The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Evangelism (Page 15 of 20)

Pat Collins on a Jackhammer

February 11, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Legacy’s PinesWe woke up this morning under an incredible blanket of the prettiest snow we’ve seen around here in a long time. Not like the Christmas Eve snow when it was blowing sideways at 50 miles per hour. These are big, fat, fluffy, wet, sticky flakes falling peacefully to earth. The scene here at Legacy today is beautiful. And the mood is playful. Snow like this always seems to put everybody in a great mood. Bonny and Suzanne actually brought snowballs into the building to peg me in the hallway. That was after I had hidden Bonny’s breakfast in her office. Lance is taking tons of pictures. Jason is talking about building a huge snowman out on Mid-Cities Boulevard. The kids down at Circle of Friends seem to have a little more energy and are making a little more noise than normal. And I’m not sure if anybody’s going to get much work done today.

   Legacy Entrance   Legacy Trees   Legacy Back Porch  

As always, click on the pictures to get the full size. We already have over four inches on the ground here in North Richland Hills. And it’s supposed to keep snowing all day and into the night. I think there will be at least one snowman in our front yard by nightfall. I love the snow. And I love what it does to people here. Praise God for the beauty of his creation and the grace in his blessings.

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…to prepare God’s people for works of serviceWhy perform works of service? Why selflessly give to others? Why spend time and energy helping other people? Paul gives us very specific answers: “…so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all 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” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

David Hirsch widening the bathroom  Wayne Steele laying tile  Paul Brightwell on sheetrock  

Steve Prescott has been suffering with foot and leg and hip problems since long before we arrived here at Legacy. It’s a bone deterioration problem that I don’t fully understand. And neither do his doctors. Steve had one foot amputated almost a year ago. And now, on the heels of another injury and similiar concerns about deterioration in his other foot, he’s in a wheelchair, using a walker, and wearing a bulky protective boot. To make Steve and Pat’s long story short, their home in Watauga just isn’t wheelchair or walker or bulky boot friendly. Narrow doorways. Cramped bathrooms. Wall-to-wall carpet. And not enough time or money or energy to fix things the way they need to be.

 This is what George looks like when he’s teaching class, too.  Bob Justice uses his “good” shoulder to hold the flashlight  Chris Roof was allowed in the house to provide comic relief  

That’s where their circle of brothers and sisters here at Legacy has just absolutely taken over. The money has poured in from several Bible classes. Volunteers have been working for the past two weeks on ripping out carpet and toilets and door frames and making things smoother and wider for Steve. New tile. New facilities. New doors. New paint. New wiring.

There’s a great difference between doing church and being church. This, my friends, is being church. Being church to one another. Showing the Prescotts’ neighbors what being church looks like. Expressing Christian love and concern for one another. Sharing resources and strength. Coming together in the name of our Savior to rescue this family.

I know Steve and Pat are blown away. So am I. I’m so grateful to be a part of this body of believers. I’m so thankful to belong to this loving and sacrificial group. They understand that this is the very thing that fosters and proves Christian maturity. This is the kind of thing that reflects real knowledge. This is what it looks like to attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

I also know the real reason you read down this far was to see a picture of Pat Collins on a jackhammer. Well, I don’t want to disappoint.  Pat Collins on a jackhammer!

I’ve read something just this week that fits well here. I can’t remember if it was Eugene Peterson or Marva Dawn or Josh Graves. It was one of those three. (I’ve got to stop reading three books at a time!) He or she said the essence of a thing is in its doing. Not knowing. Not believing.

Doing.

Peace,

Allan

Fertilize Somebody

February 10, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Incarnational Church“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” ~John 1:14

Eugene Peterson translates this well-known verse as “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.”

What does it mean for the Holy Son of God to become flesh and live with us? What does it mean for God himself to walk our streets, to eat our food, to breathe our air, to hug our kids, so suffer and die for us — suffer and die with us?

It means everything! The Incarnation of God means everything in that it shows the lengths he goes to redeem us and provide for us what we cannot provide ourselves. It means everything in that he was not content to save us from his throne in heaven. Our Father came here, where we are, to experience everything we experience. He brought heaven down to us.

And we’re commissioned by our baptisms into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus to do the same thing. We walk the streets with our neighbors. We share meals with the homeless. We breathe the air in the government housing apartments. We hug the kids at Fortress and Walker Creek Elementary. We suffer with those in the hospitals. And we die everyday for and with the orphan, the widow, and the stranger in the gate.

