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Lives Worthy of God

August 10, 2007 / Allan / 3 Comments

As the Texas sun begins to crest over the majestic Legacy Mountains…..

Legacy Worship Center Construction Update!

A brand new eight foot chain link fence around the entire west half of the church campus, more heavy equipment being brought in, and much more digging. If they can finish the building as quickly as they put up the fence, they ought to be done in about three weeks.

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I think the Cowboys went 4-0 in the 1989 preseason. I think the Colts have gone 1-8 in the past two preseasons. I think Jerry Wayne’s blue suit was hideous at best. I fiddled with the color and contrast on my TV for 15 minutes before I figured out he was wearing those colors on purpose. I think Buck and Aikman make a very good football announcing team. I think Marion Barber runs like he’s angry, which I like. I also think I’d like to see him cut his hair. I think Romo’s in for a long season. I think Leonard Davis is huge. I think pre-season football only makes me wish it were real. I think if there’s anything more lame than pre-season football, it’s a locally produced 30-minute preseason football pre-game show. I think Wade Phillips has the personality of a cardboard box. He makes Chan Gailey look like Jimmy Johnson in the fire and personality department. I think we’re still 20 days away from any football that really counts.

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Today’s #20 in the countdown to football season is The Tyler Rose, Earl Campbell. Nobody ran harder or stronger or tougher. Nobody broke more tackles or carried more men across goal lines with him than Campbell. Nobody’s tear-away jersey ever tore away more often than Campbell’s.

A two-time All-America running back at the University of Texas, Campbell won the Heisman Trophy in 1977 with 1,744 yards rushing — he ran for more than a hundred yards ten times that season. He racked up 4,443 yards rushing during his Longhorns career and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Campbell was the #1 overall pick of the Houston Oilers and won NFL Rookie of the Year honors in 1978. He was the NFL rushing champ in 1980 and the NFL MVP that season with 1,934 yards rushing — four games that year with over 200 yards. He finished up his career with the Saints in ’84 and ’85.

In total, Earl Campbell played nine years in the NFL, ran for 9,407 yards, made it to five Pro Bowls, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

I’ll give honorable mention to Mel Renfro and Barry Sanders. But Earl Campbell is the greatest to ever wear the #20.

Bum Phillips ran him too much and too hard. He carried those old Oilers teams that were “knocking on the door” during the late ’70s and early ’80s. And he’s paying for it now. Campbell can barely get around. He can’t stand up for more than a couple of minutes at a time.

But he makes a mean sausage.

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There was a minor outcry last night that I hadn’t even mentioned LaDanian Tomlinson with yesterday’s #21. OK. Here’s the mention. Give him a little more time before I can put him in the same class with Jim Thorpe. But he is extremely talented and he does seem like a nice kid. I had the privilege of calling a couple of his games on the radio back in the day when he and the Waco University Trojans were running around and over and through Marble Falls. And I know a young man who just went through LT’s football camp last month and said he couldn’t have been a nicer, more engaging person.

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“…encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God.” 1 Thess 2:12

Paul, Silas, and Timothy were courageous Christian leaders for the new church in Thessalonica. They led with integrity and love for their brothers and sisters. And the goal of their work in that fellowship of believers was that they would live their lives worthy of God.

The greek word translated “live lives” or “live a life” is actually peripateo, which literally means “to walk,” which implies that living your life in a way that’s worthy of God means being worthy in every step, every action, every word, and everything you do in the course of your every day. Every part of our lives should reflect the character of our God and bring honor to him. That means both attitudes and behavior. Throughout all of Holy Scripture what happens in a religious context is never separated from what happens in a worldly context. The very concept of having two ways to talk or two ways to act or two ways of thinking based on when one is at church or with church people and when one is somewhere else doesn’t even exist in the Bible. Living a life worthy of God is a 24-hour, around the clock commitment.

It’s important to note that when Paul tells the Thessalonian Christians to live their lives worthy of God, he doesn’t direct them to some list of commandments or some directory of prescribed behaviors. He points them to the character of God. Internal motivation, not simply external actions, is of critical importance.

And keep in mind, Paul doesn’t see any of this activity as earning points with God or generating his favor. He writes to “live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” Our lives are clearly a response to God who, on his own initiative, continually calls us into his presence and under his rule. The life Paul urges us to live is one of thanksgiving, a life that acknowledges and accepts with gratitude what God through Jesus has already done for us.

