The Kingdom, The Kids, & the Cowboys

When Jesus looks you in the eye and says, “Follow me,” it’s packed with promise. When the Savior of the World taps you on the shoulder and says, “Do what I do in the ways I do it; follow me,” you must understand that wherever he leads, it’ll be for your own good. His call comes with promises. And his promises always come true.

In Luke chapter five — this is one of my all-time favorite stories about Peter — Jesus calls this first disciple to “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” And Peter got a huge catch, more fish than his boat could handle. While Peter was up to his hips in flopping fish, while he was scared and disoriented and maybe laughing hysterically, Jesus says to Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” And three thousand people are baptized the first time Peter attempts to preach. Jesus tells Peter he’s got a job for him, and Peter winds up as the cornerstone of God’s eternal Church.

You don’t have to be confident. You don’t even have to be competent to answer the call of Christ. You just have to follow. You just have to be willing to go. The rest is up to Jesus. In fact, it’s all on Jesus.

Jesus is the one who takes the initiative. He calls Peter. He’s the one who changes Peter from the miserable failure of not catching any fish all night to the wild success of all those fresh fish busting Peter’s nets. Jesus is the one who calms Peter in the middle of the chaos and promises him even greater success in matters much more important. Jesus understands the mission, not Peter. Jesus is the one who controls the outcome of the mission, not Peter.

Jesus’ call on your life is packed with his promises.

“Lose your life and I’ll save it. Throw everything away and I’ll give you all things. Be last and I’ll make you first. Serve and suffer in my name and for my cause and I’ll give you eternal glory.”

Don’t you want to go all-out for a Savior like that?

Peace,

Allan

While preparing for our upcoming elders/ministers retreat, I’ve read and re-read several parts of Leading the Congregation by Norman Shawchuck and Roger Heuser. I’m particularly interested in chapter two: The Interior Attitudes of the Leader. I’d like to take the next few days exploring their ideas and reflecting out loud here on what it means for me, personally, and for our churches.

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” ~Matthew 18:3-4

Shawchuck and Heuser claim the first and foremost quality of religious or church leadership is childlikeness. The disciples were sincere when they asked their Lord who would be the greatest when the Kingdom was finally realized. Their teaching and learning had, for generations, conditioned them to expect a hierarchy within this new Kingdom structure. The hearts of these disciples were filled with ambition; they wanted a Kingdom that would bring them privilege and honor.

In actuality, Jesus came to usher in an eternal Kingdom in which there is no hierarchy and no superiority. No chain of command, no flow chart, no levels of authority or power. And I’ve got to think this not only surprised the apostles, it probably disappointed them, too. They asked Jesus all the time about their particular ranking in the system. “Who’s the greatest? Who’s going to be in charge?” They couldn’t stop talking about it even during the meal that last night in the upper room. It was there that Jesus proclaimed “You are not to be like that! Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves… I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:25-28)

They asked the same question over and over again. And every single time Jesus gave them the same answer: The greatest will be as the youngest, and the leader as a servant.

Shawchuck and Heuser say that childlikeness as the model for church leadership should be received as good news, not bad news. It simply means leading the congregation with an attitude similar to a child’s: “…one who opens the self to this reality as a gift, and one who lives and ministers as the least in service to all. This is childlike spirituality and authentic leadership within the Kingdom.”

Just like the aspiring disciples, I sometimes take myself way too seriously. Honestly, I have a real tendency to be devastated by the slightest criticism. I worry if people aren’t taking me as seriously as I think they should. Are they listening to me? Are they taking my suggestions and advice? Are they paying attention to me? Do they like me? Am I important here? That’s insecurity, I guess. It’s definitely not humility or Christlikeness. It exposes a preoccupation with myself and my own status over the needs of the ones to whom God calls me to minister. It’s silly and shallow. Rather immature.

Just the opposite of the childlikeness Christ envisions for his church leaders.

Children take their play seriously, but not themselves. They are transparent without shame. God wants us all to be like youngsters.

