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
In the right place at the right time
8/18/2006
Thursday, July 20th, started out like all my other busy days. Early that morning, I traveled to Tulsa to spend the day with the interns and children of Project Transformation. I was scheduled to visit the sites, observe the ministry of this fine summer program, speak to the interns at dinner that evening, and return to Oklahoma City late that night. Little did I know just how long the day would be. At Tulsa-St. Mark's and Grace churches, I saw loving attention to children. All were engaged-with...
Sweet, sweet rest!
7/21/2006
"He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." -Psalms 121:3-4 By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. Sleep. We go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret. Sleep. We make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we wake up our bodies every morning to keep it late. Rest. What a delightful thing! Napoleon wrote: "I would not exchange it for all the thrones in the world." Neither would most of us. I know ...
Again, for the first time
6/30/2006
"Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born (again) when he is old?' Jesus said to him, "Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born anew.' The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit." -John 3:4, 7-8 By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr.I'm not a big fan of television commercials. When I do have the luxury of sitting down and watching a good show or sporting event, I'm ...
Show and tell
5/26/2006
"Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age" -Matthew 28:19a, 20 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. One ritual my children enjoyed when they were in school was something called "show and tell." This was a frequent event that had everything to do with displaying something of interest that caused some kids to drool with ...
Thanks to one of God's servants
5/12/2006
"Well done, good and faithful servant."-Matthew 25:25 By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. I"m not one of those people who find it easy to say goodbye. That reluctance can be detrimental to a United Methodist minister who has moved all over the place for 35 years. In the words of a longtime pastor: "There are only two kinds of preachers in our denomination: those who are moving this year and the ones who haven't moved yet." Simply put, moving on to the next place, to the next challenge, is ...
What difference did Easter make?
4/28/2006
"It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, He'll do the same thing in you that He did in Jesus, bringing you alive to Himself?" (Romans 8:11, Peterson's Translation) By Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. Well, another Easter has come and gone. The lilies have been taken home, and the Easter eggs that once littered the church grounds have all been found-at least we hope so.Any leftover elaborate bulletins have been gathered and...
Life without pictures or sound
3/10/2006
"Be still and know that I am God." —Psalm 46:10 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. The snow and ice that invaded Oklahoma on a recent weekend really wreaked havoc in a lot of our churches. A great number of people couldn’t get to church because of the poor traveling conditions, and it’s likely those who did manage to get to church hoped the preacher would do a "mini" service and sermon before the weather got any worse. Have you ever conducted a program while all the other heads in the room were ...
A chance to start over
2/24/2006
"Draw near to God and God will draw near to you." -James 4:8 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. Isn't it strange how certain memories can stay with us for a long, long time? There is no way for us to remember every experience over the course of our lives, but we must admit there are some memories that refuse to go away. Right now, I',m thinking about something that happened to me more than 40 years ago, and the memory of that moment is as clear today as it was when it took place in Mrs. Anderson's ...
Someone lost a Bible
2/10/2006
"But Jesus answered and said, 'It is written, one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." - Matthew 4:4 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. A s I travel from church to church in this vast annual conference, I often stumble into interesting and memorable experiences. Recently, in one of our larger churches, I was ushered into a side room adjacent to the sanctuary to await my time to preach. As I ...
That was yesterday
1/27/2006
"No one having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:62 "....but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13b_14 By BISHOP ROBERT E. HAYES JR. The Eskimos of Alaska have a strange ...