Harvest Fellowship: Leedey, America

    

It was 1996, I was entering my senior year in high school, Doc Martins and flannel shirts were all the rage, we were dancing the Macarena, and it was all coming back, coming back to Celine now.

     And Pastor Mark Haney received a vision from God.

     It was a vision with biblical backing coming from Matthew 9: 36-38 where Jesus' heart breaks and he has compassion on the crowds of people who are "so confused and aimless that they were like sheep with no shepherd," and he declares to his disciples, "What a huge harvest! What few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!" (paraphrasing mine; direct quotes from The Message). 

    Pastor Mark received a vision, accepted his calling, and obeyed God's will to plant a New Testament Church in Leedey, Oklahoma that was "healthy in worship, ministry, evangelism, and discipleship" (taken from hfchurch.com).  He started out small in the year 2000 with a few people meeting in his garage, but within the year, they had grown and were in need of a larger meeting place.  They purchased a downtown storefront but quickly outgrew it as well, and it wasn't long before they were building a new church on the outskirts of town, and just after Christmas in 2008, they held the first service of what was christened Harvest Fellowship Church at it's new and current location. 

     It was at this simple yet lovely church that our family found ourselves worshiping this past Sunday morning, but to be completely honest, I wasn't thrilled to be going there. I know this sounds strange because I've been looking forward and planning to attend "that new church in Leedey" since our journey began, and we'd even headed that way a couple of times, only to have something come up that placed us at different churches altogether. However, this particular Sunday was hard because we'd been at my childhood church at Lenora the night before for their annual supper and auction and stayed the night at my parents' afterwards.  Once again it seems like I'm making no sense because staying with them made Leedey, Ok a much easier drive on a Sunday morning, but I found my decision wavering as I considered that my entire family was going to be at Lenora for church, AND they were having a guest speaker who I've been anxious to hear as well.  I very nearly called off the Steeple Chase and simply went where I wanted to go, but an easy (irritating, annoying) reminder from my husband redirected my thoughts to God's plan rather than my own, and we made the pilgrimage to Harvest Fellowship instead.

     We arrived a little before church started at 10:30 and parked in front of the metel framed, steepled structure and hurried to get inside out of the cold November wind.  The door was opened for us and we were given a bulliten as we entered into a cozy foyer with a small but inviting beverage cart in the corner.  The girls and I made our way to the restroom where we met the first of a number of friendly members who helped set us more at ease.  I had a good chat about the nice lotions in the restroom and left feeling a little more at home than when I first walked in the door. My husband waiting alone in the foyer, on the other hand, was beginning to get antsy think I'd gotten lost.

    
The sanctuary we entered was spacious and pretty and modern in concept.  With chairs instead of pews, a large open stage area with praise band tuning up, and strategically placed tithe and offering baskets instead of an official offering time during the service, it was a lot like many of the other newer, nondenominational fellowships we've attended.  Our girls were quickly spotted (they're a little hard to hide) and were greeted enthusiastically and invited to attend Children's Church later in the service by a beautiful lady who it turns out my husband had known "most of his life." In fact, she is married to Jason's high school baseball coach who was at the moment on stage warming up on his guitar.  He and his lovely wife are in charge of the youth at Harvest Fellowship as well as being involved in a number of other ministries.  Mark Ward has even written a number of books, and was kind enough to send those home with Jason and share his enthusiasm and passion for ministry with both of us after the service.

     The worship began with incredible music from the praise band.  The band calls themselves Unshakable, and if you ever get the chance to worship with them I highly recommend it.  They led us in songs like "The Voice of Truth", "I am Yours", and "Child of God". All songs with fantastic meaning that truly touched us and helped to open that door between our souls and our savior.

    During the music, rather than having a traditional passing of the offering plate or formal communion, the pastor and his wife, along with a number of other prayer leaders stationed around the room, offered a time of prayer for members of the congregation.  Men and women, young and old, made their way into the loving arms of fellow believers and shared a very powerful time of prayer.  It was different and touching and real and made me feel as if this congregation was truly a family that cared about and trusted one another and had absolute faith in the power of praying to a loving and powerful God. 

    The prayer and praise time was followed by a time with the children, and I was surprised at how many kids were present. We counted somewhere around 30 that were willing to go up front. They were shown a video about Operation Christmas Child.  My girls were very touched by the video and have mentioned several times since that we need to get our boxes done. (And now I'm realizing that I forgot to stop by and get any picked up, and I think I've waited too long. We do boxes every year. I'm feeling like a total failure right now! Boo!)

