Category: Cowboys (Page 44 of 53)

Off The Chart!

October 6, 2008 / Allan / 5 Comments

If I were the owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, Marvin Lewis would have had to catch his own flight home after yesterday’s game at Texas Stadium. I would have fired him at the 7:39 mark of the fourth quarter.

After fighting back from 17 points down, on the road, Lewis had his 0-4 football team poised to pull off the upset of the Cowboys. They had all the momentum. They had all the confidence. Things were bouncing their way. Palmer was torching the Dallas DBs. Romo was out of sync. The crowd was out. This was all heading the Bengals’ way. The Cincinnati TD with 7:39 to play brought Lewis’ team to within two points. And, again, they had all the momentum.

Until Lewis called for a two-point try.

I’ll never understand this.

Never mind that the play itself was a lame fade route to a tight end. Forget that. The fire-able offense here is in attempting the two-point conversion in the first place.

In the NFL, the one-point kick has a success rate of 99%. The PAT is automatic. The two-point try is successful 52% of the time. Pretty much a 50-50 proposition. It’s a roll of the dice. Why these coaches choose to do it with so much on the line makes no sense.

Now the Bengals are down two points instead of one. Now the Bengals, after enjoying so much success, have experienced a failure. They missed the conversion. Now the Cowboys, after suffering nothing but failure since the end of the first quarter, have experienced a success. They stopped the two-point play. The home crowd, dejected by Cincy’s effortless drive down the field for the score, now has something to celebrate. They’re back in. Momentum, which had belonged solely to the Bengals for almost three full quarters, was now gone.

Why?

On the ensuing drive, the Cowboys score the TD through Austin to Crayton. And now, instead of only being down eight points, the Bengals trail by nine with two-minutes to play. Instead of needing to score a touchdown and a two-point try to tie the game and send it into OT, Cincinnati has to score twice. How huge is that? There’s a HUGE difference between needing one score in the last two minutes and needing two scores! Huge! The game’s over. It’s done. It’s not going to happen. And all 53 of the Bengals’ players and all 20 of their coaches knew it. Marvin Lewis killed his team’s chances by going for the two-point try too early.

I’m sure he blamed it on “the chart.” They always do.

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Terrell Owens is pouting on the Cowboys sideline during the third quarter. He’d only caught two balls up to that point. Dallas is winning. But T.O. is upset. He’s wearing the towel over his head and face. He’s slumped down on the Cowboys bench. I’m not sure if he’s crying or not. Hard to tell. And Jerry Wayne comes down from his box to encourage his ten million dollar superstar. Jerry consoles Owens.

“I was just reminding him how important a player and an important part he is to this team winning.”

After the game, T.O. won’t answer any questions from the press. He makes a statement about how difficult it was out there and how he kept fighting and kept trying. He thanked God for his abilities. He declared that he only does things for God anyway.

Tick, tick, tick, tick…………

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I’m hanging out with the girls today. Everybody’s out of school. Except C-A. Not sure what we’re going to do. But it’s daddy-daughters day today.

Tomorrow’s my monthly trip down to the Waco Alliance. Before I leave, though, I’ll make sure the “KK&C Top 20” is posted, along with some thoughts about the 24 Hours of Prayer.

Peace,

Allan

Home Sweet Home

September 29, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

A perfect Sunday. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Praying with Jim Gardner in the hour of calm and peace before the morning assembly. Maybe the thing I miss the most about working with Jim is our prayer time together. Those early Sunday morning times with God and Jim were always such blessings. To pray for each other as we prepared to preach or teach or lead the singing each Sunday always seemed so critical. It was so important. It always filled me with so much confidence and courage. My faithful brothers Paul and Mike fill that role with me now here at Legacy. They bless me with their presence and their encouragement and their prayers every Sunday. Praying with Jim yesterday at Woodward Park was special.

I preached on the parables of Luke 15. A young man named Evan was baptized. His father told me afterwards that it was due, in large part, to the sermon I had preached there Saturday night on God’s promises. I tied the strange and obscure blood path ceremony story in Genesis 15 to the crucifixion of Jesus. God made a covenant with his people and then stood in their (our) place and took their (our) punishment for them (us) when they (we) broke that covenant agreement. Our God loves us that much. He’s that committed to us. I don’t care how many books are written about the death of Jesus. I don’t care how many great poets and authors and songwriters put pen to paper. There are no words to describe the power of the picture of the blood of Almighty God dripping into the dust—just like he promised—to pay for my sins. It moved Evan. It still moves me.

