Author Archives for doughankins

Colossians 3:5-17

It’s been a few weeks since we last preached through Paul’s letter to the Colossians.  We will return this Sunday to the chapter 3 verses 5-17 where Paul gives us the program for discipleship and sanctification.

I encourage y’all to be reading through the first 3 chapters to recall and prepare for what The Lord wants to teach us on Sunday.  As you are reading 3:5-17, consider the following questions:

  1. What does “ordring your life around Christ” look like in a practical way?
  2. Is Paul giving us a new Law?
  3. Is there a difference between earning and effort in matters of salvation?
  4. Does Jesus want me to be uncomfortable in life?  Or is His way of comfort different from the natural way of comfort?

I look forward to our time together on Sunday.  I will be leading the worship through preaching and our good friend and Youth intern Drew Humphry will be leading us in worship through singing.

You may want to check out this new song by Chris Tomlin.

And this one by Kristian Stanfill.

Be sure to bring your Bibles.

Blessings,

Doug

We Thank God For Scott Drew, Highland, And The Gospel

On Tuesday evening FoxSports.com National writer Bill Reiter penned an article on Baylor University men’s basketball coach Scott Drew.  The majority of the article takes place in a church worship service in Waco, TX.  Here is a sample:

Then I walked into Highland Baptist Church. And there was Drew, looking young and earnest and happy as he waited for me, and before I knew it he’d spotted me, walked briskly my way and wrapped me in a rather surprising, effusive and awkward hug.

“Welcome brother!” he bellowed.

Drew took me by the arm and led me into a huge church bursting with people, song, praise to God and “Amens!” Near the back, in a pew, sat his wife. She waved and offered a pretty smile and then turned her attention back to the pastor.

One of the pastors was speaking.

“Please share,” his voice intoned through the loud speakers. “But please share for 30 seconds —rather than 15 minutes.”

Sitting next to me, Drew laughed.

People shared. A wife healed of cancer: glory to God in the highest! A woman who got a kidney: praise be! A father finally sober: all praise him! The incantations and sharing went on, true things, real problems, people spilling their secrets and their miracles and their need for a miracle of their own as Drew clapped and nodded and murmured “Amen” with every shared moment of faith.

I sat there, my own hands clasped together, both moved by the moment and reminded again that in matters of the divine no one really knows, not what’s out there and not what any one person has in their heart, Scott Drew included. Faith, indeed.

We started to sing, and as Drew lent his voice to praising God the thought of . . . church stuck with me.

What seemed certain to me in the church with him as he looked at the cross and let himself go in his singing was the fact that maybe it was just about faith. About his belief that folks can be saved, and that even strippers are worth celebrating when such things happen.

The singing went on. Drew seemed to tear up. He clasped his wife’s hand. And I thought: I know a lot of college basketball coaches. They’re smug, charming, ambitious, often kind, sometimes not — but they all exist in a world in which they must recruit starry-eyed teenagers away from home in order to justify their million-dollar contracts and programs. And most of them, despite the filth inherent to the NCAA system as it is constituted, are pretty good guys.

I looked over, and Drew was singing along with the words as they flashed big and bold on screens up front. It was a message of faith. It could have been a mantra for anyone wholly misunderstood.

… Let the poor say I am rich …

… Let the blind say I can see …

… It’s what the Lord has done to me …

Bill Reiter might be a Christian, but he might not be one.  Either way, Bill just talked openly about the faithful Gospel good works of our community of believers at Highland.  And he rightly gave glory to God because of our testimony.

The Apostle Paul once maid the observation about a church fellowship in Colossae whose Gospel good works were bearing fruit all over the world.  He said:

[3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, [4] since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, [5] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, [6] which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
(Colossians 1:3-6 ESV)

Way to go Highland.  And way to go God.

By HIM and through HIM and for HIM be the glory.

Amen.

The Easter Opportunity

64%.

That is how many Americans will attend church on Easter Sunday.  If you do the math, that makes for 199,418,826 Americans.  If statistics hold true, that means that 79,875 Wacoans are looking to attend church this Easter Sunday.

82%.

That is how many unchurched people would attend church with YOU if YOU invite them.  Think about your neighborhood.  Now estimate the number of unchurched in your neighborhood.  Now imagine what it would be like if 82% of those people attended church with you. You would need to rent a bus.  Those 82% have names and stories.  And if they are unchurched, their names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life.  And their stories do not have God as the main character.  And their lives are less than satisfying.

Easter Sunday could change all of that.

We want to partner with y’all for Easter Sunday.  We will agree to preach the Gospel in a relevant and meaningful way on Easter Sunday.  We are asking y’all to bring your friends and neighbors to church with you.

We have two opportunities.

