What Are We to Do?

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church met this Spring to deal with many proposals on dealing with a multitude of crisis and significant needs that the United Methodist Church is facing today. With all the proposals and hard work that was done, very little was passed. Leaders in the church, across America, are asking questions about our denomination could not respond to the obvious needs and crisis that we are facing. Most of the answers have to do with simply resigning to the fact that it takes a lot of time and a lot of discussion to make radical changes, as necessary as they may be.

In the midst of this time of need for significant change, leaders are critically important. One of the people who provides leadership for the church, as a whole, particularly for the United Methodist Church, is Lovett Weems. His talk on the Methodist Tsunami has become a necessary one to watch for any concerned United Methodist and is extremely helpful to anyone who wants to understand what is happening in the mainline Protestant Church, today. See the online video, here.

Lovett has served as Seminary Dean and now is the Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He is among the leaders across the United Methodist Church who is offering significant leadership at a critical time. If you’d like to hear Lovett Weems speak in person, he will be speaking at First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs on August 1^st at an evening meeting. It is free and open to the public. This is part of a three day conference Leadership Nexus is doing to provide training in general leadership. Lovett will be not only teaching, but he will also be leading in workshops, along with many other noted leaders across the Church.

We need each other’s help. 

You are invited to go to our website for more information on how to enroll. We have half-off scholarships available today. We would love to have you join us for this powerful conference!

Single Again Workshop

Single Again Workshop
http://www.singleagainworkshop.com/

Weekend workshop for people who have experienced divorce will be held at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Tulsa Campus on March 30^th – April 1^st, 2012. The seminar will provide opportunities for persons to work through some of the major issues faced in dealing with divorce. The conference is being led by Dr. Robert Pierson, former senior pastor of Christ United Church in Tulsa and is a part of the OWU program of service to the Tulsa community. Subjects to be dealt with as a part of the conference will be: anger, disappointment, grief, self-esteem, finances and re-planning life. We will also discuss single-parent issues, financial issues, and understanding singleness today. All of this will be dealt with in the context of the Christian faith, prayer and understanding of God’s support and help. The opening session begins at 6:30pm and concludes at 9:30pm, on Friday evening, March 30^th. The second session is Saturday, beginning at 8:30am, continuing until 5:30pm. The final session is on Sunday afternoon, from 1:30pm until 9:00pm.

People who have experienced this workshop have said, “This seminar truly saved my life!” and “It gave me the tools I needed for rebuilding.” One attendee commented that this event “Provided me with a new direction and confidence about the future.” Most have described this conference as a place where participants sense God’s direction through a troubled time.

The cost is $30 per person. Childcare will be provided for single parents. Seating is limited. Scholarships are available on request. To reserve your seat today click here or for more information, contact Dr. Bob Pierson at 918-809-7489 or email. Visit us on Facebook Events and invite your friends.

We hope you will join us for this encouraging and life-changing experience!

Hospitality for this event is provided by the Tulsa Christyle Community, a fellowship of Christians committed to vigorously placing Christ first in their lives. For more information about the Christyle Community, please visit our facebook page.

89 Days with Jesus

The sheriff and I were on a plane from Atlanta talking about the problems of our society, and this southern sheriff said to me, “The creation of our problems today is because we don’t have no Jesus.” What he said to me that day on the flight was like the message of God directly into my brain: we have a Christology problem. We have not anchored ourselves in the life and teachings of Jesus. We have become members and leaders of the Church without being deeply committed to the one who created the Church. It’s time for us to get back to Jesus.

We need a revival in America. While Christianity is growing in Africa and South America, it is declining in the US. However, if we had a revival, I’m concerned that no one would come. Maybe we ought to do the simplest thing and just immerse ourselves in the story found in the New Testament, told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; it’s time to spend some time with Jesus. The best way to do that is by reading His story. A group of Christians in Tulsa and I have made a commitment to read through the life and teachings of Jesus in 89 days. There are 89 chapters in the Gospels, and we’ll take 89 days to read through them, one chapter a day. I have provided study guide material, and if you’ll join those of us in Tulsa who are doing it, we’ll begin a movement across the Church. I challenge those who read these words to pass it on. Let’s spend the next 89 days with Jesus and read the Gospels all the way through. The materials are an outline for reading, prayer, and action. Send me your request for the materials; I will email them to you at no cost. In this time of elections and social turmoil, let’s get back to Jesus. Now is the time!

