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It seems like it has been a while since I last posted a sermon.  I wanted to get the recording for the Spanish sermon, but it might be best that is lost forever.  Everyone said they gave it a B+; I thought it was a C.  The translation was good and made it easy for me to follow.  I was playing minds games with that sermon.  There was something about having it translated, which meant I had to have it all done and typed, that threw me off.  Still, I appreciated the chance.  Hopefully, I'll get another shot at that soon! The sermon below is the final sermon of 2010.  Someone suggested that this Christmas seemed different for them--that the Spirit of Christmas seemed overwhelmed by the running around that goes with the season.  Gifts, Angel trees, cards, wrapping paper, etc don't just show up.  Somebody has to go get them. For me, this was probably one of the better Christmases.  This was the year we finally did it!  We didn't w...

Of all the things I would like to say to you this coming year, this is not one of them: "I'm a giver, not a taker. I'm not a burglar. That was one DFW minister's response to charges brought against her. She allegedly broke into a church member's home and stole thousands of dollars worth of stuff on Christmas. Forget for a second all the ethical issues, my thought now if I'm the church member is, "Why did that reporter just flash my house on television and tell everyone I have that much stuff to take?" Pastor Allegedly Burglarized Parishioner on Christmas Eve: MyFoxDFW.com That's Why Some Of Your Pastors Act Weird I got the funny look and had to explain several times back in Bandera when I asked for my office change (an old post I cannot seem to find). The office I had at first was towards the back of the building; I was all by myself, and you know I don't wanna be all by myself .  It just felt uncomfortable for me to be back there, a...

The city of Irving did not collect trash last Friday.  Likewise, they won't be coming around this Friday either.  How are we supposed to celebrate and enjoy our holiday celebrations with trash piling up.  How inconsiderate a decision to make.  So, as I have had to make several leaps over our mound of trash full of used wrapping paper, dinner plates and boxes I am reminded of this cartoon.  Our Christmas celebrations were wonderful.  We were able to enjoy the company of family and join with our church for three Christmas Eve services.  As far as the church goes, I am grateful for the people of Oak Haven.  Several of them made great efforts to make sure our plans went through.  As for my family, God I love them. Remember, Christmas isn't over until Epiphany.  Merry Christmas.  Stay blessed...john

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Our family wishes yours a very merry and blessed Christmas celebration. Go to church tonight; you'll be glad you did. Stay blessed...john

Don't worry.  If you can't read the announcement above, it's not a bad thing.  Our church is offering its first Spanish worship service.  I, and I think a few more of us, am pretty excited. Yes, I'm preaching.  Brittani says I sound too much like a "white guy."  I told her her momma sounds like a white guy.  Plan A was for me to preach in Spanish.  Plan B was for me to preach in English and have someone interpret.  It looks like all systems are go for Plan A! This will be my first Spanish sermon.  Someone from our church is translating my sermon from English to Spanish which I am, except for these few moments, working diligently to produce.  On Christmas Eve I'll use the translated manuscript. What a way to worship and celebrate Christmas with our community.  If you're in the area please stop by for this historic event.  No, I don't exaggerate.  Stay blessed...john

A few years ago I wanted to connect with the members and friends of the church I was serving. Sunday morning worship, joining with God's people, is a blessing for me. I even get paid to lead it. That is an important part of our faith development. It is limited, however. There isn't time to talk about life. There isn't time to enjoy life. That happens outside of our sanctuary walls. Honestly, I am not the pastor you think, "Wow! How does she/he think such great, profound thoughts?" Nope. Not me. But I do know how to share life! When I first got the blog attack, this blog was called The Blog That Ties. I wanted to have a place to share with others what can't always be shared on Sunday mornings. That isn't to say that if you're not a part of my church this blog doesn't apply to you. This is a place where our faith, friendship and life together meets. In that sense, this is still The Blog That Ties. Honestly, it wasn't catch...