May our Lord bless us as we continue to be shaped by the words and teachings of Paul and the Holy Spirit in 1 Thessalonians.

Peace,

Allan

Is A Popular God…? Part Three

August 9, 2007 / Allan / 10 Comments

I appreciate so much the thoughts and the comments I’ve received regarding the blog this week, especially as it pertains to our current discussion on worship.

If you haven’t been to the comments page the past couple of days you can check them out here and here. One particularly revealing comment came from our brother Jason sometime last night:

I agree that we’ve got to be real in our worship in both style and substance but I think we have to be aware that the things that we are used to don’t create pseudo Church like barriers to seekers that don’t make sense to the rank and file (let alone seekers). What I mean is Church favorite hymns that reference things that don’t mean much in our current day vocabulary like Ebeneezer, Canaan, and Zion. These words from old hymns might be part of the lyrics of the beloved favorites, but they don’t hold much for the seekers or the rank and file members (like me). I’d rather have newer songs with relevant lyrics that mean more in today’s language. Just my 2 cents. Not trying to start a riot.

It’s not a riot. It’s just the back and forth of an emotional conversation about worship.

And I don’t want to throw Jason under the bus. I know his heart is pure and his love for our Lord is real. And he knows I know that. But his comments reflect a broad current of thought today in God’s church. And I think it needs to be addressed.

Those words to which he refers are not just part of the lyrics of the beloved favorites. The words “Canaan” and “Zion” and the images those words evoke are the very words and images handed to us by God and his prophets. Those words serve to evoke the very promises of our God—promises of eternal life with him, promises of protection and provision, promises of leaving this place to be with him and each other in a much better place. Our faith and our beliefs and our practices all hinge on words like “Canaan” and “Zion.” They come straight out of our Bible. And they’re not obscure words in a couple of hidden passages. They’re foundational, basic words that are consistently found throughout our Scriptures, from Genesis through Revelation. They’ve been used by God and his people in our articulation of and passing on of the faith for thousands of years. The words and ideas they convey were used by Moses and the Prophets, Jesus and the Apostles, and all Christians since.

I would say the words “salvation” and “repentance” and “sanctification” and “reconciliation” are just as biblical and just as foundational. But I imagine, to most “seekers” and most “rank and file members” today, they are just as irrelevant and make just as little sense as “Canaan” and “Zion.” That is not a reflection on the songs we sing as much as it is a sad commentary on the state of our teaching in the Church, the level of private Bible study and careful theological reflection in our personal lives and in our homes, and maybe our lack of an overall vision that, as disciples of Christ, we do not live in this world. God’s Church lives in another dimension. But if our songs or sermons or prayers reflect that other dimension too much, we balk.

But we can’t discard those words and images. We explore them and teach them and learn them and embrace them and live them and we grow in the faith together through them. The chemistry teacher doesn’t change or throw out the vocabulary because his students don’t understand it. He teaches it. And his students learn to use it, and even love it, so they can communicate with each other and with those who’ve gone before, with those who’ve studied and taught and experimented and learned chemistry hundreds of years ago.

Let’s teach the lasting words of our faith. Let’s don’t throw them away.

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The Cowboys pre-season begins tonight at Texas Stadium against the Colts. I’m sure that Aaron and Jennifer Green have had their Payton Manning jerseys washed and ironed and laid out for a couple of days now. And I suppose it’ll be good for the Cowboys fans to watch their starters for six or seven plays.

I’m not ready yet to give my prediction on the Cowboys season. Give me a couple of weeks.

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Speaking of the football season, there are 21 days left until the games actually mean something. And the best player to ever wear the #21 is the great pioneer of American football, the one and only Jim Thorpe. An All-America halfback at Carlisle from 1907-1912, Thorpe won an Olympic gold medal in the decathalon in the 1912 games. But it was as a member of the original Canton Bulldogs in Ohio and the very first president of the American Professional Football Association in 1920 that we honor him today. He wowed fans with his speed and toughness and ability to dominate both sides of the ball in the very earliest stages of the development of the game. He played for the Bulldogs, the Cleveland Indians, the Oorang Indians, the Rock Island Independents, the New York Giants, and the Chicago Cardinals. He’s in the College Football Hall of Fame. And he’s a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Thorpe wore #21 for the Giants and Cardinals. Barry Sanders wore #21 at OSU and receives honorable mention. I suppose Deion Sanders deserve mention, although I’m not sure how honorable. But Jim Thorpe is the greatest ever #21.

