Know Christ to teach Christ

Gentry announced that he has passed the car on to Ron Clement, prayer & evangelism team leader with the Colorado Baptist General Convention. Oklahoma Baptists began a new three-year partnership with Colorado Baptists this year.

The conference’s first speaker was the pastor of the host church, Doug Melton, who also is president of the convention. Melton was charged with speaking about biblical evangelism.

“We are talking about teaching Christ personally and to teach Christ personally, you have to know Him personally,” he said. “It has to be your story. If you think about it, all of our lives are lived in the context of stories . . . . the key, then, is understanding that all of our stories are all under THE big story. There is the much bigger story that we’re all a part of . . . . whenever we think about that bigger story, we go back to the beginning.

“A person’s view of that big story will greatly influence how they view their own life story. A person’s understanding of how it all began impacts how they view their own life story. We will never fully understand ourselves or what we are supposed to do until we understand our place in the big story.

“That’s why I’m so thankful that we have the story. The Word of God tells us the story. I want you to hear today THE story.”

Melton then presented a dramatic monologue titled, “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” beginning in the book of Genesis and telling the redemptive story of Christ’s love through our Savior’s death, burial and resurrection.

Former BGCO president Emerson Falls, pastor of Oklahoma City, Glorieta, was next, and he asked the audience, “Do you think the Gospel could be effectively lost in one generation?”

Letting that thought sink in, he then asked, “How many of us are actually concerned that the Gospel could be lost in one generation?”

Using Judges 2:6-11 as his text, Falls reminded those present that the Gospel could be lost in one generation because it happened before when the generation after Joshua strayed from the Lord—The Lost Generation.

“The elders knew the work of the Lord, but the next generation didn’t get it,” Falls exclaimed. “They got so focused on the work of the Lord that they forgot the Lord of the work!

“It’s true for some of us today. We get so busy, we don’t hear God when He speaks. But, we’re experts at doing church!”

Falls bemoaned the rise of mega churches that have smaller impact.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get to the end of my ministry and find that I have been successful at the wrong thing,” he said.

“We need to ask ourselves: Is what we’re doing now going to produce disciples in the next generation? I doubt it.”

Falls said making disciples is at the heart of the Great Commission.

“The Great Commission is about teaching Christ personally,” he said. “And to be teaching, we need to be doing, We need to learn how to spend time with lost people.”

He pledged to do two things in his own life.

“I’m making two commitments today,” he concluded. “One, I’ve got to personally win lost people to Jesus. And to do that, I’ve got to spend more time with lost people. And two, I will personally teach a small group of people to do the same thing. Then, the Gospel will spread.

“Then those people will each teach a small group and then each of them will teach a small group, and so on. And, soon we will have an army of God taking it to the streets.”

Wrapping up session one, Jeremy Freeman, pastor of Newcastle, First, spoke on “Making the Mist Matter Missionally.”

The “mist,” referring to a human lifespan, which is referred to as a mist in James 4:14 that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

“We are in need of a fresh move from God,” Freeman declared. “We have a short time when compared to eternity. What will we do with the mist God gives us?”

Focusing on that passage in James 4:13-17, Freeman said, “You have no idea what tomorrow will bring. He quoted a line: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last,” which is from a poem written by missionary C.T. Studd, and gave a list of five points to help his listeners make sure their “mist” matters.

1. We must be intent on seeking God.
   “Presumptuous thinking leads us to forget our ignorance, forget our frailty and forget our great need and dependence on God,” Freeman said.
2. We need to be intentional.
   “We need to live with the end in mind. Only what is done for Christ will last.”
3. We need to invest in others. “Most people would rather build a building than invest in a life; it begins in our homes and extends into the lives of the people God puts around us.”
4. We must take the initiative. “Baptist churches are full of spectators. We must expect, push and motivate our people to take the initiative. It’s a sad reality we have to beg people to serve.”
5. We, as Christians, must insist on doing God’s will.

Monday Evening Session

The two preachers, one black and one white, possessed similar deliveries as they expounded on the Word with an enthusiasm that brought cheers and amens from the crowd, which filled the auditorium of Oklahoma City, Southern Hills.

Roc Collins, pastor of Indian Springs Church in Kingsport, Tenn., was the first to take the podium with a message on The Man Christ Jesus.

He noted he finds the expression “The Man Upstairs” to be irreverent, but Scripture declares there is a man in Heaven—the Man Christ Jesus.

And there are some specific activities the Man takes part in, he explained.

First, He desires all men to be saved.

“Man cannot save himself, and man is not born saved,” Collins said. “God is interested in people being saved, because you have to be saved.”

To be saved, he said, you have to come to a knowledge of the truth, and today, not many people believe in truth.

“People say there is no absolute truth, but when they make that statement, they have just made an absolute statement,” he pointed out. “There are absolute truths—death is an absolute for all people; there is a Heaven and a Hell, and Jesus desires all men to be saved.”

