High Flying Retreat

It was a great blessing to preach the gospel to a wonderful group of young men and women at the last retreat!  From the first service on Saturday night to the goodbyes on Monday, I saw evidence of the presence of God's Holy Spirit.  God helped in us sharing the Word and the young people were still and willing to hear.  Thank you to all who helped make this retreat a blessing!  The North Texas church prepared outstanding meals, Tim Hogan's organization was impeccable, the devotions were riveting and the attitudes were the best!  I enjoyed watching the campers fly through the woods of east Texas on the zip line.  I look forward to riding God's zip line through the gates of glory!  Have a great school year and keep believing in Jesus Christ! 

Back In School Retreat

I have the privilege of being the speaker at the retreat.  Please pray that God would give me the right message and that the young people will have open hearts.  I thank God for one of the camp testimonies that we heard in the Hill Country church.  It went something like this: "I loved camp and thank God that it was simply a time of strengthening instead of a time to get back on track. God has been faithful to me as I have trusted Him throughout the past year!".  Wow!  What a blessing.  God's grace is sufficient for teenagers living in this sinful world!

See You at Camp!

As Senior Camp Evangelist I am looking forward to camp.  It wasn't long ago (or at least it doesn't seem that long ago) that I was a camper at youth camp.  Some of my best childhood memories are from camp.  My favorite memories since becoming an adult are of my Dad preaching and the Holy Spirit coming in such a mighty way that we were, in my Dad's words, "breathing the air of heaven".  I also remember as a teenager being glad on the rare occasion of Dad not being present at camp.  Dad has now gone on to heaven and I will never, ever again be glad that Dad is not at camp!  This will be one of those first for all of us.  Arthur Slye will not be present for a Bethel Methodist Youth Camp.  He will be missed.  But be of good cheer, God, the Holy Spirit shall be there!  Pray that the gospel will have free course!  These young people need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Arthur L. Slye May 13, 1931 - February 2, 2013

Each person we know in this tiny but significant denomination has a journey which crossed paths with Arthur Slye.  My first meeting was at a Youth camp in Weatherford, Texas when I was 12 or so.  I got to know Larry and Jerry fairly well from camp, but seldom bumped into Arthur at EMC Conferences we attended.  I was at the Western EMC Conference as a quiz-team member, but don't recall anything of Arthur's ordination at Azuza Pacific College that year. 
In July of 1973, our paths crossed again as "The Good Life" sang at the Irving EMC.  Again in 1975, I was with the Duncanville EMC when Irving dedicated their new sanctuary. 
In the spring of 1978, Brenda and I moved from Little Rock to Irving to begin my radio career in Dallas.  From that time to this, we have never been a part of any other church. 
The most amazing experience was the turbulent District Conference in Sweetwater shortly after our church had withdrawn, then returned to the denomination.  Arthur was nominated for DS along with five other candidates.  From receiving only a handful of votes on the first ballot, he was overwhelmingly elected on the fifth ballot, which was nothing short of a miracle for a man so out-of-favor with church leadership.  Events soon snowballed within a year when Arthur chose to preach some of his deepest-held truths to the District Conference at Irving.  The firestorm of his corrupt heresy trial was followed by the withdrawal of Port Neches, Robinson and Irving EMC.  I belive Cross Plains EMC might have withdrawn, too, but can't be sure. 
The work of forming a new denomination from three churches was hard work, but exciting.  I would not trade that experience for anything.  Working with Arthur to develop founding principles, a new government structure, a new discipline and the first brochure was a high privilege for those of us who were able to help. 
Fast forward to yesterday's meeting in Bryan: 
Arthur and Chris both looked great.  We had a wonderfully sincere Interchurch Council Meeting with a great turnout.  We were looking forward to a similar experience at the North Texas church during Conference weekend in May.  Finally, Arthur and Chris would see our new facility and experience the traditional organ and piano hymn music they so appreciated. 
They spent lunch with their families, Jerry, Cindy, Nate, Jennifer, Eric, Kendall and Allie.  Not a bad last day on earth for our Founder in Faith.  Now, he's experiencing all the wonder and excitement he has looked forward to nearly 54 years.  May God bless and keep Arthur and all his relatives and christian family he has left behind.   

