Discovering Christ’s Love
1
Worship Opportunities
2
Coming Soon
3
Notes from the Journey
4— 22
Celebrating Recovery
23 — 27
Calendar of Events
28 — 29
New Members
30 — 31
Volunteer Opportunities
32 — 33
Family Room
Tidings Staff Sandy Wagner Jan Weinheimer Juli Armour Lisa Tresch Lina Holmes Chris Lo Nikki Boyd
Asbury Tidings is a monthly publication designed to tell stories of lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. You may read back issues by visiting www.asburytulsa.org
I had a “180” on an April weekend at Rose Hill Methodist Church in 1969. I am not sure I had ever heard the term, “conversion,” but that is certainly what I experienced. I was touched spiritually and emotionally. Though I was only 14 and was Pastor Tom Harrison a “good” kid, I was by no means sinless. When I asked Jesus to come into my heart the result was transforming. I felt truly cleansed for the first time in my life. It was the single most important event in my entire life. That others gave their lives to Christ, too, only strengthened my bond with Him. Later, I found out that I was in the company of some of the great church leaders. Paul had a “Damascus Road” experience (Acts 9). John Wesley said about an experience on May 24, 1738: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Bill Mason had a dramatic experience at a Billy Graham crusade in Oklahoma City. When I met my wife I asked, “When did you become a Christian?” She said she could not remember a specific time, date, or place that she gave her life to Christ. I thought that was an insufficient answer at best. I assumed every true believer had to be able to specifically point to a time, place, and event. I thought everyone had to have had an emotional experience as well. In short, I felt everyone had to have had an experience like mine or they were not Christians. Since then, however, I have discovered that there are probably more people like Dana than like me. She is every bit as much a Christian as I am – we just had different beginnings. Her experience was more of a nurturing one; whereas mine was dramatic. I have never asked someone: “Were you born ‘naturally’ or ‘Caesarian?’” Likewise, the “how” one became a follower of Jesus is not nearly as important as the fact that they are now followers. Conversion is an event for some of us. For all of us, salvation is a ongoing process. We are currently being saved. It is not merely something that happened in the past; it is a presenttense experience.
WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT ASBURY Communion Service
9:15 Sanctuary
Open House Worship
Sundays, 8:00 a.m. Mason Chapel
Sundays, 9:15 a.m. Sanctuary
Sundays, 9:15 a.m. Community Life Center
This service is traditional in nature. It is in the Mason Chapel and music is provided by a wide variety of vocal and instrumental solos and ensembles: the Chancel Choir sings the second Sunday of each month; children’s choirs, the Ladies’ Ensemble, handbell ensembles, Asbury’s Brass quintet are but a few of the many musical offerings in this service. Pastor Tom preaches every week, and Communion, served by intinction (dipping the bread in the juice), is a regular part of this service.
The first thing people will notice as they walk into the new 9:15 sanctuary service is that the chancel area will look quite different. With new lighting and backdrops for the front of the sanctuary, we hope to create an inviting and intriguing focal point for worship. And from the moment the service begins, worshipers will know “the big idea” for the morning. Music, time of prayer, and the message will all carry a prevailing theme for the morning. It is the intention of the design team to create time and space in the service each week for worshipers to let go of the distractions of their lives and find themselves in the presence of God in ways they’ve not experienced before. We want to infuse the service with experiential times of prayer, creative elements that will likely include drama and liturgical dancers, and so much more. We hope to tell the story of Jesus Christ in a way that makes people use all of their senses. We want them to see, hear, smell, touch and taste the story of Jesus.
The new Open House Worship is a place where you can be yourself and experience Jesus with others. You are invited to come as you are to meet new friends, enjoy “old” friends, have a cup of coffee and relax. In this casual environment you will be touched through active and engaging worship led by Pastor Dub Ambrose and the worship band. You will see Pastor Tom’s sermons by simulcast or hear a special “live” sermon from another pastor. And each week you will experience something different, such as a children’s message, personal testimony, group dialogue, or some other creative element. Prayer centers will be available throughout the service for personal and family prayer.
Traditional Service Sundays, 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary This service is lead by our Minister of Music Hart Morris, the Chancel Choir and the Asbury Orchestra and Concert Band. While the service itself is traditional, the music is an offering of a variety of styles. On any given Sunday you may hear a spiritual, a classic, a “praise” song or an anthem. Our handbell choirs, dance team and children’s choirs are regular participants in this service as well as vocal and instrumental ensembles. This is the only service in which sign interpreters for the deaf are offered. We are blessed to have Pastor Tom preaching each week. If you enjoy tradition with a little diversity, then you will enjoy worshipping with us at this hour. 1 Asbury Tidings
Chapel Service Sundays, 11:00 a.m. Mason Chapel Encounter the Lord with a rich blend of ancient and modern worship. You’ll find the music a bit more intense, the context more interactive and the experience refreshingly passionate. Pastor Tom’s messages are simulcast on large screens, and the rest of the service is live with Pastors Dick Read & Todd Craig and music led by Chris Cleveland and the worship band. This fast-growing service will be moving to the renovated ice rink when it opens Summer 2008.
Simply Worship Thursdays, 6:45-7:45 pm Community Live Center Beginning November 1 join us for the beginning of this casual, simple, and friendly time of worship. The music will be a mix of contemporary praise songs and hymns. This is a time to come together during the week to “take a breath” and worship our Lord. Spencer Smith, who is interning at Asbury during his final year of seminary at Perkins School of Theology at SMU, will be bringing the message. He will be working closely with Tom to match the message on Sunday morning. Tom will also be preaching occasionally in the service. This is a great opportunity for those who work on Sundays or will be out of town on the weekends. Families are encouraged to take their children to the worship service; however, childcare will be available for children ages 4 and under.
Pancake Breakfast Singles Christmas shop
Did you know there are approximately 175 single parents at Asbury, with 350 children to raise, and so many more just outside the doors of our church?
During the Christmas season, it becomes more difficult for those families to make ends meet, and many children do not get to experience the joy of selecting and purchasing gifts for others. Through the Asbury Singles Ministry Christmas Shop, we hope to offer some relief from that pressure. On Saturday, December 1, kindergarten children through fifth graders coming from a single-parent home will have the opportunity, for just $5 each, to select gifts for their parents, grandparents and siblings. The Christmas Shop will be open to children of Asbury families, Grove Elementary School, Walt Whitman Elementary School and Youth at Heart. Individuals and Asbury communities are being asked to assist by providing small gifts for all ages, valued at no more than $5 each. Financial contributions are also appreciated to help with additional gift purchases and refreshments, as well as to fund scholarships for families in dire need. Unwrapped gifts or contributions may be brought on Sunday mornings to the singles “Meet & Greet” table in the CLC or during the week to the Adult Ministries office. All purchasing proceeds will be divided equally and returned to Grove, Walt Whitman and Youth at Heart. In addition to the purchase of gifts or financial contributions, volunteers are needed to assist with set-up and clean-up, greeting, registration, hospitality, wrapping gifts … the list goes on and on! To offer your services, e-mail Gretchen at information@asmtulsa.com, as soon as possible, and begin praying for this inspired effort to bring the love of Christ to “the least of these.”
Asbury Scout Leadership Foundation is hosting its annual Pancake Breakfast, featuring a salue to Asbury veterans and active duty service members. Tickets may be purchased at the church on October 28 and November 4, or at the door the morning of the event. Asbury’s United Methodist Women’s annual Bake Sale will take place in the main foyer during the Pancake Breakfast . Come shop from a delicious array of hundreds of home-baked goods by some of the best cooks in Tulsa! All proceeds from the Bake Sale will benefit missions.
$4/ADULTS
$3/CHILDREN UNDER 10
$16/FAMILY MAXIMUM Asbury Tidings 2
Karla and Lisa
Notes from the Journey By Lisa Tresch
A
t age 12, I took the walk during a Sunday night service, which was an easier time to take the walk, especially for those who didn’t like large crowds. The smattering of people – the faithful few – who attended on Sunday night was far less intimidating, and our pastor wore a sport shirt and slacks instead of a suit and tie. So I chose Sunday night during the third stanza of the invitation hymn to take my walk. The whole notion of salvation had been brewing in me for several months. Before that, I thought the whole thing had been taken care of five years earlier when my friend Karla and I had walked the aisle together. She was seven and I was eight and we were into the big crowds and the drama of it all. We felt like Sunday morning celebrities as we walked down from the balcony. All eyes were on us. Our pastor introduced us in front of the congregation. “Two little friends,” he said with a big smile, each of his hands on one of our bony shoulders, “have made the most important decision in all of life….together.” The next Sunday Karla and I were each baptized. It had been quite a fun experience. When all the
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The Walk fuss died down, I wanted to do it all over again. At age 12, however, I felt no desire for anyone to see me walk down the aisle. I would have crawled under the pew to the front if I could. I was adolescent, insecure and the new kid in town and at this large downtown church. I felt displaced and unknown. I made my short trek to the front of the sanctuary alone and told my new pastor that I had walked the aisle once before, but that it hadn’t been real because I didn’t feel very saved. Maybe I was confusing my lost feeling in this new city with being lost spiritually. Whatever my reason, I made the walk again. I wanted the real thing this time. To be honest, I’m not sure which walk was the real thing. I never heard a voice, or had an epiphany moment when it all clicked into place. I was baptized again at age 12 and pronounced to be a new creation, but I wasn’t sure how that worked. I still fought with my parents and could tell a lie with a straight face. I covered myself with countless rededications at church camps, and repetitions of the sinner’s prayer during revivals when “all heads were bowed and all eyes were closed.” I kept expecting to feel
instantly holy and look utterly transformed. I wanted to have a testimony that clearly defined my salvation moment. But I don’t. The walks down the aisles in my childhood are in many ways a picture of the inconsistency with which I live this salvation life. Some days I am secure and confident, reveling in the grace I have been given. On other days I feel more like a lost child, crawling to God with a need to be assured of what is real. I have come to believe that my salvation is more of a process than a one-time event. Sometimes when people ask, “When were you saved?” I am tempted to respond, “Every day.” My initial salvation experience, whenever it was, did not usher in perfection. I am still a complicated work-in-progress, filled with my own reckless humanity. Yet through the trying and failing, I realize that I know God a little better today than I did yesterday. I know whom I have believed, Paul tells Timothy. I also know in Whom I have believed, and so it makes my vague timeline of the initial salvation experience unimportant. I am washed clean, made new, and deeply loved even on days when it doesn’t feel like it. And I walk on.