Luis Palau says the Church is like manure: Pile it up together and it stinks up the neighborhood; spread it out and it enriches the world.

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Jenny BizJenny Bizaillion is doing so much better today. She’s down to just one blood pressure medicine now and her numbers are doing OK. Her breathing is better. Her color is better. In fact, they are actually going to take her off the ventilator at 8:00 tomorrow morning. They’re going to wake her up. The doctors have told David and Rick and Beverly that they really can’t explain Jenny’s improvement over the past 48 hours but whatever the family’s doing, keep it up.

The family. That’s all of us. You, too. And we’re not doing anything. Our God is doing it all. Give him praise for Jenny’s improved health. And keep praying that our merciful Father will fully restore her with strength and healing.

“Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies [flu, pneumonia, disease, fear, death] cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name.’
Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in [Jenny’s] behalf.”
~Psalm 66:3-5

Peace,

Allan

Expectation #5

February 5, 2010 / / 0 Comments

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:16

We’re called to evangelize the same way Jesus evangelized: in deep, personal, loving, and giving relationship. We watch our Lord proclaim the Gospel and we follow his lead.

Let Your Light ShineJesus eats dinner with his friends. He teaches in Capernaum and preaches at the lake. He throws a picnic for five thousand and he spends the night in the mountains praying with his disciples. He hugs mourners at funerals. He touches lepers. He weeps for the city. He embraces strangers and stays with tax collectors. Jesus protects the adulterous woman at the temple and he blesses the children. He forgives his enemies from the cross. He dies for me. And he walks out of the tomb and breathes into us his resurrection life.

The Way of Jesus is always in creating and saving and blessing. He invites and he forgives. He seeks the lost and heals the sick. He turns the other cheek. He embodies the Good News in submissive love and sacrificial service.

According to Acts 2:42-47, this is how the first church evangelized. This is how you let your light shine. This is how you share your faith and redeem the world. By delivering a casserole or mowing a yard. By inviting somebody over for ice-cream. By praying for enemies and forgiving people who do you harm.

The world sees that and can’t resist.

Peace,

Allan

Let Us Astound Them

January 13, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Let Us Astound ThemLet us astound them by our way of life. For this is the main battle, the unanswerable argument, the argument from actions. For though we give ten thousand precepts of philosophy in words, if we do not exhibit a better life than theirs, the gain is nothing. For it is not what is said that draws their attention, but their inquiry is what we do. Let us win them therefore by our life.

~John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians, 4th century CE

Thanksgiving for Roadblocks

November 30, 2009 / / 1 Comment

“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” ~Matthew 11:25

Thanksgiving for RoadblocksJohn the Baptist is the one who knows more about the coming Messiah than anyone else in the world. He’s been ordained by God, commissioned to prepare the way for the Holy One of Israel. And in Matthew 11, with John in jail and Herod acting more arrogantly and ruling more aggressively than ever, the desert proclaimer begins to doubt. He questions. From his prison cell, through his disciples, he asks Jesus, “So are you the one, or what?”

The people who know Jesus the best, his own family and friends, are ignoring him. The very ones he worshiped with and grew up with and played with and worked with in the villages of Capernaum and Bethsaida and Korazin are not accepting Jesus as Lord. They’re not repenting. They’re not turning to God as a result of Jesus’ teachings and miracles.

The situation in Jesus’ Kingdom life is not good. His mission. His calling from God. His whole purpose for coming to earth. Everything Jesus stood for and sacrificed for and was working for. None of it was going very well. He was running into dead ends and roadblocks. Barriers and hard hearts. Misunderstanding and indifference.

And this from the people who all should have known better.

If I’m Jesus — and, yes, I know I’m not; I’m reminded every day —I’m looking at John and these neighbors of mine and I’m maybe beginning to question all of it, too. Maybe I’d better do something different. Maybe they’re right. No crowds. Nobody’s lives are changing. I need to try something else. I need to be bigger and louder and brighter. We need bigger screens. More video. Maybe I should lose the tie. Tell more jokes. Be funnier. We should maybe set up a coffee shop or a book store. I should probably stop saying words like “sin” and “salvation” and “Zion.”

If I were Jesus, I’d look at the misunderstandings and indifference and say, “Why isn’t God helping me here? Why isn’t God doing anything? What’s the deal?”

Instead, Jesus prays thanksgiving to God.

