Dear NEO family,
On this week of Thanksgiving, the words of the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi reflect my sentiments: I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Attached is a holiday greeting.
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=HY27482779
George Ronnekamp, former Pastor at Tulsa 1st and longtime member at Tulsa Central, passed away last evening. The funeral will be Friday, 10 am at Floral Haven. We extend our sympathy to Carolyn Jennings, Steve Ronnekamp and all of the family in this time of loss.
Please keep SNU-Tulsa in the mind as you consider degree completion programs or Master’s programs. Below are some of the programs you can take advantage of for your own development, or share with a friend you know is looking for a great school to attend:
Program Deadline Start Month/Day/Year
Family Studies 12/12/08 January, 2009 Mondays
Organizational Leadership 12/16/09 January, 2009 Tuesdays
Organizational Leadership 4/16/09 May, 2009 Thursdays
Family Studies 7/21/09 August, 2009 Tuesdays
Organizational Leadership 8/18/09 September, 2009 Mondays
Graduate Programs in Management Application Deadlines 2009
Program Deadline Start Month/Year/Day of Week
Master of Science in Management 1/13/09 February, 2009 Tuesdays
Master of Business Administration 1/13/09 February, 2009 Tuesdays
Master of Science in Management 7/9/09 August, 2009 Thursdays
Master of Business Administration 7/9/09 August, 2009 Thursdays
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving,
Dave
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Dear NEO family,
This week Karen Patterson, Bud Lauhon and I represented you at the Fall meeting of the Trustees of Southern Nazarene University. I am so thankful for SNU and the way God has used this educational institution for over 100 years to be a part of his transformative work in the lives of students! SNU continues to model the hospitality of grace, the pursuit of truth, and the practice of discipleship. Let’s support SNU and urge our High School students to visit the campus this year. I believe they will be surprised by the quality of the education offered and the availability of financial aid to make it affordable.
I met today with Tim Odom, SDMI Chairman, Jonathan Odom, NYI President, Rodney Durr, Adult Ministries Director and Ken Wheeler, Children’s Ministries Director. A HUGE Training Day is being planned for Saturday, April 25. It will be the place to be for children, youth, and adult workers, as well as Church treasurers and other leaders. Mark your calendars.
Churches, let's continue to be strive to be high impact churches. Our next session of "How to Grow a High Impact Church", will be Monday, Nov. 24, 6:30 pm at Tulsa Central Church in the Kannady Family Life Center. Chip Ingram will be teaching on the Law of Liberation and the Law of Structure. Call me if you have any questions.
District Work and Witness:
Calling on all you folks who would like to grab a (hammer/saw/paintbrush) and help out. Our Northeast District Team still needs a couple more volunteers to help out in our District Work and Witness Trip to the Ukraine. The trip is scheduled for April 13 - 26 of 2009 and will cost about $1,900 per participant. Please pass the word around. Call Jerry Wilburg, right away, at 918-607-8561. Also, perhaps some churches are able to help the participants in defraying the cost of going by having a bake sale or special offering. Please look around and see what you could do to help. During these times of financial crunch it is important that we all do what we can to help out. Thanks so much for your help and your prayers.
AUTHOR APPEARANCE AND BOOK-SIGNING EVENT
Nazarene Authors Dr. David & Lisa Frisbie will be at Mardel's Bookstore in Tulsa, 71st and Mingo, near Woodland Hills Mall on Saturday, November 29th. Hours for the event are 1 PM to 3 PM. The Frisbies will be signing copies of their new book for married couples, "The Soul-Mate Marriage: The Spiritual Journey of Becoming One." This new book has already been endorsed by more than 30 ministry leaders, family counselors, and key denominational executives. "The Soul-Mate Marriage" is about how to build spiritual and emotional intimacy in a marriage, starting from right where you are! It's about becoming closer, deeper, stronger, more intimate in your relationship--- drawing on more than 20 years of marriage and family therapy experience.
Dr. David Frisbie joined the staff of FamilyChurch.tv on January 1, 2008 as Executive Pastor and Pastor to Families, serving under the direction of Senior Pastor Brett Rickey. In addition, David and Lisa are the NEO District Coordinators for Marriage and Family Ministries, serving under Rodney Durr, Director of Adult Ministries for NEO.
David and Lisa would love to meet you at Mardel's in Tulsa! Please stop by and get acquainted with these new NEO ministers. "Soul-Mate" is their 10th published book; they have also published dozens of articles about marriage and family life in magazines, journals and newspapers.
Christamas Decorations Available – Free! John Teel of Broken Arrow First writes: We have redesigned our Christmas decorations at Broken Arrow this year. This has left us with a lot of nice stuff from previous years that we’d like to give away free to any of the district churches. There are also a number of non-seasonal floral arrangements (in good condition) that we won’t reuse since we renovated our facility. Interested parties may contact me via phone at (918) 455-3550 or email at johnt@banazarene.org.
Here’s a sample list of what’s available…Evergreen picks, Pinecone picks , Red berry picks, Mauve poinsettia, Garlands (In 12” lengths), Cranberry bows, Gold beads, Gold bows, White bows with holly and ivy print, Gold ornaments (Shatterproof balls), White ornaments (Religious)
& a wide assortment of non-seasonal (can use anytime) floral arrangements
Sooners verses Red Raiders! Both sound like law breakers needing some good, honest "Cowboys" to keep them in line. Many of us will be watching the game tomorrow night and cheering for the Sooners. But just to complicate things for you, I thought I would let you know that Graham Harrell is very involved at Lubbock First Church of the Nazarene. In fact, one of their members told me this week that they bring him up front every Sunday and pray for him. Last Sunday they gave him the Distinguished Service Award for the Church of the Nazarene. Now that he has this coveted award (who needs a Hesiman), we can only hope that Harrell will have a let down and OU will fight through for victory.
