Every great adventure begins with an invitation. Possibly an improbable or unexpected invitation. The invitation may arrive through a still, small voice or a thunderbolt of realization. The invitation is always appealing, risky and costly, although not necessarily financially expensive. The invitation may awaken a long-hidden dream or be a call to action. The invitation always expects a response. Choose wisely, not every invitation to adventure is appropriate or right for you.

Every great adventure is filled with challenges, delays, and frustration. True adventures include wrong turns, dead ends, and anxiety. Setbacks may include deceitfulness, thievery, and jealousy.  You might get sick or injured. You might get separated from others or lost in the crowd. Know who to call and how to call for assistance. Carry contact information so others may help you. Let others help you when you have a need.

Every great adventure is a team effort. Great adventurers share the journey with someone else. Even if you must journey by yourself, others are vitally involved. Others dream with you, plan with you, equip you, and pray for you. Great adventures have interesting characters, encouragers, and overcomers who show up along the journey. Listen to them. Ask directions. Make new friends along the way. Pack light and save room for mementoes. Wear good shoes and take care of your feet. Eat right and wash your hands. Drink lots of good water and breathe deeply every day. Always carry a hat.

Every great adventure ends. Most great adventures end at home. A truly grand adventure gives you a better perspective of yourself and the world. Share your adventure story with others, in moderation. Invite others to share their adventures with you. Together become encouragers to family, friends and neighbors who are embarking on their great adventures of life.

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

Share this webpage:

What a day this has been. At one point I thought tomorrow must be Saturday. Today is still Tuesday. I had planned to do other things. I have so many things on my To Do List, I just need to take the time to do what business leaders call a brain dump. A brain dump is the act of emptying your mind of all the stuff you have in your head. The process encourages you to take a legal pad and write down every little thing that you need to accomplish, covering all personal and professional chores. Every nagging deadline plus all the other things you have committed to do for others. Everything until you can think of nothing else—that is until you take a walk around the block. Then do it some more. I find it a helpful way of seeing what is important. 

I once visited a man who was working in his home workshop in the backyard. I noticed his wall calendar was from 1963. Every few years the calendar matched the exact days of the current year. He said that the old calendar was good enough. He was retired. My life does not seem to work that way. I carry a journal with a handy multi-year calendar where I map out future sermons and reminders. I have a calendar in the car to record my daily mileage and note special trips. I work with the church’s master calendar of scheduled events and building usage. I have three electronic calendars for everyday commitments and appointments. Those calendars do not talk easily with each other. So I’m trying to develop a Master Calendar of Everything, but my low-tech self is still trying to schedule a day to start it.  I am still learning to embrace the interruptions of my perfectly planned days. 

I take my clue from Mark chapter 5 which chronicles one day in Jesus’ ministry. His schedule for the day was to take a boat ride across the lake, visit some of the villages, then head back. It turned out to be one crazy day of interruptions “as He was going.” I am also mindful of the story Jesus told of the religious leaders who were too busy, too clean, or too important to stop and help an injured man on the side of the road. They ignored their interruptions and failed to even acknowledge the presenting need. Jesus valued people above schedules, and relationships above calendars. 

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

Share this webpage:

The Tulsa area continues to deal with the aftermath of what I am calling The Father’s Day Eve Windstorm. Just after midnight that Saturday night, gale force, then hurricane force winds and rain came sweeping across the state. Tulsa recorded Category 2 Hurricane-like straight winds of 90 to 100 m.p.h. The damage has been heartbreakingly sad for the lovers of the hundreds of fallen and broken trees. The trees fell on roofs and fences. Winds tore away chimneys, awnings, metal covers and outbuildings.  Power poles snapped or fell over, pulling other poles and lines nearly to the ground. It took a full seven days for the power to be fully restored. This level of destruction has not been seen here since the great Ice Storm of 2007. Looking over the damage to the trees, I noticed many of the large broken trunks were hollow or rotted inside. Others, that were completely blown over, exposed the earth underneath and their shallow root system. There is a sermon illustration from this event about people needing deep roots and solid faith that I may have to preach one day. 