The latest edition of our church's newsletter is available to view or download (click here if you're reading by email): Open publication - Free publishing - More newsletter When the semester is over (tests and papers!) there is a little tweaking I want to do with it. For example, the calendar page tends to get crowded with information; I would like a different format that is easier to read. Also, I would like to add a member/new member profile section each month. Those are just a couple of things I'm thinking about. Overall, what do you think of the newsletter? How readable is it? How informative is it? What is the least important element. Do you read it online or in print? Which is better and why? Thanks for reading. Stay blessed...john

Here are a few ongoing calendar items of mine. Please don't hesitate to stop by the office or give me a call (972.438.1431) if you need to talk about anything. This is just to let you know where I might be at certain times; it's a rough look at what I am usually doing. Tuesdays I'll be at Perkins until noon. I am leading a Disciple I study group every Tuesday night from 7:30-9:30. Wednesdays Back at Perkins in the afternoon. Thursdays I lead our church's Thursday morning Bible study from 10am to about 11:30am. Fridays Perkins, here I come again (in the afternoon). Sundays The final two Sundays of every month I lead a Monthly Church Membership Class from 9:30am to 10:30am. Don't Let Me Not Hear From You I  don't want to find out you were in the hospital and no one ever told me!  It's a blessing for me to pray with and for you before a procedure, or for any other reason.  Call or drop by the office, or leave me a message here to get a h...

Today Ashlei turns the big 9. Happy birthday Baby Girl. We love you and are very proud of you. Thanks for sharing your birthday with me.

A fresh new episode featuring: Demi Harriston David Rangel Korean Central UMC and other great topics that will impact the North Texas United Methodist Community Video Production: Wil Murphy Noe Hernandez Jackson Harkey Anchor: Sheron Patterson Voice: Rosalinda Luna +NTC News

Yesterday's service was a blessing! We welcomed a new member to Oak Haven. I heard Bishop Norris speak about visiting churches and having the pastor, usually a young pastor (I'll leave that alone), ask him what he expected to happen in the service. His answer was, "Something that isn't in this bulletin." We went through the typical liturgy to welcome someone into membership. This was the first time I included a congregational response to the liturgy. I asked a long time member to stand with the new member. The congregation had already been given instructions: We will sing all four verses of Alleluia, Alleluia. After the first verse if anyone would like to come up and welcome the new member please do so, and we'll all stand together at the final verse. All but a handful of people walked up front to welcome the new member! That wasn't in the bulletin or anything I thought would happen. It was truly a powerful moment.  You can't get that b...

So, do you have anything against my full head of hair? Do you find it difficult to understand my football loyalties? Then do something about it. In this month's edition of Under the Oak you will find out just how to grind your ax. Also, you can read about something a lot less picayune on page 2. It is a great story. Enjoy! Open publication - Free publishing - More newsletter

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How will I feel next Sunday when I give a sermon that is not part of a series?  Two months (almost) in a series helps keep things ordered for a busy schedule.   This was the final sermon in our series entitled Is That Church Growing ?  Whether you have heard the sermons or not I'd be interested to hear what you think "growing" churches have in common, or what are practices/attitudes of growing churches? My favorite line from this sermon was, "We let sin cover a multitude of love."  I know you would never miss them, but in case your faith has been weak here are the other six sermons: Sermon 1: Where Grace Happens Theme: A place where the “lost coins” are celebrated when they are found, and people are looking for them Sermon 2: Praying Like That Theme: Prayerfully united that God’s will would be done in the world, not just for the people we like Sermon 3: Imagine That Theme: A church that knows it is a mission Sermon 4: Seniors Who Don’t Get D...