Have a blessed weekend and a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving!
Dave McKellips
This week Karen Patterson, Bud Lauhon and I represented you at the Fall meeting of the Trustees of Southern Nazarene University. I am so thankful for SNU and the way God has used this educational institution for over 100 years to be a part of his transformative work in the lives of students! SNU continues to model the hospitality of grace, the pursuit of truth, and the practice of discipleship. Let’s support SNU and urge our High School students to visit the campus this year. I believe they will be surprised by the quality of the education offered and the availability of financial aid to make it affordable.
I met today with Tim Odom, SDMI Chairman, Jonathan Odom, NYI President, Rodney Durr, Adult Ministries Director and Ken Wheeler, Children’s Ministries Director. A HUGE Training Day is being planned for Saturday, April 25. It will be the place to be for children, youth, and adult workers, as well as Church treasurers and other leaders. Mark your calendars.
Churches, let's continue to be strive to be high impact churches. Our next session of "How to Grow a High Impact Church", will be Monday, Nov. 24, 6:30 pm at Tulsa Central Church in the Kannady Family Life Center. Chip Ingram will be teaching on the Law of Liberation and the Law of Structure. Call me if you have any questions.
District Work and Witness:
Calling on all you folks who would like to grab a (hammer/saw/paintbrush) and help out. Our Northeast District Team still needs a couple more volunteers to help out in our District Work and Witness Trip to the Ukraine. The trip is scheduled for April 13 - 26 of 2009 and will cost about $1,900 per participant. Please pass the word around. Call Jerry Wilburg, right away, at 918-607-8561. Also, perhaps some churches are able to help the participants in defraying the cost of going by having a bake sale or special offering. Please look around and see what you could do to help. During these times of financial crunch it is important that we all do what we can to help out. Thanks so much for your help and your prayers.
AUTHOR APPEARANCE AND BOOK-SIGNING EVENT
Nazarene Authors Dr. David & Lisa Frisbie will be at Mardel's Bookstore in Tulsa, 71st and Mingo, near Woodland Hills Mall on Saturday, November 29th. Hours for the event are 1 PM to 3 PM. The Frisbies will be signing copies of their new book for married couples, "The Soul-Mate Marriage: The Spiritual Journey of Becoming One." This new book has already been endorsed by more than 30 ministry leaders, family counselors, and key denominational executives. "The Soul-Mate Marriage" is about how to build spiritual and emotional intimacy in a marriage, starting from right where you are! It's about becoming closer, deeper, stronger, more intimate in your relationship--- drawing on more than 20 years of marriage and family therapy experience.
Dr. David Frisbie joined the staff of FamilyChurch.tv on January 1, 2008 as Executive Pastor and Pastor to Families, serving under the direction of Senior Pastor Brett Rickey. In addition, David and Lisa are the NEO District Coordinators for Marriage and Family Ministries, serving under Rodney Durr, Director of Adult Ministries for NEO.
David and Lisa would love to meet you at Mardel's in Tulsa! Please stop by and get acquainted with these new NEO ministers. "Soul-Mate" is their 10th published book; they have also published dozens of articles about marriage and family life in magazines, journals and newspapers.
Christamas Decorations Available – Free! John Teel of Broken Arrow First writes: We have redesigned our Christmas decorations at Broken Arrow this year. This has left us with a lot of nice stuff from previous years that we’d like to give away free to any of the district churches. There are also a number of non-seasonal floral arrangements (in good condition) that we won’t reuse since we renovated our facility. Interested parties may contact me via phone at (918) 455-3550 or email at johnt@banazarene.org.
Here’s a sample list of what’s available…Evergreen picks, Pinecone picks , Red berry picks, Mauve poinsettia, Garlands (In 12” lengths), Cranberry bows, Gold beads, Gold bows, White bows with holly and ivy print, Gold ornaments (Shatterproof balls), White ornaments (Religious)
& a wide assortment of non-seasonal (can use anytime) floral arrangements
Sooners verses Red Raiders! Both sound like law breakers needing some good, honest "Cowboys" to keep them in line. Many of us will be watching the game tomorrow night and cheering for the Sooners. But just to complicate things for you, I thought I would let you know that Graham Harrell is very involved at Lubbock First Church of the Nazarene. In fact, one of their members told me this week that they bring him up front every Sunday and pray for him. Last Sunday they gave him the Distinguished Service Award for the Church of the Nazarene. Now that he has this coveted award (who needs a Hesiman), we can only hope that Harrell will have a let down and OU will fight through for victory.
Have a blessed weekend and a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving!
Dave McKellips
Friday, November 14, 2008
Dear NEO family,
Greetings in the strong name of Jesus. In these uncertain times, it is good to have our lives built upon the Rock, isn't it? I pray that you will lean into Jesus and experience His peace, hope, joy and love in abundance today.
