More Facts: In Oklahoma since 1968, 24 churches have been chartered and 3 more are in the process of being planted.  So, less than 1 a year.  The population in Oklahoma in 1970 was 2,559,463, while the population in Oklahoma in 2010 is 3,751,351.  So for the 1.2 million new people in Oklahoma, we have 27 new United Methodist churches[1] for them.[2] These 22 charted churches (2 have since folded) include 7 of the 25 largest churches in the conference and represent an average worship attendance of 6300.  Even the great success of our new church starts has not created a UM church planting movement in Oklahoma.

Church planting should not just be to places that have received population growth (though that is incredibly important and more on that later), but it should be about going to where unchurched people are and being a church for them.  In my church setting, a church that averages about 100 located between 2 bedroom communities of Fort Smith, there are about 8000 people in a five mile radius, about 2000 of them are currently unchurched and about 1000 of those people identify themselves as Methodists. Is our church reaching these people?  Yes, we are a growing church, and I believe we have a lot to offer them, but I look at a non-denominatonal church plant in one of the communities that is 3 years old and averages well over 300 people, and I wonder could a Methodist church plant have reached them as well?  Since 1968 in Oklahoma, the Ardmore, Lawton, McAlester, Muskogee, and Stillwater districts have not had a new church successfully charter and continue existing.  The Bartlesville, Clinton, Enid, Lawton, and Woodward districts have each had 1 church successfully charter.  9 of our 12 districts have basically been non-existent in planting churches in the last 43 years![3]  Only the Tulsa District and the North and South Oklahoma City districts have planted multiple churches since 1968.

There are many towns in Oklahoma that are growing significantly.  Here is the list of Oklahoma communities with more than 3000 people who have grown 20% or more since 2000 and the respective increase of the worship attendance at the United Methodist Church in their community[4] in that time.[5]

• Blanchard 172.4% town growth, 25% church increase
• Jenks 77.1% town growth, -46% church decrease
• Piedmont UMC 56.8% town growth, 57.38% church increase
• Bixby 56.6% town growth, 3% church decrease
• Owasso 56.3% town growth, 27.49% church increase
• Hinton 46.9% town growth, -50% church decrease
• Mannford 46.8% town growth, -46% church decrease
• Newcastle 41.4% town growth, -11.3% decrease
• Tuttle 40.2% town growth, -12% church decrease
• Coweta 39.3% town growth, -34% church decrease
• Hominy 38.0% town growth, -32% church decrease
• Collinsville 27.5% town growth, 12.75% church increase
• Skiatook 37.1% town growth, 8.33% church increase
• Moore 33.9% town growth, 9% church increase
• Glenpool 33.1% town growth, no Methodist Church,
• Mustang 32.2% town growth, 5% church increase
• Broken Arrow 32% town growth 15% church increase
• Catoosa 31.2% town growth 30% church increase

I am not trying to be critical of any particular church or pastor.[6]  Only trying to show that even in our fast growing communities, our United Methodist churches are for the most part not keeping up with the growth in our communities.  Can churches do better to meet the needs of their growing communities? Sure they can.  However, our connectional nature should help us see that each particular church is not called to reach every person or people group in a community. And if the existing church is not willing to do what is needed to reach the new people in their community, then they should partner with the Conference to help plant a church in their own community.

At the risk of boring you with more facts, here is another list I have compiled.  These are the cities in Oklahoma with over 15,000 people and the number of Methodist churches for the people in the communities and the people per church number to help identify what communities could use a new United Methodist Church.[7]

