The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Who Dak?

September 16, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I’m thinking Derek Carr should be the highest paid player in NFL history.

The Saints quarterback averaged 22.1 yards per completion yesterday in a deliciously mind-blowing beatdown of the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Per completion!!! Unheard of. Even in last year’s blowout playoff loss to the Packers, Jordan Love averaged 17 yards per completion. New Orleans scored six touchdowns on their first six possessions, which Mike McCarthy downplayed afterward by shrugging his shoulders and saying, “It happens,” and this game was over by halftime. Dallas gave up a franchise record 35 first half points and allowed Alvin Kamara to score four touchdowns, tying another franchise record for a Cowboys opponent.

The Dallas running game was non-existent; Elliot had six carries for 16 yards and Dak had the day’s longest run from scrimmage, gaining eight yards on a scramble.  Dak threw two interceptions and fumbled once. Dallas went 0-3 in the red zone. The offensive ineptitude prompted Kristi Scales to write, “You know it’s bad when the best Dak and Zeke play of the day was combining on a tackle of a Saints cornerback returning an interception.”

The Dallas defense was even worse. The Saints ran for 190 yards and faced a total of just three third downs in their first five drives of the day. Micah Parsons says they got outplayed. That might be the most disturbing thing a Cowboys player admitted last night.

I’ve learned over the years that the best time to make bets with Cowboys fans is right after the first win of the year. I made four different lunch bets yesterday morning with four big-talking Cowboys fans who jumped to take the over on my 8-9 prediction. I don’t know how they’re feeling today. It’s been quiet.

If you saw the way Kamara ran through the Cowboys yesterday, then you know Derrick Henry is licking his chops in Baltimore today.

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For the first time in 16 years, the Texas Longhorns are ranked number one in the country. The last time the ‘Horns held the top spot was for three weeks during the Colt McCoy era, ending with the MIchael Crabtree game, the high point of the history of Texas Tech Red Raiders football. The only concern now is that no football team ever wants to peak too early. Like against UTSA in week three.

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We held our seventh Christian Practices retreat over the weekend at The Way Retreat Center here in Midland. Fifteen of us spent intentional time together engaging our God in Word and Prayer, using some ancient Christian practices and experimenting with some newer exercises. The weather was perfect, the food was amazing, the chapel was a beautiful and inspirational setting for worship, and the spiritual conversations were transforming. The idea behind these retreats is to equip our church at GCR with more and varied ways to be present with God for his transforming work. We don’t want to just get into the Word, we want the Word of God to get into us, to become a part of us. So we pray the Scriptures, we dwell in the Word, we read imaginatively, we ponder ancient written prayers, and we share our stories. We listen to each other’s hearts, knowing that God’s Spirit is communicating with our spirits in the process. This retreat was another wonderfully intergenerational affair–older people and younger people, long time GCR members and some who just got here. It’s one of my favorite things we do at GCR. The last one of the year is set for November 15-16 at The Way. If you haven’t done one of these yet, I’d invite you to register now.

As you can see, we have digressed a bit in taking the team picture at the end. Not our best work. Almost half the folks are hidden in the shot. Jim Tuttle rightly expressed his disappointment in the younger people who didn’t step up to help out.

Peace,

Allan

That They May Live

August 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

On Sunday we wrapped up our summer-long sermon series from Ezekiel with the familiar vision of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37. With Cassie and Laylan Bundy’s impressive mural behind me, we explored the bones the same way Ezekiel did. As the Lord walked his prophet around and through all those bones, I led our congregation through the scene as best I could. This is complete desolation. Total death. These are not dead bodies–these are bones. Dead, dry, bleached-out bones. There is no life here, no possibility of life, not one flicker. This death valley is filled, not with dead corpses, but with skeletal remains. This is the very essence of dead. No life. No pulse. No organs. No breath. No hope.

God’s people have been utterly destroyed because of their sin. That’s the picture here. The covenant curses have been executed. The people are cut off. No relationship with the Lord. No salvation. No possibility. Just miles and miles of dead, dry, lifeless, hopeless bones.

And God asks, “Can these bones live?”

I’ve got to believe Ezekiel’s first thought is, “No! Of course not! These bones can’t live! They’re bones!”