Our youth begin their NYI Fall Retreat tonight. I understand that they already have 180 signed up to attend. Let's pray for director, Ryan Amey, and all of our students that this will be a time of great fun and spiritual transformation.
We had a District Advisory Board meeting last evening. As we looked at our financial reports and the faithful giving of the NEO churches, we had reason to give thanks. We also rejoiced in the good return we are getting in our investment in others. Last year our District churches paid $150,782 to Pensions and Benefits. In 2007, our District pastors received $221,937 in benefit dollars! Our churches paid $252,934 to Southern Nazarene University. The amount paid over 90% our educational budget is awarded back to SNU students from NEO. So, last month we gave $316 to each of our 27 students. Last night, David Fitzgerald reminded us that we consistently get more in scholarship and grant money for NEO students at SNU than our District pays in budgets each year. Your giving to the District is helping to start two new churches and train and develop leaders on our District. Your giving to World Evangelism is producing Pentecost type movements in many areas of the world. At a time when your investments in Wall Street are not doing so hot, isn't it good to know that your investments in Kingdom work are producing great dividends!
This week I have been finishing the editing of a devotional booklet that we will use in churches across NEO beginning January 1. This will be one part of a Spiritual Renewal Emphasis, "Back to the Basics". We also will have Zone Prayer Cluster Meetings in all five Zones (Jan. 3, 3pm—Muskogee ; Jan. 4, 5pm—Bristow: Jan. 6, 7 pm—Skiatook ; Jan. 7, 7pm —Claremore; Jan 11, 5pm—Tulsa Regency Park). What could be seen as a 25 day Spiritual Adventure will climax with our Spiritual Renewal Weekend on Januay 23 - 25 with Dr. Jack Eyestone and Leaving 99.
Last Sunday night, Gloria and I were blessed to be at Sapulpa for a revival service with Rev. Greg Rickey. I took a few pictures:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFzA
Pastor Don Cowan told me, "we have raised $2643 for our Thanksgiving meals for Others. We anticipate that we will be able to feed almost 100 families. Wow! That truly is a God thing! We are working cooperatively with Sapulpa Community Care. This is the biggest offering ever from any one church." This is coming right after an incredible display of giving to others by the Sapulpa Church in the Centennial Celebration. When Don came to the church in April, 2007, his passion was "Others". It sure looks like that is now the passion of the entire congregation. Praise the Lord!
Churches, let's continue to be strive to be high impact churches. Our next session of "How to Grow a High Impact Church", will be Monday, Nov. 24, 6:30 pm at Tulsa Central Church in the Kannady Family Life Center. Chip Ingram will be teaching on the Law of Liberation and the Law of Structure. Call me if you have any questions.
The article below highlights the need for good planning. Let's continue to update and implement our action plans!
Small Churches Struggle with Planning
Small churches often get most of the equation right when it comes to making progress, but the one major mistake they make is poor planning, according to results from a recent study by LifeWay Research.
The study shows that an overwhelming majority of pastors of small churches (94%) say they see the need and problems in their community that the church has been called to address, and eight out of 10 say they share with their congregation a clear and compelling picture of what God is calling their church to look like in several years. But 67 percent of pastors of small churches — congregations that average fewer than 100 in primary worship attendance — say they are frustrated with how slow progress is being made at their churches.
Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, says, "Understanding God's calling and the context of the church is important, but leadership requires knowing where you are, knowing where you need to go and knowing how to get there. Most pastors of small churches actively pursue the first two, but many struggle with the third."
Of the 350 Southern Baptist pastors surveyed, only 29 percent strongly agreed that they had a clear plan to transform their churches into what God wanted them to be. Thirty percent agreed that they are confused about where they should invest their own time and effort. And although 70 percent of the pastors said their church budget was enough to fund current objectives, 40 percent agreed that their church rarely has time to reflect and plan properly. For instance, two-thirds of the small churches rarely change the person in charge of certain work or responsibilities. And less than six in ten churches regularly review methods and results of events and programs.
McConnell encourages small churches to "stop and evaluate what they are doing and who is doing it." He added, "Pastors who candidly assess their own strengths and weaknesses can surround themselves with leaders who have the talents that they lack. Each local church should seek out and utilize members gifted in organizing people and processes." [christianpost.com]
Have a blessed weekend!
Dave McKellips
Greetings in the strong name of Jesus. In these uncertain times, it is good to have our lives built upon the Rock, isn't it? I pray that you will lean into Jesus and experience His peace, hope, joy and love in abundance today.
Our youth begin their NYI Fall Retreat tonight. I understand that they already have 180 signed up to attend. Let's pray for director, Ryan Amey, and all of our students that this will be a time of great fun and spiritual transformation.
We had a District Advisory Board meeting last evening. As we looked at our financial reports and the faithful giving of the NEO churches, we had reason to give thanks. We also rejoiced in the good return we are getting in our investment in others. Last year our District churches paid $150,782 to Pensions and Benefits. In 2007, our District pastors received $221,937 in benefit dollars! Our churches paid $252,934 to Southern Nazarene University. The amount paid over 90% our educational budget is awarded back to SNU students from NEO. So, last month we gave $316 to each of our 27 students. Last night, David Fitzgerald reminded us that we consistently get more in scholarship and grant money for NEO students at SNU than our District pays in budgets each year. Your giving to the District is helping to start two new churches and train and develop leaders on our District. Your giving to World Evangelism is producing Pentecost type movements in many areas of the world. At a time when your investments in Wall Street are not doing so hot, isn't it good to know that your investments in Kingdom work are producing great dividends!