Following the morning assembly, Jim and I walked into the Laotian meeting where a hundred or so Laotian brothers and sisters had gathered to worship. We walked in while they were singing How Great Thou Art. One of my all time favorite Christian hymns. It’s a funeral song for me, right? You know what I’m talking about. We sang it at my grandmother’s funeral eight years ago. And so now everytime I hear it or sing it, I think of her. So there’s added weight and emotion there for me. And these beautiful brothers and sisters from the other side of the world are praising our God with this wonderful song. And I’m so blessed to be there. And humbled. They sang He Leadeth Me. Of course, the tunes are ultra-obvious. I know the songs. I’ve known them my entire life. But I can’t sing with them. It’s a different language. I can only listen. And hum. It sounds so wildly different. And yet so amazingly familiar. Comforting. Inspiring.

They introduced Jim and me to their congregation. We stood and bowed toward their church family with our hands together in front of our faces. And they smiled at us and nodded. Then we sang (hummed) Amazing Grace. And then we shared communion. Together. Same table. Same loaf. Same cup.

It was heaven. It IS heaven!

“This IS heaven!” I thought as we communed together, in perfect community, unified by the blood of our common Savior.

But we had to leave to catch my 12:50 flight out of Fresno. So Jim and I hustled through the Bible classrooms to round up Trae and Tori for the trip to the airport. And I saw the exact same thing in the 4th grade room and in the 4-year-old room: red and yellow, black and white. Or, as Helen Dobbs would say, “Red and yellow, blackbrownandwhite!” They were all there. White. Black. Hispanic. Asian. Rich. Poor. No barriers. No segregation. No walls. No borders. The Kingdom of God. His rule. His dominion. Heaven on earth.

I landed at DFW at 6:00. And there were all my girls waiting for me at the baggage claim. Hugs and kisses all around. And then more hugs and kisses. Wow, I missed them. Big time. We went straight to Posado’s to eat Tex-Mex. They don’t have Tex-Mex in California. The Mexican food they have there is real Mexican. Real bland. No flavor. So dinner was excellent last night.

Whitney had DVRd the Cowboys-Redskins game so we could watch it last night. It’s funny, isn’t it, to use DVR as a verb? We had gone to great lengths to avoid all TVs and radios and conversations that could have given us clues as to the outcome of the game. Nothing in the airport. Nothing at the restaurant. Although, a family of four wearing Romo jerseys and blue face paint came into the restuarant with sad frowns prompting us to believe Washington had won. But I reminded us all that a full-day at Texas Stadium with all the kids would be enough alone to put those looks on those faces. The Cowboys could have won a dramatic thriller and those parents and kids would still look that way. But then Steve Croft, an avid Redskins fan, called our house at 8:15 or so and asked to speak to Whitney. I told him we didn’t know anything about the game, that were watching it on DVR and were only in the first quarter. So he apologized and hung up. But it was too late. Why would Steve call Whitney unless the Redskins had won? We knew.

Washington wins. Whitney’s faith in her Cowboys hung true right up to the point at which the onside kick attempt bounced off Sam Hurd’s fingers.

What a perfect day. Tank Johnson’s name was never called. Pacman Jones didn’t make a single play. And T.O.’s telling reporters he’s not getting the ball enough. Perfect.

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Lorie, we went to In-N-Out Saturday afternoon. I’m hooked. Jerry, it’s as good—maybe even a little better—as Kincaide’s, the burger that changed my life. Is it garlic? What’s in the meat? It’s more than just that sauce. And, as directed by Steve and Mandy, I ordered my fries to be “animal-ed.” Piles of melted cheese and grilled onions and that sauce right on top. Wow. If they ever open an In-And-Out here in DFW, I’ll be like Gardner and his new Fresno Chick-Fil-A: Unbearable.

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Tonia and Paul and Carol and David! I finally read “Same Kind of Different As Me” by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. I read it on the flight to California Wednesday. And I cried the whole way. Out loud. Sniffing and sobbing and blubbering like a middle-aged woman watching Steel Magnolias. As the passengers within three rows all the way around kept looking at me I thought of David Watson who suffered a similar meltdown while reading this wonderful book two weeks ago on a flight to Chicago.

If you’ve read it, you can relate. If you haven’t, I’m not going to spoil it for you. I’ll just recommend it to you as excellent reading. It’s a local story from right here in Fort Worth. And it’s a true story. You know it’s a true story when, on page 18, the authors joke that “the only heavy industry in Haltom City was the three-hundred-pound Avon lady.”

I’m about three-quarters of the way through “The Shack” by William P. Young. Very interesting. VERY interesting. Theological reflection on the God-Head-Three as the Triune Community. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit living in divine community and our call to live into that community. The question of human suffering. The concept of mutual submission. The problems with judging others and judging God. A very good book. Not life-changing. It hasn’t rocked my world. But it challenges and affirms—at the same time—my beliefs and practices and worldview.

