The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Worst. Defense. Ever.

October 29, 2013 / / 0 Comments

You can have your contrived reality shows with all their re-writes and re-takes; you can have your made-for-TV dramas with their over-the-top plot lines and cheesy puns; you can have your sitcoms with their increasingly crude dialogue and predictably provocative promos; you can have your daytime soaps, court room judges, and talk shows that cater to the lowest of the common denominators; you can have your 24-hour news channels that can honestly qualify as any of the aforementioned television genres in any given hour. For sheer, unfiltered, un-rehearsed, unscripted drama and entertainment, there’s nothing in the world like watching the Dallas Cowboys lose.

Seemingly every single week, this team finds new and exciting ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Sunday, Monday, Thursday, at home or on the road, it doesn’t matter. The Cowboys uncover brand new ways to experience gut-wrenching, heart-stopping, demoralizing, kick-to-the-gut defeats.

How magically delicious was Sunday in Detroit? Dallas is up ten points with four minutes to play, they’re winning by six points with 62-seconds left, and somehow LOSE! The Lions have the ball at their own 20-yard line, no time-outs, second down, 56-seconds to play… and WIN! As the Cowboys defense is imploding on the field in what was an historic loss by franchise and NFL standards (more on that below), the offense was exploding on the sidelines as Dez Bryant nearly ranted and raved his way to a punch in the mouth. How juicy was that? The injury-depleted, practice-squad-style defense was getting shredded for the game-losing points and the core of the franchise, the highest paid and highest profile players, were screaming and yelling at each other near the benches.

Yes, I know it’s tough when you’re trying to cover Calvin Johnson with Jeff Heath, Jakar Hamilton, and B. W. Webb. I know, you could have brought back Mel Renfro, Charlie Waters, Cliff Harris, and Everson Walls and Johnson would have still racked up those 329 yards of receiving. Injuries have killed this defense. Monte Kiffen was not expecting to play with Kyle Wilbur and George Selvie on his defensive line. But, still… This is ridiculous, right? Oh, yeah. It’s unprecedented.

After giving up those 623 total yards on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys are now ranked dead last in the NFL in yards allowed. They’ve given up 3,380 yards this season, more than any other team. This is the first time in the history of this once proud franchise, the first time since Tom Landry drew up the Flex on a blackboard at the old practice field on Forest Lane in 1960, the first time ever — EVER! — that the Cowboys have been ranked last in the league in defense. It’s never happened before, not in any week at any point of any season in history. How ’bout these Cowboys? Worst. Defense. Ever.

Yeah, the Cowboys lost Sunday with a plus-four in the turnover department, an impossibly difficult thing to do. But they’ve been doing things like this for years. Just this season alone, in just eight games, Dallas has given up four individual 400+ yards passing, with Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers still on the schedule. Three of their four losses are by a combined five points. It’s a killer. But it’s nothing new.

Do you realize that there is not one eighteen-year-old on this planet who was alive the last time the Cowboys played in a Super Bowl? There’s not one person 21-years-old or younger who can remember a Cowboys Super Bowl appearance. Jerry Wayne is presiding over the longest Super Bowl drought in the history of this team. The Cowboys have never, ever gone this long without a Super Bowl. The longer it goes —- I don’t see it changing any time soon, do you? — the more likely it is that the Cowboys someday devolve into something like the Lions: a mediocre team with three or four really talented super stars who never make it to the playoffs. Five or six more .500 seasons like this, (overall, since 1996, the Cowboys are one game below .500) and the Cowboys will be relegated to “eh, who cares?” status. They will no longer be the team everybody loves or hates. They’ll be the Lions, the team nobody cares about.

Thank you,

Allan

Still Counting

October 29, 2013 / / 1 Comment

“It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” ~Philippians 2:13

Allow me to update you here with the latest numbers from our first ever Missions Month / Missions Sunday here at Central. The money continues to trickle in this afternoon, but the current grand total offered is $344,421.84! And counting…! Before you pull out the calculator, that’s almost $95,000 more than our really ambitious (I thought) goal.

