The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Nothing

May 11, 2026 / / 0 Comments

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” ~1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Think about the last time you defined yourself. You made a statement, you drew a line, you chose a side. I am this! I sure ain’t that! I believe this! I do that! You declared who you are and what you’re all about. The last time you proclaimed your values.

Was it about love?

Because if it’s not about love, it’s nothing. If it’s not about love, you are declaring that you are nothing. Your position is nothing. Your beliefs and your values are nothing. Without love, your identity is wrapped up in nothing.

The Bible makes this clear. Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that any action or belief or value or deed done or proclaimed without love is nothing.

That means if your core values, your religious convictions, your political positions, your career priorities, or your personal beliefs are not founded on and motivated by love, they are nothing. You are nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind (13:4). Is the group with which you identify known for patience and kindness?

Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs (13:5). Do your core values line up with this or not? Is the side you’ve chosen causing you to be more loving or less loving?

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth (13:6). Do your convictions or priorities contribute to more truth in the world or less? Do the people with whom you identify speak truth. Do they delight in evil?

Whether you’re in a heated argument or in an echo chamber, when you dig in and define yourself, is it about love?

Because if it’s not about love, you are nothing.

Peace,

Allan

Strange Bedfellows

May 6, 2026 / / 0 Comments

I’m in Malibu this week with our two amazing GCR Youth Ministers, Jadyn and J.E.,  for the annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures. Oh, and Shiloh. Jadyn’s precious daughter, Shiloh, has made the trip with us, too. Of course, as is my tradition, we flew into town a day early so we could take in a baseball game. Last night we watched Mike Trout strike out looking–twice!–as the White Sox crushed the Halos at the Big A in Anaheim. 6-0. Not much of a game. But we had awesome seats, sat by some really super nice Angels fans, and almost ate for the cycle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove up to Hollywood Boulevard this morning to check out all the weird stuff there: the creepy Spiderman, the sad Mickey Mouse, all the people pushing their CDs while they bark for Hollywood bus tours, mixed in with the more historical sites like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and the Hollywood Bowl. We also ate a hearty lunch at the Hollywood Hard Rock Cafe, right there on the strip, and spent almost two hours on the windy and freezing beach in Malibu off the Pacific Coast Highway.

We took a little rest at our rooms on campus before eating our traditional opening night dinner at Malibu Seafood, again, right on the PCH, with a wonderful view of the ocean. And then we gathered with a couple of thousand Christians from all over the country to worship God with our great friends in United Voice Worship and to listen to God’s Word proclaimed by one of the best ever, my good friend Rick Atchley. It was as good–no, way better!–as what you would think.

The theme of this year’s lectures, “The Most Excellent Way,” comes from 1 Corinthians 13. The line of the night from Rick’s keynote sermon came while he was addressing the recent tendency in our churches to be seduced by worldly power and control, which distracts us and turns us away from our mandate to love. Rick told us the Church is pursuing a love of power instead of the power of love. But here’s the line:

“When the Church gets in bed with worldly power, the baby doesn’t look like Jesus.”

We hung around to talk with some of our favorite people and then shut down the Jack-in-the-Box up the road with some late night Oreo shakes. You can tell from this picture that I was still going strong at 10:00pm while J.E. was fading and Shiloh was already gone pecan. Lightweights.

This week at Pepperdine is one of my all-time favorite things every year. My soul needs this. My Lord always meets me here. He nourishes me and encourages me. I am being strengthened and refreshed. And I am not alone.

I cannot wait for tomorrow.

Peace,
Allan

The Prophetic Tasks

May 4, 2026 / / 0 Comments

How about a loaded quote today from a true Christian prophet who passed from this life to the next almost two years ago. The quote is more than 15 years old, but it’s never been more true than right now.

“The prophetic tasks of the Church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.” ~Walter Brueggemann

Offseason Comes Early

May 1, 2026 / / 0 Comments

https://media.sportsnaut.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=90,gravity=auto,sharpen=1,metadata=none,format=auto,onerror=redirect/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/NHL-Stanley-Cup-Playoffs-Dallas-Stars-at-Minnesota-Wild-28850711.jpg

Now what are we supposed to do for the next month?

Sign Jason Robertson to a long term deal. Take the Captain’s “C” away from Benn and give it to Robo. See what you can get for Myers. And everybody rest up. Have a great long offseason for the first time in years and gear up for another run. The window is still wide open on this team.

The Load In

April 30, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Equipment began arriving late yesterday afternoon, the big trucks and trailers and crews were here early this morning, and the Worship Center at GCR is starting to look like a concert venue. Colton Dixon plays GCR tonight on his “The Love I Have For You” tour, along with Tasha Layton and bodie. They have raised and expanded our stage, rearranged many rows of seats, and secured several large canisters of some kind of flammable gas to each side of the stage for, I think, some kind of effect (they’ve promised us they’re not shooting confetti). Everybody’s super nice and it should be a really good show.

 

 

 

 

 

Doors open at 6:30 this evening and the concert starts at 7:00. You can still buy your tickets on the GCR website here, or you can get them tonight at the door. If you live in Midland or anywhere in the Basin, I hope to see you here.

Peace,
Allan

Our Old Testament God

April 29, 2026 / / 0 Comments

It’s been a long, long time since the Dallas Stars were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but after last night’s lethargic Game Five loss to the Minnesota Wild, they’re on the brink. The Stars were sloppy and slow last night in front of the home crowd; every pass seemed like it was a half-second late and a half-inch behind. Dallas has not scored an even-strength goal since Game Two, nine days ago! And the attrition is brutal; we’re losing one defenseman a night. Nils Lundkvist went down Saturday with that awful face laceration and Arttu Hyry left last night with a leg injury.

The beautiful thing about playoff hockey, and the only slim glimmer of hope I have, is that, typically, one game doesn’t have much to do with the next one. The Stars are a great road team and it’s possible their desperation and a little puck luck could result in a crazy 6-1 win in Game Six tomorrow in St. Paul. Then the deciding Game Seven is at home, which is where you want all your Game Sevens.

The Stars have turned bad playoff series around before and they’re capable of doing it now. Otter’s been great in goal and the offensive lines are certainly getting their chances. It’s just that nothing’s bouncing right, and I think they’re starting to feel it. Wyatt Johnston has a total of one point in this series at even-strength; Mikko Rantanen has zero. They’re too talented to go down like this. We’ve said for a month that this series would take seven games. There’s no reason to move away from that thinking now.

Well. Maybe a couple of small reasons.

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“This is what God the Lord says–he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison,
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
~ Isaiah 42:5-7

The God of the Old Testament is not dead.

The God of Genesis, our Creator God, is still creating today. He is still creating breath today. He is still breathing his divine breath into his people today. He is still giving life.

The God of Exodus, our liberator God, is still delivering today. He is still liberating people. He is still setting people loose and releasing them fully. He is still granting freedom.

What our God has done in the past, he is doing right now today. For you. For your church. For your loved ones. For your city.

This is who God is and what God does. Yesterday, today, and forever.

May we join him. May we partner with our God in breathing new divine life into tired and worn-out souls. Into fatigued and weary saints. Into fading churches and discouraged ministers and exhausted shepherds. May we join God in liberating people from the sins that hold them down. From the burdens that cause their shoulders to stoop. From the bars of shame or addiction or abuse or tradition or doubt that have closed them in.

To his eternal glory and praise!

Peace,
Allan

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