The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:16

We’re called to evangelize the same way Jesus evangelized: in deep, personal, loving, and giving relationship. We watch our Lord proclaim the Gospel and we follow his lead.

Jesus eats dinner with his friends. He teaches in Capernaum and preaches at the lake. He throws a picnic for five thousand and he spends the night in the mountains praying with his disciples. He hugs mourners at funerals. He touches lepers. He weeps for the city. He embraces strangers and stays with tax collectors. Jesus protects the adulterous woman at the temple and he blesses the children. He forgives his enemies from the cross. He dies for me. And he walks out of the tomb and breathes into us his resurrection life.

The Way of Jesus is always in creating and saving and blessing. He invites and he forgives. He seeks the lost and heals the sick. He turns the other cheek. He embodies the Good News in submissive love and sacrificial service.

According to Acts 2:42-47, this is how the first church evangelized. This is how you let your light shine. This is how you share your faith and redeem the world. By delivering a casserole or mowing a yard. By inviting somebody over for ice-cream. By praying for enemies and forgiving people who do you harm.

The world sees that and can’t resist.

Peace,

Allan

Church business is busy. Kingdom busy-ness can be overwhelming. Sermons and classes. Emails and texts and blogs. Counseling. Programs and people and prayers and planning. Reports and committees and meetings and talks in the foyer. Hospital visits.

Ministry is never-ending. I never once get home at the end of the day and feel like I accomplished every thing I had intended. It doesn’t stop.

And I have to be very, very, very careful to maintain my focus. I have to be disciplined. Deliberate. I must continually guard against being driven and motivated by people’s expectations and my own sense of worth. I have to be driven and motivated by the Holy Spirit of God who resides inside me. I must be moved by my Father’s love for me, by his plans for me. It’s bigger than me. It’s higher than me. I can’t be directed by what I want to do. I must be directed by what God wants me to do.

Romano Guardini (1885-1968), a long-time professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Munich, wrote about this focused-following in his book Power and Responsibility:

“All around us we see activity, organization, operations of every possible type; but what directs them? An inwardness no longer really at home within itself: which thinks, judges, acts from the surface, guided by mere intellect, utility, and the impulses of power, property, and pleasure.

Man’s depths must be reawakened. His life must again include times, his day moments of stillness in which he collects himself, spreads out before his heart the problems which have stirred him during the day. In a word, man must learn again to meditate and to pray.”

It’s said that John Wesley spent the first five minutes of every single waking hour deliberately reflecting on the hour just passed — what opportunity did God give me, did I respond in a Christ-like manner, what should I have done differently to better reflect his glory?

Spending the first hour of every morning in Scripture and prayer, communing with our Triune God in holy relationship, is the most important thing I do. It reawakens my depths. It compels me to spread my heart out to my Father in confession and dependence. It convicts me. It challenges me. It reminds me that I’m not in any of this for myself. Not even for my family or my church. Not even for others. Not as much as I’m in it for the God who calls me and saves me and equips me to join him in redeeming the world.

Peace,

Allan

“We are to God the aroma of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 2:15

I know there are people in our congregation at Legacy who regularly listen to preachers who are a thousand times better than me. Through the internet, seminars and workshops, DVDs, podcasts, and a variety of other ways, our members hear preachers better than me all the time.  Actually, forget all that. There are at least a dozen preachers within our own congregation who are better than me! Smarter. Wiser. More eloquent. Better speakers. Better exegetes. I see them every Sunday. And I think, good gravy, why did they hire me? Why would anyone here listen to me?

I go to these workshops and seminars and get to enjoy some of the greatest preaching and teaching in our tradition. Important preachers. Book-writers and highly-paid speakers. These guys criss-cross the nation speaking to huge crowds who hang on their every words. And I think, wow, how do you get to be so important? How does one become a really great preacher?

I sit down in any room or at any table with any other preachers and I instantly feel wholly inadequate. Intimidated even. I don’t know anything. They know everything. I think about my failures. They don’t have any. My successes seem so small compared to theirs. My best ideas and sermons seem so trite and old compared to theirs. And I think, man, I’m not sure I even know how to do this.

I have a need to feel important. And that’s a sin.

Un-Christ-like. Un-Christ-like. Un-Christ-like.

The good news for me is that I am very, very important to God. Whether I realize it or acknowledge it or not, God says I’m important to him. I don’t need other people to validate me or the work I’m doing for the Kingdom. I am validated by my merciful Father who says I’m the very aroma of his holy and perfect Son.

And that’s good news for you, too. You don’t need to feel important. You certainly ARE important to our God. And so is the work you’re doing for the Kingdom. It’s all very important to him.

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In light of current events, isn’t Toyota’s current logo and ad campaign ironic?