I
Stephanie Hurd
was saved at the age of 17 at a Young Life camp in Colorado. On Thursday night our leader, Kim Talley, described the arrest, mock trial, torture, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was the first time I heard about a “cat of nine tails” and how the Roman soldiers used one to rip the flesh off the back of God’s Son. On that night no activities were planned––the campers were to leave the main building quietly and spend time in prayer. “You suffered that much for me?” I asked God incredulously. I found a place to hide, and cried my eyes out. The next night, Kim carefully and joyfully described the resurrection of Christ, the eyewitness accounts, and finally His ascension into heaven. Of course, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. By the grace of God I am saved! However, being a confirmed Catholic, I thought I was a Christian before I came to camp, as did my friends. So I kept the exciting news to myself and went on like nothing had changed. A year later I went off to college at the University of Colorado, where I didn’t know a single soul. Then I was able to celebrate my newly found faith with zeal and seek out discipleship without “losing face.” Later that year, I returned to the same Young Life camp in the mountains as a college leader
with a group of students. I arrived from Boulder with a hangover. Yes, it’s hard to do ministry with a hangover. I wondered if God could use such a person as me––so full of pride, and foolishness . . . and beer. Twenty years later, I’m still tempted to wonder: God, can you use a sinner like me? Someone who cracks saucy jokes and drives like a pagan? Fortunately for all of us, salvation is more than a point-in-time experience; salvation is also a process. I think of it like my orchid: it consists of large, waxy leaves and spindly roots. It is already an orchid, although it has no flowers. Under the right conditions, a long curved stem will grow, and buds will form that will eventually open into beautiful blossoms. When the orchid blooms, it realizes its full potential and is made complete. Similarly, when we first believe we are at once already Christ-like but not yet Christ-like. Our growth process will span our entire lives until it culminates in heaven, when we reach our full potential and we are made complete. Our salvation is like the orchid–– already but not yet. In the meantime, we can rest assured
that He who started a good work in us will finish it (Philippians 1:6). Of course God can use a person like me. I am every man and every woman who has ever been saved––a sinner forgiven and set free. Is there any other kind of Christian? He knows we will fail Him often, but He chooses to use us anyway. That is how we grow in Christ––it is the process of becoming fully saved and the way we bring glory to His wonderful name. These days I am less full of beer. But pride and foolishness? What a relief to know someday I will grow out of that too. By the power of God I will be made complete!
JACK CARTER celebrating recovery
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Nikki Boyd in elementary school.
L
ooking back now as an adult, I can see why some would have been a little skeptical of my decision to come to Christ. I grew up in a church in northern Illinois and was a fixture at every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and mid-week activity. But, I also knew every nook and cranny of our church building and the familiarity often led to boredom and some not so church-like behavior. Like the time I snuck a bottle of Coke into a service. I can still remember the sound of glass clinking against the linoleum as soda ran across the floor. The congregation heard it too. Or when our pastor stopped his sermon and called me out by name because I was visiting with my friend and disturbing everyone around me. I was so focused on my conversation that I didn’t hear him. The second time stopped me cold as he asked me to come sit on the front pew. I knew from the look on my mom’s face in the choir loft I would get it when I got home. Aside from this not so pristine reputation, I loved Jesus as a child. I was blessed with godly parents who 5
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Nikki Boyd taught me God’s word. Though going to church did get monotonous, there did come a time when I knew I wanted Jesus in my life. I was eight and it was sometime in November. I felt my heart stirred (I wasn’t talking during this sermon!) and went forward at the invitation. I talked to my pastor and he prayed with me. But for some reason, something was not settled in my heart. The next Sunday I went forward again and then again and again. My mom recalls being at the piano during those services and thinking, “Here we go again!” Each time my pastor would sweetly say, “Let’s pray for Nikki as she continues to seek what God wants for her.” This went on for several weeks until I finally said, “If someone doesn’t talk to me about Jesus, I’m not coming back.” My mom took me aside, talked to me and prayed with me. I don’t remember our conversation but I know I finally found peace and knew I was going to heaven. Like many who came to Christ as a child, I later struggled with doubt
about my decision being authentic. I remember as a teenager praying one night, confirming that my heart did belong to God and that I wanted to live for Him. It was then I realized Jesus as not just my Savior but also my Lord. I recently asked my mom, my greatest spiritual mentor, why did I feel the need to keep going forward? She says she’s sorry that she wasn’t more sensitive and thinks perhaps I thought I had to do more before Jesus would save me. Whatever it was, my little heart had questions and in my childlike way, I was determined to seek the answers. Now as a mom, I want to take these lessons with me, listen to my children, especially when it comes to spiritual matters and be diligent in teaching them God’s word just as my parents taught me. Don’t take for granted the way children so freely and innocently express their love for Jesus. And when my boys act up in church, I smile and cut them a little slack. It’s just payback for what I put my parents through.
H
e’s clean-cut, quiet and unassuming. He’s a talented musician
(guitar) and has accumulated notable experience within the music industry, experience that would make him something of a celebrity. He loves his sevenyear-old daughter, Jordan, and he took the position at Asbury partially because he desired the fellowship and accountability that could be gained within the stability of a good church. His name is Danny Hill and the man you meet today is a far cry from the young man from the tough part of Chicago. Asbury Tidings 6
Danny Hill The son of a many-times-married mother and absentee father, his childhood was unstable and chaotic. When he was two his mother married a biker. “As you can imagine, growing up around him wasn’t too great. He used me and my siblings to carry drugs and drop with people. He had no idea how to raise kids. Most importantly, he didn’t really care,” said Danny. This man was in Danny’s life and home until he was 11 years old. At 13 he discovered his real father was in Louisiana. Danny visited him for a summer. His father introduced him to drinking and doing drugs. “At 13 this seemed ‘cool’ because nobody ever really showed any interest in me, so I tried it all. This was a mistake, of course, as I continued with drinking and drugs when I returned home,” explained Danny. “I was home about six weeks when we received a call that my father had died of a cocaine overdose. That was the only time I ever saw my father.” For Danny drugs were an escape. His mother had a friend that was a police officer and he helped Danny get into a long-term treatment center. When released, he was home for a short time when his mother told him she had never loved him and didn’t want him around. Fortunately, a friend’s family took him in while he finished school. Soon Danny began drinking and doing drugs again. For the next five years with no family and no real foundation for life,
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Danny began playing in bands and dealing cocaine for a living. “I was doing the only thing I knew that seemed to give me happiness. Drugs kept some kind of ‘family’ around me. I was around rock celebrities about ninety percent of the time. This just magnified everything,” he said. “These were the things that opened the door for me to go to music school. I supplied teachers, musicians and the dean of the school to get what I thought I needed.”
“They know and see something ‘real’ and that’s where all people of faith should walk. When we keep our noses high and do nothing but tell people they’re wrong, we get nowhere. When we stand strong in our beliefs while also walking in love as Jesus did, then it can open doors in their lives that have been locked for years.” -Danny Hill Though the money was good, what came with that lifestyle was sense of paranoia and a total lack of meaning or accountability. He was touring with such well-know musicians as Metallica, Pantera, Korn and Dream Theater. “Being around those people just
seemed to make the things I was doing okay. Everyone was living like this and we existed in a bubble,” said Danny. “The celebrity world is so dangerous and it does my heart good to see that some Christians are penetrating some of these walls and bringing people out of that stuff. That is part of the call God has put on my heart.” I was in Atlanta one night and I knew things were getting hot with the drug dealing. Someone came up to me and the bass player and said, ‘Don’t go back to your apartment. The police are there waiting for you.’ We had plenty of money, so we went straight to the airplane.” Danny’s friend, the bass player, was from Nowata, Oklahoma. Wanting to go somewhere safe, they went to his mother’s house. What he didn’t know was his friend’s mother was a very loving Christian woman who saw right through them. “ She wasn’t your typical ‘cool Christian’ type, didn’t have cool hair, play cool music or know the lingo we sometimes think we need to reach the lost. She was a traditional, hymn singing, senior. She just never judged and showed nothing but love to me through all my antics. To be honest, I really wanted her to be judgmental and pushy. I wanted her to be the picture that most people think of as Christians. Instead, she was what the Word says a Christian should be. She walked in love just as Jesus did and that’s what broke down my walls and fear of Christianity.”
Danny Hill today with his daughter Jordan, 7.
Danny had never been around a “real” family that knew how to love like Jesus does no matter how far into sin you are. “After a couple of weeks I really started wanting to know what his family had. I had no idea how to attain it. I got to the point I couldn’t sleep. I would lay awake all night tossing and turning. One day I felt a strong urge to meet with a local pastor I had met. I borrowed a car and within 20 minutes I was giving my life to God. I was a new person! I had clarity and a sense of purpose I never had before. I actually felt love for the first time in my life.” Ironically, my bass player friend and I hadn’t seen each other all day. When he arrives home, my exact words were, ‘I think I’m going to try this God thing for a while.’ I didn’t
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PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF COMPASSION AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, WHO COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR TROUBLES, SO THAT WE CAN COMFORT THOSE IN ANY TROUBLE WITH THE COMFORT WE OURSELVES HAVE RECEIVIED FROM GOD. 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4
know the correct terms at the time, so that was the best way I knew to put it. He looked at me and said, ‘Really? I gave my life to God today, too.’” o, two people running from the same lifestyle were saved on the same day with no prior communication. Certainly, no coincidence. For the next few months Danny dug into the Bible and every book he could find in an effort to know Him better. He began using his talents in praise and worship bands and started a Christian rock band to reach the youth. He was on a mission. He also began helping at adolescent treatment centers and counseling kids with drug and alcohol problems as well as family issues. Actually, Danny became some-
S
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thing of a “Christian celebrity.” Immediately some put him on the platform to give his testimony and even preach. “I was preaching before I really knew enough of the Word to know what I was preaching about. Fortunately, I was lucky that I realized it and found good mentors to help me recover from the damage of being the poster child for Christianity.” Since Danny continued to work with secular as well as Christian rock bands, amazing things have happened in his life—seemingly inexplicable things. He’s been able to share God with people like Ozzy Osbourne and Prince and had the privilege of leading members of the band, Korn, to God. “It’s been a rollercoaster and I’m blessed to be a part of it.”
If anything, the personality and character of the lady who “loved him into getting saved,” is the very thing that helped open the doors so Danny could speak openly about his faith with Ozzy, Prince, Korn, U2, Madonna and others. “The love I learned to walk in is why these celebrities still call me for advice and prayer even though I’m here at Asbury now,” Danny said. “They know and see something ‘real’ and that’s where all people of faith should walk. When we keep our noses high and do nothing but tell people they’re wrong, we get nowhere. When we stand strong in our beliefs while also walking in love as Jesus did, then it can open doors in their lives that have been locked for years.” -Sandy Wagner
“I
Hunter Hornay
’m a Sprout. An Alpha Sprout, that is,” exclaims Hunter Hornay. “And proud of it.” Last fall, 11-year-old Hunter, his mom and sister enrolled in the Alpha program (Alpha Sprouts for grades K – 6 th) at Asbury UMC. That’s where Hunter invited the Lord into his heart and into his life. “I knew about Jesus from going to church,” says Hunter. “But I wanted to learn more. I had so many questions!” “The first night I went to my Alpha class I felt nervous. I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know anyone,” Hunter continues. “But my group leaders, the Alpha Dudes, taught me how to get close to God by praying, reading the Bible and obeying Him. Then I got
excited and I wanted to go every week. I made friends with the other Sprouts, and made friends with Jesus too.” Over the weeks, Hunter felt changed. He prayed more. He wanted to attend church more. He puts it plainly, “ I accepted Jesus into my heart.” Things are different now for Hunter at home, at school and away from his comfort zone. He remembers during his week at camp this past summer when he had a difficult time, and felt alone . . . afraid. But he talked to Jesus, and it felt good. He knew he had nothing to fear. “Sometimes it’s tough doing what’s right,” describes Hunter. “I used to get mad
easily, especially when someone made fun of me. But I know Jesus loves me just the way I am. He forgives me right away. He takes the hurt away too.” This sixth grader is already making plans for a future with Christ as his Savior. “I want to be a camp counselor some day,” says Hunter. “I want to teach other kids that God is your personal friend, wherever or whenever you need Him. He will help you get through the day. He loves you, no matter what. I think kids really need to know that.” Hunter’s advice to other youngsters and grown-ups: Get to know God. “He will show you the way and accept you, no questions asked,” Hunter explains. “He will grow inside of you. Take it from a Sprout . . . ‘cause I know.” -Sylvia LaRose
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Leroy assisting Ruby Nell Mitchell as she enters the church shuttle.
