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Category: 4 Midland (Page 4 of 5)

That All of Them May Be One

November 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

“…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.” ~John 17:21-22

Jesus shows us the intimacy and the character of the relationship that exists between the Father and the Son. We clearly see the unity–the community–that marks their very nature. That oneness is then given to us. Jesus says, “I’m giving them the glory that they may be one like us. I’m giving them the power of your name that they be one just like us. I’m living inside them by the Holy Spirit that they may be one just like us.”

We’ve been given a oneness with God and with everybody God has saved. As his children, this unity is our new nature. This is who we are: One with Christ and one with his followers everywhere. What that means is that there is very little, if anything, outside of denying Jesus as Lord in word or deed, that can separate us. If that’s the case–it is!– then our diversity and differences aren’t just tolerated, they’re embraced and appreciated. Even celebrated.

To borrow our Lord’s words, the time has come!

The time has come for us to live into that Christian unity in visible ways that speak to our lost and dying world. The time has come for our “4 Midland” partnership with First Baptist, First Methodist, First Presbyterian, and GCR Church of Christ. The time has come to make every effort with each other in these other churches. The time has come to love one another, to serve one another, and build one another up. The time has come to bear one another’s burdens, to submit to one another, and encourage one another. The time has come for us to defend and protect one another, to speak well of one another, to give the benefit of the doubt to one another, to worship God and serve alongside one another that the world may believe.

Jesus says if two or three of you will agree on anything, I’ll show up just to see that. And I believe he will. I believe he is.

This 4 Midland thing we’re doing with the other churches is only going to get bigger and more important. It’s not just three worship nights and a service project every year. It’s very much about Christian evangelism. It’s about expressing Christian unity in ways that will convict the world of the power and love of God.

All four of our churches are coming together this evening at First Baptist for our first 4 Midland Thanksgiving service. We’re combining our choirs and worship teams and we’re going to praise God and pray and sing and experience and express our togetherness in Christ.

As part of this great day, all four churches are swapping preachers this morning. I’m preaching both services at First Baptist today and Steve Brooks, my brother from First Methodist is preaching at GCR. Darin Wood is preaching at First Presbyterian and Steve Schorr is preaching at First Methodist.

It’s going to be weird. I’ve spent my whole preaching life just making sure on Sundays we get out on time to beat the Baptists. Today, I’m going to be with the Baptists!

Next year, either late spring or first thing in the summer, we’re all going to serve this city together. We don’t know what yet, or how. But all four of our churches are going to come together to work side by side to serve the people of our city in the name and manner of Jesus. We want to cooperate more, we want to share more, we want to express our Christian unity more, to let Midland know that this is for real. To show Midland that, through Christ Jesus our King, the world is changing. People are being transformed. Hearts are melting. Barriers are being destroyed. Walls are coming down. The devil is defeated. And the Kingdom of God is here!

Jesus prays, Father, may they be one. May they all–all the followers, all the believers, all the disciples–until you send me back to finally and ultimately establish your eternal Kingdom on earth, may they all be brought to complete unity so the world will sit up and take notice. So the world will say, oh, my word, he IS the Son of God. He IS the promised Prince of Peace. And he really does transcend all our differences. And then the world will give you, Father, all the glory and praise right now today and forever and ever. Amen.

Peace,

Allan

Nuts and Bolts

November 21, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Alright, let’s get down to it. Christian unity. Accepting all Christians, all baptized followers of Jesus, for the sake of the world. Being one with all disciples of all denominations. Worshiping and serving together with all Christians and churches.

Well, what about the Christian who disagrees with me on divorce and remarriage? Or weekly communion? Or church leadership structures or church names?

Yes, let’s go there.

In Romans 14-15, the divisive issues of the day are eating meat versus vegetables and the observance of holy days. The apostle Paul certainly has his opinions on what’s right and what’s wrong. He has his convictions on these divisive topics. But in Christ Jesus, he says, those things don’t matter.

“Accept the one whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… We all belong to the Lord.” ~Romans 14:1-8

Do you believe you are perfect? Do you think you’ve got everything figured out perfectly? Do you believe everything in the Bible exactly right, do you worship God perfectly, do you live God’s will righteously and without fault, do you practice your faith perfectly? Do you have all of God’s will perfectly interpreted and figured out? No?

