The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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The Superman Verse

September 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” ~Philippians 4:13

This might be one of the most popular verses in the whole Bible. I’m sure you’ve seen this verse printed on inspirational posters and gifts, silk screened on T-shirts and hoodies, emblazoned on coffee mugs and bumper stickers. You might have a Philippians 4:13 tattoo. We are very familiar with this verse. Seemingly everybody knows this verse. And it’s used, mainly, for personal motivation. Tim Tebow wore this verse on his face while he quarterbacked the University of Florida. Boxer Evander Holyfield was decked out from head to toe in this verse when he fought Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. This is primarily how the verse is used.

“I can do all my pushups through him who gives me strength.”
“I can win my baseball game through Christ who strengthens me.”
“I can complete the marathon through him who gives me strength.”
“I can be strong through Christ who gives me strength.”

This verse has become for a lot of people our Superman verse. “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” So that if I say it enough and believe it enough, I’ll be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound; I can go where no man has gone before. And in our overly individualized western culture with its overly emphasized focus on personal achievement and individual success, this thing has turned in to, first, “I can do all things…” or “I can do everything…” or I’ve even seen it as “I can do anything…” and, secondly, “my faith in Christ is going to get me there.” So we jump out of the phone booth with the big “S” on our chests and “Phil.4:13” on our capes, appealing mainly to our reliance on positive thinking and will power, ready to conquer the world!

“I can get that new job!”
“I can have the perfect marriage!”
“I can get that college scholarship!”
“I can beat this cancer!”
“I can dominate the defensive lineman on the other side of the ball or the lady in the office who stands between me and the bonus!”

There’s nothing wrong with positive thinking and there’s nothing wrong with hard work and doing your best. I’m all for that and I believe our Lord is, too. But this passage is not “I can do anything I want if I set my mind to it and just believe.” It’s not “I can accomplish any goal by my faith.” This is not about making the sales numbers or passing the semester exam or winning the golf tournament or losing 20 pounds. This verse is here not to tell you that you can be rich, but to tell you that you are already rich, even if you don’t have a penny. It’s not here to tell you that you can be powerful and strong, but to tell you that you’re already powerful and strong, even if you’ve never worked out in a gym.

Notice, the apostle Paul is not concerned at all in this passage with what he himself wants. He doesn’t write, “I can get out of jail, I can beat this rap, I can escape death through Christ who gives me strength.” He doesn’t say, “I can find a steady job, I can get married and settle down, I can stay off of those ships through him who strengthens me.” When Paul proclaims he can do everything through God in Christ, he talking about doing everything God’s called him to do. He’s talking about serving others in humility and sacrifice, regardless of his own personal circumstances. Whether he’s in need or whether he has plenty, well fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want, either way, I can do what God is calling me to do. I can put the needs of others ahead of my own, I can consider others better than myself, I can look to the interests of others, no matter my own personal situation. Paul is saying, “Whatever I happen to be going through, good or bad, has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not I’m living the Gospel and extending God’s love and mercy to others.”

Can you imagine? Patiently listening to the grumbling neighbor, serving my grumpy neighbor, when I’m not sure how I’m going to pay my bills this month? Taking a cake or writing a card to the sick lady from my Bible class when I’ve got tons of reports stacking up at work? Forgiving my cousin when what she said about me has wounded me so deeply? Visiting and loving and encouraging others when the Multiple Sclerosis is wracking my body with so much pain I can barely walk? Flying to Africa to serve orphaned children when my husband was just killed in a motorcycle accident last month? Does anybody really live like that? If so, how?

Certainly not with their own strength. That’s impossible.

We are not in charge. We are not the masters of our destiny. We are not the captains of our lives. God didn’t die and make you boss. If we are Christians, Christ Jesus is our Lord. We are not our own; we are bought with a price. It’s not about our dreams, our goals, our agendas, and then getting God to help us with them. It’s about Christians like Paul, Christians like the brothers and sisters in Philippi, Christians like you and the people at your church, doing God’s will, working out God’s salvation, persevering in God’s mission in God’s way, no matter our circumstances.

