America's Semiquincentennial

 250 years of America! 

So many sentiments! So much excitement! So much to celebrate!

My wife and me in 2026

First of all, I have to admit that I also got to celebrate America's Bicentennial back in 1976. I played Thomas Jefferson in a school play that toured Oklahoma. It was really special. 

Second of all, I have a different commentary on the United States, because I spent a dozen years living in other countries on other continents. 

America is unique.

America is special.

America provides opportunities of which other countries cannot even comprehend.

I would venture to say that anyone who hates America hasn't traveled. Or if they have, it is only to fancy resort destinations.

Is America perfect? Of course not! We are a human institution comprised of humans. And humans are fallible. 

Do we have room for improvement? Of course! No matter how good something is, there is ALWAYS room for improvement!

While our health system is broken, it is still among the best in the world.

While our judicial system is broken, it is still among the best in the world.

While our government is broken, it is still among the best in the world.

We have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. 

Most states honor our God given right to protect ourselves.

We have so much good going for our country right now. A pendulum swing is currently resurging conservatism in our land. 

You'd have to be a fool (or intentionally ignoring the fact) to not realize God has abundantly blessed our country. Great harm has been done in the past 70 years as we've taken both the Bible and prayer out of public school. 

Paganism, disguised as liberalism or progressivism, has confidently guided America away from a Holy God. We have legalized what God calls abomination. 

And I think we are under judgement for it.

If there is anything good in America, I give praise to God.

Anything bad in America is our own fault.

But, I can say this: May God continue to bless the United States of America!

19 Years

It's been 19 years since we returned from overseas. In fact, living overseas seems like a lifetime ago. I've had the opportunity to visit overseas a few times, including, China/Hong Kong, Ukraine, Israel, and Pakistan. (Plus a western Caribbean cruise).

We've been home longer than we lived overseas. That is surreal.

So much has changed in these past 19 years. 

I've been a pastor for nearly 19 years at the same church.

Both daughters have grown up, got married, and have their own lives.

I'm a grandpa. Poppy, actually.

I've published three books.

I've lost too many family members.

I gained more than 80K followers on TikTok.

One thing is constant; God is in control. He has been so good to us!

Boynes in 2007

The Boynes, Ellises & Coffeys in 2024
(The little blond girl was a visitor)

13 Years Pastoring

13 years is a long time. This past year seems to be the longest. I, nor any of my friends, have ever faced the challenges of being a pastor during a pandemic.

13 Year Anniversary Pic

At least since mid-March, traditional conventional ministry, at least personal pastoral ministry, has been anything but normal or conventional. I have faced criticism from folks for following the recommendations of the CDC and closing down for public services. Likewise, I have faced criticism for not closing down soon enough and/or reopening too soon. There is literally no way to please everyone. And the pastor will be the one blamed if anything regarding the pandemic goes wrong within the church.

Falls Creek was cancelled. So was KBA. We made the heart wrenching decision to cancel Vacation Bible School.

There are several older members who I have not seen in person since March and they refuse to allow me to visit them in their homes. In fact, I’ve only been in a handful of members’ homes since March. I hate it.

Nevertheless, I have continued to preach every week. We never had a completely empty sanctuary. We have had a couple people saved and I was honored to baptize 3 people last Sunday. We have been on Facebook Live and have had hundreds of viewers. We are back to “normal” except for Sunday evening services. Attendance is suffering. We are at approximately 35-40% of regular attendance. Giving is down. We were the first in town to reestablish our children and youth programs. But we have also lost several people through this crisis.

Nevertheless, through all of these issues, God has been faithful. We were able to raise over $7000 for our Pakistani Christian friends who are suffering more than we are. Both children and youth were afforded the opportunity to attend an alternative to camp this past week, thanks to the efforts of volunteers.

If you'd like to watch the live service online, go to facebook.com/immanuelsouthern at about 11 am (Central) on Sunday mornings.  If you'd like to contribute to our church, you can also do that online at http://www.bfok.org/give-immanuelsouthern

I don’t know what the future looks like, but I know who holds the future! God is good- all the time!

