The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Learn to Praise

March 27, 2012 / / 4 Comments

“Is this not the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” ~Daniel 4:30

We must be praisers of God. We are mostly praisers of people, praisers of things, praisers of ourselves, praisers of almost anything and everything but God. But we must learn to praise God. We must give him glory. We must give him honor. We must give him credit.

We must stop praising technology. We must stop praising innovation. We must stop praising politicians and platforms and parties, celebrities and athletes, preachers and churches, corporations and CEOs. We must learn to praise God.

Without him, we are sinners condemned to hell; with him, we are righteous sons and daughters of his eternal glory. Without him, we are an assembly of misfits and morons with no potential for good; with him, we are a community of heaven’s ambassadors on a mission to change the world. Without him, we are blind and lost; with him, we can see and we are saved. We must learn to praise him more and praise him better. We must give him more glory and honor.

We must stop just sitting there in our Christian assemblies, Sunday morning after Sunday morning, refusing to praise our God. Young people, old people, and everybody in between — we must learn to praise God. We must stop sitting there as spectators while others praise. We must stop the selfish and sinful practice of choosing when to praise and when not to praise according to who’s leading and what they’re leading. We must stop the arrogant practice of, even in our singing, while singing, being proud that we’re praising correctly, being proud that we’re doing it right. We must stop spending twenty minutes at a time writing down requests for prayers of physical healing and financial deliverance and start spending hours on our knees together in earnest prayers of praise and thanksgiving to the God who has already rescued us.

We were made to praise him, created to bring him glory, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to give him honor. We were meant to turn our eyes and energies toward him, never toward ourselves. Good things happen when we praise. When we praise God, we actually feel better — physically, emotionally, spiritually — because we’re doing what we were always designed to do.

Power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. None of it belongs to us. All of it belongs to our God.

Peace,

Allan

Nothingness

March 26, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Nothingness really is a word. It is; I looked it up. It’s not one of these made-up words that college basketball commentators like to throw around during televised tournament games. I’m not sure of anyone’s “sizeability.” I don’t think any player has “longness.” And I’m certain that one cannot describe a coach’s “toughicity” or a power forward’s “reachness.” Give me Verne Lundquist any day. Every day. When words fail, I’ll take his “My gracious!” and “Merciful heavens!” over the made up stuff all the time. By the way, that Kansas pick isn’t looking so crazy now, is it?

Nothingness really is a word.

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself.” ~John 5:19

Jesus said that. Really. Jesus says without the Father, he is nothing. He can say nothing. He can do nothing. Jesus claims that he resides and operates in nothingness without God.

But, wait a second! He’s Jesus! This is the Son of God!

Yes, that’s true. But without the Father, he can do nothing.

See, Jesus understood that our God does his very best work in nothingness. Through nothingness, our God does eternally spectacular stuff. Our Father is very consistent on that. Scriptures present this truth very consistently. With God, the winners are exposed as losers and the losers are revealed to be winners. David and Goliath. Gideon. Jericho. The prodigal son and his older brother. The ones who are nothing are everything; the ones who seemingly have it all are actually defeated. Our God is a God of tremendous surprises.

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself.”

Christian ministry is conducted in the middle of these great surprises. We work as disciples in the midst of these amazing shocks. We’re standing around in the middle of nothing in particular, doing nothing important, seeing nothing impressive, feeling nothing exciting, when suddenly God sees and does something huge! Right in the middle of all that nothingness, our Father will create something truly substantial and eternal. Something massive!

I sometimes — actually, I should use the word “often” here — slip into a mood of thinking I can do all kinds of wonderful things. I can preach this and I can plan that and I can promote and encourage and teach and lead and write. I can be productive. I can be valuable. I can be important. I can do really good things.

Jesus says he can do nothing without the Father. Me, too. I can do nothing without our God. Nothing. All good gifts come from him in love, all good things I might possibly do are manifestations of his matchless grace and nothing else. I am nothing. My work is nothingness. My potential is nothingness. My abilities and talents are nothing.

And, praise God, that’s where he works. God works in nothingness. Where there is nothing, our Father does something, something big and everlasting. Where I see nothing, our God sees something, something important and eternal.

Jesus told Paul, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul reminded that when we are weak, because of our Father, we are strong.

God is working right now in your nothingness. Lord, please work right now in our nothingness.

Peace,

Allan

Anticipating Tulsa

March 20, 2012 / / 1 Comment

“When I prayed to make the Broncos better, I didn’t mean Peyton Manning!”

~Tim Tebow

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Carrie-Anne and I are headed up to Tulsa for our annual time of spiritual renewal and ministry rejuvenation. The Tulsa Workshop has long been a favorite destination for us. Every year we are encouraged, uplifted, inspired, equipped, empowered, enlightened, and educated. It’s in Tulsa where we sing our lungs out, we “amen” some of the best preachers in the faith, and we’re transformed. We grow in Tulsa. We change in Tulsa.

