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If Stone and Campbell Could Do It…

April 17, 2013 / / 2 Comments

In an effort to raise our “spiritual historical consciousness,” we’re studying Foster and Holloway’s Renewing God’s People in our Sunday morning Bible classes here at Central. As a church family, we’re acknowledging that Churches of Christ have a particular history, that we’ve been shaped by cultural and historical ideas and events, and that some of the things that have marked us as a faith tradition are really wonderful and some things are a little less than wonderful. My hope is that, through the course of this study, we’ll come to realize that our beliefs and practices are continually informed and molded by the culture. Through that realization, I hope, we’ll better see that some of the things we believe are sacred really aren’t and that some of the successful ways and means of the past aren’t necessarily the way to be church or impact a community in the present. And, I pray, we’ll commit to re-claiming the very best parts of our American Restoration Movement heritage and expressing them again in faithful ways.

The most beautiful thing about the Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ is that we were founded on the Christian principle of unity. The unity of all believers is a key biblical doctrine and it was the driving force behind our movement. So much so that, despite their massive differences of theology and opinion, Barton Stone’s and Alexander Campbell’s churches united on January 1, 1832.

Consider for a moment their immense differences:

While Campbell held to the Trinitarian concept of God as one divine deity living in community as three distinct persons, Stone didn’t see it that way. He believed doctrine of the Trinity couldn’t be found in Scripture, that it belonged to the creeds from which they were trying to distance. Because of that, Stone saw Jesus as the “son” of God, but not truly God himself. Yes, Jesus is our Savior, Stone argued, and he is exalted at the right hand of the Father, but he’s not God himself. Campbell disagreed, holding to the more traditional doctrine that Jesus is God himself in the flesh.

Concerning the Holy Spirit, Stone believed God’s active and continuous work in the world was done through his Spirit. The Spirit is active in the Church, he is active in the hearts and minds of God’s people, he is active and working in all of creation for the sake of the Kingdom. On the other hand, Campbell believed that the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Scriptures, and then pretty much ceased operating outside of them. Campbell taught that the Spirit only spoke to man, only worked on man, only compelled and shaped man, through the reading of the Word. Therefore, Campbell believed that the visible signs of the Spirit — speaking in tongues, healings, prophesying, etc., — had ceased, whereas Stone most certainly did not.

As for mankind, Stone leaned a little Calvinistic in his belief that man was unregenerate and stained with sin at birth. Stone taught that the Holy Spirit of God is the one who convicts and converts men and women to Christ. Campbell, of course, preached and wrote that God had given man a brain and good common sense and that, when reading the Bible with an open heart and open mind, one would make the right decisions about salvation through Jesus. Campbell saw humankind in a really optimistic kind of way: with our brains and hard work, people are getting better and better and America is the Promised Land where we’re going to restore the divine ancient order. Stone: not so much. He believed humans were getting worse, not better, and that only God’s Spirit could turn a man to heaven.

Stone saw salvation as the work of God’s Holy Spirit transforming men and women into the image of Jesus. Campbell saw salvation in terms of knowledge and intellectual assent. He stressed the atonement aspects of the cross, more as an economic transaction that paid for our sins. Stone concentrated his doctrines of salvation on the love and grace of a merciful Father. Stone’s churches placed a greater emphasis on an ordained ministry while Campbell maintained that all Christians were ordained ministers of the Church. Campbell wouldn’t allow anyone in his churches who hadn’t been baptized. Stone believed baptism was essential, but he’d allow unbaptized men and women to join his churches, saying that they were all just in different places on the road to understanding. Campbell’s churches celebrated the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, Stone’s much more infrequently. Stone was a pre-millennialist, Campbell a post-millennialist.

That’s a lot of differences.

In the seven classic categories of Christian theology, Stone and Campbell disagreed on all seven. And these are big issues. We’re not talking about order of worship or women’s roles, we’re talking about the very nature of God, the salvation role of Jesus, the importance of baptism and communion, church leadership structures, and the role of the Holy Spirit.

