Our sister congregation, Monte Los Olivos, announced that they were withdrawing from our Master Property Agreement to pursue the purchase of their own property. The primary reason stated is that our facility is too large and expensive to maintain. The experience this winter of the furnace breaking down, with an initial estimated replacement cost of $65,000, caused them to reevaluate their future with us. We have since authorized repairs that are costing around $20,000. There is also the reality that the sanctuary air conditioning system is very old and outdated. For instance, the freon that it uses has been phased out, and there is a small freon leak in the main unit. The cost to add this old-style freon is several thousand dollars each summer. Monte Los Olivos has placed a bid for a nearby church, which was accepted. Their closing date is set for May 20.  

I quickly informed the congregation over the weekend and the church met for a deep discussion following the worship hour. The meeting explored a full range of facts and ideas on the next steps our congregation should explore. By the end of the hour, the church, acting with grace and unity, committed to all changes that are needed to advance the mission of our church in reaching our community. This commitment includes keeping our facilities (including that leaky air conditioner) fully repaired and up to date; utilizing funds from the White City Foundation strategically as necessary; and prayerfully seeking God’s direction in ministry partnerships. The spirit in the room on Sunday was awesome. It was as sweet a time of discussion and discernment as I have ever seen in the life of our congregation. The people were as one.

While there are all the emotions associated with grief and sudden change, we know that God is with us, guides us, and answers our prayers. Thank you for praying with us, ministering alongside us, and sharing in the unfolding future before us.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Prepare to be amazed. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

What goes through your mind when you read about the fake news story in the Bible? This might be a good time to turn in your Bible to Matthew 28:11-15 and read it for yourself. I will wait before I go further with this reflection. You do need to read it first.

What are the hallmarks of fake news? According to this passage, the point is to devise a story to cover-up something. It is to set-forth an alternate account of what really took place as a distraction. Powerful and influential people are involved. It includes witness tampering and bribery. It indicates an inconvenient truth is the first casualty of pride. 

In our day, fake news is also used as a smear against a known truth.  It is designed to provide alternate talking points as a smokescreen to change the subject. It can become the ultimate he said, she said, adeadlock of ideas. The goal is to provide a plausible denial of reality. 

Why is this story even in the Bible at all? Because the fake news story was still being talked about when the gospel of Matthew was being written, some thirty or so years after Jesus. It was written as a warning to us all. It shows us the way to counter the fake story: seek out verifiable facts, eyewitness accounts, and those directly impacted by the results of the account. Fake news is a lie, a coverup, and a distraction. It is an effective form of gossip. It is a kind of dishonesty many of us have resorted to.

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

W. E. Sangster (1900-1960) was a Methodist minister centered in London for the last twenty years of his life. In preparation for the Nazi Blitz of the second world war, Rev. Sangster, had the church basement fortified outside and in. His family moved into a room in that basement and invited anyone to find refuge in the basement who needed a place of safety. His wife began cooking evening meals for everyone for the five years of the war. He preached sermons as he could on Sundays in the much-damaged church, but what the people asked was that he lead evening prayers and give a word of hope from the Bible each night. In the encyclopedia, 20 Centuries of Great Preaching, by Pinson and Fant, W. E. Sangster’s life story is told, and five full sermon manuscripts are included, revealing the pastoral heart of this man who had himself served in World War 1, and several small churches as pastor.

You may have noticed that he died when he was not quite 60 years old. Following the war, he coordinated efforts of evangelism and home missions for the Methodist Church across Great Britain. He was diagnosed in his mid-fifties with an aggressive muscular atrophy. His daughter wrote a tribute to her father shortly after his death. In her tribute she included this written note from his last Easter day, when he could no longer walk or talk. He wrote: It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning to have no voice with which to shout, ‘He Is Risen!’— but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout. 

Easter is this Sunday. How will you be spending this Resurrection Day? They say it may rain or even storm, or possibly not. Come celebrate Jesus and shout, ‘He Is Risen!’

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. He Is Risen Indeed! And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

I’ve been thinking about childishness today, and not in the good way. I was watching the news. My definition of negative childishness includes adults acting in immature, selfish and petulant manners in order to get their way. It is a form of bullying. These are the grownups who pout or take offense at any perceived slight. They run to the spotlight when it focuses on someone else. They expect excessive praise and need constant reassurance that they are the most special person in the room, or maybe even the whole world. I can be childish if I’m not careful. It’s an easy habit to form. 

You’ve probably read of The Toddler Rules. My favorite version goes like this:

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If it’s in your hand, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it looks like mine, it’s mine.
6. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
7. If it’s broken, it’s yours.

Toddler Rules seem almost built into our DNA, just like sin. In the famous chapter on loving relationships, the Apostle Paul talks about putting away childish things (1 Corinthians 13).   He writes how maturing relationships focus on the unselfishness of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and faith, hope and love. Jesus calls us to a life of complete devotion to God and others when He encourages us to have faith like a child.  Child-like or childish, it’s our choice.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. It all belongs to Him. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Today’s news (3/25/2025) reported the state Department of Health measles update: There are 9 cases in Oklahoma, with seven confirmed and two more deemed probable among unvaccinated people in northeastern Oklahoma.  I grew up in the age of the miracle of vaccines. I remember lining up to get the smallpox vaccination. I still have the scar on my arm from that. Then came the series of polio shots, and the oral vaccine. There were long lines of us children shuffling along to take the shots that would keep us from being crippled, in an iron lung, or even dying.

As a boy, I managed to win the trifecta of childhood diseases—measles, mumps and chicken pox. I became very ill with the mumps when I was in first grade. It was a double case of the mumps, on both sides. I remember being miserable and spending my time in bed unable to do anything. I missed at least two weeks of school and had home visits from the school nurse and a teacher. The following summer I came down with measles. The measles (rubeola) was more manageable for me than the mumps. At least that’s how I remember it. Then came the chicken pox. I got it, my sisters got it, and then my mother got it. My father was not certain he wanted to come home from work that night. He couldn’t remember if he had ever had chicken pox. Fortunately, he did not come down with it. The following summer I came down with the other form of measles, rubella.

Rubeola measles is the one in the news. It is the one with the most life-threatening complications. These illnesses are preventable and stoppable.  Smallpox and iron lungs are no more. Neither is diphtheria, whooping cough, or typhoid fever in the vaccinated. God is the author of all healing, but He encourages our participation in the process.

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