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I shouldn’t be, but I am continually surprised at all the ways our sports teams keep finding to sell corporate sponsorships and advertising for actual in-game events. At the Rangers game Tuesday night, it was a little disturbing to hear the legendary voice of Chuck Morgan announce the Samsung Call to the Bullpen during a Rangers pitching change and the Jiffy Lube Pitching Change when the A’s made a similar adjustment. It’s not just a first down anymore, it’s a Radio Shack First Down. Doesn’t this, in some ways less subtle than others, work to undermine the dignity of the teams and the games?

Jerry Wayne’s computer-edited dancing in the Cowboys lockerroom during the Papa John’s Pizza commercial nauseates me. It proclaims without shame — even with pride — that I’m more than willing to do anything anybody asks me to do anywhere anytime if they’ll give me money. Never mind the dignity of the game or the teams or the people who’ve gone before us and from whose sacrifice and vision we benefit. Give me your money and I’ll sell off anything. And Jerry Wayne started all this.

I was amused and horrified at the same time when, a couple of weeks ago, I was watching a Mike Doocey interview with Jerry Wayne on Channel 4. Doocey asked Jones if there were even a remote chance that the new football stadium wouldn’t be named in exchange for dollars. Is there any way that you might name it simply Cowboys Stadium or Tom Landry Stadium? Jerry just smiled and told Dooce, “The Cowboys are America’s Team. And part of being America’s Team is the relationship and the connection we have with America’s corporations.”

And he said it with a straight face.

And, good for him, trying to mask his laughter, Doocey followed up with, “Are you saying that it’s your relationship with America’s corporations and their advertising dollars that make the Cowboys America’s Team?”

And Jerry Wayne replied, “I’m saying it’s the money from America’s corporations that pay for our players that America cheers for.”

I’m sure Tom Landry rolled over in his grave. But maybe Tex Schramm smiled.

Peace,

Allan

Is A Popular God….? Part Two. No Asterisk.

August 8, 2007 / Allan / 14 Comments

Today’s blog post contains a heavy amount of sports and sports analogies. But it is not tainted! It’s not! It’s not tainted!

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Continuing the thoughts from yesterday on “seeker-friendly” worship services, let me insert a comment from Cynthia that maybe some of you missed.

Thanks for saying so well what troubles my heart so often. We speak of making the church more attractive to seekers, but why do we assume that they are seeking more of what they already have in the world? If the life Christians live in Christ is different than the life lived in the world, shouldn’t the homage and adoration of our worship experience differ from the adulation given to cultural celebrities.

More and more, I am convinced that private worship (the assembly of the church) should not be attractional. Rather, it is in our public worship (Christ living in us as we move about in the world) where we should seek to attract the unbeliever.

I took the girls to the Rangers game last night and enjoyed a fairly well played, exciting at times, sporting event. Whitney and I spent a great deal of time talking strategy — hitting behind runners, playing at double-play depth, and running out grounders — using baseball-specific terminology such as RBIs, bullpen, full-count, hitter’s eye, foul ball, off-speed, check swing, ERA, and dugout. That communication during the game enhanced our enjoyment of the game, our appreciation of the game, and our relationship with each other in connection with the game.

Now imagine that, instead of Whitney, I was sitting next to someone who had never in his life seen a baseball game — a guy from another country, who’d never been to a baseball stadium or held a bat or seen a game on TV. There’s no way in the world that guy can attain the same level of understanding and appreciation for the game after watching it for those three hours that you and I have after watching it for 40 years. How long would it take him? Even if I tried to explain every single nuance of every single play and every single word in the baseball language, how long would it take?

Then why do we think we can convert a person who knows nothing about Jesus during a one-hour worship service? Why do we try? Won’t that person have to come to our services over and over again, for weeks and months, before he gets a sense of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it?

Maybe this is a better analogy. Suppose you’re the football coach of a playoff team in the championship game. Everything’s on the line. You’re in the lockerroom just ten minutes before kickoff, going over last minute details and instructions that will be critical to your team’s success. These are things that your team needs to hear and remember and immediately apply if they’re to win the battle.