Michael Quoist, in his book Prayers for Life, speaks for God on this subject:

I don’t like old people unless they are still children.
I want only children in my Kingdom.
Youngsters — twisted, humped, wrinkled, white-bearded — all kinds of youngsters, but youngsters.
I like children because my likeness has not yet been dulled in them.
They have not botched my likeness.
I like them because they are still growing, they are still improving.
They are on the road, they are on their way.
But with grown-ups there is nothing to expect anymore.
They will no longer grow, no longer improve.
They have come to a full stop.
It is disastrous — grown-ups think they have arrived.

Jesus calls us as church leaders to childlikeness so we will learn to let God carry us as we lead; to let God teach us what we need to learn. All our skills and talents and abilities, all our plans and visions and dreams, none of it really matters. The plan is in our Father’s hand. And we (I) need to run to him like a little child; seeking his love and approval; living to please him not others; giving to serve others, never myself.

Peace,

Allan

“It’s much less demanding to think about God’s will for your future than it is to ask him what he wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It’s safer to commit to following him someday instead of this day.” ~Francis Chan, Crazy Love, p. 192

I was encouraged yesterday to learn that several of our small groups here at Central did shut down Madonna and the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday evening to consider together their NEXT! challenge cards and commit to accepting one of the tasks. The cards and the challenges were handed out during our assembly Sunday morning in an effort to get us moving right now, immediately, to what our God is calling us to NEXT. No waiting. The time for action is now.

Deliver a casserole to your next-door-neighbor in the name of our Christ. Take the time this week to memorize 1 Corinthians 13. Rewrite six of your favorite Psalms in your own words and give them to our Father in prayer. Invite the new member to dinner. Volunteer at the elementary school. Whatever you do, do it now, with all of your might, to the glory of God.

The challenges are designed to move us closer to our God through his Holy Word and prayer so we can better hear him and understand his leading. They are also crafted in a way that will  get us engaged with our God’s mission among his creation. Now, brothers and sisters of the Central Church of Christ, let me ask you two questions:

1) Which challenge did you choose and have you started yet?

(I’ll answer the question here: you answer in the “comments” section of this post) Of the three challenges on my card, I chose “For the rest of this month, write three emails every day that have absolutely no purpose other than to encourage someone.”

I started it yesterday. And, honestly, I am finding this to be more difficult than I thought.

Email is a business tool for me. I use email to accomplish things, to get things done. I email people to ask questions and to request answers. I email to schedule and confirm my calendar. I remind people about certain tasks, I seek input from committee members, I inform elders and ministers, I keep up with family and friends through email. I do generally try to be positive and encouraging in my emails. I like to think I’m intentional about lifting people up with my emails. But edifying folks is never the sole reason for my electronic communications. Never.

So now I’m writing three of these encouraging emails a day. And it’s tough.

2) So what is God going to show you while you’re completing your challenge? What do you expect to experience or learn through this exercise?

(Again, I’ll answer here; you answer by clicking the “comments” line up there) I believe I’m going to learn how to give without expecting anything in return. I’m going to practice giving life to people, building people up, with no strings attached. No agenda. Nothing to accomplish. I’m not looking for anything in return. This is what Jesus does. Christ gives and gives and gives. Christ considers the needs of others greater than his own. The Son of God initiates to serve and save with no regard for what he can gain for himself. And while, yes, there is an underlying motivation behind my encouraging emails this month — I have a challenge in front of me that I intend to tackle and conquer so I can stand before my congregation and say I did it — I’m doing it prayerfully, begging God to show me and teach me how to be more like him in the ways I interact with his children.

What challenge did you accept? What do you think God is going to show you? What’s NEXT? And are you moving toward that NEXT right NOW?

Peace,

Allan

Angels never appear to people in Scripture and say, “God is calling you to do nothing! Thank you!” and then disappear into the sky. It never happens.

“Gideon!”
“Yes?”
“I am an angel of the Lord. Stay put. God bless.”

That conversation never happened. God calls us to constant movement. Children of God are always on the go. Moving. Growing. Changing. Transitioning. Transforming. Advancing. Pressing. Attaining. Maturity. Development.

Always.