Collins emphasized that God doesn’t desire anyone to go to hell.

“Hell was not created for people, but for the devil and his angels,” he said.

Collins acknowledged that the Man Jesus is our mediator.

“Why do we need a mediator?” he asked. “Because God is three-times holy and we are unholy. We couldn’t talk to a three-time holy God. We need a mediator—the Man Jesus Christ. He paid a ransom so we could be free. Unless Jesus becomes our mediator, we can’t pray. The only way I can get to the Father is through Jesus. We have a Man on the inside.”

Third, revealed Collins, Jesus is to be preached.

“I’m a called preacher, but there is not one of us saved by the blood of Christ who has not been called to proclaim Jesus,” he exclaimed. “If people breathe, they need to hear about Jesus. We know how to bicker and complain, but we have not yet learned to have a zeal for Jesus.”

And finally, Collins stressed, Jesus is to be praised.

“He ought to be praised because He is worthy,” he underscored. “He’s enduringly strong, eternally steadfast, impartially merciful. He’s the greatest phenomenon. He is God’s Son, the Bread of Life. No one is worthy to stand with Him. He is the miracle of all ages. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He’s the God of fat chance, slim chance and no chance. I wish I could describe Him, but He’s indescribable. I can’t outlive Him, and I can’t live without Him.”

Next to take the stage in the final message of the night was Luter, a self-described street preacher from New Orleans.

In the quiet before the storm, Luter, pastor of New Orleans’ Franklin Avenue Church and first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, thanked Oklahoma Baptists for their part in the recovery work after Hurricane Katrina.

He then launched into a message talking about the handful of believers in Acts who “turned the world upsidedown.”

“How did they pull this off with such a small group?” he asked. “There were 120 believers and 11 apostles, yet they were so effective, they turned the world upsidedown. People looked at them and said, ‘See those people, they are shaking stuff up.’”

He observed that there were no Bible colleges to train them, no seminaries, no associational or state meetings, no evangelism conferences, no women’s or men’s conferences, no how-to workshops.

“They didn’t worship in beautiful sanctuaries, have praise teams, Sunday School or cell groups,” he noted. “They didn’t have any of the stuff we claim we need to reach the world, yet they turned the world upsidedown.”

The reason, he said, was they were empowered by another. They were able to do what they could not do of themselves, by themselves.

Luter reminded the crowd that Jesus told them not to depart for Jerusalem, but to wait for the power.
“We don’t like to wait for anything,” he pointed out. “But there is a blessing in waiting. If you wait on God, He will empower you to do what you can’t do by yourself.”

He added when you wait on the Lord, you become a new person.

“When you are empowered by the Holy Spirit, that’s how you become victorious,” he said. “We cannot do this on our own.”

When you wait, he continued, you have a new purpose.

“You begin to realize it’s not about you,” he revealed. “Once you have an assignment from God, your purpose is to testify about the One whose name is Jesus. You can’t help but tell it wherever you go. He’s the answer for the world today.”

And finally, he observed, when you wait on God, you have a new power.

“God will give you not only power, but boldness,” he exclaimed. “If we’re going to save the lost at any cost, we’ve got to be filled with that power.”

Luter concluded that he is praying when people see Oklahoma Baptists, they will point and say, “There are the people of the Oklahoma Baptist Convention who are turning the world upsidedown.”

Tuesday Afternoon Session

A pastor for 33 years, Pitman exclaimed, “We serve a living savior; a dead Savior is a worthless Savior!”
Setting the scene, Pitman used John 20:19-23 as his text, where the disciples—the 10 who remained or had gathered together—were sequestered in a locked room because of their fear of the Jews following Christ’s crucifixion. Into that room where men sat paralyzed by fear, the Lord entered in and breathed new life into them as He filled them with the Holy Spirit.

Pitman’s message—“The Breath of Jesus”—is a reminder to us today, he said, that all of us need a fresh breath of Jesus in certain circumstances:

1. When you lose the sense of God’s presence.
2. If you have become gripped by a spirit of fear.
3. If you are no longer experiencing the peace of God.
4. If you have lost your joy.
5. If you have lost your passion for souls.

Pitman was followed by a testimony from Marian Jordan, founder of Redeemed Girl Ministries. Jordan is a graduate of Southwestern Seminary, and lives in Houston, where she serves at her home church, Houston, Second.

Jordan told about how her early life was aimless and she did not have an earthly father to offer guidance and love.

“I never made the connection between how we live and Who we love,” she said.

Later, after attending seminary and surrendering fully to God’s will, while in London, she was approached by two backpacking women who asked her if she could tell them Who Jesus is. That led to the creation of her ministry, whose stated vision “is to see women redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ, transformed by His truth and who live for the glory of His Name.”

Following the testimony, Shane Hall, pastor of Lawton, First, preached a sermon using 2 Cor. 5 on the ministry of reconciliation.

