I'm Starting a Wednesday Morning Communion Service

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Starting Wednesday morning, September 13, I’ll lead a weekly Holy Communion service in the Mason Chapel at Asbury Church, 7:15-7:45 AM. (I promise—cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die promise, Scout’s honor promise—that I will have you on your way out the door no later than 7:45 AM each week.)

I personally really looking forward to this. In a big church it can be hard to make connections with folks. Sunday mornings are tightly-scheduled for me, and I’m not always able to visit with folks the way I’d like; one of the things I like about our 6 PM Thursday service each week is that I feel as if I’m slowly getting to know the regulars. I love that.

So, this brief Wednesday service will be a nice opportunity for me to get to know more folks on a weekly basis. In fact, you’re stuck with me: I’ll be the pastor leading each week, except on the rare occasions when I’m out of town.

 

The Format

  • We’ll begin at 7:15 AM sharp.

  • I’ll lead us in a hymn.

  • I’ll probably end up giving a brief Bible study and talking about the Bible—I just know I won’t be able to help myself!

  • We’ll pray the communion liturgy and share the elements.

  • I’ll dismiss us in prayer.

  • And then we’ll have grab-and-go Chick-fil-A biscuits available on the way out.

  • You’ll be in your cars by 7:45 AM.

 

Who Can Attend?

This service is for anyone who wants to be there. Come every week, come once a year—doesn’t matter. I’d love to see kids and families there, if at all possible. (I know mornings can be difficult for families, so no pressure.) Stop by on the way to work, or if you’re retired, use this as a good excuse to get up and get your Wednesday going. And, of course, you don’t have to be an Asburian to attend—bring friends.

 

The Reason This Matters

Life is hard at times, and it’s hard to remain faithful. So, we all need to structure our lives around the Truth:

  • Jesus is Risen!

  • Bad news is temporary!

  • We have so many reasons for gratitude!

  • Etc.

The Lord strengthens his people through Holy Communion. Just like going to the gym regularly, if you show up consistently on Wednesday mornings, God will strengthen your spirit and help you persevere with joy.

Let’s GO.

 

P.S. Live out of town? First of all, go ahead and move to Tulsa. We’d love to have you. If that can’t happen, find yourself some kind of midweek service or encouragement in your city so that you don’t feel as if you have to walk alone.

P.P.S. See you on 9/13.

 
 

Matthew's Gospel and Some Fall Dates

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Gospel of Matthew Reading Plan begins 8/21

Our next Bible reading plan at Asbury will be through the Gospel of Matthew; we begin Monday, August 21 and will conclude the Friday before Christmas.

Like the rest of the Bible, Matthew’s Gospel can only be understood through repeated, attentive reading. Accordingly, I’ve parceled out the readings at a slow pace; each particular day’s passage is short (less than 5 minutes!) and very manageable and it is my hope therefore that you’ll have time to go back and re-read a previous day or days and see how it all connects. (The readings are assigned on weekdays only—all the more reason to take your time and read and re-read on the weekends.)

 

The Shape of Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew can best be understood as being made up of three main sections:

Part 1 – Preparation for Jesus the Messiah [1:1-4:16];
Part 2 – Proclamation of Jesus the Messiah to Israel [4:17-16:20];
Part 3 – Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah [16:21-28:20].

Our reading plan will be divided up into three books; in Part 1 we will read about both the origins of Jesus—his genealogy and his infancy—and the events that lead up to the launch of his public ministry—the ministry of John the Baptism and the baptism and temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Part 1 begins on Monday, August 21. Part 2 begins on Monday, September 11; Part 3 on Monday, October 30.

[I’m indebted to David Bauer for this insight about the shape of Matthew, and recommend his book, The Gospel of the Son of God: An Introduction to Matthew.]

 

How to Get a Matthew Book (Pictured Above)

Asburians can pick up Matthew books all week, and we will be have them for pickup next Sunday, too.

Live out of town but want a book?

Email Sandie Tomlinson ASAP and she’ll mail you however many copies you want. If you live in Dallas, please let Sandie know—we’ll arrange a central pick-up spot in the M Streets (East Dallas) for East Dallas folks.

(Want a soft-copy? Here’s the pdf of Matthew Part 1.)