If you’re a member of the Central Church of Christ, you received a 4″ x 5-1/2″ card yesterday that contained three challenges to knock you out of your comfort zone and into what’s NEXT. The challenges were all different. They called our brothers and sisters to get more into the Word, to meditate on Scripture, to interact with their neighbors, to practice a spiritual discipline, to sacrificially serve, to give of themselves to others. They were all different; some of the challenges are more difficult than others. But they were all designed to get us out of our comfort zones into a place where we can listen to God’s leading and/or get engaged with other people in the name of Jesus. We asked each person in our church to choose one of the challenges. And then to do it.

Now, I don’t know what God is going to do with these little challenges. I have no idea. I don’t know what kind of an impact this is going to have on our individual members or on our congregation as a whole. I’m not sure if the impact will be immediate or longer range. I don’t know if it’ll result in subtle attitude tweaks that are barely noticeable or in really dramatic changes in our overall church mindset that will blow our community’s doors off. I don’t know.

But I do know this: completing these challenges will definitely have some kind of a positive, transformational, gospel impact on us as individual disciples and as a church family that will impact all of Amarillo. How do I know? Because God promises us that if we give ourselves wholly to him, if we keep adding to our faith more and more each day, if we keep striving, keep attaining, keep pushing and pressing, he will use us to his glory.

“Make every effort to add to your faith… For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive.” ~2 Peter 1:5-8

You might look at these challenges and say, “There’s no way I can do any of these. I just can’t.” You might also say, “This isn’t going to make a difference. If I do one of these challenges, it won’t change anything.”

Not true. Our merciful Father promises: if you’ll give yourself fully to him, he will use you. Sometimes in very surprising ways. However, if you stop moving, stop growing, stop pressing and pushing and attaining and striving, you’ll forget who you are and what you’re supposed to be doing.

Peace,

Allan

I’ve only heard Charles Siburt speak a couple of times. I’ve shaken his hand once. Just once. But I’m profoundly and eternally impacted by this great man. Chances are, so are you.

Charles Siburt is the “go-to guy” when it comes to healing churches, fixing church leaders, maturing disciples along the Way. He has worked with countless Church of Christ congregations, scores of elders and shepherds, and more preachers than any of us could count. He’s written books and articles, preached and taught sermons and lessons, and in some way counseled and advised almost every church leader I know.

I was blessed to spend three hours with Charles in two separate phone conversations in June last year. I wanted to find out what he knew about this Central Church of Christ in Amarillo. Turns out, he knew everything. And everybody. He gave me some things to consider. He cautioned me about a couple of potential problems. He probed into my own issues and problems like we had known each other for years. He dug deep to find out where I was spiritually, emotionally, mentally. But mostly he just went on and on about how great this church was. How healthy the leadership is here. How unified and focused and committed the elders and ministers are here to lead the church family in living and growing in Christ-likeness.

I remember a preacher friend of mine telling me after my first conversation with Charles, “If Charles says that’s a healthy church, you can know without a doubt it’s a healthy church. Charles knows a healthy church.”

At the end of my second and last phone conversation with Charles — I was sitting in my truck in my driveway in North Richland Hills, Charles was in some airport somewhere — he told me, “I think you and Central would be a perfect fit; you’re made for each other.”

That night I told another preaching colleague what Charles had said. He replied, “If Charles says it’s a good fit, then you know it’s a good fit. Charles knows how to match preachers and churches.”

They were all correct. Charles was correct. I couldn’t be happier. The match couldn’t be better. The fit here couldn’t be more perfect. And I know I went into this next phase of my Christian ministry in Amarillo in a better frame of mind more appropriately equipped because of Charles’ counsel. I read the books he recommended. I answered the questions he told me to ask myself. And I spoke to the people he said I should.

And I’m grateful. Eternally grateful.

We’re all expecting Charles to pass from this life to the next in just a few days. Our brother Charles is close, very close, to being in the intense face-to-face glory and presence of our God. How great for him. People who know Charles much better than I do are setting aside this Friday, February 3, day after tomorrow, as a day of prayer and fasting. I plan to join them. I plan to spend a great part of that day thanking our gracious God for blessing so many of us and our congregations with Charles’ expertise and passion; asking God to bless Charles’ wife, Judy, as she experiences the loss of her dearest companion; begging God to raise up others to pick up the encouraging and mentoring and healing where Charles is leaving off.