• Oklahoma City-38 churches for 579,999 people= 1 church for 15,263 people
• Tulsa- 28 churches for 391,906=  1 church for every 13,996 people
• Norman-4 churches for 110,925= 1 church for every 27,732 people
• Broken Arrow 4 churches for 98,850= 1 church for every24,712 people
• Lawton-8 churches for 96,867= 1 church for every 12,108 people
• Edmond-6 churches for 81,405= 1 church for every 13,567 people
• Moore-3 churches for 55,081= 1 church for every 18,360 people
• Midwest City-3 churches for 54,371= 1 church for every 18123 people
• Enid-6 churches for 49,379= 1 church for every 8229 people
• Stillwater-3 churches for 45,688= 1 church for every 15,229 people
• Muskogee- 6 churches for 39,223= 1 church for every 6537 people
• Bartlesville- 4 churches for 35,750= 1 church for every 8937 people
• Shawnee- 5 churches for 29,857= 1 church for every 5871 people
• Owasso-1 church for 28,915
• Ponca City-4 churches for 25,387= 1 church for every 6346 people
• Ardmore-3 churches for 24,283= 1 church for every 8094 people
• Duncan-4 churches for 23,432= 1 church for every 5858 people
• Yukon- 2 churches for 22,709= 1 church for every 11354 people
• Del City-2 churches for 21,332= 1 church for every 10,666 people
• Bixby-1 church for 20,884
• Sapulpa-1 church for 20,544
• Altus-3 churches for 19,051= 1 church for every 6350 people
• Bethany-1 church for 19,051
• Sand Springs-1 church for 18,906
• Claremore-1 church for 18,581
• McAlester-2 churches for 18,383= 1 church for every 9191 people
• Mustang-1 church for 17,395
• Jenks-1 church for 16,924
• Ada-2 churches for 16,810= 1 church for every 8405 people
• El Reno-2 churches for 16,749= 1 church for every 8374 people
• Chickasha-1 church for 16,036
• Durant-1 church for 15,856
• Tahlequah-1 church for 15,753

Just by looking at this list, I see many, many places where the Methodist church could go to where the people are especially Norman, Broken Arrow, Moore[8], Midwest City, Owasso[9], Bixby, and Sapulpa whose Methodist churches have just 1 church for over 20,000 people.  In addition, these are the largest communities with no United Methodist Church: Glenpool 10,808, Slaughterville 4137, and Park Hill 3909.  So, there are 10 possible places where churches could be planted, but there are more.

What do I recommend? One, every D.S. should identify two potential communities in their district that could be best served by a new church start. Currently, we have the funding to plant one church a year in the conference that should be increased to at least two churches a year. We need to continue to identify potential church planters and train them to plant churches. In communities where we are not quite ready to plant a new church, congregations should look at starting a worship service that will reach a different demographic than what they are currently reaching. Most importantly, existing churches need to not fear the competition of a new church in their community, but instead embrace the enhancement of the Kingdom of God through new churches.

As previously mentioned, The Office is one of my favorite shows, and the main reason why is the characters. I have an emotional attachment to Michael (sad that he left the show), Jim, Pam, Kevin, Creed, and even Dwight. This attachment also lets me more fully enjoy the dialogue and interactions between characters. “Bears, beets, battlestar galactic” is not a funny line on paper. But say that line to a fan of The Office, and we cannot help but laugh out loud as we think about the peculiarness of Dwight, the humor of Jim, and the relationship between the two of them. In much the same way, all of us have probably used this line, “I guess you probably had to be there.” Jokes have the potentially to be funnier when the relationship is deeper.

Similarly, a word of truth can be powerful, “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.” That is a powerful testimony about God’s steadfast love. However, this song takes a more profound turn when you learn that the song’s writer Horatio Spafford wrote those lines on a boat crossing the Atlantic on the way to meet his grieving wife who survived a terrible boat crash that claimed the life of their four daughters. Because we know this story, we feel those words even more.

Take a high school football game. How much better is it to watch this amateur event when you know someone on the field? It’s more entertaining. You are more emotionally involved (maybe too much, but that’s another story). You are more impacted by what happens to that person. We care more when we have a sense of connection to what is happening in front of us. Preachers must take this to heart. We cannot become merely spouts of the Word of God, but we must be instruments through which people can more wonderfully hear God’s song of grace in the Word. Doing that requires us being a character in our own sermons. One famous definition of preaching is this, “Truth revealed through personality.” One of the great gifts of being a preacher is using your personality to communicate God’s Word! God has called and chosen me: the sports loving, new Daddy, bacon-loving me to communicate His word. God does not ask us to be someone we are not, instead the best preaching is done when we are fully our God-created-selves in the pulpit.

The preacher as character does not mean that we are someone that we are not, but instead demands that we are more fully ourselves, and we become self-revelatory in our sermons. Again, people care more, listen better, and respond more urgently when they are connected to the preacher even if that is through relatively light-hearted ways. Because I have expressed my love for bacon on multiple occasions on Sunday morning, not only are my bacon jokes funnier to the congregation, but also they have a better understanding of who I am, and so currently in my wall of my office I have bacon floss hanging up. Let me be clear, we need to be purposeful about our self-revelations. Just because I like the 49ers does not mean every sermon has to include an ode to Jerry Rice. Or that I should become overly transparent, but hopefully if you asked my congregation to tell me some things Aaron like they would be able to give you multiple things that I have purposely revealed to them including some of my stumbles.