Peace,

Allan

Little Blue Stars

September 15, 2014 / / 1 Comment

We need to probably revisit the policy here at Central that gives all the ministers and administrative assistants keyed access to all the offices.

I walked in to my study early Saturday morning to discover that the whole room had been desecrated with the metallic blue and silver of Jerry Wayne’s Dallas Cowboys. Blue streamers and silver stars criss-crossing the ceiling, blue plastic on the floors and the chairs, Cowboys pom poms on the printer, little tiny blue stars glitter in my chair and on my phone and SPRINKLED ALL OVER MY STUDY BIBLE! A few dozen balloons, a pair of Cowboys slippers with a funny note, and a large posterboard declaring my allegiance to the football team in Arlington.

Now, I can appreciate a clever prank. I love a good joke. The more creative and surprising, the better. And this one was pretty good. What topped it off, though, and made it almost borderline genius were the dozens and dozens of little pictures of my head taped to all the pictures of the Cowboys players on the walls. These perpetrators were not content to just paste my face to my existing décor. They came in with their own doctored up photos and plastered them all over the walls, too. Some of these were downright hilarious. A couple of them were almost creepy. But it was all really, really funny Saturday morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, I am now finding little tiny blue stars everywhere. Everywhere. I thought I had cleaned all of them off my phone. But at 1:45 this afternoon, fifteen minutes before Ralph Hill’s funeral in the chapel, I’m leaving a meeting in Greg’s office when Mary starts laughing and pointing at my left ear. A little blue glitter star right there in my ear! I’m glad she caught it before the funeral; I’m not sure how I would have explained that. Knowing one of the pranksters and her style, I’m certain I’ll be finding little pictures of my face and little blue stars in weird places in this office for the next several months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah, Aleisha, and Whitney: Congratulations. Well played. Very good. But, I’m on to you. Your day is coming. Maybe not this week. Maybe not this month. But your day is coming.

Now, how do I get this tiny blue star out of the USB port on this laptop?

Peace,

Allan

Do You Remember?

September 11, 2014 / / 0 Comments

This past Sunday it was Ken. The Sunday before that it was Lynzi. We are so blessed to be able to so often participate in Christian baptisms during our weekly assemblies. We watch and pray, cheer and sing, as these new disciples publicly confess Jesus as Lord and put him on in baptism for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. What an incredible event!

When I visit with these new followers of Jesus, I always stress that they should look back often on their baptisms. They should intentionally reflect on what God created in them that day they were buried and raised with Christ. We should all remember what God did for us and with us when we came up out of the water.

God has made something brand new out of each of us. He has chosen now to live inside us and to re-create us to experience all of life in a brand new way. It’s amazing, really. Death has nothing on us anymore. And neither does sin.

Do you remember when you were baptized? Who baptized you? Where did it happen? Do remember how you felt when you came up out of the water? Do you remember the songs that were sung? The people who were there?

It was the single greatest day of your life. You may not recognize it all the time. But that was the day you were added to God’s eternal Kingdom. That was the day you were made righteous by the salvation work of Christ and reconciled to your Creator. It was a tremendous day, a cosmic day when eternity broke through the barriers of time and space and took up residence inside your body and soul.

Praise God for the blessings of his loving and merciful salvation. And give him thanks for the great privilege of sharing those wonderful baptism days with others.

Peace,

Allan

Properly Permitted

September 10, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Our youngest daughter, little Carley Bear, turned 15 today. Yes, fifteen. Whoa. I took her to the DPS this morning to get her driver’s permit. We waited in line together, submitted all the paperwork and forms, signed the documents, took the picture, got her properly permitted, and then I let her drive the little Ford Ranger for about an hour all over southwest Amarillo.