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Good to see the Dallas Cowboys going into full off-season mode so early. Usually the first Cowboys player arrest happens sometime in the days and weeks following the Super Bowl. Not this year.

Peace,

Allan

I spent the first Tuesday of every month in 2008 with Jim Martin, a long-time family friend and the preacher at the Crestview Church of Christ in Waco. Jim had put together a mentoring group of nine preachers and an elder, all from the Waco area. And he had asked me to join.

I came to crave those Tuesdays. I needed them.

For the most part, people I know say, “Good sermon,” and they mean, “You didn’t offend me.” They ask, “How are things going?” and they mean, “How are things going at church?” They say, “Let’s get together,” and they mean, “Let’s talk about a program or a ministry issue.”

That’s a broad generalization, I know. Please understand that I love these people. All of them. And I’m thrilled to have these beautiful, God-ordained, holy relationships. I’m blessed.

But, once a month, it was nice for my good friend Jim to look me square in the eyes and ask me, “How are YOU doing?” Not your ministry, not your church, not your sermons, not your programs. You. How are you doing? How are you and Carrie-Anne doing? Tell me something that excites you right now about God. What part of you, Allan, needs work? What can I specifically pray about for you? How are your kids?

It was also refreshing to hear my brothers call me to accountability. They were not afraid to challenge my view of a particular topic or my stand on a current situation. They were not embarrassed to ask me if maybe my pride or my ego were affecting my thinking. They didn’t mind showing me something from a different angle that maybe I hadn’t considered.

The best part for me was knowing that I could really be myself. I could be totally open and honest and 1) know that everybody in the room completely understood and 2) they weren’t going to judge me or tell on me. They know. All these preachers know. They know the heartache and the joy, they know the burden and the responsibility and the blessing of being one of God’s preachers. I trusted them. Still do.

For one day a month, it was sanctuary.

Jim puts together a new group every year. Seven or eight new faces. Only two or three holdovers. I didn’t participate last year. And I missed it. I missed the focus it gave me. I missed the camaraderie and the worship and the study and meditation. I missed hearing all the good things our God is doing in other faith communities. I missed encouraging other preachers and being encouraged by those same preachers. This year, I’m in.

Twelve Tuesdays. And it starts today.

The renegade elder, Ray Vannoy, is in. I’ve never met a shepherd quite like him. He’s so well read, so current with what’s happening in the Kingdom, so encouraging to preachers, so open with his own criticisms of church and church leadership. So over-the-top gentle and generous and humble. My good friend Charlie Johanson from the Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ in Austin is in. Charlie and I probably took 40 of our 48 hours at Austin Grad together. He was always one step ahead of me. Always pointing me to the bigger picture. A perfect picture of what hungering and thirsting for righteousness looks like. And then there’s Jim. His soft voice and mild mannerisms don’t quite cover up a fiery passion for our Lord that’s obviously boiling inside him. He’s so deliberate. So insightful. So empowering. He sees good in everything and everybody. He is a man of God beyond reproach.

And I want to be just like him. And Charlie. And Ray. I pray that being with them will cause some of their character to rub off on me.

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I’m disturbed today to read that Joe Perry and the rest of Aerosmith are actually auditioning lead singers to tour with the band and cut a new album while front man Steven Tyler recovers from his rehab. You can read the story here. Reportedly, Lenny Kravitz and Billy Idol are among those being considered.

All indications are that Tyler’s relapse into the drugs that derailed the group in the late 70s was his first setback since they all went cold turkey back in ‘85. This doesn’t make sense. Give him a break.

I know Tyler and Perry split this band up once. Ego and drugs and pride and philosophies and all kinds of things were to blame then. But to actually use another lead singer while Tyler is recovering seems crazy. And mean. You know, David Lee Roth and Van Halen had only been together eight years when they went their separate ways. Aerosmith’s been this exact same band for four decades! It would be like The Who touring with Bryan Adams as their lead singer or The Rolling Stones cutting an album with Peter Frampton on lead vocals.

If they do this, they can’t call it Aerosmith.

Joe Perry plays a mean guitar. But he already tried the Joe Perry Project on his own. Yuk. Steven Tyler IS Aerosmith! He’s the face (and the lips!) of the whole Aerosmith franchise.

A moment of silence, please. Somebody hum “Dream On.”

Peace,

Allan

He doesn’t want you better, he wants you deader; 
you’re looking for signs and wonders, he wants you under.
Well there’s your way and there’s my way,
but the better way is just get out of the way.
He doesn’t want you better, he wants you deader.