Let me sum it up in this way. The preacher as character is self-chosen personal revelations that give people insight into the pastor as a human being. They help with the content of a sermon by providing opportunities for humor or illustration that build on previous revelations. While this can be easily overdone, when done in the right amount people have a greater understanding of who you a, and thus they care more about you and ultimately, and most importantly, what God has given you to say to them.

As Christians, it is right to ask about what we should feel when our enemies have been conquered and killed.  Here are a few things I know about Osama Bin Laden.  He was created by the same God that created you and me.  God loves him. He is a sinner, who needs atonement for his sins.  God’s grace is greater than all his many, many sins.  If he truly and earnestly sought forgiveness, he would have received it.  Now, I have absolutely no reason to believe that Bin Laden did seek forgiveness, but I believe Jesus died for him as well as me.

The question that became apparent on Facebook last night was this, should a Christian rejoice in the death of an evil man?  Jesus said plainly in the Sermon on the Mount, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:44-48.  And because of that I must confess that I did not pray for Bin Laden, our enemy.  And because of this I do not think that we should rejoice in the death of a man, no matter how awful he was.

At the same time, we must rejoice in the defeat of evil.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a preacher, opposed the Nazi regime, participated in an assassination plot against Hitler, and was killed for that participation.  He made the decision to participate in the assassination plot because he lived Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.”  In order to do the most good for all people, than Hitler needed to be killed.  In the same manner, Bin Laden needed to be stopped, and because he would not turn himself in, his death was the best choice for stopping that evil.  Like us all, he will experience final judgment not from men, but from the Almighty God who though He loves Bin Laden, hates his sin.  As Christians, we believe that those who have not reached out to God and confessed their sin and righted their relationship with God, have chosen Hell and will be separated from the loving God.

This month we are talking about forgiveness on Sunday mornings, and that includes us forgiving Osama Bin Laden.  This Sunday, May 8^th, I will be addressing how we can forgive this man whose sins are many, and how we can forgive each other for the sins we have committed.  I pray that you would join us, and I hope that each of us spend some additional time in prayer this week praying for our military, our government, and especially our enemies. Because our only hope for true peace is through Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the World.

Make no mistake that greed is driving the conversation on both sides of the table, and both sides have fault.  I’m not an expert on the issues and there are plenty of places and people who you can read who will detail the situation.  The biggest breakdown came not in the issue of player safety, health benefits, the 18-game season, or the rookie wage-scale.  The issue was financial statements.  Seriously, financial statements.  Greed at its worst.

As often is the case, the owners and players are too wrapped up in their own issues that they fail to see the full consequences of their actions.  And of course there are plenty.  The New York Jets have placed mandatory unpaid one-week-a-month vacation for their 158 employees. Imagine losing 1/4 of your income for some unknown amount of time.  Other teams have cut jobs or reduced salaries for their employees because of the lockout.

If any games are lost, the job loss would be tremendous.  There are about 3800 people who work at each game. That’s 3800 people, some who have others jobs, some who are employed full-time, and some who may just do this for fun who will be sitting at their homes on Sunday afternoon without even football to comfort them.  This figure does not include the hotel employees, the servers at restaurants, or the people who park cars around the stadium.  Of course, these are not just 3800 people, but these are moms paying their kids medical bills, college students paying for classes, and dads paying off a mortgage.  These are people who may not be able to understand the financial statement of an NFL team, but they understand that the money they see spent at one NFL games is more than they will ever spend in their lifetime.

So, I don’t feel sorry for the players.  I don’t feel sorry for the owners.  No, I feel awful for the hot dog vendor, the lady at the ticket booth, and the server across the street, whose money that should go in their pocket will instead go into the hand of the lawyers who know that the longer this lockout goes: the more money they make.

We are trying to conserve our green and be green in this tight economy, so we thought we would do a Christmas Card Blog.  Hope you enjoy, and please pass the link along!