This week I have been finishing the editing of a devotional booklet that we will use in churches across NEO beginning January 1. This will be one part of a Spiritual Renewal Emphasis, "Back to the Basics". We also will have Zone Prayer Cluster Meetings in all five Zones (Jan. 3, 3pm—Muskogee ; Jan. 4, 5pm—Bristow: Jan. 6, 7 pm—Skiatook ; Jan. 7, 7pm —Claremore; Jan 11, 5pm—Tulsa Regency Park). What could be seen as a 25 day Spiritual Adventure will climax with our Spiritual Renewal Weekend on Januay 23 - 25 with Dr. Jack Eyestone and Leaving 99.
Last Sunday night, Gloria and I were blessed to be at Sapulpa for a revival service with Rev. Greg Rickey. I took a few pictures:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFzA
Pastor Don Cowan told me, "we have raised $2643 for our Thanksgiving meals for Others. We anticipate that we will be able to feed almost 100 families. Wow! That truly is a God thing! We are working cooperatively with Sapulpa Community Care. This is the biggest offering ever from any one church." This is coming right after an incredible display of giving to others by the Sapulpa Church in the Centennial Celebration. When Don came to the church in April, 2007, his passion was "Others". It sure looks like that is now the passion of the entire congregation. Praise the Lord!
Churches, let's continue to be strive to be high impact churches. Our next session of "How to Grow a High Impact Church", will be Monday, Nov. 24, 6:30 pm at Tulsa Central Church in the Kannady Family Life Center. Chip Ingram will be teaching on the Law of Liberation and the Law of Structure. Call me if you have any questions.
The article below highlights the need for good planning. Let's continue to update and implement our action plans!
Small Churches Struggle with Planning
Small churches often get most of the equation right when it comes to making progress, but the one major mistake they make is poor planning, according to results from a recent study by LifeWay Research.
The study shows that an overwhelming majority of pastors of small churches (94%) say they see the need and problems in their community that the church has been called to address, and eight out of 10 say they share with their congregation a clear and compelling picture of what God is calling their church to look like in several years. But 67 percent of pastors of small churches — congregations that average fewer than 100 in primary worship attendance — say they are frustrated with how slow progress is being made at their churches.
Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, says, "Understanding God's calling and the context of the church is important, but leadership requires knowing where you are, knowing where you need to go and knowing how to get there. Most pastors of small churches actively pursue the first two, but many struggle with the third."
Of the 350 Southern Baptist pastors surveyed, only 29 percent strongly agreed that they had a clear plan to transform their churches into what God wanted them to be. Thirty percent agreed that they are confused about where they should invest their own time and effort. And although 70 percent of the pastors said their church budget was enough to fund current objectives, 40 percent agreed that their church rarely has time to reflect and plan properly. For instance, two-thirds of the small churches rarely change the person in charge of certain work or responsibilities. And less than six in ten churches regularly review methods and results of events and programs.
McConnell encourages small churches to "stop and evaluate what they are doing and who is doing it." He added, "Pastors who candidly assess their own strengths and weaknesses can surround themselves with leaders who have the talents that they lack. Each local church should seek out and utilize members gifted in organizing people and processes." [christianpost.com]
Have a blessed weekend!
Dave McKellips
Friday, November 7, 2008
Dear NEO family,
Greetings in the strong name of Jesus! These have certainly been historic days in the USA. I am thankful to be a part of a democratic nation where we can participate in the political process. I am thankful that in our nation people from any race, gender or background has opportunity to advance to positions of power and influence. The late Tim Russert often quoted his dad as saying, “What a country!”
We, as Christians, have participated in the political process and now we must continue to pray for and support our elected leaders. At times our faithfulness to God and Scripture may call us to respectfully speak in opposition to the policies of our leaders. Many Christians believe that non-violent civil disobedience may even be an appropriate Christian response in some circumstances. But our basic Scriptural call is to pray for our leaders. And as we pray for our leaders, let’s also pray for a revived church and for courageous clergy. As Charles Colson writes, “This is no time for Christians to go into bunkers. This is a time to repent, to pray more. It’s time for Christians to lead.”
A friend of mine, Rev. Fred Wenger, sent out the following prayer the morning after our elections this week. I commend it to you.
Father, I thank you that I live in the United States of America. I thank you for the opportunity to vote and let my voice be heard. Now that my vote and the votes of millions of Americans have been counted, I thank you that we have a clear choice for President. Teach his supporters the grace of winning. Now Father, I pray that you will be with President-Elect Obama and his family. Let them seek and find your grace as they enter this new phase of life. Surround them with your protection.
I ask that you guide President-Elect Obama as he forms his government. Please guide him towards the most godly, capable and upright among us. Help him make wise choices. Give him wisdom and advisors who will be able to lead us out of the huge financial mess. Give him wisdom and advisors who will find adequate responses to other pressing problems. Give him wisdom and advisors who will enable us to walk tall on the world's stage. Give him wisdom and advisors who will be able to bring an honorable resolution to Iraq and other troubled areas. Give him wisdom and advisors who will be able to guide him in dealing with those who would cause us harm from without.
