just in case, I’m wearing a Yankees cap the next time I visit any Incan temples.

Peace,

Allan

Great Night for Great Cities

April 22, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Whoever had the idea of hosting the annual DFW area fundraiser at the Ballpark in Arlington deserves a raise. Unless it’s Kelley.

What a magnificent time we had Friday night at the Rangers Hall of Fame with Jim Sundberg and about 600 of our good friends, eating delicious barbecue and raising a lot of money for Great Cities Missions. For Carrie-Anne and the girls and me, we experienced several worlds colliding as we ran into a bunch of great friends from Legacy, Central, Dallas Christian, and Oklahoma Christian. Yu Darvish struck out ten and the Rangers bats finally woke up in an enjoyable rout of the Mariners. And I ate for the cycle: barbecue, nachos, cotton candy, and ice-cream.

Yes, I admit it, I was gushing a bit when I introduced Jim Sundberg to the crowd and engaged in some Q&A with the Rangers’ legend. Darryn Pope accused me of almost kissing Sunny and Craig Gladman said the whole thing was a disgusting spectacle. But we all learned about Matt Harrison’s back injury, we heard what it was like trying to catch Charlie Hough, and we auctioned off nearly $3,000 worth of autographed baseballs. All told, Great Cities Missions raised right at $73,000 Friday night for the support of missionaries and the planting of churches in Latin America.

The following morning, Saturday, I was blessed to join the GCM board of directors for their meeting. I was honored to be invited to deliver the devotional at the beginning of their meeting and intended to use my time to praise and encourage this impressive group of faithful men and women who work so tirelessly in the Kingdom of God. But, in the end, I was the one who came away the most encouraged and inspired. Man, there’s a bunch of really great people at Great Cities Missions. What they are doing is God’s work. They see people the way God sees people and they turn their lives upside down for the Gospel.

Everyone Jesus met, he saw them as beautiful. Beautiful because of what they were meant to be. Beautiful because of what they were created to be. Beautiful because he saw in them what they were actually going to be. And the folks at Great Cities Missions embrace that kind of thinking and doing every day with everything they’ve got. They partner with and train and support the men and women who are giving their very lives to the great cause of Christ. They organize and raise money and pray and travel and sacrifice and serve for the ultimate promises of God in Christ. They don’t just believe in the mission; they are grabbing it! They’re investing in relationships, they’re making themselves vulnerable, they’re taking the risks, they’re holding nothing back.

At one point in the meeting, while listening to another trainer and church planter tell another powerful story about a missionary family working in a foreign field, I leaned over to John Todd and said, “Man, the people in this room, they’re all in, huh?” He said, “Oh, yeah. Every one of them.”

Yes, these people get it. They see the beauty of the street kids in Fort Worth and Brazil. They see the beauty of the lost people in Chile and Arlington. They see the beauty of the hurting men and women in Columbia and Mexico. They see all the people of the world not just for who they are and what they are, they see them for what our Father in heaven created and intended them to be.

The God who began a great work with Great Cities Missions is faithful to continue that work and, on that great final day of eternal glory, bring it to completion.

Peace,

Allan

Declaration and Address

April 3, 2013 / / 2 Comments

“Yu Are Kidding Me!”

Go ahead and submit your best Skip Bayless headline for last night’s near-no-no-perfecto for Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish. He was unbelievable in Houston last night, coming within one out from only the second perfect game in franchise history. In the months leading up to Yu’s major league debut last season, we were all told that he had command of five different pitches. It seemed like hyperbole back then. Last night, it was reality. Yu did whatever he wanted to last night, mixing 94-mph heaters and 76-mph breakers with curves and sliders and another weird off-speed thing I’m not sure what to call. The Astros didn’t have a chance. Yu fanned fourteen, he was only hit hard twice that I saw, and he showed almost no emotion or effort in the process. He was cruising with just one out to go — two down, bottom of the ninth — when the Astros number nine batter in the lineup, a shortstop who spells his first name wrong, smashed the first pitch right back through the five hole. Base hit. Ruined the perfect game. Ruined the no-hitter. Darvish came within two inches of blocking the liner between his legs, but the bid for perfection was over.

Darvish is good. Oh, my word, he’s good and he’s fun to watch. He’ll be on again this coming Sunday night on national TV against Josh Hamilton and the Halos. He may never get that close again to a no-hitter. Or he may wind up throwing three or four in his career; right now he looks that good. Either way, just like last night, if and when it happens, Whitney and I will be hanging together on every pitch.