“Pastors, before we were called to the pulpit, we were called to be ministers of reconciliation,” said Hall.
“In evangelism, we cannot let fear prevent us from sharing the Gospel,” he added.

“My life is most attuned to the lost when I am closest to Him,” concluded Hall.

Rob Zinn, pastor of Highland, Calif., Immanuel, preached a sermon to conclude the Tuesday afternoon session.
“We are not lacking for resources,” said Zinn. “We must share the Gospel enthusiastically. If we can get excited about football games, surely we can be even more excited about our Savior.”

Immanuel uses community outreach techniques, including a major harvest festival in late October, movie nights open to the community and other aggressive evangelism techniques.

“Ninety-three percent of (SBC) churches baptize 20 people or less each year,” Zinn said. “How can we rightly be called ‘Baptist’ if we are not baptizing more?”

Tuesday Evening Session

Joining featured artist Babbie Mason were more than 100 singers and instrumentalists from Oklahoma City, Southern Hills, site of the two-day conference.

Led by minister of music Randy Lind, the choir and orchestra presented solo work as well as back-up for Mason, who sang some of the songs she has written as well as including the congregation in several numbers.

Presenting the final challenge of the conference, Smith spoke from Acts 8 on “The Alpha and Omega of Evangelism and Discipleship.”

Following the upbeat music, Smith acknowledged that “we are all rock and roll Christians.”

“We have our feet on the rock and our names on the roll,” he chanted.

He related the story of a young boy who wrote a message on a New York subway advertising poster. Although he misspelled the significant word, his message was clear. It read “I hate grils.” Someone came along later and corrected the message, writing, “It’s girls, stupid.” Then another added, “What about us grils?”

Smith then gave examples of grils: A young man who is overweight; a young woman who is dateless; a man who has worked for the same company for 40 years and receives a pink slip, and is too old to get another job; a woman married to a man for 50 years who looks across the breakfast table at an empty chair.

“All of us are grils,” he said. “Someone unwanted, pushed away, put down, rejected and unappealing. Before God found us, we were all grils.”

With the Ethiopian eunuch as his focal point, Smith said, although God has given the Great Commission, “we are willing to go, but not to all nations.”

“We are willing to go just to people who look like us,” he said. “But our commission is not just local, but global. When we get comfortable with people who look like us, we are shortchanging the Great Commission.”
He said evangelizing to our own kind is like isolation or quarantine theology.

“We cannot do like the priest and the Levite who saw the injured man on the road to Jericho and crossed over on the other side,” he noted.

Smith declared that the 8th chapter of Acts gives a glimpse of fulfilling the Great Commission.

“All the people in this chapter will be in the body of Christ,” he explained. “If that is what Heaven is going to look like, we ought to be about that now.

“Heaven is going to be about Jesus. If that’s my theme in glory, shouldn’t that be my theme here? Heaven should be an extension of what I’m doing here.”

At the conclusion of the message, the congregation was given the opportunity to come to the altar to pick up a small medallion with the shape of Oklahoma cut out in the center and the words “pray, share and serve” engraved on it to remind them daily of the command of Jesus to “go into all the world.”

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“Just as during the space program, when an astronaut proclaimed, ‘Houston, we have a problem,’ we can say today, ‘Christians, we have a problem,’” said Richard Bailey, Ada evangelist.

Preaching at Oklahoma City, Southern Hills, Bailey said there are causes for the problem, and one is that “we don’t have power anymore.”

“Remember revivals when people were weeping, trying to get their lives right,” he recalled. “There was power. We don’t have the foundation today, when many gather to eat donuts, drink coffee and listen to a guy on the screen preach. The church is to invade the world, but tragically, the world has invaded the church.”
He also pointed out the lack of influence of the church.

“It makes me sick the way the world kicks around the church,” he observed. “Ministers are committing adultery, ministers’ wives are running off with other women. The world is laughing at us.”

He added that “we aren’t persuading people any more.”

“There are people seeking the Lord, but they look at the church and are ashamed at what they see,” he noted. “Our hearts are cold and dead. God has to reach inside and move us again. We need to rekindle our hearts, excite our spirits.”

Steve Cody, evangelist from Lenapah, said he believes one of the reasons the church is in trouble is that “we’ve failed to make disciples.”

“The deep burden on my heart is what happens to people after they are saved,” he admitted. “We have more unsaved people today than in the history of our country, and we have more biblically ignorant people.”

Cody pointed out that it is a biblical command to train and teach people the truth.

“It may not be politically correct, but it is biblically correct,” he said. “People want to hear the truth, so why aren’t we telling people they must be born again. We can’t be ashamed of Jesus. We have to rightly divide the Word of truth.”

John Croy, Duncan evangelist, said as we think about discipling people, we need to realize who Jesus is.
“Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we spent our time with Jesus?” he questioned. “Jesus saved me, and I know I can do all things through Him. Even though we have to walk through the valley sometimes, we can have peace and comfort through Jesus.”

