Preaching, Teaching, Livestream Schedule, Plus Pics
Tomorrow is my first “normal” Sunday at Asbury, as last Sunday was unusual for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it was one big combined service for the entire church. Last Sunday was a really fun day; scroll down for a bunch of pics from my family’s first Sunday at Asbury.
I’m going to continue to introduce myself tomorrow with another sermon that will speak to what I want my ministry at Asbury to be about. (We’ll kick off our fall series through the Book of Genesis next week. BOOM.)
My topic tomorrow? The surest way to blessing that I know.
[Note that I’m having trouble embedding the sermon video, so if you are reading this as email and get an error message click on “Watch on YouTube” to see it.]
How do we truly show gratitude?
Everything in life was given to us by those who have come before us, gifts of God given again to us.
What do we do now?
That was my topic for my first Sunday at Asbury.
Normal Sunday Schedule
8:00 AM in the Chapel. Traditional, small service with organ.
9:30 AM in the Sanctuary. Traditional. Choir and orchestra. Biggest service.
11:00 AM in the Sanctuary. Modern. Band.
All services are livestreamed.
New Thursday Schedule!
We had our first-ever Thursday night service this past week. That’s also the plan going forward.
6:00 PM in the Chapel. Relaxed, casual service.
(I’ve asked that we NOT stream nor publish the Thursday evening service. In terms of my preaching calendar, Thursdays precede Sundays; i.e., I’ll preach the same version—or hopefully a much better version!—of my Thursday sermon each following Sunday.)
Livestream Info
There are three different options for the Asbury livestream.
www.asburytulsa.org. Click on “Watch Live” on the main page.
Facebook: the “Asbury Tulsa” page.
YouTube: the “Asbury Tulsa” channel.
The feed will go live a good amount of time before the hour, so tune in early.
My Preaching Schedule This Fall
I will be preaching every week* this fall at the schedule above: Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings.
*With two exceptions!
I will be visiting Sunday school classes at Asbury on 10/16 and 11/27, so though I’ll be at church I will NOT be preaching on either 10/16 or 11/27, nor the Thursdays preceding those dates.
Live out of town and wanna visit? We’d love to have you! (Particularly if you have a Texas passport.)
My Teaching Schedule This Fall
I’m teaching four churchwide Bible studies on the Book of Genesis this fall in the Chapel.
Wednesdays, 6:30 PM
8/17
8/31
10/12
10/26
Each study will be livestreamed.
I’m also speaking next Saturday (8/20) at the training event for the leaders of the Asbury Discipleship Communities. My topic? “How to Prepare Folks for Negative World”.
Pics from My Family’s First Sunday at Asbury
(Look closely: my little daughter is staring down the photographer in the two above pics!)
The Last Chapter, and the Next One
It’s been two months since my last Sunday at Munger; tomorrow is my first Sunday at Asbury.
It’s been a strange summer, as I’ve not felt I really belonged anywhere, that I was neither fish nor fowl, so to speak.
So, it will feel good to get started tomorrow morning.
But before this next chapter begins, I want to put a pin in my memories of that last Munger Sunday.
That last Sunday (June 5, 2022) was golden; it was perfect, just perfect. And though there were tears, the entire morning was just filled with gratitude and joy—the Lord has been so good to us.
Right as the first song began, I came under the tent to the front row where my son Jack was sitting and I was shocked to see my son’s great friend Austin standing there. I immediately started crying. Austin lives in another part of Dallas and his family doesn’t go to Munger, but the friendship between Austin and Jack since Kindergarten has been really sweet. And something about seeing Austin’s blond head there as we were all singing felt like a foretaste of glory—surprised by joy.
So, let this post serve as an ebenezer: God is good(er).
My Last Munger Sermon - “The Last Chapter”
Though it was certainly not my best sermon, I’m proud of my last Munger sermon—I really believe in what I said, and I’ve heard from several folks over the summer how my bottom line has been helpful to them, facing the loss of a loved one or inexplicable difficulty or even life change:
“In the End, everything will be okay;
If it’s not okay, then it’s not the End;
And if it’s not the End, the Lord still has work for us to do.”
My family joined me on stage and I love how in the video you can see me and my son Jack crying against each other and the staff huddled around as Jake and Rodney pray over us.
That entire last weekend was just so special and I never want to forget it. So, below are some pics and videos from our last Munger weekend, including a bunch that I was able to take from the stage, both during rehearsal and during the service itself.
[Note: If you are reading this in your email inbox, it might be easier to view the videos if you click over and read this post on my blog, as the videos are all embedded there.]
That Last Week
Jackie and I getting ready to lead our very last online morning prayer session live from White Rock Lake in East Dallas. I loved those mornings so much—such a sweet gift to be able to have him join me.
Our neighborhood changed a lot over the years in which we lived there—most of the changes were for the good, though of course not all of them.
Empty office.
Empty house.
Saturday Rehearsal
Some of my favorite Munger memories were our outdoor Easter services, under the big tent in Garrett Park, but we hadn’t held any of those since before the pandemic, and when my colleague Melissa suggested we have one big service for my family’s last Sunday, I was all for it.
