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January/February 2016
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calendar January
Interstate Fellowship Meeting January 11, 2016 Faith Fellowship Church Collinsville, OK Rev. Kelvin Limbocker
February
Interstate Fellowship Meeting TBA
March independentassemblies.org
Interstate Fellowship Meeting March 14, 2016 Life Community Church Ada, OK Rev. Mickey Keith
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JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2016
CONTENTS
f 2 Calendar 4 From the Nightclub to the Pulpit 6 The Poor Among Us 8 Get on the Same Page 10 Celebrating 25 Years 11 Board Members
Amendment to Independent Assemblies Bylaws at the Biennial Meeting of July 22, 2015 STATEMENT ON MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. BOARD MEMBER VOTING The membership voted to approve Ken Anderson, Robert Johnson and Jerry Edmon to another four year term. Robert was also returned to the office of World Missions Director.
Independent Assemblies PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 279-0278 www.independentassemblies.org Produced by Layers Media, Inc. www.layersmedia.com connection • 3
From the Nightclub to the Pulpit by: Mindy Wood
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In a smoke filled nightclub Jerry Lemley was taking a break before his band’s next set. He was a business owner, drummer, and everything seemed to be just fine until a woman walked up to him with a simple message that changed his life forever. “She put her hand on my shoulder and pointed to me, ‘God loves you.’ When she said that, I lost it. The other guys started laughing; they thought it was a joke.” Shaken, he went back to play the drums when the band took the stage. He earnestly prayed, “Lord if you’re real, I want to know you.” That’s the day Lemley said he got saved and the beginning of the rest of his life. He and his wife, Deania, started attending an Assembly of God church. On fire with a passion for Christ, he began witnessing in nightclubs and daily in business. The church which had 33 members
swelled to 178 in a year. When God instructed them to move to Sulphur, Oklahoma which had been a vacation destination for their family, Lemley boldly sold his business and Deania resigned her teaching position. They started a Bible study on Thursday nights. He thought God would allow him to advertise but he said the Lord told him he would bring the people to him. Without any soliciting, that first Thursday people showed up. “We didn’t know anybody,” said Lemley. “We lived in a wooded area with a long driveway where there weren’t many homes. A young man came to the door and he said, ‘Can you tell me how to get saved?’” Stunned and filled with faith, more and more people came. People experienced dramatic healing, deliverance and salvation week after week. “We would read scriptures and then put a chair in the middle and ask anyone if they needed prayer,” he said. “Everyone got healed and the fame spread out over southern Oklahoma in a matter of two months. We couldn’t get all the people in our home. We did that for two years.” Skeptical pastors, bitter church drop outs, the unsaved and the broken came to see what God was doing. Finally they moved into a building but Lemley said he couldn’t understand why God hadn’t sent them a pastor. He knew God told him to start a church, but Lemley didn’t believe he was supposed to be the guy behind the pulpit. He had no Bible education, no idea how to preach a sermon, and no idea how to run a church. “We kept praying for a pastor, I would speak three to five minutes because that’s all I knew to say. It took six weeks to find God wanted me to be the pastor.” Lemley said he was so ignorant about pastoring, he assumed if a man opened his mouth God would put the words in his mouth as he spoke. Maybe God did. “The first year 367 people got born again. If you were five minutes late, you missed the sermon and would be in on the altar call.”
“She put her hand on my shoulder and pointed to me, ‘God loves you.’ When she said that, I lost it. The other guys started laughing; they thought it was a joke.” As Lemley devoted himself to prayer and reading Scripture, he trusted God and began to preach sermons. The new converts and new pastor grew together the first three years and today the church runs almost 300 in attendance. The warm, closeness of home meetings lingers today in their meetings and mission. “We’re a family church. We do it by scripture and the main thing is fellowship,” he said. “We have lake meetings, BBQ’s, and do things like a family. When we have new couples or new people, we try to match them up with someone who can take them out to lunch or coffee and make them feel welcome.” Evangelism is still a vital part of their church. Their son, Craig Lemley is a body builder who ministers with Next Level Ministries, an outreach similar to the Power Team. Jerry and Denia’s daughter Cami Cantu and her husband Manny are youth administrators and associate pastors. Cami and Deania are conference speakers. Faith Center Church is at a fifth location since the first building and they are looking for another property to allow for growth. Visit faithcenterchurch.net for more information. connection • 5
THE POOR AMONG US by: Mindy Wood
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Dwayne and Christine Shippey knew that God called them to ministry and they assumed that meant one day they would be senior pastors of a church. God had other plans. Their church would have no steeple and no pulpit, but it would be a fruitful harvest of souls as large as any mega church ministry. Covenant with Christ International was formed in 2007 out of their love for the broken hearted and the poor. It all started when Christine’s pastor asked her to join the church prison ministry. “I’d always had a heart for the underdog,” she said, “for helping people no one else wanted to help. I had faith God could do things no one believed He could. From that point on, I knew I needed to be involved in those types of ministries.” CCI meets the needs of people who are just out of prison, homeless, the “working poor,” without discrimination toward the addicted or mentally ill. No matter how bad it is, no matter how low these souls feel they’ve sank, CCI starts with their practical needs and their need for a Savior. By God’s provision the Shippeys purchased a property to set up a resell shop, Covenant