I never understood why they officially removed the Do Not Drive into Smoke signs on the highways of Oklahoma unless maybe they scared the tourists. Controlled burns for the farmlands are a routine chore of crop management. Appropriate drought and wind warnings and precautions from meteorologists are widely broadcast. There were days of national warnings of the dangers anticipated for past Friday’s multi-state cyclone. Yet the magnitude of damage from fallen trees and power lines, fed by gale force winds and flying ashes, continued past Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, across the nation turning into thunderstorms and tornadic destruction. The Oklahoma statistics of 170,000 acres burned, countless structures destroyed, and 4 fatalities, with more than 200 people injured, leaves all of us shaken, saddened, and grieving. Rebuilding and recovery will take months, if not years. One cry was reported often, we had no insurance. 

The state of Oklahoma has averaged about four multi-million-dollar disasters each year for the last five years. Insurance companies are reluctant to provide affordable coverage. Our church insurance package proclaims wind, hail, fire, and water damage to be in a special category, requiring a 2% deductible based on their unrealistic value of our property, which at $8 million dollars, gives us a deductible of $160,000.  The property insurance crisis in Oklahoma is not being addressed by our elected officials. A lot of petty personal pet peeves seem to take priority over the true needs of our citizens. When the government expects the generosity of neighbors to make up the deductibles and losses without legislative action, pain and poverty deepens in the hearts of Oklahomans. Our church will continue to do its part in ministry and service to those in need, regardless of corporate and political neglect.  

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Uplift a neighbor. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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I enjoy looking at the baby pictures of friends and loved ones.  I especially like to view the albums that show the ever-growing and physically changing young life becoming a future adult. Sometimes we see these kinds of pictures as part of the celebration of a life at the time of the funeral. I am struck by how much of the adult is visible in even some of the earliest pictures. We recognize family characteristics and similarities across generations. In some pictures we spot our younger selves. It is often more fun to look at the old photos than in the mirror, although pictures of anyone in junior high rarely get rave reviews.  

For each of their high school graduations, my mother created scrapbooks for her grandchildren, including our daughters. She intended these scrapbooks to be starter albums. They included most of the pictures she had received over the years in chronological order, and included a few of the girls’ handwritten letters, cards and drawings. The scrapbooks ended with their senior picture, and many blank pages for the rest of the story.

While there were no cameras in biblical times, the psalmist must have been thinking of his earliest days when he wrote, “Lord, you are my hope. Lord, I have trusted you since I was young. I have depended on you since I was born; you helped me even on the day of my birth. I will always praise your name.” (Psalm 71:5-6) The psalmist goes on to reflect on the rest of his life and voice concern to God about growing old. If you ever find yourself feeling melancholy or down, get out a baby album, or better yet, go visit the newborn nursery at a hospital. You will smile, reflect and remember whose child you are—of the God who knows your name.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Make God smile. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Tell me about your first car, the one you bought with your own money or that was given to you as a hand-me-down. How careful were you with it? How long did it take for you to get a ticket, or a warning? Were you sad to let it go? Do you wish you still had that old car? My first car was a white, two-door 1960 Simca Aronde. My uncle sold it to me for $25, because they were moving out of state. It had a stick-shift with an extra 5th gear. Its other fun feature as a French-made car was its dual horn. The driver could use either the town or country horn to alert people or animals. I owned it most of my college years. After the clutch gave out driving around the mountains of Birmingham, I sold it to the owner of a gas station for $35, quite the tidy little profit! I bought my next car, a Plymouth, from my father for $150, a week before I moved to Texas. They were  moving to Atlanta the next week. 

Do you remember the excitement of getting your driver’s license? First car, first job, first kiss, first house all rank near the top of special memories. Yet life gets complicated and cars break, jobs change, kisses fade, and before we know it we are in a different place. The Apostle John reminded the church at Ephesus, where he had once been pastor, that the church was in spiritual danger because they had neglected their first priority as believers. While working so hard to root out wickedness in others, they had forsaken their first love: loving others in Jesus’ name. Do you remember the first time Jesus became more than a Bible story to you? 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Embrace the first priority. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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I read every day, whether it is current event articles, devotionals, nonfiction, or sermon materials. During the recent holiday season I began reading a few who-done-it novels for relaxation. Fiction, biographies and memoirs are really portraits of people’s character. I like to make deep dives into selected topics, chasing down ideas that may develop into something useful one day. I have discovered that sometimes even the boring or dead-end materials can spark an idea that may lead to an insight about myself, or church life, or personal relationships.

I seek to look for the trends and patterns, the challenges and the frustrations facing us each day. People are living on the edge and finding the times unsettling.  Most folks want to depend on a decent income, live with meaning and purpose in relative peace and safety, and enjoy a good meal with a friend occasionally. While there is always a segment of people who enjoy picking a fight, most of us have enough troubles of our own. That’s why I find books and reading so helpful. Reading is story-finding.

