Author: Allan (Page 449 of 492)

Home Again

July 14, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

It’s 4:05 Texas time Monday afternoon and I’m just now taking a breath for the first time since we got home from St. Louis early Saturday morning. It’s great to be home.

It was good to be gone, but it’s great to be home.

All day Saturday was spent doing laundry and packing and buying things Whitney and Valerie needed for Kingdom Camp at Three Mountain. Sunday we worshiped at Legacy and I didn’t preach. I actually sat in the middle of the pew, not on the aisle. And we left after Bible class, before second service to take the kids to camp. How strange. Can I leave with another worship assembly to go? Is it possible that this body of believers can function without me? Don’t I need to be organizing something or coordinating with someone? Can all of this still happen if I’m not in there?

They did very very well for 48 years before I got here. And they’re going to do very very well for 48 more years and beyond after I leave.

For one thing, this church family is full of capable proclaimers of the Gospel. Jim preached for us yesterday. And while our personalities and delivery styles couldn’t be much more different, I could sense Jim connecting with people all around me while he preached. It could have been John or J or Mark or either of a couple of Jacks. The important thing—the obvious thing—is that our God takes his Word and he places it into the hearts of his people when they come together to hear it proclaimed. His Word is powerful. It impacts everyone who hears it and it changes everyone who obeys it. And I’m humbled and I’m blessed to be able to preach it on a regular basis.

And, I missed it.

I missed not preaching to the Legacy family yesterday. I’ve come to love preaching God’s Word, much more so than I realized I might. I missed discovering the voice of God in our Scriptures and working all week on the best ways to communicate that message to his people. I missed seeing the nods of understanding and hearing the “amens” from my brothers and sisters as they affirm our sermon, our message. I missed the butterflies—no! much more than that—the sheer feelings of inadequacy and near panic as we sing that song before the sermon and I realize I’m about to address hundreds of God’s people and speak to them from God’s Holy Scriptures some word of grace or love or caution or warning or salvation or mercy that will spur them on to walk the rest of the week faithfully with our Lord. I missed the adrenaline rush (I’m being honest here) of taking my eyes off my Bible and my notes long enough to pour my heart out to my church family. I missed the urgency of preaching the Good News. The importance of proclaiming the Word. The absurdity of my great and magnificent God using me in all of my insignificance and shortcomings to partner with him in redeeming this lost world.

I missed it.

We didn’t get back from Three Mountain until late last night. Today has been filled with answering all the emails, writing all the letters, returning all the phone calls, and taking care of all the things that didn’t take care of themselves while we were in St. Louis.

And now, I think, I’m caught up. It’s almost 4:30. The offices are all empty here at Legacy. It’s just me. And now I’m about to dive back into the Word.

And I can’t wait ’til Sunday.

Peace,

Allan

Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis!

July 8, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

Hi, from St. Louis, the Gateway to the West, where the Mississippi is flooded, Obama was stranded, the Cardinals are in Philly, and the mermaids and mermen sculptures at Union Station are anatomically correct.

No blogging this week while the family and I are taking our summer vacation.

Please check out the blogs I have linked to from the right side of this page while we’re gone. Don’t get hooked on them. Just check them out.

Thank you, Bonny, for feeding Skittles. Thank you, Jennifer for getting our mail and watering our flowers. We’re having a ball. See y’all soon.

Peace,

Allan

One God, One People, One Purpose

July 3, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

“You will be for me a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” ~Exodus 19:6

Our behavior, not just the “belief system” we adhere to, is the most visible means by which we distinguish ourselves from those who have not been raised with Christ and united with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. We should never forget that what is required of us, because we are saved by grace, is a high moral standard of thought and action that for those outside the Kingdom of God is incomprehensible.

Our obedience to God reflects the fact that our citizenship is in heaven. It shows others that he is training us to transcend the present world even though we still occupy its space. It is what is expected of us, because God is forming us into creatures that this world can’t fully grasp.

We demonstrate by our words and actions, in no uncertain terms, that we are of a different pedigree, a holy race. It is, to the rest of the world, the clearest proof of the existence of God—not a logical exegetical argument, not forceful rhetoric, but pure, humble, godly lives lived in the shadow of the cross and in the brilliant glow of the resurrection.