It has been quite a year for the Tigers!  We had a bittersweet departure from Kentucky this May.  Aaron graduated with his Masters of Divinity from Asbury Seminary and our 3 year adventure was over.  We loved our time in the Bluegrass state and made some amazing and very dear friends, whom we miss like crazy!  Micah’s very first friends, Connor and Eben, are often a topic in the house.  We don’t know what we would do without Facebook and Skype, which we need to use more often!  Our homecoming to Oklahoma was wonderful!  We missed our friends and family and are so grateful to be near them again.  The grandparents are especially happy to have Micah in Oklahoma!

Aaron was appointed to the communities of Roland and Muldrow and is the Senior Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church.  We are enjoying our new church family immensely and learning the ins and outs of being a clergy family.  We have been blessed with a nice parsonage and are still in the process of making it our own.  Aaron is truly living out his calling and has quickly stepped in to his new role and is loving every minute of it!  The church is exploring who God is calling Trinity to be and celebrating all the good we currently do.  Since we have been there, 21 people have become new members, and average attendance has risen from around 70 to almost 100!  God is good and we are looking forward to all He has in store!

The transition to a new town and journey has been a little more difficult for me, but I am listening for God’s voice and looking for His guidance.  I have made a few new friends, but know that is always a process!  I am still lucky enough to stay home with Micah and enjoy watching him explore new things every day.  I have been looking for a job, but have not had much success yet!  I have substituted once for 7th graders at Muldrow Middle School, and had a few silly boys growl at me when I introduced myself as Mrs. Tiger.  Boys will be boys!  I am also considering applying to the Masters program for Creative Writing at Oklahoma City University, our Alma Mater.  We’ll see what the New Year brings!

Micah is growing, growing, growing.  We adore him so much and he is a constant source of joy, laughter, and love.  Sometimes he exhibits his stubborn streak and asserts his developing independence.  We won’t tell who he gets that from!  Micah started walking at the end of nine months and hasn’t slowed down since.  He is running these days, even if he still has some balance issues!  We celebrated his 1st birthday October 5th.  He was a blessed little boy who got two parties; one at Trinity with his own little cake, and his monkey-themed party at Owasso FUMC.  He played in their Pumpkin Patch, had lots of presents, and enjoyed having so many family and friends there.  We enjoyed watching him glow in the attention!  He is quite the people person.  One of his favorite things is to entertain with tricks and then make sure everyone claps!  Micah loves to talk, and talk, even if we don’t always know what he’s saying.  He can say quite a few words, like Daddy, Mama, done, dog, okay, yeah, no, Beau, and amen!  He loves to sign ‘thank you’ and we are working on a version of  ‘love you.’  His favorite “sign” is one I taught him; Touchdown!  He holds his arms up like he has gone to ref school.  His daddy is very proud of this trick!  Micah is a very happy boy and we thank God for him every day.

We are looking forward to seeing where our journey goes in 2011 and hope to see you all along the way!

Thank you to all our wonderful family and friends who mean so much to us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Growing up I would play Madden year after year, and needless to say I led the 49ers to a few championships in my time.  I remember all the hours that I would spend getting my team ready for the Super Bowl, and after winning the Super Bowl they would have a brief celebration on screen and that was it.   All those hours for a few seconds of reward, and you couldn’t talk to anybody and brag about it, because nobody cared.  Winning a Fantasy Football Championship is just a little bit better.  Basically the other people in the league care a little bit, but only because they want you to care when they win.  So, what do you do with all this excitement and joy that you have from winning?  My suggestion is that every community should have a designated celebration place, so that champions from all over town can go and celebrate together and talk about how your plan of picking up “whatever defense was playing the Rams” led to your victory.

Nevertheless onto the Running Blog.  I am blogging live from my house.  Micah is asleep.  My wife is reading, and we are watching 24 season 3.  So, spoiler alert.

9:05: Just got into the draft room.

9:07: Jack needs a 20 on Tony Almeida.

9:09: Five in the house so far.  We have a 10 team league, keep any 4 players from last year’s roster (my four Payton Manning, Chris Johnson, Frank Gore, and Larry Fitzgerald, people I didn’t keep Joseph Addai, Felix Jones, Vernon Davis, Giants Steve Smith, and Calvin Johnson)  My team was loaded.  Worst keeper: Rinky Dinks keeping Nate Kaeding, who I might have selected in the 17^th Round.