Leroy Foust
A
fter being away for 40 years, Leroy Foust met with Pastor David Thomas and joined Asbury in the year 2000. Two weeks later he could be seen working in the kitchen, and a couple weeks after that he was driving the shuttle as well. “Now,” he says, “If I miss a Sunday for some reason, it ruins my whole week. I pray every day, and I’m trying to learn more about the Bible.” You may already know Leroy. You can hardly miss him since he is six feet, three inches tall. One might describe him as a gentle giant. He drives one of the shuttle buses on Sunday mornings and can be seen in lots of other places just helping out. He and Nelma attend the Happy Christian Community. Leroy received Christ at age nine in a Tulsa church. His mom kept her
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kids in church until they left home. Leroy joined the Army as soon as he was of age and went to Vietnam. His uncle, a pastor, introduced him (through the mail) to a girl named Nelma who went to his church. They corresponded and subsequently got married in 1968 when Leroy came home. Leroy said, “Nelma – she’s a dandy! She knows everything about the Bible and prayed for me all those years. I could have searched the whole earth and never found a better wife.” Nelma is a long-time member of Asbury. Leroy went to work for the Frisco Railroad which later became the BNSF. He had stopped going to church in the Army, and was away so many weekends with the railroad, he never got started back to church. His absence had nothing to do with rebellion or immorality – just a lack of commitment even though he says he felt a “call” from time to time. Right before his mom passed away, she asked Leroy to go back to church. It was then he began to take the “call” more seriously. When you work for the railroad “all
the live long day” for 31 years, your body eventually doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. Before receiving the disability benefits for which he had applied, he made a promise to God that he would go back to church. And he did. Nelma says, “Leroy knows lots more people at Asbury than I do because he’s never met a stranger.” “You meet a lot of good friends if you volunteer,” said Leroy. “I got to work with Roy King who was a big influence on me – and I made lots of other friends too.” He also loves the Singing Ambassadors and has driven them and the Tweenagers on Asbury’s people movers on several outings. He drives kids to see their moms at Eddie Warrior and has helped for two years in “hauling food” for Christmas baskets for Restore Hope Prison Ministry. Once when returning from a trip to Tahlequah, the back tire on the people mover blew out while going down the Muskogee Turnpike. Leroy said only God could have taken the wheel to guide them onto the shoulder and kept them from turning over. There were 11 ladies on the bus. Maybe that’s one of the reasons his favorite song is “Amazing Grace.” -Marty McBroom
F
Lyla Brown
rom a plastic play kitchen set in the corner of the two-year-old classroom, Lyla Brown, Manager of Children’s Ministry at Asbury, picked up a plastic plate and sat on the floor among several toddlers. She served pretend muffins to each of the children who surrounded her. The children instantly responded to Lyla’s gentle and loving nature. Lyla understands the huge impact a caring Sunday school teacher has on a young child. It was her grandmother, Delylah (from whom Lyla’s name was derived) who taught Lyla’s Sunday school class. “She taught me Bible stories and was a wonderful example of how a Christian should live. I remember she and granddaddy were always grateful and content.” Church was an integral part of Lyla’s life growing up in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. At 13 years old, while attending a church revival, Lyla felt the desire to respond to the invitation to come to the altar. With sweaty palms and a racing heart, Lyla gave her life to Christ. She felt confident in her decision. However, as the years went by, Lyla grew
distant from the Lord. “In my 20s, I wasn’t thinking about God much.“ She moved away from home and was teaching English in Lexington, Kentucky when she met her husband, Ross Brown. The couple married on September 2, 1973. Ross and Lyla didn’t go to church. “I know my grandmother prayed for me. She never asked if Ross and I went to church, but she knew. I still regret that when my children were young, they were not in church.” In the mid-eighties, Ross and Lyla had moved to Tulsa. “I was hungry (spiritually). My aunt told me about Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and talked to me about attending. BSF was the vehicle God used to bring me back to Him,” Lyla said. “I began to draw closer and closer to Him. I learned how helpless I was to effect change but God could change anyone. I learned to pray for my husband. Through it all, God never left me and He changed Ross’ heart.” Ross’ brother, Jerry, told Ross about a wonderful pastor that he’d met named Reverend Bill Mason. Jerry convinced Ross and Lyla to go hear
him preach at Asbury. They grew together in the Lord and became members of Asbury in 1991. Although God had forgiven Lyla, she still had an ache in her heart from the regret of not raising her children in church. Pastor Dick Read counseled her and she claimed the promise in Joel 2:25: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” Knowing the desires of her heart, God called Lyla to be involved in Children’s Ministry at Asbury. She responded by volunteering with the young children. “It’s so easy to tell them, ‘Jesus loves you,’” she said sincerely. It was from the joy of ministering to children as a Sunday school teacher that God led her to serve as the Manager of Children’s Ministry at Asbury. The staff, volunteers and children are all grateful to God that she answered His call. On a recent trip back home to Kentucky, Lyla visited with a childhood friend whose daughter is involved in Children’s Ministry. They talked for awhile and Lyla’s friend said, “Lyla Ruth, if your grandmother could hear you talk now, she would be so pleased.” Glory to God! -Christy Capps
KEVIN IHRIG celebrating recovery
Asbury Tidings 12
O
ur small team of eight anxiously congregated inside a small sanctuary staring out several windows searching for the return of Estonian children to a Vacation Bible School program. The second day of VBS was to begin in 30 minutes and the wait was grueling since we knew it was up to the children if they would make the walk. Someone shouted, “Look!” as we observed several children approaching the back lawn adorned in their new royal blue Agape t-shirts. We moved toward the entrance to begin another day in the Parnu Agape Methodist Church with relief and excitement. The week passed quickly and we found ourselves completely content and at home in a quaint upstairs guest quarters. We shared this lovely area for breakfast, devotions, late night ice cream, VBS crafts, and discussions of a world hungering for a purpose and a hope. The emptiness we often wit-
nessed on the streets of Parnu was noticeable to each of us during our dinner hours in the square. What were they missing? Why so many children in the orphanage? Why so much blatant alcohol abuse? Why so many elderly in the sanctuary and so few young families? Where was the Holy Spirit? As I approached my customary weekday parking location at Asbury, the familiar chimes of a much loved hymn began to echo. I glanced up to the distant cross welcoming me home from a place far away. My mind immediately recreated images of the sweet laughter I heard from the upstairs windows of our guest quarters on our last night in Parnu. Familiar children from the VBS week stood below waving upward to their new American friends. I wondered if I would see these precious children again. I began to speculate what would
Vicki Ihrig
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happen to the children from the orphanage, the children from the Learning Center next to the Agape Church, and the many children we never met while in their country. I sat in a daze as I looked upward to our beautiful cross precisely balanced over a larger Methodist church. Everything felt so different now. How did I enjoy the experience and freedom of Christianity all my life? How does one reach the generations of people that never had the same blessing in a country forbidden to worship for years? I felt my eyes close as I asked these questions of my Heavenly Father. ….. “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people…..” Revelation 14:6
B
ill Dorn has seen God’s hand on his life. Whether it’s his salvation story, his personal struggle with illness or his journey to Asbury; Bill knows he has experienced God’s divine orchestration, not just a series of coincidences. Going to church was a part of Bill’s childhood and he came to Christ at age 12. He remembers that moment when he felt God pulling at his heart, “I knew the preacher was talking to me and I had to get up. My feet were heavy but they got lighter as I walked to the front. I knew I needed Jesus.” Though Bill drifted from his faith as a young adult, he always sensed God was telling him what was right and wrong. This protected him from some bad choices. When he and Debbie married, she did not know Christ. Bill would try to read his Bible and pray for Debbie. Though he longed for Christian fellowship, he honored her desire not to attend church. Through the years, he trusted that God would do something. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that Debbie returned from a family reunion with some news – a relative had led her Christ. The next week, Debbie shared her news with a coworker, Mark Dalton, an Asbury member. That night she said to Bill, “How would you feel about visiting a Methodist church this Sunday?” The rest is, as Bill puts it, “a God-thing.” They arrived at Asbury that next Sunday and visited the Family Fellowship community. Bill was visiting with some men when a man in a robe approached them. He was introduced
Bill Dorn as Tom Harrison. It took only a few moments for Bill to realize this familiar face was the Tommy Harrison he knew from Will Rogers High School. Bill laughs, “For us to come to church after all these years and on our first visit meet the senior pastor who is an old friend is divine, not chance.” Bill joined Asbury in May 2007 and Tom baptized him. Being a history buff, Bill has
them but to serve them. He and Debbie are actively involved in Family Fellowship’s mission projects and he recently joined the Chancel Choir. Bill says, “I don’t want to be a member that just sits.” Though serious illness and three knee replacement surgeries led to Bill’s early retirement as a respiratory therapist and though he lives with
always loved the Old Testament. Recently though, the Bible has come alive. “I now look at what God’s saying to me personally and how it relates to my life and daily choices.” This new perspective has opened Bill’s eyes to see people differently - not to judge
severe pain and often battles depression, you don’t hear a negative tone in his voice. “Knowing Jesus has saved my life,” says Bill. He hopes that others, especially his children, see a new calmness and kindness in him. “I now realize my importance to Jesus and it’s changed the way I treat my family and others.” -Nikki Boyd
Asbury Tidings 14
A photo of Lina’s mom and her aunt being baptised by their father.
