Royal Ranger Adventure

Our Royal Rangers are going to have their first outing on October 15. Lonnie and the gang will be going to Red Rock Canyon to hike, explore and rappel. All boys are invited. Be a part of the excitement!

Poor Customer Service

This morning I went to a national chain office supply store to get some copier paper for the church. While I was checking out I saw a lady carrying her desktop computer in her arms. My first thought was, "Oh boy, I hate having to take my computer for repair." I have been her before; carrying my computer, knowing that I am at a severe knowledge disadvantage and wondering if this trip would be the one that would require me to go through the painful process of switching to a new computer.

The lady was directed by the person at my check-out station to take her burden to the customer service desk. There were two employees at the service desk and I was sure that she would come under their care very quickly. However, they seemed not to notice the lady and continued their light-hearted conversation while she stood close by, uncertain as to where to set her computer. Another employee, who appeared to be older and seemingly more responsible came walking quickly toward the two. I assumed that she would immediately connect with the poor lady and get on to the two younger ones for being un-noticing of the lady's dilemma. However, she gave an order to the boy about some messiness on one of the aisles and sent him away. She then gave some directions to the other girl and set her in another direction. All of this happened within 4 feet of the lady who was still holding her computer. No one had talked to her yet. Finally the lady was told someone would be with her shortly; the first acknowledgement of her existence in the store. As I was leaving, I saw her decide to set her computer down on a counter. No one had given her any instruction. She was the customer. She was the reason the store exists. Nothing else could have been more important than making her feel appreciated for picking their store over the many other options Oklahoma City offers.

Poor customer service always frustrates me. I worry that this story might be lived out at Living Water Church. Could someone come into our place, carrying a heavy burden and looking to repair her life and find people who are occupied in conversations with people they have known for years? Could the placement of chairs or the quantity of coffee stirrers take precedent over connecting with someone who is out her element by coming into a church?

Let's all keep an eye out for someone who we don't recognize. Let's be ready to meet them; to hear their story; to see how we can help lead them to what they need. After all, people with burdens are the reason for our existence. Nothing else we do comes close to them in importance.

God Moves In Mysterious Ways

God moves in mysterious ways,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter tase,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

William Cowper (1731-1800)

A Pentecostal Profession of Faith

WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT, God is far away,

Christ stays in the past,

the Gospel is a dead letter,

the Church is simply an organization,

authority a matter of domination,

mission a matter of propaganda,

the liturgical services no more than a reminder of the past,

Christian living a slave morality.

BUT WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, God is with us,

the universe is resurrected

and groans with the birth pangs of the kingdom,

the risen Christ is here,

The Gospel is the power of life,

the Church is the organism, the Body of the living Christ,

authority is service,

mission is Pentecost,

the liturgy is both memorial and anticipation,

human action is God at work in this world.

-Patriarch Ignatius IV

How well do you know the Bible?

A pulpit committee invited a young minister to come to their church for an interview. The committee chairman asked, "Son, do you know the Bible very well?"

The young minister replied, "Fairly well, sir."

The chairman then asked, "Which part do you know the best?"

He said, "I know the New Testament the best."

Continuing, the chairman asked, "Which part of the New Testament do you know best?"

The young minister replied, "Several different parts."

The chairman said, "Why don't you tell us the story of the prodigal son."

The young man said, "Sure...there was a man named Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell upon stony ground and the thorns choked him half to death. The next morning Solomon and his wife, Gomorrah, came by, and carried him down to the Ark for Moses to take care of. As he was going through the Eastern Gate into the Ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there forty days and forty nights and he afterwards did hunger. Then the ravens came and fed him. The very next day, three wise men came down to the boat dock and he caught a ship to Nineveh. When he got there he found Delilah sitting on a wall. He said, 'Chunk her down boys, chunk her down.'
And they said, 'How many times shall we chunk her down?'
And he said, 'Seventy times seven.'
So they chunked her down four hundred and ninety times. Then she burst asunder in their midst. They picked up twelve baskets of the leftovers and asked, 'At the resurrection whose wife shall she be?'"

The committee chairman suddenly interrupted the young minister and said to the remainder of the committee, "Fellows, I think we ought to ask the church to call him as our minister. He is awfully young, but he sure does know his Bible."

Is this how well you know your Bible?

On Target, On Time

Last fall we made a tough decision to discontinue our Sunday School because the way we were doing it was very tiring on the few who were involved in the children's ministry. The stated goal in January was that we would finish completion of the EdZone classrooms and restart with a complete selection of classes for every age group in September. It was a statement of faith, because at the time the rooms were far from complete and financial resources were very scarce.

I have the advantage of being to see the fulfillment of this vision on a day to day basis. In those early weeks we would see what we were able to do with the available funds. Electrical work was installed and sheetrock was hung, taped and bedded. When we got to the place where the air conditioner had to be replaced before we could proceed further, the good people of Living Water responded and the money was raised. A miracle anonymous gift provided the remaining funds necessary to install the ceiling and floor tiles. Men of the church provided their labor, allowing us to extend the funds even further. Now these rooms are a testament to our faith that God supplies our needs. They are a major step toward the completion of the original vision of moving into the facility we call our church home.

Now this Sunday, right on the promised time, we resume Sunday School at Living Water Church. We have classes for Toddlers (1-3 in diapers) Preschool (3-5 potty trained) Primary (grades 1-3) Junior (grades 4-6) Youth (grades 6-12) and Adults (everyone else). It will begin at 9 and will end at 9:45.

I am grateful for the many who have made this possible; those who gave of their time or finances to get the rooms ready, and those who have given of their time to be teachers in these classes.

But most especially, I am grateful to God who makes all things possible. This is an exciting time to be a part of what God is doing at Living Water Church.