AllanStanglin.com
“If people reject the Church because they reject Jesus and the Gospel, we should be saddened but not surprised. But what happens when people reject the Church because they think we reject Jesus and the Gospel? And what if people don’t leave the Church because they disapprove of Jesus, but because they’ve read the Bible and have come to the conclusion that the Church itself would disapprove of Jesus? That’s a crisis.”
~Russell Moore, Losing Our Religion
Our Lord doesn’t gives instructions or commandments to his people before he saves his people. God always rescues first, then lays out the conditions second. God saves, then his people obey. God speaks, then his people respond. God reaches out in mercy and grace, then his people rejoice and give him praise. That’s the way it works. God acts in kindness toward his people, then his people act in kindness to one another.
God creates man, gives him a loving and equal partner, puts them in charge of everything in the beautiful garden, provides for their every need, and then gives them instructions regarding the trees.
God rescues Noah, he saves Noah’s whole family through the un-creation of the flood, and then he establishes the covenant with its commands.
God delivers Israel from Egyptian bondage, he walks them through the Red Sea on dry ground, he destroys all their enemies, and then he gives them the Law on Mount Sinai.
It’s always grace first, then law second.
Jesus first heals the leper, then he says, “Now go offer the gift.” Jesus cleanses the demon-possessed man, then he says, “Now go tell your family how much the Lord has done for you, how he has had mercy on you.” Jesus rescues an adulterous woman from her executioners, he saves her, and then he says, “Go and leave your life of sin.”
It’s a formula. It’s a pattern. It’s a rule for the way things are. It’s the divine order.
The Christmas trees don’t go up in Walmart until after Halloween. The kids don’t spill red Kool-Aid until after you’ve got new carpet. Jerry Jones doesn’t sign a player until after that player’s committed a felony. And our gracious heavenly Father doesn’t give rules and commands until after he saves us.
It’s just the opposite of Santa Claus. If you’re good, Santa gives you a great gift. With God in Christ, we’re good because we’ve been given such a great gift.
Peace,
Allan
The great Lenny Dawson died last night at the age of 87. The Hall of Fame quarterback took the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowls, beating the Vikings in Super Bowl IV, the last football game played by the old AFL. I’m wearing my Len Dawson #16 football jersey today. For at least a couple of reasons.
The Chiefs have always been my second favorite football team. Remember, they began life as the Dallas Texans of the rival American Football League, sharing the Cotton Bowl with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, and competing with the Cowboys for fans and tickets and money. Both teams were so miserable during those early years, Texans owner Lamar Hunt once challenged Cowboys owner Clint Murchison to a head-to-head football game between the Texans and Cowboys, and “the winner gets to leave town.” Hunt did move his Texans to Kansas City where he renamed them the Chiefs and won a couple of AFL titles and, eventually, that Super Bowl with Dawson at quarterback. I’ve always felt a connection with the Chiefs because of their origins in my hometown. They’re from Dallas and I want them to succeed.
I’m also a huge fan of the old NFL Films and that Super Bowl IV in 1970 was the first time a head coach had been wired up for the championship game. Hank Stram stole the show with his one-liners and quips, most famously his exhortation to “Lenny” to “keep matriculating the ball down the field!”
That quote became the line that bonded me forever to a friend at the Legacy Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, Chris Drake. Love the Drake. He called me Lenny or Leonard because, in his view, I was trying to move our church, trying to get us somewhere, trying to grow our faith outside our Sunday assemblies and grow our vision to include the Kingdom outside our walls. He could sense I had a passion and a plan. He could also sense that it would be tough at Legacy. So he encouraged me with “keep matriculating the ball down the field.” One yard at a time. One play at a time.
Drake called me Leonard all the time. Lenny. “Keep matriculating the ball down the field.” This is how he encouraged me when he knew things were rough. Continually. “Pump it in there, baby. Set ’em up for the 65 Toss Power Trap.” Constant encouragement. True friendship. “Work for it, wait for it, them drop it on ’em. One play at a time. One yard at a time.”
After a couple of setbacks with resistant elders and grumpy members, Drake told me he would be my Daryl Johnston. He would be my lead blocker, taking out anybody who got in my way. It made me slightly uncomfortable because I never knew how serious he was. He would text me after a particularly challenging sermon with “I’m turning the corner and looking for contact!” I never thought he would ever really physically take out one of our shepherds with a crack-back block in the west foyer. Would he? He signed his emails to me with “#48.” And kept me guessing.
