Author: Allan (Page 244 of 492)

Happy 180th!

March 2, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

On March 2, 1836 — that’s 180 years ago today — fifty-nine courageous pioneers signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, forming forever the great Republic of Texas. I’d like to invite you to celebrate this Texas Independence Day with your favorite plate of barbecue or tacos, listen to your favorite Willie Nelson or ZZ Top album, and praise God you weren’t born in Arkansas or West Virginia or some other awful place like Oklahoma.

I’d also like to ask you a question: Do you know our state song? Do you know the title? Do you know the lyrics?

If you immediately answered “Texas, Our Texas,” give yourself a pat on the back. If you can sing the song with all the right words in the right order, then give yourself a standing ovation and use what’s left of your lunch hour to design and print an official-looking certificate to honor your achievement. Up until last weekend, I wouldn’t have thought that knowing and being able to sing on demand our official state song was any kind of special accomplishment for anyone born and raised in our great state. But a troubling article in the current Texas Monthly brought that assumption into serious doubt.

Christian Wallace has written an informative and highly entertaining piece on the colorful history of our state song. His premise is a provocative one: our state song is a terrible song. No one knows it, no one remembers it, and no one ever sings it. Our state is too great to have such an awful state song. While Wallace makes a decent argument, I was most struck by his initial evidentiary proof. He claims to have conducted many informal surveys among friends and neighbors, passersby and strangers, and the overwhelming majority of them are unable to name our state song. Nobody can sing it.

I was offended by the very notion. Why, we sang it regularly in elementary school choirs and special programs and learned it again in 7th grade Texas History class. It’s our song! While driving back and forth across the Red River for a variety of reasons during my teenage years, I never failed to turn the radio down so I could belt out “Texas, Our Texas” as I crossed the border. “All hail the mighty state! So wonderful, so great!” Didn’t everybody do this?

Apparently not. I’ve conducted my own informal surveys this week with friends and co-workers, cashiers and waiters and passersby. Nobody knows our state song. A lot of people guess “Yellow Rose of Texas.” One lady argued with me about “The Eyes of Texas.” Some folks wrinkled up their faces and said, “We have a state song?” It pains me to say that Wallace is on to something.

I highly recommend his article. You can get to it by clicking here.

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Today is also my brother Keith’s birthday. He’s not 180. And I don’t think he has his own song. If he does, it might be “The Rover” from Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti. If you wanted to celebrate his birthday, you might watch Naked Gun tonight, careful to skip past the scene on the ledge and to watch the balls and strikes scene at least twice.

Keith is an outstanding theological thinker, faithful follower of our Lord, and devoted servant of God’s Church. His article “Restorationism and Church History: Strange Bedfellows?” from the Christian Studies journal he edits is a classic work on the complicated relationship between Churches of Christ and the whole of pre-restoration church history. I highly recommend it, too. He takes head-on our Cambellite creed of “nothing not as old as the New Testament” and introduces us to the concept of “retrieval theology” that seems very helpful:

“This is not a call to re-create or ape the faith and practice of a specific time or place from the past; not every thought or practice in church history is equally good or relevant for us. It means learning from the wisdom of our ancestors and appropriating the best that it has to offer for the sake of the church today.”

You can get to it by clicking here: KeithStanglinRestorationism

Happy Birthday, Keith. I’m very proud of you and very honored to be your brother.

Peace,

Allan

Saying “No” to the Good Ol’ Days

March 1, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

Demolition update from the west parking lot at Central Church of Christ: two buildings down, one to go.

As the Super Tuesday voting frenzy continues — on the streets of Amarillo, along the crawl at the bottom of my laptop screen, on the TVs at the Chinese food restaurant — I’d like to consider aloud a question posed by Philip Yancey in his 1999 work The Bible Jesus Read:

“Is it possible that God permitted the entire tragic experiment of Israel’s nationhood in order to prove a point about the visible kingdom — any visible kingdom? Solomon, with every advantage of wisdom, power, and wealth — all good gifts from God — led his nation to destruction. Did God grant Solomon those advantages in order to put to death illusions and thus prepare the way for a new kingdom?”

David had every blessing of God’s strength. He possessed great military might and strategic power. He conquered foreign lands and expanded Israel’s territory. Every enemy Israel ever had surrendered to David’s kingdom. Solomon after him had every blessing of God’s wisdom and peace. Great building programs. Wonderful economy. Peace. And it all failed. It collapsed. It was destroyed.

All kingdoms of this world are built on strength and power, on wealth and force, violence and intelligence. Yet even at their very best, they all fail. History has proven this over and over again.

Yancey continues:

“A later king — one greater than Solomon, he claimed — established his rule instead among the lame and poor and oppressed and ritually unclean. He belittled Solomon’s glory by comparing it to that of a common day lily. He offered no rewards other than the prospect of an executioner’s cross.”