  • At 9am, you will finish by 10:00 and have an opportunity to make it to the restaurants before anyone else.  Also the coffee will be warmer.
  • The 10:30 will be packed as usual.
Would you consider investing in a neighbor and inviting them to church with you that morning?
  • It may mean that you pick them up and bring them home.
  • It may mean that you have them follow you.
  • It may mean that you host them through the church process.
  • It may mean that you take them to lunch afterwards to ask what they thought about it.
We are going to work with you by making sure that our greeters, coffee, and childcare are equipped to handle the masses.  We are canceling adult Sunday School that morning to give you more opportunities to serve and invite.
We need you to step up and invite.
The resurrection is true.  But your unchurched neighbors and friends and family have not experienced the all-satisfying life in Christ.  We will preach it on Easter.  Bring a friend.

Lunch Links: Mens Retreat, Quotes, and Pastor Ronny

Highland Family,

We currently have 30 men signed up for the Mens Retreat. That means 30 of our men are about to enjoy some man time in a Cabin around food, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship.

If you are male, 18 or older, and reading this and wishing that you could come be part of the retreat, THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER.

You may register in one of three ways:

  • Contact Susan Mathis at 254-754-0335.
  • Click here to register online.
  • Register at the Info Booth on Sunday.

———————————-
Pastor Mark made two significant statements on Sunday when he preached through 1 Cor. 1:21-29 (For the whole sermon, click here.).

1. Suffering means walking through something, even when you don’t know the outcome, because you know Him who walks with you.

2. The mystery of the Gospel is not you in Christ, it is Christ in you.

———————————

Pastor Ronny is preaching this Sunday on Colossians 2:1-15. You should read up and get ready for another great sermon in our Colossians series.

Lunch Links: Colossians Sermon Series

Highland Family,

Here are a couple of quick lunchtime links and fleeting thoughts I had that did not make it into the Colossians sermon series the past few weeks:

A. Dr. Walter Bradley, one of our wonderful elders, told me about this great quote from Sir Isaac Newton, the Father of Modern Science, and the inventor of calculus:

“This most beautiful system [The Universe] could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.”

Newton says that he has no explanation for why mass attracts mass (the law of gravitational force) except that given in Col. 1:17, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  Brilliant.

B. If you thought Colossians 1:15-20 was heavy with theology, check out Colossians 21-29 (Pastor Mark will cover it this coming Sunday).  Pastor Mark will tell us why this passage is a lot like a detective movie…

C. I was looking for a church who has made the Christ Hymn in 1:15-20 into a contemporary worship song.  I found this offering by Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY.  Warning: It is weird sounding.

D. I was looking for the worship songs with the best theology and came across this article on a website named theomag.  The article also lists the top-ten worst theologically oriented songs.  Here is a sample of the top-ten best theological songs:

10. Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Herber)

Oldy, but a goody. This song is scriptural (literally) and highlights the omnipotence and kingship of Christ. There is no trace of a man-centered gospel.

9. I Give You Glory (Klaus Keuhn)
What constitutes worship better than, “I give you glory, Jesus”?

8. Great is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas Chrisholm)
There’s probably not much need for explanation here. A beautiful song; describes the deity of God as well as his omni-benevolence. Yummy yummy in my theological tummy.

7. Rooftops (Jon Egan and Packiam Glenn Previn, made popular by JesusCulture)
This song describes an incredible anthem of dedication in service to God. It elevates God to His rightful place as Lord of our lives (“So I shout out your name, from the rooftops I proclaim, that I am yours. All that I am, I place into your loving hands…”). It is an absolutely wonderful proclamation of allegiance.

6. I Exalt Thee (Pete Sanchez, Jr.)
The poetic diction used throughout this song has always astounded me. Recently, JesusCulture, the group who has taken the worship music keys away from Hillsong United (and the Angels rejoice), has remixed this song, perking the ears of young hipster whippersnappers everywhere. Normally, I’m not a fan of 1611 english, but “For Thou alone art high above all the earth. Thou art exalted far above all gods” can’t be ignored as a beautiful verbal picture painted by author Pete Sanchez, Jr.

5. Glorious (JesusCulture)
Once again, a song which sings of who God is and much less about who we are and what God’s abilities can do for us.

4. Holy (Matt Gilman)
Not only are the lyrics to this song absolutely incredible (and scriptural) but the music is of such a nature that it is ingeniously put together for worship in a private or corporate setting. Bravo, Matt Gilman. Normally, I’m not much of a fan of the theology that goes into making a lot of IHOP-er songs (or lack of theology, rather), but Gilman is a stud when it comes to “Holy”.

3. Revelation Song (Jennie Lee Riddle, made popular by Kari Jobe)
A friend of mine and I often wonder if many of the songs Kari Jobe sings aren’t her singing to her future husband rather than God, but obviously the Revelation Song isn’t one of them. Some have called this the “‘Shout to the Lord’ of the new century” and I would agree, for two reasons: it’s beautifully written and timeless, and it runs the risk of being played to death now that it has reached mainstream attention.