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Washington 26, Dallas 24.

The Cowboys gave up 161 yards on the ground. They gave up 220 yards passing. I think Terrance Newman gave up 190 of that by himself. The Redskins outmuscled Dallas up and down the field. Jason Campbell made big time plays, stepping up in the pocket time and time again, fighting through would-be sackers to make big throws. Smoot and Rogers and Springs shut Terrell Owens out in the first half. They punched him in the lip and watched him cry. Embarassing. And when the Cowboys started forcing things to Owens in an effort to cheer him up and keep him happy, it severely limited their offensive options and their ability to come back. Barber gets only eight total carries? Felix Jones gets none? All to keep T.O. happy. They go to Owens 19 times in 58 offensive plays, and he’s still pouting after the game. Give me a break. Remind me, why is it y’all cheer for him?

In fairness to Owens, he was set up by the reporter who asked him if he thought he got the ball enough in yesterday’s loss. What else is T.O. going to say? Of course he’s going to say he wants the ball even more. Of course he’s going to say there were opportunities that Romo missed. Of course he’s going to say that when he gets the ball they move the chain and when he doesn’t get the ball they stagnate. Of course. When Romo was told of Owens’ postgame comments, Romo asked reporters, “What were his stats?”

If Jason Garrett is as concerned with Owens getting his stats as Romo, that might explain Barber’s eight carries. And the loss.

Pat Watkins was the 12th man on the field there at the end of the game that allowed the Redskins to continue the drive that culminated in that last nail-in-the-coffin field goal that sealed the Cowboys’ fate. How do you commit that penalty coming out of a timeout? Inexcusable.

Lots of questions today. The NFC East is truly up for grabs.

Peace,

Allan

Obey & Submit

September 22, 2008 / Allan / 4 Comments

“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.” ~Hebrews 13:17

Yield to their authority and respect their position. If you go back to verse 7 we see that these elders, these leaders, were the ones who had taught these Christians. They were the teachers. And they were living such exemplary lives of faith that the members of the congregation were told to imitate that faith. Follow the example of the godly lives of their leaders. Live like they’re living. And, yes, the elders are told they will have to give an account, not for the church finances or the proper use of the church gym, but for what they’re teaching and how they’re living their lives. And as the flock of these shepherds, we are to be open and accepting of their teaching and eager to imitate their examples.

But here’s the real thing. And here’s the crux of what we did yesterday at Legacy.

My concern with the elders is usually, “How are they treating me?”

And the answer, once I think about it, is always, “Better than I deserve.”

And the same goes for you.

You are more important to your elders than you know. They love you. They pray for you. They think about you. They wonder how to better serve you. They agonize over your soul. Every single day they wake up, completely aware of their limitations to perform the difficult task of shepherding a flock of believers, and it’s a tremendous burden. And they pray and they cry and they study and they grieve. And they pour their lives out for us. They sacrifice time with their families and work and vacation. They agonize over our souls. Did I already say that?

They would die for you. They would.

And yesterday we took a few minutes to pray over our elders. We drug our elders and our wives into the three center aisles and we prayed over them. The whole church. We got up out of our pews and walked over to our eleven elders (Jerry, wish you were here) and put our hands on them and our arms around each other and lifted them up to our God. Eleven big groups of loving brothers and sisters praying out loud for our Father to shower our leaders with his richest blessings of mercy and love and wisdom and strength. One of those memorable moments that I think was wonderful for our elders and for the church. Lots of tears. Lots of smiles. Lots of hugs. Lots of pats on the back. And a realization of the burden our shepherds carry and the church’s responsibility to help them carry it by encouraging them and making their difficult tasks a joy and not a burden.

Hug your elder today. Send him a card or an email. Love him. And try to make his job easier.

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I’ve got very little to say about the Cowboys game last night since I just saw the second half in our hotel room last night after the opening keynote at the ACU Lectureships here in Abilene. Maybe the Eagles have a pretty good offense. Maybe the Cowboys defense is better than we thought. Maybe Aaron Rodgers is already done. I don’t know. I wasn’t really able to pay much attention.

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The blogging will be sporadic this week. Hang with me. The “KK&C Top 20 College Football Poll” will be released late Tuesday night / early Wednesday morning.

Peace,

Allan

41-37, I Know, I Know

September 16, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

Sorry so late today on posting the KK&C Top 20. I usually get it done during Monday Night Football. But I found it difficult to take my eyes off the TV for more than two or three seconds at a time last night. Whitney and I were living and dying with every snap last night. So I didn’t get to the poll until this morning. You can view it by clicking on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab at the top of this page. Or just check it out at the end of this post.

