By your Spirit, God, may we speak the truth in love. Keep us unafraid to tell the truth and to call for your justice; but keep us also gracious and loving, remembering that we too are broken sinners, redeemed only by your grace. Help us to walk this line, trusting you all the way.

Dear NEO Nazarene family,

Greetings in the strong name of Jesus! It is a joy to share with churches across Northeast Oklahoma. Last week I attended Connection Church, one of our NewStart churches in northeast Broken Arrow. Pastor Brad and Laura Farnsworth and providing excellent leadership and the church has had a new surge of visitors in recent weeks. This Sunday I get to preach at Cleveland in the morning and meet with Barnsdall in the afternoon.

Attached are pictures from our recent visit to Tahlequah. Continue to pray for Tahlequah and Barnsdall as we search for new pastors.
Tahlequah, October 18, 2009
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTMOg

The SNU Crimson Storm Men’s Basketball team playing at TU against the Golden Hurricane men on Monday evening, Nov. 2, 7pm.

Our mission as a denomination is to make Christlike disciples in the nations. I love the focus and clarity this gives to our task. But how are we really doing?

The words below from Gallup’s “Engaged Church” newletter need to be pondered:

If we surveyed the people in your church - how many people would say that one of the main purposes in their lives is to be a disciplemaker?

According to comparable studies by Gallup and the Barna Group - not many.

Both organizations confirm that while churches are busy doing a lot of things, there is one thing that the majority of them are failing to do and that is to "make disciples".

Can you imagine any other business in the world that failed at something so core to it's very existence?

"Hi welcome to McDonald's, would you like to try our new Pilates class?"

"Coach, what did your team practice this week in light of the upcoming World Series?" "Well, a number of the guys worked on their vocals for the post season family get together. A few of them were enjoying our new swimming class and a few others were - "

Silly?

Absolutely.

Too many of our churches are so busy "playing church" and "doing church" that they have forgotten what it means to "be the church". It's about making disciples. It's about leading people to spiritual maturity (Ephesians 5:1-2).

In March, 2009, Barna released the results of a study that showed churches were high on "pep talks and motivation" but light on actually defining spiritual maturity and a process for spiritual growth with over 80% of churches having no working definition of Spiritual Maturity.

That is the equivalent of a Football coach yelling at his players to "put it in the end zone" without even telling them what direction the end-zone is - not to mention the nearest First Down marker.

Gallup's study, highlighted in Growing an Engaged Church shows that less than 20% of church members have been asked about their spiritual growth in the past 6 months - you can't manage what you can't measure and our churches are not giving members a measurable pathway for spiritual growth.

Churches need to be about the business of making disciples as much as McDonalds needs to be about the business of hamburgers and Baseball teams need to be about the business of Baseball.

It is great to be on the team with you. Let’s spur one another on as we take our discipleship task seriously!

Dave