Yet, both of these men and their dozens of churches understood that Christian unity is the holy will of God; that breaking down denominational barriers and coming together in the name of Jesus is a true expression of the Gospel; and that divisions and separations among denominations is an evil distortion of the Gospel, an insult to Christ, and sends the worst kind of message to an unbelieving world.

And they did it.

It was difficult, extremely difficult. There were bumps along the way and hurdles to overcome. But for about 65-70 years, they did it. Together.

They made the decision that what they shared in common in Christ was far more important than anything on which they might differ. They believed it was truly God’s will and best communicated to the world what God was doing in Christ. To borrow from Foster:

“Christian unity may not always mean a physical merger of congregations or movements. But when Christians are convinced of the importance of unity and are willing to put up with each others’ peculiarities in the knowledge that all are committed to knowing and doing God’s will expressed in Scripture, the kind of unity seen in our Stone and Campbell history may be the best and fullest kind there is.”

So, the question today: Is sacrificing and working for visible expressions of the unity of God’s Church as important to us today as it was to Stone and Campbell? How important is it in shaping our congregations more into the image of Christ? How important is it to testifying to the power of Jesus in our city? How far would you or your church be willing to go to make the attempt?

All of Scripture points to God’s people as being one. God’s Church is his one chosen people around his one common table. We know we’re going to be one and eternally united in heaven. What are you and your church doing to lean into that right now so that’s God will is done here just as it is there?

Peace,

Allan

Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand

April 15, 2013 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been listening to beautiful classic Christian hymns in my office here at the church building all day long. The songs are not coming from a radio or a CD player or from the internet. These songs are coming from our chapel across the hall where Keith Lancaster and 130 men and women from all over the United States are recording two albums in the Acappella Praise and Harmony series.

Build your hopes on things eternal; hold to God’s unchanging hand…

For the past couple of hours my computer has been updating me with the horrible news out of Boston. Two explosions at the Boston Marathon. At least two people killed. Three dozen or more injured, some critically. Blood all over the sidewalks. Families separated from one another.

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow…

A most amazing blend of young voices and old, men and women, four-part harmony, Christians from here in Amarillo and from as far away as Michigan, Kentucky, New York, and, yes, Massachusetts. Praising God. Proclaiming his great love and faithfulness. Declaring trust in his promises. Giving us in the church offices a beautiful glimpse of heaven.

Resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God…

Chaos and turmoil near the finish line. Violence and death. Terrorism. Indescribable pain. Act of War. Panic. Screams of horror. Uncertainty. Fear. Lots of fear.

Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love…

In the middle of listening to these beautiful hymns sung by faithful Christians in an historic chapel in Amarillo, we’re reminded by the news out of Boston that Jesus has not yet returned in his glory. We’re shocked all over again at the realization that we live in a fallen world characterized by sin and death, pain and anguish, terrible tragedy and suffering. The headlines and pictures on my computer screen this afternoon have the capacity to completely take over. They can define the rest of my day. They could come to distort and shape my world view. But these songs drifting down the hall from the chapel put the day’s news in its proper perspective. Today’s news. Any day’s news. These songs remind us that our God is truly faithful, that he really is making things right, that he is doing what he always promised he would do, and that one day his Kingdom will come in all of its glory and power, destroying all sin and all death once and for all.

Lord, thank you for the gift of song and the power it possesses to encourage and inspire in dark times. Lord, please bless your children in Boston with your divine comfort and healing. And, Lord, come quickly.

Peace,

Allan

God Bless Delta

April 14, 2013 / / 13 Comments

I was much relieved last night at the Delta 40th Anniversary Event to learn that the official club archives have recorded the Great Pumpkin Caper of 1988 as the “Scott Williams Knife Incident.” Whew! Thank you. I was thrilled to see David Butts alive and mostly well. I was shocked to hear Alfred Branch actually use the word “jiggle.” Twice. I was beside myself with hysterical laughter as Delta legends Boyd Hale and Tom Burkhart did that email bit. I was surprised to learn that Dewey’s anatomical anomaly is an inverted mole. And I became nervous when I discovered that nearly everybody remembers everything about “that summer.”