15 Years on Blogger

Today marks 15 years that I first began my blog. I was in Thailand at the time and thought it was a good thing to do.

Then came Facebook.

My blog has certainly suffered in the past 5 years or so. Facebook fulfills my need for posting pictures and such.

But the blog has it's place, too. When I want to mark an occasion or when I want to expound on a subject that might be censored by FB, I write it here.

There is a big of ego-stroking, I'll have to admit, in having a blog with your name on it. Frankly, when I bought the domain, I was hoping to become a published author and this would be my platform. I still hope and dream.

Nevertheless, BoyneBlog or now, RickBoyne.com is still alive.

Thanks for reading.

12 Years as Pastor

Today marks 12 years that God called me to pastor Immanuel Southern Baptist Church. I have seen many blessings in these 12 years. Many ups and many downs. Many joyful occasions and many sorrowful ones.

I have baptized new believers and presided over baby dedications, baptisms, weddings and funerals. I have offered countless prayers for the sick or discouraged, delivered somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 messages, and led thousands of songs.

I've had pies in my face, been dunked in a dunk tank, and dressed up in crazy costumes for Vacation Bible School. I driven thousands of miles, attended hundreds of meetings, and know how to navigate every hospital in NE OK.

But it isn't all about me. For sure. It is God Who has been at work at ISBC. He is the One who has saved souls and transformed lives. He is the One who gives comfort and healing. He is the One who stirs the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, to hunger for His Word, to live according to righteousness, and to have a passion for the lost. I am merely a tool in His hand.

I praise God for His faithfulness to His congregation and to me and my family. God is good, all the time!

20,000 Days Ago

I was born 20,000 days ago!  That is quite a thing to think about.

I've been thinking about it for a long time, as I actually created this post on October 5, 2010, in anticipation of this day.

The Bible says to "count your days", so I did!

30 Years Ago in China

I first stepped foot into China 30 years ago. It was a different place then.

First of all, there were bicycles EVERYWHERE! And hardly any cars at all. They had taxis and delivery vehicles and official vehicles and military vehicles and buses. But practically no one had private ownership of a car.

This is not my original pic, but is representative. This is Wuhan in 1980.

Second of all, foreigners were only issued "Foreign Exchange Certificates" instead of the Renminbi, or the People's Money. In fact, you had to have a special permit to use Renminbi if you were a foreigner. The exchange for the FEC was similar to what it is now (~8FEC to 1USD), but you could get over 60 RMB to 1 USD on the black market. (Just don't get caught with it!) Outside of the very large cities, no one knew what an FEC even was.

Thirdly, Americans (and other Caucasian foreigners) were still a rare sight. A year or so after my first visit, I was in the Guangzhou Zoo. A friend and I were watching the pit of monkeys (maybe 100 or so) and we noticed that the 400-500 Chinese were no longer watching the monkeys, but were watching US watch the monkeys!  Very strange indeed!

When I lived in Hong Kong, I traveled over the border many times. It was described as going back 100 years in just 12 miles. And it was like that. I used to smuggle in Scripture and religious materials from Hong Kong. It was against the law, yet I always declared it on my customs form. They would ask to see it and I would show them my Bible. I would speak very fast and tell them that this was my Bible and it was for me alone to use and I have a whole lot more in my bag, but THIS is my Bible. They never looked in my bag. If I remember right, the customs form at that time, asked if you had drugs, guns, pornography or Bibles.

In 1990 at the Great Wall

I have many wonderful memories of my many visits to China over the past 30 years. It is really hard to find any remnant of the China I remember. But I have my memories.
Pray for the people of China. Pray that God would draw them to Himself and that they would know Jesus.

25 Years and counting....

December 5, 1992

 Twenty-five years ago, at First Baptist Church, Vinita, Ok, Sally and I were united in marriage.

Sally's dad walking her down the aisle.

 Looking back, it seems we were just kids, although we had waited longer than most of our friends to get married.

Her parents, us, my parents.

It has been a wonderful journey that God has led us on; to serve Him all around the world.

A moment of quiet in a busy day.

God has blessed us abundantly.