I
Lina Holmes
was a lucky little girl. I grew up in a home where Christian values were taught and demonstrated daily by both of my parents. I often heard them pray for me and when I was a youngster, Mom knelt by the bed and held my hands while I prayed. At the age of six my main goal was to be baptized and join our church. So one Saturday morning I asked my mother if we could have one of our “girl talks,” and Mom explained to me about sin, forgiveness and God’s love. She also told me about Jesus’ death on the cross and how He had paid the price for my sin so I wouldn’t have to. Although it was hard to believe, I accepted it. The very next day I walked down the long center aisle at our church and gave my life to Christ. The following Sunday I was baptized. I was so happy to finally be a “child of God.” My folks were charter members of that little church and we attended regularly. And when I say regularly, I mean we went every time the doors were open. My dad sang in the choir and was Sunday School Superintendent while also serving as a deacon. My mom played the old Hammond organ Sundays
”
and Wednesdays, taught Sunday school and participated in WMU (Women’s Missionary Union). We didn’t miss anything. I sat through many hours of Sunday morning Bible study, and of course Training Union. There were nightly study courses, Wednesday night prayer meetings and choir rehearsals -not to mention Vacation Bible School and GA camp. Oh, and don’t forget those two-week long revivals they used to have in the ‘50s. The summer I was 16 I attended a James Robinson Crusade in Hurst, Texas. As I sat in the stands of the same stadium where we cheered on our high school football team, I began to doubt my early salvation experience. Had it been genuine? Did I really understand when I was only six? Did I really ask Jesus to come into my heart? Was I really saved? This Robinson guy was scaring me to death. He kept asking if we were certain that if we died tonight, we’d go to heaven, or would we burn in hell forever and ever? Both fear and doubt grew as the service continued and the invitation was finally extended. I decided I needed to be sure, so I walked down and joined the group
standing in front of the speaker’s makeshift platform to offer another profession of faith. I was baptized a second time and felt a sense of relief, but still had questions. Later that night when I discussed the events of the evening with my mom, my doubts, fears and insecurities faded. We both agreed that my walk with Jesus truly had begun at that very young age, and would continually grow and mature throughout my life. That first salvation experience had been real. And though there were sometimes doubts and questions, they led me to a closer relationship with the Lord through prayer and Bible study; through worship and communion with God and on to security and hope in Christ Jesus. Not only do I have the assurance that I will escape hell and live forever in heaven, I have a relationship with Christ right now – here on earth - that continues to sustain me through the many challenges of life. I have the assurance that no matter what happens, the loving arms of God will hold me up. I thank God every day for his son, Jesus, and for the provision He has made for us.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. . . JOHN 3:16 KJV 15
Asbury Tidings
I
John Westervelt
f you had a childhood friend who is still a friend, you must feel blessed. As a child, I met Jesus in Sunday school at Wesley Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. A seed of faith was planted in virgin soil. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Wesley cut back to a preacher, a secretary, and a janitor. All other jobs were in the hands of volunteers. I had just started high school during World War II when Rev. Nuell Crain, his wife Catherine, and two little girls on tricycles appeared on the parsonage grounds next door to the church. Right away, Rev. Crain asked the youth sponsors to encourage the youth to attend MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship) on Sunday evenings. I remember riding with him and a car full of youth across town to a district MYF meeting. On the way we sang “I am climbing Jacob’s ladder.” In time, he
hired Grace Garten as Youth Director. My faith grew with the preaching of Rev. Crain and the teaching of Grace. They both remained my close friends until their deaths. My faith continued to grow during the following 60 years in church and Sunday school and for eight of those years in an Asbury small group. Throughout each day, I offer a sentence prayer, “Grow my faith, hope, and patience.” I need a larger measure of faith. I am grateful that Jesus was my boyhood friend and that our friendship has grown throughout the years. Every night, propped up in bed, I read two pages from the Gospels. When I turn out the light, I visit with Jesus about what was going on in His life on that day as recorded by the Gospel writer. I ask Him to pull up a chair and stay with me until I fall asleep. Now approaching 80 and a
widower, I need more help each year from people and from Jesus. My cleaning lady and yard man have become extensions of my hands to do work I can no longer do. Jesus helps me with my daily decisions. After retiring, I began volunteering at Asbury’s weekday preschool. While some of my colleagues have moved to retirement homes and a few to nursing homes, I hope to stay in my home and go to Asbury’s preschool each morning to help with the children. Only God knows what the future holds for me. My hope is that my last spring semester with the Asbury children will be followed by my fall semester in heaven helping in God’s preschool. I would like to love His preschool children, some of whom would have arrived in heaven before their mommy and daddy.
Asbury Tidings 16
Sandy Wagner
A
t 13 I invited Jesus Christ into my heart at a church youth retreat. I took it very seriously, even dreamed of becoming a missionary. Looking back, my life reminds me of the parable of the seed, accepted with joy, but soon choked out by the world. My folks, wellmeaning and loving Christians, gave me a “practical” talk aimed at keeping me from becoming too radical. Soon, in an effort to please all, I relegated Christianity to a very small Sunday-corner of my life. Christianity wasn’t a way of life, just a small part of life. No one told me that it wouldn’t work. I kept going to church to be sure. I was even teaching Sunday school, but I was living exactly as I pleased. My life was a contradiction in every way. College proved my undoing. Determined to be sophisticated (like the Tulsa and Oklahoma City girls), I smoked my first cigarette and drank my first drink at the Welcome Dance. Soon I was married—poorly. My life went on. I was living the good, “enlightened” life—at least by the world’s standards. I was the liberated, capable, independent woman, Jack-of-all-trades, career
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woman, mother and lover. In short, superwoman. And it was a lie. Inside me there was always desperation, a longing for something better, a need for comfort and love that no one seemed able to fill. By the mid-70s I was divorced, a single parent raising two sons. Often I screamed and slammed doors, both inwardly and outwardly. I was totally involved in a relationship that was a disaster. About this time my father died. Inside I was falling apart; my whole world seemed shaken. I’m so glad now that it was. I started searching. I wasn’t sure then just what I was looking for. I know now that it was Jesus Christ. Finally, I realized the price that I was paying for disobedience to God. I was living in sin and I needed help. When it came to Jesus, I knew He was a wonderful man, the Son of God, but for some strange reason I never knew that my relationship with him was to be very personal. I didn’t even have to “clean up my act” first. He would take me just as I was. While that realization came to me little by little, there was a defining
moment when I totally surrendered. I had a dream. I’ve never really understood why this dream was so specific and meaningful to me, but it was. In the dream I found myself trapped in a cement block storeroom. There was a huge door, but it had no doorknob. In the dream I’m wanting out, but can’t figure out how to get out. Then I look down and there’s a tiny pinhole of light coming through the spot where the doorknob should be. “I’ll try that,” I thought. I put my finger on the spot and the door swung open and outside was this incredible green lush countryside with the sun streaming in. For whatever reason that visual signified the open door to salvation. At that point, I prayed, “Lord, I’m tired of trying to live life on my own. I turn it all over to you.” From that point on my life changed dramatically. I simply cried out and He answered. He hasn’t completed His work in me, but He has forgiven me and let me know how much I am loved. Many changes have occurred in my life since that late spring day in 1979, some good and some difficult, but during them all I have had the peace of knowing Jesus Christ is walking with me every step of the way.
Our Pastors T OM H ARRISON S ENIOR PASTOR DUB AMBROSE P ASTOR WITH MEN He had become a Christian in fourth grade, but Dub felt God working in his life in a new way. “My Dad was involved with the Full Gospel Businessmen. I learned what it meant to be filled with the Spirit; what it meant for Jesus to really be Lord of my life. My Dad suggested that I transfer to Oral Roberts University. When I arrived at ORU for the second semester, it was night and had snowed. It looked like a wonderland. It was at that time that God was really changing my heart. I had a great experience at ORU. “Though I had become a Christian at a young age, I feel there’s a time in our lives when we spiritually make decisions that help us move into spiritual adulthood. I finally surrendered everything to Him, my future vocation, and my life.”
Though raised in the church, it wasn’t until he was 14-1/2 that he established a personal relationship with God. “There was a lay witness mission at my church. The people talked about asking Jesus into your life. At that time, I thought of church as something you did, not as a relationship. I was in ninth grade. I was totally transformed in every way. I began reading the Bible, praying and witnessing. It affected my entire view of the church. Now it was truly dynamic.”
D ARLENE JOHNSON P ASTOR WITH WOMEN
T ODD CRAIG P ASTOR WITH C OLLEGE A DUL T S
AND
Y OUNG
While he was ordained Tuesday, June 1, 2004 he is hardly new to Asbury. Todd’s parents, Don and Janet Craig, joined the Asbury congregation one month before Todd was born. He knows that his background within the church through Sunday school and Vacation Bible School set the stage for his spiritual decision at age 10. “I was in bed, by myself and I remember just knowing I needed to give my life to Christ.” While that definite decision was acted on at 10, Todd has continued—and is continuing—to learn just what that means in his life and how his Christianity is lived out on a day-by-day basis.
Darlene clearly remembers joining the church and being baptized when only eight years old, but in her mid-teens she began to experience restlessness, a longing. “I had a void and knew I was seeking something,” she said. That year there was a revival in her church and the speaker clearly explained God’s plan of salvation. She realized that without Christ she wouldn’t accomplish what she was longing to do. Since that time, Darlene has not wavered in her faith and has continued to grow deeper in the Lord.
B ILL MASON P ASTOR EMERITUS Dr. Mason was raised in the church, but actually came to the Lord when he was 28 years old at a Billy Graham Crusade in Oklahoma City. At that time, he owned an office supply and printing business. Three years after that life-changing encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, he met and married Jayne McFarland. Some time later, he began to feel a pull in another direction. “It was the winter of 1961 when I sensed in my spirit that I was to enter the ministry full-time. It didn’t seem practical and there were objects that needed to be eliminated, but we managed to be obedient to the Lord.” Asbury Tidings 18
CINDY MAYES AND BELONGING
PASTOR OF PRA YER RAYER Cindy, Asbury’s new Pastor of Prayer and Belonging, says she was a Methodist from the very beginning. “I was baptized on Easter Sunday when I was six weeks old. Then I was confirmed at 13. When I was a young adult and especially after I married my husband, Mike, my life was enhanced by a deeper commitment to God.”
SONNY P LISCHKE P ASTOR OF C ARE Sonny first came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ when a teenager. “At 15, my mother, father and I had gone to Greenville, South Carolina to visit my brother and his family. He was attending Bob Jones University and was also serving a small church. When he gave the invitation at a service, I found myself with my brother at the altar accepting Christ in a verbal way. Interestingly enough, he announced later that he believed I was called to preach,” Sonny said. His walk wavered some during his teenage years and time in the military. Also, in 1981, he and Mary Helen lost a child. This signaled a period of anger toward God. “He and I had long conversations about my anger which lasted for two years. Then in February 1984, I attended a Walk to Emmaus. During the Saturday morning communion, God and I met at the altar. It was an awakening experience. The next day in the quietness of home, I realized that God had used this experience to get my attention. It was as if He said to me, ‘Now, it’s time for you to serve Me.’”
DICK READ P ASTOR OF D ISCIPLESHIP Hearing another’s assurance of salvation verbalized was something that spoke to Dick Read’s heart when only 13 years of age. Because of his father’s military career, Dick lived in many states, as well as two other countries. While living in Omaha, Nebraska, Dick’s life was forever changed. “I was a member of the youth choir at church and we traveled to Lincoln for an all-day Salvation Army youth rally. A member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team shared his story and told us that when he died he knew for certain that he would go to heaven. “That’s something I wanted!” thought Dick. “The next day—May 17, 1971—I responded to an altar call.” For Dick that event was clearly significant in his life as were the next nine years. 19
Asbury Tidings
CHARLIE RYSER PASTOR OF PASTORAL C ARE At age 11 Charles was baptized. Then when Bill Mason was beginning his “new” church his parents switched to Asbury. “I always sensed that God was important to me, but it was during college when Sally (later to be his wife) led me to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Actually, it was 1975. I had been to Grand Lake fishing and I asked God if He had something special for me. That’s when I received my call to ministry and began my journey.”
DAVID THOMAS PASTOR WITH SENIOR A DUL TS DULTS David Thomas was reared in the church. His father was active as choir director and a layman in their church, Will Rogers United Methodist Church of Tulsa. At 15, David committed his life to Christ and to the ministry. Just six weeks later his father was killed in a plane crash. On top of that, his mother was a struggling alcoholic. Now he was living with his grandmother and for a period of time, a teenage David went through a rebellious stage, feeling both guilt and anger. “I got away from the church. I got in with a gang and into some trouble. One friend said to me when we were drinking, ‘Dave, I thought you were going to be a pastor.’ That embarrassed me.” There was this girl next door. I couldn’t date her, but I could go to church with her. It was there that I realized that my life was a mess and I accepted Jesus as Savior of my life. One Sunday night in church it was like flashback to the time of my original commitment to God. ‘It’s time,’ I thought. I placed my life back into His hands.”