Light Sent Into Darkness

"The people which sat in darkness saw great light" Matthew 4:16

When Jesus came to the earth it was a time of great darkness.  While Jesus was still a baby, Herod the king put out an order to kill all the children two years old and under that lived in the region of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  Can you imagine the great sorrow that spread through the land?  Today we see the same kind of darkness in our world.  It is into this great darkness that God seeks to send the light of the gospel.  God desires that we provide a stark contrast to the darkness of sin.  By His grace we are children of light.  We shine as lights in the darkness.  God is exposing sin in the light of His goodness through Jesus Christ.  When God is finished, sin shall not rise up a second time (Nahum 1:9).  Stay strong in the Lord and shine as lights in this present darkness.  "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" Romans 8:18.   

I Am "Back"

Many of you know that I broke a bone in my back a few weeks ago.  Thank you for all the cards and prayers.  I am back and ready to be out there in the ministry of the Word.  I know that God has used my down time to get me ready for the task ahead.  There are many reasons to be excited and many challenges to discourage those who look at the size of our enemies instead of the power of our God.  Remember, "the kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven" Matthew 13:33.  Yeast is a tiny, rounded, colorless one celled plant that floats through the air everywhere.Yeast creates chemical reactions on the starch and sugar in bread batter.  From one cell of yeast another is formed, creating the same chemical reaction within the neighboring starch or sugar.  All we need is to allow the Holy Spirit to impart His Word in us!  We then will naturally impart change to those around us.  All we have to do is be with people.  We need to look at every relationship as an opportunity for the leaven(yeast) of the kingdom!

Summer Ends With A Bang.....or a fang!

We have had a wonderful Summer that will not soon be forgotten!  VBS reminded us that God gives us the power to do the right thing!  Camp brought fresh commitments that have shown lasting results.  I had the privilege of baptizing five young people after camp. "IN, Not Of" was not just a camp theme, it is God's call on our lives!  I enjoyed some needed time off with my family in Florida.  The Summer ended with me walking to turn off a small water sprinkler that I had placed on one of the many parched places in my yard.  With little water around, a near by snake decided that my dripping water hose was the perfect opportunity to get a refreshing drink.  Little did that snake know what a ride it was in for when it slithered between my bare foot and the inside of my sandel.  After stomping around like someone trying to summon rain through a strange ritual I found that I had been bitten on the end of a toe.  I must have slung that snake into the next county because I haven't seen it since.  As I was stomping around I saw enough of the snake to be 99% sure that it was a garter snake.  Never let anyone tell you "they wont hurt ya".  The bite may not be venemous enough to hurt, but the bite itself is no picnic!  Stay cool and trust God to keep you from that old serpent whose bite is indeed poisonous!

Revival

We were blessed by a wonderful host, the Robinson church, at General Conference.  Thank you Robinson for a tremendous job.  Remember, true revival can come if two things are present.  First, the message must be right.  Second, the people must be right by that message; they must believe the message.  Pray that we will continue to be a message centered people with a God centered message.  Pray that our people would believe that message, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Pray for revival!

Will I See You in Robinson?

May 3-5 are the dates of our General Conference. I hope you are making plans to be there. It is my prayer that 104 South Old Robinson Road, Robinson, Texas 76706 will be remembered as the place where that revival began. When we look back to 2012 will we simply remember a conference theme or will we be grateful for something real and lasting? I'm trusting God for a General Conference that will make a lasting impact for the kingdom of God! Will you join me in asking God for what we need?

Praying For Revival

As I finish my tour of local churches, my attention turns to General Conference. At the last council meeting I informed our Robinson church that the theme for this General Conference shall be Revival. Now I am asking every Bethel Methodist and all other concerned Christians to ask God for revival in and through the Bethel Methodist Church. At our last Pastor's retreat we sensed a move of God in our own hearts. We felt directly led to pray for God to send revival. Pray for all the preparations leading up to this important event in Robinson, Texas.

Respect For Authority

Respect for authority is one of societies greatest needs. Ephesians chapter five and six deal with the principle of authority. All authority under God is to be a reflection of the ultimate authority. Husbands are the authority in marriage. However, Ephesians 5:25 says, "husbands, love your wives,even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it." Authority under God is never given for the selfish ambitions of the earthly authority. It is granted to benefit God in the entity that the authority is authorized to serve. The same is true of parental authority. Ephesians 6:1 says "children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right". It goes on in Ephesians 6:4 to say, "fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord". Again, this authority is not granted to serve the one in authority! Authority is granted to serve God in every aspect of human life. This principle can be seen in governmental power(Romans 13:1-7). Listen and heed God's wise counsel in Hebrews 13:7, "obey them that have the rule over you". Parents; do your children know who is in charge? They better know.....and you better know who is in charge of you! God help us to maintain proper godly authority!