He gave me this Len Dawson jersey as a Christmas gift a couple of years into our ministry at Legacy – that was thirteen years ago – and I still wear it every couple of months. We still text and email each other about the Cowboys and Rangers. We still go back and forth about church politics and Kingdom of God issues in the ‘comments’ section of this blog. He still signs his communications with me as “#48.” And he still calls me Leonard.
In a weird way, Drake helped me understand my role and solidify my identity as a preacher in God’s Church. It’s not an individual sport, it’s a team game. And not every play is a touchdown pass. It always takes a few short gains between the tackles before you can go deep. It takes dirty work in the trenches, down in the mud and the sweat of the real life of the Body of Christ, before you can run that sweep to the end zone.
Len Dawson died last night.
I’m reminded that he played in a different era and represents, in many ways, a different sport. Dawson was asked once how long halftime was back when he played and he replied, “About two cigarettes.” I’m reminded that success as a preacher in the Lord’s Church means keeping your eye on the big picture and just faithfully matriculating the ball down the field, one play at a time. And I’m reminded of Drake and the way he so intentionally went out of his way to encourage this brand new preacher so long ago.
Peace,
Allan
“The almost impossibly hard thing is to hand over your whole self to Christ.
But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead.”
~C.S. Lewis
“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.” ~Philippians 4:2
Paul wants these two Christians at that church in Philippi to end their dispute with each other. He wants them to reconcile, to patch up their differences, to fix their relationship. But he doesn’t expect them to kiss and makeup by sheer will power or human grit. They won’t be able to reconcile on their own. This kind of reconciliation only happens in the Lord.
Paul’s asking Euodia and Syntyche to put into practice with each other what they know and experience in Christ. They should recognize their fellowship that’s forged by the blood of Jesus. They should acknowledge their mutual love that springs from God’s Holy Spirit. They should affirm their unity of purpose as co-ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. And that’s only going to happen in the Lord. That’s why Paul sounds so sure that it’s going to work. Because when people are in the Lord, surprising things happen. Those who live under the lordship of Jesus are different. We act in surprising ways.
We always forgive the one who wronged us. Not because she said she was sorry, not because he paid me back – we always forgive each other because God in Christ always forgives us. We make sacrifices for each other. Not so we can get what we want, but because the Lord made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We always serve one another. Not so we can look good, but because the Lord served us. We always give to one another, we submit to one another, we defer to one another, because Christ Jesus went to the cross for us.
He died for the sake of our relationship to him. Whatever humility, sacrifice, and service was needed to fix our relationship with God, Jesus did it. Willingly. Obediently.
Remember that love and sacrifice, Euodia. Remember that grace and mercy and forgiveness, Syntyche. And put into practice what you know and believe about Jesus.
Peace,
Allan
The first preseason game is for determining if your draft picks, free agent rookies, and second-year pros have what it takes to make your team and contribute to the organization. You don’t expect perfection; these are not seasoned veterans. But is there potential for them to fit into our schemes, to adequately fill the gap when a starter goes down, to provide depth and security in important ways?
The Dallas Cowboys’ rookies and second-year pros who played in Saturday night’s preseason opener in Denver looked like the starters in mid-season form, racking up 17 penalties for 129 yards in a sloppy 17-7 loss to the Broncos. Coach Mike McCarthy has repeatedly promised that penalties would be a “point of emphasis” after Dallas led the NFL in yellow flags a season ago and committed a record 14 infractions in their playoff loss to the 49ers. Whatever he’s doing, though, isn’t working. Clearly.
Seventeen flags Saturday night. Ten offensive penalties, five on defense, and two on special teams. First-round pick Tyler Smith had two holding penalties, one of them wiping out an eleven yard gain. Second-round pick Sam Williams cost the Cowboys 15 yards on a roughing the passer call. Dante Fowler was flagged for unnecessary roughness. Josh Bell committed two holding penalties on the same drive. Kelvin Joseph jumped offside on a missed 57 yard field goal attempt by the Broncos, resulting in a five yard penalty, resulting in a made 52 yarder.
Sloppy. Undisciplined. Typical.
But it’s only the first preseason game, you say. These weren’t the starters, these are the rookies and subs, you say. You can’t make any judgments based on the first preseason game, you say. Everybody has a lot of penalties in the opening week of the preseason, you say.
The Cowboys had 17. The NFL average last week during everybody’s first preseason games was 6.6 penalties per team. The Cowboys had 17.
Peace,
Allan
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