The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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The Bible: God’s Revelation

January 15, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I want to continue the conversation about our Bible reading plans for 2025 with this statement about what the Bible is and what the Bible does:

The Bible is God’s revelation for our transformation.

Let’s start with revelation. Consider just two key passages that remind us the Bible is a communication from God given to us by God himself.

“When you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God.” ~1 Thessalonians 2:13

“All Scripture is God-breathed.” ~2 Timothy 3:16

The Bible is not just a collection of truths or a set of laws. It is a very complex, multi-faceted thing through which God has spoken, God is still speaking, and God promises to keep on speaking. Our God has not stopped talking. He hasn’t developed laryngitis. He’s not silent. He reveals to us who he is and his character and his will. He personally reveals to us what he is all about and what he is doing in this world all around us. He tells us how and why we were created and what his plans are for us. And the primary way he does that is through the Bible.

So, reading the Bible is everything. It’s life and death, and what you had for breakfast, and what you’re planning to do in April. It’s everything. So, you read the Bible with your whole life, not just with the gray stuff inside your skull.

The Bible is God’s Word straight from God himself. That’s what we believe. So, we know it’s right and we know it’s true. But sometimes we let the right and the true get in the way of our God. The whole Bible is about God–every line, every word. It’s about God. But we lose that sometimes. We’ll read all four chapters of Jonah and then spend eight weeks arguing about and trying to figure out how a man can live inside a whale and, if so, what kind of whale was it? Wait! Jonah is about God, not a whale! We’re missing it!

It’s like the football player who’s so in love with his uniform, he forgets he has a game to play. Or like the college student who finds a wonderful social life, but forgets to study. True, you can’t have Jonah without the whale, you can’t have a football game without the uniform, and college doesn’t really work without a social life. But they’re different things! We can’t miss the point!

The Bible is a revelation from God about God. And this direct revelation from God carries ultimate authority. But it’s not an impersonal authority like a collection of science facts and truth. It’s not a legal authority like volumes of legislation in a law library. It’s not a factual authority like a geometry textbook. It’s not historical authority like an ancient artifact under glass in a museum. The Bible is a personal, relational revelation that carries personal, relational authority. The Bible is God letting us in on something, showing us what it means to live as women and men created by him and in his holy image.

So, how we read it matters. We don’t pick and choose or copy and paste different verses together to win an argument or prove some point. When we open up the Bible, we open up something big, something huge and eternal, something personal from the Creator of Heaven and Earth and the Sustainer of Life. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no mind has conceived has been revealed to us now by God’s Holy Spirit.

We don’t read the Bible like we read the internet or a cookbook or a James Patterson novel. It’s not a constitution or a rule book or an owner’s manual for life. It’s God’s revelation. How we read it matters.

Peace,

Allan

Of Course He Called Deion First!

January 14, 2025 / / 0 Comments

In the immediate wake of Jerry’s parting with Mike McCarthy and the somehow believable news that the Cowboys owner has contacted Deion Sanders about filling his head coaching vacancy, there are many more questions out there than answers. The unknowns will all be revealed in due time–after a year or two of sitting on his couch, McCarthy will get around to writing his book. For now, amid all the speculation and guessing, there are a few truths we already know:

~ Jerry went into the final week of the season having no coaching plan for 2025. He denied the Bears an interview with McCarthy, missed the first round bye window to interview anyone with the Chiefs or Lions, and then four days later lost McCarthy and his entire coaching staff. If he’s going to contact any assistants with Detroit or K.C., he has to wait now until those teams are eliminated, possibly another month. If he wanted Vrabel or Belichick, he waited too long. If he really wanted McCarthy to stay, he should have determined a month ago if he could get him for the minimum wage one-year contract that was reportedly offered. That’s a man without a plan.

~ Jerry tried to sign McCarthy to another one-year deal. The exact terms haven’t been verified by McCarthy or the Cowboys organization, so that may not be absolute truth. What is indisputable truth is that Jerry went into the 2024 season with a head coach in whom he had no confidence–McCarthy and every assistant were on the final year of their deals. And Jerry’s plan was to do it again in 2025. He tried to sign McCarthy to another one-year contract! Who does that? And why would you hire a guy who would take it? And how would you ever sell that as exciting news to Cowboys fans?

~ Jerry called Deion Sanders the moment McCarthy walked. Coach Prime has already confirmed the phone call and the conversation–he can’t help it. We know that the Cowboys owner contacted his former shut-down corner within just a few minutes of negotiations breaking down with McCarthy. This is the way Jerry Wayne rolls. This is how he thinks and how he operates.

Hiring Deion would be the most Jerry thing Jerry could do. Has there ever been an owner in any sport who hogs the spotlight like Jerry? Has there ever been a player in any sport who self-promotes like Sanders? These two are made for each other. It’s happening. It’s the only thing that could have ever happened. You think the Cowboys thing is a crazy spectacle now? You think the Cowboys are focused solely on grabbing headlines and being culturally relevant and making money? You think what happens on the field always takes a back seat to what happens with Jerry’s endless promotions and marketing experiments and roster and playbook meddling? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The circus is just beginning.

