faithrunner

On Monday, April 21, I am honored to be entered in the 112th running of the Boston Marathon . This will be my sixth time to run the historic route from Hopkington to Boston with over 20,000 other runners. What is unique about my run is that I did not qualify to run the race, but I am there by the grace of a friend, Billy Allen, and adidas , the official outfitter for the marathon. This is just another example of how I do not deserve this privilege for I am not fast enough to earn a spot, but I get to run the race because of the grace offered me by a friend and the company he represents. Sounds a little like the Good News of Jesus, doesn't it? I will be running with my good friend Greg Sankey , whose family was core to Legacy becoming who we are today and whose friendship has anchored my soul when the seas of ministry are about to sink me. He now lives in AL and works for the SEC . You can follow our progress here , (Put our first and last names in, and that will do it. My first ...

I am the worst at saying "No." I'm a confessed people pleaser, and along with my perceived role as a pastor, saying "no" to others just does not fit my job description. I have learned, however, that when I say yes to whomever randomly asks me something I have automatically said no to someone or something else. The opposite is also true. When I say no to randomly generated requests I can say yes to the more important relationships in my life. Follow? This past week in our series Escape the Blur: Slowing Down to Make Room for God , I talked about the importance of saying "no" in order to make room for God and others . Here's the outline. If you want to hear the message, you can go here . Fatigue rather than rest is the new spiritual discipline . We are blessed to have so many options to say Yes, but without the discipline of NO, we will never find time to rest in the Lord. Saying no aloud is harder for most people than saying, “I’ll be glad to…” To...

On May 3-4 I will do another 150 mile ride in the Dallas version of the MS 150 . This is my second year to do this ride. Last year I had the privilege of riding with seven people from Legacy Church and almost 3,000 others to raise money to eliminate Multiple Sclerosis. We believe this is one of many ways we can serve others in the name of Jesus through things we do every day . Here are some pictures and thoughts from last year’s ride A year ago we had three members who started riding in the spring and today our roster is 40 riders strong, with 15 committed to the MS 150 ride. One of our teammates is a 12 year old girl who wants to ride for her Dad who suffers from MS. So we found her an old road bike, fixed it up like new and we’re training her to be able to ride that bike 150 miles over two days come May 3rd. She’ll do it! We ride every Sunday from Legacy Church at 4:00 p.m. if you want to join us. Not everyone is riding in the MS 150, but there for the fun and fellow...

We began our new series at Legacy last weekend. As I have planned, lived with, wrote the small group guide, and have begun to teach the series, it has had an effect on me. I don't know that I suddenly have more room for God in my life, but I am more aware of my schedule and how I can be more aware of God's presence in all I do. Here are some things I did to slow down and make room for God and others: I finished my last writing assignment last Friday morning, but I kept my 5:30 a.m. start the last two days and filled the time with reading and Scripture . (You'll see the end result in May, and we'll go through it starting in December.) I rode my bike to the office Monday --and back home. It was nice to say Hello to walkers and joggers, and the way I go I have no real fear of unfriendly drivers. (I forgot my computer power cord at home, and had to ride home to get it at lunch. Ended up riding 12 miles on a beautiful day.) I live only 3 miles from the church's campus. ...

I am really excited about our next series at Legacy: Escape the Blur: Slowing Down to Make Room for God . We will examine our schedules and biblical principles to pause in more places along the way to encounter God. We will offer spiritual exercises designed to allow God to infiltrate our busy lives and make the changes that can make us more like Jesus. Check out the blurb for the series. Keep an eye open for the resource site we will launch later this week to provide more ideas for you to slow down and make room for God and others. We had one of our 5th Sundays OneWorship last Sunday. What a celebration. We baptized 7 people and four families dedicated their homes to be training centers for godly and moral character for their children. The worship was awesome, and I concluded our series Blogging Corinth . Looking forward to Sunday already.

Easter Weekend was great this year. Kenyon and the Worship Team did a wonderful job of preparing Good Friday and Easter services that were moving and filled with purpose and meaning. I was fortunate to be part of them. My Easter message, " If it's not true, we're hosed " was from Paul's own words in 1 Corinthians 15:1-34 . Andres' FaithStory told it all. I hope we can make that available to everyone. Legacy Church continues to be healthy and not only attract many people to its message and mission but Legacy continues to see themselves as God's people to help others trust Jesus. This is a very good season for the church these days. It was so good to worship with the Legacy Family on the most hope-filled day of the year! And, all of my family was here for the weekend! Storey (and Cambell Grace to be) and Graham came in Friday night, and Summer was here all week on spring break. It was a blast to be with them. Shopping for the coming grandchild, doing littl...

I have not been here for some time because I have been writing like crazy to meet two deadlines. One is a small group listening guide for Legacy in our next series, Escape the Blur: slowing down to make room for God. I'm hurrying up to slow down! The second deadline is the second installment of the biblical overview for Clarity Press. A little over a year ago Yahweh : Divine Encounters in the Old Testament came out. It was an overview of the Old Testament. I am finishing up the overview of the Gospels called, Christos . I will finish this week. I will write every morning on Jesus' Passion, which coincides with this year's Holy Week. I look forward to some wonderful times encountering my Leader and Rescuer in both word and spirit. Oh, the unexpected things? The first was that 22 people rode with the Legacy Cyclists last Sunday! The group has grown from 3 a year ago to almost 40 in the "roster." Very cool. Many of us are training for the MS 150 in May . (More abo...