 
 

My Fall Schedule

Though I’m preaching all services this coming weekend, on Friday and Saturday my wife and I will be attending The Middle School Fall Retreat at New Life Ranch—looking forward to getting to know our kids better. It’s a great event—last year I was really impressed with our Student Ministry staff and leadership. Will be a fun weekend, but I’ll be back at church Sunday morning, because:

 

I start a new series on the Gospel of Matthew next Sunday, August 20—The Temptation of Jesus. (Our next series will begin in September on The Sermon on the Mount.) This is gonna be fun….

 

Our first (of 4) Churchwide Bible Studies on Matthew will be Wednesday, 8/30, 6:30-8:00 PM. If you live in Tulsa, I’m going to stick my neck out and say that these Bible studies are DO NOT MISS events. The Lord is doing something exciting at Asbury, and the Bible studies we’ve had over the past year on Genesis and Revelation were electric. Please do whatever you can to be present.

If you live out of town, go ahead and move to Tulsa. If that won’t work, then join us on the livestream!

The other remaining Bible studies will be:

  • September 13

  • October 11

  • November 8

 
 

I’m teaching The Daniel Project on Friday-Saturday, September 8-9. It’s a weekend seminar in which we address the FAQs of the faith. Because the Daniel Project is really tiring, I’ve learned that I need a guest preacher on those weekends. So…

 

Sunday, September 10 is World Missions Sunday at Asbury. I’ll be at all 3 services that day, but our guest preacher will be from Voice of the Martyrs. VOM is dedicated to speaking up for the persecuted church around the world, and the things that we’ll hear that day will make your hair stand up and your heart beat fast. That day, we’ll be encouraging folks to sign up for an international mission trip, so go ahead and get your passport application in now.

 
 
 

The last Sunday in October (10/29) is Vision Sunday at Asbury. We’re trying something new, which I’m really looking forward to. Here’s what you need to know.

  • One service 10 AM only on 10/29;

  • The service will be held in the UMAC across the street from Asbury! (The UMAC is the “Union Multipurpose Activity Center,” a 5,600 seat arena that we will be taking over for that weekend.)

  • The purpose of this event is to get our whole church together under one roof and to talk about where we are headed, as well as to HAVE FUN;

  • Afterwards, we’ll do a big party/Fall Festival and trunk-or-treat event on the grounds.

Lots more info to follow—this is just a save-the-date, so mark your calendars now! (I know folks will have lots of questions—trust me when I say that we’ll make sure everyone knows where to go, and that our older members will have an easy time getting in and out that day. Stay tuned.)

 
 
 

Every breath is proof: the Lord’s not done with us yet.

God has more for each of us.

Let’s GO.

 

The Fastest Year

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Yesterday was my one-year anniversary as the Senior Pastor at Asbury Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma; I started my new job at August 1, 2022.

It’s been the fastest year of my life.

 
 

My favorite thing about being a pastor—by far—is knowing people over time. I knew when I left Munger I might never be able to have that same experience again—the great privilege of knowing people over time in such a personal way. At Asbury, I was immediately thrust into a situation in which I had to lead people without being able to know them personally. One of the major lessons I’m learning is how to lead a large group of people, many of whom I have no personal connection with. Asbury is a big church—at least compared to most American churches—and we have a large staff. At Munger, our staff was very small and leadership was always personal for me, both with regard to our staff and even in the congregation, since the congregation grew up over time; though I of course didn’t know everyone, I nevertheless had a personal connection with a sizable percentage of folks on any given Sunday. Here at Asbury, even the staff is too big for me to lead through personal connection. Rather, I’m learning that leadership is about providing clarity, and then asking and inspiring other people to get things done. For someone like me who thrives on personal connection, that could be very difficult, so I’m grateful that folks here have been so eager to follow my lead and run in the direction I’m running.

Right off, I was asked to help us over the finish line of disaffiliation, and it happened! That churchwide vote last August made me nervous—what if folks didn’t trust my leadership? When the total came back that afternoon as overwhelmingly in support of disaffiliation and the direction we were going, I was personally grateful—that result caused me to think, “Maybe this will work!”

The attitude of the Asbury congregation toward what I’m asking us to do and to where I’m asking us to go has been one of eager enthusiasm, particularly in our older members. I’ll never forget asking folks to wear running shoes to church as a sign that we were ready to run, and they did! Or the entire Administration Council showing up to an evening meeting in running shoes to show they were ready to run. Or the Ad Council surprising me in my office on Easter Sunday to pray over me. Or the congregation wearing Hawaiian shirts on Pentecost Sunday, just because I asked them to.