Three rings. That used to mean Super Bowls to Jerry. Now it means a big top and a car full of clowns.

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

I said the Longhorns would have to play a perfect game against Ohio State Friday to advance to the college football national championship game and I outlined six things that had to happen. Four of the six things did not.

Instead of Texas scoring first, Ohio State got the game’s first points on a touchdown. Instead of zero turnovers, Texas had three. Instead of combining for 130 yards rushing, Wisner and Blue ran for 62. Instead of Ewers attempting fewer than 35 passes, he made 39 throws. The only things that went the Longhorns’ way was that they committed less than six penalties (5), and they held Jeremiah Smith to under 110-yards receiving (one catch for three yards–remarkable).

I know Quinn has the passion and the work ethic, I know he has the pedigree and the history, and I know he has grown as a quarterback and as a person. But I think we’re all ready for the Arch Manning era to begin in Austin.

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

With the Longhorns loss, our annual GCR Staff Bowl Challenge is over. I am pleased to announce that Ashlee Hill, one of our supremely gifted children’s ministers, ran away with the top prize. Ashlee correctly picked the winner of 14 of the 17 selected bowl games and had Texas and Penn State in the Final Four. Jim Tuttle, our experienced and wise Spiritual Formation Minister, finished a distant runner-up, a full 23-points behind Ashlee. The rest of us finished somewhere between them and Cory Legg, our talented Worship Minister, who, I think, has figured out a way to intentionally finish in last place. It wasn’t even close!

Peace,

Allan

Granddad Times Two

January 13, 2025 / / 1 Comment

We’ve been given the go-ahead today to announce to all our friends and family some incredibly big news. Carrie-Anne and I are thrilled to let you know that our little middle, Valerie, and her wonderful husband, David, are expecting. And we’re not talking about just one grandchild. No, that would be too easy for our free-spirited, unpredictable, anything-goes daughter. They’re having twins!

We are beside ourselves with joy and gratitude. And we really don’t know how to act yet. We’re gushing with anticipation and almost giddy with excitement. The babies — it sounds so weird to talk about this with plural pronouns — are coming late June or early July. From chromosome counts and blood work, we know that one of them is a boy and the other one could be a girl. The only certain is that they are not both girls. And we can’t wait.

Please join us in celebrating with Valerie and David and our family, in thanking God for this shocking and beautiful blessing, and in asking him to protect these four in the coming weeks and months.

And, when Whitney tells you the news, act like you didn’t already know.

Peace,

Granddad (?)

Bible Reading Plan

January 10, 2025 / / 2 Comments

I’m convinced most of us don’t read our Bibles. I think we believe the Bible is God’s Word, I think we believe the Bible is our authority, I think we believe our lives are better when we read the Bible, but I don’t think we really read it. I think it just sits there.

Am I wrong? Man, I hope I’m wrong.

Let’s say you are reading your Bible. Everybody’s reading the Bible.

I’m reading the Bible every day. I’ve got this plan.
I read the whole Bible every year, front to back. I follow this program.

Most of us can read the Bible. It’s not that hard. If you don’t have a Bible and you can’t afford to buy one, you can get a free one at any hotel or hospital. I can’t speak for the Gideons as an organization, but I don’t think they care–just take it! Also, anybody at any church will happily give you a Bible.

It’s not that we don’t own Bibles. It’s not even that we don’t read our Bibles. It’s not that we don’t believe the Bible is the holy Word of God–we do! The problem is that we don’t read the Bible formatively. We don’t read the Bible in order to live. We mostly read it for information instead of transformation.

We are surrounded by words. Our society is drenched in words. We are word-saturated. But most of the words we read morning, noon, and night have no impact on our lives. They don’t change anything. Grocery lists, newspapers, energy prices, text books, Facebook and Twitter, novels and magazines, owners manuals, menus and billboards and the continual crawl at the bottom of the screen–we’re constantly reading. But whether it’s a Texas meme or a Washington tweet or a story about a kidnapping in Wyoming, it doesn’t really change our day-to-day lives.

There’s a temptation to read the Bible the same way you read an email from work. Especially when you download the Bible onto your phone, there’s a real danger to read the Bible like you read the internet. We read it for information, to gain knowledge. We read it for entertainment, to laugh or to kill time. We read it for inspiration, to find something to get me through a tough spot or encourage me to achieve my goals. We read it out of desperation, when we’ve got nowhere else to turn. Or we read it out of determination, to check that box on my Christian disciplines or New Year’s resolution list. We can’t read the Bible the same way we read a cookbook or a James Patterson novel. It’s different.