     After children's time, the kids rushed off to Children's Church, and Pastor Haney got started with an incredible message.  He started off with a bit of a public service announcement letting us know that this particular message wasn't going to be a feel-good message, but a very necessary "meat and potatoes" kind of sermon.  Taken primarily from Chapter 3 of the book of  Revelation, Pastor Haney reminded us that we as American Christians really have no idea what true persecution is all about. He proclaimed that we are in the midst of a holy war being disguised as a political war and that we better start preparing ourselves for living in a world where we are truly persecuted.  He pointed us to the early church and the teachings on persecution and the martyrdom of Stephen. (It was at this point that my husband leaned over and whispered, "We heard a sermon on this just the other day." To which I replied, "Uhm, yeah Babe, that was me." Insert laughing 'til you cry emoji here.) We were urged to quit caving into our "me, me" tendencies and give ourselves wholly to following Christ. We were reminded that to make a difference in the world we have to be different from the world.

     I particularly loved the story he shared of a man named Polycarp who was a prisoner and convert of John's on the island of Patmos who later became Bishop of the church at Smyrna.  As an old man, Polycarp was arrested by soldiers of Marcus Aurelius and dragged into the arena of the Roman Coliseum. He was told to denounce Jesus Christ and rather than do so, he not only refused saying that Jesus had never in 86 years done him wrong and he would not blaspheme his Savior and King, he went on to place himself in the pile of wood to be burned, and thanked God for judging him worthy of being martyred and allowing him to share the cup of Christ. Amazing!! It certainly made me wonder if my faith is strong enough and made me long for the kind of relationship with my King that would give me the strength to die so courageously for my faith in Him. 

     When the service was over, the congregation joined together to move in tables and chairs and prepare for a Harvest Feast of their own. We were invited to join, but had planned on joining family in Vici for Sunday Dinner, so we declined the meal, but stayed for a while afterwards while Jason caught up with his old (as in "in the past", not age) coach, and we shared how God has been moving in our lives and learned of all the He is doing in this fantastic little church on the edge of Bison Country.

     As we drove away, the little girls excitedly shared what they learned in their classes, our oldest belted out praise songs from the morning's worship, and everyone wished that we lived closer so we could come more often. I stated how glad I was that we had made the journey, and

 

Jason slyly grinned, "I guess it wasn't just me giving you a hard time this morning after all."  And he was right. God has truly blessed us in our Steeple Chase this year, and this Sunday at Harvest Fellowship, I learned just how blessed we can be when we listen and obey. 

 

 

 

 

 

Western Sunday: Watonga First Church of the Nazarene

     Many, many moons ago I went to school with a couple of boys by the names of Kris and Kason Oakes. Kris was in my class from preschool through graduation, and Kason was in my younger brother's class.  It was a small school in a small town and we all knew each other pretty well. From Ag trips to ballgames to youth group to class trips, we found ourselves in the same circles throughout our young lives; however, if you had told me that I would one day be sitting in a congregation with my family dressed up in their finest western wear while little brother Kason led his church in worship, I would have been pretty surprised.  I'm still a little surprised, but OH, so pleasantly surprised!

     A few weeks ago, Kason's mom tagged me in a post on Facebook which was a promotional video announcing the coming of Western Sunday at the Watonga Church of the Nazarene where Kason is pastor. The trailer video was cute and intriguing and definitely made me want to be a part of the fun, so November 1st, we put on our boots and belts and the youngest donned her hand-me-down pink cowboy hat, and we all headed off to church. 

     We arrived a little before the 10:45 worship service started and were greeted in the foyer by Pastor Kason himself, chaps and all.  After a quick visit, we were shown to the sanctuary which was appropriately decorated with hay bales and wagon wheels and found ourselves a seat.  A couple of members introduced themselves and welcomed us. One even sat down and visited for quite a while before the service began. 

    The service started with some fun western themed music. The church is gifted with a fantastic praise band, of which the pastor and his wife and father are all members, and the music was accompanied by guitars, drums, a banjo, and even trumpets, flutes, and a saxophone. The talent was extremely evident and definitely enhanced the worship experience.

     The entire service was very well done; however, I would have to say that the message by Pastor Kason was the highlight for us.  I told my husband that if every pastor in America was as fervent about seeking God's will for his church as Kason, that there would be a revival like no other.  We discovered during the message that the church has made a commitment in the past month to pray very intentionally every Monday at 10:02.  During this weekly prayer time, members present a trio of questions to God and wait in anticipation for His answers. The questions they are presenting have to do with saving the lost, raising up workers for the harvest, and what part they as individuals should have.  The message was taken primarily from the Book of Acts and pointed out how in the early church the Holy Spirit was stirring, working, speaking, calling and sending as the believers were worshiping, fasting, praying, and obeying.  Pastor Kason shared with the congregation several examples of how the Holy Spirit has been  moving within their church  since the intentional prayer time had been started three weeks before.  It is amazing how the Lord will move when His people are truly seeking and willing to listen and obey. It certainly sparked within me a desire to be more intentional in my prayer life and to seek the answer to specific questions while developing a closer relationship with my savior.