Peter quotes Exodus 19:6 and follows it up with these words, “Live such good lives among the pagans that…they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).

We’re not called to be God’s people so we can belong to him privately or exclusively. He has a grand goal in mind when he creates us to be his kings and priests. He calls us to live public lives of sacrifice and service to others in his name. And when we do, we show the world that the Gospel works. It’s not just words or a great idea. It changes us from the inside out and makes us into creatures whose behavior is beyond explanation.

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Finally, the Finale!

Legacy VBS 2008 is over. And those of us in the musical get our evenings back for the first time in a little over a month. My greatest fear going into last night’s final scenes would be that, after accidentally breaking or tearing or ripping something in the previous three nights, I wouldn’t be able to break the styrofoam Ten Commandments or the styrofoam golden calf when I was supposed to. But it all came off beautifully. And the kids were all very impressed by the fury of Moses’ righteous indignation.

Can I get theological with the musical?

I can’t help but see our God at work here.

Somehow we were able to take 75 different cast members and set designers and technical operators with 75 different skills and abilities and dreams and visions and come together under one mission. Somehow we were able to unite behind one purpose. Together we fought through missed lines and muted mics and unlearned lyrics (my bad, sorry!) and sporadic rehearsal attendance. Together we smoothed out the rough edges. Together we sacrificed and served and built up and encouraged. We helped each other change costumes and sets and switch out microphones. We worked with each other on scripts and blocking and music.

The people with beautiful voices sang like angels. The funny people made everybody laugh. The focused people kept us on track. The creative people designed a parting of the seas and built a huge mountain. The technical people kept the whole thing lit up and loud. The nurturing people kept us all edified.

And we didn’t kill each other.

I was there every night for over a month and I can’t recall ever hearing one cross word. Not one. Yes, there were moments of exasperation and exhaustion and frustration. But not once did I hear one person say one bad thing about another person. Not once did anybody raise a voice toward anybody else. Not one accusatory finger was wagged. Not one motive was judged. Not one person was ridiculed or rebuked.

It doesn’t seem possible. You couldn’t have gathered a more diverse group than our 75—widely and wildly different ages, backgrounds, experience, personalities, expectations, talents, and tempers. How did it come together so smoothly?

Do I really need to explain?

One purpose. We were way too focused on the mission to gripe or complain or grumble or worry about ourselves. Way too busy. Way too under the gun with the urgency of the task, way too determined to accomplish the purpose. There was a job to do, a big-picture job to do, and we had to do it. And that meant working together as a team, putting the show ahead of the individual personalities or scenes or numbers.

To me, theologically speaking, the musical represents the beauty of God’s Church. People from all walks and all personalities united as one people by the blood of Christ Jesus; working as a team, as one Body, helping each other, encouraging each other, sacrificing for each other, serving each other, to work toward the common purpose.

Kipi, thank you for your hard work and patience. Thank you for your commitment to the children and the families of Legacy and North Tarrant County. And everybody on the cast and crew of Moses: Bound for Holy Ground, thank you for showing everybody in unmistakable ways what it looks like to be the people of God.

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Jesse and/or Mason have posted tons of pictures—350, I think—of their recent mission trip to Honduras. Click here to check ’em out.

Peace,

Allan

In An Effort To Culture The Flock…

July 2, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

Legacy VBS Night Three is in the books. The kids are learning about the Passover traditions and customs. They’re talking about godly leadership. They’re making snakes. They’re seeing how God’s promises to his people of old ring true for his children today. And Jerry’s costume is getting weirder every night. We all should have expected Pope to wear his nametag, even as an Egyptian soldier. And, thanks to Jim & Pat and Ronnie & Kerri, the Red Sea crossing turned out to be a pretty cool effect.

Of the many, many shocking things that happened during last night’s performance of “Moses: Bound for Holy Ground,” one stood out head and shoulders above the rest. Of the many surprising, incomprehensible occurances—and there were many—one still has me scratching my head this morning. Something happened last night that perplexes me and, yes, even troubles me greatly.