Audrey's 2nd birthday in Vinita, OK.

 He blessed us with Audrey.

Emily, Me, Audrey, Sally in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

 He blessed us with Emily.

Our family in Mongolia in 2004.

 He blessed us with being able to see His creation.

Beijing, 2004.

And pray for people all over the world.

Hong Kong, 2005

 We have been blessed to live all over the world, too.

Koh Samui, Thailand, 2005

 And enjoy great family adventures together.

My 1st Anniversary as pastor at Immanuel Southern Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK 2008.

 Then, He brought us back to Oklahoma, we He has allowed us to serve Him at "home."

Emily, JD, Audrey, Sally, Rick, Wagoner, OK 2017

 We added John Ellis to the family last year.

At the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Our adventures will continue.

A continuing love story.

Now, with an empty nest, we will continue to serve the Lord. Continue to fall in love with each other even more every day!

Thank you, Lord, for my wife and family. May you continue to bless us that we might be a blessing to others!

10 Year Anniversary

10 years ago, today, I became pastor of Immanuel Southern Baptist Church in Wagoner, OK.

Sally and I had been serving with the International Mission Board in Hong Kong when I felt God's leadership to shift gears in ministry.

I had never pastored before. I was scared. Yes, as I reflect back on it I was scared. At the same time, I was confident. Certainly not confident in my abilities, but confident in the axiom, "God equips those whom He calls."

Me, a month or two after I became a pastor.

I had never pastored a church before. I had only preached less than half a dozen times. My wife later told me that she thought it was going to really be something to watch because, in her opinion, I couldn't preach worth a hill of beans. She has later often told me that God uses me to preach His word in a wonderful way.

Pastoring a church isn't for sissies. There is such a high Scriptural standard that I am held to, by the Lord, and by those I pastor. I will readily admit, I often don't live up to that standard.

In my previous 40 some years experience as a church member, I never knew that the pastor faced so many obstacles and difficulties. There are some nasty people who call themselves Christians. I have been lied to, lied about, gossiped about, slandered, cussed, and called names with words that don't belong in the Family of God.

There are, however, some true saints in the Bride of Christ. There are those who, if a mosquito bit them, it'd fly off singing, "There's Power in the Blood!" These are humble, hard-working servants of God who would do anything for anyone out of love, but avoid the limelight like the plague.

At my 1 year anniversary

I've seen people come and go. Some situations were so bizarre that I still don't understand what happened. For instance, several years ago, I baptized an entire family, like mom, dad, and 3 or 4 kids. The very next day, they moved to Arkansas!  Some came as flashes in the pan. They caused a big stir, but had no staying power and ultimately caused more trouble than whatever good they initially had.

But it's the faithful ones who are truly beautiful. Those who give without being asked, serve without expectations of being thanked or acknowledged, and share without thought of themselves. Praise God for the faithful ones!

I've seen God work wonders in people's lives, like the time He raised a woman from the dead on Easter morning (LINK) or when someone got saved at a business meeting, or watching lives being completely transformed. I've seen a whole lot of new/weak Christians grow in the Lord and I've watched some train wrecks as they walk in the flesh. Some are so embarrassed that they refuse to attend church or even take my calls.

I do know this: if everyone who has told me that they would be in service, rain or shine, would all show up at once, we'd have to build a balcony and have three services!

I have performed the duties and ceremonies expected of pastors. I have baptized new believers. I have married couples. I have performed funerals. To be honest, I'd much rather perform a funeral than a wedding!  There is much less drama. But I LOVE to baptize people. I've baptized over 200 people in the past 10 years. (Where are they now? Inquiring minds would like to know.)

Baptizing my daughter, Audrey, in 2011.

It seems that in the last 10 years, I have a lifetime of experiences. I have been blessed to be the front man for VBS for the past 8 years, usually dressing up in a character that goes along with the VBS theme; I have preached in Ukraine, China, and Israel; I've been to children's camp (KBA) and youth camp (Falls Creek); I've driven the senior adults on fall foliage tours; I've gotten my class B CDL to drive the new church bus; and so many other things that escape my memory.