“Charlie, remember that if the tackle moves into that three-gap he’s stunting inside. Make sure you release into the flat as a safety valve”

“Dan, don’t forget they’re going to cover-two deep but they’ll disguise it every time with a 4-3 blitz look just before the snap.”

“Kevin, we’ve been working on the deep fly to the Z back all week, but we’re changing our protection. Sid’s going to stay in the box and pick up the corner.”

“Watch the weak-side double. Remember to read the tight end’s stance. Don’t get suckered in on the draw…..”

And in the middle of all that — you giving your troops these critical instructions that mean success or failure in the fight — the team owner walks into the middle of your lockerroom and says, “Coach, I’ve brought in these seven guys from Kenya who’ve never seen a football game before. They only know soccer. They’re going to watch the game with me in my box. Can you explain to them everything you’re saying to your team right now? Help them understand what you’re saying.”

Right there in the middle of your pre-game speech, right there in the middle of your lockerroom. How do you do that?

Why do we try?

Origen said that if someone wanders into our church building off the streets while we’re praying, he should sense a “double church,” one that is seen, which may not always be attractive, and another that is unseen. Visitors should expect a little vertigo when they worship with us, a little disorientation. Allan McNicol says Christian worship done well communicates to outsiders that it’s not on a mundane dimension, it involves another world. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:25 that the unbeliever who comes into our midst will be so moved by the other-worldly nature of our worship that “he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!'”

The greatest gift our worship can confer to a believer and to an outsider is a glimpse, however fleeting, of another city, another scene, another dimension.

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Back to last night’s ballgame and Barry Bonds* and Michael Irvin right after this……

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Legacy Worship Center Construction Update

The massive piles of dirt have now been dubbed the “Legacy Mountains.” I’m looking forward to watching several impromptu games of King of the Hill tonight after Bible classes. In fact, I’d be disappointed in the young people of today if I didn’t see any of that this evening.

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I always love going to the Rangers games. Valerie and Carley only care about the intrusive music between innings and pitches and the cotton candy while Whitney hangs on every pitch and every play just like her dad. There wasn’t a pitching change made or a defensive replacement brought in or a pinch runner added that she didn’t look up his bio and stats in the program. What a great gal!

Last night we got to watch a rising fan favorite in Marlon Byrd hit a go-ahead three-run homer, some clutch pitching from C. J. Wilson, and some nice defensive plays from Mike Young. It got a little uncomfortable when the A’s started pounding Frankie Francisco and mounted a bit of a comeback. But Texas held on and got the “W” and we all went home happy. I couldn’t help thinking though, from the first pitch to the final out, it sure would be nice if this meant something, if it really mattered at all. The victory keeps the Rangers 17-1/2 games out of first place.

I don’t know what to say about Barry Bonds* that hasn’t already been said, over and over and over again, for the past five or six years. It’s nauseating. What a great contrast between him and Hank Aaron on both personal and professional levels. I suppose if we didn’t have the bad guys, we wouldn’t truly appreciate the good ones. The same kind of contrast was on brilliant display in Canton Saturday evening. Michael Irvin sharing the same stage and accolades as Bruce Matthews and Roger Wehrli and Charlie Sanders brought back memories of the old Sesame Street bit: one of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong.

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Just 22 more days until football season and Bobby Layne is the second greatest player to ever wear the #22. The top honor, of course (come on!), goes to the all-time leading rusher in NFL history, Emmitt Smith. 13 records at Florida. Three Super Bowl victories with the Cowboys. He led the NFL in rushing four times. He was the league MVP in 1993, the Super Bowl XXVII MVP in ’92. He went to eight Pro Bowls. He set the NFL record for rushing TDs with 155. And his 17,418 career rushing yards are the most ever.

As great as he was, he’s routinely left out of most of the debates about best running back ever. And I have no clue as to why. He barely makes the top ten of most national lists. I don’t see how he’s not an automatic top three in every single all-time running backs list that’s compiled by anybody, anywhere. The only argument should be whether he’s the all-time greatest or number two or three. That’s it. First downs. Touchdowns. Durability. Leadership. Determination. Strength. Speed. He had it all.