I’m approaching this year’s three day event with the same anticipation. I’m so privileged to sit with Terry Rush in his office at 6:30 Thursday morning; what encouraging thing will he say to me this time? I’m so blessed to call Rick Atchley a good friend; what valuable advice will he give me when I see him? My life is more meaningful for knowing Rick and Beverly Ross and their whole family; how will Josh challenge me this year?; how much of their broken hearts and enduring faith will Rick and Beverly reveal to inspire me?

How much of Jeff Walling’s sermons will I steal? Who am I going to run into that I haven’t seen in ten years? How hard will Randy Harris make me laugh? How long will Chris Moore’s beard be, and how many rubber bands will be holding it in place? How many tears will roll down my cheeks as Keith Lancaster leads us in “It Is Well With My Soul” while I realize that my sin — not in part, but the whole! — has been nailed to the cross?

I’ll get to see Dan Bouchelle for the first time since I took his old job at this wonderful church in Amarillo (hopefully, nobody’s told him yet that I referred to him in a sermon two weeks ago as Central’s interim preacher). I’ll get to sing praises to our God with my wife and with our old friends from Mesquite and with new friends we haven’t even met yet and with hundreds and hundreds of Christ’s redeemed. Is Marvin Phillips still alive?!? I’ll listen to Jay Guin and Don McLaughlin and Patrick Mead. I’ll come back with books and CDs and a refreshed understanding of my own salvation and a renewed enthusiasm for the mission to which our Father has called me. And we might run into Garth Brooks again at the Mexican food restaurant.

I love the Tulsa Workshop. I highly recommend it.

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My friend Jerry Schemmel, the play-by-play voice of the Colorado Rockies, has just released a brand new clothing line with a Bible-based theme. This is his baby: 1925 Sports — workout gear with logos inspired by 1 Corinthians 9:25. “…to get a crown that will last forever.”

Here’s the link. Check it out. Way to go, Jerry. Very cool. I know your schedule’s about to get really hectic. Enjoy the relative calm of the final two weeks of spring training. Someday, when you get out of baseball broadcasting to enter the full-time preaching ministry, we’ll talk about hectic. Have a great season.

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The above Tim Tebow joke was submitted earlier today by Josh Penn. Thanks, Josh. See you at the Warrior Dash next month.

Peace,

Allan

The Crown

March 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Scripture tells us Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. The Gospel of Mark describes this last journey for our Lord as Jesus “being on the way.” He was heading to Jerusalem with purpose, with great determination. Jesus was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him.

When he arrives near the holy city, he is greeted by cheering crowds. They praise him. They submit to him, throwing their cloaks in the path before him. They applaud him because of his miracles and his powerful teachings. They want to crown him their king. They’ve been praying for this King for generations, for centuries. They had heard the prophesies. They had told the stories. Luke says “the people thought that the Kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” They want to crown Jesus their king.

The crowds are cheering. But Jesus is crying. Isn’t that interesting? What a crazy contrast. What an unexpected bit of information.  The people are cheering and praising and exalting Jesus. But he’s crying.

Jesus willingly rode into Jerusalem to be crowned. With a crown of thorns. A crown of suffering and pain, anguish and shame. This crown of thorns is a strong statement about the kingship of Jesus. This crown represents a whole new way of experiencing the world. This crown represents an entirely different way of seeing success. It shows us a new way to view time and history and reality. This crown is powerful.

The King who wore this crown loved his enemies. His righteousness was greater than that of the Pharisees. He was rich, but he became poor in order to save the world. And as he’s dying on the cross — suffering, suffocating, gasping for his last breath — he uses his final ounces of energy to intercede for his killers, “Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.”

This crown of thorns is not a detour on the way to the Kingdom of God. It’s not an inconvenient hurdle, not even a necessary obstacle that has to be overcome to get to the Kingdom of God. This crown IS the Kingdom of God! This crown and everything it represents IS the Kingdom of God come on earth just as it is in heaven! It is an eternal statement about the kingship of Jesus and it communicates to us very clearly what God’s Kingdom is all about.

Some people accept this statement. Some people don’t fully understand the statement. And some people flat-out reject it. But, make no mistake: it IS the statement. It is the revelation. Jesus’ victory over sin and death was won in suffering and shame. He willingly, intentionally, determinedly wore the crown. And he is our Almighty King!

Peace,

Allan

The Anti-Triumphal Entry

March 15, 2012 / / 3 Comments

March Madness is upon us. I saw a report yesterday that claimed nearly 40-percent of America’s workplaces have some kind of a bracket contest going among employees. I wonder how many churches are involved? I’ve got brackets entered at home against Whitney, here at church with the other ministers and staff, and in an ESPN group of our Central church young families. For the record I’ve got Kentucky, Ohio State, Missouri, and Kansas in the Final Four with the Jayhawks beating Mizzou for the title. Matthew and Greg made fun of my picks this morning. It’s on!

