Susie Hinton had a story to tell based on an incident that happened to a friend at school. She began to turn it into a novel, although she did get a D in creative writing that junior year. She persisted in her observations of high school life and the petty cliques that amplified the differences. She graduated from Tulsa’s Will Rogers High School in 1966. Published in 1967, that novel The Outsiders, continues to be a bestseller every year.  An interesting quote from the book highlights the gaps, the social barriers, between north and south Tulsa: “Can you see the sunset from the South side real good?” “Yeah, real good.” “You can see it from the North side too.”  Ponyboy Curtis and Cherry Valence.

This week the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, The Outsiders, began its national tour here in Tulsa. The cast is making visits to the high school to talk with students and to see where it all began. Most of us know what it is to be the outsider when everyone else seems to be an insider. Insiders have their own little rules, customs, and special words. It is always hard trying to fit in. Pretending to be an insider is nearly impossible. That is why most outsiders stay quiet while trying to decipher the insider norms. The book, the movie and the musical turn very dark in places because embarrassment and anger walk hand in hand. Insiders can embarrass themselves in their treatment of the outsider. Outsiders can embarrass themselves by trying too hard to be accepted. 

Visiting a church is often an insider-outsider experience. We have taught ourselves to scan the room, look for clues, and ask ourselves if there is anyone here that looks like me. Is there anyone one here who will bridge the gap? Outsiders seek belonging, understanding, and friendships. Insiders can become so accustomed to each other that they find no need to invite anyone else into their circle. I am reminded of the biblical caution, Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2) 

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

This is the church. This is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people. If you folded your hands the wrong way, then the question becomes, where’s all the people? Can you still do it—fold your hands into a church with a pointed steeple? It was hard to do the first time when we were little children in Sunday School. It gets harder as joints stiffen and muscles tighten. But it has always been a fun little illustration. When your hands-made-little-church is full of people, we cannot help but smile. But we also know that it is just easier to fold our hands together with our fingers, the people, on the outside. The lessons from our hands-made-churches remind us that churches are (1) made of people, (2) who serve and worship together, and (3) spill all out into the world with the joy of Christ. Some people want to focus on the number of people in a church. Some people focus on the style of ministries and kind of worship services. Others may want to see if the church people are as real in their faith during the week as they may appear to be during Sunday church.

Can we make a church with our hands? We can if they are servant hands of earnest prayer and faith. We can make a church if our hands are cleansed by the confession of our sinfulness and open to receive God’s merciful grace. We can make a church with our hands as we labor together with Christ, sharing His blessings and telling of His salvation for all people. We can make a church with our hands if we recognize our weaknesses are where God’s strengths begin. Hands in worship. Hands in prayer. Hands in friendship. Hands that care. Willing hands to do our part to honor Christ with all our heart. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but God who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:7-9)

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

Yesterday I received a call at the church office from someone I did not recognize, but he told me he was a friend of a mutual friend who had not responded to his repeated telephone calls over the last three months. He asked me if I had heard from this friend recently, and I told him I had not. This led to him speculating about what happened to our friend. He then changed to telling me the purpose of his call was to make certain that I knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow or the next day, and what did I know about that. I had read that morning about the claims of someone a few months ago who had a vision of Jesus telling him that Jesus was returning on September 23 or 24. I told him I believed Christ was coming again one day, but no one knew what day.

The caller then began to explain to me all the various scriptures and coincidences concerning the founding of the state of Israel and Christ’s rapture of the church during the Hebrew festival of Rosh Hashana when the high priest in Jerusalem blew the shofar and, did I believe them? I noticed this call was going long. Just for the record, I receive these kinds of calls two or three times a year. Some seem to be testing my theology or trying to find something to argue with me about. I asked the caller, why should any believer worry about Jesus’ return, and why would Jesus tell any person today something He had already told His disciples that He did not know about God’s timing?  The caller told me to look it all up on YouTube, he had a call coming in, and we said goodbye.

The return of Christ is a word of Hope for all believers. It is the day of Victory over all things evil, and the dawn of a New Creation. I tend to leave details of these things up to God. In the meantime, we are called to be faithful messengers of the Gospel today—telling the story of the wonders of His Love and Grace to those who are lost or unprepared for eternity.

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

Our journeys are not always easy. At first, we were made aware of weather delays facing our 10:30 a.m. flight. Later the pilot announced the baggage loaders could not get one of the cargo doors to close properly. That took more than an hour. I trusted that duct tape was not involved. We arrived at DFW Airport after our departing flight to Boston had been in the air for 30 minutes. We entered the twilight zone world of customer service. The lines were long. There were no flights to Boston that night. Our daughter Donelle found us the best option of flying to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 8:00 p.m. to catch a 7 a.m. flight to Boston. Customer service was glad to know that was an option. We ate a relaxed and good meal, then went to the gate to await the flight. At some point the departure time was changed an hour (ultimately 3 hours), meanwhile, to give us something meaningful to do, the airline changed the gate number 4 times, so we could visit most of the airport’s terminals, and learn all about the tramway system that loops the various scenic vistas of the building. Our plane to Harrisburg arrived at 3 a.m. Not much is happening in the airport at that time of the morning. We made our flight to Boston, arriving at 8:30 a.m.

Our Boston Freedom Trail Walking Tour was rescheduled to 1:30 so we could get to our motel, have breakfast, and freshen up. Towards the end of our excellent 2-hour walk it began to rain. We politely bowed out and found shelter in an historic building next to a food court. Ice cream was involved. We made it back to the motel and slept about 12 hours before it was time to pack it all up and head out for our 7-day anniversary cruise, which was perfectly delightful in every way. 

Back to the airport, and homeward bound. As the stewardess was demonstrating how seatbelts work, the power shut off and the emergency lights came on. I, for one, was glad that happened before we tried to take off. There was a faulty fuel component that had to be replaced. On that 4-hour flight the tray tables were broken, the armrests would not stay up, and the toilets did not flush, other than that, we prayed and read a lot. Going through Customs and racing through DFW, we still missed our connection to Tulsa by five minutes. Spending a short night at a nearby motel, these grumpy campers boarded the 7 a.m. flight to Tulsa. Thankfully, we made it home safely. Enjoy the good days to the fullest.

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

Bro. Darryl

We spend our whole lives as time travelers. Today’s physicists are rethinking the importance of time as a more fundamental element of the universe. Time has traditionally been viewed as a human reference point to help us anticipate the seasons, number our days, and socially know when to be where. Also, it was thought that time throughout the universe was relative to earth. Now the discussion is considering time on equal standing with gravity and light. We, the people of earth, travel at a speed of approximately 66,627 mph around the sun. It takes one year to complete the circuit. The earth and the Sun travel around the center of the Milky Way at a speed of 448,000 mph, which in turn is travelling through the universe at 1.3 million miles per hour, give or take. All the while everything is perfectly balanced by gravitational forces, like the moon perfectly balanced, rotating around the earth with such precision that the tides of every ocean can be predicted for any date. We have been travelling into the future; it is here today.

Stories and movies are filled with the what if’s of people going back in time to fix the future or royally mess it up. When we read a book or watch a program, we go mentally and emotionally to the time of its setting. I enjoy riding along in the future with Star Trek stories. All of us time travel in our memories past and dreams of possible futures. We long to know the future with certainty. Jesus challenges us to discern today, Luke 12:54-56. We do this by seeking to understand how God is leading us to live, love, witness, and serve, pointing others to the cross and empty tomb, and onward toward salvation today, and the hope of His glory to come.

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