9:13: Just received a text from league commish Keith reminding us all that draft is in 17 minute, because everyone needs a 17 minute reminder.

9:15: Making some popcorn for me and the Misses, and accepting congratulations from the fellow league owners on my championship last year.

9:19: Question of the day by Keith on the chat board, “more of tomorrow night: interceptions by Favre or fumbles by Peterson?”

9:20: 3 votes Favre 1 vote Peterson

9:23: Jack Bauer is saving the world, again.

9:24: Some folks chatting about how late the draft is 9:30 Central Time.  Makes me feel like the young guy in the league.

9:26: Best line of the day, “Crunk’n Fresh: I think the Trinity Tigers are the best-managed team in league history.”

9:27: I had just told people that any good quotes would go in the blog.

9:29: Wizards of Windsor are going to start.  He is not with us, as he is going to Vegas tomorrow morning.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but what happens in our fantasy football draft appears on the blog.

9:30 Wizards select Calvin Johnson, Austin Miles goes to the truth, and then wait for it… Brett Favre goes to the Rinky Dinks, breaking Keith’s heart, who would always draft him two rounds before anyone else.  The Rinky Dinks had a tough decision on whether or not to keep Big Ben, which they did.  I think I would have, but that’s a tough one.

9:31- Only 2 picks before mine, and I am hoping 49ers WR Michael Crabtree falls to me.  I think he’ll have a huge year.

9:31- This is awful.  My dad who owns the Tuff Tigers selects Michael Crabtree and then the Mile High Maniacs select Vernon Davis TE of the 49ers.  2 Niners right before I pick.  I had selected Vernon Davis the past 3 years 2 rounds too earlier.  This year I don’t even get that chance.

9:32: I pick the Giants Steve Smith is my first pick and then Dwayne Bowe.  Feel pretty good about my top 6: Manning, Johnson, Gore, Fitzgerald, Smith, and Bowe.

9:33: Long time before I select again.

9:34: We are moving right along, pretty quick and nothing to awful.

9:35: Just had the Best pick in the draft: Jahvid.

9:36: the truth is taking his time with his selections, which is nice for me lets me catch up on the blog.  He selects Joseph Addai.  So, the truth is addai (say it aloud, and it almost sounds like “a lie”)  Maybe it is getting late

9:38: Well this is the last time I give my Dad tips before the draft.  I tell him I like Crabtree, he drafts him right before me.  I tell him I like Mike Wallace, and he drafts him right before me.

9:38: And T.O. is off the board.  T.O. has been on my do-not-draft-under-any-circumstances-based-on-my-personal-feelings-list since he left the 49ers.  My pick is Dez Bryant the former and current Cowboy.  Emphasis for me on the former.

9:41: The Blues select Donald Driver.  Keith picking a Packer: shocking.

9:42: Best player on the board by far is Beanie Wells.  Can’t believe he is still there.  We are 80 picks in including our keepers.

9:44:  Tony is not very happy with Jack, as he is willing to trade his wife Michelle to Saunders the crazy lunatic mass murder.  Why then do I have this strange trust in Jack Bauer?

9:45: Gostkowski for the Pats has just been picked.  Is that the TE or the Kicker?

9:46: My pick is up and although I have three really good RBs, I’m selecting Beanie Wells.  My friend Bill would be proud.

9:47: And with my other pick, I select Robert Meachem because well I tackled him in High School, and anybody that is good enough to be tackled by me is playing in the league he should be on my team.

9:50: After I make a comment about the lack of chatting on the draft board.  We have this exchange.  “Tuff Tigers: It is hard for me to chat because I have yo look at the keys when I type.”  “Rinky Dinks: may want to look a little closer! Spell check!”

9:51: My wife just said, “Jack you are a terrible shot.”  Amazing how the hero’s accuracy is directly dependent on the drama needed.

9:54: I don’t know if I told my dad, that I liked Jacoby Jones, but he selected him nonetheless.

9:57: And the man with no contract: Vincent Jackson is of the board.

10:01: Jack Bauer has a tough decision to make.  Glad it’s him and not me.  I wonder if in a few years we will be making Jack Bauer jokes instead of Chuck Norris jokes.

10:02: For the record, I tackled Robert Meachem because I had man to man coverage on him in the slot.  (Advantage Meachem), and he caught the ball in front of me (didn’t get beat deep!) and fell to the ground (and I was the closest one.)