He said what the world is missing is Jesus.

“This is a dying world,” he observed. “As Christians, we have to do all we can to help people through Jesus. No matter what is in your life, you can do all things through Jesus.”

Craig Hobbs, evangelist from Haskell and president of the Oklahoma Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, told the audience that the devil wants to stop us from doing godly things.

“But what will keep us going is faith, acting on what we say we believe,” he pointed out. “It should be our desire to please God, and that is impossible without faith.”

He noted that if anything is going to happen in your life or in your church, it is by faith in the One who can make it happen.

“Nothing can stop us when we are acting in faith,” he declared. “God doesn’t want you to be oppressed by the enemy. When God gives you victory, He gives total victory.”

Also on the program were music evangelists Rusty McCormick, Wilburton; Mike Russell, Calvin; Bobby and Jeanette Smith, Muskogee; Marsha Ray, Del City; Craig Stuke, Chickasha; YoYo Collins, Salina, and evangelistic clowns, Ho & Yo Doffer.

In a business meeting following the session, the evangelists re-elected Hobbs as president. Other officers elected were Charlie Keim, Tahlequah, vice president; Jeanette Smith, secretary-treasurer; Craig Stuke, music director and Stephen Lopp, pastor of Jones, First, pastor advisor.

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Edna Dewey celebrates her 105th birthday on Feb. 8. That means she was born nine months before Oklahoma became a state on Nov. 16, 1907.

To help her celebrate her upcoming milestone, the Messenger staff thought it was time she had her own individual subscription to the state Baptist newsjournal. So, on Jan. 25, editor Brian Hobbs presented Edna with her own, individual subscription to the Baptist Messenger, along with an early birthday card from the Messenger staff.

Edna is an avid reader of the Messenger, having taken advantage of the Baptist Village’s copies. In the future, she will enjoy her own copies of the Messenger.

“I read the whole thing every week,” she said, adding, “I don’t really have a favorite section.”

Edna has lived at the Baptist Village since April 1999, moving recently to the Nursing Care Center from the Porter Assistance with Living Center.

She was born in Cohoors, S.D., a small community in the southeast part of that state on Feb. 8, 1907. She was the middle child in a family of nine children. Before she started school, Edna’s family moved from South Dakota to Minnesota.

When she was nine years old, Edna’s mother passed away, leaving her father as the sole provider for the nine children. This proved to be a more daunting task than he could handle, and he decided to contact Edna’s half-sister in Iowa, who then moved to Minnesota to help raise the younger siblings.

Edna attended grade school in Pequot, Minn., and graduated high school in nearby Brainerd, both in central Minnesota. By that time, Edna’s sister had graduated college and encouraged her to come back to school. She agreed, and Edna graduated with a degree in home economics. After college, Edna became a teacher, instructing students in small, one-room rural schools.

Edna met her future husband, Clifford Dewey, while at college in Iowa. They married in 1940, and Clifford served in the pastorate. Five years later, the Deweys traveled to India, where they would spend the next 32 years serving as missionaries. Their son, Frank, was born in India.

Edna recalls that living in India was quite an experience. The country was under English rule at the time, and required students to learn the English language prior to enrolling in college. Throughout their tenure in India, Edna attests to her pleasure in the eagerness of the students there to enrich and better their lives.

Included in the 32 years of mission work were four one-year furloughs back to the United States. During these times, Clifford and Edna toured the country, sharing their testimony of what God had done through their mission work and how it had impacted their lives.

Edna is slowed a bit these days by weak knees, which hampers her movement. But, up until just a few months ago, she could be seen refilling the salt and pepper shakers and folding napkins on the tables in the dining room of the care center, said Chaplain Chris Finley.

As the days go by, Edna said she continues to read her Bible—covering three chapters a day. She reads through her New International Version Bible every year. Her favorite book is Psalms.

Looking toward Feb. 8, someone asked Edna if she was going to have a big party. She shrugged her shoulders, smiled and recalled saying, “No, I’m tired of having parties!”

God has blessed her with a granddaughter, a grandson and six great-grandchildren. Edna has spent a third of her life in the mission field, and her entire life giving to others. She continues to give today with her grace and a heart full of gratitude.

Jason Davis is development and public relations specialist with Baptist Village Communities.
Bob Nigh is managing editor of the Baptist Messenger.

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Eric and Mykel McFall have been waiting for three years, and will probably never see their son, Kash, with a smile on his face.

It’s not that Kash is an unhappy child, but he was born with a rare condition called Mobius Syndrome, which affects his cranial nerve.

“Kash has facial paralysis, which renders him unable to smile or frown, and he can’t blink or squint his eyes,” said Mykel.

Kash is fortunate, Mykel said, in that he has a mild case and was diagnosed when he was 3 days old.

“It’s a blessing, because some people with Mobius Syndrome aren’t diagnosed until they are teenagers, or even adults,” she explained. “Many doctors have never heard of it, and there is no cure for it.”