One of the things I loved most about Munger was walking around while our band was rehearsing. So I made a point to walk over to Garrett Park on Saturday just to hear and see—so glad I brought my phone with me.
Don’t skip the videos—they are short (all less than a minute) and so so great. So much joy!
[Again, if you are one of my newsletter subscribers, it will be easier to view the videos by reading this post on my blog itself.]
I took this pic as I walked over to Garrett Park on Saturday for rehearsal. Thank you, Lord, for Munger in my life.
I couldn’t help singing along: “Let your love flow….”
Love hearing the trombone and the guitars working together.
Wait for the song to drop: “Let the light from the lighthouse….”
That Last Sunday
I got up early that last Sunday and went for a walk in the dark up Swiss Avenue, as I’d done thousands of times before. I loved that time in the dark, totally alone, walking and thinking over my sermon for the day.
How many miles have I walked up those beautiful blocks? We were so fortunate to have lived there.
I love this song and whenever I hear it in the future I’ll think of our band warming up that last Munger Sunday.
Oh man. At 10 seconds Kelly Riley drops in with the chorus. He’s the best and this was so fun!
Speaking of fun, this was the last song the band played before the service began: “Oh When the Saints….” Love love love the trombone.
I love the simplicity of this song:
“For God so loved the world that he gave us
His one and only Son to save us….”
Amen. How great to hear the entire congregation gathered singing:
“Oh there’s nothing better than you….”
“Because He Lives” brings back so many memories of our Munger Easter services under the tent over the years. Grateful we got to sing it one last time together.
Last Munger Sunday - Recap Video
Some Munger folks made this re-cap video for me of that last Sunday. Such a special gift.
Goodbye House, Goodbye Church, Goodbye Neighborhood
We left Texas the afternoon of our last Sunday and made the drive to Tulsa. It just seemed right to finish our final service, say goodbye, and hit the road.
We loved our old hundred-year-old house so much. Our children never knew anyplace different. It was good to us.
No one could have been kinder to us than our sweet neighbors whom we love so much—they were our grandparents-across-the-street. One last swing on the rope swing in their front yard.
We came over and prayed in the church one last time, all by ourselves. I’ll never stop being grateful for our time at Munger.
No keys on my keyring!
The Next Chapter Begins
So, after the last chapter, the next one begins: tomorrow is our first Sunday at our new church.
And the folks here cannot have been kinder. Asbury has a billboard contract around the city and, just as they had a campaign to honor the Rev. Tom Harrison, my predecessor who retired after 29 years at Asbury, they started a new one to welcome me! My wife can’t stop making fun of me for it.
But remember, what goes around comes around. Elaine made fun of me for my billboard, and then this happened:
She and the kids were uniform-shopping for school this week when a photographer came up and took their picture. Guess who was on the front page of the Tulsa World this past Friday morning?!
“The Tulsa World.” Friday, August 5, 2022.
The poor people of Tulsa can’t get away from us.
“Live From Tulsa It’s Sunday Morning!”
Tomorrow morning we’re having only one service at Asbury, 10:00 AM CDT. I know there are a bunch of Texans in town to support our family on our first Sunday and it will be so nice to see some familiar faces in the congregation—be sure to get to church early.
I also know there are lots of folks praying for us who won’t be there. Now, some of you know my glib little phrase about online church:
“online church isn’t.”
I say that because I think it’s really important that we gather in person as the people of God. However I also know that lots of folks who wish they could be there live far away. Our parents, e.g., will be tuning into the livestream tomorrow.
So here is the livestream info for Asbury:
There are three different options.
www.asburytulsa.org. Click on “Watch Live” on the main page.
Facebook: the “Asbury Tulsa” page.
YouTube: the “Asbury Tulsa” channel.
The feed will go live a good amount of time before the hour, so tune in early.
Alright, Fast Eddie
Tomorrow starts a new chapter in my family’s life. A year ago none of this would have seemed remotely likely to me, which leads me to conclude that the Lord has brought us here for a reason.
So tomorrow morning, right before I walk into the Asbury Sanctuary for the first time I’m going to look at myself in the mirror and say: Alright Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.
"Alright Fast Eddie, Let's Play Some Pool"
There’s this great scene early in the 1961 movie The Hustler: Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) and Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) have been playing pool for 25 hours straight, and Fast Eddie has been winning—he’s been wiping the floor with the Fat Man, and is over $11,000 up. There’s a break in the action, and Minnesota Fats goes to the washroom and freshens up. He combs his hair, cleans his fingernails, straightens his tie.
Then he comes out, dries off his hands, slides into his suitjacket—it’s a beautiful three piece suit he’s wearing—fixes his boutonniere on his lapel, and has the steward pour a little bit of talcum powder on his hands.
He looks absolutely magnificent, the picture of masculine elegance, calm, cool, controlled.
And then he looks at Eddie and he says,
“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”
Although they’ve been playing for 25 hours straight, and although Fats has been losing for 25 hours straight, Fast Eddie doesn’t want to stop until Fats calls it quits. Which he doesn’t.
And that moment in the washroom is the turning point. From the moment Fats fixes that boutonniere and chalks up his hands, he begins to win. And Fast Eddie is ruined.