Then how are you saved? What covers you in your honest shortcomings?

The grace of God. His matchless grace.

Do you believe the Churches of Christ have every single thing perfectly interpreted and figured out? Are the Churches of Christ doing everything exactly right? No?

Well, what covers us in our innocent misunderstandings? How can we be saved? God’s grace. His wonderful grace.

You think there’s any chance at all the Methodists might be doing something right according to to the will of God that we’re not? You think the Presbyterians might possibly have something figured out that we don’t? What if First Baptist’s understanding of something is fuller and richer and more in line with God’s will than ours is?

What covers us in our sincere misunderstandings? What saves us when we don’t have everything perfectly right?

God’s grace. His limitless grace.

Okay, let’s flip it around. Let’s assume that we have it right on the Lord’s Supper and the Methodists have it wrong. Let’s pretend that we’re right about baptism and the plurality of elders, and the Presbyterians and Baptists are wrong. Does God’s grace not cover them completely? Are they any less saved?

Yeah, but they’re wrong! We’re right!

So, you get God’s grace where we’re messing it up, but they don’t? We get God’s grace to cover us, but nobody else does? Why?

Because we’re trying harder. We’re more honest with the Bible. We’re more sincere.

That might be the most arrogant thing a disciple of Jesus could ever say.

The grace of God applies to both conduct and doctrine. We are all saved by grace through faith in Jesus. We’re all in the same fellowship, the same boat. So, why do we have such divisions among us Christians? Because we confuse doctrinal issues we feel strongly about with “faith.” Because we refuse to consider our own positions or opinions as disputable. Because our distorted theology of grace sometimes depends on the hot church topic of the moment or which preacher is writing what book or what church is doing something differently. We define ourselves by our differences from others instead of by the relationship we all have with God in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3 says you’re still worldly. You’re acting like mere people. You’re being worldly.

Yeah, that’s right. That is how the world acts, maybe more so now than ever. If I disagree with one politician or one celebrity on any one point, I’ll vilify that whole person. I’ll write him off. Everything that person says now is wrong. Everything he does, everything about him is wrong. So, I don’t see anything redeemable about his party or his movie or his team. A politician could say the sky is blue, 2+2=4, and Blue Bell ice cream tastes great and some of us would disagree with him because he’s not in our party.

We can do the same thing in Christ’s Church. If I disagree on one point with any Christian or congregation or denomination, I vilify that Christian or congregation or denomination. Everything about that Christian or their church is wrong. So, I can’t fellowship or worship with them.

And the unbelieving world looks at that and says, “No, thanks.”

A religion as visibly divided as ours can hardly reflect the truth. It reflects the fallen world, not the glory of our God. Our Christian unity will have an eternal impact on the world. But the world has to see it. It can’t just reside in our hearts and minds. Christian unity must be lived out loud and seen in public. It has to be visible. And when it is, the world will believe.

Peace,

Allan

The Will of Jesus to Practice

November 20, 2024 / / 0 Comments

More and more research is being released about the effects of cell phones and digital technology, telling us what we already know, what we’ve known for 20 years. But somehow it keeps being presented and received as groundbreaking. What? Cell phone bans result in academic improvement? No way!! Who could have ever guessed that? The latest is coming out of the Dallas School District where Robert T. Hill Middle School banned all phones on campus five years ago. According to school officials there, the campus culture has shifted. There has been a 75% decrease in bullying (I’m not sure how they measure that), and a 13-point gain in the number of students meeting the standards of the STAAR tests. According to the story from Channel 5 in Fort Worth, the biggest pushback generally comes from the parents. Not the students. Parents complain they need to be in constant contact with their children. Of course, because we want to raise our kids to need to live with us into their 30s.

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Our first “4 Midland” pulpit swap and Thanksgiving service is this Sunday. I’m preaching at First Baptist this Sunday morning and Steve Brooks, our brother from First Methodist, is preaching here at GCR. Darin Wood, the pastor at First Baptist is preaching at First Presbyterian while their pastor, Steve Schorr, is preaching at First Methodist. And then all four of our churches are coming together Sunday evening for a combined Thanksgiving service. In advance of these glorious events, I’m posting this week about Christian unity as a gift of God to receive, our Church of Christ heritage to embrace, and, today, the will of Jesus to practice.

