03
May 2024
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! Pastor Tim and Sharon Odom Pastor Tim is retiring after 20 years at Collinsville Church of the Nazarene. The church is alive and growing. An amazing part of Pastor Tim’s tenure is that their three other pastoral staff members have all served at least 15 years with Pastor Tim at Collinsville. The Church is hosting a retirement reception for Tim and Sharon on Saturday, April 27, 2:00 – 4:00 pm at their facilities, 1118 W Broadway. David and Lisa Frisbie Due to health limitations following a heart attack, David Frisbie retired after one year at Miami New Life. David and Lisa have previously served NEO as Pastoral Staff at Family Church (now Core Church). Of course, David and Lisa have served NEO and the global church as Directors of Marriage and Family Ministry for many years. Additional Assembly Information: Lodging.......
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03
Apr 2024
Dear NEO family, It is April 1. Those of us who follow our crucified and risen Savior are no fools! The Apostle Paul says it this way to the church at Corinth: 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” I Corinthians 1:26 – 31......
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08
Mar 2024
Find Us Faithful Dave McKellips On any week we could print the names of some who have modeled faithful service to God and the church in our update. We stand on the shoulders of a cloud of witnesses, lay and clergy, who have followed Jesus faithfully and whose devotion has lit the way for us. In the last couple of weeks, I have been reminded of the impact of three special ladies – Dell Brock, Joyce Smith and Sheryl Renfro. Dell D Brock, age 98 of Tulsa Southwest Church, met her Savior face to face on February 25th. Dell became a devout Christian and got involved in the Nazarene church in the late 1950’s. She taught Sunday school, was the missionary president at her church (Yes, she rolled a lot of bandages to send to the mission field! Many of us old timers remember doing that!) and a board......
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05
Feb 2024
Blessing Our Communities Stan Reeder, USA/Canada Regional Director Jeremiah 29:7 “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Recently, I was pondering this verse and how I might live it out in the city I live in. There are many people around the world living in exile, and I am not one of them. But I do feel the tension of living as a Jesus follower in a world that lives much different than I do. That wants to pull us into its orbit. It would be easy to just socialize with people in our churches, who think the same way as we do and close ourselves off to the world. But that is not what we are called to, and as leaders we have to set......
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16
Jan 2024
Happy New Year! I trust you are off to a great start in 2024. Twelve NEO Churches are beginning the year focusing on seven markers of spiritual maturity for those following Jesus: Bible Engagement, Passionate Prayer, Wholehearted Worship, Humble Service, Joyful Generosity, Consistent Community, Organic Outreach. It is important to remember that these are a recipe, not a menu. We cannot pick and choose among them. (I heard that one of our churches passed out chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the service last Sunday to emphasize the importance of all ingredients being included 😊). The focus this week is Bible Engagement: learning to know, love, and follow the teaching of Scripture. All three actions are important, aren’t they? John Wesley was a prolific reader of books, yet he described himself as a man of one book. Only one book was his authority for faith and life. I am......
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