This all brings to mind the story of a famous elderly violin maker from the last century who took his apprentice on a long journey to get some wood to make more violins. They began by walking through a forest of rich and stately trees. The apprentice spotted the perfect tree, but the violin maker said, Not yet. Soon they started up the mountainside which was covered with tall pines and oaks. Surely one of these thought the young man. Not yet. As they climbed higher and higher up the mountain the trees began to be fewer and shorter. There’s a good one over there, said the old man.  The apprentice did not think it looked good at all. He asked, “Why this one? Why not a bigger, taller one like back in the forest?” The violin maker replied. These trees up here have weathered the storms. They’ve faced bitter winds and snow and even drought. They will not break under the pressure of bending their wood. These trees, made stronger through adversity, will make the most beautiful music.

I have heard that some insurance adjustors are cautioning home and business owners to wait until September before replacing their roof. They are predicting more severe weather is coming this summer. It may just be they are trying to spread out the insurance recovery costs. I do know more adversity will come our way, so let’s make the most beautiful music we can together.

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

Share this webpage:

This Reflections, Whispered Secrets, was published by The Center for Congregational Ethics for the daily devotional reading based on Luke 11:53-12:3 from the Revised Common Lectionary Year A for June 24, 2023.

Juries and trials are part of the everyday news. Lawyers make their best case, judges guide the process, juries decide. When called up to serve, I mistakenly thought I would be dismissed from jury duty because I was a Baptist minister. During jury selection, the federal judge commented he wanted “a true cross-section of citizens.”  I served on one of those secret federal grand juries for 18 consecutive months. We set a record for the most days in session in the Northeastern District of Oklahoma. I learned that whispers in secret can become embarrassingly public and sometimes deadly.

The U.S. Constitution requires that any charge made against someone by federal law enforcement must be reviewed by a jury of their peers. Of the original ten constitutional amendments called The Bill of Rights, Amendments 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, address juries and trials. All types of federal crime came before us, ranging from simple possession of drugs to corporate fraud, and public corruption to violations of international sanctions.  We were serious and pushed back against the prosecutors when we felt they were not making their case.  For me, the experience was sad in many ways.

Facing the fear in the eyes of the disciples and the hate in the hearts of the religious leaders, Jesus turns to give a personal word of realism to those nearby:  Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. This is a word of understanding for the believer and practicing hypocrite alike. Character matters. Truth brings light. Hypocrisy is infectious. Guard your heart.

Darryl S. DeBorde is pastor of the Braden Park Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Share this webpage:

I was asked last Sunday to provide the list of Prayers God Always Answers that I talked about in the morning message. This is a summary based on Psalm 119:145-152.  The opening verse, I call with all my heart; answer me O Lord, and I will obey your decrees, sets forth the issue of unanswered prayer. I have felt that the traditional response that God answers with Yes, No or Wait, while true, rings inadequate and unsatisfying to many. I shared a brief sermon I preached called Three Prayers God Always Answers: Forgive Me, Save Me, and Use Me. Each of these prayers cut to the heart of our relationship with God and others. 

I have concluded that God is listening to every prayer, for God knows the motive of our hearts. Here are other prayers God always answers:

Hear Me Prepare Me Bless Me

Help Me Equip Me Comfort Me

Show Me Lead Me Fill Me with Your …

Guide Me Strengthen Me   Spirit, joy, peace, 

Teach Me Empower Me Heal Me

Most of our praying, though, consists of a grocery list of things we want from God. Oswald Chambers is quoted as saying: “As long as we get from God everything we ask for, we never get to know Him; we look at Him as a blessing machine. Your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him. Then why pray? To get to know your Father. It is not enough to be able to say. ‘God is love.’ We have to know that He is love.” The psalmist requests in verse 149, Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O Lord.  Jesus’ example in the Garden teaches us to pray, Thy will be done. 

The hardest questions are always about the prayer Heal Me. God does answer that prayer. Many people confuse biblical healing with being cured. The healing we most need may be far deeper than a dreaded diagnosis. Jesus healed multitudes of people, but all of them have died. For the believer, death is the ultimate healing.  All of this, by the way, can become very self-centered if we are not careful. That is why we should intercede on behalf of others, by name if possible. The prayers of the righteous avail much.