A Christyle Community

For centuries, people have been defining Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. Today in our very secular culture, a lot of people describe church members as hypocritical, dishonest, arrogant, manipulative, and irrelevant. Many of us grieve over those descriptions, knowing that they are descriptions of our sins but not of our identity. So many times, when church members attempt to define themselves, they do so in terms of a particular program, denomination, type of baptism, or style of music. But Jesus describes us (Christians) simply as people who would follow Him. That statement is found in all of the Gospels; He just asks us to follow Him. Peter explained it in 1 Peter 2:21: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

In our struggle to be Christian, the best definition is in our behavior – what we do. James said it very clearly as he reminded us that faith without works is dead (2:20). Our real identity is what we do. Jesus described what we do very clearly in the Great Commandments found in Luke 10 – we are to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and body and love our neighbors as ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that if we don’t have love, we have nothing. It’s just doesn’t count – all of our membership, baptisms, and church activities don’t count unless we do what Jesus taught.

Today, many people are rethinking what it is to be a Christian. One of Dan Kimball’s books is a great resource on this – They Like Jesus But Not the Church. It’s time for us to create communities of people who are committed to behaving in the way that Jesus taught. I have called that a “Christyle Community” – a community of people, imperfect but trying their best, to live a life that follows the teachings of Jesus. Certainly, belief, commitment, and other parts of the church’s life are important, but behavior is the true test.

In Tulsa, we created a community like this; all of us want to follow in the steps of Jesus. It’s called “The Christyle Community.” We meet on Thursday nights at 7:00. Everyone is welcome. For more information, click here. 

How Do You Share the Faith?

Today in the secular culture in which Americans find themselves, sharing the faith becomes a significant issue. Most Christians are not excited about sharing the faith – being an evangelist, witnessing. We have seen this practice of evangelism done with guilt, arrogance, manipulation, and so much inappropriate behavior that we realize that it doesn’t work; it turns people off to Christ rather than on to Christ. So how do you share the faith? At the Great Commission at the end of His ministry, Jesus tells us to go unto all the world, share, and teach. So how do we do this?

I have struggled with that question throughout all of my ministry. I have tried many things, and the answer I have come up with is best expressed through the word TELL:

T – stands for the truth of Jesus Christ in our lives

E – reminds us that we must explain a lot of things about our faith

L – stands for living it; we show our genuineness through living out Christ’s teachings

L – reminds us to lead by encouraging, inviting, teaching, guiding, helping

Many of the actions associated with evangelism in the past are a part of leading after we are sure of the truth in our own lives, are willing and capable of explaining and living it fully. Then the leading is easy, natural, and powerful.

I have written about this by the name TELL. If you would like to order a copy, please click here for more information. I am doing conferences on evangelism; if you would like more information on these, click here.

Follow me on Twitter @Bob_Pierson and friend me on Facebook!  

People Really Matter

We see crowds of people at a football game or watching the fireworks, and it’s more people than we can imagine. We hear of deaths in battles in Afghanistan or the death of a child in Orlando, and we are hurt and grieve. Yet, sometimes we become insensitive. Do people really matter?

As Christians, we know the answer is a resounding yes. The scripture of John 3:16 makes it clear that God so loved the world – that’s all of us! – that he gave Jesus. That concept of how important you are – that you are loved and matter – is a concept that can make so much difference in your personal life.

We have a Bible Study on Thursday nights at our home, and anyone in the Tulsa area is welcome to come. One thing we emphasize is that you matter to God. In a sense, it is a self-esteem Bible Study. Mike has called it a “God-Esteem Bible Study”. It helps us see that we’re okay; God loves us. It may be hard to understand that He loves you and me and everybody else, but that is the beauty of God’s love. Click here for information about the Bible Study.

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Loyalty and the Last Supper

Churches all around the world will celebrate the sacrament of the Holy Communion this evening. It is the night of the Last Supper. The night when Jesus was so close and clear with his friends. It is also the night that he was captured and they ran away. So much in our world has to do with loyalty. Loyalty to value and purpose. The story of Jesus’ crucifixion is about his loyalty to his calling from God and the response of many of his friends and followers is a story of their struggle with loyalty. I believe the church today needs to reconsider our loyalty. The powerful message of Jesus is a call to loyalty.