Last night was absolutely fabulous. The whole weekend was an unprecedented success. I could write a separate post for every thing we’ve relived together over the past 48 hours. Ozzy’s larceny school. Brian Vickery’s hat. “Viva Dukakis!” Double secret probation. The 100-person party. Sam. Sharing a canoe with Scott. Trips to Dallas and back. Hit-and-run. Wall ball. Crested Butte. The “Flour Incident.” Delta Dolls. Last in line with the Keymaster at Lake Murray.

I was honored to be asked to lead the prayer at last night’s bash. And more than a little nervous. That was a tough room last night. It was like a normal Tuesday night Delta meeting up in the DAH, but with much better food. And the smart-alek comments and jeers from the peanut gallery and heckling magnified by five or six times. I was honored. But I was very acutely aware of the situation. I was in a banquet hall full of incredibly brilliant and wildly successful men, clever and witty men who jump at the chance to insult or the opportunity to heckle, like Nancy Inman leaping to conclusions, who had not gathered this particular night to pray. However, I sensed that this prayer was going to be important. It needed to be important. It would be the only time during the evening when everyone in the room would be completely quiet (except for Brad Robison’s old man noises) and I would have a chance, by the grace of God, to maybe not only set the tone for the evening but also point us to a bigger picture that would honor the guys who’ve gone before, that would inspire the ones who are coming after, and would recognize our God as present and active in all of it.

I worked on it for about an hour at my sister Rhonda’s dining room table yesterday afternoon. A blue pen and a yellow legal pad. I’m giving you all the details because Osburn and Adair and Eugene are telling me today that they want to archive the prayer. You know, I thought it was a pretty good prayer. But the response while I said it, immediately after saying it (emcee Steve Shoemaker suggested high-fives around the room), most of last night (Branch requested I lead the same prayer at Memorial Road on Sunday morning), and continuing sporadically throughout today (among other texts received today: “greatest prayer I’ve ever heard” and “the perfect prayer”) has been overwhelming, if not a bit over-the-top. Apparently, it moved some people. Again, I thought it was a good prayer. But this has been quite ridiculous.

So, in the interests of the official Delta archives, I present to you the prayer I led at last night’s Delta 40th Anniversary Event. Give our God the glory. He is faithful. And very, very good.

Holy Father above, we acknowledge you as the Creator of Heaven and Earth and the Creator and Sustainer of our very lives. We praise your magnificent name. You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. You maintain your great love to thousands. And you forgive our wickedness, rebellion, and sin. And we thank you.

Forty years ago, God, our brothers set out to establish Delta Gamma Sigma on the campus of Oklahoma Christian College and forever redefined the meaning of “social service club.” You have been with us over those forty years, Father. And we thank you.

You are the God who has protected us. We are alive today, Lord, when most believed that some of us wouldn’t be, because of your protection. You are a merciful God. And we thank you.

You are the God who blesses us with the gift of friendship, the gift of relationship and brotherhood. We are united today, Lord, because of our mutual spirit and pride. You are a relational God. And we thank you.

You are the God who has delivered us to lives of service to you and to your Church and to the world you created. We are ministers, doctors, lawyers, church shepherds and school teachers, social service directors and missionaries because of your guidance. You are a patient God. And we thank you.

You are also the God who allowed for the formation of Phi Gamma and Kappa and Sigma and Chi. You are a mysterious God. And we wonder.

You are the God who gives us stories. We are connected today, Lord, because of our common experiences and the narratives that have shaped us and bound us together, generation after generation: from Chester Knight and Mike Carrol, to Robert Elliot and Jeff McCormack, to Alfred Branch and Boyd Hale, to Wayne Russell and John Young, to Philip Maple and Brent Heath, to Landon Cobb and Chase Phillips, we are one, Father, because of our stories. And we thank you.

For the laughter and camaraderie in the room, for the brotherhood we share, we give you praise and thanksgiving.  And we humbly ask for your continued blessings of love and joy for our families, for our friends, and for all those who will come after us bleeding maroon and gold. Thank you, God, for an excellent forty years!