I ask that you will bring into his circle of advisors and acquaintances, godly men and women who can keep his administration on a morally steady course. Ones who will point him towards a sensitivity and appreciation of moral values so many of us hold dear in regards to the life of the unborn. Let him and the ones around him continue to recognize the strong Christian heritage so many of us hold precious. Give him a heart to be the president of all the people.
Teach those of us who voted for John McCain the willingness to give him a chance, and a heart to pray for his success. Teach us to conduct the "watchdog" role with grace and decorum. God forbid that any among us be unChristlike in lifting up Jesus Christ.
Father, please lift up from among us those who can and will be used to bring revival and renewal to our nation and our world.
In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Last week, Gloria and I had the privilege of sharing in our District Ministers and Mates’ Retreat in Branson. What a great group of pastors and spouses we serve alongside! Thank you NEO churches for making it possible for your pastors to attend. On Sunday we worshiped with Pastor Geoff Gunter and the wonderful folks at Regency Park. Pictures of both events are below:
Ministers and Mates Retreat
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFiA
Regency Park Nov. 08
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFqg
Americans Keep Giving Even in Tough Times
While the recent economic downturn has caused many churches and non-profit organizations to wonder what the last two months of the year may hold in store, two recent studies suggest that, even amid tough times, Americans will keep giving.
A national survey of online consumers released this week finds that 51 percent (89 million people) plan to donate to nonprofit groups via the Internet in November and December. The study, which was commissioned by Convio Inc., a Texas-based maker of online donation software, estimates that online giving to charities will top $3 billion during this holiday season.
A related report, released in September by Giving USA Foundation, surprisingly shows that, over the past 40 years, times of recession and economic slowdown have not had a major impact on charitable giving. The research reveals that, during recessions since 1969, total giving has only dropped by an average rate of one percent. "It's important at this juncture for cooler heads to prevail and for non-profits to not listen to those who would claim the sky is falling," said George C. Ruotolo Jr., past chairman of Giving USA Foundation. "Those charities with a clear and compelling case and an established loyal donor constituency will continue to succeed, even in difficult times." [GivingUSA Foundation, yahoo.com]
Have a blessed weekend!
Dave McKellips
Greetings in the strong name of Jesus! These have certainly been historic days in the USA. I am thankful to be a part of a democratic nation where we can participate in the political process. I am thankful that in our nation people from any race, gender or background has opportunity to advance to positions of power and influence. The late Tim Russert often quoted his dad as saying, “What a country!”
We, as Christians, have participated in the political process and now we must continue to pray for and support our elected leaders. At times our faithfulness to God and Scripture may call us to respectfully speak in opposition to the policies of our leaders. Many Christians believe that non-violent civil disobedience may even be an appropriate Christian response in some circumstances. But our basic Scriptural call is to pray for our leaders. And as we pray for our leaders, let’s also pray for a revived church and for courageous clergy. As Charles Colson writes, “This is no time for Christians to go into bunkers. This is a time to repent, to pray more. It’s time for Christians to lead.”
A friend of mine, Rev. Fred Wenger, sent out the following prayer the morning after our elections this week. I commend it to you.
Father, I thank you that I live in the United States of America. I thank you for the opportunity to vote and let my voice be heard. Now that my vote and the votes of millions of Americans have been counted, I thank you that we have a clear choice for President. Teach his supporters the grace of winning. Now Father, I pray that you will be with President-Elect Obama and his family. Let them seek and find your grace as they enter this new phase of life. Surround them with your protection.
I ask that you guide President-Elect Obama as he forms his government. Please guide him towards the most godly, capable and upright among us. Help him make wise choices. Give him wisdom and advisors who will be able to lead us out of the huge financial mess. Give him wisdom and advisors who will find adequate responses to other pressing problems. Give him wisdom and advisors who will enable us to walk tall on the world's stage. Give him wisdom and advisors who will be able to bring an honorable resolution to Iraq and other troubled areas. Give him wisdom and advisors who will be able to guide him in dealing with those who would cause us harm from without.
I ask that you will bring into his circle of advisors and acquaintances, godly men and women who can keep his administration on a morally steady course. Ones who will point him towards a sensitivity and appreciation of moral values so many of us hold dear in regards to the life of the unborn. Let him and the ones around him continue to recognize the strong Christian heritage so many of us hold precious. Give him a heart to be the president of all the people.
Teach those of us who voted for John McCain the willingness to give him a chance, and a heart to pray for his success. Teach us to conduct the "watchdog" role with grace and decorum. God forbid that any among us be unChristlike in lifting up Jesus Christ.
Father, please lift up from among us those who can and will be used to bring revival and renewal to our nation and our world.
In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Last week, Gloria and I had the privilege of sharing in our District Ministers and Mates’ Retreat in Branson. What a great group of pastors and spouses we serve alongside! Thank you NEO churches for making it possible for your pastors to attend. On Sunday we worshiped with Pastor Geoff Gunter and the wonderful folks at Regency Park. Pictures of both events are below:
Ministers and Mates Retreat
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFiA
Regency Park Nov. 08
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFqg
Americans Keep Giving Even in Tough Times
While the recent economic downturn has caused many churches and non-profit organizations to wonder what the last two months of the year may hold in store, two recent studies suggest that, even amid tough times, Americans will keep giving.
A national survey of online consumers released this week finds that 51 percent (89 million people) plan to donate to nonprofit groups via the Internet in November and December. The study, which was commissioned by Convio Inc., a Texas-based maker of online donation software, estimates that online giving to charities will top $3 billion during this holiday season.