10:03: I’m going to pick Alex Smith.  This is how much I believe in Alex Smith for the Niners.  I’m drafting him.  Even if he never plays because Manning will start every game.

10:05: Must be late for people, as the draft room is quite quiet.  Blues select Sidney Rice.  So, he has both Rice and Santonio Holmes.  At least one of those two should pan out in the second half of the season.

10:07: Nice move Jack Bauer.

10:07: Blues select Sam Bradford.  For the record Sam goes between Rian Lindell and Josh Scobee.

10:12: The Sanchize is off the board.

10:12: The final round, and I get Mr. Irrelevant and I am going with a Kicker, as it should be.

10:13: Laurent Robinson, I have no idea who this guy is.  Should I?

10:15: Poor Tony.  He was just trying to save the life of his wife.  He was not committing Treason.

10:15: It is my final selection, and I am holding off so people can say their goodbyes.  Always enjoy the Fantasy Draft.

10:16: For the record there was no Darrius Heyward-Bay selection.  And barely any Raiders for that matter.

10:20: I can’t stand Sherry Palmer.

10:23: And the annual post-draft conversation with my Dad.  Good times.  I’m hopeful to repeat and whether I do or don’t, you probably won’t care anyway.

1. Use a scoreboard clock that counts down the allotted time for each report with a loud buzzer marking the end of the report, whether or not they were done or not.

2. Understand that those at the conference can read.  So if you do not have anything to add to the written report, then just sit down.

3. All tweets marked #okumc are immediately posted on the screen for all to read.

4. Each report should be graded on a scale of 1-10 and if any presenter receives an average score of 5 or less should not be allowed to report the next year.

5. Anybody ever play the clothe-pins game with a youth group, where everyone has 5 clothe-pins and tries to get rid of them without getting caught by the person they are putting them on.  We can play this at Annual Conference, so those that fall asleep during the Annual Conference will be seen clearly with the numerous clothe-pins on them.

6. Have a Design your own sarcastic button contest that pokes fun at the slogans and acronyms of our connection.

7. Gridiron should begin earlier in the day, even though their jokes won’t be quite as funny when people are more awake.

8. Bishop Hayes should teach a “How to have an awesome preaching voice like me” class.

9. Have a Welch’s Grape Juice sponsored Conference Drinking game with drinks being taken with lines such as “financial crisis,” “the plan,” and “I know we are running late, but.”

10. My personal favorite, everyone who is able should participate in Dr. Mouzon Biggs hair day.

1. Finally being able to live out my call from High School.  People at my work have asked me if I am excited about going to be a pastor, and I tell them this: If you had a goal in front of you for 9 years (I accepted my call in the Summer of 2001), and you have spent the past 9 years pursuing that goal.  And now it is almost here, then yes, I am pretty excited.

2. Preaching every week.  I love preaching, and it is truly one of the gifts that God has given me.  Even though I have preached probably over 60 sermons, and I have preached a revival and at Youth Force.  I am greatly excited about preaching to a particular community week after week, and journeying with a congregation.

3. Reading books that I want to read.  The past 3 years, I have read some wonderful books, alright books, and some boring, dull books, but they have almost all been assigned by a professor.  So, I am looking forward to choosing my books.

4. Learning a community.  I am fascinated by people, and how people live in relationship to one another.  So, I am exctied about being in Roland and Muldrow, and learning about who our neighbors are in this community.  What is important, where is important, etc.  This is going to be fun.

5. Becoming a regular at a restaurant.  After working the past 3 years in restaurants, I’m looking forward to being served, but also to find a place of home away from home, where the food is fresh and the fellowship is sweet.

6. Seeing a community of faith surround my family with love.  You’ve heard it said, that it takes a village to raise a child, well I believe that it takes a loving congregation to raise a Christian, and I look forward to the good folks of Trinity to be that congregation that loves Micah and Heather as well.

7.  Being close to family.  We will be 1 15 minutes from Heather’s mom’s house, and 1 40 minutes from my parent’s house.  This is much closer than the 12 hours that we had in Nicholasville.  We will also be much closer to many friends as well.

8. Meeting new people and making new friends.  I really enjoy the process of meeting people and becoming friends.  So, as we move into a community where we literally do not know anyone.  There are a lot of potential friends.  This is also frightening.