Carley is a freshman at Amarillo High. She’s stunningly beautiful, brilliantly smart, hilariously funny, and singularly amazing in dozens of ways. I can’t imagine there’s anything she can’t do. If she wants something, she goes for it all the way. Hurdles and pole vaulting, running and jumping, lifting weights and doing chin ups. Painting and drawing, singing and acting, hiking and climbing. And she’s got hanging out down to a science: Carley and all her little buddies  watching crime dramas on TV and talking about boys.

Did I mention she’s our youngest?

I love hanging out with Carley. She’s very observant; she gets it. We notice a lot of the same things in people around us and in the culture at large. We think a lot of the same things are funny. She’s getting better and better at Ping Pong, racking up 17 points in a game against me earlier this week. That’s fun.

She’s in that really tough in-between stage. She’s in-between childhood and adulthood; caught in the middle of wanting to color in a coloring book and get a job to save money to buy a car; living in the land between a naïve optimism and joy and a knowing and experienced caution. Like everybody her age, she sometimes has these little cracks in her self-esteem and confidence. I hear it every now and then. And I want so badly for her to understand that everybody goes through this stuff, especially at this age. Carley’s not just learning about driving, she’s learning about life. And she’s learning that it’s never a super smooth ride for very long. One minute you’re soaring after a major accomplishment or in the middle of a great relationship. An hour later you feel like your heart falls into your socks because of a significant setback or a stupid boy. It just happens.

Carley, you need to know how much your mom and I love you. You need to know that we are cheering for you with every step as you become this wonderfully incredible young woman our God created you to be. We are so very, very proud of you. And we will never stop supporting you and defending you and encouraging you through all of your achievements and successes.

You are something else, girl. I love spending time with you. I love listening to your heart. I rejoice in every victory of yours, and my heart breaks in half every time you’re sad. And we’ve got just 15 more days until you and I see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers together on the floor at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Happy Birthday, Bear.

I love you.

Dad

The Almost Impossibly Hard Thing

September 9, 2014 / / 1 Comment

Soren Kierkegaard said sin is substituting things — any thing — for God. Good things, bad things, it doesn’t matter. If you find your identity, if you find your true self, your self worth, your emotional well-being, if your life is centered on any thing other than God, that is sin. Using this definition, Timothy Keller categorizes a lot of what we pursue as modern day men and women as sin in his terrific apologetics masterpiece, The Reason for God:

~If you center your life and identity on your spouse or partner, you will be emotionally dependent, jealous, and controlling. The other person’s problems will be overwhelming to you.
~If you center your life and identity on your family and children, you will try to live your life through your children until they resent you or have no self of their own. At worst, you may abuse them when they displease you.
~If you center your life and identity on your work and career, you will be a driven workaholic and a boring, shallow person. At worst you will lose family and friends and, if your career goes poorly, develop deep depression.
~If you center your life and identity on money and possessions, you’ll be eaten up by worry or jealousy about money. You’ll be willing to do unethical things to maintain your lifestyle, which will eventually blow up your life.
~If you center your life and identity on pleasure, gratification, and comfort, you will find yourself getting addicted to something. You will become chained to the “escape strategies” by which you avoid the hardness of life.
~If you center your life and identity on relationships and approval, you will be constantly overly hurt by criticism and thus always losing friends. You will fear confronting others and therefore will be a useless friend.
~If you center your life and identity on a “noble cause,” you will divide the world into “good” and “bad” and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.
~If you center your life and identity on religion and morality, you will, if you are living up to your moral standards, be proud, self-righteous, and cruel. If you don’t live up to your standards, your guilt will be utterly devastating.

The only real solution is not simply to change our behaviors, but to reorient and center every part of our lives on God. Our self worth and sense of purpose and reason for living and emotional well-being must all be found in Christ. If he is not the center, we’re going to be in trouble.

This passage from C. S. Lewis’ essay “Is Christianity Hard or Easy?” sums it all up pretty well:

The ordinary idea which we all have is that we have a natural self with various desires and interests. And we know something called “morality” or “decent behavior” has a claim on the self. We are all hoping that when all the demands of morality and society have been met, the poor natural self will still have some chance, some time, to get on with its own life and do what it likes. In fact, we are very like an honest man paying his taxes. He pays them, but he does hope that there will be enough left over for him to live on.