Of the 98 meetings between the Cowboys and Eagles, last night’s was the highest-scoring. And the most dramatic. Crazy. How can a Week 2 game feel like the Super Bowl? Tony Romo combined his very best and very worst performances from the past two seasons into one 60-minute showcase of why fans and teammates love him and why coaches and gamblers hate him. In three more years Romo will fall on that fumble in the end zone. Right now he still thinks every play is a potential first down.

Did McNabb get sacked at all, even once, before that final drive? How is it he gets sacked by a four-man rush on two of the game’s final four plays? He almost looked hesitant on those plays. Unsure. I suppose it’s possible the Cowboys defense just stepped it up for the first time all night. But it looked like McNabb was trying to do too much too fast.

Maybe I can add Felix Jones to the list of good guys on the Cowboys for whom one could actually cheer and not feel dirty. That makes four.

Emmitt Smith is one of those guys who only tarnishes his reputation every time he makes a public appearance. If his agent were really only concerned with Emmitt’s well-being and long term legacy, he’d make him quit his ESPN gig. Or at least tell him to quit talking about the fact that he’s the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. And when others bring it up, act graciously and humbly. Don’t pump your fist and shout, “Yeah!”

My prediction from yesterday was for the halftime score. Pretty good, huh? Thank you.

Terrell Owens told reporters after the game, “The Lord has obviously blessed me with a lot of talent.” He failed to mention the quarterbacks who throw him the balls, the offensive linemen who give the quarterback the time to throw the balls, or the coaches who draw up the plays to get those balls thrown to him. As he famously said in Philly, “I love me some me.”

In an effort to continously search for the black cloud behind every Cowboys silver lining, there’s this: 21 penalties in two games. It’s this kind of mental laxity that causes their late-season swoons, right? I’ve given up on the Cowboys ever going 8-8 or 7-9 for the next few seasons. But I’m beginning to see that a 13-3 or 14-2 season is even better when they blow it big time in the divisional playoffs.

Unrelated: how many reporters, anchors, columnists, and fans are still calling Mike Shanahan a genius and calling his two-point conversion decision gutsy if Denver fails to convert and loses? How many? One? Zero? His own wife would kick him out of the house. His children would avoid him. His parents would disown him. His dog wouldn’t come when he called. It can’t be a good decision if it turns out well and a poor decision if it turns out bad. Those who criticize coaches for a living can’t have it both ways. It’s just like the two-point “chart” that blamed for his awful call Sunday. It’s either the right move or the wrong one. I would have fired Shanahan on the spot, even while the team is celebrating the win. He would have had to get his own plane back home.

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17 of our 20 panelists participated in this week’s KK&C Top 20 College Football Poll. Aaron and Jennifer get a bye because they’re in Hawaii. If they were really commited to this they would have had Gracie fill out the forms. No big deal. They’re good. Mark Richardson is recovering from serious knee surgery—he’ll be on crutches for six weeks—and he still got his in. Good for him. As for Kevin…maybe he ran out of material.

USC picks up all but three of the first place votes. Billy keeps giving his to LSU as defending national champions until somebody knocks them off. Larry’s sticking with Georgia. Obviously it’s an SEC thing. Unless he didn’t see the game Saturday. And Richard refuses to give USC his number one vote. He keeps listing both the Trojans and OU as #2. Speaking of the Sooners, they jump from #4 to #2 this week, despite Paul’s insistence on voting them #20 every time. Texas moved up from #9 to #7. One of the panelists commented that the ‘Horns look better when they don’t play. Missouri moved up two spots to #3. Ohio State crashed and burned seven slots all the way down to #14. West Virginia dropped all the way out. And Arizona State fell all the way out from the #12 spot. I can only assume it’s that not voting for them is easier than engaging in the theological discussions concerning their mascot. Utah makes its debut at #19. Enjoy.

September 16, 2008

1. USC (14-1st place votes, 334 total votes) “Told you!” JS; “A varsity team in a conference of JVs.” CJ; “Pow!” DM; “Dominant!” JK; “Rats! They look good.” TS; “No doubt they belong at the top.” PD; “Tailback U is now Quarterback U.” MH; “Yeah, so they spanked Ohio St. I’ll be convinced when I see ‘em take on some REAL competition. Oh, wait. They don’t have any in the Pac-10.” JR; “I still refuse to vote this team #1″ RA

2. Oklahoma (299) “Ugh!” DM; “Please, please, somebody beat this team.” TS; “Offensive line is full of seniors. Better do it this year, Stoops.” CJ; “My, my, what an offense!” PD; “The only reason I didn’t put them at #1 is because they beat up a Pac-10 loser. Sam Bradford for Heisman trophy!” JR; “What a Wash-out in Seattle.” RA (Boo.); “Exposes Pac-10 weakness.” MH; “Next two weeks are TCU & Baylor.” DB