I’d seen that movie as a college student, but it wasn’t until I read Colin Powell’s book It Worked for Me that I remembered that scene. Those words, “Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool” had always stuck in General Powell’s mind and he talks in the book how he would use them whenever he had a difficult or momentous task in front of him, e.g., testifying before Congress, which he did many many times.
He recalls in the book how he would go to the men’s room right before he was due to speak, wash his hands, look at himself in the mirror, and say:
“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”
He says that that little ritual would help calm him down to focus on the task at hand.
I have always loved that anecdote.
And though I’m sure it sounds silly to you, I started doing the same thing before I would preach on a big Sunday—say Christmas or Easter—or had a difficult meeting or was nervous about a speaking engagement.
Of course I pray and ask the Lord for help, but it would also kinda give me a little private smile to wash my hands, look at myself in the mirror, and say,
“Alright Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”
I begin a new job in the morning, and it feels as if I’m beginning a new chapter in my life, too.
Twenty years ago, I got my first job out of college.
And here I am starting all over again tomorrow.
I feel kinda like a kid going into a new school. (Lord, be with my children as they have their first days of school later this month.)
But, I really think the Lord has been sheepdogging us to Tulsa, which means he has work for us to do.
So, tomorrow morning before I leave the house, I’m going to brush my teeth, look myself in the mirror, and say,
“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”
I'll be Live from Lakeside in the Morning!
I’m Preacher for the Week at a Victorian vacation community on Lake Erie called Lakeside Chautauqua.
I preach tomorrow morning (7/24), 10:30 AM EDT (9:30 AM CENTRAL for you Texas and Oklahoma folks!) for the Sunday worship service.
Then I teach a Bible study each morning, 9-10 AM, Monday-Thursday.
And I give a short talk on Tuesday evening.
My theme for the week is the Prologue of the Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-11 (Creation to Babel). Can’t wait!
The Sunday worship service will be live-streamed. Would love to have you join.
Here’s the Link for the Sunday Livestream.
Remember, 9:30 CENTRAL, which is 10:30 AM EDT here in Ohio.
A Prayer For Our Nation
[Photo taken by yours truly, Sunday evening, July 3, 2022. Colington Island, North Carolina.]
For Our Nation
Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure conduct. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom, in thy Name, we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—from The Book of Common Prayer
Happy Independence Day, everyone.
God Bless You, Jake and Rosemary!
[Our last Munger Sunday together, Pentecost 2022.]
Today is the last Munger Sunday on staff for Jake Porter and Rosemary Cole.
Jake (who is preaching today) was on the Munger staff for 9 1/2 years. Rosey was on staff for 6 years.
I am so grateful for them both and hate that I can’t be there today to thank them in person.
The challenge for me is not knowing what to say about them, the challenge is to keep it brief!
Jake Porter is a man of complete integrity. I’d like to apply to him what Jesus says about Nathaniel in John 1—”a man in whom there is no deceit.” I know no one more ready to be honest about himself. He loves the Lord, his family, his church, and his friends is a whole-hearted way. He will readily take a burden on himself in order to bless someone else.
Rosemary Cole is a woman whom I completely trust. She was my assistant and I can’t say anything better than this: when she was meeting or talking or corresponding with someone on my behalf, I knew that that person would feel valued, respected, and preferred. Working with her was a precious gift! She is a modest, humble, background player who only wants to make other people better.
Well done, friends. I am so grateful for you. Your constant kindness to me made my life sweeter.
“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”
This Video Broke My Heart All Over Again
This video just broke my heart all over again.
I haven’t been able to write about my last Munger Sunday—already two weeks ago!—and I’ll have more to say soon. But this afternoon someone surprised me with this beautiful highlight video from that day and as my little daughter and I watched it, we started crying all over again.
That last Sunday and those last 12 years were sweet beyond measure, and I am so grateful to have been able to share that time with the people we loved so much.
[Video credit: Drew Sutherland, Sus 4 Productions.]
Rachel Refusing to Be Comforted
Matthew’s Gospel tells us of the slaughter of the innocents at Bethlehem:
“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.”
Out of all the things Matthew could say next, he chooses to use a heartbreaking quotation from the prophet Jeremiah:
“Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
’A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.’”
Jeremiah is speaking of a time of grief and horror in Israel, and he is using the story of Rachel from Genesis to make his point. Rachel is the beloved second wife of the Patriarch Jacob; she compares herself jealously to her fertile sister Leah, who has four strapping sons before Rachel is able to conceive. Rachel ends up having a son named Joseph, and then dies in childbirth as she is laboring to deliver her second son, Benjamin. (The baby survives.)
Jeremiah poetically recalls Rachel’s suffering and uses Rachel to represent all of Israel; we the readers imagine a woman in difficult labor, drawing her last breath in screams and terror.
Matthew draws upon Jeremiah’s screaming image for his understated and piercing commentary on the slaughter of the innocents at Bethlehem:
“Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.’”
“Rachel…refusing to be comforted.”
I’ve always thought that those lines were the heartbreakingly right way to address the murders and the misery at Bethlehem—not with a sentiment or reflection or attempt to do anything with the horror, but with just a simple statement: there is nothing at that moment that will bring any comfort or relief from the living nightmare.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.