The Christian way is different — both harder and easier. Christ says, “Give me ALL.” I don’t want just this much of your time and this much of your money and this much of your work — so that your natural self can have the rest. I want you. Not your things. I have come not to torture your natural self; I will give you a new self instead. Hand over the whole natural self — ALL the desires, not just the ones you think wicked but the ones you think innocent — the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead.

The almost impossibly hard thing is to hand over your whole self to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is remain what we call “ourselves” — our personal happiness centered on money or pleasure or ambition — and hoping, despite this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us we cannot do. If I am a grass field — all the cutting will keep the grass less but won’t produce wheat. If I want wheat, I must be plowed up and re-sown.

Everybody is living for something. Whether you think of it that way or not, whatever it is eventually becomes your Lord.

Where are you pouring most of your time and energy, your money and resources? Where do you find most happiness and fulfillment? What are you pursuing more than anything else? The answer to that question is the lord of your life. And if its anything other than Jesus, it’s not going to work for too much longer. Jesus says lose your life for me and I’ll save it. Throw it away for me and I’ll give you eternal life forever. Make yourself last for my sake and I’ll exalt you on high.

Peace,

Allan

How ‘Bout Them Cowboys?

September 6, 2014 / / 2 Comments

The Dallas Cowboys are 136-136 since the end of the 1996 season. That was a long time ago, pardner. Since then, the Cowboys have had more players named Roy Williams than playoff wins. Since the Cowboys last played in a conference championship game, Derek Jeter was named AL Rookie of the Year. The Cowboys’ mathematically perfect 17-year run of mediocrity is not the most terrible news on the eve of the 2014 campaign. Tony Romo’s spinal column is being held together with duct tape and twisty ties. And his backup is Brandon Weeden. Last year’s third worst defense in NFL history is now without DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher. The team’s best defensive player is out for the first four games with a drug suspension. And Jerry Jones having his picture taken with a couple of strippers is only 4th or 5th in a list of the terrible decisions he’s made since last year’s 8-8 finish. Should the Cowboys complete this season at 8-8, they will become the first team in NFL history to go .500 in four consecutive seasons. If the Cowboys go 8-8 this season, they should give Jason Garrett the Coach of the Year award.

I think the Cowboys will go 6-10 this season. Here’s how I see it playing out:

Sep. 7 v. San Francisco – Dallas has won two straight openers; but not this year. Scott Linehan, the Cowboys third different offensive coordinator in the past three years, calls DeMarco Murray’s number on 13 of their first 15 offensive plays. The Cowboys are 11-0 when Murray gets 20 or more carries. Oops. Make that 11-1. Murray nets only one run for a first down while Frank Gore runs for 125 yards and 2 TDs for the 49ers. Linebacker Sean Lee, watching from home and disgusted by the performance of the Dallas defense, gets up to change the channel and breaks his leg in three places. All the Dallas scoring comes from four Dan Bailey field goals. Dallas loses 35-12.

Sep. 14 @ Tennessee – Tony Romo throws for 299 yards, 161 of them to Dez Bryant, against the overmatched Titans secondary and the Cowboys win in a shootout, 41-38. Morris Claiborne gets burned for two touchdowns for the second week in a row and explains to reporters afterward, “Hey, at least I’m not doing steroids!” It looks like when Stephen Jones physically restrained his dad from drafting Johnny Manziel back in April will be the best defensive play made by any Cowboy all year. Romo says his back is just fine.

Sep. 21 @ St. Louis – In an awkward moment captured by FOX cameras, Rams coach Jeff Fisher embraced Cowboys practice squad player Michael Sam during pre-game warm-ups and whispered something into his ear. St. Louis defensive coordinator Gregg Williams places bounties on Tony Romo and Jason Witten. But the Cowboys win anyway, 33-28. Both of Dallas’ wins have come against two teams with a combined record of 0-6, but Jerry Wayne tells reporters he’s starting to feel things turning their way.