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

Our Sunday morning adult Bible classes here at Central are discussing Holloway and Foster’s “Renewing God’s People: A Concise History of Churches of Christ.” Chapter four introduces us to Thomas and Alexander Campbell, a father and son team of Scottish Presbyterian ministers who sailed to America in 1807-1809 with hopes of restoring God’s Church. Like Barton Stone, they longed for Christian unity. They despised denominational labels and divisive creeds. They viewed the different Christian sects as abominations and affronts to the true Gospel of Christ.

Upon arriving in Pennsylvania, Thomas was assigned to preach at a church in the western part of the state and promptly got in trouble with the board for allowing Presbyterians of every stripe to participate in communion. Old Light Presbyterian, New Light Presbyterian, Anti-Burgher Presbyterian, Seceder Presbyterian — it didn’t matter to Campbell. He opened up communion to everybody at his church and wound up being forced out by the synod.

Campbell began an inter-denominational Bible study group that grew into what they called the Christian Association of Washington, Pennsylvania. They were committed to Christian unity, to renouncing all man-made creeds and following the Bible only, and to abolishing all distinctions between denominations. In 1809, the group commissioned Campbell to write a document outlining the purpose of their organization and its plan for unity among all Christians. So he penned the Declaration and Address, the most widely known of our Church of Christ founding documents.

Doug Foster has re-written the document’s thirteen propositions into today’s contemporary English, which makes navigating the text a little easier. You can find it by clicking here.

It would be really easy to write a different blog post for each of the thirteen statements. They are that rich, that good. I may do that someday. For our purposes today, allow me to hit just a few highlights.

Definition of God’s Church -Proposition One attempts to lay the ground rules for determining who’s in and who’s out. According to this opening idea, the Church is made up of everyone “who has faith in Christ and is trying to follow him in the ways God’s Spirit in scripture has told us, and who others can see are being transformed into his likeness by the way they act.” Notice, there are only two or three requirements Campbell says are necessary to being considered a member of Jesus’ Church. If one puts his faith for salvation in God through Christ, is actively submitting to the Lordship of Jesus and following him, and is obviously bearing Holy Spirit fruit, he’s in! Proposition Eight restates the idea in a little different wording, reminding that “having an understanding of every Christian truth is not a requirement to be a Christian, a part of God’s Church… All a person needs to know to be a part of Christ’s Church is that they are lost and that salvation is through Christ. When they confess that they believe in Christ and that they want to obey him fully according to his word — nothing else can be required.” Similarly, Proposition Nine identifies brothers and sisters in Christ as those who “confess belief in Christ and commit to obey him and who show the reality of their commitments by the way they live.”

Christian Unity – Proposition Two admits that it’s impossible for all Christians all over the world to physically worship and serve together, so there have to be local groups of disciples in a variety of different cultures and contexts. “These groups will not all look think, or act alike,” Campbell writes, “yet they are all part of Christ’s Church and ought to recognize it. They must accept and embrace each other just as Christ has accepted each one of us.” How do you achieve Christian unity? How do you bring people together who don’t believe or practice their Christianity exactly alike? Campbell says by obeying the “Rule of Christ.” These Christians from different backgrounds, in different places, with different ideas and practices should be “willing to give themselves for those Christ died to redeem.”

Against Division – The strongest language in the Declaration and Address comes in Proposition Ten which prohibits the dividing of Christ’s Church into denominations: “Division among Christians is a sickening evil, filled with many evils. It is anti-Christian because it destroys the visible unity of the Body of Christ. It is as if Christ were cutting off parts of himself and throwing them away from the rest of his body! What a ludicrous picture! Division is anti-scriptural, since Christ himself specifically prohibited it, making it a direct violation of Christ’s will. It is anti-natural, because it makes Christians condemn, hate, and oppose one another — people who are actually obligated in the strongest way to love each other as sisters and brothers, just like Christ loved them. In other words, division repudiates everything Christianity is supposed to stand for.” The following proposition claims that divisions and corruptions in the church are a result of neglect or a misunderstanding of God’s will that we have the mind of Christ and be transformed into his holy image. A secondary reason is that some Christians assume they are right in their beliefs and practices and try to “impose their conclusions on others as terms of recognition and fellowship.”

Interpreting the Bible – Another major theme running through the Declaration and Address is the correct way to read and interpret the Bible. Campbell upholds both the Old and New Testaments as essential parts of God’s holy Word and the only authority over God’s Church. Therefore, Proposition Three maintains “nothing should be required to recognize, fellowship, embrace, work, worship, and be fully and visibly united with all Christians that is not specifically made a requirement by God in the Word.” But he makes it very clear that, as a friend of mine once said, “The Bible is not a cook book of recipes, it’s a description of a great feast.” In Proposition Four, Campbell states that the “Bible is not primarily a constitution that functions as a legal document to consult in legal disputes. It is, instead, the sword of the Spirit; it is a place where we encounter God’s Spirit and are transformed increasingly into the likeness of Christ.” So, “The Bible does not spell out in detail everything Christians are supposed to think, do, or be — that is just not the nature of Scripture,” according to Proposition Five. “When there are specific actions Christians are told to take, there is almost never a set of detailed requirements for how to do it.”