Consider that the Jews in Jesus’ time were clamoring for a return to the good ol’ days. They wanted a Davidic King who would restore the nation back to the days when they were in charge, when they submitted to no one, when their enemies bowed to them, when the differences between them and everybody else was clear. They were hungry for a return of their nation to Solomon’s splendor, when peace was protected by the world’s biggest army, when religion reigned in fancy robes under the magnificent national temple, when everybody had plenty of what they wanted.

Jesus said “No” to that. Clearly.

Even after he was brought out of the tomb by God’s Holy Spirit, the disciples were still asking, “Are you going to restore the kingdom now?”

I hear Christians today clamoring for some return for the United States to some long ago glory days when followers of Jesus were in charge. Christians made the rules, I hear. Christians set the tone, they say. Christians had the respect, the power, the influence. Our churches were full and the laws of the land reflected our Christian will. That’s what they say. And, apparently, that’s why they vote. For the good ol’ days of Bush. Or Reagan. Or Solomon.

The good ol’ days were never ever ever better than David’s and Solomon’s. Those were the very best of anybody’s good ol’ days. And Jesus said “No.”

The kings of Israel who followed Solomon did not learn. The disciples who followed Jesus did not learn. What about us?

Peace,

Allan

Bye to Matt, Sort Of

February 29, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

The Madison Apartments are coming down! The three dilapidated buildings on the northwest corner of our church property have long been a security risk, a safety hazard, and an eyesore. Our grand plans to remodel the structures for the expansion of Heal the City’s free clinic were scuttled by the YMCA’s outright donation of their building on Sixth Street to the non-profit group last year. And, after much prayer and study, the decision has been made to just tear them down. This is just the very beginning stage of a long range plan for our church and a future capital campaign to fund those plans and ministries. In the meantime, please drive carefully this week around that corner of Central’s property.

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After twelve years of faithful congregational ministry at Central, we said goodbye today to Matthew Blake. Sort of. Matt and his wife Katie have made the decision to leave fulltime congregational ministry and pursue small scale farming and the salsa industry. Matt’s got farming in his blood and he’s eaten enough hot sauce in his lifetime that he probably has some of that in his blood, too. So, they’ve bought a nice little spread just east of Canyon where they’ll raise their own tomatoes, peppers, and onions and produce enough of his “Matchstick Salsa” to feed everyone who wants it, not just staff members and family.

Matt led our young singles ministry here at Central and has been a vital part of our foreign missions efforts and our visitors and new members ministries. His quiet, mild-mannered, even-toned personality appears to be in conflict with his wicked sense of humor and his propensity for playing clever pranks, but it actually all works perfectly together: he lulls you off your guard with a reflective soliloquy on the contemplative prayer life of a Benedictine monk while he’s plotting to replace the nameplate on your office door or fill the bed of your pickup with foul objects.

Needless to say, we laugh a lot around here together as a church staff, and Matthew is a big part of that.

We also pray together and dwell in God’s Word together as a church staff, and Matthew is a big part of that, too. I’ve known him and worked with him for only four-and-a-half years, but his insights and personal commitment to a disciplined life of following Christ have impacted me and every minister and every elder at this place. I’m forever grateful for the practices and disciplines he’s introduced to me that help me better engage our God. And I’m equally grateful for his imprint in those same areas on the leadership of our church. We’re all thankful for that.

Matt’s a good man. His heart belongs to our Lord. It’s clear to anyone who’s paying attention.

I’m excited for the Matchstick Salsa thing. I’m happy for Matt because he’s so clearly committed to chasing this passion. He’s really alive for this thing. It’s fun to see. But, there’s a part of me — I’ve shared this with him three or four times — that is sad, too. Matt’s a good minister. He’s a good congregational minister. God has blessed him with gifts for leadership and teaching and spiritual direction and I regret that we’re losing that. Of course, he’s not stopped being a minister. Our Father will have plenty of opportunities to work through Matthew in some of the same, but also in some very different, and maybe even potentially better, ways. But not having Matt as a congregational minister in our churches feels like a loss. That’s probably more my problem than anybody else’s. No, it’s definitely my problem.

Matt and Katie and little Lydia are staying here at Central and will remain vital members of our Central church family. For that, I’m grateful. The really good news is that now I won’t be nearly as hesitant when I choose a gift from under the tree at the staff Christmas party. I won’t have to wonder if he’s sabotaged my office or my truck. But if I’m going to eat some of his salsa, now I’m going to have to pay for it.

Peace,

Allan

Israel – You’re Invited!

February 25, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

I’m leading my bi-annual ten-day trip to Israel for a tour of the Holy Lands this fall and it’s time now to start figuring out a way for you to go with me. Maybe you’ve always wanted to go to Israel but you’ve never had a real opportunity. Maybe you went once many years ago and you’ve always wanted to get back. Maybe it’s on your bucket list. Everybody’s invited. You’re invited! I can only take 30 and I’ve already got six signed up. So if you’re thinking about it, get with me soon for more information and details.