It wasn’t the walls of the Red Sea closing in before all the Egyptians could walk through. It wasn’t Moses’ staff shattering into six pieces when I hit the rock. It wasn’t Tracy Sharp lying on the stage behind the rock with a pressure hose that shot water 15 feet up in the air, surprising everybody on stage and the first 12 rows. It wasn’t the Israelites flicking 24 Bics and holding their lighters up in the air during the singing of “Cool, Clear Water.” And it wasn’t that Aaron fielded a cell-phone call in the middle of that song in a bit that Bill Crawford must have lifted from either Branson or the town square western shootout show at Six Flags.

The absolute, without-a-doubt, most surprising and disappointing thing that happened last night is that of the 500 people in that auditorium watching the show, exactly zero people laughed at the “third base” line out of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s On First?”

How is that even possible? Are we that uncultured? Are we so far removed from our recent past? Are we that dismissive of our shared history? Or are we just ignorant? Can it be that in a group that large, the majority didn’t immediately identify with the bit? Is that realistic? I’m embarrassed for all of us.

The scene in question was about halfway through last night’s show when the Israelites were complaining about having to eat manna and quail. Scripture tells us that manna means “what is it?” So we played with that a bit. The main complainers, Oren and Ethan, were questioning Moses about manna.

“What does it mean?”
“What is it?”
“That’s what we’re asking?”
“What is it?”
“That’s what we want to find out.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know!”

And then all the Israelites together shouted “Third Base!”

You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium.

Shocking. Embarassing.

So, in an effort to culture the flock a bit today, please take the time to click on this link which will get you to the classic audio of Abbott & Costello’s “Who’s On First?” It’s four-minutes long. I suggest you listen to all of it. If you’re familiar with it, you’ll love listening to it again. If you’ve never heard it before, I don’t understand how you’re allowed to live in this country. This is the kind of thing they should require before issuing driver licenses and voter cards.

Click here and then click on “listen to an audio.”

Do it for the children.

Thank you.

And does anybody have some duct tape?

Peace,

Allan

Become Mature

July 1, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

This isn’t a VBS picture. This is our Monday morning staff meeting.

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“…become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” ~Ephesians 4:13

In the context of Christian unity—one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father—Paul tells us what it means to be mature in Christ. Christian maturity, according to the apostle, is understanding the body of believers as Christ calls it to be: a corporate body that exists to serve others.

Paul says Jesus gave each of us our spiritual gifts, “some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” And the purpose of those gifts, the very reason for our existence in the Church of God, is to “prepare God’s people for works of service.”

The preachers and the ministers and the elders and the church staff don’t serve the members. They prepare the members to serve others. They encourage and equip the members to serve other people. Paul says when, and only when, we have that mindset will we “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

So many of us view the Church as established to serve “me.” How can the Church meet my needs? How can the Church take care of me? How can I be served, how can my kids be served, how can my needs be met at this or that church? What if more people said, “I see a need here at this church I can meet. I’d like to help.” What if more people looking for a church home came in with an attitude of service? Instead of “how can I be filled here?” it’s “how can I serve other people at this place and build the body up?” Paul’s mindset is this: all my needs are met through my resurrected Savior Christ Jesus; now how can I meet the needs of others?

Until we reach that point, Paul says we’re infants. We won’t grow up until we realize that it’s not about me, it’s about the Body of Christ. What can I do to build up God’s Church? And not just my corner of the Church, not just my ministry or my area of interest. The whole Church of Jesus Christ, all of it, big picture. How can I encourage? How can I serve? How can I edify? In what ways can I sacrifice my own interests and needs in order to put others and the Lord’s Church first?

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Day 2 of Legacy’s VBS and the Moses Musical is in the books.

Cameron killed as Pharaoh’s first-born son. His rendition of “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” with Gary Giles was the high-point of the night. And that’s high praise considering last night’s acts contained a burning bush, a shepherd’s staff that turned into a very tall snake, water turning to blood, and a tribute to the Village People’s “Y-M-C-A” (There’s lots of blood in the N-I-L-E!).

Ashley and Jaylana were amazing with “God Loves Israel.” Carrie-Anne threw in a little crack about Gershom and Eliezer being the only two sons we’ll ever have. And, in the burning bush scene, Doug Deere, the voice of God, got in some shots of his own regarding Moses’ lack of speaking ability. “One Day More” is in the rearview mirror. It’s all downhill from here.