9. Being home with my family in the evenings.  I have class or work 5 or 6 nights of the week.  I’m looking forward to helping put my son to bed more often.

10. Central time.  Favorite shows ending at 10 instead of 11.  That means an extra hour of sleep!  woot woot.

11. Oklahoma St. Cowboys football and basketball games on TV.

12. Teaching.  I enjoy this aspect of ministry, and I look forward to teaching.  For about 7 years, I’ve known that the first book that I would teach over would be Dr. Mullholand’s Shaped by the Word.  It changed the way I read the Bible.  I look forward to sharing it with others.

13. Equipping others to serve.  That is another one of my passions.  I’m looking forward to understanding how God has created others, and then sending them out to be those children of God in the world.

15. A Salary.

Things I am not looking forward to or anxious about…

1. Moving.  I don’t like packing, driving 55 instead of 75, worried about how our stuff is doing in the back of a truck, unloading, unpacking, and decorating (though I am more just the hands that help Heather decorate).  I wish I could just snap my fingers and everything looks pretty instantly.

2. Leaving our friends.  I really love some people here.  They are awesome folks and great friends, and we will miss them greatly.

3. The unknown.  Always makes me a little anxious.  We won’t visit Muldrow till we deliver the stuff to our new home, just one of the unknowns we will enter into.

4. Church people who don’t act like Christians.  Before moving to KY, the church we worked at had a fairly intense church conflict that was painful for us.  I am not anticipating people at Trinity to not act like Christians, but I know that we Christians sin as well, and it is often especially painful when it happens from within the church community.

5. Learning on the Fly.  While I am excited about learning how to be a senior pastor, I know that I will make mistakes, and I just beg for grace now.

6. Not getting to be in class with some of the living saints of the church like Dr. Kalas and Dr. Mullholand.

7. Saul Good and Tastebuds.  They have been a great places for me to work, and I have learned a lot about people, and about hospitality.  They have been great micro-communities for me.  I will also miss the instant cash that comes with a serving job.

8. Charge Conference Reports.  Every pastor I know has complained about them.  I guess I’ll join them soon.

9. Kentucky basketball fans.  They provided great comedy.

10. Estes chapel.  That’s one holy place.

Now, I knew that meant two things. One, this was the call. And two, we were going to the Muskogee District. I soon found out where we were going… Trinity UMC in Muldrow/Roland to be the Senior Pastor. Now, I have driven through the Muldrow and Roland communities (they are on I-40 just on the Eastern edge of Oklahoma immediately before you get to Fort Smith), but that’s about it.
As Linda was describing the church and the communities, I began to get that nervous excitement. We talked for about 15 minutes, and she asked for us to pray about it, and then to get back to her in about 4 hours. I was able to talk her down to overnight because 3 of the 4 hours that she had wanted me to pray about were to be spent in class. I had taken good notes about what Linda had told me about the church, and thus were able to tell Heather all that we had talked about. On the way to class, I called my dad and said tell me what you know. During class, I googled Trinity UMC in Muldrow and Roland. Looked up the school districts, local newspaper, etc, etc, and I even paid a little bit of attention to my professor. That night when I got home, Heather and I agreed that this is where we were to go, and I called Linda back and unofficially we had an appointment. A week later, it became official as Linda met with the SPRC of Trinity, and then they announced it this morning at church that the Tigers were coming to Trinity. (They didn’t want to do it last week, something about a risen Savior.)

With any appointment there are some areas of anxiety, but Google Maps, Linda, the SPRC chair Bob, and Jodie the church secretary have helped us already with the transition. A few things about Trinity. About 12 years ago, Muldrow FUMC closed their church and opened up a new one between the communities of Muldrow and Roland, which are about 4 miles apart. Through their hard work and VIM, they built a beautiful new church to serve both communities. I am excited about going to a church that has made such a bold and missional decision like this one. They average about 70 in worship on Sunday morning, but 25% of the 11,000 people in a 5-mile radius are unchurched, meaning that there is plenty of room to grow. Angel Food ministries is a significant outreach of Trinity, and one of the ways they are active in their communities. Our parsonage is a nice brick house with a big backyard for Beau to enjoy and in just a short time Micah as well! We are about 15 minutes from Fort Smith, about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Heather’s mom’s house, and 1 hour 40 minutes from my parent’s house. It will be so nice to be so close to family! (I am also the closest Methodist minister to Big Country Bryant Reeves as Gans is just a few miles from Roland)
I think I would have been excited for any appointment (I can safely say that now that I have a great one), but I am particularly excited for this one.  While I still feel a call to plant a church, I feel that is a great opportunity to be in ministry in a unique way with a great church that seems ready to take a giant step forward on God’s kingdom road.  I look forward to listening to the people and leading us along God’s path for us.  There are some unique challenges with this church, but we know that no challenge is to great for our God.  Living in Muldrow will be a change from the communities that we have lived, we are looking forward to being with fellow children of God.

