I returned to campus yesterday in preparation for today’s activities. It will be my privilege to present Steve Teel as the new president of Baxter. The entire campus community will be assembled and I look forward to a very special time. Yesterday evening I visited with several of the students and spirits are high as …
Continue reading “Honduras Update: First Day of Classes at Baxter”
Today is travel day as I return to Tegucigalpa by bus in preparation for First Day Ceremonies at Baxter tomorrow. It seems incredible that the bus trip to Tegucigalpa takes more time than the air trip from Tulsa to Tegucigalpa! The four days in Olancho have been filled with activities–leader and preacher training each morning …
As the church assembles each week across much of the United States, largely in its own self-awareness with few visitors who could be described as prospective Christians, our sermons become more and more directed to the church and focused on the needs of the body. A recent article bemoaning the decrease and virtual non-existence of …
A lot has been written about the physical needs that exist in the Honduran population. Indeed, there are a lot of problems and a lot of needs. There is also a great spiritual need which surpasses the physical needs. For two days, I have met with a group of Christians who are hungering and thirsting …
I love memorable phrases. They stick in the mind, they are hard to let go of, they come back again and again effortlessly, with no conscious effort to remember them. In Sunday’s sermon, Mitch reminded us that we must talk to Jesus about people AND talk to people about Jesus. Effective evangelism involves both. Evangelism …
Yesterday’s travel to Honduras was without incident, and the afternoon easily filled with greetings, conversations, and meetings. Some of the new students are already arriving. This is the first time I have been on campus at Baxter in January. Excitement is high, spirits refreshed in anticipation of the new school year. It reminds me of …
Today I share some thoughts from “Introduction to Ministry” class. Churches of different sizes have different needs. Churches of different sizes organize themselves differently, with different centers and different challenges. Miinisters must recognize the dynamics of the churches with which they minister. Some smaller churches are organized like bigger churches, often because the church has …
Continue reading “Ministers! Are you doing the things that will grow the church?”
God’s ways are not our ways, God’s thoughts not our thoughts, God’s timing not our timing. I was scheduled to fly to Honduras today. When I got to the check-in counter a few minutes before 5 AM this morning the agent told me there was no way to get from Tulsa to Tegucigalpa today due …
Sunday. The Day of the Lord, special time with God. Time also with family–members of my physical family and also of my spiritual family. Most live in other places and will not be where I am today. Nonetheless, the hearts of the family of God combine from places distant and near to come together in …
Continue reading “It’s Sunday Again: Brothers and Sisters Around the World”
As I grow older I appreciate more and more the importance of these words: Keep Life Simple. I have had the freedom through much of my life to select my priorities and to live life pretty much on my own schedule–both during my years in ministry and later in the university. Now in my role …