I
Spencer Smith
have a hard time understanding my story of salvation. I can’t pinpoint one exact moment where I began to experience “new life.” I hear stories of people who have gone from darkness to light and this simply was not my experience. My earliest memories have included God and his people. My parents became believers shortly before I was born, which ensured my involvement in the church. One of my very earliest memories is as a preschool student concerned over where Jesus lived. I clearly remember approaching my teacher at the end of one day with great timidity to ask her to pray that Jesus would come and live in my heart. She gently told me that only I could pray for that to happen so she helped me pray that Jesus would come and live with me. Obviously, I didn’t understand much of the meaning of that prayer but I do think something happened in my life that day as a little child. I don’t think I went from living a life of darkness and sin to a life walking in the light of God because there was no recognition of sin in my life at that point. Rather, I accepted for myself the life of Jesus as best as I could understand it, which has become the
mark of my life with God. I don’t think a relationship with Jesus began that day with my prayer. Instead I think God had been showing me grace from my first breath. My baptism as an infant was a sign of this constant grace. I resonate greatly with John Wesley’s understanding of salvation not focused solely on the eternal destination of the soul but rather focused on the grace of God throughout our lives. He describes salvation as the “first dawning of grace until the soul is consummated in glory.” Salvation has become for me
simply receiving the life of Jesus as best as I can understand at that time. My mother tells a story of me becoming enamored with the second coming of Christ as a little boy. For me the return of Christ was not something to dread, instead I welcomed it. I was looking forward to it so much that I even packed a suitcase and sat it by the front door while confidently telling my parents that I was ready to go with Jesus. I was responding at that time as best as I understood. My understanding of the life of Jesus in me has definitely changed over the years. I may not be able to come up with a concrete date or time when I gave my life to Christ, but I don’t discount the continual grace I have seen in my life. Sometimes I say I’ve grown up knowing the Lord because I have seen God’s grace in so many ways in my life. I have come to treasure that simple prayer for Jesus to come and live in my heart. I see that the simple understanding of salvation is no less important in my life than a fully developed adult understanding of salvation. The bottom line for me is responding to God’s grace as best as I can understand at that time.
Spencer is currently an intern at Asbury and will be preaching at the Thursday evening service beginning November 1. Asbury Tidings 20
M
y Dad always told me I might not be a quick starter, but I could be a distance runner. I have always envied people who could testify to a moment in time when they accepted the Lord and knew their life had changed. It did not happen that way for me. As a child I was blessed with wonderful parents who assured that I attended church and Sunday school. I was baptized and confirmed in the church at 13. My big brother and sister had both been baptized as infants. My baptism was delayed not because of any theological decision but because my sister, 18 months old at her baptism, ran from the pulpit and led my father on a merry chase up and down the aisles and through the pews of a large Oklahoma City church. He nabbed her just in time to rush down to the baptismal font where my embarrassed mother anxiously waited with the minister who was ready to sprinkle. This family story leads me to believe the Lord has a wonderful sense of humor. Looking back, I feel the Lord took my hand at an early age and led me step by step into a relationship that continually grew stronger. He understood even when I didn’t what my
needs were, and He sent to me a personal guide that created many “aha” moments of understanding and acceptance throughout my life. One of the most important ones came at age 16. It was during my beloved brother’s funeral. He had succumbed at age 27 to cancer. Needless to say I was numb, not even thinking about what I believed. I only remember one word from his memorial service. The word was from the 23rd Psalm so familiar that it could have passed by without any recognition. However, when the minister said, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” the word through was magnified as if shouted. I have since come to realize that it was not shouted out in the service, but it certainly was in my mind. The emphasis has never been forgotten. Since that time, I have been assured of the resurrection and the communion of saints. I remember countless lesser though significant lessons over the years. It seems as if every now and then a voice sounded in my head saying, “Hey, think about that.” I learned not to compare my actions to those of others even when I thought I acted in a much superior manner. In
more than one flash of realization, I learned that I should not compare myself with how others acted, but rather to what Christ would do. I knew immediately I fell short in that comparison and understood what fortune was mine to have the promise that if I confess my sins, I will be forgiven. So, in things great and small the guidance has been there. The more I matured the more the Lord led me to know Him and accept his promises and power. Perhaps the closest I have come to depending unreservedly on the Lord was when I faced end-stage liver disease. My family and I prayed for the life-saving organ to become available for a transplant. What a difficult thing that was to accept. It meant that for me to receive an organ, someone else would die. What prayer could be said under those circumstances? There was only one I could pray, “Thy will be done”. I was deeply convicted by the Lord that by accepting his will, no matter the outcome, all would be fine. So step by step, going the distance I have come to know the Lord, and I look forward to growing in my relationship with Him daily.
Liz Reece
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Marcia Curley
I
t was gold and shiny, and I wanted it! It was a little notepad in a gold cover and it came with its own gold pen. I thought it was so cool. All I had to do was memorize a Bible verse and it would be mine. And so I did just that—I memorized the verse and happily took the little gold notepad home. When I learned that verse back in 1968, I had absolutely no idea what it meant. What did “everlasting” mean? How do you pronounce “begotten?” I had never even heard that word before, and I had no clue as to what the meaning of “perish” was. But nonetheless, I could rattle the verse out in two seconds: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) As I reflect on that verse today and I contemplate God’s grace, the first thing that strikes me is: “Huh??? Can it really be that simple?” How can anything be that simple? How can I buy into a concept that is so simple a five-year old could explain it? Truthfully—I don’t know how…I just know that I do. I was only about eight years old when I first believed and now, at 46 years of age, I believe more than ever before! I remember sitting in children’s church in a little church in southern California and the teacher shared a
BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK. IF ANYONE HEARS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN AND EAT WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME. . . REVELATION 3:20 verse: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20) She shared with us that Jesus wanted to live with us and that if we would open the “door to our heart, ” then Jesus would come in and live with us. I don’t know if I fully grasped the implications of this at the time; I just knew that if Jesus loved me, then I wanted to be with him. And with my innocent and childlike faith, I opened my heart’s door and asked him to come in and live with me. Yes, it was really that simple! As I have grown into an adult and grown in my faith, I have come to the realization that I am so undeserving of God’s grace and love…truly, it is amazing grace and amazing love. I’m not sure why He loves—because I certainly don’t deserve it—but His Word tells me that He does and I
claim hold to these truths. And because of these truths I’ve been set free and my past no longer holds me down. This grace overwhelms me at times and brings to mind one of my favorite songs: I’m forgiven because you were forsaken I’m accepted, you were condemned I’m alive and well, your Spirit is within me Because you died and rose again. Amazing love how can it be That you, my King, should die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true It’s my joy to honor you In all I do, I honor you. Wow! God’s amazing love: I can’t fathom it. I can’t comprehend it. I can’t grasp it and yet, this love fills my heart with an indescribable joy and peace. It fills a hole in my heart like nothing else; it gives me peace and comfort. Yes, the little gold notepad that I so desired as a child is now a distant memory, and I have no idea if the little church in southern California still exists. However, the Bible verses I learned during that period of my life are etched in my mind and have forever changed my life.
Asbury Tidings 22
asbury opportunities general information Breakfast Served from 7:15 -9:00 am. in the CLC. Come enjoy fellowship with Asburians along with fresh donuts, bagels, biscuits & gravy, sausage, eggs, fruit, and cereal. $2 for adults & $1 for children 12 & under. Sunday Morning Worship 8:00 am
Mason Chapel Sanctuary (Contemporary Communion)
9:15 am
CommunityLife Center (Praise and Worship)
11:00 am 11:00 am
Let us know of anyone going through a tough
immediately following the worship service -
time (including Asbury-related military and
$3.
families) that would be blessed by prayer
Recycling
Mason Chapel
encouraging words, love and our prayers.
are available, located in the south and east
Calligraphers and card designers are needed.
parking lots.
Contact Gwen Mohler at grmohler@aol.com or
Asbury Family News is available at the Welcome Centers. It includes hospital lists,
Sundays for Children and Students 6 Weeks - 4 Years
8:00, 9:15, and 11:00 am
K-6th Grades
9:15 or 11:00 am
7th, 8th & 9th Grades
9:15 & 11:00 am
10th, 11th & 12th Grades
9:15 am only
Adult Discipleship Communities 8:00, 9:15, & 11:00 am and Wednesdays, 6:30 pm Family Night Dinners Wednesdays, 5:00-6:00 pm in the CLC. Cost: $5-adults, $3-children ages 2-12,
Be sure to let Asbury know ahead of time by calling Ruth at 392-1146 so your pastors can be in prayer for you. When you enter the hospital, please designate Asbury as your church. The after-hours pastoral emergency line can be reached by calling 492-1771, selecting option 2, and leaving a message for the pastor on call. Engaged Couples If you are planning to use an Asbury p astor to officiate and/or use Asbury’s facilities, be sure to book ASAP to allow ample time for Coupleto-Couple. Six months to one year lead time suggested.
23
ASBURY TIDINGS
Asperger Support Group: First Thursday from 7:00-9:00 pm in Rm 1621. For mothers of
military listings.
children with Asperger Syndrome.
Welcome Centers...FREE! Suitable for framing. New Additions to the Library
Alzheimer’s Support Group Third Thursday, from 1:30-3:00 pm in upstairs Administration Conference Room. Christian
The Asbury Library is a wonderful resource.
hope, support and education for friends and
Thank you to all who continue to contribute
family of those with Alzheimer ’s or other
books to our Library.
dementia. Cancer Support Group
access Sundays, 6:00-7:00 pm, Rm. 2821 Friends in Christ Discipleship Community Sundays, 11:00 am, Rm. 1507
Second Sunday of each month, 4:00-6:00 pm, Parlor - For those living with cancer and their family and friends. Bipolar/Depression Support Group Second and fourth Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, Rm 1621 - For persons living with bipolar disorder or depression. Divorce Recovery
bible study
Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, Rm 2319 - For those
Brochures with details about Fall ‘07 RoadMap
suffering from the early, highly emotional
courses being offered are available at each of
stages of divorce and separation trauma.
the Welcome Centers or online at www.asburytulsa.org
Divorce Rebuilding Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, Rm 2319 - For those ready to rebuild their lives after separation or
$20 maximum per family. Surgery or Hospitalization Scheduled?
call 392-1146.
births, deaths, marriages, baptisms and
Hands of Love Sign Choir
(Modern)
cards sent twice a month, filled with God’s
Recycle unwanted paper products. Three bins
Sanctuary (Traditional with sign interpreter)
Prayer Card Ministry
CDs of Tom’s message of the day are available
Doors of Asbury posters are at the
(Traditional Communion) 9:15 am
The Gazebo is Open
care and support Flu and Pneumonia Shot Clinic
divorce. Employment Transitions Need a second set of eyes to review your
Sponsored and run by the Visiting Nurses
resume? Free male and female one-on-one
Association. Wednesday, November 7, 5:00-
support available through Asbury’s
7:00 pm in the Main Entry of Asbury. Cost: Flu
Employment Transitions. Contact Barbara
Shot is $28 and Pneumonia Shot is $45. May be
Wright at blwright1@yahoo.com
covered by Medicare Part B. For more
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
information, contact Bernie Skinner at bernie-
First and third Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm, Rm
jan@prodigy.net
1506.