A related report, released in September by Giving USA Foundation, surprisingly shows that, over the past 40 years, times of recession and economic slowdown have not had a major impact on charitable giving. The research reveals that, during recessions since 1969, total giving has only dropped by an average rate of one percent. "It's important at this juncture for cooler heads to prevail and for non-profits to not listen to those who would claim the sky is falling," said George C. Ruotolo Jr., past chairman of Giving USA Foundation. "Those charities with a clear and compelling case and an established loyal donor constituency will continue to succeed, even in difficult times." [GivingUSA Foundation, yahoo.com]
Have a blessed weekend!
Dave McKellips
Monday, November 3, 2008
Dear NEO family,
Greetings! I was having email problems last Friday (I think my computer was upset at me for being gone to Ministers and Mates Retreat for a few days.) Anyway, I apologize for not getting a blog posted at the end of last week.
Rachel Bess, our District Children’s Quiz Director reports: We had our first Area Quiz this past Saturday at Central. We had eight churches participating with 59 quizzers (29 Red Level and 30 Blue Level) and many parents, grandparents and friends attended. We have 63 quizzers registered for the year. All went great and the Blue Level adapted to the power point with their quizzes exceptionally well. Thanks to all the directors, coaches and parents for working so hard with these children to teach them the Book of Exodus.
Our pastors and local leaders did an outstanding job of getting their monthly attendance reports into the District office last week. Many had great gains over a year ago:
NEO Top Ten Leaders
S.S.
Claremore +45
R.P. Hispanic +35
Collinsville +33
Sapulpa +32
Drumright +27
Tulsa Family +35
Sand Springs +20
Tahlequah +9
Owasso Silver Creek +6
Horton Chapel +5
AM Worship
BA Connection +99
Claremore +52
R.P. Hispanic +38
Owasso Silver Creek +31
Sand Springs +28
Dewey +24
Nowata +10
Miami New Life +9
Skiatook +7
Coweta +6
I always love to read what our pastors are celebrating each month. I trust you find it encouraging as well:
I want to celebrate...
David Stevens, Vinita Overall the Vinita Church is doing well. Attendance is up. The spirit of the services is improving as we focus on celebration, fellowship, worship, and changing our focus to “Others.”
Claude Guy, Sand Springs We baptized 5 children this month - 4 of which come to church through our van ministry. The night before we had a teen activity in which 27 teens showed up to participate. Out of the 27 teens, 25 of them were here the next morning for Sunday School. That Sunday was one of our biggest attended services we have had in quite some time --- 96 for Sunday School and 142 for our Morning Worship. It is great to see how God is working in and through the lives of our children and youth!
Rodney Durr, Muskogee First A wave of visitors this month that has really helped our momentum, four baptized, and three new Nazarenes
John Whitsett, Tulsa Central Exceeded our Faith Promise goal of $75,000 in covenant commitments on Sunday, October 26. Had a very well received Battle Plan for Believers seminar with Steve Laswell. Our Centennial Celebration was a very positive and inspirational day.
Stephen Hundley, Cleveland We had a great revival w/ Dr. Alan Duce!
Casey Hollingsworth, Miami New Life I’m thankful for my loving church family who blew my family away with their generosity shown towards us during pastor appreciation month. They took up a love offering and surprised us with a check that we used to install bricks in our new addition of our home. God is so good!
Angela Bentley, Bristow This week we are celebrating one year since we started our new outreach ministry to children and youth. We have named it Wednesday Night Live! It continues to grow as our youth invite new friends almost weekly and more adults are becoming involved. Most often our WNL attendance is greater than our AM Worship attendance, but many of them are beginning to attend Sunday School and worship so we will soon see it affect those averages as well. We have grown so fast that we quickly developed a need for added transportation for WNL and outings. We began praying for this need and God honored our obedience to His direction in an amazing way! Central Church has donated a van to our ministry! Praise the Lord! God is so good! It has been so exciting to see our people realize that this is what God wants to do with us and our resources! And when He loves them enough to send such a definite affirmation of their labors such as the van – it is overwhelming!
Gordon Smith, III Dewey Our Centennial celebration/Church Homecoming! We had a tremendous service, with a number of guests and visitors. We finished painting the hallway and stairwell of our church (before the Centennial Celebration), and we are nearly finished with our painting project! The recommitment of a couple in our church who has decided that they desire to pass down a heritage of Christ-like love to their children. Their family, a few years ago was on the verge of falling apart, but God grabbed a hold of this couple and they are a family that is following Jesus! God is still in the business of restoring marriages! We have hired on two new staff members. One person is going to be our “Family Life Pastor” whose goal is to connect our children and youth to the congregation while also connecting with the parents on how to better serve them. And the other person is going to be our “Baby Boomer Pastor” (don’t have an official title yet), but he is going to focus on ministering to the age group from about 40-60 years in age. We are excited about what God is doing, and looking forward at what God is going to do in the future!
Don Nichols, Tahlequah Centennial Celebration Saturday October 4, 2008. We had over 400 in attendance. We concluded the event with reenactment of Pilot Point Business Meeting.
Gerald James, Claremore 166 people from our congregation participated in our "GO" event. In addition, we had approximately 20 people who came out to the cookout because they were pre-invited and 30 people came out because we invited them between 11:00am and 12:00noon on Sunday. The worship service at the park was beautiful and several people made new commitments to Christ. Four of those people are going through Basic Bible Studies. A couple more families joined our church this month. We also have a few more families going through our church information class. Our Centennial Sunday Celebration was great!