“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”

Jesus knows that God’s way is to work his gracious will, to fulfill his marvelous plans for the universe through the childlike. The simple. The humble. Those who don’t think they are themselves some kind of gods. God works through people who understand very plainly their deep need for him.

The point is this: none of this throws Jesus off. The fact that John misunderstands what’s happening with Jesus doesn’t derail him. Jesus doesn’t slam on the brakes when the villagers reject him. None of this slows our Savior down.

Not so with us. We can get caught up in junk like this. I know I can. I know whole churches that can.

There are so many conditions in God’s Church and in this country and in this world that cause us to wring our hands and gnash our teeth. Oh, the Church is in trouble! Oh, people aren’t captivated by the Bible anymore! Postmoderns won’t ever believe the absolute truth of salvation in God through Christ! And we worry and get anxious and write articles and teach classes and rail against systems and complain about programs. And we get so worked up because God’s not working anymore.

But this prayer from Jesus puts everything in perspective. It brings us back to base.

The powerful and unstoppable energies of the Kingdom of God are always moving, always growing, always surging just beneath the surface. All around us. Huge rivers of prayer and faith and hope and praise and forgiveness and salvation and rescue and holiness flow right by us every day. In every single nook and cranny, hidden in the shadows, overlooked in the crowds, drowned out by the noise, are these humble infants. These little children.

So—thanksgiving.

Not just for the day and the weather and the beauty of nature. Not just for family and friends and food and clothes and shelter. Not just for good things in good circumstances. But, thanksgiving in — yes! — less than ideal situations. Thanksgiving offered in faith that our God is very much alive and active and working in mighty ways that we don’t always see.

Peace,

Allan

Blessings For All!

September 28, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Blessings For All!There are people around the world every single day who receive great blessings from God without ever asking for them. These people don’t pray. And they don’t give God thanks when they receive these great blessings. The fact is, they enjoy the benefits of these wonderful gifts and never acknowledge the Giver.

“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” ~Matthew 5:45

We joke sometimes about getting more rain than our friend who lives somewhere else because we must be “livin’ right.” Obviously, that’s not the way God works. He pours his merciful blessings on the good and the bad.

And he tells us to do the same.

“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” ~Matthew 5:46-48

Be perfect in your indiscrimination. Be perfect in your unbiased grace toward others. Be perfect in the equality with which you share your love and good deeds. Like our God, be perfect in showing kindness and mercy to people who like you AND to people who don’t.

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What a wonderful five days in Fresno with my great friends, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell, at the 12th annual Spiritual Growth Workshop at the Woodward Park Church of Christ. What a time of encouragement and edification. What a time of renewal and re-energizing.

I strained several muscles from all the laughing. I gained several pounds from the late night Cookies-and-Cream milkshakes at Chick-Fil-A and the animal fries at In-and-Out Burgers. I threw grapes at friends sitting four tables away under a big tent at a lunch on the grounds. I was inspired by Evertt Huffard’s presentation on the honor of our God. I was moved by two women who gave their lives to Christ in baptism. I was the butt of Paul Methvin’s jokes. I was hugged by a hundred different people who really don’t know me at all. I met missionaries and homeless people (sorta the same thing). I talked with Brian and learned several new “words” in sign language. I slept in Tori’s room on her Cheetah Girls sheets. I was amazed to watch the Laotians keep coming and keep coming to pack the place to worship our God. Joann’s generosity. Dan’s parsing. Andy’s sarcasm. Jimmy’s tenor. John’s unique songleading. Mandy’s personality. John Ed’s wisdom. L. Jeeves’ nametag. Steve’s great attitude. Praying with Jim and Jimmy Sunday morning, just like old times.

What a blessing to see the Kingdom of God expressed in such clear ways among his people there in the California valley. Different colors. Different cultures. Different ethnic groups. Different languages. Different ages. Different socio-economic classes. Praising God with one voice. Communing around the same table and celebrating our one salvation through our one Lord and Savior.

Participating together in baptisms. Praying together for families who’ve lost jobs. Learning new songs together. Sharing meals together. It’s wonderful. It’s heaven.

The kingdoms of the world come with power. They come with violence and noise and fanfare and bloodshed. The kingdoms of the earth come with great force. God’s Kingdom comes with casseroles and rides to the doctor. The Kingdom of God comes with kind acts and loving mercy. Hugs and pats on the back. Sharing and bearing.

May God continue to bless our brothers and sisters in Fresno as they bring the Kingdom to the California valley. May his perfect will be done there as it is in heaven.

Peace,

Allan

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