Blog Posts
Appointments for the week of June 28, 2021
6/21/2021
Greg Boyd from Kellyville UMC to Kellyville UMC/Bristow UMC, effective July 1, 2021
Receive the gift, let go
2/22/2008
"The Gift of Tomorrow" If we could have a second chance to live the days once more, and rectify mistakes we've made to even up the score. If we could have a second chance to use the knowledge gained, perhaps we might become at last as fine as God ordained. But though we can't retrace our steps, however stands the score, tomorrow brings another chance for us to try once more. -Hilda Butler Farr By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. All too often, people associate Lent with giving up some trivial ...
The words we use
2/8/2008
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. AMEN." -I Peter 5:10-11 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. Have you ever given much thought to the origins of the words we use? Words have fascinated me since the time I was an English major in college. I delight in uncovering how the years have shaped and molded the vocabulary of this age. ...
Roots that run deep
1/25/2008
2008 Bishop's Retreats Feb. 18-20 at Canyon March 30-April 1 at Egan March 9-11 at Egan March 25-27 at Canyon All clergy are required to attend. Sign up online at http://www.okumcministries.org/camps/ "It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant water." -Ezekiel 31:7 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. The roots of one current Hollywood movie run so deep in my life that I am choosing to shake the family tree and allow a few leaves of ...
The consequences and rewards of leadership
1/11/2008
"Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way; Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still."-Adelaide A. Pollard,1862-1934; The United Methodist Hymnal By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. This month and next, ministry leaders and officers from churches across Oklahoma will gather for training at Local Church Leader Workshops. These annual meetings in the districts are designed to inform and empower the people elected by their peers at ...
Will anything happen here this Christmas?
12/21/2007
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!' When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.'" -Luke 2:13-15 (NRSV) By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. John Lenore lived in Paris, France, and he made his living making ...
Thanksgiving: Holiday? Hollow Day? Holy Day?
11/16/2007
"If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish." -Deuteronomy 8:19 (NRSV) By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. My task today is challenging. My desire is to encourage a hunger in you for a Thanksgiving Day unlike any other. As I look at the ways we mark the fourth Thursday in November, I wonder if we see a holiday, hollow day, or holy day. Many of us fill the day with so many activities that very little ...
Winning by losing
11/2/2007
"But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.-Matthew 19:30 (NRSV) By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. I remember well the day I turned 30 years old. The headlines at that time proclaimed no one older than 30 could be trusted! (I never figured out how they arrived at that conclusion; I was never consulted.) It was the age of disco, long lines for gasoline, and burgeoning health fads. On my birthday, I stood at my mirror and asked myself, "Bob Hayes, what gift can you give yourself...
Finishing what we've started
10/19/2007
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will be rewarded according to the labor of each. For we are God's servants working together; you are God's field, God's building." -I Corinthians 3:6-9 (NIV) Part 3 (This is the last in a three-part series of Hayes' reflections, assessments, and hopes for the ...
It's all about growth
10/5/2007
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.-2 Peter 3:18 (NRSV) Part Two (This continues a three-part series of Hayes' reflections, assessment, and hopes for the Oklahoma Conference as he enters his fourth year as bishop.) By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. Three years and one month ago, I drove north across the Red River, on Interstate 35, to begin my duties as the Oklahoma Area episcopal leader. ...
A special day
9/21/2007
"We should so live and labor in our time that what came to us as seed may go to the next generation as blossom, and what came to us as blossom may go to them as fruit. This is what we mean by progress." -Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman, 1813-1887 Part One By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. Although Gov. Henry didn't declare a holiday, and there weren't parades in towns across our state, Sept. 1 was a very special day for me. There was no fanfare. Neither balloons, nor cakes with candles. For ...