But then Ezekiel remembers to whom he is speaking. This is Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. So he says, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

That’s when God causes the bones to come to life. The Lord God breathes his Holy Spirit into the bones and they do come to life. The bones connect together, bone to bone, tendons and muscles, and they’re covered with skin, and they live!

Ezekiel knows that God has the power to make the dry bones come to life. Now, Ezekiel knows that God will make the dry bones come to life! Of course God can. Praise the Lord, yes, God will!

“You will come to life!”

Today, 2,600 years after Ezekiel’s vision, I see dead people. And you do, too. I feel like sometimes I’m walking right through the middle of Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. There are dead men and dead women and dead teenagers everywhere. Spiritually dead. Cut off from God because of their sins. No relationship with the Lord. No salvation. No life. No hope. I see dead people, And you do, too.

Your son has left the Lord. Your daughter is no longer a member of a faith community, she hasn’t been to church in years. Your husband has never submitted to the lordship of Jesus. Your grandchild has never been baptized. Your niece is living in sin. Your nephew doesn’t even believe in God.

Can these bones live?

The Word of the Lord says, “You will come to life! I will put breath in you and you will come to life!”

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the sermon, we took time for everyone in our church to write down the name of someone they know who is spiritually dead. A close relative. A former college roommate. A friend at school or work. Someone they love. Someone who is living far away from the Lord. We wrote down the names of those people and placed them on the dry bones mural on the Worship Center stage.

I believe our God looks at the spiritually dead people that you love and he sees life. He sees it.

We all have people like these in our lives. We grieve. We agonize. Our hearts are broken every day. The biggest and most powerful and most effective thing we can do is to give these people to our God. Hand them to God in prayer and by faith in him to bring them back to life by breathing his Holy Spirit into their souls.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not sure, but I believe every person in the room walked down to the front and placed at least one name on that painting. Older people from the back of the sanctuary, helping each other up and down the steps. Young families with their kids. The whole youth group. It didn’t take long, because we all have those people in our lives. We know exactly who they are. We think about them and pray about them and grieve over them all the time. We all have these people and we all want so desperately to do something about their condition. You would die for this spiritually dead person in your life right now if it would do any good. So if writing their name on a sticker and placing it on a painting in the Worship Center as a symbolic act of prayer, a symbolic act of giving these people to the Lord, is what is asked… Well, everybody did it. No hesitation. Lots of tears. Lots of names. Lots of hugs around that painting.

One of our shepherds, Marc McQueen, led us in a congregational prayer and lifted every one of those names up to the Lord. He begged our God to breathe his Holy Spirit into these “bones” that they may live. More tears. More hugs.

I look at that massive mural this morning–we don’t know what we’re going to do with this thing–and I am reminded that every one of us has these people in our lives. It’s important to give voice to the pain, to publicly acknowledge the grief for loved ones who have rejected our God and are living outside of his will and his eternal Kingdom. It’s also important to tangibly, physically, do something about it. We can feel so helpless. It’s important to be reminded that we are not alone in our pain–every person in the room is carrying a similar burden.

It’s important to be reminded that God alone can make the “bones” come to life. We know this is God’s will. We know this is what he wants. He will bring our loved ones to life. And when he does, in his way and in his time, then, as he says, we will know that he is the Lord.

Peace,

Allan

Fleshing It Out

August 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

This Sunday at GCR, we’re concluding our sermon series in Ezekiel with the well-known dry bones vision in chapter 37. It’s going to be a special Sunday and I don’t want to bog it down with a bunch of lame puns. So, I’m getting them out of the way right now.

“Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 and we’ll flesh it out together this Sunday.”

“Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 and bone up on your knowledge of this familiar story.”

“Don’t be a bonehead; read Ezekiel 37:1-14 to get ready for this Sunday’s sermon.”

“Make no bones about it–you need to be at GCR this Sunday morning.”

The impressive mural on the stage in our Worship Center was painted by our own incredibly talented sister Cassie Bundy. It’s eight-feet tall and 20-feet long and it serves as the perfect backdrop to what’s going to be a powerful morning at our church. At times tomorrow, the mural will serve as scenery and, at other times, as the focal point of our participation in and response to the sermon. I am so thankful to God for Cassie’s eagerness to share her gifts with God’s people. And I pray that eyes and ears will be tuned in and hearts will be open for our Lord’s powerful message of forgiveness and salvation.