Brittani says we should do a video like this for Oak Haven. Yes! Let's Hear it For Bay Shore (Music Video) from Andrew Mason on Vimeo . +ChurchCruch

Before you continue reading you might want to make up your mind what label is more useful for you to use for your local minister…preacher….reverend….brother/sister in charge...or whatever else there is to call that person(s) your church pays to know more than the average lay person. You’ve probably met both, and many in between. Remember Mr., Dr., Rev., New Sliced Bread, II, Ph.D, WWE. Don’t hate him. There are also those for whom it made more sense to invest in a domain name rather than an academic title; their name lacks the abbreviations, but is accompanied by a copyright symbol. Nice. No, it's not me, but it's a nice look! No wonder many people don’t know what to call their clergypersons (whatever you already decided to call them). People often ask me what I preferred to be called. “Johnny” is reserved for Momma, so don’t go there. I do like the title, “And our winner is…” Scholarship checks make me feel the best when they call me, “Pay to the order of….” R...

If one meeting is indicative of anything, our Disciple I group will be a lively one. We met for an informational meeting last week. All I did was talk about the elements of each lesson, necessary participation and what materials to bring. From that a good discussion arose about the ministry of the church. Oh, the places we will go! I opened the meeting by making reference to many people’s concerns about participating in Disciple. The entire length of the study turns many people off immediately; the weekly commitment can be difficult. In some ways, then, it seems rather difficult. Prayer begins everything in Disciple. With that in mind, to open our meeting I shared this prayer taken from an older book entitled leaves from a spiritual notebook: O Father, this day may bring some hard task to our life, or some hard trial to our love. We may grow weary, or sad, or hopeless in our lot. But, Father, our whole life until now has been one great proof of Thy care. Bread has come ...

A great song.  If you cannot listen to the player below click here .  I couldn't find a music video, but you can follow the lyrics. What would I have become If you'd never stopped to pull me through What would this life had done If you'd never whispered liberty I heard you sing so sweetly a song of love Jesus how sweet the name The name that saves Jesus how sweet the sound The sound of grace The sound of praise The sound that saves So many songs I've sung But there's none more beautiful than you And here I've found myself So I'm happy to be lost in you I hear you sing so sweetly, a song called love The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Yesterday's sermon was the fourth in our series entitled Is That Church Growing?  I was looking forward to this one.  It was a little different than usual.  The focus was on the young people and the church's ministry with them.  Here's a quote: We've done a good job of giving our young people things that make like more comfortable, but the church has done a poor job of giving them things that make life meaningful.  As always, you can view the bulletin here .  The sermon loads in the player below, or click this link to open it up. Let me know your thoughts.  Don't forget to complete the "Now What" related to this sermon: This week: Pray specifically for the young people of our church; you know their names, right? Consider, as an adult who cares for them and their spiritual development, write letters to them encouraging them to continue learning and growing. Stay blessed...john

That Oak Haven websit e outviewed this site once again last month! Those UMW loved that directory post ; helped me catch up, but I couldn’t get ahead. Now, I want you to keep helping Oak Haven. Are you on Facebook? Most of you probably are. Oak Haven is, too. When I set up that account I didn’t know all the rules. I just agreed to the terms. You probably did too! All that means is that the Oak Haven UMC account most people are familiar with is set up against Facebook terms. Organizations cannot have profile pages. They must have Fan Pages. We’ve since straightened all that out by creating a Fan Page. Now, we need your help. The against-the-rules profile page has a decent number of friends following it. We would like to fully transition to our Fan Page without losing all of those friends following us. So, here is what you can do: Visit the Oak Haven United Methodist Church Fan Page . If the Spirit so moves click on the "Like" button.  This helps us raise ...

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK? Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck. Ricky, age 10 (The boy already understands) That is only one question answered here .   Take a look at the list for your dose of relationship help.  Enjoy your Friday!  Stay blessed...john

Would you rather do this or visit the dentist? Gloria makes a return to the dentist's chair today.  Let's hope this takes care of everything.  When we were younger we made a bet concerning our teeth.  First one to have them fall out owes the other a brand new car.  We'll see how this visit turns out. A few random thoughts about the dentist: Dentists can be frustrating. You wait a month-and-a-half for an appointment, and they say, "I wish you'd come to me sooner." A husband and wife entered the dentist’s office. The husband said, “I want a tooth pulled. I don’t want gas or Novocain because I m in a terrible hurry. Just pull the tooth as quickly as possible.” “You re a  brave man,” said the dentist. “Now, show me which tooth it is.” The husband turns to his wife and says, “Open your mouth and show the dentist which tooth it is, dear.”   Dentist: I have to pull the aching tooth, but don't worry it will take just five minutes. Patient: And how m...