2. Great I Am (Jared Anderson)
I encourage you to google the words to this song. No, better yet, YouTube it and listen to it. Anderson begins the song with a personal expression of desire to be close to God followed by some good ol’ fashioned B-I-B-L-E in the chorus chopped up and served on a beautifully arranged platter of musical poetry. The bridge however, is a spiritual defibrillator, “the mountains shake before you, the demons run and flee, at the mention of your name, King of Majesty. There is no power in hell or any who can stand before the power and the presence of the Great I Am.”

1. Death in His Grave (John Mark McMillan)
This song isn’t normally credited as being a worship song, but if you take the opportunity to read the lyrics or buy the song (I recommend the whole stinkin’ album) then you will see why I listed this in the top ten best worship songs. The reason I believe it deserves the number one slot is because the poetic expression which McMillan uses in the crafting of this song is nothing short of brilliant. The imagery is without question top notch in modern Christendom–yes, I just said that. This song depicts exactly what the Christ story is all about; Christ’s death and triumphant resurrection and victory over death and sin. I can’t say enough good about this song so I’m going to stop here and let you listen to the song and revel in it’s awesomeness for yourself.

Georgia Coach Pays His Staff From His Own Pocket

ESPN.COM’s DAWGNATION blog has reported that the University of Georgia and its football coach Mark Richt have been disciplined by the NCAA for violating NCAA rules for–get this–paying his coaching staff out of his own pocket.

Coach Richt received news that 10 members of his staff would not receive 2010 bowl bonuses due to the university being effected “difficult economic conditions.”  In response, Coach Richt made the dubious decision to honor his staff by writing checks in the amount of $10,842, $10,000, $6,150, $15,227, and $15,337.50 to five of his coaches.  He also stepped out of NCAA bounds by paying $6,000 to a fired coach who needed money to get by between gigs.  The other four check totals were not disclosed. As of 2009, Coach Richt was reported to be making $3.096 million per year.

While some college athletic scandals give warrant to the call for more stringent policing (See Ohio State, Penn State, Syracuse, USC), other scandals cause observers to shake their heads in confusion of the violation at hand (See Baylor, Georgia).

I understand that Coach Richt’s actions violate some rule in the NCAA handbook (Georgia admitted that Richt cleared the actions through the proper leadership channels), but his crime seems to be nothing more than a leader taking care of his staff in the midst of a down economy.  Richt makes $3 million a year and paid somewhere between $62,000 and $100,000 in bonuses to his team members.   For those doing the math, that is somewhere between 6% and 10% of his yearly salary–the equivalent of what Richt puts in the offering plate on Sundays.

Coach Richt is certainly guilty of breaking NCAA guidelines (although it should be noted that he cleared his intentions with the University of Georgia before writing the checks).  But Coach Richt is also guilty of good leadership and maintaining a semblance of honor and respectability.  This is likely the reason that the NCAA gave him the equivalent of a light slap on the hand, which if you think about it was probably palm-to-palm in the form of a High Five.

In The USA We Build SOME Things to Last

My twitter feed yesterday provided an interesting social commentary on values in 21st century America.  The first thing I read was a post about the terrible tornado activity in the southeastern US. Apparently, folks in Alabama built a college football stadium that was sturdy enough to withstand the tornados, and were thankful for the near miss.

The next tweet asked the question, “What’d you do with your wedding dress post-split?” The author laments the hard feelings of the past failed relationship and is also quite hopeful of his current relationship.  Nonetheless, he is honest about his concern that there is never any certainty as to whether his romantic relationships will go the distance.

As I read both of these posts I observed that it could be argued that in the US we build some things to last, like football stadiums. Other things, like marriages, we do not appear to be as intentional about construction and planning ahead.

Great Commentary On Discipline and Parenting

LZ Granderson, ESPN and CNN Columnist, wrote a great piece about parenting entitled, Parents, don’t dress your girls like tramps.

Granderson, who moonlights as an ESPN columnist, summarizes his perspective in the following sentance:

The way I see it, my son can go to therapy later if my strict rules have scarred him. But I have peace knowing he’ll be able to afford therapy as an adult because I didn’t allow him to wear or do whatever he wanted as a kid.

Dawson Trotman on Discipleship

All over the world, men and women are reaching their neighbors for Christ. They are not ‘Super-Christians,’ but simply those who have believed the Gospel, learned how to feed themselves on the Word of God, and been encouraged to pass it on to someone else. Some of us have gotten no further than “Jerusalem” with our witness (Acts 1:8). Some have not even witnessed at home. May God help us feed our own soul daily with the Word, live it before others as we speak it with the authority of God’s messengers…and then train our “babes” in Christ to follow Him!

Dawson Trotman, The Navigators Log, Log 76—April 1959, Be a “Normal” Christian