Don’t say Barry Sanders could have had the record if he didn’t quit. He did quit. And he didn’t get the record. To me, there’s no comparison.

My word, that’s more than enough to chew on for one day.

Peace,

Allan

Is A Popular God Really God At All?

August 7, 2007 / Allan / 8 Comments

What if the decisions we make regarding our worship practices and our worship services were made mainly with the visitors in mind? What if we shaped our services so that “seekers” would feel welcome and unoffended? What if we planned the order of worship, the presentation of the Lord’s Supper, which songs we sing and which ones we dump, and carefully watched the clock with mainly the visitors in mind?

We would assume that our visitors — seekers, unchurched, whatever — would like things to be upbeat and simple. Silent prayer and expressions of confession and / or lament would be out the window. We would only sing up tempo songs that have been written in the last 20 years, preferably ones our culture hears on their radios. To appeal to our visitors, we would spend much less time on sin and judgment and holy living and much more time on personal growth and self-realization.

In an article by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. in Perspectives in 1993, the author speaks of the movement in our churches to bring in celebrity speakers such as Tommy Lasorda to speak during worship about how “the great Dodger in the sky” has helped him win games and lose weight.

“And on it goes, in various combinations of novelty, some of them mild and some very aggressive indeed. At the most advanced level of popular worship, imagine a High Five for Jesus replacing the Apostles’ Creed, and imagine praise time beginning when somebody shouts, “Gimme a G! Gimme an O!…”

That was written in May, 1993. And today, just 14 years later, our kids are led during worship to shout “Gimme a J! You got yo’ J, you got yo’ J, you got yo’ J! Gimme an E! You got yo’ E…..” to spell out the name of our Lord and Savior who suffered and died for my rebellion and sins.

And I cringe.

Here’s the question: what if some of this stuff does not reflect the Christian faith or worship very well? What’s the point of doing it? Why bother with it?

Again, from Plantinga: “What if by offering popularized religion as an appetizer for unbelievers we should accidentally spoil their appetite for the real thing? Suppose your ten-year-old does not like your heart-healthy dinner menu, so you arrange a seeker meal for him in which you offer some non-threatening Pringles. You do this in order to set up his taste buds for baked potatoes. I wonder how often that would work.

Suppose a seeker came away from a service of the kind I’ve been describing and said to herself, Now I understand what the Christian faith is all about: it’s not about lament, or repentance, or humbling oneself before God. It’s got nothing to do with a lot of boring doctrines. It’s not about the hard, disciplined work of mortifying our old nature and learning to make God’s purposes our own. It’s not about the inevitable failures in this project, and the terrible grace of Jesus Christ that comes so that we may begin again. Not at all! I had it all wrong! The Christian faith is mainly about celebration and fun and personal growth and five ways to boost my self-esteem!

How do you prevent that conclusion? Or, to put the question very generally: How likely is it that a popular God is really God? How likely is it that a user-friendly God will rebuke sin? Or save people with transcendent and unexpected force? Or have to suffer to do it? Or call us to suffering and discipline as well as to joy and freedom?”

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Legacy Worship Center Construction Update

Dirt has moved and is being moved with teriffic force and accuracy!

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There are 23 days left until football season officially begins with the first real college football games. Real games that matter. Not preseason scrimmages.

And the greatest football player to ever wear #23 is Lance Alworth. Nicknamed “Bambi” because of his effortless glide and elegant grace in the open field and his elusive escapability in a crowd, Alworth wore the #23 as an All-America wideout / halfback / punter for the Arkansas Razorbacks. (Shout out to Gardner!) He spent nine years of his pro career as a seven-time All-AFL star for the San Diego Chargers, leading that league in receving three times and, at one point, catching passes in 96 straight games.

Alworth finished his football with the Dallas Cowboys, scoring the very first touchdown in Super Bowl VI. Born in Houston, he was the very first AFL player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He did wear his Razorback #23 for his first two seasons in San Diego, as you can see from this 1963 football card. And, I’m not sure why he switched. The AFL, to my knowledge, never had the strict number rules the NFL has now. His #19 throwback powder-blue Chargers jersey, the one he wore for seven seasons, is a top three seller every year. But Lance Alworth is the greatest player to ever wear #23.

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Taking the girls to the Rangers game tonight. Hopefully they won’t be down 6-0 before we get to our seats.