We are a people of stories.  Tell me a story pleads every child. We are storytellers at heart. When we find a story, we step into its world. A story will place us amid any time, in any place, in any person or creature, in any circumstance in or out of this world.  C. S. Lewis once wrote of how the power of reading opens our perspectives: We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own. Stories teach us how to love our neighbors as ourselves. They may even teach us how to love ourselves with respect and compassion. Of course, I also read a very good book of stories that provides meaning, hope and redemption. It has real stories, some are cautionary tales of the pain and struggles of real people in complicated families. Step into the stories of Jesus. People who read the Bible find their own story interwoven with God’s love and grace. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Be a story-finder. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Remember back to the good old days around February 7, 2025, when the temperature rose to 84˚ here in Tulsa? It seems a little mean of nature to trick us like that. In fact, there has been too much mean weather across the land these past few months. Last Wednesday evening’s activities were cancelled because of cold and icy conditions. Last Sunday morning’s service was cancelled because of snow and ice. This week’s Wednesday activities are cancelled because of predicted heavy snow on Tuesday and a high temperature of 9˚ on Wednesday.  Nine degrees for the high for the whole day (or not).

Most years I write something about harsh weather—preparing for it, recovering from it, or what to do in the middle of it. Hot or cold, wet or dry, all of us talk about the weather almost every day, especially to strangers when we don’t know what to say. We have favorite meteorologists. We constantly check on the temperature outside, even if we are not going outdoors. I used to have a weather rock that helped me check the weather before there were cell phones. And we had to call on the kitchen telephone to find out the time and the temperature. How did we ever manage?

We had “thunder sleet” one March Sunday in 2014. That winter we had to cancel one service each month for four months in a row because of the bitter weather. As I have said before, if I were the one in control, the weather would always be beautiful on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights. God and I have had this discussion for years now. Mostly I talk. God doesn’t say much about it. All I ever get is, “It rains on the just and the unjust alike.”  You would think that God would make it as easy as possible for people to go to church on Sunday mornings!  God does not micromanage the weather at all. It’s probably more about strengthening our character, stretching our faith, and learning to depend on God through whatever comes our way. We have been here before. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Jesus will see you through. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Have you ever had anything break at just the right time? Neither have I. Sometimes you have a little warning that things are not doing well – a funny noise, a strange smell, a flashing light. Other times things just quit or fall apart while using them. Take my car, for instance—please. I had an unusual warning light come on my dashboard, so I got out the user’s manual. I learned the light meant there was a major engine problem: take the car immediately to the dealership right now, do not wait. Go! So I did. That was on August 30, 2024. It would take a long time to fix my car.

The engine had a broken head gasket. Eventually the necessary parts completed their tour of the world and arrived in early November. Then some of the parts got lost for a time. The tool used to install the vital parts broke. Two more weeks for the service department to get the new tool to fix my car. I was unhappy. It was New Year’s Eve when I confronted the owner of the dealership. He seemed eager to help. When they tested the repaired engine, it made a “funny noise, skipped and popped.” It took a couple more weeks to find someone brave enough to look and see what was wrong. Then a brand-new engine was ordered. Finally on February 6, 2025, I drove my car off the lot, then circled back for them to rotate and air-up the tires, which they had promised to do, because the car had been sitting in one place for five months and seven days! What was I writing about? Things break. The boiler broke at church.* Some breaks are harder than others and some broken things are harder to repair. Hearts, reputations, bones, and relationships, for instance, need patient understanding and healing grace.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Practice patience. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

* The Boiler Broke in the Education Building

Solutions are being explored for replacing the boiler in the furnace room of the education building which had an unrepairable break last week. This unit was installed in 1965. Parts are no longer available. In the meantime, there is no heat in that part of the building. 

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This is taken from an article I wrote in 2019. Still relevant today.

And furthermore, O God, smash them in the mouth and break all of their teeth.  It’s outrageous! In Psalm 58 the psalmist is raging against the faithless rulers, the judges, and religious leaders who pervert justice and promote violence everywhere. I can identify with the psalmist here. How easy it is to rage against perceived injustice with a call for cruel revenge.

God asks Jeremiah, Have you seen what my faithless people have done? They defile the land with prostitution and wickedness. It’s outrageous! God is raging against His own people for breaking the first commandment repeatedly, never repenting of their love for other gods. How easy it is to presume upon God’s mercy and overlook our own idols. (read Jeremiah 3:1-15)

The reason I left you in Crete was for you to straighten out the unfinished work and appoint blameless leaders, Paul admonishes Titus. There are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers…they must be silenced because they are ruining whole households.  It’s outrageous! Paul is upset that the households of faith in Crete were not reflecting the qualities of exemplary believers. Believers must be virtuous, faithful, self-controlled and secure in God’s love and grace. How easy it is for the cultural climate of our times to blunt our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (read Titus 1:1-16)