God has done a great many wonderful things in our church in the past 10 years. We have a growing and thriving children's and youth ministries, we have a Food Pantry Ministry that distributes food to the hungry to the tune of about 750,000 meals in the past 8 years, and we have a unique jail ministry that we call "The Cookie Ministry" where we take bags of cookies with a gospel tract to the local jail each month. We are currently debt free and are looking to build a new multi-purpose building with designated funds that we've been sitting on for the past 25 years.

Me, today, on my 10th Anniversary as Pastor of ISBC

We also have a long way to go. Our financial situation is precarious. Yet, we've never not met our obligations. God has always been faithful with that. I would love to see the expansion of our youth ministry to include a separate class for middle school students. I want to see our YokeFellow and FAITH Rider groups to re-activate. I want a group of folks to step up and help with our children's Sunday School classes. We must have a nursery staff.

I love being a pastor. I LOVE preaching God's word. I love the wonderful folks at Immanuel Southern Baptist Church. 

No matter what God has in store for me and for ISBC, we can only pray it is for His glory! For in the end, that's all that really matters!

10 Years with Blogger

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my blog. It started off as the Goofball Blog, or some such silly nonsense. I finally bit the bullet and bought the RickBoyne.com domain some time ago.

Looking back over the first year or so, I see that the sort of things I posted on this blog, I now post on Facebook. In fact, Facebook has nearly been the death of this blog, but I still feel a need for it.

So, after 10 years, we're still going. Maybe not as strong as at first, but going nevertheless.

Happy Anniversary, RickBoyne.com!

7 Year Anniversary

Today marks 7 years that I have been pastor of Immanuel Southern Baptist Church in Wagoner, OK.  My first official service was a Wednesday evening.

Me in my office in March 2008

Previous to being a pastor, I was a missionary with the International Mission Board for more than a decade. I had never pastored before coming to ISBC.

Sally & me playing special music one evening

I've learned a great deal about myself in the past 7 years. I've more aware of my weaknesses and weak tendencies. I've learned a great deal about God; that's for sure.  And I've learned a lot about people; Christians, in particular.

Recently donated box trailer

I've seen God work in this small congregation in wonderful ways. I've seen the devil at work here, too. I've seen self-sacrifice of the dedicated and I've seen the self-serving of the worldly.  Some of the nicest things that have ever been said to me have been said in the past 7 years at this church. Some of the worst things that have ever said to me or about me have been said in the same 7 years at this church.

Our beautiful sanctuary

Sometimes, it seems like it is two steps forward - one step back. Yet God has been faithful through all of my time here. We've had some disastrous experiences with youth leaders. We've gone through several song leaders. We have a hard time getting people to work with very young children. We've faced several major crises that have threatened the life of the church. We are currently experiencing a horrific budget shortfall.

Our first VBS

Our most recent VBS

I've seen a few people get mad and leave the church. Usually, they are mad at me (generally blaming me for something) and cause a lot of problems after the leave (but not as many as they caused when they were here).

Falls Creek 2014

Despite the problems, there are many more wonderful victories. We've seen our youth and children's groups grow from 2 or 3 to 25 each! There were weeks at a time when no one drove our church vans; they are being used 3 or 4 times each week! For the first time in the history of our church, we had our own cabin at our children's camp this year taking a total of 31 people from the church (which includes adults). We are about to build a new Children's Ministry Center next month. We are experiencing growth in all areas of Sunday School and have started 4 or 5 new classes in the past several years. Our Vacation Bible School continues to grow. Our Food Pantry Ministry provides over 140,000 meals per year to needy folks from our community. We've seen many saved and baptized as a result of this ministry. In fact, this past Sunday, I baptized 15 people who had been saved through the pantry, VBS, or one of our camps.

Family baptism

As God allows, we will accomplish a lot for His kingdom in the coming years. We plan on ordaining two men to the Gospel Ministry in October. We have a long range plan which includes outreach to the Hispanic community, community education, and perhaps even partnering with an orphanage in the Middle East. As long as our members continue to seek to serve God and His kingdom, He will continue to use us.