It’s a powerful document. Strong. Rich. Inspiring. The American Restoration Movement, of which Churches of Christ are a part, is founded on this document. I hope someday to have a really nice copy of these thirteen propositions, in their original 19th century language, framed and on display in a prominent place in our church building. We need to be reading these things. We need to be compelled all over again by the same passions for Christian unity for the sake of the world that drove our ancestors. We need to repent of the evil divisions among Christian denominations that have proclaimed a most anti-Christian message to the world for centuries. We need to pray for a revived interest in the unity of all disciples for the everlasting purposes of the Kingdom of God. And we need to work — man, we need to work — to sacrifice and serve, to accept and forgive, to tear down walls and break down barriers between us so the world will finally see that our Prince of Peace really is who he claims to be.

Peace,

Allan

Easter Again

April 1, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Yesterday was Easter and, yeah, it was a great day here at Central. Tammi Carter submitted to the Lordship of Jesus by participating in his death, burial, and resurrection in baptism. It reminded each of us of our own Christian baptisms and our own resurrections. Our kids showed us the hand motions to “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” with great energy and enthusiasm, reminding us how blessed we are to be in a church family with five full generations. Kevin’s choir — ranging in age from Morgan and Hannah to Bob and Vernon — expressed our faith powerfully. There were 860 of us in the worship center singing songs together about  eternal life in Christ Jesus. We read from the Scriptures that proclaim the truth of his resurrection. We celebrated this new life together around our risen Lord’s table.

Yesterday was Easter and, yeah, it was a great day here at Central.

But today is also resurrection day for followers of Jesus. So is tomorrow. And the day after that. See, Easter impacts every one of us from here on out. Every day. We are all living resurrection lives. We are all guaranteed to be raised with Christ on that last day. So we are all empowered by those promises to live boldly and courageously for Jesus. Every day. Because of the Resurrection, we can take bolder risks in evangelizing our neighborhoods. We can take bolder risks in ministering to the homeless and hungry, bolder risks in loving our enemies and forgiving those who hurt us. Because of the Resurrection, we can take bolder risks in protecting the helpless and defending the weak.

The Resurrection of Jesus compels us to say ‘yes’ to bigger Gospel dreams and to say ‘no’ to the status quo. The Resurrection shakes us and moves us to say ‘yes’ to bolder Gospel actions and to say ‘no’ to maintaining the same old thing. We can risk anything and give up everything in denying self and sacrificing self, knowing that the salvation of the world and the salvation of my body and soul is in the powerful and loving hands of our God who promises and delivers the Resurrection!

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

My great friend David Byrnes texted me during the first inning of last night’s Rangers-Astros opener: “Quite literally minutes after my bracket breathed its last, the Rangers season started. There’s an Easter analogy in there somewhere.”

About six innings later, he texted back: “Of course, the analogy isn’t as effective without a ‘W.’ And it cannot involve Lyle Lovett in any way.”

Yuk. It looked like the Rangers were just going through the motions in a meaningless exhibition game last night, not snorting fire to atone for last season’s collapse by ripping apart the Double-A Astros. Good gravy. Matt Harrison got roughed up pretty good by a team that’s lost more than a hundred games in each of the past two seasons and has a combined payroll of slightly less than half of Tony Romo’s guaranteed money. The offense couldn’t get on base. The defense was booting balls all over the field. The only guy who looked to be in mid-season form was Derek Lowe who entered with the Rangers clawing back to cut the deficit to 4-2 and immediately gave up a three-run homer to a former pitcher.

The Rangers play the Lastros 18 times this season. The winner of the AL West will be the team that beats Houston 15 times. Tuesday night is a “must-win.”

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

It’s come down to two people in our office tournament brackets here at the church. If Syracuse wins their next two games and takes the national championship, then George is our overall winner. If anything else happens — anything else at all — then Allyson enjoys her one shining moment as our staff bracket champ.

As for the last place lunch, it has already been decided. Despite Gail’s blank spaces and her prediction that Gonzaga would beat Gonzaga to advance to the Final Four and then receive a ‘bye’ to reach the title game, Connie has locked up the lowest point total. Connie! I know! It’s remarkable, really, that Connie correctly picked 18 of the first 32 games and then only picked six more right the rest of the way. She didn’t land a single team in the Elite Eight, but she has landed another free lunch.