Sep. 28 v. New Orleans – Drew Brees brings the Cowboys back to reality by throwing for a record 516 yards and five TDs in a 53-10 rout on Sunday Night Football. Jimmy Graham has his way against the Cowboys defense, scoring on a reception, a run, a flea-flicker pass, and a drop-kick field goal on third down. Sean Lee, watching from the sidelines on crutches, trips over a headphone cord and tears his MCL. After the game, Rolando McClain retires. Again. He says he’s not in good enough shape to chase all those receivers down from behind. An optimistic Jason Garrett says, “We’re continuing to get better in certain areas each week. And our goal is to keep getting better in other areas each week.” Not even Tony Dungy on the post-game show has anything good to say about Dallas.

Oct. 5 v. Houston – Orlando Scandrick’s return to the Cowboys secondary can’t prevent the team’s second consecutive defeat, 27-13. The worst news, though, is the loss of quarterback Tony Romo. J. J. Watt and rookie Jadaveon Clowny make a Romo sandwich on a vicious sack in the second quarter, breaking Romo’s collarbone and Jerry Wayne’s heart. Backup Brandon Weeden came into the game — that’s like being in a sinking ship and discovering that the emergency life raft is a styrofoam Toot n Totem ice chest — and went 2-19 with two interceptions. Babe Laufenburg actually started warming up in the broadcast booth. Coach Jason Garrett says they’ll simplify the playbook for next week’s game at Seattle.

Oct. 12 @ Seattle – The Super Bowl champions demolish Dallas 38-17 and it wasn’t even that close. Brandon Weeden missed the first set of downs when he lost his way coming out of the visitors locker room. Dez Bryant stormed off the field with still more than four minutes to play. Cole Beasley took a selfie with Richard Sherman after the game. On the way home, Troy Aikman tells Joe Buck he’d rather do some of the divisional baseball playoff series than another Cowboys game this year. Jerry Wayne considers calling Quincy Carter.

Oct. 19 v. Giants – The Cowboys’ losing streak hits four in a division loss at home to New York. Eli Manning, who looks like the junior high kid who still has to use the safety round tip scissors in class, throws for three touchdowns.

Oct. 27 v. Washington – In a secret agreement brokered by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Jerry Wayne brings Michael Sam off the practice squad and makes him a defensive starter four days before the nationally televised Sunday night game on ESPN. Goodell hopes the publicity surrounding the first openly gay NFL player will distract the media from the worldwide protests against the politically incorrect name of Daniel Snyder’s team. What he doesn’t realize is that it’s not the name “Redskins” that is offensive; it’s the team itself, the Redskins, that are offensive. They’re terrible. Washington turns the ball over four times and the Cowboys end their losing skid 24-10.

 Nov. 2 v. Arizona – Larry Fitzgerald catches eleven passes for 201 yards and three scores as the Cardinals hand Dallas its sixth loss this season 34-24. Brandon Weeden was only allowed by the Cowboys coaches to hand the ball off to Murray and throw safe balls in the flat to Witten. It’s rumored that Romo will be able to return following the bye week. Jerry Wayne is googling Vinny Testaverde.

Nov. 11 v. Jacksonville in London – In an effort to globalize American football, the NFL flies the Cowboys and the Jaguars across the pond to stage a real regular season game in England. Too bad they didn’t send over two real regular NFL teams. This is bad football. And boring. The mostly Cowboys partisan crowd starts the wave during a lull early in the second quarter and keeps it going throughout the Spice Girls halftime show. Doug Free scores the game’s only touchdown on a tackle eligible fumble-rooskie. Dallas enters the bye week with a win 13-6.