Here is a great thought for your day from Peter at beauty of the bible : If you really want to get to know God, you have to be willing to get to know a God completely different from the God you think you know. What do you think?  How easy is it to get God to mirror what we would like God to be?  What are some of the things we discover when we choose to know a "different" God? Stay blessed...john

I am extremely excited about Oak Haven's youth ministry.  We are starting from the ground up.  There is no model; there have been no young people to teach or guide.  Now, we have an opportunity to develop, teach, nurture and lead our young people, and those adults WHO WILL minister with them.  And it all begins this Sunday afternoon! What do you think is important for a youth ministry to be faithful?  Are there some things that are common that should be done away with?  If you're helping me build a youth ministry what are you bringing to the table? Please be in prayer for this ministry.  Whether you live in Irving or anywhere else your ministry with us begins with your prayer. Stay blessed...john

The role of the United Methodist Women cannot be understated. They do so much to raise awareness of issues surrounding justice and mission in our church. I’ve always appreciated their efforts to raise money and do good. I haven’t always been the greatest UMW member; school has kept me from many meetings. So, when I was asked to help update the UMW directory for Oak Haven, I wanted to do something special. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what that would be. After all, this is only a directory. All the information was in order; I just had to delete names and addresses no longer applicable. What was a pastor to do? Then it hit me. I conferred with the UMW president about my idea. She thought it was a good, but was unsure how the ladies would react. We wondered if a few members wouldn’t appreciate the effort. However, we concluded most of them would might. All together the project took several months to complete. We began by asking each UMW member to bring in a pict...

First, watch the video below ( or here ).  Then decide what song is in your heart right now.  Maybe you don't have a Hallelujah Chorus right now.  That's okay.  There are no right or wrong answers. This is your Music Monday.  I think I have two right now.  This one and this one , in no particular order. So, let's hear your song. Stay blessed...john

Here is the latest edition of the NTC-News.

We finished the church newsletter yesterday.  Most people have to wait 2-3 working days to view theirs, or get their copy on Sunday morning.  Not you!  You get to first crack.  See how awesome you are. Open publication - Free publishing - More newsletter Stay blessed...john

Are You Prepared for Charge Conference? I'm in the final stages of preparing our charge conference booklet.  Our annual meeting has a different format this year.  Next Sunday we are joining other Irving congregations for a joint worship service at Plymouth Park UMC, then each congregation moves to a room for their own charge conference.  In part, I suppose, this helps eliminate administrative hours for the D.S .  That was one of the goals of the conference realignment. Hopefully, Oak Haven will respond the same way we have the past couple of years.  We have had most of our church represented at our meetings.  I really try to emphasize the celebration aspect of the meeting.  Every year we were able to be in ministry together; that is a blessing in itself.  Sometimes we were able to do what we usually do; sometimes we didn't get to do what we wanted; sometimes we were able to try new things.  In any case, we were in ministry together. Th...

You know how it goes. The pastor asks the congregation to "turn in your Bible to the book of..." Half the people spend the first minute trying to find where that book is. Some are brave enough to use the Table of Contents (that's what they're for!). Obviously, the more you read the more you know. So, read. However, it is easy to get lost in the biblical world, especially if you are just trying to find a starting point. Funny names, unfamiliar places and ideas can mount up quickly and prove frustrating. If you're trying to get a better understanding of the Bible my advice is simple, I hope. Of course, read. Get used to reading the Bible before anything (Well, praying is good, too). Even if it's just a paragraph at a time. Then learn the structure of the Bible. For example, it should be easy to find Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers or Deuteronomy. Why? Yes, they are the first five books, but more than that they represent a particular period ...