I am grateful for the privilege of pastoring this flock. I do not take it lightly, nor do I take it for granted. It is a great responsibility that God has given me. I am grateful that He has seen fit to use me here.  May God (continue to) bless Immanuel Southern Baptist Church!

18,000 Days

That's right! This is my 18,000th day of living!

God has blessed me abundantly!

40 Years with Jesus

March 18, 1973. First Christian Church, Sapulpa, OK. About 11:50am. Age 8 years, 8 months, 4 days. Salvation given to me through Jesus Christ.

A few other particulars I remember are: just before stepping into the baptistry, Bro Casey said, "Now Ricky, you need to understand something. You can go down into the water a dry sinner and come up a wet sinner; Jesus has to change your heart." I remember one of the church women, as they came by to greet me afterwards said, "Happy Birthday!" I said, "It's not my birthday." She said, "Oh yes it is! It's your 'spiritual birthday'!"

As an 8 year old boy, I didn't understand much about following Jesus. I knew that I loved Him. I knew that I was willing to do whatever it took to be counted among God's children.

I'm not that little boy anymore. Now, at 48 years, 8 months, and 4 days old, I've come a LONG way with Jesus. I haven't been a "good Christian" certainly by my own estimation. In fact, I am dreadfully ashamed to say that I've done my worse sinning since being saved.

However, I've done ALL of my growing since then, too! In my lack of fidelity to God, He has been faithful to me. In my lack of faith, He never changed. I all my weakness, He has been strong.

I don't understand everything there is to know about my salvation, but I know I'm saved. About 10 or 11 years after my salvation, I finally KNEW I was saved. For me, it was the second-most important spiritual event, as I began to realize that my name was written in God's Book of Life and that He didn't use an eraser.

I left the Christian Church denomination while in college over some theological issues that I wasn't able to resolve. However, I spent 18 years of my life in that church and still have wonderful memories and even still some friends who attend there.

The past 40 years have been a wonderfully blessed journey that is simply preparation for the rest of eternity. I don't know how many more years I have on planet Earth, but I know Who will guide me through it.

Thank you, Jesus, for your saving grace!

If you would like to know more information about being saved, please contact me though this blog.

20 Year Wedding Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to the Love of my Life, Sally!  We've been married 20 years TODAY!

December 5, 1992

I love you! I thank God for blessing me with you. I don't know what I'd do without you!

5 Year Anniversary

Five years ago today we boarded the plane to leave Hong Kong. Five years ago today we said, what we thought, were short good-byes to our friends. Five years ago today we arrived back in Oklahoma into the open arms of our family.

So much has happened in the past five years.  We've done a WHOLE LOT LESS traveling, that's for sure!

We still get frustrated with certain things. We still long for the excitement of international living. 

In many ways, it's hard to believe it's already been five years. It seems like yesterday that we left for West Africa! We haven't been back to West Africa since 2002.

I'm about to take my first trip back to Asia in five years. I'm heading to Hong Kong (among other places) with a group of men for a few days. I'm NOT looking forward to the 15 hour flight from Chicago to HK. I am looking forward to seeing my beloved Victoria Harbour again and having a plate of gong chau gnau haw.  My time won't be long enough there to actually enjoy anything, but I'm going to pack as much in as I possible can!

At least, I'm not waiting as long to see HK as I did the first time I was gone. I lived there from 1989-91 and didn't return until 2004.

This time, it's only five years.

4 years as Pastor of ISBC

Yesterday marked four years of my being pastor of Immanuel Southern Baptist Church in Wagoner, OK. 

I can hardly believe it's already been four years.

Sunday was, perhaps, one of the best Sunday's I've had in the first 4 years here.  A little girl was saved during Sunday School and a man was saved during the morning worship.

Not during the invitation, but during the sermon.

Our congregation has grown and is going through a few growing pains.  My first Sunday, we had 25 people in attendance.  There were 84 here Sunday morning and 70 here Sunday evening!

We had an extremely successful Vacation Bible School this year where several children were saved and several new families are among us!

We took children to children's camp and youth to Falls Creek.

Some of our Sunday School classes are running out of space.