3. Florida (290) “Wish I’d had Tim Tebow’s numbers on my fantasy team.” DB; “Better than Georgia…will prove it when they play.” CJ; “Florida usually beats Tennessee, by 14 or more this week.” MH

4. Georgia (1, 286) “Very narrow escape.” BW; “Yikes. I guess SC is a quality opponent but…” JS; “Christmas comes early. Thanks Spurrier Claus!” CJ; “The Dogs seem to be losing their bark.” JR; “Bradford or Daniels would pick them apart but Mizzou might have to put up 50.” PD; “Didn’t look good beating the wrong USC.” RA; “SEC always overrated.” MH; “Could be dropped a little further.” DB

5. Missouri (280) “Offense looks awesome.” BW; “Can hang with any team in the top 5 outside of USC.” CJ; “Big 12 muscle is showing up in Big MO!” MH; “They’d be my #1 if they had a defense.” PD

6. LSU (1, 256) “Got more resistance from Ike.” BW; “Should have beaten UNT by 50. Their lack of a passing game is gonna bite them big time in conference play.” JR; “Done nothing to negate this high ranking.” CJ; “LSU 20, Auburn 16.” SF

7. Texas (230) “They look better when they ain’t playing.” TS; “I’ve always wondered what would happen if a 5A team played a 1A team….oh, wait! I’ll get to see that this weekend.” CJ; “The ‘Horns are lucky I hate the SEC so much.” JR; “Totally dominated the bye week.” JS; “I may not have much time to vote them this high.” RA

8. Wisconsin (220) “Great win against a quality opponent.” CJ; “They belong.” PD; “Is the Big 10 more than just Ohio St?” MH; “Boring, boring, boring.” JR

9. Auburn (186) “The defense may have to start scoring.” BW; “Can you really put a team that won 3-2 in the top ten?” CJ; “Could NOT leave them in the top ten after that performance.” JR; “Tigers win on a two-out, 9th inning single with a runner on second.” RA; “Lucky to win.” SF; “Still better than Alabama” MH; ”Shaky now with the injury.” JK

10. Texas Tech (176) “The freak show continues.” TS; “Crabtree is unstoppable.” BW; “A dominant defensive showing against the high-powered offense of SMU!” CJ; “Looking more like the Tech we expected.” PD; “It pains me to say they won’t be up here much longer.” JS; “Great job against SMU. Didn’t they lose to the University of Phoenix Online?” RA; “Showed D at SMU. Well, not really. It was SMU.” MH

11. Alabama (160) “I moved them up because this is my poll and I can.” JS; “That defensive line is enough to keep them in the top 15.” CJ; “Maybe the Tide is finally on a ‘Roll.’ JR (Janie supplies this week’s Skip Bayless line. Thank you.); “Not a top ten yet.” MH

12. Penn St. (139) “Closing on Ohio State.” BW; “Ohio St. will still win the Big 10.” CJ; “Joe Pa ain’t got Alzheimer’s yet.” MH; “This bunch is coming!” PD

13. South Florida (119) “I can’t ever keep these directional Florida teams straight.” JS; “Not sure they will stay.” BW; “Great win. Kansas is no slouch.” CJ; ”The best mid-major in the country.” MH

14. Ohio State (118) “Definitely not the 2nd best team in the country.” BW; “Let’s not overreact. They played the best team in the country on the road without their best player.” CJ; “Told you!” JS; “At one point the USC crowd chanted ‘Over-rated!’ At #14, that may still be the case.” DB; “Saw it coming, dropped them last week.” MH; “This may be too high.” PD

15. Oregon (117) “Quarterback needs to improve.” BW; “They may ‘quack’ the top ten before all is said and done.” CJ

16. BYU (105) “Win over Washington was not a fluke.” BW; “I picked UCLA as my upset of the week. My punishment is to put BYU in the top 12.” CJ; “Nice game, Neuheisel.” JR; “Put up a March Madness score on UCLA.” DB; “Wow those Mormans can score!” MH; “Hope Neuheisel took the over.” RA; “Drubbing of UCLA doesn’t make Vols look very good.” SF

17. East Carolina (90) “The dream may be over.” CJ; “Got a bit cocky.” PD; “This team is still for real.” JR; “They don’t play as well against non-ranked opponents.” JS

18. Kansas (42) “Showing the depth of Big 12.” MH; “Won’t equal last year’s wins.” BW; “They will beat UT at home this year.” CJ; “Too bad they got Bull-ied.” RA (OK, that’s enough.)