We leave Texas on Monday October 31 for Tel Aviv and arrive back home on November 10. During our ten days in Israel we’re going to do it all from Dan to Beersheba. We’ll enjoy once in a lifetime experiences such as wading through the 2,700-year-old Hezekiah Tunnel, sharing a picnic on the banks of the Jordan River, floating on the Dead Sea, and praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. We’ll spend our evenings together in worship and reflection, processing what we’ve experienced that day and preparing for the next day’s agenda. We’ll cross the Sea of Galilee in a replica 2,000-year-old boat, we’ll see Peter’s house and the synagogue in Capernaum, we’ll tour the magnificent ruins of Beth Shan, and we’ll marvel at the waterfalls and lush vegetation at En Gedi.

If you want a complete listing of every day’s agenda, all the sites we’re going to see, and the details of the arrangements, click the “Israel Trip 2016” tab at the top of this page for a copy of the brochure. The cost is $3,995 per person, which includes all airfare and ground transportation, all meals, all hotels, all admission to all the sites, and all tips and taxes. You can also email me at allan@amarillocentral.org. If you live anywhere near Amarillo, we’re holding a no-obligation, informational meeting at 1:30 Sunday afternoon March 20 at Central Church of Christ.

Every paragraph of Holy Scripture contains geography, landscape, architecture, people, food, customs, dress, animals, agriculture, and ritual that serve to communicate the history and fact of God’s activity in our world. As you explore first-hand the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Israel on this trip, the story of our God’s faithful love will expand and deepen to penetrate your heart and soul like no other experience can.

I hope you’ll consider coming along.

Peace,

Allan

He Climbed Into the Boat

February 23, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! I Am! Don’t be afraid!’ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.” ~Mark 6:50-51

Notice that Jesus did not rescue his disciples out of the sea. He gets into the boat with them. He tells them, “I Am God!” Look at me. See this. I am God. I am in control of all these things. Don’t be afraid. I’m right here with you. I’m in charge of everything and you belong to me. I am God. And I’m getting into the boat with you. I’m doing this with you. We’re in this together.

Jesus gives them the strength and courage to continue the journey. They press on, confident that their Lord is with them, that he has dominion over heaven and earth, and that he will carry them through.

It’s like the letters in Revelation. Jesus tells the churches, “I know what you’re going through.” He knows the work and the toil and the endurance of Ephesus. He knows the affliction and poverty of Smyrna, the faithful witness of Pergamum in the middle of Satan’s throne. He knows the patient endurance of Thyatira and the struggle of Philadelphia. He doesn’t relieve them of their struggle. But he promises to be with them. And he promises victory if they’re faithful.

We must keep rowing. The wind is against us and we sometimes get completely blown off course. But we’ve got to continue “straining at the oars.” The power to cross the sea and reach the final shore does not lie with us. That belongs to God — the One who reveals himself to his people most perfectly in his Son, the One who guarantees that victory in his Son’s life, death, and resurrection.

Peace,

Allan

He Saw the Disciples

February 18, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

“After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.” ~Mark 6:46-48

The disciples are out in the water, right where Jesus put them. He “made” them go there, it says. They’re out on the lake and he’s on the mountain praying. He’s praying. And he’s watching them. He’s watching them as they strain at the oars because the wind is against them. If he’s watching them and he’s praying, I imagine he’s praying about them, don’t you? They’re struggling. They’re working hard. They’re fighting the wind and the waves and going nowhere. He sees them. He’s watching them. They’re stuck. They’re frustrated. Nothing’s happening! They’re actually being blown off course.

I feel like that sometimes. Do you?

In my desires to follow Jesus, in my best efforts to obey God, sometimes I feel like I’m beating my brains out against the wind. I’m rowing and rowing and rowing and not getting anywhere. I’m doing and working and striving and I’m stuck. Nothing’s happening. The wind is against me, it’s in my face. And I get frustrated. And I doubt.

You feel that, too. I know you do. There are so many things that fight against us, so many things that oppose us. Just the chaos of life in this godless culture is enough. But Jesus has put us here. He’s placed us here in the middle of crime and cancer and illness and death. We fight failure and rejection and ridicule and judgment. We’re distressed by divisions in the Church. We’re in turmoil over circumstances with our children or grandchildren. We’re struggling with our jobs. Temptation and sin and dishonesty and abuse. Vengeance and greed. Selfishness and lust. Yes, the wind is against us. And we strain at the oars.

Please take comfort in the fact that Jesus is watching you strain at the oars. He sees you. He knows. He’s aware of every struggle. He sees every battle. He knows the things that are causing you distress and heartache. He’s watching you.

And he is praying for you. He’s talking to the Father about you right now. Scripture tells us that Christ Jesus lives to intercede for us. It’s what he does. He watches the disciples and he prays. He’s watching you today and he’s praying. He’s pointing you out to the Father right now. He’s talking about you to God. And I imagine as he watches you strain at the oars, he’s very proud of you.

Peace,

Allan

Author: Allan (Page 244 of 492)

Happy 180th!

Saying “No” to the Good Ol’ Days

Bye to Matt, Sort Of

Israel – You’re Invited!

He Climbed Into the Boat

He Saw the Disciples

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