Last night was our annual GCR night at the Midland RockHounds game. More than 280 of us enjoyed the perfect weather, all-you-can-eat dinner and snacks, and a tightly-played pitchers duel. Cory and our worship team sang the national anthem, Bob Judkins threw out the first pitch, and Cullen Landry shattered all the stadium’s speakers with his exuberant “Play Ball!” A dozen of our kids participated in the between-innings promotional events, including our own Doug Cochran who won a 50-dollar HEB gift card for rolling around the dirt in front of the first base dugout in a giant tortilla. We celebrated Rex Henderson’s 70th birthday, ate one or two too many hotdogs, and marveled at how the RockHounds P.A. guy sounds exactly like our VBS mascot, Davy Wavy.

The highlight of the whole evening for me was getting to hold  Griffin McGraw for about an inning. This little guy was only born last Thursday–less than a week ago!–and I got to hold him while he took in his very first baseball game! I think he understands the bases and foul balls and the concept of three outs. But his eyes glazed over when I tried to explain balks and the infield fly rule.

Several people asked if I was practicing for our two grandsons who are going to be born in the next couple of weeks. If “practicing” means handing the baby back to his mom the moment the diaper gets warm, then yes.

You can click on these thumbnails to get the full size pictures. Thanks to Joey Gennusa and the RockHounds for another terrific night at the ballpark!

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I’ve been clear this week in this space in my conviction that it is wrong to say your kind of church is God’s true church and demand that others belong to your kind of church to find the truth. It’s wrong to criticize other churches because they do things differently. That is sectarian denominationalism and it’s a perversion of the Gospel of Jesus. We cannot ever try to make people join a specific group in order to be acceptable to God.

However, don’t hear me say that I think all churches are alike. Because they’re not. Not all churches are the same; I want to be just as clear about that.

Some churches are more biblical than others. Some are more orthodox in their beliefs and practice than others. Some churches are more lively and healthy, some churches are more on God’s mission than others. Some churches are better than others. But nobody can make those judgments by looking at the name on the sign out front.

Now, I’m biased, but I believe the Golf Course Road Church of Christ is a pretty great church. We mostly uphold most of the historical Church of Christ understandings and traditions. We teach and practice believer’s baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sin, we eat and drink the communion meal every Lord’s Day, we believe and practice the priesthood of all believers–pretty standard Church of Christ stuff. At Golf Course Road, those things are deeply held Gospel convictions. But our shepherds and ministers, our church leadership, is committed to this: if any of our CofC traditions ever come into conflict with the Gospel, the Gospel is going to win every time. We’re going to go with the Gospel all the way. Every time. We’re doing our very best, by God’s grace, to always act “in line with the truth of the Gospel” (Galatians 2:14).

At GCR, we know that some of the best ways we we’re formed and some of the more significant ways we minister are in partnership with Christians from other denominations. Our “4 Midland” worship services and service projects are so important. What an undeniable testimony to the saving and uniting power of the Gospel! Our elders and ministers eat dinner and pray with the elders and ministers from those other churches. Our unity and fellowship with them allows us to both experience and express just how big God’s Church really is. It drives us to our knees in gratitude to God for the greatness of his salvation activity throughout our city in hundreds of different ways.

We know that GCR is just one small way God is drawing people to himself. We know the Churches of Christ are just a tiny part of God’s enormous salvation plans.

We believe that God’s power saves us and his grace calls us to teach and practice our Christian understandings, to stick to our Gospel convictions, but to operate under a big tent, where all baptized believers who confess Jesus as Lord are equal brothers and sisters in Christ around our Father’s table.

So, what about our distinctives? What about our identities? Where do we get our sense of who we are?

Well, not in our groups. Not in our distinctive cultures and customs. Our identity is found where our salvation is found: in Christ alone.

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” ~Galatians 2:20

To be crucified with Christ means all your other identities are irrelevant. Race, language, color, zip code, tax bracket, nationality, church tribe–forget all that! You are not defined by the law or by any customs or traditions or circumstances that divide people. We belong to Jesus, and his life is at work in us and through us. And since the main thing about Jesus is his loving faithfulness, may the main thing about us, the main thing that defines us, is our own loving faithfulness for him and for all who confess Jesus as Lord.

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Whataburger has brought back its awesome Pico Burger, hopefully for much longer than a limited time. Finally! I indulged this tasty delight for lunch today while reading my newly-arrived Texas Monthly barbecue edition. On the way out, I picked up the first of what’s going to be 16 different collectors cups, celebrating the 75th anniversary of this iconic Texas establishment. That’s a pretty good lunch break.

Peace,

Allan