19. Wake Forest (33) “They keep winning. But why are they so boring?” CJ

19. (tie) Utah (33) “Wow, those secular Mormans can score, too!” MH; “The win over Michigan doesn’t quite have the cache it did two weeks ago, but it still keeps them here.” JR

Also receiving votes: West Virginia (24); Clemson (14); TCU (7); Nebraska (3) “Half the Big 12 in my poll.” DM; Arizona St. (2); UConn (2) “Look out for the Huskies!” (?); Oklahoma State (2) “People are overlooking them. Big mistake.” CJ; “I know it was Mizzou STATE, but they won by 40+!” JR; Illinois (2); Notre Dame (1) “Wake up the echos, Irish will go 7-4.” SF

Peace,

Allan

Given Much

September 15, 2008 / Allan / 4 Comments

“From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” ~Luke 12:48

When I see Shaquille O’Neal shoot 35% from the free throw line; when I see Ricky Williams throw away a Hall of Fame career with drug use; when I hear about a record-setting high school quarterback get suspended because he’s flunked Social Studies; I want to scream. All that talent. All those gifts. All that natural ability. All that potential. All those blessings. How in the world can you just throw that away? How can you not see how you’ve been blessed and how you can use those blessings to make yourself and your team better? How does Shaq live with himself, knowing that in a tight playoff game his coach has to sit him on the bench because he might get fouled? How can Williams ever show his face again in the state of Louisiana after what he did to the Saints? How does the high school quarterback walk the halls of his campus knowing how he’s let down his whole community?

We expect much more out of the people who’ve been so richly blessed.

Boy, if I had only been given those same gifts. If only I had those same talents, those same abilities. I’d do everything in my power to use them to their maximum potential. I’d keep my nose clean. I’d work hard. I’d dedicate myself to getting even better. Nothing could ever hold me back or get me down if I had those blessings.

We hate seeing gifts gone to waste. But we drastically change our view when the tables are turned and we become the objects of scrutiny.

Are you blessed? Of course you’re going to say “Yes.” Your wealth is not just measured by your money and your possessions, of which we have more than anyone in history, but also by your options. If you have lots of options, you’re very blessed. For most people in the world, especially if you consider the whole of human history, the main choice of life is, “Will I pick the grain today with my left hand or my right hand?”

In contrast, consider the kinds of questions we ask ourselves today. It’s not, “Will I get to go to college?” It’s “Which college will I go to?” It’s not, “Can I find a job?” It’s “Which job pleases me the most?” We never ask, “Am I going to eat dinner?” It’s always, “What’s for dinner?”

We are wealthy. We are blessed.

And just like us, our God never wants to see all these blessings go to waste. Jesus never wants to see his gifts thrown away.

He expects more.

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Cowboys & Eagles. Monday Night Football. The only thing that could make it any better is if it were being played in Philly (better atmosphere) and if Frank and Howard and Dandy Don were calling the game on ABC.

The Eagles have certainly broken the hearts of the Cowboys many, many times in the past. I vividly remember watching the 1980 NFC Championship Game in Paul Barron’s living room. Tom Landry’s weird Russian fur hat with the earflaps and the collar on his coat up around his neck. Wilbert Montgomery going for 42 yards and a TD on the game’s second play. I remember Paul throwing his not-quite-empty Coke can across his living room after a Danny White sack midway through the third quarter of that 20-7 loss.

Lots of Cowboys misery at the hands of the Eagles. The pickle juice game. The Bounty Bowl. Jaws. Harold Carmichael. McNabb’s 14-second scramble. Andy Reid is 13-5 against the Cowboys. Philly’s beat Dallas in three of the past four meetings. Nobody has a better road record in the NFL over the past seven seasons than the Eagles. McNabb is totally healthy. Westbrook’s one of the four best backs in the league. The Eagles’ defense is menacing. Their blitz is unnerving. Their secondary is excellent. They held Dallas to just six points at Texas Stadium last December.

Eagles 27, Cowboys 20.

Peace,

Allan

Typing Above The Growls

September 9, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

“While the human body can survive only a short time without air or water, it can go for many days without food before starvation begins.” ~Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

We generally think of fasting as an individual spiritual discipline. The first words Jesus said about fasting question the motives of those who fast as part of an individual routine. “When you fast…” he says in Matthew 6. But there is great benefit and great biblical example of corporate fasting as a group of God’s people who want to focus their corporate energies toward a common matter of importance. Just as the congregations in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch prayed and fasted during the appointment of their elders (Acts 14:22-23) and before the commissioning of their missionaries (Acts 13:2-3), the Legacy church today is fasting and praying together as we begin our process of selecting new elders. We’re using our normal eating time to pray. We’re allowing our hunger pangs to remind us that we are submitting our wills to God and not to our growling appetites. And we’re making ourselves open to God’s direction during this time as we seek his guidance for Legacy.

