Rite of passage: A grateful heart
Churches used to do it all the time, but now it is a rare event. It used to be that when I served as a guest speaker, after I finished preaching and as the closing prayer was being said, the pastor would escort me to the back of the church, and people would line up to shake our hands as they left. I have stood in many of these lines as people tried to think of things to say as they went out the door. Most of the time I heard “Good...
Conventional Thinking: Home of the ‘bravado’?
If the 2016 election cycle has proven anything, it’s that many Americans will say almost anything when they are behind a computer keyboard. Look at the average Facebook conversation about politics, and what will you see? Someone will post an article or news story that attacks a politician, which may be all or partly false; then the comments begin, for and against. During this back and forth, what emerges is a scenario in which people...
Connect>1 takes it to the road: Evangelism campaign seen around the state and beyond
All year long, Oklahoma Baptists have been exposed to the Connect>1 Evangelism Campaign. This summer, Bob Mayfield, Sunday School and adult discipleship specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO), led 16 Connect>1 clinics across the state, al read...
Christian Health: A healthy eating pattern
The updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 states that about half of all American adults have one or more preventable chronic diseases and many are related to poor quality eating patterns and physical inactivity. These include cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and poor bone health. Additionally more than two-thirds of adults and nearly one-third of children and youth are...
Perspective: Haskins School is unique
This past week, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) officially launched the first semester of the Robert Haskins School of Christian Ministry. This new school is designed to develop ministry leaders from BGCO ethnic and bivocational/smaller in attendance churches into more effective servants of Christ and His church. The students are people who have had little or no training in the fundamental areas of church ministry....
BGCO board approves 2017 Financial Plan
The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) Board of Directors approved the adoption of the Convention’s 2017 Financial Plan Sept. 13 during its final regularly scheduled meeting for 2016 at the Baptist Building in Oklahoma City. The plan, recommended by the Boa read more
