Chandler, OK March 20-23, 2016

It is just a long drive from Tennessee to Oklahoma.  There are no two ways about that.  From my house, I go about 11 miles and then turn left on I-40 . . . and then just keep going straight west.  Part of the joy of that drive has become having my son, Carey, with me, and he has now been to Chandler, OK with me several times over the past few years.  We have favorite stopping places along that route, including the Golden Corral buffet in Conway, Arkansas.  I missed him as he was not able to go with me this time due to some school work that he needed to get done, along with his desire to attend our homeschool conference here in Nashville.  But it always brings a smile to me when we talk on the phone along the way and he asks me where I am and he can picture the different landmarks or locations.  He is a well traveled young man!

It has been our custom to have a weekend revival at the Church of the Nazarene in Chandler every fall, usually near the beginning of November.  Some years they have also had me come for a spring revival, beginning on Palm Sunday, and this was one of those years.  I was blessed to stay at a beautiful location this time, out in a cabin on Bell Cow Lake, just outside of Chandler.  It was a quiet and refreshing place that allowed me to teach my regularly scheduled online classes on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I am currently teaching five different ninety-minute Bible classes to students around the world through The Potter’s School, with a total of 57 students.  I teach all my classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because those are usually my non-travel days.  

Bell Cow Lake, Chandler, OK

It is sometimes a stretch to keep up with the classes and work in the midst of travel and preaching, but I am really thankful for this work, and God is moving in amazing ways in the lives of students.  But that is the subject for another post!

With Keith Cole at the Boomerang cafe on historic Route 66 in downtown Chandler, OK

It is amazing to think that we have been friends with Keith and Nancy Cole for almost a quarter of a century (24 years) after our first time at their church in Minnesota in 1992 before coming to Chandler, OK in 1993 when they moved there.  So, it is always like being with family: talking about what God is doing in our lives and ministry, our families, the Chicago Cubs, or just Keith giving Trina a hard time about something.  But we have also come to know the church people as family.  This has been one of the joys of this “running together” over the years, and it is has been a special blessing to see my son included in that also.  He asks about the people by name, even when he is not there, and they ask about him.  That is the body of Christ!  I am encouraged to see what is happening in the church.  The attendance at these revival services was tremendous.  Even more, it really seemed that Jesus was speaking and moving in a very powerful way in these times.  I saw a new level of response in the people, and there was just the sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  I mentioned last time that Pastor Keith is leading a new emphasis on prayer in the life of the church, and I cannot help but feel that God is moving through this.  How encouraging!  

On Thursday morning, I left Chandler, drove down to Shawnee, OK, and turned left on I-40 to head eastward toward Tennessee.  Another long drive (and no stopping at Golden Corral this time), but I could not help but think of some of the journeys that the Apostle Paul made, and that this is what the early church was all about: people running together, seeking after Jesus, and growing in Him.  My heart was filled with thanks again for His blessing and the privilege of what He has called me to,
 
In Christ,
 
John