Nov. 14 – The biggest news of the bye week is that Tony Romo appears to be fully recovered from his week five injury and is ready to quarterback the Cowboys down the stretch. That’s good because Drew Henson wasn’t returning Jerry Wayne’s calls. At 4-6, Dallas is still alive in the playoff race, only a game back of the Eagles and Giants in the dismal NFC East. In other news, t’s discovered that while in London the week before, Jerry Wayne spent almost one-and-a-half million dollars wining and dining NFL referees on a party yacht. The league declines to investigate. They figure even with crooked refs, the Cowboys can’t win.

Nov. 23 @ Giants – It’s hard to believe that Tom Coughlin is still the Giants’ coach. Tony Romo looks solid in his return, throwing for three scores in a relatively easy 35-21 victory on Sunday Night Football. Jason Witten becomes the Cowboys all-time leading receiver with his third grab in the third quarter. And after the game, Jerry Wayne announces that Rolando McClain has rejoined the team. Asked by reporters why he would bring back a guy who has been arrested multiple times and retired multiple times, Jerry replied, “I just really like his story.”

Nov. 27 v. Philadelphia – Eagles coach Chip Kelly never let up, running his no-huddle offense up and down the field and all over the Cowboys, ruining Thanksgiving Day in Dallas 42-27. At one point late in the first half, Jason Garrett intentionally spilled a plate of nachos onto the field near the hash marks at the 40-yard line to force an official time out. Who needs DeSean Jackson? Nick Foles completed an NFL record 19 one-yard passes to Darren Sproles in the blowout win.

Dec. 4 @ Chicago – In a rare scheduling quirk that has the Cowboys playing on consecutive Thursdays, Jay Cutler and the Bears beat the Cowboys 41-38. Cutler becomes the third quarterback this season to pass for more than 400 yards against the Cowboys defense. Jason Garrett reminds reporters that Dan Bailey made all five of his extra point attempts. Jerry Wayne contacts Nick Saban and tries to set up a lunch.

Dec. 14 @ Philadelphia – This game was originally set for prime time Sunday Night Football on NBC. But the league’s flex schedule moved it to the Lifetime Channel in order to show Buffalo versus Tampa Bay. Even on ten days rest, Dallas didn’t look ready in this one. Philly won it easily 27-13. Jerry Wayne gives Jason Garrett a confusing vote of confidence after the game. “I see progress every week with Jason,” says the owner. “I know what we’re doing at head coach. And until we stop doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep doing it with Jason.” When a reporter asks Garrett about his teams’ notorious December swoons, the coach says, “There’s still a lot of football to be played. We’re just trying to get better every week.”

Dec. 21 v. Indianapolis – Andrew Luck throws for 428 yards and the  Colts wrap up home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 45-24 pasting of the Cowboys. At 5-10, the Cowboys are officially eliminated from postseason contention. Jerry Wayne places a phone call to Bobby Petrino and tells the Louisville coach they’re fine with office romances at Valley Ranch.

Dec. 28 @ Washington – An awkward moment before the season finale when Jason Garrett and his wife step into a stadium elevator and find Jerry Wayne on his way upstairs with Jon Gruden. Robert Griffin III plays in a full body cast, but it’s not enough to inspire his teammates to avoid the season sweep at the hands of the Cowboys. In a balanced attack, Demarco Murray runs for 127 yards and a touchdown while Tony Romo throws for 260 yards and two scores in the 28-17 victory. The Cowboys defense gives up nearly 500 yards to the team now referred to as the Washington First Americans and finish the year last in the league in every major statistical category. After the game, Sean Lee, recovering from third-degree burns suffered during a holiday cooking accident while deep-frying a turkey, declared himself ready to go in 2015. Jerry Wayne expresses great disappointment and even some surprise at the 6-10 finish. He tells reporters that Garrett and everyone on the staff and the team will be evaluated before the spring scouting combines. Rolando McClain announces his retirement. Stephen Jones begins looking at a list of promising draft-eligible offensive linemen. Tony Romo declares that going 6-10 is not the worst thing that will ever happen to him, while he and Jason Witten hop on a plane to the Virgin Islands.

You read it here first.

Peace,

Allan

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