Peace,

Allan

Practice Playing Second Fiddle

August 6, 2007 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3

There are certain passages of Scripture that I think should be read regularly in our public Christian assemblies because of the forming effect they have on us. Passages that speak to the loving and gracious nature of our God, his will for his people, and our mission as disciples of Christ serve to shape our mindset and our way of living with each other and in our world. The Word of God should mold us into the image of Jesus. And reading it together, especially passages that speak to these specific things, would go a long way in redirecting our focus from the little matters to the more important aspects of our lives of faith.

One such passage is the very familiar “living sacrifice” section of Romans 12. I’ve read Romans 12 out loud six times already today, once at our regular Monday morning staff meeting. It’s always had tremendous power to properly shape my perspective. In times of discouragment, or in times when I’m thinking too highly of myself, Romans 12 has always spoken to me, turning me towards the big-picture view of life in Christ and my place in it.

Let me share with you Eugene Peterson’s translation of Romans 12:4-21 from The Message:

“We are like the various parts of the human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

If you preach, just preach God’s message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. ‘I’ll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I’ll take care of it.’

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, give him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”

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Legacy Worship Center Construction Update:

Dirt is moving!

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We had a fantastic time on our mini-family-vacation to Marble Falls. It was so great to worship with our dear friends at the Marble Falls Church Wednesday evening and to share, in some small insignificant way, the heartache of dealing with the flood of late June. We heard so many stories and saw so many amazing pictures. And the evidence of those horrible days is still all around: flood debris still clinging to power lines some 20-feet above the roads, washed out roads and bridges, creek beds that are permanantly now four times wider and deeper than they were before the rains. We wish nothing but all of God’s richest blessings for the good people of that great town, especially the Jamars as they rebuild their house, the Youngs and the Montgomerys as they continue to clean up, the Burdetts and the Longs as they recover from huge business losses, and the other dozen or so families of Christians down there.

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On the way to Marble Falls on Wednesday we made our bi-annual trip to the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco.

We did a little antique shopping in Salado

We stayed with our great friends Mike & Lee Ann Clark and saw nothing of Jennifer or Ashley, not enough of Logan, and too much of the cats!

We spent all day Thursday at Schlitterbahn and nearly froze our Schlitterbuns!

Friday we took in the Texas History Museum in Austin.

And then Saturday it was movie audition day for Valerie. We waited for almost two hours before they finally called her in. And she was only in there for about 60-seconds! All they did was take a couple of pictures and ask her one or two very general questions about her family and her summer on camera. There were at least 20-25 boys being auditioned from school districts all over central Texas. But Valerie was the only girl in the building. We were told later that they were looking at 300 or so boys, but only four girls. We have no idea what kind of movie this is, what the parts or the roles are, or what they have in mind for Valerie. They only told us it would be six months to a year before we’d be contacted. It’s not quite “don’t call us, we’ll call you,” but almost.

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There are only 24 days left until the REAL football season begins—none of this preseason mess. And today’s number 24 is Johnny “Lam” Jones from Lampasas High School. Johnny Lam wore #26 at the University of Texas where, as a Longhorn, he was a two-time All-America running back and flanker who scored eight touchdowns of 45 yards or longer. He wore #80 as the very first ever professional football player to sign a million dollar contract when the Jets traded two number one picks to the 49ers in order to select him second overall in 1980. But he wore #24 as a Lampasas Badger—the “Lam” stands for his hometown of Lampasas—where he wowed all of Central Texas on the football field and on the track. He won state championships, Southwest Conference championships, national championships, and an Olympic gold medal. And when he played for the Jets, from 1980-86, he was the fastest player in the NFL. I don’t have a picture of Lam Jones in his #24 Lampasas jersey. If you can find one, please pass it along.

#25 is Raiders great Fred Biletnikoff. He was an All-America reciever at Florida State before being taken second overall by Oakland in 1965. He was durable and tough. He had deceptive speed and amazing hands. He was the NFL receptions leader in 1971, made all conference four times, and went to four Pro Bowls. While he was a Raider, Oakland played in nine conference title games and two Super Bowls. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XI. And the Fred Biletnikoff Award goes to the best receiver in college football every year.