We’re not going to sing “Dry Bones” this Sunday, but we are going to be immersed in the Word of God to us from this significant passage. And if you have a bone to pick with me for anything I’ve written here, don’t let it get under your skin.

Peace,

Allan

MISD at GCR

July 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Our church campus has been overrun by more than 350 new teachers, coaches, mentors, bus drivers, and counselors the past two days as the Midland School District held its new teacher orientation at GCR. And we’ve been honored to host them.

All our ministers and church staff, along with a dozen or so terrific GCR volunteers, were on hand each morning to welcome the new instructors with open doors, handshakes and high fives, and well wishes for the new school year. We served coffee and flavored teas, helped give directions and instructions before and in between training sessions, and tried to be as friendly and helpful as we could be as they begin their new jobs with our local school district.

Why would we do something like this at GCR? Why would we go to the trouble and expense of hosting something like this for MISD and its new teachers?

Of the 350 new teachers, let’s assume that between 1/3 and 1/2 of them are brand new to our community. I personally met folks yesterday and today who just moved to Midland from San Antonio and Austin, from South Texas and New Mexico, and from as far away as Wyoming. There might be almost 200 people here, and their families, who are living in Midland for the very first time. Trying to find the grocery store and the movie theater, hunting for a doctor and a dentist, looking for a church. Is there a better way to get that many brand new people to your community inside your church building?

More than that, all 350 of these people have something really important in common: they are all in transition. Regardless of whether they just moved here or they’ve lived here all their lives, they are all beginning brand new jobs in new places with new people. They’re all making adjustments in their lives, forming new habits, re-thinking old assumptions, and probably reordering their priorities. It’s during these times of transition that God’s Holy Spirit can sneak into a person’s soul and whisper something important. Our Lord can find a little crack during these transition moments and do something monumental with a person. And when that happens–next week or next year–I’ll know that new teacher met some great ministers and had a really good experience at GCR.

When God’s Spirit finally prompts someone to start looking for better connections with him and his people, maybe they’ll remember that GCR seemed like a place and a people where that could happen.

Finally, why wouldn’t a Christian church want to bless and encourage a big group of teachers who are committing to our local schools and our local kids? Why wouldn’t disciples of Jesus be first in line to help our local school district? Better public education benefits kids and families and it makes our entire community better in dozens of different ways. So, yeah, we’re all in!

Thank you to those who held doors and poured coffee and tea and said, “Room 201 is in the gym” about a million times.

And thank you to Dr. Howard and MISD for allowing us the honor of hosting your awesome teachers for their orientation. GCR wishes y’all the very best of an amazing school year!

Peace,

Allan

Blended Worship

May 20, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Here’s my calendar for the next two weeks:

Wednesday May 22 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 1
Thursday May 23 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 1
Friday May 24 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 2
Saturday May 25 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 2
Sunday May 26 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 3
Monday May 27 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 3
Tuesday May 28 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 4
Wednesday May 29 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 4
Thursday May 30 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 5
Friday May 31 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 5
Saturday June 1 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 6
Sunday June 2 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 6
Monday June 3 – Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Finals Game 7 (if necessary)
Tuesday June 4 – Dallas Stars Western Conference Finals Game 7 (if necessary)

We’re a long way from this–we’re only halfway through both of these championship tournaments. But what if Dallas becomes “Title Town” and the Cowboys have nothing to do with it!

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Here at GCR Church we practice what a lot of people call a blended style of worship. Blended worship. Some people call it mutually miserable. With blended worship, we are equal opportunity offenders. Everybody’s miserable part of the time. There’s some part of this worship service you’re going to hate–we guarantee it!

I make fun of it. But, most of the time, I’m pushing for it. Because, if nothing else, it’s a way of driving home the point that we are not a monolithic church of just one style or one generation or one approach. We’re a diverse family of Christian disciples. So, every Sunday, we sing a pretty good mix of newer contemporary worship songs and older classic hymns. We do it all.

It helps us, I think, to emphasize that our Christian faith and our community of faith at GCR is not a one-track deal. We’re trying our best to foster a culture where everybody connects with God. We’re not perfect at this. But we try to communicate with our blended styles and practices that everybody is invited, that everybody is welcome, that everybody can hear and be heard, and that everybody can sing their song.

And that God will transform us when we sing somebody else’s song.