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Luke’s portrait of Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem is striking in its contrasts. The crowd is cheering, but Jesus is crying. The people are shouting and praising; they’re exalting Jesus. But Jesus is crying.

The people believe Jesus has come to purge the nation of their Roman oppressors. They want Jesus to revive the ancient glories of Israel’s heyday under King David. That’s what the people want. And they’re not bashful about it.

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Blessed is the King of Israel!”

Jesus is the only one in this scene who really knows what’s happening. What Jesus is doing as he rides into the holy city is revealing God. What Jesus is doing shows us the heart of God and the plan of God. It shows us what God is all about. This deliberate and determined ride into Jerusalem is an unforgettable statement about the nature of the King and the Kingdom of God. Some people today rejoice in this statement; some people still don’t understand this statement; and some people flat out reject it.

See, Jesus is riding into Jerusalem to die. He’s coming to suffer and die.

This is not like the typical entry into a capitol city of a triumphant king. This is really like the anti-triumphal entry. Jesus does not enter Jerusalem on a white charger or a black horse of war. He rides a lowly beast of burden. He doesn’t carry a bunch of war trophies and a train of captives behind him. In fact, by the end of the week, he’ll be the one led as a captive outside the city gates and killed. Jesus doesn’t share everyone’s hopes and dreams of earthly glory and power. He doesn’t come to establish a kingdom to rival Rome. He comes to suffer. And sacrifice. He comes to die. He comes as a king who will be crowned not with priceless jewels, but with painful thorns. He doesn’t come to sit on a throne, but to hang from a tree. He’s doing the exact opposite of what the people expect out of a king.

Jesus is not a man of chariots and swords; he is the One who brings peace to all nations. His gift is a gift of life, not force or power. The people are expecting a mighty and conquering king; but in Jesus they get a sacrificial servant. And when he doesn’t deliver on their political and economic desires, they kill him.

The people shout, “Hosanna! Save Us!” And when Jesus says, “I will save you, just not in the ways you expect,” they begin to shout, “Crucify him!” When Jesus says, “I am coming to save you in ways that will far surpass in eternal glory anything you or your ancestors ever experienced or even dreamed about with the kingdom of David,” they kill him.

Jesus is not a way for us to get what we want politically or economically or socially or nationally. He didn’t come so we could create a better version of the kingdom of the world. Jesus came so we could be a part of an entirely new and eternal Kingdom of God.

Peace,

Allan

We’re All Ministers

March 14, 2012 / / 2 Comments

We just returned home from Fort Worth last night after spending a couple of days down there at and around Carrie-Anne’s mom’s wedding. That’s right, Gram got married Monday afternoon to a wonderful guy she’s been dating for almost three years, Jim Cayey. Of course, we’ve seen this coming now for quite a while. But true to Gram’s form — and, honestly, just about everybody on that side of the family is like this — we got a whole ten day’s notice before the actual ceremony.

Carrie-Anne’s family is so laid back, so casual, so “whatever” about almost everything. So slow. It takes them an hour and a half to watch “60 Minutes.” They rarely make any plans very far in advance. They just make it up as they go along. And the wedding Monday in Jim’s living room in Arlington was kinda like that. It took a while to get everybody there and, then, to get everybody in place. But it happened; and it was beautiful.

It was my great honor and privilege to preside over the exchange of rings and vows. It was to my great delight when Jim mistook “belong wholly to you” in his vows to Judy for “be unholy to you.” (We re-did that part after everybody stopped laughing.) And it’s to my great joy that they both love each other so much. They’re perfect together.

Jim and Gram, may the love of Christ Jesus guard your new marriage relationship. May the blessings of heaven crown your marriage with increasing joy and peace. And may your hearts and lives be forever united in his truth and grace.

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I’m not the minister at the Central Church of Christ. I’m one of the ministers. We have nearly 800 ministers here and I’m blessed to be one of them. By virtue of our baptisms into Christ, by virtue of the new creation and the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit, we are all called to be Christian ministers. Every one of us.

“Ministry in the Christian church is derived from the ministry of Christ, who calls all persons to receive God’s gift of salvation and follow in the way of love and service. The whole church receives and accepts this call, and all Christians participate in this continuing ministry.”  ~Discipline, United Methodist Church

We all pray. We all comfort. We all proclaim the Gospel. We all serve sacrificially. We all give our lives daily for the benefit of the world.

We’re all ministers. Ordained by God to partner with him as he reconciles and restores, as he forgives and redeems. We’re all ministers in the name and manner of Jesus. We’re all ministers.

Peace,

Allan

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