My prayer, Jesus says, is that all of them may be one. May they be brought to complete unity. It’s this unity, this uncompromising love and acceptance we have for all baptized disciples of Christ, that will prove to the world Jesus really is who we say he is. Our unflinching commitment to love and accept and unite with all Christian brothers and sisters will astonish the world!

Well, Allan, not ALL people who’ve been baptized. A lot of people are not baptized like we are. A lot of churches don’t do the Lord’s Supper like we do. We can’t worship with and have fellowship with ALL Christians.

That’s why the Church is not astonishing the world.

Our Lord’s prayer is for unity. Christ’s will is for complete unity among all his followers. We need to get there. So, let’s lay it out.

If God accepts someone, I have to also. I can’t be a sterner judge than the perfect judge. I don’t know anybody who would say, “Well, God certainly accepts this woman as a full child of his, but she doesn’t meet all of MY standards. I’M not going to accept her.” Nobody would say that. The truth is, I must fellowship everybody who has fellowship with God. All the saved. Everybody who’s saved.

So, who is saved?

Well, all those who hear, believe, repent, confess, and are baptized (by the way, that’s another Church of Christ creed).

All those who hear what? The Gospel! And believe what? The Gospel! Who repent and confess what? The Gospel!

Okay, what’s the Gospel? That Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that he alone is Lord, and that we’re saved by faith in him.

The Bible sums it up in several places, but that’s pretty good. Believe in Jesus as the eternal Son of God, declare him Lord, and, by faith, submit to his lordship in baptism. We’ve never required anything else. The Church through the centuries has never demanded anything more. We’ve never asked anybody their position on atonement theory or women’s roles before they’re baptized. We don’t put a person in the water and then catalogue all their beliefs on the plurality of elders and the age of the earth before they’re saved. Now, some of us try to do that after they’re saved! We can act like a health club sometimes: “The first month is free but then, after that, you’re going to pay through the nose! For the rest of your life!” No, that stuff is not the Gospel. The apostle Paul says nothing but Christ and him crucified.

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” ~Romans 15:7

We are called to accept others by the same standard as when Jesus Christ accepted us, to continually accept others based on the way they were accepted at their baptisms–the way you were accepted at your baptism. Your acceptance by God is a gift. The fact that Christ Jesus accepts you is nothing but pure grace. Now, show that same grace, share that same gift, to everyone who calls Jesus Lord.

Peace,

Allan

A Gift from God to Receive

November 18, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Christian unity is a big deal to our Lord Jesus. At the end of his beautiful prayer recorded in John 17, on the last night before his sacrificial death, Jesus prays for the unity of all future disciples. He asks the Father to give all future followers, all future Christians, the same unity that he and the Father share. This unity, this oneness, Jesus says, is a critical component for world evangelism.

“…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” ~John 17:21
“…to let the world know that you sent me.” ~John 17:23

Our badge of discipleship is not baptism. The world doesn’t know we’re disciples and that Jesus really is the Savior of the world because we’ve been baptized. And the world isn’t convinced by our doctrines or worship practices, either. The world doesn’t really care about those things at all. Jesus says the world will be changed when we show them our unity.

It’s important to know that Christian unity is not something for which we have to work. Christian unity is a gift from God to receive. It’s not something we create; we don’t cause Christian unity. It’s already been given to us; it’s already the eternal reality. It’s just a matter of whether we recognize it or not, whether we choose to live into it or not.

“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.” ~John 17:22

It’s a gift. Ephesians 4:3-6 makes it very plain. It doesn’t say make every effort to create the unity. It’s not make every effort to cause the unity or bring about the unity. It’s “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.” Make every effort to acknowledge and guard and practice the unity of the Spirit. Because there is one body and one Spirit. Not there needs to be or there should be–it’s there is! It’s already done!

There is one body and one Spirit, there is one hope and one Lord. There are many expressions of the faith, but just one faith. Guard it. Maintain it. Keep it. There are different expressions of baptism, but only one baptism. Not just one expression of Church–there are many expressions–but there is only one Church. And one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all!

That’s the reality. It’s the same blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that courses through our spiritual veins. It’s the same one Holy Spirit who lives inside all Christians. We’re all related to all Christians. It’s already a done deal.