     When the service was over, we made our way back home, happy to have made the journey to Watonga.  We expected to have a good time. We expected to have some great western music and enjoy the western theme, but the effect our visit had on our spirits went beyond all expectations.  I'm so very glad we accepted the invitation and Chased the Steeple of the Watonga Church of the Nazarene, and we feel so very blessed that once upon a time a little boy named Kason grew up to be a man after God's own heart and share his heart with the body of Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Church OKC

   

(Photo taken from First Church website.)

     This past Sunday, my husband and I had the opportunity to attend First Church in Oklahoma City.  Most likely, you're familiar with this beautiful Methodist church from the damage done to it during the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in 1995;however, it's history dates much, much further back than that. Think homesteaders and land runs and 1889. Think beginnings of a new city and the start of new places to worship in this new city, and think First Church. This particular church got its start the Sunday after the first Oklahoma Land Rush and is known to be the oldest church in Oklahoma City to have occupied the same corner on the same street since its origin so long ago.

    The original wood-framed church building was eventually replaced by the stately brick structure with gorgeous round stained glass windows that you remember from the news, and after the damage from the bombing, the congregation chose to convert the damaged sanctuary to a fellowship hall and build an addition housing a new sanctuary and chapel among other needed rooms.  It was into this addition that we first walked this past Sunday morning.

    It took us a little while to figure out exactly where to park, but eventually we found a parking lot in what appears to be the back of the church with some spaces marked specifically for visitors. One parking lot we had entered to begin with read Permit Only, and the spaces we eventually found were pretty hard to read due to peeling paint, so by the time we got out of our vehicles, we were a little frazzled and feeling a bit like this church didn't want us there. Boy were we wrong!

   As we walked timidly up to the door, unsure about whether or not we were at the right entrance, we were relieved to have the door opened by a smiling gentleman welcoming us to church. Several others shook our hands and visited with us a bit before directing us towards a visitors center in the middle of the foyer and even more welcoming, smiling faces.  In the center of the group, bringing life to all who crossed his path was the church historian who greeted us from his walker/perch and made us laugh and feel right at home before we were directed to the sanctuary.

     Once seated in the truly gorgeous sanctuary with windows echoing the original windows in the original santuary, several more members stopped by to say hello, and they explained that we had arrived just in time to enjoy Laity Sunday (where the regular folks would take over the service) and invited us to stay for their chili cook-off meal (which was extremely tempting... except that we were in the city, and how often do we get to eat out in the city....without kids....so, thanks so much, maybe next time).  We were a little surprised by how many people went out of their way to say hello and make us feel at home.  Within a few minutes, the sanctuary begin to fill up, but we couldn't help but noticed that there was room for many, many more to attend.

   Soon the music started with a very traditional hymn sung to beautiful organ music. Unfortunately, I don't think this particular song was much of a tradition in this church as it reminded me greatly of times I attempted to lead the congregation in singing an older, mostly unknown hymn and failed miserably. It was so pitiful in fact that I almost got tickled and started laughing, and I have to think that God must get a little chuckle at our goof ups in worship. I also greatly appreciated the fact that the man who stepped up afterwards to make announcements and pray joked that by the final verse he felt like he almost had that song down. (I mean really, why not go ahead and name that elephant?, and he did, which really lightened the mood and set the stage for a fantastic rest of the service. )

    The music itself improved exponentially after that first song. The choir shared special music, and though they were small, they were definitely mighty. Their beautiful harmonies guided me into worship and soothed away any worldly worries I'd brought in with me.  There was only one gentleman in the group, but boy, oh, boy could he sing. In all, it was just perfectly perfect, and then the praise band came forward for a time of contemporary worship music that moved me to my very soul.  There were times that the presence of God so overwhelmed me that tears ran down my cheeks and I couldn't get the words to exit my throat.  Oh how I so appreciate the opportunity to truly worship my God through song, and I'm so grateful for this chance to do so on this particular Sunday.

    Because it was Laity Sunday, we got the chance to experience a variety of members participating in a variety of ways.  There was a touching and sincere prayer time, a testimony of God's faithfulness that could have served as a sermon in itself, a well-presented message that was just icing on the cake, and the adorable robed acolytes were the perfect bookends to a wonderful worship experience.

    Afterwards, members took the time to show us around, making certain that we were able to experience the chapel where the perfectly intact face of Jesus that was salvaged from the wreckage of blown out windows after the bombing has been inserted into a new window with 33 other pieces of salvaged stained glass surrounding. The room was gorgeous and serene and had a very healing feeling about it.