Eric said the disease doesn’t affect mentality or life span.

“A lot of Mobius adults live fulfilling lives,” he noted. “One in particular was a CNN correspondent at the White House. Another case we read about was a lawyer.”

In addition to a lack of facial movement, Kash has a deformed right hand and an asymmetrical tongue, which causes struggles with speech.

“Kash is in speech therapy, and we’re seeing a lot of good things come from that,” said Mykel. “He will start preschool in August.”

The McFalls, who have been married six years and live in Carmargo in Western Oklahoma, have gone through a lot of testing to determine what genes are involved in the condition. They know that it is genetic, but Kash’s 6-month-old sister, Kennedi, has no sign of Mobius Syndrome.

The McFalls say they’ve seen a lot of miracles in Kash’s young life.

“We almost lost Kash when he was 3 weeks old due to a medical mistake,” said Mykel. “He coded, but God saved his life. So we know God has a plan for Kash, and we want to take every opportunity we can to share what God has done through his life and our lives because of him.”

With that as a catalyst, Eric, who is an electrician by trade, resigned his position as youth minister at Hammon, First, to step out and help churches understand the importance of ministering to families who have special needs children.

“Statistics show that the divorce rate is much higher for parents with special needs children, because the stress level goes way up,” said Eric. “We would like to go to churches and help train Sunday School workers on how they can minister to these children and to the parents.”

Eric pointed out that awareness is the number one problem—helping people realize there is a need to stop and ask the parents, “How can I best help your child?”

“A lot of times, the kids are just thrown in a Sunday School class, or teachers assume, because they have a handicap, they can’t learn or be ministered to,” Eric stated. “A lot of people don’t think about that. They see the handicap, and they can’t look past it.”

He emphasized that their number one goal is to share their story and raise awareness, pointing out things that have happened in their lives.

The McFalls recently shared their story at Prairie View Church near Elk City.

“We were blessed to hear their testimony,” said Pastor Charles Henthorn. “Their journey in discovering the incredible blessing they have in Kash is an encouragement worth sharing.”

“We just want an opportunity to share what God has done in our lives,” said Eric. “We believe God will open doors, and if He wants us at a training event, that’s where we’ll be. If He wants us to share our testimony, that’s what we’ll do. We feel God has a plan for everything. We know He gave us Kash for a reason, and we want to make sure we are faithful with that.”

The McFalls may be reached through their website at McFallministries.org.

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Louisiana is the most pro-life state in the country, while Washington is the least, according to AUL.

It was the second time in three years that Louisiana has held the top spot on a list based on the states’ policies on life issues such as abortion and physician-assisted suicide. Last year, Louisiana was the runner-up to Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, AUL ranked Washington, California and Hawaii as the three “least life-affirming states” for the third consecutive year.

Released Jan. 19, AUL’s seventh annual ratings show these states in the top 10 behind Louisiana and Oklahoma: 3) Pennsylvania; 4) Nebraska; 5) Arkansas; 6) Missouri; 7) Texas; South Dakota; 9) North Dakota; and 10) Indiana.

Joining Washington, California and Hawaii in the bottom 10 were: 41) Nevada; 42) Connecticut; 43) New Jersey; 44) New York; 45) Oregon; 46) Montana; and 47) Vermont.

The most-improved states, according to AUL, were Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina and Utah.

It was a record-breaking year for state regulations of abortion. AUL reported more than 70 “life-affirming, abortion-related” bills were enacted. Earlier in January, the Guttmacher Institute said states adopted 92 restrictions on abortion, far surpassing the previous high of 34. In all, 47 states considered more than 460 abortion-related proposals, according to AUL.

The rankings show “tremendous gains in defending life in law,” said Charmaine Yoest, AUL’s president. “The states are preparing for the day after Roe.”

Roe v. Wade is the 1973 Supreme Court decision that not only struck down all state abortion bans, but also had the effect of legalizing abortion for any reason through all stages of pregnancy. The Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe would return abortion policy to the states.

The pro-life laws enacted by states in 2011 included ones that:

• defunded Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
• barred abortion coverage in state insurance exchanges established by the 2010 federal health care reform law.
• prohibited abortions at 20 weeks gestation or later based on evidence a baby in the womb experiences pain by that point.
• banned “telemedicine,” or webcam, abortions, which occur when doctors at remote sites give counsel by means of videoconferencing to women seeking abortions and dispense the two-drug abortion method RU 486 to them without being in their physical presence.
• instituted new regulations for abortion clinics.

AUL, based in Chicago, is a prominent legal organization in the pro-life movement.

The “Life List,” as it is known, can be accessed online at www.aul.org/auls-life-list-2012-rankings.

The 21st Annual Rose Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol is Wed., Feb. 8.

Participants are encouraged to bring roses to their legislators, the lieutenant governor and governor and encourage the legislators to protect the unborn by introducing and supporting pro-life legislation in our state.

Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.

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“We are thrilled that the Lord has provided so abundantly,” said Anthony L. Jordan, executive director-treasurer for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

“In Oklahoma Baptist churches Cooperative Program giving, we experienced consecutive down years in 2009 and 2010. That streak has been snapped, as we exceeded our 2011 goal by more than $1 million,” he said. “Not since the 1930s have we seen a trend reversal like this.”

At the time of this writing, the BGCO Finance Office showed that $25,285,013 was given to the Cooperative Program by BGCO churches in 2011, which is 3.36 percent ($821,515) over 2010 and 4.48 percent ($1,085,013) over budget.

“The BGCO is so grateful for the generosity of Oklahoma Baptists in 2011 as we experienced a recovery in giving to CP and the SMO offering with the second highest amounts ever,” said Kerry Russell, the BGCO’s chief financial officer.

“While we rejoice, we are reminded that almost half of our associations experienced giving that was less than the prior year,” he added. “The national economic crisis in 2008 and 2009 set back CP giving by at least four years, but we anticipate improvement as we enter an election year filled with national and global economic challenges.”

Oklahoma, compared to other states, was unique in the upward trend of CP giving. Oklahoma was in a minority of states that saw an increase in its CP giving.

The increased CP giving in Oklahoma did not detract from the Oklahoma State Missions Offering.

In 2011, state leaders had set an ambitious goal of $1 million for the missions offering, which supports more than 20 vital ministries in the state. As of Jan. 12, $1.018 million had been given.

“It is a blessing to see Oklahoma Baptists catch a vision of what we can do together and answer the call to do missions in Oklahoma,” said Randall Adams, BGCO Church Outreach Team leader. Adams’ team oversees the promotion of the Oklahoma State Missions Offering.

The BGCO Finance Team, which handles all of the accounting of the giving, has studied the positive implications of the 2011 goals being met.

“While we are rejoicing in this good news, we recognize that we are still making up ground that was lost in the downturn,” added Jordan. “Nevertheless, we are grateful and feel blessed beyond measure. These dollars translate into actual ministry touching actual lives.”

For more information on giving, contact the BGCO Finance office at 405/942-3000, ext. 4549.

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Record crowds are expected at the Oklahoma State Capitol Wed., Feb. 8, at 11:45 a.m. for the 21st annual Rose Day rally as pro-life advocates gather in the fourth floor House Chamber to promote pro-life legislation.

From 9:30-11:30 a.m., participants will present red roses, as a symbol of the sanctity of life, to their state legislators and other elected officials.

Keynote speaker for the event is Abby Johnson, author of Unplanned and a former Planned Parenthood clinic director and volunteer. Johnson shares about her struggles after assisting with an abortion performed using ultrasound and witnessing a 13-week-old baby fight for her life, only to lose in the end. She battled the demons within until she resigned days later, but her battle only began as Planned Parenthood was threatened by her new voice for the unborn. Johnson will share her story through triumphs and tribulations to a motivated pro-life crowd of hundreds.

Along with Johnson’s testimony, pro-life legislators will be recognized during the rally for their support and commitment to life.

“We believe Rose Day has played a major role in the passage of significant pro-life legislation for the last several years. Because of the response of many denominations, we are anticipating another record-breaking year,” said Heidi Wilburn, public affairs consultant for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) and Rose Day Committee Chair. “Rose Day participants will be encouraged to share their stance on the upcoming pro-life legislation with their legislators as they present them with a rose to signify the sanctity of life.”

Rose Day is sponsored by a faith-based Rose Day Planning Committee and the BGCO. Organizations, churches and individuals are encouraged to take part in the day’s activities. For more information, visit www.bgco.org/RoseDay.

For additional information or interviews, contact Hillary Glaze by calling 405/255-1365.

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This is the cry of celebration from the people of Owasso, First to our God.

Six months ago, we began to make some BOLD statements and pray some bold prayers. One of those statements was:

“We will be a generous church. We will give more than we think we can afford and trust God to provide. We will recognize that we are tremendously blessed and that because we have been given much we can give much. We will not shy away from trying to meet the needs of as many people as God entrusts to us. We will be the church that serves people and serves other churches.”

We have asked God to give us a generous heart. We have challenged one another and shaped our ministries so that we could serve people and serve other churches. And now—God has answered one of our prayers.

On Jan. 1, 2011 the people of Owasso, First owed $1 million on our current campus. By the greatness of our God and the faithful generosity of His people, today, we are debt free.

Last year was a year of transition for the people of Owasso, First. The search for our next senior pastor continues, while 2011 saw God call other key leaders to ministries in churches in other states. We’ve said from the beginning, God moves the troops around. He’s placing all the right people in all the right places to accomplish His purpose for His church in this community and around the world.

What God accomplished through the people of Owasso, First in the last few days of 2011 is another example of how He is preparing the way for our next exciting season of ministry together. What God did financially through the people of this church is nothing less than miraculous.

Between Dec. 1-31, 2011 more than $350,000 was given to eliminate our mortgage. We entered 2012 debt free.This represents more than $28,000 a month freed up to accomplish the mission and ministry of our church.

Nearly $30,000 was given to the World Mission Offering—that’s almost double what was given in 2010.

Additionally, specific ministries at Owasso, First received significant restricted designated gifts designed to enhance ministry in those areas.

All this occurred while more than $2,190,000 was given in tithes toward our Annual Operating Budget.

God’s goodness and the church members’ faithfulness are so great it’s difficult to describe! The good news keeps coming.

We began 2011 having spent more than $13,000 out of our reserves to cover regular ministry expenses. We began 2012 able to replenish those reserves, having received more than $55,000 than was spent all year long.

God is clearly positioning and equipping the people of Owasso, First to fulfill His purpose in this community and around the world.

On Sunday morning, Jan. 15, Owasso, First celebrated  the greatness of our God and the faithful generosity of His people as we burned the note. Because this is such a significant event in the life of our church we adjusted our regular schedule and brought together our entire church family between services for a special ceremony of praise and worship.

That evening, we celebrated again with a vision service and fellowship, expressing our passionate praise to God and casting vision for our next exciting season of ministry together.

God has blessed and the people of Owasso, First have demonstrated with remarkable acts of generosity that they are faithful. It’s time to give thanks, refocus our generosity, refresh our vision and get ready—God is doing something remarkable among us.

Chad Balthrop is  minister of leadership development at Owasso, First.

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Land developer Paul Milburn and his wife, Ann, a civic volunteer and retired educator, have designated their gift for OBU’s Student Success Center. The gift is contingent on the success of the Shawnee phase of the university’s Vision For A New Century campaign, which was launched in the fall of 2011. When a total of $1.25 million is contributed by the end of the Shawnee phase, in early spring, the Milburns’ gift will push the Shawnee total above $2.25 million.

As of Jan. 1, the Shawnee phase had garnered $976,600 in gifts and pledges.

“This challenge gift will bolster a community effort which has already achieved tremendous success,” said OBU President David W. Whitlock. “For more than a century, OBU has been blessed by Shawnee residents who share our vision for transforming lives. Paul and Ann Milburn are demonstrating exemplary commitment to helping our students achieve even greater success.”

Paul Milburn is owner of Paul Milburn Acreages. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University. The longtime Shawnee resident has received numerous awards for community service. He was honored by OSU for funding the Paul Milburn Tutoring Program at OSU in 2011.

“We continuously gain appreciation for OBU as we get to know the administration, the staff and the quality of students from many states and foreign countries,” Milburn said. “It is refreshing to learn of the vision for the future of making this highly rated university an even better institution.”

OBU’s Student Success Center is designed to assist students of all majors, classifications and academic needs with comprehension of course material as well as in the development of study, research, analytical, reading, writing and critical thinking skills. The center offers help with writing assignments and tutoring in core subjects, mathematics, chemistry, physics, accounting and economics. The center also provides aid in research, organizing study groups and academic feedback.

Ann Milburn said the opportunity to strengthen OBU’s Student Success Center appealed to her dedication to education.

“My personal experience with education is still thrilling after many years to think about it,” she said. “I chose to be an educator early in college. OBU brings back memories of the college and university I attended. OBU is respected in all circles because of the students’ dedication and the accountability of the administration and instructors. It can only grow stronger.”

Mrs. Milburn earned a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma College for Women and a master’s degree in education from Southwestern OSU. She received the Teacher of the Year Award while teaching in the Snyder Public Schools.

The Vision For A New Century drive is the largest ever undertaken by the Shawnee-based institution. The Milburns are serving as honorary chairs of the Shawnee phase of the campaign, which has a base goal of $1 million and a “challenge” goal of $1.5 million.

Major objectives in the overall campaign include construction of two new buildings, renovation or expansion of three existing structures and growth of the university’s endowment funds, which generate income for student scholarships and other ongoing needs.

The campaign’s new construction projects include a nursing/allied health building and a student services center. The nursing/allied health building, to be constructed at the southwest corner of the MacArthur and Kickapoo intersection, will house OBU’s rapidly growing College of Nursing. Construction of the student services center will be southeast of the intersection of MacArthur and Raley Drive.

Renovation and expansion of the W.P. Wood Science Building, renovation of Ford Music Hall and renovation and re-purposing of Agee Residence Center also are included in the campaign objectives. Agee Residence Center, the main OBU men’s housing facility, will be converted to house administrative and athletic areas. The dormitory will be renovated in phases as the university completes a new student housing village north of MacArthur Street. OBU trustees approved construction of the housing village during their October 2011 meeting on the campus.

“The Milburns’ challenge gift is taking our Shawnee phase far beyond what we anticipated,” said Bill Holley, OBU associate vice president for university advancement, who is directing the local phase. “We have seen major support from several individuals in our community. It is very encouraging to see local businesses and individuals demonstrate their belief in OBU.”

Holley said approximately 150 local individuals are being contacted personally and an additional 350 individuals are being contacted through mail and special events and asked to financially support the campaign.

Founded in 1910, Oklahoma Baptist University has operated in Shawnee since it first offered classes. Local civic leaders negotiated with leaders of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma to have the convention’s one university located in Shawnee. The initial campus of 60 acres included one building, now known as Shawnee Hall. Today, OBU’s 200-acre campus includes 34 major buildings. OBU’s overall enrollment for the fall 2011 semester totaled 1,871 students, representing 38 states and 27 other countries.

Marty O’Gwynn is associate vice president for university advancement and assistant to the president for special projects at Oklahoma Baptist University.

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Mason, in her 56 years, has taken top honors in the vocal and song writing categories at the annual Christian Artists’ Music Seminar, captured two Dove Awards; topped the charts with several number one singles and penned award-winning Christian music.

A native of Jackson, Mich., and the daughter of a Baptist preacher, Mason began her musical training as church pianist and choir director at Lily Missionary Baptist Church. She also worked as a public school teacher before founding her own ministry in 1984.

In 1991, she rose to fame with the Dove Award-nominated “With All My Heart,” topping the Christian Hits Radio charts with the single, “Each One Reach One.” The next year, “A World of Difference” scored a Dove nomination for Inspirational Album of the Year. In all, she has 11 Dove Award nominations.

Her number one singles include “God Has Another Plan,” “The Only Hope,” “For the Cause of Christ,” “This Heart of Mine” and “Love is the More Excellent Way.”

Mason has won two Dove Awards, one for musical of the year “Make Us One,” and another for gospel recorded song of the year “Stop by the Church.”

She has also been nominated for the Grammy and the Stellar Awards, including nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Most recently, she received two distinguished awards; The Thomas Dorsey Award, bestowed upon her by the Atlanta Gospel Choice Awards and Mainstream Female Vocalist of the Year, given to her by The Christian Music Hall Of Fame.

Also a composer, she penned the award-winning classic “All Rise,” one of the most recorded songs in Christian music. Other noted compositions are “Each One Reach One,” “Standing in the Gap,” “Trust His Heart,” “All in Favor,” “Jesus the One and Only,” “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “With All My Heart” and “Pray On.”

Her songs have been featured in major motion pictures and television shows such as “Showtime at The Apollo” and Denzel Washington’s block-buster movie, “Déjà vu.”

Mason said “Trust His Heart” is one of the most inspired songs she has written. It was composed for a preacher friend who lost his wife and baby in childbirth.

In extreme depression, the preacher held on to the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who had written, “God is too wise to be mistaken. God is too good to be unkind. And, when you can’t trace His hand, you can always trust His heart.”

“Eddie Carswell, who sings with Newsong, and I wanted to write a song of encouragement for our friend, and thus was born the song, ‘Trust His Heart,’” revealed Mason.

Mason said she continues to get mail from people who are encouraged by that song.

Mason has appeared with many gospel artists, has graced the stage with Presidents Carter, Bush and Ford and appeared with the Women of Faith tour.

Of her 15 recordings, her most recent work, “Right Where You Are,” speaks about making daily worship a priority and encouraging believers to walk in empowering faith and joy.

In addition to her musical abilities, Mason has authored two books, Treasures of Heaven in the Stuff of Earth and FaithLift.

Mason is also the host of her own television show, “Babbie’s House,” which is seen in North America, Africa, the British Isles and the Caribbean Islands.

For the last 20 years, she and her husband, Charles, have hosted their own music conferences and workshops, most recently at The Inner Circle, where they mentor and minister together, imparting their knowledge with those desiring to enter into the music ministry and business.

The parents of two adult sons, the Masons live on a farm in West Georgia.

Mason will perform at sessions of the Evangelism Conference, which are scheduled for 1:45 and 6:45 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

“The Tuesday night session usually runs late,” noted BGCO Evangelism Specialist Tim Gentry. “For out-of-town participants, the decision is to leave after the afternoon session or stay another night in a hotel. I don’t want to compel participants to have to leave midway through the session to travel back home.

“Praying about this and looking at several scenarios, the evangelism conference advisory council (made up of pastors, DOMs and lay leaders) decided to feature one musical artist and one preacher for Tuesday evening. By bringing in a well-known musical artist to have an extended time of singing and then having one nationally known speaker challenge the audience, it was felt that a greater impact could be experienced in a shorter amount of time. So, the hope is that people will want to stay for the final session on Tuesday evening knowing that they will definitely receive a blessing, but also that the session will end by 8 p.m.

“Instead of two sets of music and preaching on Tuesday night there will be just one set. Dove Award winning artist Babbie Mason will lead an extended music session of 30 minutes followed by Robert Smith preaching.”

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