There’s something neat about feeling my stomach growl and knowing I have hundreds of other brothers and sisters here who are going through the same thing today for the same reasons. It’s encouraging and inspiring to know we’re all doing this together. I got a text message from a buddy late last night:

“Fasting prep—big dinner, three chocolate chip cookies, Snickers, and two bowls of cereal. I hope I make it. If you don’t see me Wednesday, check the morgue or Pizza Garden.”

Isn’t it great to be going through the same thing and thinking the same things together with the whole church? No donuts or breakfast burritos at the Bible study this morning. We spent all of our 75-minutes together today talking about and praying about the elder selection process, asking for God’s guidance and wisdom. The corporate fast can be a wonderful and powerful experience when the people are prepared and are of one mind.

To the folks here at Legacy, let’s use this time to also consider your part in this body. Your voice, your vision, your discernment in this very important matter is no less important than anyone else’s. Your participation is critical. Please take your responsibility to the body seriously. And you men who will be asked to serve as elders: you, too. Take your role, your calling, your responsibilities to this branch of God’s Kingdom seriously. We need you.

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A powerful time with my brothers down in Waco yesterday. Nine preachers and an elder. We’ve been getting together monthly since March for mutual edification and study and prayer. Yesterday was the first time we were all together in the same room since David Hunter’s wife, Denise, died. David is the preacher at the church in Robinson, just south of Waco. Not a dry eye in the house as David re-told and re-lived that awful week. And as we gathered around him for an intense period of prayer and blessing, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude to our Father for giving us friends and family to minister to us when we deal with life’s injuries and injustices. And so thankful that his Son has overcome all those things in his life and death and resurrection and that we can all participate fully in that awesome victory.

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Legacy is the organizing church, the hub—I’m not sure what you call us—for the Lifeline Chaplaincy program that’s being established now in Tarrant County. We had over 125 people here for a kickoff breakfast and meeting Saturday morning representing 12 different congregations. Praise God in advance for all the wonderful things he’s going to do with us and through us as we join together to visit and minister to the sick.

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I’ll write more about the Cowboys next week. My policy on the Cowboys is that if I can’t say anything bad, I shouldn’t say anything at all.

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Speaking of football, The Kingdom, The Kids, and The Cowboys Top 20 College Football Poll is out. I posted it late last night on the “KK&C Top 20” page. And I’m adding it below in this post.

USC retains its stranglehold on #1. Florida jumps up three spots to #2. Georgia drops to #3. OU stays at #4. And Missouri’s in at #5. Texas and Texas Tech retain their positions at #8 and #13. Of course, some of our panelists are unable to keep their biases from impacting the integrity of this thing. Paul puts OU (zero u) at #20 in his poll while Jerry puts Texas (tu) at #19. And Richard won’t rank USC #1. He puts Southern Cal and Georgia as two #2s at the top of his list.

East Carolina debuts today at #16 while South Florida shows up for the first time at #19. Jim G’s not the only one casting votes for Fresno State this week. Ohio State fell hard from #3 to #7. More of our pollsters are talking smack, mostly against the Buckeyes and the Longhorns, although a nice theological debate is brewing over the Arizona State mascot. Larry attached the audio from the Mississippi State fight song to his poll. And I’m not publishing anymore comments about Oregon’s uniforms unless they’re really funny or really original.

September 9, 2008

1. USC (9-1st place votes; 306 total) “Will take Jim Tressel’s overrated crew behind the Coliseum woodshed” JimG; “They’re going to destroy Ohio State!” MR; “Trojans are licking their chops!” PD; ”Go USC, but only for this week” JennG; “Sorry MD, too many horses. USC 27, Ohio St. 17″ SF; “They will kill Ohio St” JK; “Needs a better kicker” BW; “The NFL is proving USC is a bunch of frauds” LT;

2. Florida (1; 275) “Listen, you can hear it: Te-bow! Te-bow! Te-bow!” LT; “Defense wins championships-gratuitous cliche’” CJ; “The Florida-USC National Championship Game will be sweet” KW; “Looking good, especially on defense” AG; “Speed kills. Vols may be in trouble in two weeks” SF; ”Has Urban Meyer joined Rick Neuheisel’s office pool?” JimG;

3. Georgia (3; 273) “A shaky 2-0, but still there” JR; “Overrated! Overrated!” CJ; “Number Two in the SEC” BW; “Refuse to put USC at the top when there’s a deserving SEC team” LT;