Preparing for the Holidays Grief
Family to Family
Workshop
For family members or caregivers of people
Saturday, November 10, 10:00 am - noon, Rm
affected by a mental illness. 4th Tuesdays
2500. Coping with the holidays during the
from 1:30 - 3:00 pm in the Parlor. No
challenging times following the loss of a loved
meeting in November. Call Ruth at 392-1146.
one. No cost and no registration necessary.
Bible story time? Then join us for this interac-
gation at the 5:00 pm Christmas Eve Family
You are invited to write a letter or note of
tive, casual, fun class. This is for anyone who
Service. We would love instrumentalists,
appreciation and thanks to Asbury-related
has an opportunity to teach children about
Scripture readers and actors and actresses
military to let them know we appreciate what
God’s love - whether in their home or on
to make this a memorable evening for all
they are doing for us and our country. Please
Sunday morning. Wednesdays, November 7
involved. Call Kim at 392-1159 or
put them in the mail slot on top of the South
and 14 from 6:05 - 6:45 pm in the upstairs
krenkema@asburytulsa.org by November 29
desk, attention Military Connection. Children
Children’s Ministry Office Lobby. No cost. No
if your child is interested. Adult help with
are encouraged to write a note or draw
obligation. You’ll be glad you came! Sponsored
rehearsals and the program is critical to help
pictures. If you have a loved one in the military,
by Asbury Children’s Ministry.
get the message delivered on this special
Military Connection
we will send them prayer cards and gift boxes (if deployed overseas). Please send complete
Upward Basketball or Cheer Coach
night. Rehearsals will be from 4:00-5:30 pm,
and Referee Training
December 5, 12, and 19 in the 5.6 Room.
name and address to Gwen Mohler at
This is a mandatory training for all Upward
grmohler@aol.com or call 392-1146.
volunteers. Please plan to attend one of the
A mission opportunity for our 5th & 6th grade
sessions: Friday, November 9 from 6:00-8:30
students. Usually the second Sunday of the
Prison Fellowship Support
Murdock Villa
First Tuesday of each month, 7:00-8:30 pm.
pm or Saturday, November 10 from 10:00 am -
month from 12:30 - 3:00 pm. Cost is $5 for
For family and friends of people who are
12:30 pm in the Gym. Call Janet Teel at 392-
CiCi’s Pizza. We’ll eat then visit Murdock Villa
incarcerated. Meets offsite. Call Ruth at 392-
1171 or jteel@asburytulsa.org if you have
where we will play Bingo and do crafts with
1146 for location.
questions.
special needs adults. It is an amazing time to
Asbury Bear Bags
Midweek Madness
witness in our local community. Limited to 10
Wednesdays through November 14 from 7:00-
kids each month. For further information
comforted young children for many years, but
8:00 pm in the Children’s Elementary Area for
contact Jami at 392-1166.
now you may give a Bear Bag with a
Kindergarten - 5th graders. On Wednesday
scripture-based journal included instead! Great
nights, Faith Zone will be the place to be as
for teens and adults. Anyone may deliver an
children learn to apply biblical truths to their
Asbury Bear to someone who is grieving. For
lives. Our goal each week will be to reinforce
more information, contact Beth at 392-1116.
the lesson that was presented on Sunday with
Asbury Bear Bags with coloring books have
Children’s Choirs Wednesdays, 6:00-6:50 pm, Various Rooms
discipleship
hands-on activities that they can apply to their
Discipleship Communities
lives. We will create an environment that will be
If you have not yet found an Adult
both educational and entertaining. Kids will
Discipleship Community (similar to Sunday
Registration forms for all children’s
have the opportunity to build relationships and
school) why not visit one of our Welcome
activities are available in the preschool
go deeper into hiding God’s Word in their
Centers and see what’s available for
and elementary lobbies.
hearts. Can’t wait to see you there. Pick up
someone just like you! Brochures are
Core Childcare Hours
your registration form and sign up early so we
available in the Welcome Centers, or you may
Parents who are involved in RoadMap
may be wise stewards and plan accordingly.
check them out at www.asburytulsa.org (Get
classes during these core hours will have
For more information contact Kim at 392-1159 or
Connected).
childcare provided with no reservations
krenkema@asburytulsa.org
children
KRS Emperor’s Groovy PJ Party
needed:
Spiritual Gifts Classes Wednesday, November 7, 6:00-8:30 pm, Rm 1506. Have you been wondering what on
Sun
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
November 16 from 5:30-9:30 pm in the KRS
Mon & Tue
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room. Cost: $10. Our first and second graders
earth you are here for? Our pastor has urged
will have games, crafts, snacks and a video to
us to learn what our gifts are and to USE
(Childcare will be closed November 21-23
make this a groovy evening. Our lesson will be
them to “glorify God and make disciples.”
for Thanksgiving and the week between
based on 1 Peter 3:9 - “Do not repay evil with
Come explore God’s design for Spiritual Gifts
Christmas and New Year’s.)
evil...” Please get registration forms in by
and how you uniquely fit into the body of
November 8 to help us plan, as we want to be
Christ. Take the Spiritual Gifts Inventory online
Ever wish you knew how to talk to your
good stewards. For questions or more
(contact Teresa Springer at
children about God in a more natural and
information, please contact Julie Dixon at 392-
tspringer@asburytulsa.org) if you haven’t
comfortable way? Ever want to learn some
1168 or jdixon@asburytulsa.org
done so previously, and bring your completed
fun and creative ways to enhance a Bible
Christmas Eve Rehearsal
inventory printout to class for discussion and
Tue, Wed, & Thur 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Teaching Minds...Training Hearts
story? Ever want to be able to hold the
The 5th and 6th graders have the privilege of
attention of a circle of preschoolers during
presenting the Christmas Story to the congre-
deeper understanding.
ASBURY TIDINGS
24
marriage & family
purchase them at the door. The cost is $4 for
Attention Engaged Couples
adults, $3 for children under 10 years of ages,
News and prayer requests from our
or $16 per immediate family. All proceeds will
missionaries and ministries are sent each
officiate and/or use Asbury’s facilities, be sure
benefit the Boy Scouting programs of Asbury.
week to our prayer ministry list. If you would
to book ASAP to allow ample time for Couple-
And while you’re at the breakfast, make sure
like to join and become a prayer intercessor
to-Couple (required pre-marital sessions). Six
and stop by the United Methodist Women’s
for those serving around the world, contact
months to one year lead time is suggested.
Annual Bake Sale, held in the main foyer.
Missy at 392-1163.
If you are planning to use an Asbury p astor to
Milestone Wedding Anniversaries
Come shop from a delicious array of hundreds
Global Outreach Prayer Ministry
Global Outreach Ministry Teams
Email your January or February Milestone
of home-baked goods by some of the best
These teams specialize in certain areas and
Anniversary (5,10,15,20,etc.) to
cooks in Tulsa! All proceeds will benefit
all are open to anyone having an interest in
patticooper@cox.net or call 392-1146.
Asbury Mission Ministries.
those areas. They are as follows: Caspian Ministry (work in Azerbaijan) , Latin America
membership Asbury Exploration
missions/outreach Operation Hope Dinner
Ministry (work in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala), College Missions Ministry, Communications, Estonia Ministry; Kami -
Come to a lunch/class to learn more about
Operation Hope Prison Ministry will hold its
Tanzania Ministry, International Student
becoming a member of Asbury. Sunday,
sixth annual “Bridging the Gap” event, Friday,
Ministry, Missionary Care, and Prayer. If you
November 4 from 12:15-2:15 pm in CLC.
November 2 at Asbury from 6:00-9:00 pm.
need further information call the Global
Lunch provided and childcare is available for
There will be dinner, entertainment and a silent
Outreach Of fice, 392-1117.
children six weeks through 6th grade. Call 392-
auction (beautiful baskets, Condo in Vail,
Young Lives (formerly Mentor Moms)
1191 to register.
White River Arkansas home/trout fishing).
First and second Tuesdays of the month,
Cost: $35 per person or $280 for table of 8.
7:00-9:00 pm in the Parlor. This is a support
Thank you for your support and helping to
group for teenage moms, sponsored by
break the cycle of generational incarceration.
Young Life.
men Men’s Prayer Breakfast
Call Operation Hope Prison Ministry at 599-
Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30 am in the CLC.
0663 for more information.
Breakfast, meaningful worship and life-
Eyeglass Donations
missions/vim
Are you wondering what to do with those
Remaining 2007 Opportunities
November 7
Mark Springer
old eyeglasses? Donate them to missions!
November 7 – 11 / Rio Bravo, Mexico
November 14
Dub Ambrose
You may drop your glasses off in the Global
November 21
Pec Clark
Outreach office.
November 28
Don Herrold
changing prayer! Cost: $3/person
Campbell’s Soup Label Changes
Men’s Construction, $550 November 7 – 11 / Monterrey, Mexico Medical, $900
Boy Scout/Veteran’s Observance
Save Campbell’s soup labels for missions.
November 10 – VIM Leader Training in Tulsa
Pancake Breakfast
Please note that a different part of the label
Please watch for our 2008 VIM Schedule and
The Asbury Scout Leadership Foundation
is now required. Please cut the UPC symbol
prayerfully consider where you can serve! For
invites you to “A Salute to our Veterans,” to be
and the Labels for Education symbol
further details about Volunteers-In-Mission
held on Saturday, November 10, from 7:00-
together. Turn these in for missions!
opportunities, contact Marilene Long, 392-
11:00 a.m. in the CLC! It is our privilege to
Questions: Contact Missy Sistrunk at 392-
salute those men and women who have
1163.
served their country as members of the armed
Mission Matters
services, and those today who proudly wear
A monthly newsletter is available with
the uniform of the Active, Reserve and
recent news of mission happenings. If you
National Guard forces.
would like to receive the newsletter,
Please join the Asbury Cub Scouts, Boy
please contact Missy Sistrunk at 392-1163
Scouts and Venture Crew members for an all-
or msistrunk@asburytulsa.org. Preference is for
you-can-eat Pancake Breakfast, while
the email version, but hard copies can be mailed
honoring our veterans. Advance tickets will
if needed.
be on sale at the church, on Sunday, October 28 & Sunday, November 4, or you may
1164 or mlong@asburytulsa.org
music
Chancel Choir Wednesdays, 7:00 pm, Choir Room New Covenant Orchestra Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30 pm, Rm 1510 Asbury Singing Ambassadors Tuesdays, 1:00 pm, Choir Room Celebration Ringers Tuesdays, 4:30-5:30 pm, Rm 2506 New Creation Ringers Wednesdays, 4:45 pm, Rm 2504 Carillon Quartet Mondays, 5:45-6:30 pm, Rm 2506
25
ASBURY TIDINGS
Asbury Ringers Wednesdays, 6:00-6:50 pm, Rm 2506 Perpetual Light Thursdays, 10:00 am-noon, Rm 2506 Asbury Power & Light Sundays, 8:15-9:15 am, Rm 1510 Saints of Swing Dixieland Band Thursdays, 2:00-3:00 pm, Rm 1510 Children’s Choirs Wednesdays, 6:00-6:50 pm, Various Rooms
fellowship with other senior adults (60+). This
Widows and Widowers Christmas Event
awesome choir is made up of over 160 senior
December 8 from noon - 3:00 pm in the CLC. A
adults who sing on occasion during Sunday
Very Jazzy Asbury Christmas for all widows
morning worship services and on special
and widowers. Looking for an event to
occasions and holidays, as well as out in our
celebrate the Christmas season with food, fun
community. No experience necessary...just show
and fellowship? Then join us for the first
up and sing!
annual Christmas luncheon for all widows and
Book of Revelation Bible Study
don’t need to bring a thing except yourself and
5:00 pm in Rm 2820. Attention senior adult s.
a friend!