Don Cowan, Sapulpa The excitement of the “Next 100 Years results” We continue to pray with and for South County Community church
David Rogers, Mannford I want to celebrate new roofs and rain gutter on church and parsonage. The greatest celebration for us this month was the opportunity to go and minister to the residents at Cimarron Pointe. We enjoyed being with the residents. We worshipped with them in music and through the Word.
Nathan Burns, Owasso Silver Creek We recently had a Sunday Night Youth Led Worship Service and had 101 in attendance. .Financially we are doing well, God is faithful! We had an outreach event for Jr. High Students and had 25 in attendance (We only have three Jr High Students). We also collected 280 lbs of food for the Owasso Resource Center. On the 19th God's Spirit fell upon our church in an incredible way and we got out of the way and allowed His Spirit to lead. It was the best service we have had to date.
Wayde Normandin, Chelsea We are moving forward on accomplishing our goals this year. Three of our goals for building a healthy church are in progress. First, we are building a strong financial picture at the church by tracking finances using the NTS accounting system, paying budget allocations on time and building an emergency fund. Second, we have also made needed repairs to the church which is helping to enhance the image of the church in the community. This month we resurfaced our front parking lot, replaced two exterior doors and jams, hung exterior siding and soffits on the church. In addition, we installed a new window in the nursery. Our new roof is completed and leak free. Next month's plans will be new carpeting for the church entry way and further improvements to the church nursery. Third, Sunday, November 2, we are coming together as a church to begin THE QUEST, a 40-day spiritual adventure. This journey is designed to bring our church to a new level of unity, spiritual maturity and enthusiasm.
Alan McBroom, Davenport Our Church Board has been fired up about reaching people for Christ in such a way that our vision and ministries are becoming more sharply focused!
James Wilson, Barnsdall We had an exciting visitor this week from the spouse of a regular attendee. This individual rarely has very much to do with the church, but chose to attend Sunday worship this past week.
James Wilson, Pawhuska Highs and lows this month with a high of 77 on the Centennial and a low of 31 last week (many members traveling).
Brad Farnsworth, Connection New people every Sunday; baptized three adults, including a husband and wife; three more waiting to be baptized; there is a positive note among all our volunteers
Jake Reese, Pryor Two new ladies coming to Christ: Jamie Coblentz and Ronee Ayotte.
Kim Kent of Southwest Church We are having Rocky Calmus speak at the Berryhill School Auditorium November 8, 2008, Saturday, at 7:00 p.m. Following him will be the Justin Colfield Band. The tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. If anyone wants a ticket, please have them contact me either via email or (918) 857-8006. All proceeds will go to the Berryhill Schools for drug testing. This was prompted due to the death of a 16 year old boy this last summer, drugs given to him by his father. He was the oldest of 4 boys, and his grandparents and brothers go to our church.
Hope you have a blessed week! You are loved!
Dave McKellips
Greetings! I was having email problems last Friday (I think my computer was upset at me for being gone to Ministers and Mates Retreat for a few days.) Anyway, I apologize for not getting a blog posted at the end of last week.
Rachel Bess, our District Children’s Quiz Director reports: We had our first Area Quiz this past Saturday at Central. We had eight churches participating with 59 quizzers (29 Red Level and 30 Blue Level) and many parents, grandparents and friends attended. We have 63 quizzers registered for the year. All went great and the Blue Level adapted to the power point with their quizzes exceptionally well. Thanks to all the directors, coaches and parents for working so hard with these children to teach them the Book of Exodus.
Our pastors and local leaders did an outstanding job of getting their monthly attendance reports into the District office last week. Many had great gains over a year ago:
NEO Top Ten Leaders
S.S.
Claremore +45
R.P. Hispanic +35
Collinsville +33
Sapulpa +32
Drumright +27
Tulsa Family +35
Sand Springs +20
Tahlequah +9
Owasso Silver Creek +6
Horton Chapel +5
AM Worship
BA Connection +99
Claremore +52
R.P. Hispanic +38
Owasso Silver Creek +31
Sand Springs +28
Dewey +24
Nowata +10
Miami New Life +9
Skiatook +7
Coweta +6
I always love to read what our pastors are celebrating each month. I trust you find it encouraging as well:
I want to celebrate...
David Stevens, Vinita Overall the Vinita Church is doing well. Attendance is up. The spirit of the services is improving as we focus on celebration, fellowship, worship, and changing our focus to “Others.”
Claude Guy, Sand Springs We baptized 5 children this month - 4 of which come to church through our van ministry. The night before we had a teen activity in which 27 teens showed up to participate. Out of the 27 teens, 25 of them were here the next morning for Sunday School. That Sunday was one of our biggest attended services we have had in quite some time --- 96 for Sunday School and 142 for our Morning Worship. It is great to see how God is working in and through the lives of our children and youth!
Rodney Durr, Muskogee First A wave of visitors this month that has really helped our momentum, four baptized, and three new Nazarenes
John Whitsett, Tulsa Central Exceeded our Faith Promise goal of $75,000 in covenant commitments on Sunday, October 26. Had a very well received Battle Plan for Believers seminar with Steve Laswell. Our Centennial Celebration was a very positive and inspirational day.