To read much more about Charles and this day of prayer and fasting please click on these links to people who really, really, really know him. My great friend Jim Martin’s thoughts can be found here. Dan Bouchelle has penned his own thoughts here. And Jordan Hubbard’s reflections are here.

During my two conversations with Charles seven months ago, he never told me that he was a big part of the reason Central is such a healthy church. Charles has been working very closely with this family of believers in downtown Amarillo for many, many years. He has encouraged our shepherds, he’s helped heal some very painful hurts, and he’s counseled our ministers here for a long, long time. It shows. The Kingdom of God is greater for it. The city of Amarillo is blessed because of it. And the new preacher here is grateful. Eternally grateful.

God bless Charles Siburt with his merciful comfort and peace.

Allan

During Eddie Wynn’s funeral yesterday, I must have heard at least a dozen phones go off at 3:18. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord!” I was informed later by three or four others that there were dozens of phones beeping and buzzing all over the worship center at Comanche Trail. In the middle of a funeral. Hey, what better time or place?

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“The Church exists to set up in the world a new sign which is radically dissimilar to the world’s own manner and which contradicts it in a way which is full of promise.” ~Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, 4.3.2

Oh, my word, we get so caught up in the politics of this world. The time we spend listening to talk radio and watching our own cable network’s spin on the news of the day, the energy we use extolling the virtues of our party or candidate and bashing the policies and platforms of the opposition, the ways we engage so passionately in debate betray a troubling preoccupation with the methods and means of an Empire to which we are not citizens. Yes, as children of God, we are rightly concerned with social injustice, disease, violence, war, crime, death, poverty, abuse, and all the effects of sin on his creation. But, as citizens of heaven who declare Jesus as Lord, not Caesar, we are called to join him in redeeming his creation in his name and by his manner.

Someone — I can’t remember who — once either told me or wrote in something I read that we are not to conform to the world, we are to convert the world.

Yeah. We don’t use the world’s ways; we use God’s way. And God’s way is by his Church.

“The most interesting, creative, political solutions we Christians have to offer our troubled society are not new laws, advice to Congress, or increased funding for social programs. The most creative social strategy we have to offer is the Church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. We serve the world by showing it something that it is not, namely, a place where God is forming a family out of strangers.

The Christian faith recognizes that we are violent, fearful, frightened creatures who cannot reason or will our way out of our mortality. So the Gospel begins, not with the assertion that we are violent, fearful, frightened creatures, but with the pledge that, if we offer ourselves to a truthful story and the community formed by listening to and enacting that story in the Church, we will be transformed into people more significant than we could ever have been on our own.” ~ Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, Resident Aliens, p. 82-83

Last month, when the movers were re-locating our furniture from the apartment to our new house, the driver of the huge truck asked me, “Do you think it’s OK for preachers to preach about politics in the pulpit?”

I answered, “I preach politics every single Sunday!”

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Our King is the risen Christ. Our allegiances are to him and his sovereign rule over every aspect of our lives. Thank goodness I’m not dependent on the sinful ways and means of this world’s governments for my well being. Thank goodness I’m not counting on this world’s leaders for my safety or security or sanity. Hallelujah, our God reigns! And he is redeeming the world in ways that make no sense to those who are driven by power and control, compelled by money and status, motivated by force and threat.

We belong to a polis. And, as our King says, it is not of this world.

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Huge rivalry basketball game tonight: Amarillo High at Tascosa. Whitney and I are going to take in the JV boys at 5:30 (let’s see what Braden’s got), the varsity girls at 6:30, and then the headliner varsity boy’s contest at 7:30. If the Sandies (20-3, 4-0) win it tonight, they’ll clinch a playoff berth in District 2-5A. This AHS team seems to be pretty good. They’ve got nine lettermen back from last year district champs, eight seniors on the team, and lots of big game experience.

I’m also interested to watch my friend Bret McCaslan tonight. The man puts himself in a position to act like Christ every Tuesday and Friday night. He intentionally places himself in harm’s way, he subjects himself to ridicule and humiliation, he makes himself vulnerable to the violence and hatred of the masses. He’s a high school referee. He’ll be in the middle of a crazy scene tonight, and in position to occasionally become the focus.

Go, Sandies!

Allan