The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Before You Were Born

June 2, 2025 / / 0 Comments

An update on our daughter Valerie, now entering her 34th week of carrying our two new grandsons: she’s ready to be done with this stage of parenting. She told me during our last phone conversation that in the moment between waking up and getting out of bed, she fantasizes about using a walker. The boys weigh a little over three pounds each now, and they’re getting a little more kicky. So, while she’s increasingly uncomfortable, all of Val’s numbers and readings are good and she’s hanging in there really well. I mean, just look at her! She looks so beautiful in this picture. We’ve got to be just three or four weeks away now. (!!!!!!!)

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A theme that you’ll find in Scripture is that God has been with you since before you were born. The prophets write of being called by God before they were born. The psalmist sings of being brought out of his mother’s womb by God. The apostle Paul tells the Galatians God set him apart from birth and called him by his grace.

What that means is: Your life has meaning and purpose.

And I know it doesn’t always feel that way. Things happen in your life that seem random. Things that happen don’t always make sense. Your sister never smoked a day in her life, but now she’s diagnosed with lung cancer. You wind up at a college you didn’t pick. Somebody else gets the promotion you deserve. Somebody breaks into your car. Terrible parents you know have wonderful children, but your kids have gone off the rails. You’ve been divorced. Or devastated in some other terrible way.

Those things can seem so random. But our God is ultimately turning that thing–whatever it is for you–toward a salvation goal. So, on a higher level, that awful thing does make sense. That’s faith. That’s what we believe.

And I’m not trying to give some easy surface explanation for human tragedy and pain. I’m not trying to cheaply cheer somebody up who’s suffering. Sometimes our Christian comfort and counsel can sound very casual and detached. Cheap. That’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying the God who grabs you, the God who owns you, is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is BOTH crucified and risen! So, whatever you’re dealing with or suffering through is not meaningless. God is moving all of it and you toward his eternal salvation goal for your life.

You are a part of something. It’s going somewhere. You have a role to play. God is involved. He’s got it. And he is at work in it and in you for your ultimate good.

Even as you endure whatever it is, God is changing you and calling you. And you can trust him. He’s been paying attention to you and loving you and protecting you since before you were born.

Peace,

Allan

What Counts

May 29, 2025 / / 0 Comments

My feelings would be in another universe if the Stars and Oilers were tied 2-2 heading into tonight’s Game Five. My sports heart would be in such a positive place: “We just need to win two out of three, and two of them are at home!” Instead, trailing 3-1, my head knows that Dallas has to win three in a row, and one of them is in Edmonton. That’s a whole different deal. In all of NHL history, the teams that go up 3-1 eventually win the series 92-percent of the time. My heart wants to believe that Dallas can win at home tonight, and that will put pressure on Edmonton. It will force the Oilers to have to win Saturday in Canada to avoid a deciding Game Seven back in Texas. And maybe that pressure will get to the Oilers and benefit Dallas. And then, anything can happen in a Game Seven! Especially at the AAC! But my head knows the Stars are going to become the first team in NHL history to appear in three straight conference finals without winning a Stanley Cup. It may not happen tonight–I expect Dallas to win at home this evening and force a Game Six in Alberta. But it’s already over.

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“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” ~Galatians 1:3-5

Yes, we are still living in the present evil age. And it’s hard for people living in the U.S. in 2025 to see it. Because the current age doesn’t seem so bad.

I’ve got both hot and cold running water inside my house and central air-conditioning and heat and streaming digital TV in four rooms with unparalleled clarity in picture and sound. I’ve got a job, two cars, and a nice backyard. I’ve got a leather couch, a couple of recliners, and some nights I’ve got pizza rolls in the oven. Most of the time, for me, the present age seems pretty sweet. What’s so evil about it?

Well, we know the world is evil. Just pull back a little bit. We know how broken the world is. It’s evil. There is vulgarity and violence, racism and sexism, lying and lust. There’s poverty and disease and death and wars and threats of more wars. You and I–all of us–are negatively impacted by that.

On a more personal level, you and I know that something in this world is going to take you down. Something is going to wreck your life. It might be a tornado or a fire, heart disease or cancer or Alzheimer’s. It might be adultery, divorce, or the death of someone you can’t imagine living without.