Resell, to fund the organization. People donate goods and clothing to the store, just as people do for Goodwill or the Salvation Army stores. Covenant Resell often gives items out of the store to those who can’t afford to buy. “If you’re homeless and you need a coat, we’re giving you a coat. We give away thousands of dollars in goods,” she said. “We help them transition from homeless to being in homes.” CCI offers transitional housing for the homeless or those coming out of incarceration. They started with a renovated the chapel to house people and have a two-bedroom home for the men. Their Bible school, Covenant with Christ School of Ministry is a 72-hour credit diploma program equivalent to an associate’s degree in Biblical studies. The store is a hub for much of the ministry. They often hire the homeless and recently released felons to work the store. “We have eight employees, most of them are graduates from the Bible school. We take a lot of people out prison, get them a job, a house, life skills and job training. That’s Covenant Recovery. We have a two-bedroom house for the
men and we do it by application. We can get them jobs or they can volunteer for room and board. We help them every way we can,” said Christine. Regardless of the need, Christine said they don’t turn anyone away. A lot of food banks and shelters impose restrictions on who they help. “If you don’t’ have an address or proof address, you don’t get food (from these organizations). We don’t care where they came from. We’re going to take care of their need. We’re called to do what Christ told us in Matthew 25. We love them right where they are.” They expect to open a free medical clinic next year. The clinic is needed in an area where there is no hospital nearby and many are without insurance. “It’s a 5,000 square foot complex with two suites. So one side we opened a community center and the other side will be a free medical clinic. We should be open in six months.” CCI is also dedicated to foreign missions. They are partners with Kids Hope Ministries in the Philippines and completed a mission trip to Uganda last year. They also offer training to churches who want to be Jesus’ hands and feet to the poor in their communities. The Shippeys enjoy ministry partners who donate and volunteer their time in the shop and various ministries. As the needs and their efforts expand, CCI is always in need of financial donations. You can donate at covenantwithchrist. org.
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Get on the Same Page by: David Staal
On the day before my wife Becky and I wed, my grandpa asked if I wanted advice about how to have a successful, happy marriage. He and my grandmother had stuck together for many decades until death parted them, so I eagerly listened. “Okay, Grandpa,” I said, “what’s the second thing?” With a wink and a chuckle he said, “Always go with her opinion.”
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christianitytoday.com
Wonderful advice for newlyweds, old-weds, and leaders. Set marriage aside for a moment and consider organizational dynamics. Whether in a church setting, a parachurch group, a nonprofit team, or a business, the challenge to align conflicting opinions runs universal. Just as the benefits of such alignment shine obvious. Or do they? Alignment turns anemic when a pastor and a ministry director share different visions for the future, or when a president and vice president pursue contrasting priorities, or when a sales director and customer support director pursue turf defense above all else. No matter the organizational type, relationships strain and work turns strange; healthy communication turns ill, decisions vary depending on who makes them, and inconsistency cause the team to wobble or splinter. When alignment exists, though, a team becomes successful and accomplishes far more than it could ever imagine. Yes, a happy situation. Does anyone ever choose to not align? Indirectly and without knowing it, yes. Often terminology softens the reality: “We’re just not on the same page.” A leader’s ears should perk if anyone says that in his or her organization. Why? Because in the not-far-offfuture, healthy communication will turn ill, decisions will vary depending on who makes them, and the team will wobble or splinter.
People don’t intentionally desire these dire outcomes, yet too many passively accept “not on the same page” as an unfortunate reality. Fail to address it, and it will spread like a weed. Treatment can start immediately when you know what to look for:
1. Not on same page… on completely different pages. Call this what it is to all involved and then name the two pages. Fast. One page must go away, there’s no getting around it. To stay on separate pages is to prioritize self over team, over mission, or over both. This is going to hurt and may feel like a scrape to anyone thin-skinned, but if no new and common page emerges, then the top leader’s page wins. Can’t agree with the fallback position that leans on authority? That’s called mutiny, a coup, or “just cause” for the HR-minded. 2. Not on same page… sort of. This happens when two perspectives have slight but noticeable differences, with enough wiggle room to deny an issue exists. Take the same action as #1, only prepare to apply firm pressure to get all involved below the surface to see reality. 3. Not on same page… yet. This is a common occurrence that deserves no problematic indictment. Instead, these episodes only need direct communication to achieve alignment. Let others know the “yet” reality and the temporary status for the situation. This happens frequently and doesn’t cause major issues unless left unresolved. 4. Not on same page… not on any page. Alignment of leadership remains impossible if one person will not commit to try. Or avoids discussing that an issue exists. Or, worse yet, talks about issues from all angles while never truly landing on a perspective, recommendation, or commitment. Leaders who persistently ask questions but never provide solutions or their support for others’ solutions—that prefer ambiguity to specificity—prove frustrating and show incompetence. A leader who avoids showing confident support or an ability to commit is not a leader. A team or organization serves its mission well by sifting through options, in appropriate measure, to arrive at the best possible direction forward. And after finding that direction, let it appear on one, and only one, page for all to see.
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C E L E B R A T I N G
25 YEARS by: Mindy Wood
Danny and Shirley Wright celebrate 25 years in ministry at Church of Living Waters in Lovington, New Mexico. In the dry, dusty, and treacherous home of the cowboy lands, the Lord made “streams in the desert” for a thriving ministry. In the late 70’s Danny Wright was a hippie high on the drug life. When his wife, Shirley, promised her father she’d go to church, Danny urged her to keep her word. She got saved, then their three girls and finally Danny decided to attend. “The Holy Ghost crawled all over me. I didn’t accept him then, but I couldn’t do anything anymore without feeling guilty,” he laughed. “I went back and got saved. I’ve been at it since 1977.” After Danny locked himself away from all distractions, he said God urged them to start a ministry. The Lord promised Shirley out of Isaiah 35 that their ministry would be like the wilderness that blossoms, where the desert and the parched land will be glad. The started Church of Living Waters with just $400. Their first offering was $529. Most of that went for the church next months’ rent and the rest paid for the first two weeks rent for an efficiency apartment. All these years later, God has shown his faithfulness and provided for them and their ministry. The Wrights keep their evangelism flexible, supporting both foreign and local missions. This year their church reached out to the Latino community for a Spanish revival. They invited area Spanish churches, their pastors and featured a speaker from Barcelona, Spain. People were healed, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit. “A lot of our people are Spanish,” said Shirely. “We don’t speak Spanish but we had different churches come in different nights and interpreted.”
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Their focus is strongly on evangelism, to train up and send out pastors. One of their trainees still attends Church of Living Waters while pastoring a predominantly black church in their town. “He starts at 8 a.m. and comes back and joins our fellowship.” Their church is very multicultural including white, black, Latino, and Native American. They also host a night of praise and worship music for the entire community every year and an annual women’s conference. Shirley continues to participate in the Walk to Emmaus since she began in 1996, a ministry that reaches people stuck in substance abuse, broken relationships, and other life altering problems. Their church supports IA members, Mike and Ruth Matthews work in Mexico, providing Christmas and back to school supplies during the year. Their focus is to further the kingdom of God one soul at a time, one ministry at a time. If there’s one word that sums up their ministry to people, Danny said it’s grace. A critical aspect to the saints understanding how to walk with God is learning the gift of grace and ordering our lives according to its holy inner working. “Grace. It’s the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in your life. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He built a boat but without the instruction that he’d ever been saved. Grace and truth came by the Lord Jesus Christ and in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. The word instructs. God sent Him to save you and me and he’s going to do that by instructing us. If we follow His instruction, the grace of God will save us and if we don’t, He won’t.” For more information about Church of the Living Waters, call 575-396-7664.
executiveBOARD Mickey Keith
President PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 310-0222 mickey.keith@gmail.com www.life623.com
Dr. Ted Estes
Vice President PO Box 2248 Claremore, OK 74018 (918) 341-8344 pastorted@lifechangerchurch.com www.lifechangerchurch.com
Ken Anderson
Secretary/Treasurer PO Box 1120 Lexington, OK 73051 (405) 527-6030 kda@valornet.com www.libertygospelok.org
Robert Johnson
Director of World Missions PO Box 978 Blackwell, OK 74631 (580) 363-2734 roj@clarionmissions.org www.clarionmissions.org
Jerry Edmon
Board Member PO Box 862 Elgin, TX 78621 (512) 281-5316 Jedmon1234@aol.com www.fwcelgin.com
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Southeast Oklahoma District Rev. Billy Hunter Antlers, OK (580) 298-2740 Southwest Oklahoma District Rev. Donnie Miller Cyril, OK (580) 464-2224 (580) 512-3657 North Texas District Rev. Marc Jones Denton, TX 75751 (903) 675-6011 Southeast Texas District Rev. Herb Hawthorne Baytown, TX (281) 723-2278 South Central Texas District Rev. Jerry Edmon Elgin, TX (512) 281-5316 Midwest Regional District Rev. Mark Maynard Granite City, IL (618) 931-4106 Arkansas Regional District Rev. Charles Kendrick Alexander, AR (501) 303-0831 Ozark Regional District Rev. Terry Fletcher Aurora, MO (417) 678-2310
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