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!)

 
 
 
 
 
 

"Alright Fast Eddie, Let's Play Some Pool"

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There’s this great scene early in the 1961 movie The Hustler: 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.”

 
 

Although they’ve been playing for 25 hours straight, and although Fats has been losing for 25 hours straight, Fast Eddie doesn’t want to stop until Fats calls it quits. Which he doesn’t.

And that moment in the washroom is the turning point. From the moment Fats fixes that boutonniere and chalks up his hands, he begins to win. And Fast Eddie is ruined.

 
 

I’d seen that movie as a college student, but it wasn’t until I read Colin Powell’s book It Worked for Me that I remembered that scene. Those words, “Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool” had always stuck in General Powell’s mind and he talks in the book how he would use them whenever he had a difficult or momentous task in front of him, e.g., testifying before Congress, which he did many many times.

He recalls in the book how he would go to the men’s room right before he was due to speak, wash his hands, look at himself in the mirror, and say:

“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”

He says that that little ritual would help calm him down to focus on the task at hand.

 
 

I have always loved that anecdote.

And though I’m sure it sounds silly to you, I started doing the same thing before I would preach on a big Sunday—say Christmas or Easter—or had a difficult meeting or was nervous about a speaking engagement.

Of course I pray and ask the Lord for help, but it would also kinda give me a little private smile to wash my hands, look at myself in the mirror, and say,

“Alright Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”

 
 

I begin a new job in the morning, and it feels as if I’m beginning a new chapter in my life, too.

Twenty years ago, I got my first job out of college.

And here I am starting all over again tomorrow.

I feel kinda like a kid going into a new school. (Lord, be with my children as they have their first days of school later this month.)

But, I really think the Lord has been sheepdogging us to Tulsa, which means he has work for us to do.

So, tomorrow morning before I leave the house, I’m going to brush my teeth, look myself in the mirror, and say,

“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.”