Musings of a Sojourner

Leading Children's Ministry: What I would do if I could do it all over again...

2012-01-08T02:12:00.001-06:00

For almost 5 years I had the privilege of serving as children's pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Tulsa, OK, working primarily with babies through 6th graders, teachers and parents. In my previous blog I discussed some of the things I had learned and re-learned about church, ministry, family and life over the past several years. Here now are a few things I feel I would do differently - or do

What I've Learned Over the Last 4 1/2+ Years

2011-12-27T08:00:00.002-06:00

Since January of 2007 I have served as children's pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. I will be leaving there at the end of this month to start a new chapter in life as planter and pastor of Vintage Faith Church in the south Tulsa/Bixby area. As this chapter is about to close, I have much to reflect on. I've done a lot of wondering, thinking, and praying.

Busyness: One of the Church's Greatest Threats to Discipleship

2011-12-05T11:51:00.000-06:00

I must do this! I must do that! They need help here! I must help there! Ever found yourself acting upon such thoughts, saying yes to one more thing for you or your loved ones to be a part of? Extracurricular activities, community involvement, church leadership opportunities, church programs and activities, work projects, and more are out there for us to be a part of. And many of them are

Parents, We Can Talk

2011-10-30T22:36:00.002-05:00

If the above video doesn't load, you can watch it here: http://skitguys.com/videos/item/we-can-talk-parenting-101 Ever said or done any of these things? None of us are perfect, but there is a perfect God who can make the most of our mistakes and imperfections, no matter how small or large they are. Don't give up. Parenting is not easy. But there is hope! God designed parenting to be one of

Spiritual Heart Health

2011-10-24T12:11:00.000-05:00

So, how's your heart? Did you know you - or anyone else for that matter - can check your heart condition simply by watching you and listening to the words that proceed from your mouth? Jesus said in Luke 6:45, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart

Remembering 9/11 10 Years Later

2011-09-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him

The Importance of Fathers

2011-07-25T13:48:00.001-05:00

Discovering the importance of dads...from scenes from and the set of Courageous. Related blogs:The Status of Manhood in AmericaI'll Need You Dad They're Watching

The Status of Manhood in America

2011-07-21T01:19:00.003-05:00

The saddening statistics: "In 2003, 68 million of the 94 million men in the United States did not attend church." - Focus on the Family "There were 12.9 million single-parent homes in the United States in 2006. The father was absent from 10.4 million of these households." - US Census Bureau "Researching biographies of leading atheists from the past three centuries, Paul. C. Vitz, a former

My Books of 2011

2011-05-27T11:50:00.041-05:00

updated 1-1-2012 Books I Read in 2011 So there were quite a few books on my to-read list for 2011. That's probably true for most people, especially those that enjoy reading. My dilemma is that I ended up buying and receiving more books than I actually read this year (and I actually read 22 books this year - more than I've ever read in one full year). Add to that the fact that I already have

Missional Living

2011-05-23T10:17:00.014-05:00

Soma Communities - Tacoma, WA from Verge Network on Vimeo. Renovation Church - Atlanta, GA from Verge Network on Vimeo. Missional Community Snapshots from The Austin Stone on Vimeo. The Austin Stone Community Church - Austin, TX from Verge Network on Vimeo. Ed Stetzer: Missional Disciple-making Movements [VERGE 2010 Main Session] from Verge Network on Vimeo. Promotional Video for pastor and

Church Planting in Oklahoma

2011-05-17T22:03:00.008-05:00

Three Great Questions About Church Planting in Oklahoma by Randall Adams Because Oklahoma Baptists start about 50 new churches each year, we are often asked important questions about church planting. In this article, I will address three common questions, the answers to which are vital for a proper understanding of how Oklahoma Baptists plant new churches. The questions are: • Who can start a

Leaving a Legacy :: In Memory of My Cousin Stephanie

2011-04-04T20:29:00.001-05:00

From my journal entry on Saturday, April 4, 1998...parentheses added: What do I write? How can words describe or even explain what has happened in the last 2 days? My cousin Stef has gone to be with the Lord. Late Thursday night she (and her husband) were out driving and had an accident, killing her and leaving him injured. My uncle called us between 8:30-9:00 AM (yesterday) after Nick

What Are You Aiming For? :: The Goal of the Christian Life

2011-04-03T16:07:00.000-05:00

Thinking back to a parenting class we did at Memorial a few years ago, I was reminded of something that not only applies to parenting, it applies to all of life. If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time. An archer who had this mode of operation would be a success at failing. And it would be crazy for him or her to expect to hit the bull’s eye without aiming for it! The target in our

The Dangers of Texting & Driving: it can w8

2011-03-31T10:14:00.004-05:00

This video, created by AT&T, is a documentary titled "The Last Text," which features stories of real people whose lives have been adversely due to texting behind the wheel. Some texting while driving facts and statistics (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/texting-while-driving-facts.html) According to a study conducted, teenagers and youngsters are more susceptible to car crashes and fatal

A Free Video Game?