In the name of our risen Lord Jesus…

And all of Delta says “Amen!”

Peace,

Allan

40 Years of Bull

April 12, 2013 / / 1 Comment

I’m joining more than 160 of my  All-Sports-Trophy-winning, standard-of-excellence-setting, Cushman-dodging, Dean-Mock-head-slapping, Stafford-North-quoting, maroon-and-gold-bleeding, Delta brothers for a 40th Anniversary bash this weekend in Oklahoma City. Oh, yeah. It was forty years ago when Chester Knight, Albert McKutcheon, Tom Fultz and friends decided to eternally re-define the meaning of “social service club” by establishing Delta Gamma Sigma on the campus of Oklahoma Christian College.

This weekend, we come together to celebrate 40 years of “Strength through Unity, Dependability, and Pride.” Forty years of “It’s Good to be the King.” Four decades of “It Just Doesn’t Matter.” Forty years of proving over and over again that “Delta’s not for everybody, and everybody’s not for Delta.”

I’ve already had lunch today at Ted’s with my great friend Mike Osburn, pouring over the old ACLU documents and disciplinary letters. I’m looking forward to seeing the “Schecretary,” the “Keymaster,” Meador our Leader, Dobson and Branch, Dave Butts, James O., Huge and Jeff Mac, Stratton and Wayne and Sheldon and all the great friends with whom, by the grace of God, I survived college.

A big cookout tonight on the OC campus, a golf tournament tomorrow morning, and a fancy banquet tomorrow night.

Here’s to forty years of excellence, boys.

Allan

Bold and Stouthearted

April 8, 2013 / / 0 Comments

“When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.” ~Psalm 138:3

The Word we preach and teach, the Gospel we proclaim and practice, the Kingdom of God we live in to and out of is mind-blowing, history-changing, earth-altering Truth. We declare the unmerited love and favor of the Almighty Creator of the Universe. We proclaim a righteous relationship with this Holy God through the selfless sacrifice of his perfect Son. We preach the unsurpassed power and authority extravagantly given to us by his Holy Spirit. It is the greatest news this world has ever heard. It impacts all who hear it. It transforms all who respond to it. And preaching and teaching it, practicing it and living it comes with a price.

Allow me to tell you: Hang in there. Don’t stop.

“I will praise your name for your love and faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your Word.” ~Psalm 138:2

The name and the Word of our Lord are highest above all other things. Exalted. In Truth, in power, in beauty, in holiness, in everlasting glory, the name and the Word of our God are above all else. Yes, we know it. Yes, we believe it. But it’s not easy. In fact, proclaiming it and living it are very difficult. Marva Dawn has much to say about this in A Royal Waste of Time:

“If we are truly passionate about the texts and the Lord of the texts when we preach, it will cost us. We are painting a vision of the Kingdom of God in opposition to the reign in this world of other powers, so it is a spiritual battle we are fighting, which will also physically exhaust us. We have to allow ourselves plenty of time to recover, a Sabbath of rest. We might also have to fight the darkness of doubts, the fiends of seeming failure in society’s terms, the monsters of personal hang-ups, the demons of misunderstanding on the part of those who hear or refuse to hear.”

Dawn is addressing preachers in that passage. But all of us — yeah, you, too! — need to pay attention to it. Most of the time, our words don’t come close to matching what’s in our hearts. Most of the time, our sermons and lessons don’t live up to the power of the Truth. Most of the time, our best efforts to live the Kingdom of God fall woefully short of the splendor of our King and the beauty of his love and majesty and reign.

Hang in there. Don’t stop.

God is doing something wonderful with you.