The Psalmist reminds us of the ways righteous indignation can quickly become bitter, violent and cruel.  Jeremiah’s word from the Lord reminds us that God expects our repentance for the deepest of sins. Paul’s word to Titus reminds us that faithfulness is a foundational Christian virtue. Cruelty is not a Christian virtue. Violence is not, injustice is not, hatred is not a Christian virtue. Political loyalty is not, name calling is not, revenge is not a Christian virtue. Neither are greed, bigotry, or corruption Christian virtues.  They’re outrageous, and faithless.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Honor Jesus today. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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During a recent Wednesday evening Bible study I mentioned we used to have an aquarium with catfish in our church nursery. When our daughters were young, a new staff member arrived on the scene with a love for fish. Jeff set up an expensive saltwater aquarium in his office, filled with live coral and exotic ocean fish. Also, he set up a             40-gallon freshwater tank in the nursery area. He filled it with the typical beautiful little fish and underwater displays that fascinate children and adults alike.  One winter we had a harsh few days of snow and ice, making it impossible to get to church. When the weather cleared enough to travel, it was discovered that the power had gone out at church, disabling the aquarium pumps and causing all the fish to die. It was a sad time. Jeff removed his saltwater aquarium but reset up the freshwater one in the nursery. 

Months later an enterprising mother added three fish to the nursery tank. Her father had recently stocked his farm pond with catfish, so she captured three fingerling catfish and carefully transported them to the church. They were as cute as three-inch catfish could be. The fish were somewhat stunned by their whole ordeal, and just huddled together at the bottom, hiding in the plants. The next day when we looked in on them, all the other fish in the aquarium were missing. The catfish were feeling better. The keepers of the aquarium eventually figured out which other fish were safe from the three little catfish. The catfish proved to be a helpful distraction for first-time toddlers and others, welcoming them to our church family. Over the years the catfish grew fatter, but not much longer. They only grew to about 8 inches long. Their diet and the size of the fish tank stunted their growth. Despite their limited beauty and size, they became a unique symbol that everyone was welcome in this place. Do not forget to entertain (show hospitality to) strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Entertain angels. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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I remember stepping out of a rural church on a cloudless moonless night and seeing the heavens stretched out before me. It took my breath away. Our mission team was in southeast India. I had brought the message in a rural concrete church building that had only recently been equipped with a power line. The service was slightly marred because I had forgotten to take off my shoes at first and no one had reminded me of my mistake. It went against their acceptable way to worship. Americans don’t think of their church floors as holy ground. The people were gracious and forgiving.

It was dark outside after the service except for the headlights of the cars as they were leaving the area. The vastness of the Milky Way is indescribable. Artificial lights have robbed us of our ability to truly see the heavens like our ancestors could see, even 50 years ago. City lights, floodlights, and security lights reveal what is close around us, but fade our views of the night sky. 

Psalm 19 points us to the universe as we stand in awe of the silent heavenly praise that can be witnessed from any and every place on our planet. Look for tonight’s glorious display of six planets dancing in a chorus line across our crisp skies, to be joined by a seventh planet next month. Behold the sun running its victory laps around us declaring the majesty of our Creator.  Soon the magnetic poles of the sun will switch, creating a beauty best seen through the latest satellite images from NASA. How many ways can we declare the qualities of the Word of God? It is sweet, good and beautiful news shining with clarity in the ruggedness of a world of constant breaking bad news. And what about our own words.  How fitting are the everyday words we speak or think. My definition of worry is deep meditation on one’s fears.  

The psalmist concludes with three humble prayers. It is that last verse, that concluding prayer, which convinced me to develop the habit of praying Psalm 19:14, basically each day, but especially when facing high pressure situations and conversations. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

(Adapted from Bro. Darryl’s Reflections for the Center for Congregational Ethics, for January 24, 2025)

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​As believers we can find ourselves involved in situations or conversations that may be delicate or difficult. We may want to help but are hesitant because we do not want to make matters worse. These may be divine appointments, where you are the right person to bear witness to a receptive person at just the right moment.Many of these conversations center on medical issues or personal relationships. In a message about mental illness and mental health issues, I once outlined these six guides for holding compassionate conversations that I always seek to practice.

Meet people where they are, not where you think they should be. Compassion starts with respect and dignity.

Listen to their story. Be slow to talk or give advice. Let them unburden in the moment. Listening is the time to keep quiet and understand what they may be communicating. 

Remember, you are not their doctor. Even though medical, psychological or other symptoms may be expressed, or your opinion sought, you are not their doctor.

Set reasonable time and place limits. With deep issues, some people can be overwhelming in their need for conversation. Compassionate conversations are best when held in appropriate places, for agreed upon lengths of time. For example, if you have only 15 minutes for a conversation, agree upon that time frame at the start, or set a better length of time for later. 

Offer an in-the-moment prayer. Ask them how best to pray. Do not always assume that you know what prayer you should offer on their behalf. Ask them, and then pray for that request right then.

Leave them with a word of hope and grace. Conclude your conversation with encouraging words of hope and grace.Point them to Jesus.

Galatians 6:2 reminds us to Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.Compassionate conversations are not always easy, but they can ease the load, shine a light in the darkness and provide a friend for the journey.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Prepare for your divine appointments. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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