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

Share this webpage:

This is a reprint from the time of Covid, April 27, 2021

As the designated adventurer at our house, I am the grocery shopper for more than a year now. I have learned that pimentos are never located on the olive aisle and that Velveeta cheese is located wherever the last tired stocker set them down because it is not a cheese. I have learned to eat my shopping mistakes. Try as I might, apparently chocolate dipped ice-cream bars do not qualify as a shopping mistake. The actual worst of my grocery mistakes was just a few weeks ago. My assignment was to get a can of old-fashioned quick cooking steel cut oatmeal. I honestly thought I did. But I didn’t. I got old-fashioned steel cut Irish Oatmeal in a can, 1 pound and 12 ounces net weight. It did not say quick cooking or fast cooking or 10-minute quick oatmeal. Dorothy noticed immediately. It was decided that we would press ahead. There was a winter storm in the forecast.

Upon reading the fine print on the back of the can we learned that the shortcut method was to boil water in a pot, add the oatmeal, stir and boil for 5 minutes. Cover the pot and store it in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, put the pot back on the stove, bring it to a boil and stir it for another 9-12 minutes. By my estimation, the quick-cook method takes about 25 hours. We opted for the traditional method—30 minutes on the range. I also noticed that the recipe kept referring to this as porridge. I remember porridge as something Little Orphan Annie had to eat, with a big frown on her face. Porridge is oatmeal, flax and other bird seeds boiled in a big pot, which is stirred constantly until you are done. It suggests you add buttermilk or honey and brown sugar suitable to taste. Our pot of porridge lasted for days. We tried syrup and apple sauce with cinnamon on it and we tried smothering it with various flavored yogurts. Our final attempt was to use a large amount of pumpkin pie filling. That actually tasted best. By the way, porridge diluted to a thin, watery state is called gruel. It was used to help the sick get well. It tastes worse than it sounds.

We make mistakes. We try to hide them, own them, or make up for them. The best policy is to admit them, deal with them, and learn from them. We still have a pound or so of the oatmeal left in the can. It will keep.

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

Share this webpage:

I went to Will Rogers High School for an after-school meeting today. As I approached the receptionist’s desk, I noticed a teacher walking his big black and yellow dog without a leash down the main hall. The dog was prancing around all curious about everything but stayed out of trouble. I visited with the receptionist who I’ve known now for six years. I made it to my meeting room and found the dog was entertaining those who came early. 

The dog was a robot. You may have seen pictures of these robot dogs used by scientists and police in other states. This one was on loan to the school for a few days from the University of Tulsa. I asked if the dog could take some papers out of my hand. Of course it could. It walked over to me, sized up the situation, opened its mouth, and took the papers from my hand. I moved away and it followed me and returned my papers without a wrinkle or a tooth mark. The robots are here, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the news.

Fear not, we have had one hundred years of science fiction books and movies preparing us for life with robots possessing more knowledge than we could ever fathom. So I did about two and a half hours of research last week on the current state of AI, leaving me totally prepared to face the future. I listened to discussions about AI. I watched a person build an app for his computer using step by step AI. That was tedious, even for him. AI is only as good as the person who uses it. The difference with today’s AI is the speed with which it makes its calculations and the vastness of its information base. 

The Hollywood writers are on strike in part because AI can use any writer’s creations, without credit or compensation. Teachers are worried that students will just let AI write their essays and research papers, effectively cheating their way through school. Today’s AI is another disruptive force for society to deal with. All advances in any technology are disruptive. All have been misused and have the potential to hurt people, like nuclear energy or your cellphone. AI will reveal the true character of a person. Will you be honest, or will you cheat? Will you be authentic, or will you be an imposter? AI is not the issue. Our sinfulness is.

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

Share this webpage:

I took a university class entitled, Reading the Bible as Literature. Our textbook was a Bible that had no chapter numbers or enumerated verses. Some of the books of the Bible had been edited to eliminate repetitious material. Overall, though, the point was to read and study the various books of the Bible just as if these were novels, short stories, or poetry found in an advanced English literature course. It was an English course, not a course in Religion. Our professor was Dr. Joseph King, a man who was well into his 70’s at the time. His enthusiasm and keen wit kept me fascinated with his insight into the styles, structures, and metaphors of this diverse book we honor as The Bible.

Dr. King cautioned the ministerial students in the class to be careful when handling the biblical material. He believed a sin of the “religious” was to just “study the words as a duty,” but never truly experience the stories as masterful art and beauty. None of the books of the Bible were originally written with chapter numbers or verses. These were added as aides to corporate worship and personal reference. All the letters of Paul were just that, letters. They were read out loud in their entirety before the congregations that received them. I tried that in church one Sunday. Some people were kind in their comments. 

