It’s June? What happened to May, not to mention, April, March, February and January? I know I’m now 61 and with each passing day I…what was I talking about? I’m not that bad but I’m getting there. I want to take just a minute and ask you to pray about a couple of things. First, this Sunday, June 6, marks the return of
Sunday Evening Services! We will meet at 6:00 pm in the Fellowship Building. That service will not be livestreamed though Sunday morning and Wednesday Bible Study will continue to be. I hope that you can join us as we gather. This Sunday will be the first of our First Sunday Gatherings. On the first Sunday night of the month will we gather for a time of prayer and encouragement. We will be highlighting various ministries and praying for them. We will also focus our praying on evangelism and discipleship opportunities. I hope you will be there.
Sunday also marks a new effort in Sunday School. Ron Lundin will kick off our pilot program for this summer. He will be teaching a 13-week study of the Christian in the Workplace. This class will focus on a Christian view of work and how to “live out” your faith in the workplace. This class is open to anyone who wants to take it. It will meet during the regular Sunday School time on Sunday morning for 13 weeks and then class members will return to their regular class. I will teach a 6-week class this fall which will be an introduction to Trinity. We will cover our doctrinal statement, our constitution and bylaws along with our organization structure and our relationships with the Tulsa-Metro Baptist Network, the Oklahoma Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. We will also take a brief look at church history, SBC history and the history of Trinity. That class will also be offered during the regular Sunday School hour on Sunday mornings in the Fellowship Building. Pray for this new structure and other classes being developed.
Vacation Bible School is here in just over 2 weeks. VBS will run June 21-25. We will have a great time together exploring the Word, enjoying a music time, playing games and enjoying a snack time each evening. This will be our first time together for VBS since June of 2019.
One other prayer request. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is coming up June 13-16 in Nashville. Pray for unity and a godly witness to come out of this meeting. We are a convention of churches rather than a denomination. What that means is that we are a group of independent churches, voluntarily cooperating together for the sake of the gospel. That’s a bit like “herding cats.” We are 48,000 churches with some 14,000,000 members. 48,000 sovereign, autonomous (independent – you can’t tell me what to do) churches often find it hard to speak with one voice. I always hold my breath this time of year fearing that we come out of this meeting with a black eye. Pray that we have the grace to bear with one another, able to disagree and reach common ground on issues, without compromising on those issues with which we cannot allow give ground on, and discernment to know which doctrines/truths actually demand such a stand. Important issues face us at this year’s meeting. A new president will be elected, significant resolutions will be brought, important questions will be raised. Pray a God-honoring spirit will prevail. Pray that important issues will be discussed, genuine disagreements can be aired and differing points of view argued all in a spirit of love and fellowship. May it be made abundantly clear that we, as a convention of churches, care about the truth and are committed to biblical faithfulness.
I look forward to seeing you and your family as we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day.
Rod