I do not like chaos. Anybody who has known me for more than five seconds would acknowledge this fact about me. If it can be organized, I will organize it. If I can add a spreadsheet to clarify the information, I will. If I can identify all the possible pitfalls before they happen and address them, I am going to do that. So, it felt very awkward to arrive at the Winter Presbytery Meeting of the Three Oklahoma Presbyteries without the mission project 100% laid out before we sta

Many churches today are doing their best with limited time, limited staff, or during seasons of transition. Some are between pastors. Some rely heavily on volunteers. Others are simply tired—and wondering how to keep worship meaningful without stretching people too thin. Firebird Spirit’s Worship Supply Kit (WSK) was created with those realities in mind. The Worship Supply Kit is a ready-to-use Sunday worship resource that churches can turn to when they need extra support. It

You are invited to register for this Community Circle, designed especially for those leaders in small churches. Are you an educator, volunteer, pastor, or commissioned pastor (CRE, CLP), that serves as a leader in a small church ( less than 100 members )? Are you a mid-council leader who supports faith formation leaders in small churches?   Offered several times through the year, come to every gathering, or when you can, but come to share in conversation and learn, ask questi

Recognizing the incredible importance of sexual misconduct prevention and boundary training, the Synod of the Sun has partnered with Safe Gatherings to offer free boundary training to all ministers, commissioned pastors, elders, and church leaders in Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery. This 2-hour, 7-module course addresses common predicaments posed by ministry life. It can be used as a comprehensive introduction to ethics or as a refresher course. Modules include scenarios for de

The March Book Study will be Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith by Rachel Held Evans (Author), Sarah Bessey (Author), Daniel Jonce Evans (Foreword). For those new to Rachel Held Evans' writing or those familiar with her work before her untimely death, this book study will help you discover why a generation in the church was so deeply impacted by her voice. The book study will meet on Thursdays at noon via Zoom beginning on February 5

This Saturday will mark the next stage in the creation of the new Oklahoma presbytery. The three Oklahoma presbyteries will meet again at First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, Oklahoma, for the Winter Presbytery Meeting. The commissioners will spend the day learning about disaster preparedness and assembling disaster clean-up buckets before they break for lunch and worship. The three presbyteries will then gather separately to conduct their own business. It will be in thos

Baptism of the Lord Sunday gets lost in our liturgical calendar. Between the preparation and joy of the Advent and Christmas seasons and the penitence and celebration of Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter time, Baptism of the Lord Sunday seems like a blimp on the radar. It is not. Baptism of the Lord Sunday is an important reminder, reset, and invitation.  Do you remember your baptism? This is a frequent saying on Baptism of the Lord Sunday. I do not. I was a baby in

“You Belong Here,” reads the yellow sweatshirt of the parking lot greeter at the church near my house. By the welcoming waves and the stream of people going into the building, I think they mean it. What LifeChurch and other houses of worship like it have discovered is that one of the greatest dangers and products of modern society is isolation. We are a divided people. We are a lonely world. The pace and fullness of life pull us apart socially, emotionally, and psychologicall

The Thursday Book Club returns in 2026 with Ted V. Foote Jr. and P. Alex Thornburg's  Being Presbyterian in a Dysvangelical America: A Guide to Reclaiming the Good News of God . After taking a book writing break following the release of the successful  Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt: A Theological Survival Guide for Youth, Parents, & Other Confused Presbyterians (2000) and  Being Disciples of Jesus in a Dot.Com World: A Theological Survival Guide for Youth, Adults, an

The Fall Presbytery Meeting of the Three Oklahoma Presbyteries approved  seven motions from the Oklahoma Presbyteries Task Force  related to the next steps in the creation of a new Oklahoma Presbytery. One of the motions expanded the participation in the Oklahoma Presbyteries Task Force. Other motions named the six work groups and provided a process for populating them.  The individual presbyteries will be responsible - through their Nominating Committees and Councils – for f

We are better together  has been one of the key affirmations since we began to explore the possibility of creating a single Oklahoma presbytery. Why do we need everything in triplicate? We have three presbytery offices, three General Presbyters, three Stated Clerks, three administrative staffs, and three Councils, COMs, and CPMs. It is more than our state and churches need at this time. This is a practical and reasonable argument. It is simply hard to justify the current stru

The church is not always quick to act. Frequently, we are slow to change. I have heard the church described as a slow-moving ocean liner that takes miles to alter direction. But there are occasions when we act with vigor and clarity of purpose. This was demonstrated time and time again during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it seemed like every day brought the need for a new adjustment. Our churches were nimble. They did what was necessary, even if they had not done it that way bef

Robert Frost, famously, wrote a poem about two roads that diverged in a forest and concludes by saying:       “I took the one less traveled by,       And that has made all the difference.” On our recent Pastor’s Wilderness Retreat, I hiked both options of a trail that diverged in a forest, and I want to write to you today about my experience on each of them.  On the first full day of our annual hiking retreat, Rev. Lucus Keppel, Rev. David VanDonkelaar, and I hiked down and a

I will be involved in a couple of anniversary celebrations in September.   Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church of Bartlesville celebrated...

Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery will be hosting a Pastor's Wilderness Retreat again this fall at White Rock Mountain in northwest Arkansas....

The Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery (SPDR) is a ministry of the Synod of the Sun dedicated to connecting, equipping, and...

On August 9th, the three Oklahoma Presbyteries met at First Presbyterian Church of Norman in a Special Called Meeting. They were blessed...

I made a mistake in my biblical exegesis ordination exam [1] . I am sure I made many mistakes over the breadth of the exams, but I made...

I have spent a lot of time talking to Pastor Nominating Committees lately. Two churches have started searches recently. If you have ever...

I woke up Easter Monday to the news that Pope Francis had died. While I am now a minister and leader in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),...