Psalms and Proverbs are one kind of literature—wisdom, the Kings and the Chronicles another—history. The Gospels tell the stories of Jesus while Daniel and The Revelation tell of the last times. Jeremiah and Amos call God’s people to repent while Isaiah and Hosea demonstrate God’s faithfulness and mercy. Each of the books of the Bible can stand alone as expressions of God’s story and our story. Sin and sorrow, pain and death are hard taskmasters. Anger and revenge, pride and power destroy us from within. But redemption, repentance and love offer a tender path worth walking each day. 

There is a special power that comes with reading the Scriptures out loud and listening to it read by someone else. Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NIV)  

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Take pleasure in your Bible reading. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage:

I’ve been thinking about graduation gifts. Graduation is one of life’s rites of passage, literally and figuratively. A person passes the tests and completes the required course work. There is a commencement. A commencement is both an ending and a beginning. The graduate will soon discover they have advanced into the “what’s next?” of life. All of that hard work deserves recognition, commemoration and validation. A graduation gift is always in order. When I graduated from high school, my grandmother gave me an Avon toiletry set for men. I still have remnants of that set to this day. The giver wants the receiver to be pleased. 

I’ve also been reflecting on the gifts of graduation that shape my life to this day. Reading, writing and arithmetic head up my gift list, although there are some questions about my subsequent math skills. Music and imagination, science and discovery, history and literature, all were gifts I received at my graduation. The power of preparation, the patience of persistence, the satisfaction of success were all given to me at graduation by my teachers and mentors. I was a solid C high school student. As I neared graduation, a Sunday School teacher handed me a little devotional book called Meeting the Test: A Book of Devotions for Young People. That book challenged  me to find other books where I learned how to study and deeply learn about any subject. It pointed the way to life-long learning and my grades improved substantially in college. What a great gift!

As I explored my call to ministry, I found my way back, time and again, to the insights of Meeting the Test.  One lesson was about getting the most important “degree” of all—the A.U.G. Degree. Last Sunday’s message was based in part on this early life lesson. This degree is found in the King James Version of 2 Timothy 2:15. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Approved Unto God. I’m still working on that degree. It’s the graduation gift worth living for. One day there will be an eternal commencement for us all. It’s not too late to cram for the Final, yet. What might your diploma say?

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

Share this webpage:

The non-stop coverage of the Coronation of the King of England begins soon. He is already the king but will officially take his oath of office and receive his crown on Saturday, May 6. King Charles III is the oldest king to ascend to the throne of Great Britain. He was 73 at the time of his mother’s death. The runner up is Queen Victoria’s son Albert, Bertie as he was called, while he was Prince of Wales. Albert Edward became King Edward VII at age 59. The US television coverage (on all major channels) begins at 4:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Charles and Camilla will be crowned in a two-hour service in Westminster Abbey beginning at 5:00 a.m. The new King’s crown was made for Charles the II in 1616. Have fun watching it all. You can tell me about it someday.

Who should crown a king? Whoever puts the crown on a sovereign’s head implies an authority above the King. For centuries the Pope, representing God Almighty and with the personal power to condemn people to eternal punishment, crowned the European kings. With the Protestant Reformation of the 1500’s, and a general move towards religious separation, the Pope became less important. In fact, one King of France snatched the crown from the hands of the Pope and crowned himself, proclaiming no one was above the King. Religious libertarians, like Baptists, proclaimed the separation of the church from the entanglement of the state. We have but one King—Jesus. Baptists helped write the first amendment to the Bill of Rights. Men like James Madison recognized that state endorsed religions promote a heavy-handed oppression of the free expression of faith.  Some Baptists today have abandoned their principles on this matter. 

After Henry VIII broke from Catholicism and established the Anglican Church, tradition there holds that the Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the church. In that role the Most Reverend Justin Welby will anoint the King with holy oil (viewers are not allowed to witness this ritual) before placing the crown upon his head. Those countries which still have kings and queens, including Great Britain, are all constitutional monarchies and are pledging an oath to their governing constitutions. The kings and queens of today’s world are symbols of a nation’s heritage and carry the role of advisors to their nation’s leaders.  They have the title but little authority.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Christ is King. Let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Share this webpage: