August 2013 | Community Spirit Magazine by Community Spirit Magazine

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AUGUST 2013

Contents FEATURES 6 Does God Exist? 7 Has the Universe Always Existed? 10 Evidence of Engineering In the Universe 13 Why Does Bad Things Happen 16 Was Jesus Real? 17 Lee Strobel Comes to Tulsa 28 Explore the Baptist Village Community 30 Celebrate Recovery 32 Bluegrass and Chilli Festival Returns 38 Will your baby be tommorrow’s smoker? COLUMNS 24 ACT Financial Services 27 Ask-A-Pro, Grace Hospice 33 Dr. Kevin Nieman, LMFT 34 The Biggest Loser, Danny Cahill 36 Deniece Adsit, The Heart of the Matter

PUBLISHER & editor Tom McCloud CREATIVE Director Ramond Walker CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tom McCloud, Randy Cowell, Deniece Adsit, Dr. Kevin Nieman, Ava Hancock, Danny Cahill, Blythe Fowler, Jim Burkett, Dr. Dominic Halsmer, Caleb Steele

www.mccloudmedia.com • www.communityspiritmagazine.com TULSA Sales Office 10019 S. 69th E. Ave. Tulsa, OK 74133 phone: (918) 307-2323 fax: (918) 528-6209 Distribution Community Spirit Magazine is distributed to churches, schools, restaurants, Christian bookstores, and other businesses. Call us today to deliver to your church. Community Spirit Magazine is published monthly by McCloud Media. Claims by advertisers and the opinions of writers within this publication do not necessarily represent the views of Community Spirit Magazine or its publisher, Equipment Publications, Inc. Philippians 2:1-2 “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Our Mission: 1. Build Community – Develop a sense of community among all local believers in Christ 2. Inspire Good Works 3. Support Families 4. Share the Good News of Jesus Christ Fan us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CommunitySpiritMagazine

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apologetics section

Does God Exist…OR Have We Been Brainwashed? It is a compelling question isn’t it?

ouldn’t it be crazy to live our entire lives and not analyze what arguably is the single most important question of life? Don’t we have a right to want our faith to be based on more than “only” our heritage and hope? After all, each of us has

only have one life and our faith should be our own. So, is there true evidence of a Creator? Was there really a Jesus and was he a prophet, a lunatic, or truly the Son of God? If we are to have a faith, can it be based upon credible evidence that stands up to the harshest challenge? Even if you have gone to church your entire life and even if you come from a long line of Christian folks, don’t you want to absolutely make sure your faith is one based on substance? If you answered “yes,” you are not alone. It might be because we live in this Internet age or that we are experiencing a much more skeptical society than the one of our parents, but more and more people are demanding intellectual answers to their faith questions. And so, like God Himself is quoted in Isaiah, we wanted to produce this issue of Community Spirit with the challenge of saying “lets reason together.” We believe there is empirical evidence you can cling to and we hope the information provided and the special announcement on page 18 will help you take your first step towards starting your own personal research project on the questions Man has been asking since the very beginning. Commit yourself to the challenge and prepare to either find God or to disprove His existence in your mind altogether. Without a doubt, it is the most important research you will ever do.

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apologetics section

Has the Universe Always Existed? BY CALEB STEELE

ave you ever wondered where the universe came from? Have you ever thought about why something exists instead of just…nothing? Typically, those who do not believe in the existence of a transcendent God have found it reasonable to assume that the universe has simply always existed. On the surface, an eternal universe seems plausible enough. It may even have some appeal in presumably avoiding suppositions about things external to the natural world. But what if the universe has not always existed? Suppose that all material reality, all of the energy in the cosmos, time, and even space appeared suddenly at a moment in the past. If this were true, it seems some intriguing questions would come up: Can all of this come into existence uncaused from nothing? If it needs a cause, then what sort of cause is capable of producing a universe?

So let’s start with science. What does science say, if anything, about the history of the universe? The prevailing assumption among astronomers in the early 20th century was that the universe as a whole was static and eternal. However, in the late 1920s some surprising discoveries by American astronomer Edwin Hubble directly challenged these assumptions. Among some of the most significant discoveries of modern science, Hubble’s observations of light from distant galaxies showed that these light sources were not fixed, but were instead receding from us. This remarkable finding showed that, contrary to the assumptions of most astronomers of the day, the universe is not static and eternal, but is in fact expanding. What made this discovery so staggering was its implication: as you trace the expansion of the universe back in time, the universe A UGUST 2013 Communit ySp ir itmagaz ine.c om

apologetics section becomes denser & denser until you reach a point from which the universe can be traced back no further, and it’s from this point that the universe began to expand. Thus, scientists were forcibly led to the somewhat awkward conclusion that the entire known universe came into being at some point in the past in an event commonly referred to as the Big Bang. What’s more, the Big Bang model of the universe indicates that, at an instant, all matter, all energy, time, and even space came to exist from literally nothing.

An Absolute Beginning? Obviously, Hubble’s discovery was a defining moment in the history of science, and from there something of a revolution in astronomy began. And although different theories have been crafted over the years in attempts to avoid an absolute beginning, to date, such inquiries have only confirmed that, in fact, any conception of any expanding universe such as ours must entail an absolute beginning. In 2006, Alexander Vilenkin, one of the leading scientists who helped craft this proof, published his book “Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes,” where he writes, It is said that an argument is what convinces reasonable men and a proof is what it takes to convince even an unreasonable man. With the proof now in place, cosmologists can no longer hide behind the possibility of a past-eternal universe. There is no escape, they have to face the problem of a cosmic beginning. (p 176)

“...a cause that transcends this universe must have brought the universe into being.” The inescapable problem is that this proof of an absolute beginning is, in other words, proof of a creation from nothing. So for those looking for a universe without God, the only way out is actually…nothing. After all, if the universe is not eternal, then only two possible explanations of its origin remain: either (1) a cause that transcends this universe brought everything into being, or (2) originally absolutely nothing existed, and the entire universe spontaneously appeared at a moment in the past without any reason or cause whatsoever.

Did Everything Come Without Cause From Nothing? To really assess these alternatives, we need to first 8

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“Surely if something as vast and complex as the universe can come from nothing, we would observe other things popping into being all around us.” look at what is meant by “nothing.” Properly understood, “nothing” does not mean just empty space. Instead, “nothing” is the absence of anything whatsoever. So to say “nothing” exists is to say that there isn’t anything that exists – not space, not time, not matter, not energy. This is important because it’s here that misunderstandings are common. For instance, sometimes you’ll hear that physicists have observed subatomic particles coming into being from nothing, “nothing” in these cases being a vacuum. And so, it’s claimed, we do have evidence that nothing can produce something, so why couldn’t the universe have come from nothing? But here’s the problem. These vacuums in physics are not “nothing.” These vacuums are full of energy, have a physical structure, and are governed by physical laws. So, really, theories about the universe arising out of a vacuum don’t address the issue. Remember, what is actually implied by current models of the origin of the universe is that literally nothing existed until the Big Bang. That is the problem needing a solution. In view of what is truly meant by “nothing,” the second alternative above - that the universe came into existence uncaused from nothing – is, for several reasons, just too incredible to believe. First, just as I don’t believe a magician can actually pull a rabbit out of a hat, I don’t believe something infinitely more complex – a universe – can come from nothing without a cause. More plainly, something cannot come from nothing. After all, if something can come from nothing, then we should regularly observe it. In fact, we should observe anything and everything just popping into being uncaused from nothing. So why don’t we? It can’t be that nothingness somehow favors forming universes rather than everything else - nothingness has no properties, so nothing constrains it! Surely if something as vast and complex as the universe can come from nothing, we would observe other things popping into being all around us. Finally, common experience and scientific evidence constantly affirm that whatever begins to exist must have a cause. This is continuously verified and never falsified. Ultimately, to believe that something can come from nothing represents a far greater leap of faith than I’m willing to take. So, based on what we know from contemporary

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cosmology, it seems that the most rational explanation of the origin of the universe is the first alternative above: a cause that transcends this universe must have brought the universe into being. And there’s more that we can reasonably infer about this cause: 1. As the cause of the universe, it must transcend the universe itself; 2. As the cause of all matter, space, time, and energy, this cause must be immaterial, nonphysical, timeless, and unimaginably powerful; and 3. The cause must be personal. The reason is that, as described above, the cause of the universe is eternal but its effect is not. But any impersonal cause that is eternal would therefore eternally supply the necessary and sufficient conditions for its effect, meaning its effect would also be eternal. So the cause of creation cannot be impersonal. The only alternative, then, is that the cause of creation is a personal agent who chose to create a universe in time. Thus, and perhaps surprisingly to some, we’ve seen that contemporary, mainstream science provides very good grounds for believing that a transcendent cause brought the universe into existence, and it provides no evidence that the universe could come uncaused from absolutely nothing. Finally, as we fully weigh these implications, we are ultimately brought, not just to a transcendent cause of the universe, but before its personal Creator. Consider THIS

Noted physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and author, Paul Davies says, “Science offers a surer path to God than religion.” How about you? Has your church experience or your experience with Christians gotten in the way of your analysis of the evidence? Maybe science is your path to better understanding the Creator? We encourage you to study for yourself.

Recommended Resources: Beginner: www.reasonablefaith.org www.str.org The Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel

Intermediate: On Guard, by William Lane Craig Advanced: Reasonable Faith, by William Lane Craig

about caleb steele

•

• • • •

• Coordinator of Institute Events for the Josh McDowell Institute for Christian Apologetics at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, an institute devoted to strengthening the body of Christ through conferences & seminars held twice per year, worldview curriculum assistance, and by hosting a variety of resources from Josh McDowell at the Josh McDowell Legacy Library Collection. Manager of Events for Reasonable Faith, a ministry of Dr. William Lane Craig that aims to provide in the public arena an intelligent, articulate, and uncompromising yet gracious Christian perspective on the most important issues concerning the truth of the Christian faith today. Co-Director of the Reasonable Faith Tulsa Chapter Married to his college sweetheart Jodi for 8 years. They have 2 year-old twin boys and a 2 month old daughter. B.A. in Psychology (Oral Roberts University) M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy (Southern Nazarene University)

recommended reading

ON GUARD BY WILLIAM LANE CRAIG

REASONABLE FAITH BY WILLIAM LANE CRAIG

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Evidence of Exquisite Engineering Expertise in the Universe BY DR. DOMINIC HALSMER

n his recent book entitled, Reshaping Natural Theology: Seeing Nature as Creation, Swedish theologian Mats Wahlberg argues that human beings directly perceive two things when they experience the natural realm: intentionality and intelligence. I want to suggest an extension to this argument based on the general recognition that nature is replete with examples of functional and efficient systems that exhibit fabulous engineering. I claim that we perceive more than just intelligence behind nature. We perceive a particular kind of intelligence. We perceive an engineering expertise that is far above and beyond our own capabilities. Indeed, humans are gifted with the ability to devise solutions to problems using their intelligence, resourcefulness, and creativity. We call this engineering. But, we are also able to investigate devices, uncover the secrets of how they work and how they were made, and marvel at the underlying ingenuity. This practice is known as reverse engineering. We tend to take these capabilities for granted, but there is no reason to expect such a match between the ordered complexity of the cosmos and our ability to unravel its mysteries. Albert Einstein recognized this coincidence when he said, “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.” Of course, from a Judeo-Christian perspective, this is no coincidence. Being made in God’s image helps to explain our creative and investigative skills, particularly when we consider that God has specially engineered this universe to reveal himself to human beings. This is evident from Romans 1:20 where Paul writes that God’s existence, and something of his 10

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character, are clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Of course, with advanced training in science and engineering, one can become more proficient at discovering and applying the secrets of nature. But, even children are characterized by an insatiable curiosity for how things work. We begin as a baby, exploring the workings of our own body and it interactions with the environment. And, soon we are solving the problems of the inverted pendulum and locomotion, as we learn to stand and take our first steps, the inner ear providing key sensory feedback for appropriate muscle contractions to keep our balance and move forward. Having taught courses in the design of control systems, I can

“Either these kinds of systems arose accidently, or they were intended for some purpose. How is it that such complex, yet stable and lifefriendly, systems could come about by accident?” confidently assert that these are not trivial engineering problems. Such feedback control systems are found throughout nature, and are responsible for the stability we observe in everything from metabolic processes and animal populations, to the earth’s climate. Either these

apologetics section kinds of systems arose accidently, or they were intended for some purpose. How is it that such complex, yet stable and lifefriendly, systems could come about by accident?

Was the World Precisely Designed for the Emergence and Sustenance of Life? At an even more fundamental level, the initial conditions for the cosmos, the constants of physics, the values of the fundamental forces, and the very laws of nature themselves appear to have been selected to have precisely the correct values and features to allow for the emergence and sustenance of life. This has come to be known as the fine-tuning problem, since it is difficult to explain, as Stephen Hawking has written, “except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.” Personally, I don’t like the name “fine-tuning” because it elicits an image of a technician at a control panel with dials and gauges, trying to find just the right settings for the efficient performance of a complex piece of machinery. Or worse yet, it reminds older folks of the two knobs found on early television sets: “fine-tuning” and “vertical hold.” It seems like we were constantly fiddling with those knobs to get a good picture to come in. Either way, the images imply a trial-and-error process instead of the forethought, calculation and planning associated with engineering activities, and suggested by many natural processes. Even chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, which formed in the interior of stars at just the right temperatures and pressures, enable life processes by combining with hydrogen to form molecules with just the right bond strengths. This arrangement allows these molecules to couple and decouple at just the right moments to support the machinery

“God is the kind of engineer who can take something that has gone wrong, or what was intended for evil, and somehow turn it around, and cause it to work for good.” of life. Such complex building blocks of life chemistry are reminiscent of LEGOs, which are masterfully engineered with the perfect interference fit, allowing children to easily assemble and disassemble the blocks to create various configurations. Now LEGOs are a great toy, but they can’t come close to the “magic” performed by the DNA molecule found in the nucleus of all living cells. Even our best computer technology is child’s play compared to the information storage capacity and capabilities of these complex systems at the core of life. Of course, one can

always write these phenomena off as fortunate occurrences of physics in response to a favorable environment. But, how can this satisfy our deeper curiosity, or explain the fitness of the laws of nature and the environment for life? I rather find myself agreeing with futurist and author, Arthur C. Clarke, whose Third Law states that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Perhaps the “magic” of life is simply God’s sufficiently advanced technology.

Poorly Engineered? Others have suggested that human beings are poorly engineered, citing bad backs, birth defects, and malfunctioning genomes that result in excessive pain and suffering, and even death. Did God flunk his engineering courses or is he just malevolent? This is a difficult issue that is not easily answered, but a few pertinent points can be made in this short space. It must be remembered that a Christian perspective includes the influence of an adversary for a season. This has apparently contributed to the corruption of human beings through the rejection of God’s authority and purposes for their own. Now think about it, what is likely to happen when you use a screw driver as a pry bar? It becomes damaged or corrupted because it was never engineered for that purpose. Perhaps something similar has happened with human beings and sin. In any event, reverse engineering projects should always consider the possibility that the specimen under investigation may have experienced some type of damage or corruption during its history. If such is the case, a serious attempt should be made to tease the corruptive influence apart from the original design. It should also be remembered that humans have limited knowledge and understanding of the total system under consideration. We cannot see all ends from our human perspective. A corollary to Clarke’s Third Law is appropriate at this point: Any sufficiently advanced technology may also be confused with malevolence. Consider that a young child who must endure a painful medical procedure may think that the physician is intending to do harm, rather than good. In this case, trust, or faith, is required. It is not surprising that God might require this kind of faith, since it is a critical aspect of all loving relationships, especially if his objective is to draw us into such a relationship. Even so, many people find that some adversity can lead to wisdom and strength if approached with humility in a redemptive environment. Fortunately, God, in the person of Jesus Christ has provided that environment by sharing in our suffering and giving his life for our redemption. In so doing, Jesus becomes the prototype human being; the perfect example for humans to follow as we are conformed into his image. This is God’s promise to all Christians. God is the kind of engineer who can take something that has gone wrong, or what was intended for evil, and somehow turn it around, and cause it to work for good. This is actually a well-documented engineering A UGUST 2013 Communitys p ir itmagaz ine.com

apologetics section principle. Coincidently enough, it’s called, “making the devil work for you.”

God as Engineer Some people are opposed to thinking of God as an engineer because they envision him with human limitations, or as a clockmaker who winds up the universe and then steps back, without any further interaction. But neither of these depictions is necessary, nor are they in accord with Scripture. God’s ways are not our ways. And yet, several passages in the Bible describe him as a “process engineer” refining his people like a precious metal in the furnace of affliction, or molding them like a potter molds clay on his potter’s wheel. Both of these pictures involve an engineer who is intimately involved with his creation, throughout the entire process. A modern

“One good way to get to know a great artist or engineer is to study his or her great works.” process engineer, who works in a refinery, for example, is involved in monitoring the product at various stages, and maintaining the appropriate conditions to achieve the desired outcome. Perhaps this is a more helpful picture of our Maker, who not only created us, but also sustains us and refines us as he holds all things together by his great power. One way to summarize the above development is with a statement of what has become known as the argument from reverse engineering: The realization that natural systems are so readily and profitably reverse engineered suggests that these systems were engineered in the first place. The connotation here is one of “purposeful engineering,” as opposed to “accidental engineering,” which I believe to be an oxymoron. Notice that the evidence is only suggestive of the stated result. These ideas are not intended to constitute a compelling proof. Notice also that this approach focuses on the attributes of the end product, without dependence on how these natural systems came about. Exactly how God created human beings on the earth is still an open question on which good Christians may disagree. Both the study of God’s Word and God’s world provide input on this issue. We may never know the complete answer, but the reverse engineering of natural systems can provide us with clues. One good way to get to know a great artist or engineer is to study his or her great works. This provides strong motivation for Christians to pursue education in science and engineering, which allows us to know our Maker better, and love him all the more. 12

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ABOUT DOMINIC HALSMER Dominic M. Halsmer Ph.D. Dr. Halsmer holds a B.S and M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA. He has served as the Dean of the School of Engineering and is currently the Director of Faith and Learning at Oral Roberts University.

Recommended Resources: 1. Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design 2. Darwin’s Doubt: the Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design 3. The Creator and the Cosmos, or Why the Universe is the Way it is, both by Hugh Ross 4. Origins: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution and Intelligent Design, by Deborah and Loren Haarsma, 5. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, by Francis S. Collins. recommended reading

Signature in the Cell BY Stephen C. Meyer

Darwin’s Doubt BY Stephen C. Meyer

Consider THIS

From the intricate design of DNA to the perfect construction of the human mouth to construct words and the human ear to understand them, one thing is certain…we are magnificently made. Can you fathom the chances of such design coming together by chance? Or, could it be that every molecule was thought out and intentionally designed by the “ultimate engineer?”

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How Can a Loving God Allow Bad Things to Happen? BY JIM BURKETT

uffering and evil are not abstract topics, but are graphic realities we see with every news broadcast. The television camera zooms on another person and family facing a “broken-world” experience. Home invasions, senseless driveby shootings, famines, airline and train crashes, or the horror of physical diseases like cancer, AIDS, dementia, or stroke and heart disease are not distant events. We can recall where we were when we heard the news reports about the destruction from a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, or a deranged killer. The story of human trafficking, child abuse, kidnapping, rape, famine, and genocide grips our minds. The loss of a loved one or a friend or the experience of betrayal and rejection can numb and immobilize us. The list for recording evil seems endless. The suffering is beyond description. Family breakups are devastating with long-range effects. Unexpected lay-offs and firings from jobs add to the list. We experience the reality that we sometimes cannot control the damage from an experience of suffering. One sobering truth stands out about suffering:

broken-world experiences don’t just happen to someone else. They can happen to us.

How do we wrap our minds around a Loving God and the “Bad Things That Happen?” Distinguished Christian philosopher, Peter Kreeft, provides this guiding insight as we examine this issue: “There is nothing more pointless than an answer to a question that is not fully understood, fully posed. We are far too impatient with questions, and therefore, far too shallow in appreciating answers.” To help clarify the issue of evil and suffering, we will examine this on two levels: First, we will look at the intellectual problems of evil. C.S. Lewis, the great British scholar, wrote the influential book, The Problem of Pain in which he offered his answers to the intellectual problem of evil. Some of the best arguments and insights on evil are presented in his book. Second, we will examine the problem of evil from a personal A UGUST 2013 Communitys p ir itmagaz ine.com

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“The Christian worldview states that there is not an inconsistency between the existence of God and the presence of evil.” perspective. Lewis writes about the deep inner pain of personal loss in his book, A Grief Observed. After Lewis married Joy Gresham, he learned the excruciating truth about the personal problem of evil. His wife’s death from cancer thrust him into a time of doubt and depression. Now he was wrestling with the issue of evil and suffering from personal experience. The philosophical arguments he wrote about presented him with little comfort. This distinction is relevant for our discussion. Whether our suffering is the result of our bad choices and failure or we are the victim, we experience pain and suffering as our world breaking apart. First, let us examine the basic objection that Atheists use against believing in God when the topic of evil is discussed. One argument that Atheists use against God is stated like this: 1. If God is all-good, He would defeat evil. 2. If God is all-powerful, He could defeat evil. 3. But evil is not defeated. 4. Therefore, no such God exists. However, the Atheist would reframe Premise 3 by stating that evil is not yet defeated and it never will be defeated. The Atheist would say that argument should read then: 1. If God is all-good, He would defeat evil. 2. If God is all-powerful, He could defeat evil. 3. But evil is not yet defeated, and it never will be defeated. 4. Therefore, no such God exists. But the Atheist faces a serious problem with his revised argument. He doesn’t know the future. He can not say that evil “never will be defeated.” And he cannot account for the presence of the incredible good actions of kindness demonstrated during the midst of evil.

The Christian argument would state: 1. If there is an all-good God, He wants to defeat evil. 2. If there is an all-powerful God, He can defeat evil. 3. But evil is not yet defeated. 4. Therefore, evil will one day be defeated. 14

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The Christian worldview states that there is not an inconsistency between the existence of God and the presence of evil. Someone recently asked Pastor Rick Warren why is there evil and suffering in the world? He quickly answered, “Free will.” Philosopher Alvin Plantinga impacted the academic world by his explaining how the presence of evil actually is a proof for God’s existence. The Atheist has a significant inconsistency when he states that God can not exist if there is evil. By what standard does the Atheist measure good and evil? To declare that evil exists necessarily implies that there is a standard by which the world must be measured. If the measure is acknowledged, then theism (the belief in a all-powerful, all-good, all-wise, eternal being we call God) is back in the picture. Atheism does not have any authentic intellectual basis for saying anything is good or evil. Without God, “good” and “evil” are relative terms, not absolutes. Christian scholar Norman Geisler states this well when he says, “Atheism cannot rationally offer a definition of evil without appealing to an ultimate standard of good.” As an atheist, C.S. Lewis struggled with evil in his belief system. Lewis explained: “My argument against God was the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”

Biblical Insights on Pain and Suffering The Bible does not deal with evil, pain, and suffering in the abstract. God’s plan is both redemptive and realistic. God is able to bring “good” out of the painful experiences of our messed up world. The story of Lazarus in John 11 is insightful. Lazarus, who was loved by Jesus, died before Jesus arrived. Jesus could have arrived before Lazarus died. But Jesus intentionally delayed His arrival. Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha, criticized Jesus for His delay. Note how Jesus dealt with this experience of suffering and death. His actions are instructive: Jesus allowed Lazarus to die even though He was able to prevent it, was grieved by what He allowed, and did something about the situation in the end that has great significance: Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! God operates from an eternal vantage point and He has the last word on our suffering. God has a greater context on our present suffering (Romans 8:18). Romans 8:28 puts our circumstances in a greater framework:

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“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” God demonstrates His understanding of evil and suffering. Theologian Dorothy Sayers writes: “For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is - limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death - He had the honesty and courage to take His own medicine...He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace, and thought it well worthwhile.”

Two important truths to highlight at this point: 1. God has lovingly disclosed enough information to us about evil and suffering to help us process our grief appropriately. He has told us where sin came from and its unfortunate consequences. God reveals that one day evil will be fully banished and totally conquered. 2. God has given us the extraordinary promise that He is in control: the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. We can place our trust in His love and plan for each of us in the midst of our broken-world experiences.

Consider THIS

Is pain really God’s fault? He made gravity, but when we fall off of a mountain, the sudden stop at the bottom won’t be much fun. So will it be God’s fault when we fall off the mountain? When we eat quarter pounders with cheese every day, we clog our arteries. Will it be God’s fault when we have our heart attack? God gives us and everyone around us, freewill. Unfortunately, sin, the poor decisions we make and others around us make, has painful and ultimately deadly consequences. Murder, disease, and even bad weather started with sin and we all continue to pay the consequences. So, does that mean there isn’t a God, or was it Man who totally messed things up?

recommended reading

THE PROBLEM OF PAIN BY C.S. LEWIS

Recommended Resources: 1. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis 2. A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis 3. The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel

About JIM BURKETT Having taught theology at two Christian colleges and with 32 years of pastoral ministry in university communities, Dr. Burkett has presented CHRISTIANITY IS A FACTUAL FAITH Conferences across the nation as well as in Great Britain, Africa, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Sharing compelling evidences for Christianity, Conference presentations are delivered in a fast-paced manner, using media, congregational involvement, and captivating visuals to maximize this encouraging and motivating experience. These presentations are geared to encourage Christians and to engage non-Christians with the Truth Claims of Christianity. For more information about the Tulsa School of Apologetics and Practical Theology, e-mail Ccccpastor@aol. com or call 918-691-8756.

A GRIEF OBSERVED BY C.S. LEWIS

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apologetics section

Was Jesus Real and Was He Resurrected? BY TOM MCCLOUD

t has been said that if you want to destroy Christianity, simply disprove the resurrection of Jesus. But when you crossexamine the witnesses and review the evidence, you see why Christianity continues to grow, even more than 2000 years later. One of the best books on the subject is called, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary R. Haberman and Michael R. Licona. What makes their book so compelling is that these two historians use only evidence accepted by virtually all scholars on the subject, even the skeptical ones. This “minimal facts approach” builds a towering case applying facts with a high degree of certainty. The result provides an argument verifying that Jesus did live, that he predicted his own death and resurrection, was in fact crucified and was seen by hundreds of witnesses who had no reason to lie. In fact, their testimony was made often with the consequence of their own cruel death. Any review of the facts in this short article will obviously

“Is it true that God really loves us? Could it be that a relationship with God is truly available to us? Can we really have eternal life? If Jesus really rose from the dead, the answer is yes to all three questions.” not do justice to the full and very conclusive case they present. However, here are a few of the facts. We challenge you to read the book and examine their case with your own magnifying glass. The tomb really was empty and it is up to you to decide what happened. 1. Jesus was crucified. This is recorded in all four Gospels and is verified by non-Christian sources of the period (Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian, Mara Bar-Serapion and by the Talmud). In fact, the highly critical scholar of the Jesus Seminar, John Dominic Crossan writes, “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can be.” 2. Jesus’ disciples absolutely believed that Jesus rose and appeared to them. Scholars agree that these disciples saw something and their lives were forever changed by it. In fact, there is not one example of any who recanted the story, even under imprisonment, torture and martyrdom. They claimed it, they believed it, it changed their lives, and they were willing to die for it. 16

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3. Some of ultimately the strongest disciples could be described as hostile witnesses. Their radical change from skeptic to follower was well documented. Saul (Paul) and James (The brother of Jesus) are two examples. Both were totally changed, lived out their belief without regard to their own comfort and were ultimately martyred. 4. The tomb was empty. Most scholars believe this to be fact. They point to the argument that because the postmortem appearances and the empty tomb were proclaimed in Jerusalem, it would have been impossible to get Christianity off the ground without an empty tomb. The documented fact that the believers were accused of stealing the body proves that the body had been looked for and not found. 5. The initial witnesses were women. If someone were trying to concoct the story, they would not have used women, thought to be unreliable by the culture at the time. Maybe Something Else Happened? The authors analyze other theories as to the disappearance of the body including the charge that the disciples did steal the body, or that someone else did, or that the witnesses went to the wrong tomb. They also consider whether Jesus was actually dead or that the disciples were acting under a delusion, wanting it to be true so badly that they saw things that weren’t really there. Each possibility is scrutinized with great care and somewhere amid the wild accusations of fraud and crazy theories, even one that Jesus was an extraterrestrial, the resurrection becomes the more reliable, believable account. It is an exercise that everyone should walk through. The evidence is available and ready for you to review. Here are a couple of books for you to read on the subject:

Recommended Resources:

1. The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Haberman and Licona 2. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

Consider THIS

“I claim to be an historian. My approach to Classics is historical. And I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history . . .” E. M. Blaiklock  Professor of Classics  Auckland University

lee strobel

Begin Searching the Evidence Come Hear Lee Strobel

hile studying one of Lee Strobel’s books, a young couples class at Park Plaza Church of Christ decided to email Lee and “invite him to class.” His answer was… “When can I come?” The next thing the class knew it, they were booking The Mabee Center and inviting over 4000 of their “closest friends” to meet him. The evening will be a great opportunity for everyone to reexamine the evidence for topics ranging from creation to the resurrection of Jesus. During a recent radio interview, Stobel said, “The event will be a great opportunity for Christians and their friends to come to hear about my journey from atheism to Christianity, specifically about the evidence that I found convincing, causing me to walk away believing that Jesus is who He claimed to be.” Atheist-turned-Christian Lee Strobel, the former awardwinning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty books and serves as Professor of Christian Thought at Houston Baptist University. Described in the Washington Post as “one of the evangelical community’s most popular apologists,” Lee shared the Christian Book of the Year award in 2005 for a curriculum he co-authored with Garry Poole about the movie The Passion of the Christ. He also won Gold Medallions for The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator, all of which have been made into documentaries distributed by Lionsgate. His latest works include his first novel, The Ambition, and The Case for Christ Study Bible, which features hundreds of notes and articles. His free e-newsletter, Investigating Faith, is available at www.LeeStrobel.com. Lee was educated at the University of Missouri (Bachelor of

Saturday night, September 7th at The Mabee Center

Journalism degree) and Yale Law School (Master of Studies in Law degree). He was a journalist for 14 years at The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois’ highest honor for public service journalism from United Press International. He also led a team that won UPI’s top award for investigative reporting in Illinois. After investigating the evidence for Jesus, Lee became a Christian in 1981. He joined the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in 1987 and later became a teaching pastor. He joined Saddleback Valley Community Church as a teaching pastor in 2000. He left Saddleback to write books and host the national network TV program Faith Under Fire. In addition, Lee taught First Amendment Law at Roosevelt University. In recognition of the extensive research for his books, he was honored by Southern Evangelical Seminary with the conferring of a Doctor of Divinity degree in 2007. Lee’s other books include The Case for the Real Jesus, Finding the Real Jesus, God’s Outrageous Claims, The Case for Christmas, The Case for Easter, The Unexpected Adventure (co-authored with Mark Mittelberg), and Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage, which he wrote with his wife, Leslie. Lee also co-authored the Becoming a Contagious Christian course, which has trained more than a million Christians on how to naturally and effectively talk with others about Jesus. He has been interviewed on such national TV networks as ABC, Fox, PBS and CNN, and his articles have appeared in a variety of periodicals, including the online editions of the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. He has been a recurring guest on The Bible Answer Man and Focus on the Family radio programs. He is a member of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Lee and Leslie have been married for 40 years and live in Colorado. Their daughter, Alison, is the author of six novels and co-author of two books for children. Their son, Kyle, has written several books on Jonathan Edwards and on spiritual formation. With a PhD in theology from the University of Aberdeen and two master’s degrees, he is a professor at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Presented by Park Plaza Church of Christ Tickets are available through the Mabee Center Box Office mabeecenter.com. Assigned seating – $12.50 per person ($7.50 for Students & Faculty – Show your ID) Lee Strobel will also be teaching the combined adult Bible classes at Park Plaza on Sunday morning, September 8th at 9:45 a.m. All are invited! A UGUST 2013 Communitys p ir itmagaz ine.com

oklahoma wesleyan

“Let Us Reason Together”

Oklahoma Wesleyan University Launches Josh McDowell Institute for Christian Thought and Apologetics Josh McDowell will deliver the keynote address for the inaugural event to be held on November 14-15 at the university’s Bartlesville campus. Other speakers will include Josh’s son, Shawn McDowell, as well as noted apologetics experts Frank Turek, Greg Koukl, William Lane Craig and Adu Murray. Dr. Piper also announced that Dr. Abdu Murray is the Institute’s first Scholar Resident. A brilliant apologist from Detroit, Dr. Murray brings a unique viewpoint on the Bible and Christianity. A former Muslim, he became an ardent scholar of the Bible in hopes of using it as a club against his Christian opponents. Now, co-founder and President of Embrace the Truth International, he provides an apologetics-based Christian outreach to Muslims, Jews, cult members and skeptics.

JOSH MCDOWELL (LEFT) & EVERETT PIPER (RIGHT)

nterested in Apologetics? Thanks to Oklahoma Wesleyan University, the Tulsa/Bartlesville area may soon become a Midwest hub for the study, a place Christians come from all over the world to learn how to defend their faith. Committed on a belief that God is the Author of all Truth, Oklahoma Wesleyan University has recently linked up with Josh McDowell, one of the foremost apologists of the last 50 years. Hundreds of thousands of people have been influenced by McDowell’s books. Evidence that Demands a Verdict and More than a Carpenter are two examples of a string of the author’s profound apologetic works which combined have sold in excess of 50 million copies.

Introducing… The Josh McDowell Institute for Christian Thought and Apologetics “Josh has been on campus and has caught the vision of OKWU’s unique,

boldness and apologetic attitude in regard to Biblical World view. This objective reality of Truth is something he wanted to stand behind. In fact, we are the only institution in the nation he has given his name to and we are pleased to honor his legacy and scholarship. We are excited to now house the Josh McDowell Legacy Library in our Janice and Charles Drake Library which includes a copy of every book he has ever authored. And, we will also be serving as a repository all of his sermon transcripts, over 8000 of them, said President Everett Piper.” Dr. Piper explained that the vision for this institute goes even further. The university has introduced a new Masters of Arts in Theology and Apologetics. In addition, this fall, they will begin an apologetics speaker series, making OKWU the place for not only their students, but for the entire region to come once or twice a year and sit at the knee of some of the world’s best apologists.

Want to know more? Come visit the Oklahoma Wesleyan University booth at the Lee Strobel event. Learn how you can get involved. Its time to go back to school…studying one of the most important subjects…how to defend your faith!

Also…Make plans now to attend the first Josh McDowell Conference on Christian Apologetics to be held on the Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Bartlesville) campus on November 14-15. For more information, visit the Oklahoma Wesleyan website at okwu.edu.

A UGUST 2013 Communitys p ir itmagaz ine.com

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When was the last time you reviewed your Last Will & Testament? During our lifetime, changes occur – marriages (or re-marriages) happen, children are born or adopted, deaths occur, you move from one state to another. A change in any of these circumstances often triggers the need to change your will. No estate is too small for a proper will.

Because family is important to you, we are here to help you plan. Our goal is to serve you and your family and to help you put the best plan together. If you would like assistance on how to create or update your will, please let us know. This service and charitable financial planning are confidential and free of charge. To learn more about ways to leave a legacy for future generations through your will, please contact us today.

John 3:16 Mission is sponsoring a free educational seminar to help answer your questions. August 20th, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. OU Tulsa Campus (41st & Yale) Learning Center Room 145 Enter campus off Yale by McDonalds, building is on your left as you enter

RSVP – Mindy Harper 918-587-1186

randy cowell | AC T Financial

Social In Security

hen the subject of Social Security comes up in my planning sessions, I am reminded of the song my children would sing in Sunday School. “Deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.” ………. I know it doesn’t have the same effect without the hand gestures, but the analogy of a social program that will be forever flowing and endless may not be possible with 10,000 baby boomers reaching 65 every day. The subject of Social Security is not only a deep subject, but it is a wide and complicated one. This is the first part of a two-part article that will attempt to boil down, into simple terms, the important decisions that you need to make as you prepare for retirement. To understand the problems facing Social Security one must first go back in time to the beginning. This seventy-five year old program was enacted by Congress in 1935 as part of FDR’s “New Deal” to help senior citizens escape poverty in their old age. The intent was to be a safety net for the elderly shortly after the Great Depression. In 1940 the likelihood of a woman making it to 65 was just 60.6%, and if you were a man, the chance you would make it to 65 years of age was barely over 50%. The life expectancy in 1935 was 58 for a man and 62 for a woman. I’m sure FDR and the designers of Social Security did not anticipate that the likelihood of getting to age 65 and collecting benefits would be 73% for a man and 83.6% for a woman. To compound the problem the average remaining life expectancy for those making it to Social Security age has increased from 12.7/14.7 male/female to 15.3/19.6 years respectively. That may not seem like much but it represents as much as a 33% increase in the amount of time benefits that will be paid. Another factoid complicating the projections of eminent Social Security default is the fact that more women have entered the workforce and are now eligible for benefits. In 1940, women made up 24.4% of the labor force. By the year 2000, that number had almost doubled to 47%.

only hard fast numerical to be discussed is that those 55 or over will not see any changes. Time will tell.

This should make you angry Usually I am a “Glass half-full” kind of guy and make no mistake about it, I LOVE MY COUNTY, but when I uncover information such as this, I have to admit I am not so positive. Like you, I work hard and the thought of my hard earned tax dollars being wasted makes me angry. According to a June 2012 audit by the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, 2,475 beneficiaries had a recorded date of death in the Social Security’s database but were still receiving benefits. According to the IG at least 1,546 had received benefits totaling $30,956,695. Some had received the benefit for up to 20 years. Call your congressman and ask, “Why?”

The next step For anyone serious about planning his or her retirement, a thorough understanding of the Social Security system is vital to maximizing their retirement income. How the various choices will affect your overall income and benefit those you love is vitally important! Work with an advisor that you trust and who demonstrates a complete understanding of your situation and how it fits into this important social program. You have worked a lifetime for it! Next month we will address the important factors you will need to know and strategies on how to maximize your benefits. For more information on how your particular situation will be affected by Social Security and planning strategies you can use, please contact our office. We would love to help you. A special thanks to Jordan Woodall and Will Baxter for their research assistance for this article. RANDY C. COWELL ACT FINANCIAL

The Future of Social Security Fast-forward to today and you have a social experiment seeming out of control. It now provides benefits to over 50 million people and is financed from payroll taxes from over 150 million workers. Once designed for the elderly, it now includes disability and minor dependent benefits. The 24-dollar question that every concerned baby boomer is asking is “Will Social Security be there for me?”. A recent announcement by the Social Security actuaries that the Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money by 2034, supports their fear. If you remember the famous Bill Clinton quote “It depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is”, you might understand the next statement. The answer to the question “Will Social Security be there?” will depend on what the new definition of “be there” is. Going forward there will be changes. Will the current benefit amounts be there? Will I be able to claim at the current age? Will it include disability and all the spousal and dependent benefits? The 24

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Randy C. Cowell is a columnist and President of ACT Financial Services, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the author of “God Good-Debt Bad”. Randy welcomes your thoughts and prayers. He can be reached at 918-664-0081 or by e-mail at rcowell@htk.com.

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AVA HANCOCK GRACE HOSPICE

Question: I am recently retired and exploring opportunities for volunteering. A friend of mine shared with me how volunteers helped her mother when she was on hospice care. I would like to find out more about the volunteer opportunities at Grace Hospice.

ur volunteers are the heart of Grace Hospice and provide care and compassion to our patients and their families. We are actively recruiting volunteers to help in communities throughout the Tulsa region. Grace Hospice serves patients within a 50 mile radius of Tulsa. We need volunteers with a variety of skills and abilities. Our Volunteer Coordinator looks at each volunteer’s skills and interests when making assignments and provides training for all volunteers. Opportunities are available in the following areas: •

•

Visiting Volunteers: Visiting volunteers share their time and friendship with hospice patients and family members by visiting the patients who are on hospice care in both independent home settings and senior care facilities. They allow families to have a chance to take a break and run errands or manage other responsibilities. Bereavement Volunteers: Bereavement volunteers provide support to grieving families with phone calls, cards and visits after their loved one passes away. At Grace Hospice we provide support to the family for 13 months after a loved one passes. Craft and Special Project Volunteers: These volunteers use their special talents to bring joy to patients. Some volunteers create handmade items (lap blankets, slippers, small pillows, etc.), or design art projects, while others sing or play instruments. Other volunteers may help with yard work or “handy man” projects around the house.

For more information on the Grace Hospice volunteer program please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Meg Carson, at 918-7447223 or please visit www.gracehospice.com

AVA HANCOCK, , MS, LCSW

Executive Director, Grace Hospice Ava is Executive Director of Grace Hospice of Oklahoma. Grace Hospice is the largest independent hospice in Northeastern Oklahoma. Ava has been with Grace Hospice for more than 10 years and was named Executive Director in 2010 where she leads a staff of more than 80 employees. Ava received a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work and Health Care from the University of Houston. She’s a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a trained Executive Leader for hospice through the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). She is also a volunteer and board member of the Case Management Society of America. Ava also volunteers with the P.E.O. Sisterhood as the State Educational Loan Fund Chairman for Oklahoma, assisting women in furthering their educational goals. Ava’s an avid supporter of animal rescue and is the Foster Coordinator and a board member of Great Plains Mastiff Rescue.

Because every moment counts...

Grace Hospice helps you embrace every moment. We provide expert medical care and counseling services to our patients including: � Nursing services 24 hours/7 days a week � Medications related to the terminal illness � Pain and symptom management � Emotional, spiritual and bereavement counseling � Family support services for friends and family Grace Hospice serves all of Northeastern Oklahoma. Please call 918-744-7223 to learn how we can help you and your family.

Phone (918) 744-7223 • Toll Free (800) 659-0307 www.gracehospice.com Not affiliated with Grace Living Centers.

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baptist village

Worry-Free Living? That’s the Patio Home Lifestyle

ou look around the yard and sigh at the tall grass that has to be mowed once again. On top of that, the kitchen sink won’t stop dripping. You’ve also been trying to go on a vacation, but your mortgage payments just make it unaffordable. Now imagine if you didn’t have to worry about mowing the lawn ever again. Someone else always fixing that drippy faucet. Having ample resources to take that needed vacation. For patio home residents at Baptist Village, that is the worry-free lifestyle. Baptist Village of Broken Arrow and Owasso have beautiful, new patio home communities that are guaranteed to provide everything you could possibly want and more. A variety of floorplans are available, including one or twobedroom homes with one or two-car garages, front terraces and patios. Homes range from just over 1,000 square feet to more than 1,600 square feet, and all are handsomely appointed. Maintenance issues are a thing of the past – it’s taken care of for you. Affordability? Consider this. Except for a significantly inexpensive monthly 28

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service fee of around $200, an electric and water bill, everything else is provided. That hefty mortgage payment is gone. Just think of how much money you’ll save to take that dream vacation! Not only that, but living at Eagle Ridge (Broken Arrow) or Bradford Park (Owasso) has numerous other benefits. For one, they are full of like-minded, caring people who care about each

other and enjoy fellowshipping together. The cities and locations, too, are outstanding. Bradford Park enjoys the beauty of a stocked 3-acre lake, complete with walking trails, benches and gazebos. Eagle Ridge sits on a hillside overlooking Tulsa and Broken Arrow and is close to shopping, a brand-new hospital and multiple restaurants. You also have access to other amenities on campus, such as delicious meals, a beauty or barber shop, and multiple life enrichment events throughout the week. Want extra assistance around the house? Entrusted Hearts, Baptist Village’s home health agency, offers personalized services in both areas at any time for an additional cost. And should you need additional services later in life, such as

assistance in living, both campuses offer this. You’ll never have to pay a buy-in fee – you only pay for services you want, when you want them. So roll the lawnmower back into the garage. Put the screwdriver back into the tool bag. Make those travel reservations. Stop stressing and start living worry-free today! Want to know more about patio home living? Visit baptistvillage. org or call to arrange a tour at 918-355-0099 at Broken Arrow or in Owasso at 918-272-2281.

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celebrate recovery

Need Victory in Your Life? BY BLYTHE FOWLER Character defects are imperfections in the attributes that distinguish who we are as individuals. A defect is lacking something that is necessary for wholeness and we know as believers in Jesus Christ that wholeness is found in Him; not in possessions, position or power – wholeness is found in Christ alone. Since God’s plan for each of us is to be conformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ, Principle 5 is where we become ready for transformation to begin. Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. (Mat 5:6)

raveling the road to recovery we must pass several mile markers represented by biblical principles such as conviction, confession, surrender and conversion. In my experience with Celebrate Recovery (CR), the rubber meets the road in Principle 5, “Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.” This tenet brings to light the full commitment of self – surrender and conversion – that is necessary to embody the Faith to change. However, reaching this landmark is only possible should we drive through a long stretch of road covered by Principle 4 – Confession. This stretch of road extends for what seems an indefinite length as we take inventory of our baggage stuffed with all the significant experiences in our lives – good and bad. We must identify the pieces we own and those that belong to others; examine the effects of these on our lives, and then share the inventory with God and someone we trust. This leg of the journey is rough and emotionally exhausting to navigate. Yet, this leg reveals to us common threads and vital details that we will serve us in our complete journey. It is in the next stretch of road – representing Principle 5 – that we may acquire the best way to manage said knowledge. Ok, ok – enough of this road trip analogy used to bring one up to speed on the road to recovery and the application of Principle 5. The common threads uncovered in our inventory are the character defects that spark sin in our lives. 30

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This is Jesus’ specific teaching from the Beatitudes that is paired with Principle 5. The Latin word for ‘really happy’ is ‘beatus’ and people usually think of life as happy when there are no difficulties. The happiness Jesus teaches of in the Beatitudes is a present and abiding joy that cannot be surpassed because God is the provider. Practicing Principle 5 and desiring to obey God completely will bring difficult situations, but these challenges will not diminish the happiness that comes from God – even in the most difficult moments, because He is satisfier of the desire to obey; His joy sustains and brings victory to our struggles against character defects. The Celebrate Recovery curriculum is known for the use of acrostics to distill the program’s lessons. The following is an acrostic for VICTORY: V = Voluntarily submit I = Identify character defects C = Change your mind T = Turn over character defects O = One day at a time R = Recovery is a process Y = You must choose to change Voluntarily submitting is making a conscious choice to yield to authority. When we chose to turn our lives over to God’s will in Principle 3, we made the decision to follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior – as Lord, He is the Higher Power and Supreme Authority. Identifying our character defects through the inventory process helps us determine which ones are causing the most pain and disruption in our lives and ought to be given to God first for removal. These are the specific wrongs and shortcomings that

fuel sin in our lives and they are to be clearly identified. Change will come over us as God transforms us through the renewing of our minds. God’s interest goes far beyond changing our behavior – He wants to change the way we think and make us new from the inside… “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Prov 23:7. Turning our character defects over to Jesus Christ is the only way to perfect them. We simply cannot perfect or correct through our willpower or self-will. There is only one way to make these shortcomings whole and that is through Jesus Christ. One day at a time is how recovery happens. Life by the yard is hard; life by the inch is a cinch. This old cliché says what Jesus says best, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.” Mat 6:34 You and only you can make the decision to change. You voluntarily submit and thereby become ready for God to have His way. As stated previously, I believe it is Principle 5 that positions us for the greatest surge of growth and adventure on the road

to recovery. We can spend time by listening to God’s Word through study of scripture and sermons, or we can listen to His Word spoken to our hearts which calls us to draw closer to Him. When we hear these Words, we can choose to be a doer and take action on the plans God has laid before us or we can languish in life and settle for far less than what God has purposed for us. The narrow road is not easy but it is passable and when we humble ourselves before the Lord, doing as He asks, we are assured He will lift us, transform us and brings us to Victory in Jesus Christ. With over 32 CR ministries in northeastern Oklahoma, you can find one today and get on the road to recovery right now. Visit http://www.celebraterecovery.com/cr-groups/grouplocator

The Skit Guys – Coming to Celebrate Recovery! 5:30 Friday, September 6th, Park Plaza Church of Christ, 51st just West of Sheridan

here are real, completely honest and are ready to welcome you no matter how “un-loveable” you might think you are. CR “works if you work it” and the group at Park Plaza are living examples that life can be glorious! After dinner, you will see how the CR meetings are conducted and then you will be absolutely entertained and impacted by The Skit Guys. Prepare to have a really good time!

ave you ever thought about checking out Celebrate Recovery? Here is an extra-fun way to try out a meeting. Those hilarious, yet profound Skit Guys will be the “lesson” for the Celebrate Recovery meeting held at Park Plaza Church of Christ on Friday night, September 6th. Come early and enjoy dinner while you meet some amazing people who have learned to look way beyond the surface in dealing with each other’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. People

About the Skit Guys: Tommy Woodard and Eddie James are The Skit Guys. They have been best friends since high school. Think of them as the wise guys in class who had everyone laughing and managed to make a career out of it. They’ve been teaching God’s word using comedy, drama and whatever category talking action figures fit into for over twenty years. Visit their website at www.skitguys.com to catch a glimpse of some of their work. About Celebrate Recovery: Celebrate Recovery is a ministry that celebrates God’s healing power in our lives through the “8 Recovery Principles and 12 Steps.” By working and applying these Biblical principles, you will begin to grow spiritually. You really can become free from addictive, compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors. This freedom creates peace, serenity, joy and most importantly, a stronger personal relationship with God and others. For more information about Celebrate Recovery at Park Plaza, visit www.parkplaza.org. A UGUST 2013 Communitys p ir itmagaz ine.com

bluegrass & chili festival

Sizzlin’ September Entertainment The festival opens at 4:00p with the Festival Market, concerts begin at 6:00p on Thursday & Friday. Saturday festivities from 11:00a-11:00p. For additional Festival information and applications contact: Bluegrass & Chili Festival, Claremore Chamber at 419 W. Will Rogers, Claremore, OK 74017. Hotel information, festival updates and a complete list of festival partners at www.claremore.org or 918-3412818. No admission fee. On-site parking $10 per car load.

SANCTUS REAL WILL BE THERE!

he 34th Annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival is coming to Claremore on September 5, 6 & 7, three of the most family-filled days of the year. Held on the grounds of the Claremore Expo Center, the weekend festivities will include three stages of national and regional entertainment, plus lots of fun and food! Thursday night line-up includes the Quebe Sisters Band, The Lonesome River Band with Sammy Shelor AND Sanctus Real, a fan-favorite, contemporary Christian band. Friday’s line-up includes IIIrd Tyme Out, Brooke & Darin Aldridge Band, Lonesome Road and emerging artists Dave Adkins & Republik Steele. Saturday headliners include Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and the king of newgrass, The Sam Bush Band . In addition to the free concerts, other musical entertainment highlights include: The “Junior Showcase” designed to give talented youth 21-and-under stage exposure and experience in a non-competitive showcase. “The Best Country In The City Vocalist Competition invites vocalists of any age to participate, applications are now available. Winner will be awarded a cash prize. Dancers will “kick up their heels” during the festivities. You also can’t miss The Festival Market, the children’s Kiddie Korral, The Open Car Show, Antique Tractor Pull and of course the Mid-America Regional Chili Cook-off and Salsa Competition. Call for entry information. 32

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Festival major sponsors: City of Claremore, RCB Bank, Pelco Structural, Will Rogers Downs, Cherokee Casino, Big Country 99.5, KOTV The News on 6, BancFirst and Claremore Chamber of Commerce.

marriages that last

The Secret Is Out

ave you ever kept a secret? Maybe a friend asked you not to share after disclosing something personal. Some secrets are certainly easier to keep than others. Secrets that presumably have no bearing on one’s health or stability are more easily kept than say those that could affect oneself. Have you ever noticed the internal struggle that you feel if it’s a secret that you know should be disclosed but because of your sense or loyalty you fight to keep it in? Secrets within a marriage tend to cause problems. I’m sure that most people do not feel that they are keeping any secrets from their spouse, but I encourage you to take a closer look and see if you are as open as you think. The majority of people today do not trust, and understandably so. We’ve all been hurt by opening up and sharing our heart with someone just to have it rejected in one way or another. One would think in a marital relationship, we need not worry about being rejected or hurt by our loved one. All too often, we experience negative interactions from those closest to us, increasing our likelihood to build protective walls around our heart. Trust (besides Christ, which is a given) is the very foundation of any successful marriage. You can have love, but if you don’t trust each other the relationship will be shallow at best. Trust is the building block that all other aspects of a relationship are built

upon. When our ability to trust each other is questioned, secrets begin to undermine the relationship. By the time a couple reaches my office, trust has taken a blow and both individuals are questioning their ability to retrieve it. The stories from so many tend to be the same. The endings will vary, but the beginnings are all too familiar. The marriage starts out great. Two people in love and readily ready to be open and share thoughts, ideas, dreams, likes, dislikes and fears. Inevitably, it’s not too long before someone misinterprets or responds inappropriately to something that was said. Many times this action is completely innocent and unassuming to both individuals, but little did they know a seed of doubt was planted. No one decides to get a divorce just out of the clear blue. Falling apart is a slow process and one that most of us do recognize happening. From that first hurtful word or statement that you heard from your spouse you felt your heart hurt. Instinctually, we take steps to protect ourselves and deal with the pain. Masking the pain can take shape in countless ways, but for the couples who choose to deal with it and not allow the seed of secret to grow are the couples who enjoy more depth in their relationship. Once you begin to keep your feelings of hurt in, it becomes much hard to express those feelings as continued hurt is piled on. The deadliest secrets kept are those that describe your thoughts and feelings. When an individual does not feel safe to share their heart because trust has been broken, they begin to slowly die from the inside out. The emotional walls continue to grow, making sure that no one will penetrate. These walls which may appear to protect are the very same walls that imprison ones heart. As a couple, commit to being open and honest with your thoughts and feelings. Agree not to keep secrets that can build a wall of distrust between you. Take 10 minutes a day and give yourself a marital check-up asking each other how you’re feeling and if there is anything that needs to be discussed. When you feel the wall of protection go up, take steps to bring it back down. If your spouse is not currently safe to be vulnerable with, then find a trusted confidant and start the process of finding your voice.

Dr. Kevin Nieman, LMFT Cornerstone Christian Counseling Services Cornerstone Christian Counseling Services is proud to announce that we are now in our newly remodeled offices. We are also pleased to announce that our new website www.cornerstoneoftulsa.com is active. We are excited about bringing hope and healing to those hurting in our community, blending our Christian beliefs with our professionalism.

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LOSE YOUR

QUIT

BY DANNY C AHILL

Community Spirit is excited to have Danny Cahill as one of our featured, monthly writers. Whether you wrestle with your weight or not, you will enjoy Danny’s motivating column. We all cheered Danny on when he was on The Biggest Loser. Now, he continues to gain our applause while he shares his testimony with others. Danny loves the Lord and is not shy about telling people about Him. It is a blessing to the magazine to have his monthly article. Be sure to watch for Danny’s article each month.

EASY does it! H ave you ever wondered how life got so complicated? When I was young, things seemed easier. All I had to do was worry about getting my homework done, getting to football practice on time, and the girl I was dating at the time. (Alright, so the girl was a little complicated!) Have you ever thought, “Boy, life was so much simpler then, but now it’s so doggone complicated!” Well, I agree. I speak worldwide about achieving goals, success, and living your dreams – not because I know about everything, but I do know a lot about those three things. During my season of The Biggest Loser, I lost more percentage of body weight than any other contestant in the history of NBC’s Biggest Loser. And I owe much of it to simplifying my plan. On the Biggest Loser ranch, life once again became simple. I woke up and began my day which consisted of 3 things: keep my diet on track, get the work or the exercise in, and stay

on the Biggest Loser Ranch. While I was there I had no phone calls, bills, television, internet, email, and other daily distractions we all have to deal with. My focus was completely on those three things: Diet, Exercise, and staying there. It’s funny in life how we tend to make things more complicated than we need to. The way to stay there was to lose enough weight to keep me above the yellow line. When my teammates created an alliance & threatened to vote me off, I had to get immunity. If I did that, they couldn’t vote me off. Losing the weight was the key and doing the work was the most important part, so I kept my head down and worked harder than ever! Steps 1 & 2 were that simple. But oh the diet! So many people ask me, “What did you eat on the ranch? What was the diet like?” I’m not going to go into details here, but I will tell you it was simple. I knew what foods to eat, what foods not to eat, how to

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prepare them and how much to eat! But the thing that made me so successful was keeping it simple. A healthy diet doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to work. In fact, I ate many of the same foods prepared slightly different while I was on the show! I knew that EASY does it! Complicated is just that: complicated! Whatever you do, look for the simple way to do it. Sometimes too many details just get in the way of what we really want – success. PURCHASE DANNY’S NEW BOOK AT THEDANNYCAHILL.COM

B Y D en i ece ads i t

About Deniece Deniece has a passion to minister to women. You are going to grow to love her and the way she tells stories, always getting to the real heart of the matter.

Time to Pray

hat could be more gorgeous than a late spring outdoor wedding, with a blanket of lush green grass on the ground, plenty of shade trees, and a small stream running in the background? The wedding pictures were beautiful! However, as I glanced through the photographs, one made me somewhat curious. At one point (in the middle of the ceremony) all of the guest chairs were empty and everyone was gathered around the bride and groom. As it turns out, the story was as interesting as the photograph. The bride had asked one of her uncles to pray over them during the ceremony. Later, realizing she would have more than one uncle there, and not wanting to offend any of them by this, she had the minister say to the guests, “If anyone

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would like to come and pray over the couple as they get married, please come up now”, thinking this particular uncle would come forward and pray over them. No one would be offended and the couple would have the prayer they so desperately craved. What they didn’t expect was for everyone attending the wedding to come forward and pray for them! On another occasion I was at a local ice cream shop, when I saw a man with two small boys come in to get a treat. He asked the older of the two boys (probably about five years old) if he would like to pray before they ate their ice cream. The boy said yes, and his prayer was quite simple: “Thank you, Jesus, for this ice cream cone store! Amen!”

I am touched by both of these stories, and by the power of prayer. In the first one, it is so refreshing to see an entire group of family and friends who think enough of a young couple to pray over them, and I have no doubt that prayer will continue. What strength God will give them because of so many praying for their success! The second incident brought a smile to my face. We can always trust children to go straight to the issue on their mind, and in this case, it was an ice cream cone. I am diligent about asking God for help with the big decisions in my life, and I consistently thank Him for the big things He provides. But what about the little things…the ones we sometimes take for granted? If I am completely honest, I don’t always stop and ask for God’s guidance on the things I think I can handle myself.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2 NIV)

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. (James 5:13 NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6 NIV) Is it really that important that I pray about everything, and take time to thank Him for everything? Based on the amount of God’s Word devoted to discussions about prayer and thanksgiving, it seems to be very important. So while I take time to offer up prayers for those who are suffering, or prayers for those beginning a new adventurous life together, or asking His direction during times of transition, let me also take time to thank God for ice cream cones… and sunshine… and friends…and let me never take His daily blessings for granted!

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tulsa health department

Will Your Baby Be Tomorrow’s Smoker?

t seems crazy doesn’t it? Can you possibly imagine your cute, baby-powered bundle of joy someday sucking down pack after pack of cigarettes? But the reality is that for today’s tobacco companies to survive, they must convince your baby and millions of others that smoking is still cool. It is a battle they feel they must win and if history is any indication, it will be an easy sale, no matter the deadly consequences.

Consider the latest statistics… •

Nearly 20 percent (18.1%) of today’s high school boys have smoked in the last month. Over sixteen percent of girls fall into the same circle. Every day, some 3500 kids will light up for the first time and nearly a 1000 of them will continue the habit. Kids will consume 800 million packs of cigarettes this year, producing roughly $2.0 billion per year in sales revenue for the tobacco companies. For some kids, 12.8 percent of males and 2.2 percent of females smokeless tobacco is the attraction.

• •

•

Other kids, over 50 percent of children between 3-19, smoke without meaning to, as they are exposed to secondhand smoke. All of this happens in a society where adults seem to be slowly having their own health concerns with smoking. Adult rates are “down” to 19 percent nationally [Men: 21.6% Women: 16.5%] and over 75 percent of workplaces now have smokefree policies.

The Power of Advertising Your baby is or will be hit by a barrage of advertising. In fact, the tobacco industry currently is spending 8.5 billion annually or $23+ million each and every day. And research studies have found that kids are three times as sensitive to tobacco advertising than adults and are more likely to be influenced to smoke by cigarette marketing than by peer pressure. Experts estimate that a third of underage experimentation with smoking is directly attributable to tobacco company advertising and promotion. It is a battle the politicians have proven not to want to fight and it is obvious why. The tobacco industry contributes over 2 billion dollars per year to federal candidates, political parties and PACS. And, in 2010 alone, they invested 16.6 million in lobbying Congress. Tobacco companies also spend enormous amounts to influence state and local politics; and, when threatened by the federal McCain tobacco control bill in 1998, they spent more 38

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than $125 million in direct and grassroots lobbying to defeat it. Since 1998, Altria (Philip Morris) has spent more on lobbying Congress than almost any other business.

Our rates, right here in conservative Oklahoma, are shocking… High school students who smoke: 17.9% (37,200) Male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco 18.4% (females use in high school students who smoke 17.9% (37,200) Male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco 18.4% (females use much lower) Kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year 4,400 Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home 216,000 Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year 9.4 million Adults in Oklahoma who smoke 26.1% (745,200) Kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year 4,400 Kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home 216,000 Packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year 9.4 million Adults in Oklahoma who smoke

Tobacco Industry Influence in Oklahoma Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures nationwide $8.5 billion Estimated portion spent for Oklahoma marketing each year $160.3 million So, how will you protect your child? How will you convince him or her not to believe the ads? Here is a place to gather some information. Begin now to teach your son or daughter the truth. There is nothing cool about smoking.

Helpful websites: www.tobaccofreekids.org www.okswat.com Or, for more information, call Nedal Nofal, CX Tobacco Prevention & Control Coordinator/SWAT at the Tulsa Health Department, at (918) 595-4551 or email him at nnofal@tulsa-health.org. ALL STATISTICS COURTESY OF THE TULSA HEALTH DEPARTMENT, TULSA-HEALTH.ORG

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