Come join us for an exciting overview study
prayer Altar Prayer If you would like someone to pray with you during Holy Communion or right after the
widowers. Cost is $5 for the luncheon. You
Wednesdays through November 14 from 3:30-
Senior Sit and Fit
of the Book of Revelation taught by Dr. David
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from
Thomas. You might think you’ve heard it all on
9:00-9:30 am in the Gym. Come join a time of
this amazing book of prophecy, but we’ve
stretching with fun and fellowship.
barely scratched the surface. Don’t miss it. ‘Tweenagers Program and Luncheon
Walk in the Gym with Him Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from
service, please come to the altar rail at the
Everyone aged 55 and up is welcome to join
8:30-9:00 am in the Gym. Come join a time of
front of the Sanctuary. A pastor or member of
us for our monthly Tweenagers meeting &
power walking with fun and fellowship.
the Altar Prayer Team will be glad to pray with
luncheon, taking place on Thursday, Novem-
you for your needs – physical, emotional or
ber 8, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the CLC.
spiritual - at the altar or in the Prayer Room.
(Early this month because of Thanksgiving.)
Mason Chapel Prayer Room
Our program will be a “Centennial Celebra-
singles Singles Ministry Christmas Shop
tion,” with guest speaker Betty Boyd, former
Saturday, December 1, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
the Mason Chapel Prayer Room from the
state senator and TV personality. Special
See page 1 for details.
outside entrance of the southeast side of the
music will be presented by Jordan Burdick, a
Chapel. Sundays from 7:00 am - 12:30 pm the
spunky little lady with a great big voice! We
Sundays from 8:40-9:10 am or 10:20-10:50 am
Prayer Room can be accessed from inside
know you won’t want to miss it. Call Doni at
in the CLC. All singles are invited.
Mason Chapel.
492-1771 to make your reservations BY
Because of construction, you may not enter
recovery Celebrate Recovery
Singles Meet and Greet
Divorce Recovery
NOON, Monday, November 5. If, during that
Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, Rm 2319 - For those
week, you find you need to cancel, please let
suf fering from the early, highly emotional
Doni know as we need to give an accurate
stages of divorce and separation trauma.
count to the cooks. Should you choose, you
Divorce Rebuilding
Come join this supportive group of people
can make a donation for the meal when you
Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, Rm 2319 - For those
each Monday night at 6:00 pm. Dinner at 6:00
check in that morning. Come join us for fun
ready to rebuild their lives after separation or
pm; Worship from 7:00-8:00 pm; Small Groups
and fellowship!
divorce.
from 8:00-9:00 pm; Dessert from 9:00-9:30 pm.
Tulsa Garden Center/Linnaeus Tour
Hiding any hurts, habits or hangups? God
Thursday, November 8. Attention Senior
never intended for you to live in bondage.
Adults. Make plans to join us as we tour the
Childcare available.
Linnaeus Teaching Gardens at the Tulsa
students 7th - 12th Metro Worship
Garden Center. Following the tour, we’ll have
Wednesday, November 7. Come join youth
Volunteers needed. Time commitment is one
lunch together (the only expense of this
from all over the city in a night to just worship
Monday evening per month from 6:45 pm to
event) at a location soon to be announced.
Jesus. We meet the first Wednesday night of
9:10 pm. Please call 392-1103 if you can help.
We’ll meet at the church at 9:00 am and depart
every month from 7:00-8:30ish. If you need a
via Asbury’s People Movers at 9:30 am. If you
ride, meet at the church by 6:45 pm or you can
enjoy gardening and good times with great
just meet us over at Believers Church, 47th
Celebrate Recovery Childcare
senior adults Asbury Singing Ambassadors Choir Tuesdays through June 24 from 1:00-2:30 pm
folks, call the church office at 492-1771 no later than noon, Friday, October 26 to get your name on the reservation list.
in the Sanctuary choir loft. Come enjoy fun and
ASBURY TIDINGS
26
and Memorial. Questions? Call Todd at 392-
any time. (No LHGH November 21 because of
Methodist Women have arranged with Asbury
1154.
Thanksgiving).
Boy Scouts to hold their annual bake sale on
7th - 12th Grade Small Groups
7th, 8th, & 9th Grade Breakaway
the same morning as the pancake breakfast!
Don’t miss out on being a part of a small group.
Sunday mornings, 9:15-10:30 am in the
That’s great news for everyone, as you can
It’s a place to grow in your relationship with
Breakaway Area. This isn’t your normal
enjoy an “all-you-can-eat” breakfast, and then
Jesus, have some accountability, and just
Sunday school. Come join us for worship, fun
stock up on cookies, cakes and candies for
have fun. It’s never too late to sign up. Just
and games, interactive talk/lesson, and
the coming holidays! These gals are GREAT
come by the Student Ministries area.
sometimes free candy and gift cards. (No
cooks, so you don’t want to miss this chance
7th - 12th Spring Break Mission Stuff
Breakaway November 21 because of
to indulge. Plus, all proceeds from the sale
Okay. So you could just hang out at home
Thanksgiving).
benefit mission endeavors at Asbury! Bring
and spend the week on the couch...OR you
7th, 8th & 9th Grade Bible Study
could have an adventure! Mark the family
Wednesdays through December 12 from 6:30-
calendar for March 15-22, Spring Break
8:00 pm. Come to the Student Cafe, hang out,
MIssions 2008!
your family, your friends, your neighbors … this is BIG! Women of the Word
have fun, and study what God’s Word has for
Wednesday from 10:00-11:00 am in Rm 1502.
7th graders: Houston, Texas
us. It’s going to be awe-inspiring. You won’t
Rev. Darlene Johnson, teacher.
8th graders: Redbird, Kentucky
want to miss it. (No Bible Study November 21
9th and 10th graders: Mexico
because of Thanksgiving).
11th and 12th graders: Guatemala
10th, 11th & 12th Breakaway
Phone Buddies Ladies, do you want a “cheer me up” with your morning coffee? We have ladies that can
Applications and paperwork come out the end
Join us every Wednesday (except Nov. 21,
fill that need by being your own “phone
of September. Be sure to pick one up and get it
Dec. 19 and Dec. 26) from 6:30-8:30ish pm in
buddy!” Call 392-1142. Lea or Shirley will
turned in by October 28. We only have so
the Student Ministry Cafe. for a time of
return the call and get you set up.
many slots available. Fundraising meetings will
connection, worship, and God. We will also
be held November 11. Don’t miss out on this
have nights of just random fun. Don’t miss the
Mondays, 9:30 am - 2:00 pm, Rm 2821. Women
awesome week to touch and transform the
food and hang-out time afterwards. Come and
who enjoy crafts are invited to come any
lives of people around the world.
be a part.
Monday morning...come and go any time. Bring
Confirmation Parent Meeting Attention 7th Grade Parents! If your student is going through Confirmation, you must attend the mandatory parent meeting November 11
Arts and Crafts
a sandwich for yourself or a lunch to share.
women UMW November Luncheon
from 5:30-7:00 pm in the Student Ministries
Thursday, November 1 from 11:30 am - 1:00
area!! Don’t miss it!
pm in the CLC. Attention ladies! The special
Contact Beverly Clarke.
worship Online Worship
guest speaker for November’s UMW luncheon
Did you know that you can watch the 9:15 and
Sunday, November 11 from 12:00-1:00 pm. If
will be Joan Kahl, Member Connections
11:00 a.m. Sunday services online as they are
your student is going on a Spring Break
Coordinator at Asbury! Joan will be sharing
occurring? Go to www.asburytulsa.org then
Missions trip and needs to raise money, don’t
about Asbury’s “Celebrate Recovery” program
click on “Watch Sermons” (by Tom’s picture).
miss this meeting in the Student Ministries
and what a difference it is making in the lives
If you cannot attend worship, you can log on
Area.
of thousands in our community. A delicious
and share the experience. Or if there is a
SBM Fundraising Meeting
luncheon prepared by our church hostess,
sermon that you wish someone else had been
Wednesdays through December 12, 6:00-8:00
Virginia, will be provided for just $6 per
able to hear, send them to our website where
pm in Rm 1502. Truth. Find it. If you’re tired of
person. Bring a friend, and be a part of the
several weeks of sermons are archived.
the burdens (divorce, hurting friends, etc.)
blessing!
7th - 12th Life Hurts, God Heals
and secrets that keep you from really living, or
UMW Annual Bake Sale
New Worship Opportunities Take a minute to read about the new worship
if you know there’s an addiction you have to
Saturday, November 10, 7:00 - 11:00 am in the
opportunities available to Asbury family and
stop but just can’t, Life Hurts, God Heals is
Main Foyer. Attention Pancake Breakfast
friends. You may find a brief description of
created specifically for you. Meet with a group
attendees and others! Make sure you stop by
each service on page 1.
of students facing tough issues just like you,
and purchase from a delicious array home
and learn how God can heal you together. Join
baked goods! Our resourceful United
27
ASBURY TIDINGS
welcome to asbury...
Frank Clifton
Nancy Davis
Shontelle Sierer
Steven and Kristina Gibson and children
Colt Edwards
Melissa Whitenak, Keith, Dadie and Kylar
Steve Clopp
Rustin Heflin
Kevin and Lynn Eidson
Kirk and Tara Mize, Ashlee and Olivia ASBURY TIDINGS
28
Kathy Jagelar Troy and Nelda Burnett
Robert Neeley
If you are interested in learning more about who we are, plan to attend one of the Exploration classes designed to tell you more about Asbury and what we believe. We will spend our time looking at Asbury’s “Mission – VisionObjectives.” Most of the time will be spent in talking about our eight objectives. Another part of the membership process is to spend time in a pastoral visit. We want you to know at least one of our pastors so that when life’s difficulties arise, you will have a pastor who can help you through it. Perfection is not required of Asbury members, but we do want to grow and get better. As John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said, “If your heart is as my heart, lend me your hand.” Choose from one of the upcoming membership classes: Sunday, November 4 Sunday, December 2 Classes are from 12:15 – 2:30 p.m. Call 392-1191 to make your reservation. Childcare is available and lunch is included.
Ryan and Sie Roe
Alice Shears
New Member Photographers: Allen Robison and Diana Fields
Joel and Gloria Johnson
Sherri Cook
...we’re glad you’re here! Lane and Jamie Collier 29
ASBURY TIDINGS
community, a service opportunity, or care and support. Volunteer Consult ants will be trained to be very knowledgeable about what is happening at Asbury. Training and resources will be provided. Representation from all generations is important!