As you know, my initial reactions to the tremendous generosity of our church family ranged from disbelief and wanting to ask for a recount to grateful praise and worship of our forever-giving Father. Since then, several more thoughts have been churning in my brain, among them, that we all should have known this wasn’t going to go in any other way. This is the way it had to happen for God to get all the glory which, by the way, only he deserves.

If we had just barely reached our goal — oh, I can hear it now: Those videos were perfect. The guest speakers were an inspiring touch. Using the kids the way we did was genius. Kevin’s songs were brilliant. The plan was explained in wonderfully clear language. The timing was just right. The beautiful brochures made it so easy. Allan’s sermons were breath-takingly irresistible.

But, no. Nobody heard any of that, nobody said any of that Sunday, yesterday, or today. Mostly, we were all driven to our knees in humble gratitude or compelled to our feet in joyous praise of our Father in heaven who is the ONE who make this happen — the only ONE! It’s too big, too indescribable, too over-the-top, too everything! To God be the glory! He did this! Amen and amen!

We’ve already wired $50,000 to Alara to finish out the brand new permanent school building for the orphans in Kenya and another $50,000 to Great Cities Missions for the continued training, sending, and supporting of Latin American missionaries and the churches they’re planting. The rest of the original goal is already ear-marked for exciting missions endeavors in 2014. The fun part now is figuring out how we’re going to spend that other $95,000.

I thought the quarter-of-a-million dollars goal would challenge our church to the limits of possibility. I may have underestimated our God and his plans for our group of Christians here in Amarillo. It’s happened before.

Peace,

Allan

Now What?!?!

October 27, 2013 / / 1 Comment

“My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” ~Philippians 4:19-20

Our gracious God today delivered far more than anything I could ever ask or imagine. I’m still a little numb. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around what it all means. What happened today makes no earthly sense. None. There’s nothing to do but give glory to God. There’s no one else to thank, nothing else to credit, no other explanation. That’s the way our God works. He’s truly the only one.

This morning, by the grace of God and by the power of his Spirit, Central came through on our first-ever Missions Sunday with $328,417.24, far surpassing our ambitious (I thought) goal of $250,000.

I’ll type that number again so you don’t think it’s a misprint: $328,417.24.

I was ready for a lot of things today. I was prepared for us to meet the goal. I was ready for us to have barely missed it. I had prayed for and was ready for us to blow right past the goal. I really thought it was going to happen. But this? No, I didn’t see it coming. Not this.

What a great morning. Adriann Moore gave her life to Christ by submitting to his Lordship in baptism. All our children, from the four-year-olds to the high school seniors, inspired us with their readings from Scripture, their prayers, their dramatic offerings, and their bold proclamations of what God is doing through them for the sake of the world. Kevin took us straight to God’s throne in song. Adam powerfully reminded us of the great blessing of table communion with those who’ve gone before and those in the room with us right now.

And then our amazing God blew us out of the water by providing us with so much more than any of us expected.

When John Todd got up at the end of our service to announce the total, it was pretty obvious we had surpassed the goal. His poker face isn’t that great. But when he began to break up and sniff back tears during his first sentence, it was clear that something really special had happened.His prayer of thanksgiving to God was beautiful. His words of affirmation to our congregation were perfect. And as the church burst into celebratory song, I almost took off my shoes. Holy ground. Sacred space. A powerfully miraculous thing had occurred. Our God was moving in and with and through his people. God had far exceeded our grandest plans. The Spirit energy and enthusiasm generated by this blessed event was overwhelming in several ways.

First, I believe God is telling us we’re not thinking big enough. Our missions committee and elders and ministers had carefully and prayerfully presented a plan that we thought would push our church to the very limits of possibility. And God, I believe, is telling us to do even more.

Second, I think it’s a testament to this congregation’s heart for missions. This church family is all about evangelism, and today’s offering is an unmistakable witness to that commitment.

Third, I don’t know yet how we’re going to spend all this money! I had more than a couple of missions committee members come up to me after the end of our assembly, wondering what we’re going to do. We had a pretty good plan, lots of line items, everything budgeted and accounted for. Now what?! Back to the drawing board, I guess. Again, I think our God is telling us to think even bigger about what he might do through this group of Christians in Amarillo.

