TEXAS

The Texas State Association of Free Will Baptists met last week outside of Houston in the church of former home missionary, Randy Puckett. Their new building was beautiful! With 12,000 square feet, they had plenty of room.

Here is a picture of Randy and me in front of their building:

This is their lobby:

Right off the lobby, they have this room to gather for coffee, etc. Randy said it is a favorite spot.

Here is Shelley Puckett getting some snacks ready:

I'm happy for Randy and Shelley and their church.

Everyone at the Texas meeting was very friendly. Free Will Baptists have nice and good people all over and it was good to be in their meeting.

It was also good to see former home missionaries, Paul Hammons, who now pastors in Conroe, TX and Nick and Angie Stewart, who are still in Victoria, TX.

And it was good to see the present home missionaries in Texas.

We saw Jeff and Sondra Cates there, but forgot to take a picture.

So here is a picture of them in front of the canyon that Canyon, TX is named for.
(Jeff said they should be pouring concrete for their new building next week!)

Sandy and I rode over to San Antonio after the meeting to see the 2 FWB church planters there.

Jeremy and Jill Lightsey and Don and Sonya Bailey are both on the north side of town and still are 30 minutes from each other. We could ring the city with 10 more FWB churches and they wouldn't bump into each other.

Jeremy Lightsey's church is doing well with a Sunday attendance in the 60's. A big prayer request for them is to be able to afford a permanent location.

Here is Jeremy and Jill and their 2 daughters, Adria and Hope.

I asked them to pose for an action shot:

Here is Don Bailey and me in front of their new building. They hope to get it finished this summer.

This is a picture looking into the auditorium. Don said it should seat 160 people.

Don and I made sure we had a picture of us working.

Here is Don and Sonya with 3 of their children: Crista, Calyn, and Carson. Carra and Caleb were out of town.

Surprise! Chaplain Richard Anderson and his wife Faith and their 2 sons, came to Don's church on Sunday. Chaplain Anderson is based in San Antonio, but he travels as a recruiter of chaplains. The Andersons are friends with the other couple in the picture - Don and Marie Wilbanks. The Wilbanks brought their camper to live by the church and help Don with the new building. They have been there 3 weeks already and have been a great help!

We really enjoyed our visit to Texas! It is the second most populated state in the US and could use plenty of more good churches.

My brother Brian

Today(June 7) is my brother's birthday. He would have been 54. But he died a couple of months ago. I would have called him tonight and we would have chatted about life, about our families, about ministry (he was a preacher, also). Our sense of humor was a lot alike, so we would have laughed about stuff without even finishing the sentence.
Just a couple of thoughts:

1. He was a good man. I guess most people feel that way about their brother. Brian loved his wife, loved his children, loved his grandchildren, loved his church, loved preaching and leading worship, did things to show that he cared, and stayed faithful to Jesus. During my senior year of college, when I thought everybody had forgotten my birthday, Brian threw me a surprise party. I still remember.

2. I think it is okay to talk about people who've died. I hope someone will talk about me.

3. This sort of helps put things in perspective. I could die suddenly, too. What is really important? Am I ready?

4. All those calls, cards, emails, and even messages on facebook did help. It is nice to know someone took a minute to let you know they care.

5. I still can hardly believe it is true. Somehow I think it is ingrained in us that we are supposed to live forever.

6. It makes all the difference in the world that Brian (and I) know Jesus who has the words of eternal life. A lot of people put birthday greetings to him on facebook today. They know he is still alive.

7. I'll miss talking to him tonight.

Brian, Mark, and me -

HERITAGE TRIP - PENNSYLVANIA

All three of the men on staff at Home Missions along with their wives and several couples of Home Mission supporters went on the Heritage Trip to Pennsylvania over the Memorial Day weekend. Besides seeing some American and spiritual heritage on these trips, we visited some home missionaries.

All of us flew into Philadelphia and spent half a day touring there.

Here is a picture of Sandy and me in front of Independence Hall

On the bus: Board member Ron Parker and his wife, Elaine, are still in love.

Here is home missionary Allen Hall with wife, Jenny, and daughter, Allison, in front of the North Carolina Memorial at Gettysburg.

Several of the guys in front of Good News FWB Church in York, PA:

Pastor Hall opening the morning service.