God Is Good(er)
The most evil idea in the world is the idea that God cannot be trusted, that God isn’t good.
And it is in direct opposition to that destructive idea that Jesus performed the miracle at the Wedding of Cana.
Want to know what the water-into-wine miracle means?
It means that God is Good(er).
Preacher: Andrew Forrest
Scripture: John 2:1-11; Isaiah 25:6-7
“BUT IDEAS AND IMAGES are also a primary stronghold of evil in the human self and in society. They determine how we ‘take’ the things and events of ordinary life. They control the meanings we assign to what we deal with, and they can even blind us to what lies plainly before us. Again, this is seen over and over in biblical and in Christian history, and in human life generally. Their power for evil cannot be overestimated and is constantly at play in most human governments.
Ideas and images are, accordingly, the primary focus of Satan’s efforts to defeat God’s purposes with and for humankind. When we are subject to his chosen ideas and images, he can take a nap or a holiday. Thus when he undertook to draw Eve away from God, he did not hit her with a stick, but with an idea. It was with the idea that God could not be trusted and that she must act on her own to secure her own well-being.
This is the basic idea back of all temptation: God is presented as depriving us by his commands of what is good, so we think we must take matters into our own hands and act contrary to what he has said. This image of God leads to our pushing him out of our thoughts… and putting ourselves on the throne of the universe. The condition of the ruined soul and world naturally results. The single most important thing in our mind is our idea of God….”
Easter 2022 - I'm Going to Miss This So Much
Lots of fun pics and videos below from Easter 2022 at Munger. Christ is Risen Indeed!
It was yesterday, during rehearsal, that it really hit me: I’m going to miss this place so much.
(I was wearing sunglasses, so no one could see I was crying.)
You know what got me? Just how much fun our band was having.
For example:
and this:
And then just all the joy this morning made me feel so grateful—my 12th Easter at Munger! First some fun videos I took from the stage, then some pics from the morning.
Easter began in the dark at 6:30 AM, by candlelight.
And then we closed the service in the light, out on the front steps.
The balloon company dropped off our balloon arches at 4:00 AM!
Lots of empty seats to fill….
And the only thing better than a full parking lot…
Is filling it TWICE!
Staff pic—man I love these folks. (Poor Rich was sick at home and couldn’t join us.)
Love our stage under the live oaks.
Does YOUR church have a pedal steel on Easter?!
Does YOUR church have llamas on Easter?!
He is risen indeed!
Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a part of spreading the Good News in East Dallas these past 12 years. It’s been the great privilege of my life.
"The Impossible"
I recently re-watched the 2012 movie The Impossible, the true story of one family’s experience with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It stars Naomi Watts (who was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award), Ewan Macgregor, and a young Tom Holland.
It’s even better than I remember it and very moving. Highly recommended.
The reason I’m writing about The Impossible now is because I’m going to talk in my Easter Sunday sermon about the real-life experience on which the movie is based and I’d love for folks to watch the movie before coming to church Sunday. It’s currently streaming for free on Amazon Prime, and is of course also available through other streaming services as well.
Let me know if you get a chance to see it before Sunday.
Here’s an extended clip of the wave hitting the Thai resort where the family is spending the Christmas holidays. Warning: not for the faint of heart.
Please Don't Listen to This Sermon
Keep your ears stopped.
Shut your eyes tight.
Make your necks stiff.
And harden your hearts.
For:
If you hear and see,
If you receive and obey,
This message will bring life abundant.
Do you have ears? Use them.
(Reflections on the Parable of the Sower.)
Series: Gospel of Mark (2022)
Scripture: Mark 4:1-25
Date: Sunday, March 13, 2022
"But That Is *Exactly* What Happened!"
This morning on The Musers, Gordo got on the topic of how quick we are these days to criticize good people by saying they are not doing enough or doing it quickly enough.
“Sure, you say you’re working to end homelessness, but how come I just saw a homeless guy this morning?! If you were serious, then you’d already be doing more. You’re just a phony….” Etc.
Craig and George agreed.
And then Gordo said something really interesting:
He said that if Jesus himself were around today, then people would quickly turn on him and complain that he wasn’t doing enough or doing it fast enough.
And I kicked around that point for a minute until I thought,
“But, that is actually exactly what happened!”
The Dog That Didn't Bark
The portrayal of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel is of a man of great power and authority:
He commands the unclean spirits;
He heals with a word;
He calms the storm into silence.
But there is one thing Jesus does NOT do, one thing he never commands or coerces.
That one thing is, so to speak, the dog that doesn’t bark in Mark’s Gospel.
And it is unbelievably important.
[Sermon video below.]
Series: Gospel of Mark (2022)
Scripture: Mark 1:21-28; Mark 1:40-42; Mark 4:35-41; Mark 8:27-30
Date: Sunday, March 6, 2022
Stuff I'm Pumped About
I’m really looking forward to this Lenten season at Munger, and thought you might be interested in some of what we’ve got going on. So grateful I get to be involved in this stuff. Keep reading until the end—there’s lots here!