Connection Point Consultant
WE NEED YOU! To uphold it by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. SUPPORT SERVICES
Gazebo Cashier Duties: Staff the Gazebo on Sunday mornings. Operate a cash register in the process of selling Asbury merchandise, Perceptions and other books. A background check is required. Dates/Time: Sunday mornings…before, between and after services. Frequency: One Sunday every 4-6 weeks Loation: The Gazebo Number of positions: 2 Teams consisting of 2 people. This is a fun opportunity to serve with your spouse or a friend. Contact: Debbie Wilson, 392-1138 Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Administration, Hospitality, and Serving. If you aren’t familiar with The Gazebo (located inside the East Entrance) please stop by on Sunday morning for a quick tour.
Gazebo Coordinator Duties: Coordinate & schedule Gazebo volunteers. Re-stock merchandise and do a quarterly inventory. Dates/Time: Flexible Frequency: Approximately 4 hours per month. Location: Gazebo Number of positions: 1 Contact: Debbie Wilson 392-1138 or dwilson@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Admin. Serving FOOD SERVICE
Sunday Morning Breakfast Cashier Duties: Greet members and guests – collect money for breakfast Dates/Time: Second Sunday of the month, 8:00 to 9:00 am Frequency: Once a month
Location: Community Life Center Number of positions: one Contact: Joan Kahl 392-1176 jkahl@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Hospitality, Serving
Kitchen Helper Duties: Assist getting prepared food from the kitchen to the serving area. Replenish plates, napkins, etc. when necessary. Dates/Time: Sunday morning, 8:00 to 9:00 am Frequency: Once a month Location: Kitchen/serving area Number of positions: 6 Contact: Joan Kahl 392-1176, jkahl@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Serving WORSHIP
Christmas Decorators Duties: Deck the Halls with boughs of holly and other Christmas finery Dates/Time: Last week in November and the first week in January Frequency: Once a year Location: Meet at the main office Number of positions: 30 Contact: Marti Morris, Ext. 147 Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Serving CONNECTION POINT - NEW MINISTRY! Looking for outgoing people who feel blessed by their connections at Asbury and would love to help other people connect and experience the love and spiritual growth. A Connection Point desk will be established in the main foyer and be a central location for members and guests to go to for help in connecting with a
Duties: Assist guests and members find ministries, communities, and support according to their needs. Dates/Time: Sunday mornings 8:40 to 9:30, 10:20 to 11:15, 11:50 to 12:30 pm Frequency: Twice a month Location: Main Foyer Number of positions: 18 Contact: Joan Kahl 392-1176 or j kahl@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Hospitality, Serving, Mercy CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
Sunday Nursery Duties: Hold and rock and infant, direct a crawler just trying a new skill or see the world through the eyes of a toddler! Dates/Time: Sunday 9:15 or 11:00 Frequency: As available Location: Asbury Nursery Number of positions: 10 Contact: Vicki Ihrig,392-1160 vihrig@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Serving MEMBERSHIP
Sorting Assistant for Membership Team Duties: Volunteer(s) needed to sort VIP (attendance registration) sheets in appropriate categories to prepare for weekly data entry. Dates/Time: Mondays, 8:00 am, 1-3 hours (dependant on number of volunteers present). Frequency: One to four/five times/month. Location: Upstairs Administration office. Number of positions: Minimum 5. Contact: Doroto Dietze MEDIA MINISTRY
Sound Operators, Video Switchers, Stage Hands, Camera Operators Duties: Operate necessary equipment for live events including worship services. Some positions may require a demonstration of proficiency. Training is available. Dates/Time: Sunday morning positions for individual services, occasional live events as scheduled Frequency: W eekly, moving towards monthly rotation ASBURY TIDINGS 30
Location: Determined by service or event Number of positions: Multiple Contact: Danny Hill 392-1161 or dhill@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Serving CARE MINISTRY
Assistant Leader for Employment Transitions Duties: Help plan, and attend, quarterly meetings. Offer assistance and guidance to those who are underemployed or unemployed. Dates/Time: Quarterly meetings last Thursday evening of the month, plus flexible one-on-one time in person and/or on the phone. Seldom more than two hours per week. Frequency: Flexible Location: Meetings are at Asbury, flexible location for individual meetings . Number of positions: one Contact: e-mail Barbara Wright at blwright1@yahoo.com Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Administration, Exhortation, Discernment, Wisdom
Hospital Visitors Duties: Call on hospitalized members and others affiliated with Asbury once a week for a month to let them know we care. Dates/Time: Once a week for the following months: November – St. John/Hillcrest and Southcrest December – St. John/Hillcrest and Southcrest December at Saint Francis Once on the weekend: 1st , 2 nd, and 4th weekend at Southcrest 2nd, 3rd and 4th weekends at St. John/ Hillcrest Frequency: 4 times a month or 1 weekend a month Location: St. Francis, St. John/Hillcrest and Southcrest Number of positions: 13 Contact: LaWana Axtell, Hospital Visitation Volunteer Coordinator, 2720735 or lawanap@hotmail.com. Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Mercy, Service
with making phone calls to people who have been hospitalized or have had a loss. Attend ongoing supervision meetings twice a month. Number of positions: 30-40 Contact: Charlene Giles at 392-1145 or cgiles@asburytulsa.org Helpful Spiritual Gifts: Mercy, wisdom, discernment, faith, exhortation. DISCIPLESHIP
Resource Room Librarian Duties: Maintaining the room that houses our resources for small group curriculum and RoadMap classes. We are currently getting it arranged, catalogued and computerized. Once it is up and running, we will need a couple of volunteers to check in and check out materials on the computer, as well as help people find what they are looking for. Dates/Time: Tues, Wed. or Thurs.– your choice of time Frequency: 1 -2 mornings or afternoons a week Location: Work will be in downstairs Resource Room, behind front office. (See Diane King in upstairs office suite) Number of positions: 2-4 Contact : Diane King at 392-1122 or dking@asburytulsa.org
New - Community Connections Host/ Hostess Duties: Help guests and members select and locate a community to attend. Dates/Time: Sunday morning before and at beginning of community times - (8:45-9:30 or 10:30-11:15 a.m.) Frequency: Goal would be to work only one Sunday a month Location: Welcome Desks Number of positions: 2 to 4 each Sunday morning period Contact : Diane King at 392-1122 or dking@asburytulsa.org FRIENDS IN CHRIST DISC. COMMUNITY Adults with developmental disabilities and their care givers and friends.
Teacher and Substitute Teachers Stephen Minister Duties: One-on-one weekly support and prayer to people who are going through a crisis or time of transition (men meet with men and women meet with women). Training: Training begins in January and ends in May. Monday morning and Thursday evening training options are available. Fifty hours of training total, which includes two training sessions on Saturdays, 9 am – 3 pm. Frequency: You will meet once a week with your assigned care receiver, or help
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Duties: Prepare lesson, interact with class, teach Dates/Time: Every Sunday at 11:00 Frequency: We are looking for someone to rotate on a regular basis, perhaps for a 3-4 month period. Also we need subs in case someone is ill. Location: Room 1507 Number of positions: Several teachers Contact: Deborah Bradshaw deblove5@valornet.com
For a comprehensive list of volunteer opportunities, go to www.asburytulsa.org/getinvolved
Objective #8 Discovering and using spiritual gifts for ministry and mission What does that mean? In a recent conversation with a new believer, I asked about where he would like to serve in ministry or mission. His response was, “I could never do what a minister does, and I am not interested in going on a mission trip to another country!” How sad that he didn’t understand how simple ministry and mission could be. For the benefit of other new believers, I would like to expand on the simplicity of ministry and mission. If you are a helper in the preschool rooms on Sunday morning, you are in ministry. If you help in the kitchen for Wednesday night dinners, you are in ministry. If you work on a Habitat for Humanity house, you are serving in missions. If you deliver Christmas food baskets, you are serving in missions. There are many ways and many opportunities for every member to serve and it is the desire of Christ our Lord and Savior for every believer to serve others. It is a totally selfless act that will change your heart. If you’ve been questioning why you are here, what is your purpose, or you feel like nothing you do really matters, we invite you to step into ministry and mission. It’s good for the soul. -Joan Kahl
we rejoice...
with those who have experienced the joy of a
we remember... those who have gone to be with Jesus:
the path to salvation ... salvation...
new baby in their family:
Soliel Eve Disney daughter of Michael and Brooke Disney April 22, 2007 Tyler Andrew Johnson son of Edward and Lisa Johnson brother of Emily and Hannah April 25, 2007 Owen Bennett Russell son of Trey and Jennifer Russell brother of Nathan August 28, 2007 Everley Madeline Masso daughter of Kier and Heather Masso sister of Kier Elias, II September 8, 2007 Jack Pierce Wood son of Grant and Deana Wood sister of Kier Elias, II September 12, 2007 Noah Joseph Brown son of Jeff and Tonia Brown brotherof Zach and Joshua September 17, 2007 Charles David Croteau son of Dave and Leslie Croteacu brotherof Christopher September 27, 2007
Betty Oglesby husband of Joe August 27, 2007 Elanor Baumunk wife of Don mother of Donna Cropper Lori Fitzgerald and Doug Baumunk grandmother of Stephanie Cropper Emily, Kristin and Kevin Fitzgerald, and Caroline and Sarah Baumunk September 13, 2007 Hart Hix husband of Dorothy September 23, 2007 Linda McCartney wife of Douglas September 25, 2007 Jeff Moore husband of Donna father of Lindsey Purnell September 29, 2007 Ruth Ann Anderson wife of Lynn mother of Michael September 30, 2007 Ritchie Chambers husband of Pat October 2, 2007 Myron Pfeiffer October 11, 2007
ASBURY TIDINGS 32
in celebration of marriage
Construction Corner Update - November 2007
You can certainly see progress everywhere now! The steel at the children’s area is up and the second floor is in. The framing for the exterior walls is going in and soon the building will really begin to take shape. Flintco has done a great job of keeping the schedule moving in spite of rain. They have had two crews working on the steel at the children’s area and inside the ice rink.
50 Years John & Beverly Story
November 16, 1957
The steel beams have been erected for the second floor in the ice rink and the second floor decking and concrete is poured. They are framing the interior walls in the rink so the space is really getting defined. We are happy with the remodel and have not had any significant surprises that can arise from a remodel of this magnitude. All the plumbing on the first floor is in and they have started on the plumbing and electrical for the second floor. The work on the south entrance portico is going well. The steel has been delivered and is going up. We want to thank everyone for their patience as this entrance continues to be blocked off for safety reasons. We will reopen as soon as possible.
50 Years Bill & Martha Harrisberger November 23, 1957 25 Years Mike & Shirley Bennett November 6 Joe & Marcia Kennedy November 20 Earl and Donna Stutzman November 24 5 Years Ed & Vicki Taylor November 30 Grant & Deanna Wood November 16
Congratulations to those who are celebrating Milestone Anniversaries (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.) Report your Milestone Anniversary to patticooper@cox.net or call 392-1146.
The covered walkway to the chapel is progressing with the grade beams and foundation work complete and steel erection continuing. We will really notice a difference in the campus once this is finished. The schedule for the installation of the steeple on Mason Chapel has not been finalized but that will complete the look for the exterior. The schedule still looks good and we are hoping to be complete with all projects by May, 2008. Thanks to all of you who have sacrificed for this wonderful project.