The truth is rising from the mist, and the word is this:
that when Jesus calls a man, he calls him to come and die!
Dead people don’t mind pain,
don’t get offended so they never complain.
They’re not concerned about personal gain.
Does that sound like me or you?
He doesn’t want you better, he wants you deader.

~Rob Frazier

“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” ~Colossians 3:17

We believe that, among other reasons, God sent Jesus to this world to show us what it looks like to live in a righteous relationship with him. When Jesus commands us to follow him, he does so with the intention of transforming us into his holy image. Following Jesus means to enter a way of life that is given its character and shape and direction by our Lord. It means living life visibly and audibly and obediently like Jesus. Christ-like behavior means what we do, why we do it, and how we do it all comes from him.

Disciples of Jesus are marked by the same traits that characterize the one we follow: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; love, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. Christ’s life is defined by unflinching love and selfless sacrifice. And so is mine. And so is yours. Right?

OK, we’re working on it. So am I.

We take very seriously the words of our Savior: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Our worldview places Jesus at the very center and purpose of our lives. Christ is the urgent and absolute guideline to our everyday activities and interactions. He is the constant companion to our thoughts and values. We live in Christ’s name and are enmeshed in his death and resurrection. It’s not just “What would Jesus do?” It’s also “What is Jesus doing?” Every minute of every day we are conscious of his calling, his commands, his promises, and his provision.

We walk in the Jesus Way, the way of the cross.

Peace,

Allan

You don’t have to wait for every single one of your doubts and fears to go away before you commit your life to Christ. You don’t have to be “strong in the faith” before you give yourself to God. It’s not the depth of your faith or the purity of your heart that saves you. It’s God’s work through Christ. Period.

Just trust him.

I love Timothy Keller’s illustration in his excellent book, The Reason for God:

Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight. How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don’t actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If you mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why? It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.

Trust him. Trust him with everything. Give him your doubts. Give him your fears. Admit them up front. It’s OK. Our God is big enough and strong enough to handle that, too. Just trust him. Reach out and grab him.

I’ve always believed in Jesus. But, I must confess, my heart’s most fundamental trust was usually somewhere else. My trust was usually in my own competency and decency. Now I see clearly how messed up that is. I’m not that good. I’m not that competent. I’m not that decent.

I’m only saved by Jesus.

Give everything to him. Transfer all of your trust to him. God will receive you and accept you, not for anything you’ve done or can possibly do in the future, but because of what Christ has done and promises to do for you.

Peace,

Allan

There are people in our churches who believe they are no good to the Body. There are older brothers and sisters, Christians in poor health, disciples who can’t get around, people who don’t have outgoing personalities or character traits who feel inadequate because they’re not leading visible, out front, out loud, center stage ministries. They feel unimportant. Un-needed. They feel small in the Kingdom. They compare themselves to big-money givers or big-time leaders or big-mouthed preachers and they feel they come up short.

1 Corinthians 12. Paul says he doesn’t want the Christians in Corinth to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. He doesn’t want them to be led astray. He doesn’t want there to be any misunderstandings about gifts given by the Holy Spirit of God to individual disciples to be used in God’s service and to God’s eternal glory.

I think we’re ignorant.

Every single Christian is blessed with spiritual gifts. Every single person who makes the Christian confession — “Jesus is Lord!” — does so by the Holy Spirit. It’s impossible to be a confessing Christian and not possess these gifts. And Paul tells us very plainly that all these gifts are equal in importance to him and to the Kingdom. They’re all exactly the same.

There are different kinds of gifts but they all come from the same God. There are different kinds of service, different kinds of works, but they all come from the same Spirit of the Father. And, remember, they’re all gifts. They’re gifts! You don’t deserve them. You didn’t do anything to earn them. Neither did the Bible class teacher or the youth deacon or the guy who built the shelves in the church pantry. They’re given to each individual by the Spirit of God “just as he determines.”

I promise you that the discouraged person you warmly greet at the church door on Sunday morning is more touched by your smile and your hug and your sincerity than he is by the songs that Howard picks out and leads. I guarantee that the casserole you deliver to the grieving widow means as much — or much more — than the words said by the preacher at the funeral. I know that changing the oil in that single mother’s car blesses her much more than an eloquent prayer from the pulpit or an efficiently-run children’s program.

The lady who picks up and sorts all the attendance cards on Sunday afternoons. The guy who changes the lightbulbs in the worship center. The man who fixes the computers in the church office. The woman who helps in the nursery.

And a lot of these people say, “Well, that’s just what I do.” It’s a talent. It’s an ability. It’s something I enjoy doing. But…

…it’s not really a “spiritual” gift.

That’s where we’re ignorant.