Here is the sermon from yesterday. It is the second sermon in a 7-week series entitled Is That Church Growing? There are many things I’m an excited about here at Oak Haven. Still, I don’t want to give any impression of my answer to the series’ question. I did leave out an important connector in this sermon. Towards the end, after the balm in Gilead reference, I did not connect the idea of the church’s role in praying for that hope and healing like I should have. That was the main point of the sermon. So, hopefully, I said enough about prayer to stress that. Probably not, but God is gracious. This morning I came across a small article in a book entitled We Believe in Prayer. The article was called God is in Charge, written by Dr. Nels F. S. Ferre. Here are the opening words: Without prayer I cannot now conceive of life. We are real and right as we pray correctly, for we are real and right in relation to God, and prayer, at its deepest, is our relating ourselves to God...

All this plus a Cowboys defeat!

Happy Birthday, Britt. You can't imagine how proud your dad is of you. Yes, even though you wear 3-D glasses (with no lenses, mind you) everywhere. Maybe that's a reason to be proud. Love you.

You have got to get you the Spat Solver; it's what you need! The heat of July is upon us.  Do what you can to stay cool.  These links will not help you do that, but are still worth checking out.  Does The Office have one of these? When you can't be there to tell them a bedtime story. If Twitter Isn't Christian Enough for You Take the Michael Winslow Movie Quiz The Best Pie Chart Ever Some Things You May Not Know Your Toy Story 3 Easter Egg Guide Miniature skyline made out of staples Your Globe Hilarious Newspaper Headlines Top 100 Songs Ever Recorded Pavarotti and James Brown - This Is A Man´s World

I know I’m a few days late. It’s been 2 years and three days since Hurricane Ike hit Galveston. Galvnews.com gets a daily hit from my laptop. Of course, all my family is in the area. I think I may have already mentioned that. So, to bring you, my online reading family, to Galveston I want to share with you this link from The Galveston County News. It’s called Hope and Resurrection . Shouldn’t that be a sermon title? Still, you get the impression that things are, though slowly, coming together. It takes time. Have you been lately?  Stay blessed...john From Galveston County Daily News

I have to confess; I was not familiar with the ministry of Bishop Mathews.  During the summer I took a UM History course.  One of the reading assignments was Matthews' autobiography entitled A Global Odyssey .  At first, the just under 500 page book seemed like another daunting addition to a course book list.  However, I was glad I read it.  I can't imagine living a life full of accomplishments and experiences that would require that many pages. But that was the life of Bishop Mathews.  Last week Bishop Mathews died at the age of 97.  Read an article about Mathews here .  I would recommend reading the book.  It was interesting for me to read how someone whose life was lived in complete Christian mission reflected on his experiences.  As it turns out, I may have been the only person in class to answer the one essay question about the bishop.  I'm glad I had a chance to know of his witness.  Stay blessed...john

Okay, Gloria wasn't thrilled about me sharing her video coverage on the Irving channel. So, you'll have to ask her to show you where that is. John Fletcher, however, is taking this time to be as self serving as he can be right now (third person is always the place to begin). This was the second time I was asked to give the invocation at the city's council meeting. Last year I left a little ticked, but got over it. A councilperson's laptop magically turned on during the prayer. I won't rant about why that bothered me. Anyways, here is the video (click here if you're reading an email) of last week's council meeting with a special invocation by the most reverent John Fletcher. Oh, and the rest of the meeting can be viewed on another website. Stay blessed...john (back to normal)

In preparing for the beginning of this semester I came across Microsoft’s OneNote program . It came with the Office Suite I ordered a couple of years ago, but I never paid any attention to it. I was trying to sync my relatively new phone to my computer so I could have my classes, tasks and contacts up to date. As I did that OneNote opened. So, I started messing around with it. I think I like it. Essentially, it’s a multi-subject notebook—all in one place, thus OneNote. You can create notebooks that contain sections. To each section can be added pages and subpages. For example, I created a Notebook entitled Perkins (school). Then I labeled a section (more can be added) within Perkins as Fall 2010. Under each section are pages for each of the four classes I am taking. Finally, each day’s notes are created in subpages of each class respectively. Of course, you can type, but inserting other elements like pictures or shapes is just as easy. Many times a professor will use a...