The Gospel of Mark
As I say on Sundays, Munger is a Bible-reading church. Since 2017, we’ve lived into this aspiration by following church-wide Bible reading plans. Here’s what this looks like:
The entire congregation follows the same reading plan;
We read through entire books because we believe the entire Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus; in other words, the Bible isn’t just a collection of individual, inspirational fortune-cookie sayings that can be embroidered on tea-towels;
I write a daily commentary that gets posted on my blog each weekday (and emailed out to everyone on my email list);
I preach through entire books and only very very rarely do topical sermon series;
We hold a few large Wednesday Bible studies for all ages to help folks get the most out of their readings.
Our Lenten Bible reading plan will be through The Gospel of Mark! The readings will be weekdays (with the exceptions of Sunday readings on Palm Sunday and Easter), and they begin on Ash Wednesday (3/2) and conclude on Easter (4/17).
[Be sure to pick up our new Mark booklets—the reading plan begins on Ash Wednesday.]
I’ve written daily commentary on each Mark reading, and we’ve printed Mark devotional books that have the readings and the commentary assigned to each day of the plan. If you haven’t grabbed yours, be sure to do so before the plan begins on 3/2. (If you live out of town, email info@mungerplace.org and we’ll send you one in the mail.)
I’m kicking off our Mark series this Sunday, 2/27. Can’t wait!
Daily Online Bible Study and Morning Prayer
Starting Ash Wednesday, March 2, we’ll have daily online Bible study every weekday morning, 7:00-7:10 AM. The format is very simple (and the order we’ll use is inside the front cover of the Mark books!). Here’s the plan:
We’ll begin with an opening prayer;
Then a brief thought on that day’s Mark reading;
And conclude with brief prayers prompted by the comments and requests of those who are tuned in.
You can join us via Facebook Live on the Munger Page (I don’t like Facebook or Meta—that name alone makes me queasy!—but I have to admit that Facebook Live is the best platform we’ve found for this kind of thing): www.facebook.com/mungerplace.
Don’t use Facebook?
I love you. Keep doing what you’re doing—it is NOT worth it.
Join us on our own live video site: www.mungerplace.LIVE. If you are using a desktop browser, you can comment in real time; unfortunately, on the mobile version commenting is not yet possible.
I’d love to have families participate before or on the way to school.
Make it a daily habit, or just join when you can—either way, we’d love to have you.
Holy Communion Every Wednesday, 7:00-7:20 AM
Speaking of families, we have a brand-new Holy Communion service every Wednesday morning in Lent that I promise will conclude no later than 7:20 AM. It is my hope that families might attend on the way to school—we’ll even have Chick-fil-A breakfast items available each week so you can grab and go on your way. (Uncle Munger is picking up the tab.)
(We’ll keep the daily online Bible study and morning prayer schedule rolling on Wednesdays for folks who are unable to come to church, but because I’ll be at church, I won’t be leading on Wednesday mornings.)
Coming together on Wednesday mornings and receiving Holy Communion is a great way to keep the fires of faith burning during the week.
Come every Wednesday in Lent, or just whenever you can fit it in—you’ll be welcome whenever.
My Final Daniel Projects at Munger
The Daniel Project is a weekend seminar that I created—it’s 100% my curriculum—no one else teaches it. The reason I say that is because I want you to understand the why behind it: I felt a burden and a responsibility to push back against the culture’s claims against the faith—I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror and know I’m at least trying.
The schedule is:
Friday, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Saturday, 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM.
What we do over the course of the weekend is look at some of the questions people are asking or hearing about the faith, questions like:
Why isn’t there more evidence for God?
Does science contradict faith?
Is it reasonable to believe in God?
Isn’t the Trinity an unnecessary and superfluous idea?
Aren’t all religions basically the same, in the end?
What is the Bible, and where did it come from?
Who decided what was in the Bible?
Isn’t Christian teaching on marriage and divorce and singleness cruel and hateful?
Etc.
My goal is to help Christians feel more confident in the faith and be able to stand with courage in the midst of a hostile culture. Hence the name, The Daniel Project.
We have two Daniel Project weekends scheduled this spring, March 25th & 26th, 2022
May 6th & 7th, 2022.
PARENTS: I would love to have interested middle school and high school students attend. You are welcome at any time, but I know that the youth ministry is trying to get as many kids as possible to attend the 3/25 weekend together.
More info and registration here.
If you’ve been to a Daniel Project before, I’d love to have you again—I’ve made lots of improvements and changes!
[Our Wednesday evening Bible studies are some of my favorite times at church.]
Churchwide Bible Studies on the Gospel of Mark
March 9 and March 30, 6-7 PM. Dinner in the parking lot to follow. Love these nights!
Ash Wednesday
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return;
Repent, and believe the gospel.””
Ash Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the Christian year—it’s both very solemn and hopeful at the same time. Hope you can make it to one of our services that day. Come before school!
Our schedule:
7:00-7:20AM
12:00-12:20 PM
7:00-7:45 PM.
I’m looking forward to pushing hard these few months at Munger, and I hope you are too.
I’m still grieving like crazy at the thought of leaving, but that also helps me resolve not to waste a single moment—we’re going to have a great spring.
Who’s ready to run?
What It Takes
Recently my friend Rodney challenged me to write one page on what I believe it takes in our day to be effective in pastoral ministry, and I thought some of you might be interested in what I wrote.