Have a Blessed Christmas

I pray that you will all have a Christmas filled with the wonder of our salvation. God needed one holy man to remedy what Adam did when he failed us and plunged us into sin. God could not find such a righteous man so He became one! Now because of Jesus Christ you can reject what Adam did and accept Jesus as your new head(authority). Have you received and are you following that precious savior?

Thanks Be Unto God

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" II Corinthians 9:15

Let us pause and consider where we would be without the grace of God! May we dwell upon what Jesus Christ made possible for our heavenly Father. He longed to forgive; yet His justice demanded that we be forever separated from Him and His creation. Jesus came, laying aside the privileges of his Deity, and lived as a real man. He faced the temptations and the sorrow of the world in the weakness and frailty of human nature. He was faithful unto death by depending on the power of the Holy Spirit. He qualified as the Lamb of God. Where Adam failed; Jesus succeeded! Through Adam we all were separated from God and were total failures. By faith in Jesus Christ, accepting his forgiveness and accepting him as our new and living head, we are more than conquerors. As I express my thanks to God for his unspeakable gift I am compelled to say "unspeakable" thanks to the God of my salvation! We do speak of the gift and we do give thanks; but all language falls short when it comes to speaking of the gift and for expressing the gratitude God's people hold in their hearts. Have a blessed Thanksgiving. And since I'm writing this the day before Veteran's Day I say thank you to all who have served in our armed forces. Thank you all for being earthly examples of the greater heavenly sacrifice and reality.

Workers for the Harvest

In Luke 10:2 Jesus said "the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest". Jesus said these words as He was sending his disciples out "two and two". From where are these new workers going to come? They are going to come from the harvest! As we are instrumental in bringing people to the Lord we are at the same time being instrumental in God sending workers! What a double privilege it is when we see the Lord reap His harvest!

Rain!

Saturday Cindy and I drove back from Robinson, where Cindy had spoken to the Robinson women on "Relationship Evangelism". As we arrived back in town it was raining! Praise God for the rain! When I looked at my "Brad Barton" rain guage it indicated that my yard had welcomed 1 3/4" of rain! The next day we were blessed with another 1/2". In two days we had been blessed with more rain than in the last three months. At church on Sunday you could see the joy on the faces of God's people. We had all grown weary of the drought! We thank Him for the physical showers of blessing and we praise Him for His precious Truth and grace, those greater showers of blessing!

A Thank You

Our church received a thank you for the donation of school supplies that our Junior Camp provided this year........


"To thank you. Some lives are true reflections of God's Love. Sending a prayer of thanks to God...and a note of thanks to you. Bless you for your kindness! We thank all of you with a grateful heart for your generous 'shoe box blessings'. The summer youth group from Bethel Methodist Church has truly blessed children in Acuna. Every child who receives a "blessing box" has the opportunity to go to school!!! You all have made a difference in these children's lives. Be blessed today and always.

Craig and Jan Maser, Jeff and Jennifer Johnson"


Thank you Pam Samford, your staff and campers for this great work!

Back In School

I heard we had an adventurous, fun and meaningful Youth Retreat. I can't wait until I'm the speaker so I can try the zip line! As these young people get back into the school year, pray that they would believe God for the strenth they need in the challenging times they face. Greater is He that is in them! But never forget that greater is he that is in the world than them! What I mean by that is that they cannot face the power of satan in their own strength; they need God! Again I say, PRAY!

Lift Up Your Eyes

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" I John 4:4

I just felt led to remind you of this fact.......and one more;

"Then saith He unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest" Matthew 9:37&38

May we lift our eyes from the lower reality and look to the greater reality........then look at the harvest.......for He is great and so is the harvest! May God use us in the fields that are ripe for the true gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord!

Pray for Camp

We leave this Sunday for Camp! If we did not have faithful workers we could not have camp. If you do not pray....our work will be in vain! Pray for safety and most importantly that the Word shall have free course!

Robinson BMC Expansion Project