Through the Spirit, we have been given by God an eternal unity that encompasses the Father with the Son, all disciples of Jesus with them both, and all Christians, in turn, with one another. It’s not anything we have to create. It’s what God has already given us. Unity with all Christians is a gift from God. The only question is whether or not you’re going to accept it.

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The Dallas Cowboys are the only professional sports team in the United States without a home win in 2024. Look it up. NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA–every single team has won a game at home except for Jerry’s Team. Look for that to continue tonight against C.J. Stroud, Joe Mixon, and the Houston Texans. The Cowboys have not scored a touchdown at AT&T Stadium in 57 days. During their current four game losing streak, Dallas has been outscored 138-60. I don’t think this will be an explosive blowout like the past five games in Arlington in which the Cowboy have given up at least 21-points before halftime and trailed by three scores. But the losing streak should continue. And whatever has been ailing the Texans in November should get fixed.

Peace,

Allan

The Gospel at the Table

May 9, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Whitney and I took in Myles Hill’s final Little League game of the season last night and delighted most of all in seeing both Myles and his dad, Brandon wearing Texas Rangers logos. Brandon and Myles are both massive Astros fans and over-the-top Rangers haters. So it’s been a funny bit all season to poke fun at Myles for playing catcher for the Little League Rangers and Brandon coaching at first base. They wear the Rangers’ “City Connect” uniforms, those horrid Friday night home game black and red monstrosities Texas threw at us last year. But, those are Rangers logos nonetheless! Myles did an expert job handling things behind the plate and lined a sharp single to right field in his last at bat in a tough one-run loss. And I’m certain those two Rangers caps are already at the bottom of a dumpster somewhere between Butler Park and Briarwood.

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If the Lord’s Supper is the place to experience the real presence of Christ and the real fellowship and community we have together with God’s people–if the purpose of communion is, well, communion–then the way we do it matters. The form of the Lord’s Meal serves the function. In fact, the form IS the function. The medium IS the message.

You can’t hold a Weight Watchers meeting at Golden Corral. Why? Those rolls, man! You can’t ask people to pay for Financial Peace University with a credit card. That defeats the purpose. The form matters.

That’s what’s wrong with the Lord’s Supper in Corinth. That’s what so concerns the apostle Paul: the form, the way they were eating the meal. The form of the meal was working against the purpose of the meal. In fact, Paul tells these Christians in Corinth, the way you’re eating it, it’s not the Lord’s Supper at all.

“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for each of you eats his own supper without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.” ~ 1 Corinthians 11:20-21

The original Greek text makes this much more clear. Paul says you’re not eating the Lord’s Supper (kuriakon diapnon), you’re eating your own supper (idion diapnon).

It’s important to remember that the Church’s Lord’s Supper started out as a full meal. For the first 300 or so years of Church history, the communion meal was a potluck. The Greek word diapnon is translated as supper, dinner, feast, meal–the word most commonly means the main meal, the biggest meal of the day. We call that supper. And Scripture tells us if we eat the meal one way, it’s the Lord’s Supper, and if we eat it a different way, it’s not.

So, what’s the problem? What are these Christians doing wrong?

“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for each of you eats his own supper without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!” ~ 1 Corinthians 11:20-22

The problem here is the breakdown of community during the Lord’s Supper. You’re not waiting for others, you’re not sharing your food with others; people are going hungry, people are being humiliated. The rich Christians are getting full and drunk while the poor Christians are starving and being singled out as not really belonging to the group. People are going back for seconds before everybody’s been through the line once. Some are saving seats. There is selfishness and division, Paul says. Even if they had no idea what the Lord’s Supper is all about, common courtesy demands they don’t get stuffed and drunk while their brothers and sisters in the same room go hungry.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is breaking down barriers and tearing down walls and uniting us together in his holy community. Only thinking about yourself, only worrying about your own needs and feelings at the meal, denies the very Gospel the Lord’s Supper is intended to demonstrate. Paul says it makes a mockery of the Church.

So, what’s the corrective? How does he fix it? By pointing to Jesus. He reminds them of Jesus.

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I found out at lunch today that my friend Steve Schorr, the pastor at First Presbyterian, is a big Colorado Avalanche fan. This afternoon, I am re-evaluating our friendship and this whole “4Midland” thing.

Go Stars.

Allan

Scattershooting on Opening Day

March 28, 2024 / / 1 Comment

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Hank Blalock.