For all of you who teach and preach; all of you who cook and clean, plan and pray, sacrifice and serve; all of you who give of yourselves day in and day out for the glory of our God and his holy Kingdom:

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you; your love, O Lord, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands.” ~Psalm 138:8

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The room was packed, the energy was electric, and the anticipation was high. The Sharks concert in our worship center Saturday night had been sold out for weeks (most free concerts are) and the thousand or so in attendance (preacher’s count) were not disappointed. Johnny Weems belted out the crowd favorites while Kelly Utsinger maintained the tone of the evening with the harmonica and the corny jokes and the rest of the Sharks — a little wider and a little grayer than when they were tearing it up back in the ’80s — performed each of their musical and entertainment roles beautifully. It was a great trip down memory lane for the Sharks and their die-hard fans. But it was a wonderfully powerful night for thousands of folks in Kenya who’ve never even heard of Elvis or Buddy Holley, or the Coasters.

The Sharks were attempting to raise $10,000 at Saturday’s show to benefit Christian Relief Fund’s efforts to dig a single water well in the drought-stricken and famine-plagued area of Turkana, Kenya. The numbers are in today and the total has been announced as $19,500! With money still trickling in!

Thanks to Kelly and the Sharks, thanks to the generous hearts and open wallets of the Christ-followers at Central and all over Amarillo, thanks to our gracious God in heaven and his faithfulness to the cries of his children, CRF is going to be drilling two wells now in Turkana, not just one! Doppler Dave made the plea on behalf of CRF Saturday night. But our God is the one who moved his people to respond to his call to bring his love and goodness to those in need.

Except for the awful fish jokes, praise God for everything that happened here Saturday night and for everything he will do for the starving people in Kenya tomorrow.

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My heart goes out to Beth Bobo. She and her husband, Elvin, were great encouragers of mine during our time at Legacy. Whether praying together in my office, sharing laughs over funny stories and pictures, kidding each other about sermon length and yet another story about yet another cruise, Elvin and Beth cared for me. They cared for the young people of our church, faithfully teaching and volunteering in our children’s programs. They cared about the older people in our church, tirelessly planning and coordinating more events and functions than you could imagine. They cared about the needy and the marginalized of our community, setting up and serving and tearing down and cleaning at every single Give Away Day. They cared about the lost of the world, giving and giving and giving to our local and foreign missions efforts. Elvin and Beth cared about God’s Church. And they cared about God’s Gospel preachers. And they went way out of their way to care for me.

Elvin died early this morning. And my heart goes out to his sweet wife, Beth.

There is in store today a crown of righteousness for my brother, Elvin, awarded to him by our Lord, the righteous Judge. Elvin has finished his race. And he ran it well. He ran it very well.

Grace & Peace,

Allan

For the Sake of Amarillo

April 5, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Our spring leadership retreat — all of the Central elders and ministers and our spouses — begins tonight in a different kind of setting than what we’re used to. We’re actually holding the retreat at First United Bank where, Scott Bentley guarantees, if your money is once saved, it’s always saved. Instead of crowding in to the Upper Room or freezing in a cabin in the canyon, we’re meeting in the warm atmosphere of a tastefully decorated conference area. Thank you, Scott! And we’re each going home tonight to our own beds in our own homes. Let the person who committed her life to you listen to you snore, not me!

As an important bonus, the meals are being provided for us at the bank, so we won’t be bothered by that delicate and awkward conversation in which the majority of us steer the rest of the group away from El Camino in Tulia without hurting anybody’s feelings.

For this year’s retreat, we’ve brought in a ringer. David Wray is a long-time elder at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene. Before teaching and serving as an administrator in the College of Biblical Studies at ACU, he served for 20 years in congregational ministry. Right now, David is serving as the interim director for ElderLink and continually consulting with church leaders to promote healthy congregations and genuine Kingdom living in our communities of faith. We are so thankful to have David with us this weekend. We’re praying that our God will speak powerfully through him and that we would have ears to hear.

We’re in the middle of a very important season in the on-going story of God’s presence with his people at Central. We’re honored by our God just to be here together at this time. We believe we are called by our God to something much bigger than just the Central Church of Christ. We believe that we are meant to aspire to much more than just our own individual hopes and dreams. We believe our Lord has an eternal purpose for us in Amarillo that will result in transformed lives and will dramatically change our city for the Kingdom of God.