So, in just over 6 weeks, we will be driving away from 424 Miles Rd. and soon beginning our new life and ministry in Muldrow and Roland. This blog and Heather’s blog will be updated more frequently over the next few weeks as our way of communicating to the good folks of Trinity UMC and Muldrow and Roland and helping to tell our part of the story of God’s glory.

This is not my term. Bishop Schnase has made this concept of radical hospitality famous, and deservedly so. It has been refreshing to hear of United Methodist Churches that have embraced this concept of Radical Hospitality in unique ways. Radical hospitality is not coffee and donuts. It is not a greeter at the door. It is an orientation of our being that sees everyone as a valued guest.

Jesus showed some pretty radical hospitality. In Luke 14, he commands us that when we are to have a dinner, do not invite your friends or the rich folk, but to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. This is both a practical command, so that if we are the church, we are to invite those people who are outcasts of our societies into our church and minister to them, but it is also a statement of humility. Showing hospitiality means that you see those people who others see as outcasts, you see as family. Not the 2nd cousin twice removed that you have only seen at a few funerals kind of family, but the spouse or child type of family. Radical hospitality has that sort of views toward persons. I do not see strangers, but family that I have not had the privilege to meet yet.

People who operate out of a perspective of Radical Hospitality, do not have a tight hold on “their” church. This is God’s church that they are called to be a part of, but they understand that they are merely stewards of this church that exists for both the people who are inside the walls and outside the walls of the church. Thus, people who are radically hospitable are willing to embrace change for the sake of others. Being radically hospitable simply requires sacrifice. If you want to talk about radical hospitable, think Jesus, who showed the most radical of all hospitality by the incarnation, the coming of Christ on Earth. Philippians 2 communicates it beautifully, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (NRSV) As Jesus is in so many things, Jesus is our exemplar of Radical Hospitality.

So, this church would be people who would love for deep, meaningfully, expressions of love for others, especially those who are not-yet Christians, as we attempt to have the Same Mind as Christ Jesus. Creativity is needed for expressions of this, and the UMC has been embracing this concept since Bishop Schnase has published his transformative book 5 Practices of Fruitful Congregations, and we must continue to particularize this vision in our local settings.

If we keep our eyes open, we can see people who are radically hospitable around us in the world. Great customer service is categorized by people who are radically hospitable in the world. At Saul Good the restaurant that I work at, my boss Rob is someone who is radically hospitable. He does not know it, but he has taught me about seeing everyone as Jesus’ guest. One example should suffice. Not too long ago, Rob made a mistake. Now, this is a rare occurrence, he doesn’t make many mistakes that I am aware of. He received a phone call of a party of 17 that was hoping to eat dinner at Saul Good for that evening. They told him 6:45. He wrote down 7:45. You can see the problem coming, can’t you? They show up at 6:45 to a crowded restaurant with no room for 17 anytime soon. Rob, who cannot interact with them personally because of the other needs of the restaurant informs others to take care of this group and buy them drinks and appetizers. To make a long story short, there was some confusion, and this group of 17 walks out and goes to another restaurant down the street. So, an hour later, once things have settled down, Rob gets the whole story and thinking from a radical hospitality perspective does something nuts. He goes down to the other restaurant, finds the group, talks to the leader of the group, and he does not give out free appetizer coupons to Saul Good, so that they will come back later. He does not offer for them to come back to Saul Good, and he will buy them desert. He doesn’t blame somebody else. He does the radical hospitality thing, and he buys 20 desserts for them at the other place. He finds them and takes cares of them where they are. Now, where are these people more likely to eat at next? The place where they were served and probably served well, or the place where the owner found them and took care of them at a great cost. This is radical hospitality.