There’s no fixing what’s wrong with this present age. The world is broken and we know it. We’re broken. And all the ways we try to fix ourselves and the world are also broken. We can argue about the things we see that aught to be changed and we can fuss about whose party and whose leader needs to be in charge of the change; we can spend our whole lives rearranging the furniture on the Titanic; and maybe we’ll have some success in making life a little more tolerable for our fellow passengers; but we know we can’t stop this ship from going down.

We all need rescue.

There is only one solution for this evil age; there’s only one thing that can fix what’s wrong with creation.

“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.” ~Galatians 6:15

The only answer to what’s wrong with this world is a whole new world. Not better leaders or stricter laws, not bigger churches or tighter rules, not better science or more technology. The only solution is new creation, a brand new physical and spiritual reality in which the only law is the one Paul states in Galatians 5: one command, one single command, he writes–love your neighbor as yourself.

Only Jesus gives us new creation. And it’s the one thing that counts.

Peace,

Allan

All the Transitions

May 24, 2025 / / 0 Comments

I’m posting a few pictures today from last weekend’s massive Stanglin-Richardson family celebrations in Tulsa. Our “Little Middle,” Valerie, and her husband David are in the middle of some dramatic life transitions that are changing everything for all of us. The clock’s been ticking for a while now, but it feels like things are really ramping up now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, congratulations to Dave! Last Friday night he officially graduated from Tulsa University Law School and we were all there to holler and yell and shout his name when he received his diploma. Then it was off to the Richardsons’ Airbnb for a wonderful family dinner (I promise I’m making a Christmas tree ornament out of one of those cupcake toppers). David’s already been hired to work in the Tulsa County District Attorney’s office, where he’s interned for the past year or so. And they’re going to help him pass the bar at the end of July. The days of full-time school and two or three part-time jobs are over! Now, he just needs to study his lips off and pass the bar!

Which is not going to be easy when those twin boys are delivered in late June.

In case you forgot, Valerie is pregnant with our first grandchildren–twin boys!! The C-section delivery has been set for July 8, but everyone believes those little guys are going to demand an earlier exit. July 8 would mark 38-weeks, and I think most twins only make it to 35 or 36 weeks. So, we’re expecting these boys to be born before the end of June. And I’m trying to figure out how to retire in the next four weeks. My financial advisors, Carrie-Anne and Scottye Ratliff, both tell me it’s impossible.

 

 

 

 

 

The day after the graduation, we spent a lot of time at Val and Dave’s house, sorting through all the stuff that comes with having two babies at the same time–two car-seats, two high-chairs, two beds, two everything! I was charged with hanging bookshelves and pictures in the nursery while the rest of the crew organized closets and stored about 80-boxes of diapers (that should keep them about a week). I kept using the Texas-themed books to cover up the Arizona-themed books. Dave was born and raised in Phoenix–it’s weird. Carrie-Anne and I also installed the car-seat bases in the back seats of both their cars. Two bases in each car. Can you imagine?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Sunday afternoon following Dave’s graduation, the Jenks Church, where Val and Dave are plugged in to a wonderful faith community, threw a really nice babies shower for the boys. While the girls were at the shower, Dave’s dad, Dave, treated all the guys to an afternoon of gripping and ripping at Top Golf. And when it was all over, we gathered for a huge feast together at Los Cabos, their favorite Tex-Mex place on the Tulsa Riverwalk.

Everything’s changing for Val and Dave. They’re graduating law school, quitting three jobs, starting another job, having twins, and studying for the Oklahoma bar exam–all in about a four or five week period. Oh, and their landlord has informed them that he is selling the house they’re renting, so they’re going to have to move next spring.

It’s encouraging to know that they have a tremendous support system in place with their great friends at the Jenks Church. That group of Christians has been so good to Val and Dave. We must have had a dozen people tell us Sunday that they’re already fighting over who gets to hold those babies during church. It’s comforting to know that they’re in a place school-wise and job-wise so they can do this thing together, at home, at the same time. Mostly. And it’s wonderful to be able to rest in the knowledge that our gracious Lord has them right where he wants them, providing and protecting these four, and blessing and transforming them in divine and beautiful ways during all the transitions.