Stephen Hundley, Cleveland We had a great revival w/ Dr. Alan Duce!
Casey Hollingsworth, Miami New Life I’m thankful for my loving church family who blew my family away with their generosity shown towards us during pastor appreciation month. They took up a love offering and surprised us with a check that we used to install bricks in our new addition of our home. God is so good!
Angela Bentley, Bristow This week we are celebrating one year since we started our new outreach ministry to children and youth. We have named it Wednesday Night Live! It continues to grow as our youth invite new friends almost weekly and more adults are becoming involved. Most often our WNL attendance is greater than our AM Worship attendance, but many of them are beginning to attend Sunday School and worship so we will soon see it affect those averages as well. We have grown so fast that we quickly developed a need for added transportation for WNL and outings. We began praying for this need and God honored our obedience to His direction in an amazing way! Central Church has donated a van to our ministry! Praise the Lord! God is so good! It has been so exciting to see our people realize that this is what God wants to do with us and our resources! And when He loves them enough to send such a definite affirmation of their labors such as the van – it is overwhelming!
Gordon Smith, III Dewey Our Centennial celebration/Church Homecoming! We had a tremendous service, with a number of guests and visitors. We finished painting the hallway and stairwell of our church (before the Centennial Celebration), and we are nearly finished with our painting project! The recommitment of a couple in our church who has decided that they desire to pass down a heritage of Christ-like love to their children. Their family, a few years ago was on the verge of falling apart, but God grabbed a hold of this couple and they are a family that is following Jesus! God is still in the business of restoring marriages! We have hired on two new staff members. One person is going to be our “Family Life Pastor” whose goal is to connect our children and youth to the congregation while also connecting with the parents on how to better serve them. And the other person is going to be our “Baby Boomer Pastor” (don’t have an official title yet), but he is going to focus on ministering to the age group from about 40-60 years in age. We are excited about what God is doing, and looking forward at what God is going to do in the future!
Don Nichols, Tahlequah Centennial Celebration Saturday October 4, 2008. We had over 400 in attendance. We concluded the event with reenactment of Pilot Point Business Meeting.
Gerald James, Claremore 166 people from our congregation participated in our "GO" event. In addition, we had approximately 20 people who came out to the cookout because they were pre-invited and 30 people came out because we invited them between 11:00am and 12:00noon on Sunday. The worship service at the park was beautiful and several people made new commitments to Christ. Four of those people are going through Basic Bible Studies. A couple more families joined our church this month. We also have a few more families going through our church information class. Our Centennial Sunday Celebration was great!
Don Cowan, Sapulpa The excitement of the “Next 100 Years results” We continue to pray with and for South County Community church
David Rogers, Mannford I want to celebrate new roofs and rain gutter on church and parsonage. The greatest celebration for us this month was the opportunity to go and minister to the residents at Cimarron Pointe. We enjoyed being with the residents. We worshipped with them in music and through the Word.
Nathan Burns, Owasso Silver Creek We recently had a Sunday Night Youth Led Worship Service and had 101 in attendance. .Financially we are doing well, God is faithful! We had an outreach event for Jr. High Students and had 25 in attendance (We only have three Jr High Students). We also collected 280 lbs of food for the Owasso Resource Center. On the 19th God's Spirit fell upon our church in an incredible way and we got out of the way and allowed His Spirit to lead. It was the best service we have had to date.
Wayde Normandin, Chelsea We are moving forward on accomplishing our goals this year. Three of our goals for building a healthy church are in progress. First, we are building a strong financial picture at the church by tracking finances using the NTS accounting system, paying budget allocations on time and building an emergency fund. Second, we have also made needed repairs to the church which is helping to enhance the image of the church in the community. This month we resurfaced our front parking lot, replaced two exterior doors and jams, hung exterior siding and soffits on the church. In addition, we installed a new window in the nursery. Our new roof is completed and leak free. Next month's plans will be new carpeting for the church entry way and further improvements to the church nursery. Third, Sunday, November 2, we are coming together as a church to begin THE QUEST, a 40-day spiritual adventure. This journey is designed to bring our church to a new level of unity, spiritual maturity and enthusiasm.
Alan McBroom, Davenport Our Church Board has been fired up about reaching people for Christ in such a way that our vision and ministries are becoming more sharply focused!
James Wilson, Barnsdall We had an exciting visitor this week from the spouse of a regular attendee. This individual rarely has very much to do with the church, but chose to attend Sunday worship this past week.
James Wilson, Pawhuska Highs and lows this month with a high of 77 on the Centennial and a low of 31 last week (many members traveling).
Brad Farnsworth, Connection New people every Sunday; baptized three adults, including a husband and wife; three more waiting to be baptized; there is a positive note among all our volunteers
Jake Reese, Pryor Two new ladies coming to Christ: Jamie Coblentz and Ronee Ayotte.
Kim Kent of Southwest Church We are having Rocky Calmus speak at the Berryhill School Auditorium November 8, 2008, Saturday, at 7:00 p.m. Following him will be the Justin Colfield Band. The tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. If anyone wants a ticket, please have them contact me either via email or (918) 857-8006. All proceeds will go to the Berryhill Schools for drug testing. This was prompted due to the death of a 16 year old boy this last summer, drugs given to him by his father. He was the oldest of 4 boys, and his grandparents and brothers go to our church.
Hope you have a blessed week! You are loved!
Dave McKellips
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