I’m proud of the sermons I’ve preached this past year, starting with that first Sunday. (I do remember one sermon from February in which I was walking around the stage hoping to stumble across the point of my sermon; I’m sorry to say I don’t think I ever found it! My apologies to everyone who had to listen to that one.) I never pulled any punches; in fact, I came to Asbury committed to doing my best to say what’s true, even when I’m afraid. And sometimes, being afraid caused me to double-down and be more bold!

One of the other lessons I’ve been learning is the importance of controlling and capturing one’s thought life. My wife has been on me for not being grateful enough, and she’s right—grateful thoughts don’t come naturally to me. (In fact, I preached a whole sermon in December on the connection between gratitude and happiness—I was definitely preaching to myself that week for sure.) So, looking back over the past year, I want say again just how grateful I am. Grateful to all the kindnesses the Asbury congregation has shown me and my family, and grateful to the Lord who blesses even when we don’t deserve it.

So, here I am beginning Year Two. I came back from summer vacation really excited to be coming back and really fired up at the work ahead—I looked forward all week to seeing folks this past Sunday, which is a great feeling. I’m grateful that the Lord’s not done with me yet, and he’s not done with Asbury yet. And I’m reminded again of that scene from The Hustler (from the blog post I wrote about it one year ago):

Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) and Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) have been playing pool for 25 hours straight, and Fast Eddie has been winning—he’s been wiping the floor with the Fat Man, and is over $11,000 up. There’s a break in the action, and Minnesota Fats goes to the washroom and freshens up. He combs his hair, cleans his fingernails, straightens his tie.

Then he comes out, dries off his hands, slides into his suitjacket—it’s a beautiful three piece suit he’s wearing—fixes his boutonniere on his lapel, and has the steward pour a little bit of talcum powder on his hands.

He looks absolutely magnificent, the picture of masculine elegance, calm, cool, controlled.

And then he looks at Eddie and he says,

“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”

 
 

The past is the past—all that matters is now. It’s time to focus, and time to win.

Alright Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.

Let’s GO.

 
 

Welcome Dr. Kevin Watson to Tulsa!

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The Rev. Dr. Kevin Watson will be moving to Tulsa to become the Director of Academic Growth and Formation at the Tulsa Extension Site for Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as joining our staff at Asbury Church as Scholar-in-Residence. I am PUMPED about this!

 

Partnership Between Asbury Church and Asbury Theological Seminary

One of the things that attracted me to Tulsa was the partnership between Asbury Church (AC) and Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS), and all the potential that implied. ATS has an extension campus site on our property, right across the parking lot in a building we own called The Development Center. (Both AC and ATS are named after the great Methodist missionary Francis Asbury, but they are completely separate entities with different histories—“no relation,” in other words.)

 

Why Pastoral Formation Matters

The Rev. Tom Harrison—my predecessor as senior pastor at Asbury—is a longtime, vocal supporter of ATS. Quoting Maxie Dunham, Tom likes to say:

“As the seminary goes, so goes the pastor;
As the pastor goes, so goes the church;
As the church goes, so goes the world!”
— Maxie Dunham (President Emeritus, Asbury Theological Seminary)

Tom—and Maxie—are exactly right. One of the projects I’m most interested in is learning to evangelize effectively in Negative World, and that project will never amount to anything unless we prepare future pastors to lead and thrive in the Negative World in which we find ourselves. To have an excellent seminary presence right across one’s parking lot? HECK YES. I’m hoping that it will be like the Christian version of living next-door to Xerox Parc in its Silicon Valley heyday—the learning and cross-influence could be huge for the Church’s mission in post-Christian America.

 

The Asbury Church Development Center

One of the last initiatives Tom led at Asbury Church was a multi-million dollar campaign to create and fund The Development Center. The Development Center is an incubator and host of local Christian non-profits—the organizations pay us nominal rent and our hope is that the informal mixing and connections between the organizations create new opportunities for God to work. One of the non-profits housed in The Development Center is the Tulsa extension campus of ATS. Which brings us to Dr. Kevin Watson.

 

Kevin’s New roles in Tulsa

Kevin’s new role is to lead and and grow the ATS presence in Tulsa. At Asbury Church, we’ve brought Kevin onto our staff as Scholar-in-Residence because we want to strengthen the partnership between the seminary and the church. Our hope is that having someone of Kevin’s expertise and stature at ATS will attract young, talented students to Tulsa; because a rising tide lifts all boats, if the seminary wins, we win!