Your talent becomes a gift from the Spirit when you submit it wholly to the Spirit to be used by the Spirit for his Kingdom purposes. “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them (including you!), just as he wanted them to be.” That thing you do, no matter what it is, is a spiritual gift! God can move mountains when you install a ceiling fan. God can mend broken hearts when you write a letter. God can heal wounded souls when you buy a lunch. God will reveal his glory when you do what you do in his name.

We’re guilty of exalting the more visible and high-profile gifts. We talk more about the bigger and louder gifts. They get more space in the church bulletin. But in God’s economy, all spiritual gifts are exactly the same. Holding the songbook for the older lady next to you is an exercise of a spiritual gift. It’s just as important as what the preacher’s doing up there. And, probably, a whole lot more meaningful to her.

Peace,

Allan

If a nursing mother eats fajitas for lunch — fajitas piled high with onions and peppers and salsa and pico de gallo — she’s going to be up all night. Not because she’s sick, but because her baby is sick. The fajitas have become a part of her. You are what you eat.

I look in the mirror and I can plainly see the Big Macs and cheese tator tots and Lay’s Kettle-Cooked potato chips. They have become a part of me. The biggest part of me!

Eating the Word, meditating on the holy words of our God, causes them to become a part of us. And when those words get inside us, we’d better respond.

“The story of the manna gathered and set aside by the Hebrews is deeply significant. It so happened that the manna rotted when it was kept. And perhaps this means that all spiritual reading which is not consumed — by prayer and works — ends by causing a sort of rotting inside us. You die with a head full of fine sayings and a perfectly empty heart.” ~Julian Green, Diaries, 1955

It’s not enough to just admire the Bible. It’s not enough, even, to understand it. God has spoken and we must respond. The Creator of Heaven and Earth is speaking and we must act. He breathes and we inhale. He calls and we come. He saves and we praise. He commands and we obey. He invites and we eat.  

God intends for his Word —inviting, commanding, challenging, rebuking, judging, comforting, directing, loving — to move us. To become a part of who we are and then compel us to act his Word out in ways that reflect his glory and transform our own lives and the lives of the people around us.

Savor some of those words today. Read them. Taste them. Lean back with your eyes closed and allow the meaning and the purpose of a couple of lines really get into your blood.

Peace,

Allan

…just what I needed.

Valerie Nicole turns 13 today. Our “Little Middle” is, officially now, a teenager.

Oi.

Thirteen years ago today, at South Austin Medical Center, Carrie-Anne almost died giving birth to this massive child. Nine-and-a-half pounds and a bowling ball head. Huge blue eyes. Alert. Soaking in all her surroundings even before we could cut the cord. I’ll never forget the way she amazed me in those first couple of minutes of her life. I’d never seen a new-born like this. She looked like she was already two or three months old. And she was acting like it, too. As I held her and sang “Eight Days a Week” and “Love Me Do” to our second daughter, she locked her eyes right into mine. It was almost like she was ready to talk.

Or sing.

Valerie’s a singer. She has a beautiful voice and she loves to sing. She knows all the words to songs she’s only heard once. She sings in her room, in the car, in the shower, everywhere. She’s in the choir at North Ridge Middle School. She sings every year at LTC. I love listening to Valerie sing.

Valerie’s also an adventurer. She’s not afraid of anything except casseroles and vegetables. I have no idea how that girl survives on such a strict diet of grilled-cheese and french fries. An exclusive diet of grilled-cheese and french fries. Valerie’s a joker. She’s hilarious. She keeps us in stitches with her Erkel impersonations and her funny faces. She’s a social butterfly. A social butterfly on steroids. Three out of every four phone calls at our house — incoming and outgoing — are for Valerie. And she’s sensitive. She has a wonderful heart for people and their concerns and needs. She shows the same compassion and attention to Dorothy Allred as she does to Laiklyn Gray. A lot.

And she wants to be baptized. She wants to give her life to our Lord.

Man. How great is that? We’re going to start talking and praying together about that tomorrow.

Valerie’s not huge anymore. That stopped being the case by about the time she turned three. Valerie’s a twig. Earlier this week at the doctor’s office she weighed in at a whopping 81.8 pounds. She’s skinny as a rail. Bony. The girl won’t eat. There’s nothing big about her.

Except her heart. Her heart is huge. And it’s growing. Her heart for little kids. Her heart for those who are hurting. Her heart for people in need. Puppy dogs on Animal Planet. Lonely classmates in the lunchroom. I love what I see at work in her. I’m thankful to our God for what I see developing in her.

Our Father in heaven has huge plans for this girl. He’s got a mission for her and good works already prepared for her that are far beyond anything we’ve thought about yet. I know he does. I can tell. Valerie is special. She’s got gifts. God-given gifts that belong only to her.

We love you, Val-Pal. Happy Birthday!

Dad