What It Takes
The purpose of a pastor is to prepare his people to live faithfully in the world. This is how to do that.
Engage the Culture
I believe we live in what Aaron Renn has called “Negative World”:
“In [Negative World], being a Christian is a social negative, especially in high-status positions. Christianity in many ways as seen as undermining the social good. Traditional norms are expressly repudiated.”
We must understand that Americans today—particularly the young and educated—are under tremendous pressure to conform to the culture and abandon the faith. A pastor must come to understand the culture’s claims and then must push back against them, showing how following Christ is superior to what the world offers.
Lead the People
A pastor must lead, which means he must go first. He needs to cast the vision and inspire the people with what’s possible with God. Going first in Negative World will mean the pastor will face opposition; nevertheless, going first is what love and leadership require and what the people need from their pastor.
Teach the Bible
The primary way a pastor prepares his people is through the teaching and loving of scripture. Most American Christians—of either the liberal or conservative variety—are functionally biblically illiterate, so a church must emphasize scripture reading and a pastor must preach sermons that help people understand that the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.
Preach Prayer
It has never been harder to learn to be still and quiet before God, and never been more important. The pastor must constantly preach and model the practice of The First 15—the keystone habit of spending the first 15 minutes of every day in prayer, silence, and scripture.
Make Weekly Worship the Foundation and Furnace of Everything
Nothing is more important than weekly worship for God’s people. Worship must be inspiring to insiders and engaging to outsiders, and the people must understand and believe that their entire lives need to be structured around weekly church attendance—“never miss a Sunday”.
Love the Institution
Our times call for strong institutions, and the pastor must be passionate about stewarding and building on the legacy of those who came before; he must see fundraising and real estate and good governance, etc., as vital to his ministry. Why? Because strong institutions will build strong people.
After 12 Years, I'll Be Leaving Munger This Summer
Dear Friends,
After 12 years, I will be leaving Munger this summer; my last Sunday will be Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022.
As of July 1, I will become the senior pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I know this news hits you out of nowhere, so here’s what I want you to know: My wife Elaine and I feel as if the Lord is asking us to leave Munger and our home here in Texas and go to Asbury and Oklahoma. And we believe that this move is the faithful next step God is asking us to take, as difficult as it may be.
You have loved us extravagantly for 12 years, and we’ve been extravagantly happy at Munger! I preached this past Sunday about letting go of clarity and choosing trust, and that sermon came out of my own struggles to let go of the people and the place we love so much. But, I know that God has good things for all of us—we just need to trust.
Asbury is an amazing church, and even with my limited perspective I can see that my gifts and Asbury’s gifts have the potential to make a great partnership. God is good, and I am excited and grateful that the Lord has plans to use me in a new city.
I am also grateful that Highland Park United Methodist Church had the vision to start a new campus in an old church building in East Dallas and that I was invited to be a part of that plan. The people of HPUMC gave sacrificially to make that vision happen, and I’ve personally seen the gospel change lives at Munger as a result. I will never stop being grateful for that vision and generosity.
Yet our family is grieving like crazy because we love you so much; and precisely because we love you so much, we know we must be faithful to what we believe the Lord is asking us to do—anything less would be a betrayal of the love and trust you have in us.
As far as who will be the next pastor at Munger, let me briefly sketch how our system works: Munger is a campus of Highland Park UMC, and I am an associate pastor “appointed” to Highland Park United Methodist Church, and so it will be up to the Rev. Paul Rasmussen, senior minister at Highland Park UMC, and Bishop Mike McKee of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church to determine whom to send to Munger. Be praying for Paul and the Bishop.
We’ll have the next four months to grieve and give thanks together, and then we’ll be parted for a little while until we’re all reunited together forever.
We have work to do, and each day we get is a gift from God.
“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” [Romans 14:8]
Can’t wait to see you Sunday.
Your friend,
Andrew
Why I Will Never Again Cancel Worship* (for Weather or Otherwise)
The picture above is from Ash Wednesday 2021 at Munger Place Church; not only did we have worship outside in ice and snow that day, but the Texas power outage meant that many of us weren’t even able to go home and warm up in our comfortable houses!
But you know what? That was one of my favorite worship services of these last 2 pandemic years. (And not because I preached in ski goggles.)
With ice and snow in our forecast, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of Christian worship, and thought that some of you might be interested in my conclusions and convictions.
Why I Never Again Want to Cancel Worship*
One of my convictions after living through these last 24 months of a worldwide pandemic:
I will never again cancel weekly worship* (due to bad weather or any other reason).
[Note the asterisk, however!]
These last 24 months have convinced me that nothing is more important than the gathering of God’s people to worship the Crucified Lord.
I really mean that, and though I might have said that in February 2020, in February 2022 I know it.
This means that, despite the bad weather in the forecast for Thursday, we will NOT cancel our weekly Thursday 6 PM worship service this week. (And, God forbid, if weather causes problems into Sunday, we won’t cancel services then, either.)
Now, About That Asterisk*
When I say that I never want to cancel “worship,” I need to clarify a bit.
