For those not in Austin I remind you that the University of Texas Longhorns won a national championship for the first time since 1970 and so the city has gone a little crazy…well, maybe really crazy. As part of the madness, the city and the university put on a victory celebration at Royal Memorial stadium. The entire university area was full of people tailgating and visiting the orange clock tower with the #1 on it.
So, at University Avenue Church of Christ (see the link for pictures) we had a party…and everybody came! We knew that our corner on University Avenue and MLK would be a focal point for many that night who would take pictures of the tower. So, we setup a big screen and played highlights of the game, played the “TEXAS Fight Song” and “The Eyes of Texas”, helped people take pictures of the tower, as well as handed out candy, water, and t-shirts that said “UA loves UT…Hook’em Horns”.
On so many levels, it was a success regardless of how you define success, we witnessed many different manifestations on that wonderful night. We heard comments on how wonderful and nice the people at that “orange church” were to have a party. I looked into the eyes of many who were driving by in the impromptu parade and they had this look of disbelief, then satisfaction as they stared at the “orange church” with the game on. I believe the most important “angle” on how we look at that night is that we as a church recognized how important this national championship celebration was to the UT community and the city of Austin, and that if we are going to become a part of the community, we must learn to celebrate with them and to build bridges so that they know we will be there even when things are not going so well. We must begin to develop authentic realtionships with the community so they know we are there to help meet their needs. When they trust us as friends, then they might begin to trust us when we say that God loves them and wants them to experience a life lived in His Glory. In this way, we are becoming the “hands and feet” of Christ in this city. That is how we may lead others to God by following Christ.
Simple Gestures 