Robert Frost, famously, wrote a poem about two roads that diverged in a forest and concludes by saying:       “I took the one less traveled by,       And that has made all the difference.” On our recent Pastor’s Wilderness Retreat, I hiked both options of a trail that diverged in a forest, and I want to write to you today about my experience on each of them.  On the first full day of our annual hiking retreat, Rev. Lucus Keppel, Rev. David VanDonkelaar, and I hiked down and a

I will be involved in a couple of anniversary celebrations in September.   Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church of Bartlesville celebrated...

Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery will be hosting a Pastor's Wilderness Retreat again this fall at White Rock Mountain in northwest Arkansas....

The Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery (SPDR) is a ministry of the Synod of the Sun dedicated to connecting, equipping, and...

On August 9th, the three Oklahoma Presbyteries met at First Presbyterian Church of Norman in a Special Called Meeting. They were blessed...

I made a mistake in my biblical exegesis ordination exam [1] . I am sure I made many mistakes over the breadth of the exams, but I made...

I have spent a lot of time talking to Pastor Nominating Committees lately. Two churches have started searches recently. If you have ever...

I woke up Easter Monday to the news that Pope Francis had died. While I am now a minister and leader in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),...

What is the witness of the church today? It is an ever-present question for us that love and lead God’s people. It is also a question...

Our Christian calendar has, at least, two seasons of preparation: Advent and Lent. Frequently, these two seasons are lived in...

I started the New Year by resolving to read more books. One of the reasons I lead book studies like the upcoming “The Anxious Generation”...

I think there are only so many times that you can write that you are living in “unprecedented times” before that phrase loses all...

In the early years of my ministry, while we were still planting the new church, it was our custom to partner with a retirement community...

Preparing for the Fall Presbytery Meeting and Retreat is a little like the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24, Matthew 22:1-14)....

“Watch out for this rock. It is loose.” “The trail gets narrow here.” “There is a thorn bush to your right side.” “The trail goes to the...

One of my former pastors was fond of reminding us that “there is no such thing as an individual Christian.” While he could have been...

This week marked the twentieth anniversary of my arrival at Austin Seminary to begin my theological education. The lease on my apartment...

And so it begins…. The 226th General Assembly (2024) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) began on Tuesday, June 25 with a brief opening...

I was heartened by the Tri-Presbytery Meeting last weekend. The gathering of the three Oklahoma Presbyteries and Presbyterians from...

Rev. Jeff Cranton, moderator of Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry, and I attended the Board of Pensions’ Season of...