Most of the VBS pictures I’m posting are taken by David Branson. He’s posting a couple of hundred each night on his website. You can see all of them by clicking here.

Night Three this evening at 7:00.

Peace,

Allan

Our Story

June 30, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

I’ve got Moses on the brain. Everybody who’s doing anything with Legacy VBS this week has had Moses on the brain for a while now.

The stories of Moses are familiar to all of God’s people. We know about the basket in the river and the burning bush and the plagues and the passover and the crossing of the sea. We know all about that. But I wonder sometimes if we truly understand that the story of Moses and the Israelites—or, more accurately, the story of the Lord’s deliverance of Moses and the Israelites—is our story.

This is us.

This one foundational primary act of salvation in our Scriptures very powerfully shapes us and informs us and motivates us to this day. This story, forever linked with our God and his actions to deliver his people inspires and foreshadows all of our God’s acts of salvation. All of them.

Our God saves us and rescues us and redeems us and delivers us and provides for us over and over again in a million different ways. But this first grand watershed event is the pattern. This points to them all. This is the paradigm.

Our God is the God who brought us out of Egypt. Our Lord is the Lord who destroyed Pharaoh and his army. Our God brought us through the sea. Our Lord delivered us from slavery.

We find exodus and sea-crossing language on almost every other page in our Scriptures, from the crossing of the Jordan River through Revelation. Almost half the Psalms. Most of the Prophets. Deliverance from Babylonian exile, freedom from Assyrian captivity, and salvation from sins and the world are all described and predicted and imagined and manifested in terms of slavery and liberation and water and promised land.

This is our story.

We’re all on the other side of the sea. Egypt is behind us. The Promised Land is before us. Our enemies are dead, scattered on the shore, unable to do us any further harm. And our God is present with us, leading us out of one world and into another, from one existence to another. The crossing of the sea isn’t a pep talk. It’s an understanding that God is your God because he acted in your life to deliver you. And when you pass through the waters of salvation, your identity and your loyalties and your worldview radically changes as you live in service to and complete dependence on the Sovereign Monarch who lovingly provides that salvation.

That’s our story.

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One night down, three to go.

Moses: Bound for Holy Ground kicked off last night to a packed house here at Legacy. And the first evening went off almost without a hitch. From Taylor and Lance’s specatular open to our corny rendition of The Ballad of Jethro and Moses sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies; from a real live baby Moses to the artificially “pumped up” shepherds; from the moving prayers of Jochebed and Miriam to the dramatic killing of an Egyptian taskmaster; from costume and set changes to ad-libbed lines and unexpected audience reactions; it was a night to remember.

Carrie-Anne’s been totally typecast as Moses’ wife, Zipporah. Jethro really did ask Moses, “If it’s convenient for you, would you please stand for the closing song?” The preacher really did kill a youth minister, and not just in his dreams. Doug Deere did enjoy his makeup a little too much. John West is under-utilized. No, Jerry Karels, I didn’t read the fine print on my preaching agreement. Kipi really did tell the cast backstage, “More cheeks and lips!”

Over 700 saw the show and stayed for a wonderful church dinner, maybe the final ever Legacy church dinner eaten in the hallways and not in the Fellowship Hall. I’ll have much more to write about all of this in the next couple of days. I’m trying desperately not to hyper-ventilate as the clock ticks on tonight’s finale, “One Day More.” But I’m moved by the gifts and the talents of this church family. I’m inspired by the beautiful voices all around me, the creative writing and directing, the know-how and ingenuity of those building the sets and props, and the spirit of unity and teamwork that’s all around us. It’s a tremendous sacrifice for every single person involved in our VBS. And we dedicate every bit of it to our Lord in the name of our crucified and resurrected Savior, Jesus the Christ. May he bless our efforts and may he use the gifts he’s given us to bless and encourage everyone who walks through these doors over the next few days.

As always, click on the pics for the full size. Night Two at 7:00 this evening.

Peace,

Allan

Author: Allan (Page 449 of 492)

Home Again

Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis!

One God, One People, One Purpose

In An Effort To Culture The Flock…

Become Mature

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