What I mean is, no matter the situation, I firmly believe we should never completely cancel worship; we will have some kind of worship gathering. But, that does not necessarily mean that worship will look like normal. In fact, there are many circumstances that will cause us to change what worship normally looks like.
Here’s what I mean:
Say the roads are unsafe for drivers. Well, I live within walking distance to church; if the roads are bad, I’ll put on my boots and walk. I’ll be at church no matter what.
We’ve told our staff to stay home if they feel unsafe or uncertain for any reason. I trust them and trust them to make wise decisions for themselves. The same goes for our musicians and volunteers, and of course for our childcare workers. (In bad weather, we will certainly cancel childcare.)
But if none of our staff or volunteers is able to make it, guess what? I’ll grab a hymnal and lead the congregation present in singing “Amazing Grace”!
If the power goes out, then I’ll gather folks in the icy parking lot and we’ll have a worship service under the cold sky.
The point: I will personally ensure we will have worship somehow, no matter what.
Note That I Said I Never Want to Cancel “Worship”
I said we will never cancel “worship.” There are many scenarios (bad weather being only one example) when we would certainly cancel groups, classes, events, meetings, etc. And, although tonight I’m thinking primarily about weather, my experience during this pandemic has taught me that it is possible to make weekly worship happen even in difficult and dangerous circumstances. For example, because of the pandemic, at Munger we met outside all winter long last year. When you are committed and creative enough, weekly worship is possible. It wasn’t the easiest—and Lord knows that there are lots of folks who have strongly disagreed with my leadership during this pandemic!—but I’m so glad we worked hard to make it happen.
Why This Matters So Much to Me
I think about the saints, martyrs, and apostles who treasured the gospel and literally gave up their lives to ensure that I would hear it, and I think about that gospel and the amazing message it contains—hope beyond hope, life beyond death—and then I think about my short life and the beautiful responsibility that I have received from the ones who’ve gone before, namely to steward the gospel and ensure that a people yet unborn will hear the Good News, and I think about the underground church in China today, and the literal underground church of the Romans catacombs 2,000 years ago, and the relentless pressure we all face to lose hope and give in to despair, and about how worship is fundamental to our belief that God’s love is stronger than the forces of death, and so I conclude:
Nothing is more important than the gathering of God’s people in joyful, grateful worship around the Crucified Lord.
Nothing.
Make the Best Decisions for Your Household
Many of us can walk to church; many of us cannot. I personally can walk to church, and I’m gonna, come hell or ice water. But as I said above, we’ve encouraged our staff not to come to church if for any reason they feel it’s unsafe to do so. And, I’d say the same to you:
You should NOT come to church if it’s unsafe for you to do so—I trust you to make your own prudential decision about whether you should come or not.
There’s always another Sunday, and if I don’t see you, please know I will not even think twice about it—I’ll know that you’ve made the best decision for your household.
(And by the way, there are lots of churches that don’t have walkable streets around them, and I’m also trusting that those churches—should they make decisions to cancel worship—are also making the best decisions for them. This is about me and my circumstances, not others and their circumstances.)
No Storms Last Forever
I know that my kids—and me!—are hoping for a nice snowfall.
(As long as we don’t lose power! Please God, let us not lose power!)
I’m also hoping that all of you stay safe, and I look forward to seeing all of you at church when both this storm and the pandemic blow over.
Nothing lasts forever, and spring always arrives, right on time.
P.S. Pics From Ash Wednesday 2021
Note the orange ladder on which I am perched as I preach my Ash Wednesday message in the freezing cold.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return;
Repent, and believe the gospel.
My Daughter and Me at Dawn
Every weekday morning I or a member of our Munger staff leads online community prayer. I enjoy leading it from White Rock Lake whenever possible, and recently my little daughter has started to accompany me.
Yesterday morning was a lovely morning at the lake. We arrived just as the dawn was breaking and enjoyed leading everyone through our brief morning liturgy and taking prayer requests. At the end of morning prayer, we always close by reciting The Lord’s Prayer. My daughter has been working on it with me, and this is how we ended our time together yesterday.
What I like about the video above is how we are looking at each other as we’re reciting it. I’m focused on her, and she’s focused on me.
It struck me later that this is what being a father is all about. Lord knows I fail at this most of the time, but I want to be this kind of father, patiently pouring into his children what he knows about the world so that they can grow up to become big and strong and wise.
Fathers, God has already given us all that our children need from us. More than anything, they need our quiet attention and to benefit from whatever little we possess that’s good, true, and wise. If we give them that—no matter how inadequate or insignificant—we’ll be giving them all that we can.
And that will be enough.
The Most Important Least Important Things
Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool Football Club in England, said last year that [sports are] “the most important of the least important things.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about that statement these days. I doubt I’m the only one who finds himself just bone weary of the constant culture war arguments to which all things are currently reduced by the algorithms and editors that we allow to control us these days. The sense that EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT AND AN OUTRAGE AND YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO IT AND MUST HAVE THE (CORRECT) OPINION ABOUT IT AND IF YOU DO NOT YOU ARE THE PROBLEM just wears a man down. It was there in the early Obama years, but I felt it increase during the second Obama administration (no doubt rising in direct proportion to the spread of the smartphone) until it reached a rolling boil during the Trump administration until (and I wouldn’t have believed it possible) it has become like a pressure cooker during this pandemic.