Peace,

Allan

Promote the Mood

May 15, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Colorado is done. It’s most likely going to happen tonight. If not, it’ll be Friday. Certainly over the next two games, the Dallas Stars will vanquish the Avalanche and advance to the Western Conference Finals for a second consecutive season. The Stars are playing their best hockey of the year right now. Since dropping those first two home games to Vegas a million years ago, Dallas is 7-2 and absolutely romping on offense and completely locking things down on defense. Oh, man, they are fun to watch right now.

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Today’s post wraps up most of my thoughts on the Lord’s Supper right now. Thank you for hanging in there with me over the past couple of weeks. I believe the communion meal is the most important thing we Christians can do on a Sunday. It’s the primary reason we come together in the presence of God on his day: to share a fellowship meal at his table with him and with one another.

But this is really difficult for us. We struggle with this. Not just here at GCR and not just in Churches of Christ. All Christians and churches in the West have a hard time with this. We’ve been conditioned by our culture and, honestly, by our churches for centuries to view the Lord’s Supper as an individual act, a very personal moment between God and me.

Yes, there are times for private introspection and reflection. There are times for silent meditation on the death of Jesus at the cross. Yes, there are times for personal moments between the Lord and you. There must be! But the Lord’s Supper is not that time. The Lord’s Supper is intended to be the time when God’s people express and experience real community with God and one another.

That’s difficult because we’re not sitting around a big table together on Sundays in the Worship Center. There are 500 of us in there, sitting in straight rows, staring at the backs of each other’s heads. So, logistically, it’s hard. We can’t eat a full lunch with 500 of us inside that room every Sunday. That’s where your small groups come in, I hope.

During our Sunday worship assemblies, we can’t provide the food, but we can promote the mood.

Even though it’s just one bite and one sip, we can act like we’re sharing the meal the bread and cup represent. We can look each other in the eye, we can pat each other on the back, we can share encouraging words up and down your row. “God loves us. Thank you, Lord Jesus.” Or, “Hey, we’re forgiven and we belong to together at this table with Jesus!” If we’ll embrace the mood of a family meal, if we’ll foster that culture of community, the Lord’s Supper will shape us. It’ll change us. It’ll force us to recognize the body and serve each other instead of ourselves. It’ll be a transforming encounter.

We try this every now and then at GCR. We’ll ask our folks to say something to the people around them as the trays are being passed, to remember Jesus together, to share a Scripture or to talk together about your experiences with Christ. And we want to do more of that. Sharing. Fellowship. Koinonia. We want to put the communion back in communion.

We also want to set up a dozen tables around the room two or three times a year and ask our people to gather around them to promote more of the mealtime mood. There’s the bread and cup, but there’s also other little bites of things to enjoy and experience together and room and space and time to really serve one another, to share the food and drink, and to encourage one another. To talk. To hug. To welcome. To include. To remember Jesus and more fully express and experience the communion we have with God and each other.

And here’s something we started this past Sunday. We are working on a church-wide understanding that nobody eats alone. We’re making a commitment that nobody sits by themselves in our Worship Center and eats and drinks communion by themselves. If anyone is sitting alone on Sunday mornings, our folks have committed to getting up and joining them. Whether you know them or not–especially if you don’t!–we’re going to sit together for the Lord’s Supper. We’re going to make connections. We’re going to be encouraging. We’re going to communicate that belonging together the meal is intended to demonstrate.

I wasn’t sure it was going to happen–we’re asking people to really step out of their comfort zones. But during the song before the communion meal on Sunday, several people left their seats to join those who were sitting alone. The movement was scattered all over the Worship Center, in the front and the back. It happened. And it was beautiful. A clear demonstration of the realities of the Gospel of Christ.

At the Lord’s Supper, we are invited to sit down for a meal with the crucified and risen Savior of the World. We are all invited–all of us–which means we are reconciled not only to God, but also to one another. We are one body. A communion of the redeemed. And we’re all equal. Together. There aren’t any box seats at the table, no reservations for VIPs. We’re experiencing and expressing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at this meal. And we’re practicing for the ultimate potluck, the coming feast, rich food for all peoples, the best of meats, the Bible says, and the finest of wines. And, I can only assume, big bowls of banana pudding.

We’re not just remembering the acts of the past that secured our salvation in Jesus; we’re experiencing and expressing the present realities of our unity and community together in Christ.

Peace,

Allan

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