As blessings pile on top of blessings, we are increasingly convinced that our Father is keeping his covenant promises to Central and to all of his creation. May he be glorified and may his Son be exalted for ever and ever. Amen!

Peace,

Allan

Missions Sunday

October 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

We’ve spent our Sunday mornings in October following Jesus on his last missionary journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. We’ve carefully observed Jesus as he makes his way from where his ministry began, through the unfriendly territories of Samaria, to the place of his ministry’s ultimate fulfillment. We’ve watched him interact with the marginalized and helpless, we’ve listened to him teach about the Kingdom of God, we’ve seen him heal the sick, and we’ve heard him tell inspirational stories about the salvation invitation that’s extended to all.

As we’ve watched Jesus interact with people and handle circumstances and explain things on this trip, we’re learning how to think and behave on our own evangelistic travels in the mission fields of Amarillo and Brazil, here in the panhandle and in Africa and India.

The goal this Sunday — tomorrow!!! —  is $250,000 to fund and expand current and brand new foreign missions efforts, for the sake of the world. We’re going to consider together the last parable Jesus tells before he enters Jerusalem, the story of the king’s money and his servants in Luke 19:11:27. We’re going to sing songs of praise, we’re going to eat and drink together around our Lord’s Table, we’re going to applaud our little children as they give what they’ve saved up all month, and we’re going to congratulate our teenagers for the enthusiastic and creative ways they’ve engaged the mission. Then, we’re going to participate together — all of us, in the presence of God, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the power of his Holy Spirit — in blowing this Missions Sunday goal right out of the water!

As a church family we’ve studied and preached, prayed and sung about it. We’ve done the math. We’ve read brochures and pamphlets, purchased cookies and bracelets, and studied pledge cards. We’ve heard from Great Cities Missions, Christian Relief Fund, and Key to the Kingdom. We’ve watched videos and learned new songs. We’ve been inspired by our missionaries and challenged by our elders.

And now, for the sake of the world, it’s time to give.

Peace,

Allan

Around the Table: Part 5

October 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'” ~Exodus 12:24-27

The final dinner Jesus shared with his disciples on the night of his betrayal was a Passover meal. The synoptic gospels all make the explicit claim that this was the Passover. Jesus made preparations and gathered his disciples to “eat the Passover.” Since this last supper has become for the majority of Christians the be-all, end-all paradigm for our own beliefs and practices regarding the Lord’s Supper (for right or wrong), it makes sense to study carefully the Passover context of that last night. I’ve had church leaders on more than one occasion point to the gospel accounts of this last meal to justify their order that we not sing any songs during the Lord’s Supper. After all, the logic goes, the Bible says they sang a song after the meal, not during. Of course, if we’re to follow that logic to its conclusion, we’d be sharing the Lord’s Supper only on Thursdays. Upstairs.

So, yes, let’s look at the Passover context of what was happening around the table on that last night.

As we’ve already noticed in this series, the Jewish Passover meal — all covenant and/or community and/or sacrificial meals for that matter — is a communal celebratory event. As an expression of salvation, it was yet another community meal celebrated following a sacrifice. The Passover, in particular, was a joyous celebration of God’s deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt.

“Celebrate it as a festival to the Lord — a lasting ordinance!” ~Exodus 12:14

“Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.” ~Exodus 12:17

“I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples.” ~ Matthew 26:18

The Passover Supper also was a remembrance of that deliverance. By remembrance, we don’t mean a merely intellectual act or emotional recollection. This is a faithful action, a rehearsal, a participation in that deliverance. The Passover liturgies from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Jewish writings from the first century all contain actions and language that help the people around the table to identify with the historic salvation event as if they were present in Egypt and at the Red Sea.

“Celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt.” ~Deuteronomy 16:1

“…so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.” ~Deuteronomy 16:3

“…because you left Egypt in haste.” ~Deuteronomy 16:3

“We cried out to the Lord… the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” ~ Deuteronomy 26:7-8

“Each should celebrate as one who has gone out of Egypt.” ~ Mishna

We also know that as Jesus and his disciples gathered on that last night, their supper together was marked by great joy, praise, and thanksgiving. This was not a dirge or a funeral meal; expressions of joy at this supper were the command of God.