Peace,

Allan

Uh, Oh!

October 3, 2012 / / 2 Comments

AL WEST          W          L          PCT.          GB

Texas              93        68         .578              —

Oakland          93        68         .578               —

LA Angels        89        72        .553                4

Seattle            74        87        .460              19

The Texas Rangers took over sole possession of first place in the American League West during the first week of the season on April 9. They have held sole possession of first place in the division since that date: 177 days in a row. On June 30 they held a 13-game lead over the Oakland A’s. Last week their lead was four games with only six to play. Today, that lead is gone.

The Rangers have — choked? No, I can’t say choked; I’m not going to say gagged, either; Mary would love it if I admitted my team has choked — collapsed. Today their once insurmountable lead has vanished.

Texas has lost six of its past eight games and now must win today’s season finale in Oakland to avoid a one-game playoff against the Yankees or the O’s just to make it to the ALDS. The timing couldn’t be worse for the Rangers to play their worst 12-game stretch of the season. Over these past dozen outings, Texas is 4-8. During this time, they’ve hit just .248, scored just 3.8 runs per game, and hit .202 with runners in scoring position (18-89). It’s awful.

Should they lose this afternoon — Texas is 2-6 at the Coliseum this year — it will be an historic collapse (I’m NOT saying “choke”). Only four teams in all of Major League Baseball history have ever trailed by 13 games and then come back to win a division title. Oakland is one win away from doing it against the Rangers.

Ron Washington and his players are all saying the right things. Yes, the season long goal of winning the West is still there for the taking this afternoon. Yes, this team is more than capable of going on an offensive tear and piling up huge offensive numbers with clutch hits and winning a bunch of games in a row. Yes, that streak could start today. It could.

But you’re seeing what I’m seeing, right? The body language tells all. These Rangers appear to be beaten. The hang-dog expressions, the slumping shoulders, the shuffling feet — it says a lot. And the A’s really do have something special going on. While I’d like for somebody to smash that showboating Balfour in the mouth with a line drive back up the box, you have to admire what’s going on with the Swingin’ A’s. They’re incredibly young, really talented, and having a very good time. There’s an energy there. There’s an attitude. It reminds me of the 2010 Rangers which, now, seems like a long, long time ago.

Here’s hoping Ryan Dempster can go a full six or seven innings and only give up a couple of runs. Here’s hoping that if Wash insists on putting Soto behind the plate, the benefit of his working relationship with Dempster will outweigh his failings with the bat. Here’s hoping Kinsler is wide awake on the basepaths and Hamilton is dialed in tight. Here’s hoping Adrian Beltre is starting at third base and Mark Lowe misses the bus to the stadium.

You can text me after 2:30 this afternoon. But don’t call.

Go Rangers.

Allan

We’re Not Alone

September 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Since our sins first separated us from our God, he has longed to live with us again. His covenant with us communicates our Father’s desire for intimate relationship with his people. From the Law (“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” Leviticus 26:12) and the Prophets (“My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God and they will be my people.” Ezekiel 37:27) to the New Testament (“I will live with them and walk among them.” 2 Corinthians 6:16) through the end of time (“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.” Revelation 21:3),  the promise is that God will live with us.

The gift of God’s Holy Spirit is the ultimate fulfillment of those great covenant promises. God not only lives with his children, he actually dwells inside us! It doesn’t get any more intimate than that!

It’s Christ’s greatest gift to us as we wait for his triumphant return: the power of his actual presence inside us. God’s Holy Spirit is alive and powerful and real. He’s very real. And he lives inside all of us who confess Jesus as Lord and put our faith for salvation in God through Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within and moves about and works through the Church. And that actually scares some of us. That makes some of us nervous. Some of us might think we talk too much about the Holy Spirit or we rely too much on the Holy Spirit. Some of us are leery of that.

But those worries are unfounded. There is no need to be concerned. This is our heavenly Father we’re talking about. The One who is motivated solely by his great love for us. The One who acts only in our best interests.

Jesus promises around the dinner table on that last night to send the Spirit of Truth. And that is a wonderful blessing! Christ gives us the actual presence of God. He gives us unbridled access to the Father. For us, the presence of God is not an elusive thing way off in the clouds somewhere. It’s not to be sought at the top of a shaking and smoking mountain. It’s not hiding away in a faraway chapel or ancient church building on the other side of the world. God’s Spirit is not above us or beside us. He’s within us. He lives inside us. It doesn’t get any more relational or personal than that.

Peace,

Allan

 

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