I really wish you could actually see this window.
Apparently, I'm no good at window pictures.

     We also were shown the fellowship hall which was converted from the original sanctuary and given a chance to visit with the very delightful church historian and to wander through the history nook with it's incredible displays of church artifacts and antiques.

This is part of the original sanctuary which is now the
fellowship hall.  So beautiful!

     All in all, we had a wonderful worship experience with the people of First Church and would be thrilled to visit again sometime. If you find yourself in the downtown OKC area on a Sunday morning, I highly recommend that you Chase this particular Steeple as well!

Fairview Church of the Nazerene

 

   In our journey this year chasing steeples Sunday after Sunday, we made the decision that in the midst of all the various churches we visit across the state, we want to be certain to visit all of our local churches as well. Truly this is no small feat in itself, as there are no less than 10 churches in the town of Fairview and several more within the surrounding community. So a couple weeks ago, we decided to check another off the list and see what God had in store for us at the Fairview Church of the Nazarene.

    We entered just as church was starting and were greeted at the door with friendly handshakes and exclamations of welcome.  To be completely honest, the entry was a bit confusing as it opened directly into a corridor with options to the left and right. After a moment of confusion, I exclaimed, "We have no idea where to go!", and our friend at the door happily pointed us in the right direction.  We walked into the sanctuary and seated ourselves near the back as announcements and the music being started and I suddenly wished I'd been a little more quiet at the door as I'm sure everyone heard my loud exclamations and knew we were coming before we even reached the sanctuary. (It's hard to be inconspicuous when you're naturally loud and awkward and travel with an equally loud and awkward entourage. Oh well...we are who we are. I'm sure this probably embarrasses my husband more often than it does me since it's rarely him making all the noise.)

   The music playing as we got settled in was a combination of piano and organ and was just lovely. It was very soothing and helped erase the craziness of a White house Sunday morning and usher in what we hoped would be a bit of peace in an hour of worship. The organist (or possibly pianist, I'm not certain now which was which.) was the pastor's wife who I had the privilege of teaching elementary school with when I was first getting started, and she and Pastor McKinney were called forward after the opening songs to be honored for their role in pastoring this congregation.  The pastor and his wife gave 37 years to this congregation before retiring, and then after a year or two were persuaded to come out of retirement to serve as interim pastor over the past year.  The congregation took the opportunity during Pastor Appreciation Month to express their gratitude and present a gift to the couple that morning. 

    Afterwards, we entered into worship with a combination of a praise chorus sung to recorded music and traditional hymns such as Beulah Land and Living for Jesus played on the piano and organ. We were extremely blessed to be present for the special music that morning which consisted of a trio of women (the two pianists and the song leader) lifting their voices up with the most beautiful harmony.   The congregational music was projected onto a screen at the front of the church which when lifted revealed a beautiful baptismal area with a wooden cross hanging above.  The entire sanctuary was just beautiful with a lovely high arched ceiling and lots of gleaming wood that made me feel as if I was in the ark itself. (Except that there weren't any animals...unless you count my children.)

     After the music, the congregation was encouraged to greet one another, and we were made to feel very welcome. We were even invited to have a potluck dinner with the congregation after church (Which you know always makes me feel uncomfortable when I haven't brought anything to contribute, but they used my children against me, joking about how hungry my growing girls must be and getting me to agree as they all grinned up at me nodding their heads and rubbing their empty bellies.)

    We very much enjoyed the sermon by Pastor McKinney who has a deep James Earl Jonesish voice that just drew us in and practically hypnotized us into listening. And how very glad we were that we did.  The sermon was taken from the first chapter of Romans and was entitled The Consequences of Unbelief.  It was a calling to turn from our sinful natures and our worshipping of ourselves and money and things, and to return to God and accept the peace and forgiveness that he offers us out of his unmerited love for us. Pastor McKinney's easy, "sit on a stool and talk to his children" style of delivery made me feel cared for and guided and loved. 

     When the sermon ended so did the service, and we were ushered into the fellowship hall where the tables were laden with an abundance amazing looking food and we were encouraged to start the line. We had such a lovely time eating and visiting and spending time with members of the congregation, that I completely forgot to take any pictures at all.  I didn't even think to grab my camera when the kids got a ball stuck in a tree and my husband lifted one of the boys up into the branches to get it. (Probably because I was too busy praying he didn't drop him!)

     We had a fantastic morning worshiping with the Fairview Church of the Nazarene and are so fortunate that our Steeple Chase includes so many wonderful bodies of Christ right here in our own community.  Thank God for the faithfulness of his believers! And thank God for the chance we've had to get to know so many this year!