“…with great rejoicing… singing… praise.” ~ 2 Chronicles 30:21-27

“…celebrated with joy… Lord had filled them with joy.” ~ Ezra 6:22

“…your times of rejoicing, your appointed feasts.” ~ Numbers 10:10

The Passover was also established as an anticipation event. Children of God ate the meal together looking forward to that day when they would be eating it in a much better place, in wonderfully better circumstances. They eat and drink with an eye to the future, focused on an upcoming meal that will surpass the one they share today.

“When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.” ~ Exodus 12:25

If we’re really out to imitate every detail of that Last Supper at our communion times together on Sunday mornings — again, for right or wrong — then why don’t we? As good law-keeping Jews, Jesus and his disciples would have been in a festive spirit that night and engaged all the elements of the evening with great joy. The meal was marked by group identity and interaction. It was a present participation in the past events of God’s salvation. They were singing the psalms, specifically Psalms 113-118, before, during, and after the supper.

I would recommend singing songs of salvation, songs of praise for God’s mighty acts, before, during, and after our communion meals together. I would suggest swapping salvation stories around the table. I once was ______, but now I’m ________. Ask each other the questions: from what have we been delivered? From what to what have we passed? Who took our place that day? Do it together in the aisles or along the walls in your worship center. Huddle up around your pews. Allow the children to ask the questions: Why do we do this? And then share the story: because the Lord our God delivered us by the Passover Lamb. And then hug each other and sing another song.

Peace,

Allan

Pray for First Presbyterian

October 23, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Howard Griffin, the straight-laced, forward-thinking, super-organized, community-minded pastor at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Amarillo, is a Puckett neighbor and a good friend of mine. First Pres is one of the 4 Amarillo churches with which we’ve partnered this year in a variety of service and worship projects. Howard and his congregation are involved in a terribly messy situation with their presbytery and denomination. And I’m asking you to pray for them today.

It’s a complicated matter, of course. It involves much more than I can understand and certainly more than I can describe here. In a nutshell, the denomination (PCUSA) over the course of the past seven or eight years has taken steps to ordain openly gay clergy and lay officers, including adding permissive language in their by-laws and openly pushing the practice for its churches. PCUSA has also redefined marriage to include those of the same sex. And they’ve acted to officially “receive” and implement gender-inclusive or gender-neutral terms for the Trinity. Instead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, PCUSA is now using language in its papers and prayers, its liturgies and services, such as “Mother, Child, and Womb” and “Rock, Redeemer, and Friend.” They’ve even used “Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation, and Dove of Peace” in place of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As the denomination continues to move in ways that are increasingly out of step with the beliefs and practices of this local Presbyterian congregation, the tension has led to several moves that have positioned First Pres to pull out of the regional Palo Duro Presbytery and leave the denomination. Of course, there are money and property issues to negotiate, along with dozens of different opinions on how to respond, and more than a few hurt feelings. But it’s all come down to a pivotal vote this evening at First Pres. Tonight at 7:00 they will vote on whether or not to leave the denomination.

In an effort to avoid a civil lawsuit that would result in all kinds of headlines and press that wouldn’t necessarily reflect the glory of our God, lawyers for First Pres and the presbytery are meeting right now, hoping to agree on a settlement, kind of like an exit fee. If that doesn’t work — there are dozens of reasons to believe it won’t — then tonight’s vote will happen. It looks like they’re going to leave the denomination and then have to fight to keep their property and buildings.

So, let’s pray together about this today. Pray for tonight’s meeting, that the truth will be spoken in love. Pray that our brothers and sisters at First Pres will present their opinions with grace, that all in attendance will express the mercy and peace of Christ, and that God’s holy will be done in order to bring him glory. Pray for wisdom and discernment for their leaders, for courage and boldness for this church, and for God’s gracious gifts of leadership for Howard. Pray that God will lead this congregation through this difficult time in a way that will testify to his love and glory and be a witness to his grace and strength.

Peace,

Allan

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