What if, in 2025, instead of reading the whole Bible from Genesis through Revelation, you hunkered down in ten core passages? What if you identified ten foundational Scriptures that speak to the most important things: the nature of our God, his mission, your holy purpose, God’s grace, Christ’s love, the Holy Spirit’s power, the ways we should treat each other and think about the world. What if you camped out on those ten passages for the whole year and really got them inside your soul? Memorize them, meditate on them, pray them, journal them, recite them out loud. Instead of every word of the Bible rushing by you this year, what if you dug down deep into ten core passages until they became a part of you?

What would those ten passages be? How would you identify them? How might our God change you this year if you committed to this very different way of engaging his Word?

~~~~~~~~~~

IF Texas commits zero turnovers…

IF the Longhorns commit fewer than six penalties…

IF Texas scores first…

IF Wisner and Blue combine for 130+ yards rushing…

IF the ‘Horns defense holds Jeremiah Smith to under 110 yards receiving…

THEN Texas will beat Ohio State tonight and advance to the national championship game.

I really believe all five of those things must happen if the Longhorns are going to hang with the Buckeyes tonight. If even one of those five things doesn’t happen, they’re toast. That means not one single fumble or interception, and no turning the ball over on downs, going for it on fourth down and not making it–that counts as a turnover. It means Quinn Ewers can’t throw the ball 35 times; Texas must control things in the trenches with the run. That means the ‘Horns must play a perfect game, the best and most complete game from start to finish they’ve played all season.

Hook ‘Em!

Allan

Chili Today. And Tomorrow.

January 9, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been here long enough to know that it’s not going to snow. They definitely want it to snow–the local weather people. Shoot, I think most of us want it to snow. The forecast this week was calling for temperatures in the middle 20s, with a 40-60% chance of snow–maybe one to three inches!–to start falling Wednesday and last most of the day Thursday. But I’ve been here long enough. It doesn’t rain in Midland, much less snow.

I was confident to stand in the pulpit Sunday and guarantee our church at GCR that our annual Chili Cookoff set for Wednesday night would not be canceled or even postponed. If the snow stays in the forecast, we’re still having the chili cookoff. If it starts misting or spitting tiny little ice pellets, don’t call the church building asking about the chili cookoff. We’re having it. The colder it gets, the more chili we’re going to eat and the more fun we’re going to have.

Well, it threatened all afternoon. It was cloudy and cold, It was still in the forecast. At about 1:00pm, Jim and I noticed half a dozen microscopic pellets bouncing off my windshield. And then nothing. It happened again at about 6:00pm. A little rain and about 15-seconds of sleet. And then nothing.

Some were afraid that would be enough to keep people at home. We’re not quite the hardy West Texas folks we like to think we are. I experienced a fleeting moment of doubt at about 6:15pm. And then all the cars showed up and the people with crockpots began rushing in.

We had 35 pots of chili, everything from classic Texas red (no beans!) and white chicken to venison and exotic nilgai, from mild to ghost pepper scorch, and everything in between. We had to set up extra tables just to hold all the chili! I don’t know how many people showed up (200? preacher count?), but we were packed and it was a blast. Patrice McKinney took the top prize and was encouraged to wear her championship apron to church Sunday. Caitlin Landry was voted the runner-up and Linda Bomar took third.

Carrie-Anne made so much of her awesome chili that we’ve got enough left over for us to eat tonight while we watch Notre Dame and Penn State. It would be nice to eat Frito Pie in front of the fireplace and a college football playoff game with a decent snow falling outside. But it’s not happening. We’re getting beautiful pictures and videos from Valerie in Tulsa and Carley in Flower Mound where it’s been snowing all day. Not here. We got nothing. Zero. Not one flurry or flake. Stupid desert.

Peace,

Allan

Poems (Sermons) Hide

January 7, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I was recently introduced to a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye entitled “Valentine for Ernest Mann.” I know nothing about the poet or the context of the poem or the title. But the poem struck me as important truth. It’s about poems and poetry but, more than that, it’s about life and living. It’s about perspective and intentionality. Oh, it’s good.

While reflecting on the truth contained in these short verses, I naturally thought about preaching. And sermons. I replaced the word “poem” in the composition with the word “sermon,” and the whole thing became more profound and much more personal.

Here it is, with my unauthorized substitutions. Where you see the word “sermon,” Nye used the word “poem.” Same thing, in many ways.

You can’t order a sermon like you order a taco.
Walk up to  the counter, say, “I’ll take two”
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, “Here’s my address,
write me a sermon,” deserves something in reply.
So I’ll tell you a secret instead:
sermons hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn’t understand why she was crying.
“I thought they had such beautiful eyes.”

And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the sermons that had been hiding
in the eyes of the skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us,
we find sermons. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.

And let me know.

I pray this poem inspires you like it does me, to commit to “live in a way that lets us find” the sermons and the poems that are hiding all around us in plain sight.

Peace,

Allan

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