 

The Asbury Church Scholar-in-Residence

As the Scholar-in-Residence at Asbury, Kevin will serve as a mentor and leader for students, staff members, and young adults in our congregation who are interested in the pastoral ministry, and he will help connect ATS-Tulsa students into the worshiping life of our church. Kevin will also preach for me and teach on Sunday mornings and in other settings from time to time.

 

How Kevin Will Help Me out this summer

Starting TOMORROW (with Psalm 73) (UPDATE—I meant to say starting with Psalm 74!), Kevin will be filling in for me and writing daily commentary for most of our our remaining psalms. I’ll still write some from time to time, but I’ve been writing daily commentary since last August, and with my deadlines approaching on the fall batch of daily commentaries to support our churchwide reading plan (on the Gospel of Matthew—starts 8/20!) as well as a book manuscript deadline at the end of the summer, I can really use the help!

In addition, I’ll be introducing Kevin to the Asbury congregation on July 23 and July 30 when he’ll be preaching at all of our services.

 

The Personal Connection

Kevin is married to Melissa, and they have 3 children. My wife Elaine and I have known Kevin and Melissa for 16 years, and they were part of the launch team that started Munger Place Church in Dallas in 2010. Crazy how God works. In additional to that, Kevin’s dad Matt and his late mom Tellia have been members at Asbury for the last several years.

Kevin coming to Tulsa means that the Lord is up to something, and I can’t wait to see what it is.

Let’s GO.

 

P.S.

Kevin blogs at www.kevinmwatson.com.

 

My 9 Word Strategic Plan

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I believe that the most important thing a leader provides is clarity; if the vision is clear, it almost doesn’t matter what the vision is (as long as it’s not wicked). So, I’ve often joked that if the vision is

  • “We’re gonna be the cheeseburger church—everyone who comes on Sundays will be served a cheeseburger;”

  • And if that vision is clear,

  • Then the church will grow.

Clarity is actually really difficult to achieve, but once the vision is clear, everyone wins.

(I was joking about the “cheeseburger church” thing, but I think I could actually get behind that idea. Who’s with me? Maybe it just means I’m hungry.)

 
 

Keystone Habits

I’m a big believer in what Charles Duhigg calls “keystone habits.”

A keystone habit is a behavior that, though it might seem small, will have a cascading effect into other areas of a person’s life. So, for example, take exercise:

“When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. Typically people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. It’s not completely clear why.…‘Exercise spills over,’ said James Prochaska, a University of Rhode Island researcher. ‘There’s something about it that makes other good habits easier.’”
— "The Power of Habit," by Charles Duhigg

Committing to the right keystone habits is HUGE, since those repeated behaviors will drive everything else.

 
 

I’m much more interested personally and professionally on focusing on inputs than I am on outcomes.

What are the inputs that will set me up for success?

What are the habits that will prepare Asbury for what’s next?

 
 

My 9 Word Strategic Plan

So, here’s my 9 word strategic plan for Asbury:

One psalm a day, every day, for 150 days.

It’s not exciting. It’s not glamorous. It’s not impressive.

But if Asburians develop the habit of beginning their days in silence and in scripture, if we commit to daily consistency and not worry overmuch about intensity, if we learn the practice of praying through our emotions to the Lord, in 150 days we’ll be in fighting shape.

 
“One psalm a day, every day, for 150 days.”
— What I'll say if you ask me what my vision for Asbury is.
 
 

Buckle Up, Buttercup: Let's Get Ready to Run

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Asbury’s members voted today to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church.

A brief post on what’s next.

 
 

Results of Today’s Church Conference

The standards for today’s church conference were set by the Oklahoma Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Only in-person voting was permitted. Ballots were distributed prior to the 2 PM conference start and then collected around 2:30 PM.

1,637 votes cast in-person this afternoon:

  • 6 ABSTAIN

  • 26 NO

  • 1,605 YES

The motion to disaffiliate passed with 98.05% of the vote.

 
 

This Was Asbury’s 2nd “Vote”

Starting on March 6 and concluding on March 12, Asbury held an electronic vote of its members to ratify actions its board had taken to unilaterally disaffiliate. For reasons that I don’t need to go into here, that vote was not considered binding by the Oklahoma UMC. But, for purposes of comparison, the results of that vote are instructive. It was kinda a straw poll, it now seems.

