Encourage: Commit camps to prayer
Falls Creek was born from prayer and a burden for souls. Under pressure, the founders of Falls Creek, J. B. Rounds and W. D. Moorer, were receiving complaints about their selection of Falls Creek as the home of a summer camp for Oklahoma Baptists. Parents did not want to send their children to such a “deserted place.” So in late July 1917, the two men walked up Buzzard Hill discussing all the things that were wrong with the location....
Encourage: Run to remember
The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon finished its 18th year a few weeks ago. Run to Remember: that simple combination of words sums it up. I like both of these words, “run” and “remember;” both are biblical words. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are running and remembering. Of course the Bible challenges us in Heb. 12:1 to “run with endurance the race that has been set before us.” Our life of faith compares to running a marathon in a...
Encourage: Needing qualified people
We need better players, not better plays. Old football coaches have a saying, “It’s Jimmies and Joes not X’s and O’s that win football games.” A team might have an excellent game plan, creative formations and cutting edge equipment, but if their players are untrained, weak and slow, they will not win many games. The players are the key, not the plays. The church in Jerusalem was struggling, and they were distracted by a division that...
Encourage: Priority of criticism
The key to moral influence is to be more critical of ourselves than we are of others. As Oklahoma Baptists, we have an obligation to engage in the public arena in order to influence the moral climate of our state. We are called to be “salt and light.” Sometimes this means we have to take a public stance that runs counter to culture—we should love people enough to tell the truth. In our efforts to impact the public arena, we must not...
Encourage: Calling out the Called
I am asking God for a Gideon’s army of pastors. The local church is the pillar and support of the Gospel truth. The health and strength of the local church depends on the ministry of its pastor. We need more people-loving, Bible-preaching, holy-living, soul-winning pastors. Would you join me in asking God to raise up these pastors? The call of God is a fascinating reality to me. God calls a man to serve as a pastor. This is a work of...
Encourage: Call him ‘Pastor’
Oklahoma Baptists work together to train pastors. From our beginning, we have known that we need each other to address this central issue. The advancement of the Gospel depends on the health and strength of our churches, and a church needs an effective pastor in order to be strong and healthy. The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) exists to help educate, establish and encourage pastors. At age 24, I was called to my first...