People seem to be genuinely enjoying each others' fellowship.

People see the need to be involved in more than just "going" to church.

God is at work at Immanuel Southern and I am humbled to be part of that and pray that I don't get in the way!

KJV 1611 Affordable Alternative

We went shopping for the girls some summer clothes for Falls Creek last night in Muskogee.  At the Walmart, I found a copy of the KJV 1611 400 Anniversary Edition for $4.96!

The white part at the bottom is just a half dust jacket.

Now, it is EXTREMELY important to note that it isn't the greatest copy in the world. In fact, it isn't even complete. 

It does provide pages and pages of the original indices, but it doesn't contain the Apocrypha, like the original.

It appears to have been photocopied, page by page and bound in a fairly cheap binding.  It is much smaller than the original.

The first page of Proverbes

Also, I had to search through their big box to find one without some problems.  The first one I selected, already had a broken binding near the base of the spine.

The second one I selected was inserted into the binding upside down; that is, if you open the book up regularly, you had to turn it upside down to read it.

I looked through several of them and saw that particular printing error.

In any case, it is quite a coup to be able to find a photocopy of the original for less than $5!

Two Thousandth Post

This is post number 2000 for RickBoyne.com.  Thank you to all my faithful readers, especially to those who take the time to comment!

I've written on such diverse subject including: living overseas, returning to and readjusting to life in the US, politics, morality, and of course, family goings on.  (not to mention by beloved Sooners)

I haven't been as prolific in writing blog posts lately; I've resorted to posting pictures. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Sometimes, it's not.

I know that my conservative views are not popular, especially regarding homosexuality and politics.  My posts are not meant to deliberately offend yet I know people are often offended by what I write.

I guess it boils down to who I am trying to please.  I don't write to please people; I write to please God.

I know that even THAT statement is controversial, but that's the way it is.

In any case, thanks for being around for 2000 posts! It's come a long way since August 3, 2004.  I do have a commitment to this blog and intend to dedicate more thoughts in addition to the pictures.

God bless you and thank you for your support!

Happy Anniversary, Sally!

18 years ago, Sally said the two words that changed my life forever, "I do."

It snowed that day.  Weather so bad that my own sister wasn't able to make it to the ceremony.

The ceremony was nice, but it only lasted 30 minutes or so.  It is the marriage that matters!

I love my wife.  I'm proud of her.  I don't understand why she would love me, but she does.

And I'm glad!

Happy Anniversary, Sally.  I love you!  You are a blessing straight from the Lord!

9 years ago

9 years ago a bunch of cowards hatched a plan to kill innocent people. 

When they arrived in the afterlife, I'm sure they were a bit confused as to why they were in Hell instead of Paradise.  I'm sure they were wondering where all the virgins were and why they weren't being treated as heroes.

Honestly, I don't want any person to have to spend eternity without God.  But the 22 men that hijacked those plans are not basking in the Glory of God.  Unfortunately, they also took a lot of people with them. 

We must realize that not all the people who died on 9/11 went to Heaven.  Just because they were victims doesn't mean they had a free ticket to Heaven.  Just because they were Americans doesn't mean they went to Heaven.  Only if they had placed their faith in Jesus Christ did they go to Heaven. 

9 years on, we are still in a war.  9 years on, they still haven't caught the mastermind behind the attack (Bin Laden).  In fact, 9 years later, I fell less safe than I did just 5 years ago, now under a president who seems to have a personal agenda that goes against (at least in my opinion)  the way I think it should be going.

I find it troubling that our president has so many ties to Islam.  I find it interesting that many American Muslims consider him to be Muslim.  I find it disconcerting to see the attitudes in the mainstream media favoring Islam over American traditions.

I'm tired of our American forces being limited in what they can do.  War is war.  Let's "git 'er done."

Finally, to those (foreign and domestic) who seek to destroy America:  you can try, but the American Spirit is too strong to be trampled by a bunch of cowards.  You say you hate us and think we are the "great Satan", but why do so many of your people want to leave your lands and live in America?  Not because they want to destroy us, but because they are sick and tired of living under your oppression.

God Bless the United States of America!