Last week I told you about our upcoming sermon series.  This past Sunday we began the series Is That Church Growing? You can listen to the first sermon of the series by clicking here or using the player below.  Beware: the recording didn't come out like it should.  I tried my best to make it easier to listen to.  Sometimes that happens. You can view the bulletin we used for our service as well by clicking here .  Let me know what you think.  Stay blessed...john

At this point we have enough people to begin a Disciple I group. I think this is an important element of Oak Haven's growth. So, thanks for praying with me, and keep praying. I think I am going to share this picture with the group. Those of you who have participated in a Disciple study probably realize how true this is, and that Disciple's goal is to get past that. What do you think? What are your Disciple I, II, III or IV experience? I've only met a couple of people who have completed all four. We're trying to change that! Stay blessed...john + link

Let’s talk about sermons (not those ). Specifically, let’s make mention of the sermons those Chosen ones at Oak Haven hear each Sunday— mine . I was somewhat surprised, but of course grateful, when I noticed recently our sermon count. As some of you know, in addition to being posted on this site, the church’s weekly sermons are available at www.oakhavenumc.org . I’ve told you before about the sermon player we use. It is great; I can’t personally do it right now, but if you’re interested you might consider a gift to help support all the work they do. How many sermons have you heard? Our sermons date back to just about when we came to Irving .  There are obviously some missing in that time. Technology is great, but sometimes it doesn’t do exactly what you want, and sometimes I just ran out of time! In all, as I write now, there are 58 sermons available online. They have been played 2,351 times (2-comma-three-five-one). Now, some churches can sneeze sermon counts that ...

I am grateful for the rain.  We needed it.  Our water was tasting funny and our grass was suffering, etc.  Of course, with rain comes flooding, car accidents and endless newscasts about them.  That is so frustrating.  We watch local news in the morning as we are getting ready for the day.  When it rains like it has the past two days there is nothing else worthy of reporting.  Some people probably appreciate that.  I don't. Rain falling on streets doesn't constitute shocking video coverage.  Thank you for letting me know it is raining.  Thank you for warning me about flash flooding and thank you for the up to the minute rain gauge reports.  Rant over. This reminded me of a video from the Ellen DeGeneres Show .  It's funny, and will most likely make you laugh.  So, only watch it if you need to.  Enjoy.  Stay blessed...john

Summer time is over for us.  It's back to the grind of school schedules and other activities.  I thought I would share some pictures of some of the Fletchermints during the hot days of summer. . Stay blessed...john It's a party Gloria and Oprah Lovebirds First day of school Posing in the water Another pose Family visit Nice moves Feeding the ferry birds Grandma and her baby girl

How much attention has your local UMC given to the upcoming 10 Fold project? This may be something you mission committee members should take a look at. Watch the video below or click here . Stay blessed...john

I'm not sure which translation this represents, but I thought it was funny when I first read it. Thanks, Parks. On the first day, God created the dog and said: 'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.' The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?' So God agreed. On the second day, God created the monkey and said: 'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.' The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?' And God agreed. On the third day, God created the cow and said: 'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's f...

Here is the final sermon in our latest series entitled Chosen. I would be interested to hear your comments or observations from the last three weeks. I am beginning another series next week related to this post ; it's entitled Is That Church Growing? You can listen to today's sermon below or, if you're reading by email, you can click this link . Also, if you visit the sermon channel you can view a copy of our bulletin. Let me know if you think that is a good idea. Stay blessed...john

These pictures came in an email a few weeks ago (Thanks, David).  Some of these are pretty funny.  God separating the clothes is good, and Jesus being rejected is hilarious! I figured you could use a laugh.  Which one do you like?