David is a big part of this conversation and the planning.

The theme this weekend is “Bearing the Image of Christ for the Sake of Amarillo.” Tonight we’re going to talk about the current realities we’re facing as a culture and a church. David will help us diagnose and properly analyze the post-modern, post-denominational, post-Christendom world in which we now live. And we’ll acknowledge together tonight that, yes, things have changed and so must we.

Tomorrow, we’re going to dive in to spiritual formation. How are we as leaders being formed in the image of Christ? And how are the members at Central being shaped to look and act more like our Lord? In what settings does it happen? What are we doing to foster spiritual growth and how are we measuring it? I have some ideas; I’m anxious to hear David’s.

Then tomorrow afternoon we’ll get down to change and change dynamics in a church. How do we move forward intentionally, with purpose, and not lose traction with what we feel our God is leading us to do? We’ll spend the afternoon dreaming together, setting goals, assigning action items, and praying. Lots of praying.

David will also be teaching our adult Bible classes Sunday morning in a combined setting in Sneed Hall. We’ll be able to explore with our church family the ideas around spiritual formation, bearing the image of Jesus for the sake of others, and what that looks like. Then in Sunday’s sermon, David will challenge our church to witness to all of Amarillo. He’ll push us to be church on Monday, too, and all the other days of the week.

I’m so looking forward to what our God has planned for us this weekend. Our leadership has already been studying and reading, discussing and praying through Seeking a Lasting City. We’re about two-thirds of the way through and have been inspired to move forward with some things we’ve all wanted to do for a long time. We’re into the heart now of our study of Renewing God’s People in our adult Bible classes. And we’re finding that our whole church is excited to reclaim and practice again the very best parts of the original Stone-Campbell vision. Our God is talking to us through his servants Doug Foster and David Wray. And we’re listening.

Would you please be in prayer this weekend for the city of Amarillo and for this congregation of Christ-followers at Central. Pray that our God would bless us richly with his mercies of wisdom and divine leading. Pray that the scales would fall from our eyes and that we would see our God and the holy purposes he has for us in this town very clearly. May we pay attention to God and may we act boldly. During this concentrated season of study and prayer, of reflection and planning, let us depend on the guidance of our heavenly Father, the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus, and the equipping and confidence-bestowing power of the Holy Spirit.

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A lot of you know Jake Reeves. He was born and raised in and by the Central Church of Christ. The son of our George and Gaye Reeves, Jake has been “ours” now for twenty years. Some of you reading this post have changed Jake’s diapers (not recently). Some of you taught him in Bible class. You took Jake on mission trips, you hosted him in your homes as Huddles leaders, you patted him on the back and told him you were proud of him when he led a prayer or read a Scripture during the assembly. As a church, we encouraged Jake and challenged him; together we pushed him and corrected him. We loved him. We still do. As a church, we poured ourselves into Jake. He belongs to us.

Today, Jake Reeves is in Kenya. And he’s digging wells and feeding children and comforting the sick and preaching — yeah, Jake is preaching! — in the name and manner of Jesus for the sake of others. You gave yourselves to Jake and now he’s giving himself for others. You believed in Jake as a gift to us from God and now he believes in what our God is working through him to give to others. We acted like Jake was ours and now Jake knows he really belongs to God.

Our children are our most valuable asset. Our kids here at Central are a precious gift from our God. And we’re not raising them to be giants of industry; we’re not pushing them to be superstar athletes; we’re not nurturing them to be popular or wealthy or successful. We’re raising them to understand they belong to our Father in heaven and they have a purpose in this world that’s much bigger than themselves. Much bigger even than their home congregation that loves them so much.

You can read Jake’s blog by clicking here. After you read a few posts and are thoroughly inspired, lift a prayer of thanksgiving to our God for the work he is doing now and will be doing in the future through our Central kids. Then commit to spending more time with our kids, pouring your love and encouragement into their hearts. Our children of Central are a gift from God. And with that gift comes great responsibility.

Peace,

Allan

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