As I’ve been preaching recently, however, I’m out. I’ve over it. I’m taking back my attention and my heart and my focus from the howling voices that demand I respond to them. It’s not that the issues we’re fighting about don’t matter, it’s that I no longer want to cede my attention to the control of the howling voices. I want to decide when to react, when to be outraged, when to be obsessed.
And so I’ve been thinking recently about where I direct my attention on my own terms.
I’ve been thinking, therefore, about “the most important least important things”.
Thank God for the NBA
I think our obsession with sports can be unhealthy and idolatrous, and yet these days I’ve come to really appreciate the arguments and petty obsessions that are part of being a sports fan.
I’ll go further:
Thank you God for the NBA!
Yes, sports won’t stop the plague, they won’t cure cancer, they won’t get the right person elected, they won’t fix our city streets.
But you know what they do accomplish? They offer us a safe place to be obsessive, a safe place to have heated arguments when nothing is at stake, a place to channel the passion and intensity that come along with human nature.
Stephen A. Cuts My Hair
The place where I go for a haircut has sports channels blaring all day long, and most of that time they aren’t showing live sports, but rather what “30 Rock” called “sports shouting” shows—the ones where they just yell and argue (look up Stephen A. Smith on YouTube for a million examples). All those shows used to annoy me.
(See 30 Rock’s version of “Sports Shouting” 3:23-3:31 in the above clip. Such a funny sitcom—I miss it.)
Nowadays, I Much Prefer “Sports Shouting” and “Cookiejar Enthusiast”, Thank You Very Much
Nowadays, however, I think I’m grateful for the pointless arguments and petty obsessions that make up shows like “Sports Shouting”. Long may they continue. In fact, I think one of the purposes of civilization is to permit men and women to devote their energies to “unimportant” things like sports and all the other most important least important things we care about, like dog shows and garage bands and dollhouse-collecting and bridge tournaments and arguments over which scope on which hunting rifle firing which type of ammunition would be best to take down an elk at 400 yards in high elevation.
I’ve called the examples above “unimportant”, but that’s not really accurate, is it? Those examples are not unimportant because they are things that we care about and for which we use our God-given creativities. Yes, the examples above might not all be life-and-death and they may not speak to the immigration crisis at the border or how to pass the infrastructure bill or how to cure cancer, but I actually think the point of life is to not have to constantly think about the point of life.
It seems to me that one of the characteristics of a healthy, prosperous civilization is that men and women have the energy to direct at “unimportant” things, rather than worrying about how to make it through the next winter. In light of starvation, a sonnet seems frivolous, but I’m wondering if frivolity—in the highest sense—is one of the purposes of Creation.
After all, Jesus told us to consider the lilies, and what could be less relevant to our current crises than that?
Some Of My Most Important Least Important Things
Above is a screenshot of the front-page of today’s Sports section from The Dallas Morning News, which I look at most days. (I’m old-fashioned and get both the paper delivered and use the e-paper app, which I love.) I like reading about the Cowboys, I like talking to other people about the Cowboys, and I like listening to local talk radio talk about the Cowboys. None of it matters, but I like thinking about it:
How did everyone else miss on Dak when he came out of Mississippi State?
How did Jerry get two great quarterbacks in a row that no one else thought were good enough?
Is Zeke finally going to justify his huge contract this year? Etc.
I also like reading about and watching English soccer, which my brother and I started following on a low budget highlight show on a local sports channel in about 1993. We’d come home from school and tape it on our VCR. I’ve been an inconsistent fan at times in these last nearly 30 years (thirty years (!)—time moves so quickly), but I’ve been much more attentive these last several years, particularly because of the availability of NBC’s Saturday morning Premier League coverage. I like listening to podcasts—especially Men in Blazers—and following the soap opera of the season.
Can Pep succeed without a true “number 9”?
Does Ole have what it takes?
Does the return of Ronaldo actually make Man United a worse team? Etc.
And though I don’t actually care about the NBA much at all, I’m still grateful for it (even when I find its deliberate embrace of woke politics grating). Sometimes it’s just good for us to care about tall men putting a round ball in a metal ring.
When Most Important and Most Important Least Important Collide
Yesterday, my most important and some of my most important least important loves came together in a lovely way. We went as a family to the last Rangers game of the season—our first time to the new ballpark in Arlington.
A very generous family in church gave us amazing seats—3 rows behind home plate—it was a beautiful Texas Indian summer afternoon under a blue sky, the roof was open—it is a marvel to behold it slide open along its massive rails— and the entire afternoon was a delight.
The Rangers lost 6-0 despite my daughter’s applause for “our team”, and since it’s been a miserable losing season for Texas, nothing hung on the outcome.
Or maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it.
See, I got to sit with my family and focus on something together in the brief time we have before my children are grown and gone, in the brief time before all of this is gone, me included. Maybe the most important least important things are God’s way of pointing us to what’s actually important. See, I’ve come to believe that this may be the purpose behind God’s gift to us of the most important least important things:
They give us an excuse to just sit and be and love.
“Consider the lilies....”
So, what are some of your most important least important things?