1,636 electronic ballots submitted over the course of that week in March.

  • 48 NO

  • 1,588 YES

The March electronic vote had 97.07% voting YES, March 6-12.

 
 

What Happens Next?

Today’s vote will need to be ratified by a special session of the Oklahoma Annual Conference on Friday, October 21. Two weeks before that meeting, Asbury will wire agreed-upon exit fees to an escrow account; if the special session approves the disaffiliation, 10 days after that meeting, Asbury will become an independent church.

The specifics of what happens after that I don’t know. We will take our time and prayerfully discern where we’re supposed to end up.

But this I do know:

 

Natalie Maines was right:

Buckle Up, Buttercup: It’s Time to Run

 
 

Our church governance board has led us to this point because they believe that disaffiliation will enable Asbury to do even more effective ministry in the future.

I personally have no intention of doing anything but pushing hard into that future.

As the meeting closed today, I made a point of putting on my neon orange running shoes and telling the folks who’d waited around for the results that it was time to run.

 
 
 
 

Allow me to further mix my metaphors:

We’re going to drop the hammer.

We’re going to push the pedal hard.

We’re going all in.

 
 

In short:

Buckle up, Buttercup: Let’s Get Ready to Run.

 
 
 
 

P.S. Alright Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool. Could have also gone with that one….

 
 

Preaching, Teaching, Livestream Schedule, Plus Pics

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Tomorrow is my first “normal” Sunday at Asbury, as last Sunday was unusual for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it was one big combined service for the entire church. Last Sunday was a really fun day; scroll down for a bunch of pics from my family’s first Sunday at Asbury.

I’m going to continue to introduce myself tomorrow with another sermon that will speak to what I want my ministry at Asbury to be about. (We’ll kick off our fall series through the Book of Genesis next week. BOOM.)

My topic tomorrow? The surest way to blessing that I know.

 
 
 

[Note that I’m having trouble embedding the sermon video, so if you are reading this as email and get an error message click on “Watch on YouTube” to see it.]

 

How do we truly show gratitude?

Everything in life was given to us by those who have come before us, gifts of God given again to us.

What do we do now?

That was my topic for my first Sunday at Asbury.

 
 

Normal Sunday Schedule

  • 8:00 AM in the Chapel. Traditional, small service with organ.

  • 9:30 AM in the Sanctuary. Traditional. Choir and orchestra. Biggest service.

  • 11:00 AM in the Sanctuary. Modern. Band.

All services are livestreamed.

 

New Thursday Schedule!

We had our first-ever Thursday night service this past week. That’s also the plan going forward.

  • 6:00 PM in the Chapel. Relaxed, casual service.

(I’ve asked that we NOT stream nor publish the Thursday evening service. In terms of my preaching calendar, Thursdays precede Sundays; i.e., I’ll preach the same version—or hopefully a much better version!—of my Thursday sermon each following Sunday.)

 
 

Livestream Info

There are three different options for the Asbury livestream.

  1. www.asburytulsa.org. Click on “Watch Live” on the main page.

  2. Facebook: the “Asbury Tulsa” page.

  3. YouTube: the “Asbury Tulsa” channel.

The feed will go live a good amount of time before the hour, so tune in early.

 
 

My Preaching Schedule This Fall

I will be preaching every week* this fall at the schedule above: Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings.

*With two exceptions!

I will be visiting Sunday school classes at Asbury on 10/16 and 11/27, so though I’ll be at church I will NOT be preaching on either 10/16 or 11/27, nor the Thursdays preceding those dates.

Live out of town and wanna visit? We’d love to have you! (Particularly if you have a Texas passport.)

 
 

My Teaching Schedule This Fall

I’m teaching four churchwide Bible studies on the Book of Genesis this fall in the Chapel.

Wednesdays, 6:30 PM

  • 8/17

  • 8/31

  • 10/12

  • 10/26

Each study will be livestreamed.

 

I’m also speaking next Saturday (8/20) at the training event for the leaders of the Asbury Discipleship Communities. My topic? “How to Prepare Folks for Negative World”.

 
 

Pics from My Family’s First Sunday at Asbury

 
 
 
 
 
 

(Look closely: my little daughter is staring down the photographer in the two above pics!)