Herb Adderley is my all-time greatest #26. Drafted as a running back by Vince Lombardi and the Packers out of Michigan State, Adderley made the switch to cornerback late in his rookie season and had a Hall of Fame career with Green Bay and the Cowboys: 48 picks, 1,046 return yards, five NFL championships, four Super Bowls, and five Pro Bowls.

The greatest to ever wear #27 is Oilers and Redskins safety Ken Houston. Out of Prarie View A&M, Houston was a ninth-round pick of the Oilers in 1967 and then traded to Washington six years later for five players. He had speed, quickness, and size, punishing runners and receivers with huge blows on every tackle. He finished his career with 49 interceptions and nine TDs, made ten Pro Bowls, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

Finally, the greatest football player to ever wear #28 is Abilene Christian and Philadelphia Eagle star Wilbert Montgomery. He didn’t want to go to Jackson State where he’d have to play behind his cousin, Walter Payton. So he wound up in Abilene where he scored a 56 yard touchdown on his first ever carry and a 39 yard touchdown on his first ever catch. He took the ACU Wildcats to the NAIA National Championship in 1973, scoring 37 touchdowns that freshman year, and finished his college career with a national record 70 TDs.

As #31 with the Philadelphia Eagles he ran over the Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game for 194 yards. Montgomery went 42 yards for a score on the second play of that game, setting the tone for what was a long, frigid afternoon in Philly for the Danny-White led Cowboys. Following his eight years with the Eagles, he finished up with two seasons in Detroit. Montgomery’s in the College Football Hall of Fame (check out his ‘do!) and the forty-second leading rusher in NFL history. The great Darryl Green deserves honorable mention, but Wilbert Montgomery’s the best football player to ever wear #28. Thanks to Kipi and Paul and Gary for helping me hunt down the pictures.

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I’ll close today with the words of a dear friend of mine, Charlie Johansson:

“Never doubt yourself because you are called and gifted by God. He will use the good times to encourage you and the bad times to humble you. Both are needed.”

Peace,

Allan

"…in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

August 3, 2007 / Allan / 4 Comments

As we begin a series of lessons at Legacy Sunday on Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica, it’s important to consider the purpose and the impact of the very first line. The richness of the imagery and the depth of the meaning is so much more than we notice at first glance.

Paul writes to “the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Greek preposition “en,” translated “in,” indicates means rather than position. So it designates the church as brought into being or assembled by or created by God and Jesus. By this, we recognize that the church has no life apart from God and his saving work in Christ — work that’s rooted in his divine love and grace for us, his people. Paul is emphasizing from the very beginning of the letter the centrality and importance of God for the life of the church. The church is from God and about God. It’s only secondarily for and about us.

There’s also a profound purpose behind Paul’s deliberate identification of God’s son as the “Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s an apostolic formula that describes in detail everything we profess as Christians. The name “Jesus” stresses his humanness and his death, the title “Christ” emphasizes his resurrection and eternal reign, and “Lord” expresses the believers’ profession of faith and total submission to his divine power and will.

In this one part of one sentence, Paul claims that the church is so much more than just another social organization. It’s nothing less than the people of God, called together by him for his purposes. It’s God who calls people to follow, worship, and serve him; not vice-versa. God does not exist for the sake of the church; the church exists for the praise and glory of God.

And if we can grasp this foundational point, it’ll fundamentally change the way we think about church. We’ll think of our worship less in terms of what it does for us, and more of an opportunity for us to glorify and praise our Father. We’ll consider the ministries of the church less as a means of meeting our needs, and more as opportunities to serve others in Christ. And we’ll never view gathering together with other believers as an inconvenience or an intrusion into our weekends, but more as an opportunity to declare our allegiance to the one true and living God.

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There are 27 more days until football season. But I’m going to wait until Monday to update the list of all-time jersey numbers in the countdown. In the meantime, you can help me. I can’t find a picture of Wilbert Montgomery in his ACU #28 from 1973-76. He wore #31 while he was running through and around and over the Cowboys in the NFL. But he was #28 as an All-America back at ACU. And I can’t find a picture. Somebody please find it for me!!!!

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Schlitterbahn is in the books and we’re heading to Austin. Have a great weekend!

Allan

The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Page 489 of 497

Lives Worthy of God

Is A Popular God…? Part Three

Is A Popular God….? Part Two. No Asterisk.

Is A Popular God Really God At All?

Practice Playing Second Fiddle

"…in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

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