17 Years as Pastor

August 1 was my 17th anniversary of being the pastor of Immanuel Southern Baptist Church! There have been multitudes great wonderful things that far outweigh the not so wonderful things. I praise the Lord for His faithfulness to me, my family, and our church! I praise the Lord for all the wonderful relationships over these years. I look forward to seeing what He’s yet to do!

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!

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!

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!

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!

YoYo Collins in Concert

YoYo Collins will be in concert Sunday, January 12, 2014, at Immanuel Southern Baptist Church, 611 N Gertrude, Wagoner, OK at 6 pm. A love offering will be taken.

Food Pantry Closed July 30

 

The Food Pantry will be closed tomorrow, July 30, as we do not have enough food to meet the needs. We will reopen next week.

Helping the Tornado Victims in Moore, OK

Many of us feel a need to help in some tangible way. You are discouraged from self-deploying, or simply going down to help out. Quite frankly, you’ll most like just be in the way and become part of the problem.

The very best way to help is to pray! Pray for the ongoing rescue effort. Pray for the families who lost loved ones. Pray for the first responders and volunteers. Pray for God to be glorified in this tragedy.

In lieu of going, you can give. Everyone knows that the Red Cross provides meals to those in need during disasters. But did you know that the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief  (OK DR) is the organization that PREPARES a majority (if not all) of those meals?

OK DR is a volunteer based organization, but without the high priced CEOs that some of the relief organizations have been criticized for. The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma pays the modest salary of the director of OK DR, which is provided by Oklahoma Baptists.

When you give to OK DR, you can rest assured that 100% of your donation goes to relief efforts. Give at this link: http://www.okdisasterhelp.com/

Here in Wagoner, if you’d like to give goods, First Baptist Church is collecting items to give to victims.  They are currently asking for  bottled water, diapers, baby formula and baby wipes, and toiletries. Do not bring clothes!

Rather than duplicate the efforts of collecting and distributing, Immanuel Southern will be cooperating with FBC Wagoner. They are located at 401 NE 2nd, Wagoner, OK 74467.  Their phone is 918-485-2428.

If you’d like to go and physically do “hands-on” ministry, you are probably out of luck for this disaster.   Most disaster relief agencies, including OK DR,  require training. What you can do, however, is sign up with a disaster relief agency and be ready the next time a disaster strikes. Unfortunately, you probably won’t have to wait very long.

Gary McElmurry preaching at ISBC tonight

Happy 97th Birthday Mabel Harp!

NSU BCM SWAT Team

The view from my office

Busy day at the food pantry!

Audrey & Sally singing at ISBC tonight

Audrey singing at ISBC tonight

Sunday Sermon (12/16/12)

Here is my Sunday message, "Joseph" based on Matthew 1:18-25:

Sunday Sermon December 9, 2012

Here is my Sunday morning message, "God Remembers" base on Luke 1:5-25

Immanuel or Emmanuel?

Have you noticed that some churches are Immanuel and others are Emmanuel?

Have you noticed that some Bibles say both Immanuel and Emmanuel while others only say Immanuel?

So what's the difference?

They are exactly the same word with the same meaning, "God with us."

But they are spelled differntly. One has an "I" while the other starts with an "E".

Which one is right?

Well, both can be called "right", but, in my opinion, one is more accurate than the other.

It comes to this: Immanuel is the English translation of the Hebrew "עמּנוּ אל" (‛immānū'ēl) and Emmanuel is the English translation of the Greek "Ἐμμανουήλ" (Emmanouḗl) which is a translation of the Hebrew "עמּנוּ אל".

In my opinion, which you can disagree with without recourse, "Immanuel" is the more correct term as it is a direct translation of the original Hebrew, whereas "Emmanuel" is a translation of a translation.

So, there you go.

But, in all of this, DO NOT MISS THE POINT:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John 1:1-5,14 ESV)
  

Jesus IS Immanuel; God with us!

Sunday Sermon (12/2/12)

Here is my Sunday morning message, "Immanuel-God with Us" based on Matthew 1:18-25

Hanging the greens