Richard Atwood, David Crowe, Allen Hall, Larry Powell:

Allison drove the bus some:

Director Larry Powell speaking at the Keystone FWB Church in Greensburg, PA:

Home Missionary Tom Jones welcoming everyone. They have done a lot of work to get their building in shape. It is really starting to come together and Tom is happy for someone else to see it.

Tom's wife, Pam, is playing the keyboard and all three of the Jones girls are singing. Jenna (Altom) and her husband, Nate, are Associate Missionaries along with the Jones.

Here is Nate Altom:

David Crowe preaching. He did a good job organizing and leading this trip.

We had a great time seeing the church planters and spending time with other Christians.

Wisconsin

John and Cheryl Reed minister in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Last weekend, Sandy and I visited them. We drove up to the peninsula between Lake Michigan and Green Bay and saw some beautiful scenery.

The four of us in front of a beautiful sunset over Green Bay:

Here is a goat on the roof of a local restaurant. We didn't eat there, just took pictures of the goats.

Sandy and Cheryl put their feet in cold Lake Michigan:

John and Cheryl are still in love:

Young John Reed leads the worship service:

Some of the folks during the Sunday morning service - there was about 100 that day.

John chose to not start the church in the suburbs, but in the city. They have seen many people reached and are building a good church in Green Bay.

Utah

Utah has a lot of beautiful scenery and a lot of Mormons. It also has 3 couples who are working hard to start new churches there - Tim and Jessica Lewis in Ogden and Randy and LeAnn Ledbetter and Scott and Staci Warren in Salt Lake City. Sandy and I went there recently for a regional meeting with these couples. We met at the Warren's house.

Here is a picture of the three couples and my wife, Sandy:

During the sessions, Jessica Lewis had to put her foot up. It had recently been broken. Even though it hurt, she was a trooper.

We ate out one night at an all you can eat restaurant. Even though the three guys are in pretty good shape, I was humbled that they could out eat me.

Tim and Jessica are still in love:


Here are Miley Lewis and Mia and Jude Warren. These are some cute kids:

Both FWB home mission churches in Utah are doing well! Thank God! I appreciate the dedication and hard work these couples give. We had a great time being with them!

Ravi Zacharias Quotes

To sustain the belief that there is no God, atheism has to demonstrate infinite knowledge, which is tantamount to saying, "I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge"

I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its ability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out.

"These days its not just that the line between right and wrong has been made unclear, today Christians are being asked by our culture today to erase the lines and move the fences, and if that were not bad enough, we are being asked to join in the celebration cry by those who have thrown off the restraints religion had imposed upon them. It is not just that they ask we accept, but they now demand of us to celebrate it too."

Ravi Zacharias on the present time:
“Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true.
Morally you can practice anything, so long as you do not claim that it is a ‘better’ way.
Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ in to it.”
From Jesus Among Other Gods

“I remember the time an older man asked me when I was young, "Do you know what you are doing now?" I thought it was some kind of trick question. Tell me," I said. You are building your memories," he replied, "so make them good ones."

Ability or Integrity 4

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

Most of life is made up of little things.

I like this Dwight Moody quote:

“There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.”

Whether it is ability or integrity, the battle is fought in the "little things."

In order to do great things, here are some little things to do:

* Be a thermostat, not a thermometer.
The thermometer tells the temperature, the thermostat sets it.
Sometimes you go to church or a class or meeting and everyone seems cold. We desperately need leaders who will bring warmth because they have been with God.

* Always be courteous.

* Be nice to everybody.

* Treat everyone with respect.

* Keep your appointments.

* Tell God that you won't look at anyone without their clothes on except your wife or husband. (Okay, maybe that isn't little.)

* Don't rely on your memory. If you keep telling people that you forgot, they will wonder why you don't write it down. A dull pencil is better than a sharp memory.

* Return borrowed items.

* Always say thank you and show appreciation. (Sounds like your parents. They were right.)

* Self-pity isn't attractive. Don't indulge in 'poor me'.

* Don't scold the congregation about those not present in church. The offenders can't hear you.

* Don't always talk about how much you do and how busy you are.

* Don't always 'one-up' people. "You think that vacation was good - you should have seen where we went."

* How about a little less criticism of others?

* Be honest in the use of time. Work hard even if no one is watching. Be careful of time wasters like TV and the internet.

* Listen before you speak.

* Be real.

Our ability and reputation are important.

Our character and integrity are essential.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln

From a bumper sticker - "TO BE, NOT TO SEEM."