Today is Opening Day! And for the first time in the history of baseball, the Texas Rangers are the defending World Series Champions! It still feels weird and wonderful to write that sentence. Now, how do we do this? What does Opening Day look like when you’re the World Series Champs? For starters, the game begins at 6:35pm instead of the 3:00pm first pitch that was announced when the season schedules were released, and it’s being broadcast on ESPN for the national prime time audience. Usually, I’m taking off work right after lunch on Opening Day to watch the season’s first game. So, that’s a new wrinkle.

Plus, there’s the additional matter of raising the World Series Championship banner at Globe Life Field. That happens at 6:00pm and ESPN’s Baseball Tonight is covering all the ceremonies live. It’s all wonderful and glorious and beautiful in a million ways.

But it’s also complicated.

Today is Maundy Thursday, the day God’s people traditionally gather to remember our Lord’s last supper the night he was betrayed. This is the worship event in which we share the meal with other Christians and remember our Lord’s commands on that evening to love one another just as he loves us. The 4Midland churches are meeting at First Presbyterian tonight, all four of our congregations–GCR, First Baptist, First Methodist, and First Pres–to sing and pray and celebrate communion together.

My plan is to set the DVR to record all the Rangers’ banner-raising festivities and the opener against the Cubs. We’ll start the game once we get home at about 8:00pm. That puts us behind the live action by about an hour and a half, which means it will be almost impossible to flip to the March Madness during commercials. I blame the commissioner of baseball. Or Satan. We were all going to be worshiping tonight with our brothers and sisters at First Pres. It’s baseball that scheduled Opening Day on top of it.

We’re all suffering.

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Speaking of March Madness, my bracket is not doing well. I lost Baylor as a Final Four team on Sunday and I’m struggling. I said in this space last week that I would not be counting Carley’s dog’s entry into our family pool. Well, I am counting him as a full participant now, just so I don’t finish in last place. Val and Whitney are neck and neck for the lead heading into the Sweet 16. As for the church office pool, I’m right in the middle of things, almost as close to last place as I am to first. Jadyn is leading the pack right now, with Tim right on her heels.

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Carrie-Anne and I spent last night with our GCR Youth Group, planning the summer, playing some crazy party games, worshiping and praying together, and meeting our awesome summer interns Avery and Chloe. When it was over, everybody gathered outside to check out the brand new church vans! We’ve been needing  **ahem** more reliable transportation for a while now, and these new super-tall, super-wide, 15-passenger vans do fit the bill. I don’t know if the vans will spur anyone to sign up for mission trips or camps but, according to the reactions last night, it’s not going to hurt.

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Back to the Rangers, they have now joined the 18 other MLB teams with corporate sponsorship patches on their uniform sleeves. I do hate this. It’s so bush-league, so cheesy. Energy Transfer’s logo is on all six of the Rangers jerseys for all 162 of their games, plus playoffs. Energy Transfer? Yes, according to reports, the Dallas-based energy infrastructure company. It doesn’t get more corporate than that. I understand that Energy Transfer was founded by Rangers owner Ray Davis back in the ’90s, but if you’re the Texas Rangers and you’re going to wear a company’s logo on your sleeve, shouldn’t it be a recognized and beloved state brand? Did they even ask Dr Pepper or Whataburger? What’s wrong with 7-11? Dairy Queen feels perfect. I do hate this.

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The Rangers have whiffed big even before they faced a single Chicago pitcher. I do not understand why they let Jordan Montgomery sign with the D-Backs in free agency. It’s a one-year, $25-million deal with Arizona when he claimed he wanted to stay in Arlington. You can’t ever lose with a one-year contract. How did the Rangers not get this done?

I cannot wait to watch Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford playing together in the same Rangers outfield. Carter is technically a rookie, since he wasn’t called up until after Labor Day last season. So it’s possible–dare I say likely–that Carter and Langford finish 1-2 for MLB Rookie of the Year. Carter, Langford, and Adolis Garcia give Texas the best outfield in the majors. Tons of range, power hitting, and cannons attached to their shoulders.

Nasty Nate Eovaldi on the hill. Bruce Bochy in the dugout. A World Series championship banner flying above the stadium. The Texas Rangers begin their defense of their World Series title tonight. Let’s run it back, boys! Let’s repeat!

Let’s Go Rangers!
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Allan

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