2011-02-28T14:26:00.000-06:00

A few months ago I was at Chuck E. Cheese's for a birthday party. Part of the time I sat at one of the tables near the video games, bottle-feeding my five-month-old daughter. There had been several people come and go, playing a particular race car arcade game near where I was sitting. I noticed a group of boys gathered around the game for a while. The next thing I know, the game is asking the

Equipped & Sent or Equipped & Sit?

2011-01-21T11:23:00.003-06:00

Saying one thing and doing it are two different things. Do we really love others the way Christ does? If we really mean it, we will live out that love all around us. What would happen if we Christians remained in our "training centers" (a.k.a. church buildings) and comfortable homes and never took the hope of Christ to a lost, hurting, confused and dying world? This humorous video from the

Thankful for Life

2011-01-20T17:01:00.017-06:00

I am constantly reminded of the beauty, wonder and sanctity of life. At my birth, I was born nearly ten weeks premature and weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs. and 10 oz. About twelve hours later, I was flown about 230 miles away so that I could receive the best care and treatment possible for my tiny and fragile body. My parents were told I had a 50/50 chance of making it through the night and

The Christmas Story - the Birth of Jesus

2010-12-21T14:28:00.000-06:00

Luke 1:26-80In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And

A Social Network Christmas: the Birth of Jesus

2010-12-19T17:53:00.001-06:00

"This video is an artistic take on how the story of the nativity might have read had a social network existed at the time of Jesus' birth. Follow this historical period as it unfolds as a digital narrative. This vignette is great for highlighting the truths and circumstances of our Savior's birth in a fresh, unique way." - Igniter Media

How to Invite Your Co-worker to Church

2010-12-10T01:37:00.000-06:00

In case you were wondering how to invite your co-worker to "go to church" with you this Sunday...this ain't how ya do it. I bet we could all learn a few lessons from this video. There are several that come to mind right now. For one, what is our ultimate goal? Are we more focused on getting people to attend church or leading them to a relationship with Christ? What we truly believe about

Choose to Love This Christmas :: 1 Corinthians 13 for Christmastime

2010-11-30T14:57:00.003-06:00

If I get the best shopping deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and say “Merry Christmas” at the register, but don’t care about the people I’m standing in line with at the store… If I drive for hours and hours to see family for Thanksgiving but don’t love my wife as Christ loves the church… If I give many hours to rehearsing for the church Christmas musical, but fail to love those I’m

Church Planter

2010-11-19T15:17:00.001-06:00

I'm looking forward to reading this book by Darrin Patrick, who serves as lead pastor of The Journey in St. Louis and also is the 1st Vice President of the Acts 29 Network. I thought this video was worth sharing now, even before reading the book. "Church Planter" by Darrin Patrick from Crossway on Vimeo. Have you read Church Planter? What are your thoughts? Have you written about it?

Lessons for Parents :: Jealous of the Family Dog...at 25 Years Old?

2010-11-15T09:45:00.002-06:00

This has to be one of the worst incidents of jealousy I've ever heard of. A later news article mentions Christopher Poston, age 25, who killed his family's 6-year-old lab, has been arrested 18 times since he turned 16. I know very little information about the family or what happened other than what was in the two articles I've found online about the incident. Rather than accuse the parents of

How to plant a church

2010-11-12T10:17:00.000-06:00

So, I've had this video shared with me a couple times and I thought it was too good not to post here for those of you who haven't seen it yet! Now you know everything you need in order to plant a church! On a more serious note, I'll be writing about this important subject in future blogs.

Lessons from a 3 year-old :: the danger of violent video games

2010-11-10T13:33:00.009-06:00

My three year old said something the other night that's really stuck with me. She said, "There's a story that has a game with people killing each other. I don't like that. And you get died. I don't want to go there." Now Rachel and I haven't read her such a story or exposed her to such a video game. In fact, we don't have books like that, watch that kind of stuff on TV, or even have video