Peace,

Allan

Finally!

May 22, 2025 / / 0 Comments

In attempting to move this little website to a different hosting and managing platform, GoDaddy knocked me offline and lost the past three weeks of posts and comments. After nine agonizing days and seven different hour-and-a-half phone conversations with six separate technicians, we’re back up and everything’s been restored. Hallelujah!

And Valerie had a babies shower in Tulsa. And David graduated from law school. And the Stars are in the Western Conference Final and leading Edmonton one game to none.

I’ll try to get caught up on things and post some pictures tomorrow.

Glad to be back!

Allan

Opposed and Irreconcilable

May 13, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Before we get into today’s topic, I would like to make a modest and sensible proposal: the Mavericks send their number one lottery pick, along with Anthony Davis, to the Lakers for Luka. Please.

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I am continuously in search of ways to better articulate my conviction that the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world are incompatible. As disciples of Christ and citizens of God’s Kingdom, we already have our politics. We belong to a holy country without borders and we have a crucified and risen King, we have laws for getting along together and taking care of those around us, we have rituals and traditions that keep our story straight and our loyalties in place, we have ways and means for effecting change and transforming the world.  And all of it stands in direct opposition to the politics of the nations. The two kingdoms have opposite foundations and goals, opposite ways of getting things done, opposite methods for changing peoples’ lives, opposite ideas about wealth and power and force, opposite values–opposite everything.

Our King tells us we cannot serve two masters. We will love the one and hate the other, we will be loyal to one and despise the other. Jesus tells Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world; if it were, my servants would fight.” The politics of God’s Kingdom and the politics of worldly empires not only have nothing in common, they are each directly opposed to the other’s goals and ways and means of reaching them.

My brother, Keith, has heard me talk about this for about 20 years now. He doesn’t agree with me on every point–in his own words, he doesn’t see it as an “either/or,” he’s more of a “both/and.” But he’s come across an article by Paul Kingsnorth, a Christian writer living in Ireland, that articulates my views very well. The article is titled, “Against Christian Civilization” and was published in January by First Things. And it’s excellent.

On the third page Kingsnorth quotes Charles Alexander Eastman, a Dakota Sioux who was eighteen at the time of Custer’s Last Stand: “There is no such thing as ‘Christian civilization.’ I believe that Christianity and modern civilization are opposed and irreconcilable.”

I’ve read this piece five times now and I’m impressed with the expert way Kingsnorth weaves his narrative, and I’m thrilled with the clarity it gives the reader and for the potential for moving my conversations forward with others.

I’m asking you to read the article. It’s right here. And it will take some time. It’s thirteen pages and it covers a lot of historic and theological ground. I think you will find it helpful in, at the very least, understanding where I am and, I pray, wrestling with your own understandings and Christian calling regarding what I call Church As State.

Read it today. And I’ll write more about it tomorrow.

Here’s an excerpt to entice you to click and read:

“When we read the life of Jesus of Nazareth, in fact, it is impossible not to see a man who was, in some fundamental sense, uncivilized. He did not tell us to get good jobs and save prudently. He told us to have no thought for the morrow. He did not tell us to generate wealth, so that economic growth could bring about global development. He told us to give everything away. The rich, he said repeatedly, could never attain the Kingdom of Heaven. He did not tell us to defend our frontiers or to expand them. He told us never to resist evil. He did not tell us to be responsible citizens. He told us to leave our dead fathers unburied and follow him instead. He told us to hate our own parents and to love those who hated us. Every single one of these teachings, were we to follow them, would make the building of a civilization impossible.

What we are really hearing about, then, when we hear of defending or rebuilding ‘Christian civilization,’ is not Christianity and its teachings at all, but modernity and its endgame. It is the idol of material progress–the progress that has shredded both culture and nature–which is causing such grief everywhere. ‘Christian civilization’ is not a solution to this; it is part of the problem. And when actual Christianity is proposed instead, the response is so often the same: Oh, yes, that’s all very well, you fundamentalist–but what practical use is it?”

That last line reminds me of G.K. Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy” in which he says Christianity has not been tried and found lacking; it’s been found difficult and never really tried.

Go Stars!

Allan

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