4. Oklahoma (1; 272) “I voted them number one, totally homer, I know. Cincy’s not exactly a dog” JR; “I like watching them play, but I’m tired of that Boomer song” KW; “Dominant team in Big 12″ AG; “Defense and special teams a bit ragged” PD; “This might be their year” LT; “The Sooner Schooner looks un-de-rail-able right now” JimG;

5. Missouri (250) “Really liking them this year” JennG; “Will get more respect from me if they win in Austin” CJ; “Chase Daniel is one heck of a football player” LT; ”Squatty quarterbacks are cool” KW; “104 points in two games!” AG; “I was tempted to move them way up” PD; “OU and Texas better keep an eye on the Tiger” LT (yuck, give me a break); “Most potent offense in college football?” JimG;

6. LSU (1; 247) “Still packed with athletes” AG; “Still defending champs” BW; “Gustav showed pity on Baton Rouge and I’ll do the same for one more week” LT;

7. Ohio St. (237) “For now” JK; “Mark it down, USC will roll!” JS; “Overrated before Well’s injury…they stink” RA; “Tressel’s failed to live up to ‘big game’ status…this trend will continue Saturday” CJ; “THE Ohio State University is THE most overrated team of this decade. Yes, decade.” JimG; “Will this be six in a row?” PD; “Who’s the beanie counter?” BW;

8. Auburn (198) “Doing it the old fashioned way with defense, special teams, and field position” JimG; “SEC rules! LT; “Enough of the SEC already!” JK;

9. Texas (195) “Way too high” RA; “Weakest schedule of any team in the Top Ten” LT; “Yawn. Arkansas is down. Should be another lopsided win” CJ; “Can they beat OU?” JennG; “Who’s this week’s patsy?” JimG; “That Opie sure can play!” KW; “Will lose to OU” AG; “Texas 34, Arkansas 20″ SF; “Colt back in form” PD; “Needs to start games earlier than 9:15pm” BW;

10. Wisconsin (184) “This may be too low” PD; “Fattened up on Marshall before their trip west to Fresno St” JimG; “Gaining on Ohio St” BW;

11. Kansas (137) “Riding the ‘No one gives us respect’ wave” CJ; “I don’t know about anybody else, but is it weird watching them on TV? Kinda boring” KW; “Will not match the basketball team” BW;

12. Arizona St. (124) “Erickson gives me hope for things to come in College Station” CJ; “I know I shouldn’t, but the devil on the helmet is a mascot I’ve liked since I was a kid” KW; “Why would anyone allow their child to play for a team with a mascot of devils?” JimG;

13. Texas Tech (122) “Defense was better. I have to keep believing” JS; “I’m not buying this team as a legitimate contender in the Big 12″ RA; “They must prove they can win a physical game on the road before I give them props” JimG; “Almost took them out of my Top 20 but they are so dangerous” PD;

14. Alabama (112) “Love him or hate him, Saban’s a good coach” CJ; “Alabama people are fun” KW;

15. Oregon (86) “Genuine” PD;

16. East Carolina (80) “Rockin’ the purple house!” JennG; “Can’t be a fluke if you do it twice, right?” CJ; “Looking like a BCS bowl” KW; “Skip to my Lou!” PD (new front-runner for Skip Bayless line of the year); “Who is this??” BW; “Say hello to this year’s BCS buster” JK; “A skip off the old block” JimG (hold the phone, we have a challenger);

17. Penn St. (73) “Hope Paterno and Bowden are even at the end of the year and settle it in a bowl” CJ; “Number One on most boring uniform poll” KW;

18. BYU (42) “A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ but do you really feel good about how that went down?” CJ; “A poor call by officials keeps them in the Top 20″ SF; “Agree with celebration penalty” BW;

19. South Florida (31) “Did they really stop him?” JS; “Because I couldn’t let BYU and their sham remain in my poll” JimG;

20. West Virginia (18) “…and dropping” JK; “Probably should be further down but East Carolina could be better than anyone thinks” JS; “National title hopes destroyed! Thanks ECU!” CJ; “Will get offense going” BW;

Also receiving votes: Clemson (17); Wake Forest (14); Fresno St. (10) ”Welcome Wisconsin in the most anticipated home game in school history” JimG; California (9) “Boy, those tree huggers sure are fast” KW; Utah (8); TCU (7); Tennessee (6) “Will beat either Florida, Georgia, or Auburn to go 7-4 and earn the 20th ranking” AG; Oklahoma State (6) “The surprise team in the Big 12″ CJ; ”699 yards of offense!” JR; Illinois (3); Nebraska (1) “Bo knows” DM; Mississippi St. (1)

As always, click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab at the upper right hand corner of this page to see the poll and meet the pollsters.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Cowboys (Page 44 of 53)

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