May 27, 2020

First Connect

www.fbcokc.org 405- 232-4255

FBCOKC – A family of faith, growing in God’s love, striving to be faithful.

FBCOKC Family,

We are so excited to get back together for in-person worship starting June 7th. For any of our members who are immune compromised or have other health concerns, please continue to join us for worship online. We love you and want you to stay safe! As we try to make the best decisions for our church family, please make the best decision for you personally. We are one family. No matter what. Whether we see you in person for a while or not, you are family and we love you!

Here is what you can expect as we move into Phase 1 of gathering for worship.

Our Church Facility: Our church has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized in preparation for resuming in-person services. We have updated our cleaning practices and schedules in order to regularly clean and sanitize after all events.

Hospitality:

Hand Sanitizing Stations: We have hand sanitizing stations at each entrance to the building and throughout the building. Please sanitize your hands as you enter the church each time.

Masks: We recommend wearing masks but they are not required. Masks will be more important as you move about the church. Remember we are sharing our building with other congregations.

Coffee: Please bring your own coffee. We will not be serving coffee or refreshments.

Entrances: Doors will be open at 10:10 and worship will begin at 10:30. Please enter through the North and South Doors only. We will have greeters at each entrance so you do not need to touch door handles.

Restrooms: Please limit the number of people in the restrooms at a time.

What to Expect in Worship:

Sanctuary: You will find pews are sectioned off to encourage appropriate spacing. Please sit with your family and distance appropriately from other guests.

Dress: We will be more casual in the summer months. Our friends are watching at home in their pajamas. Feel free to come in your jeans or whatever feels right to you.

Offering: We will not pass the offering plate. It will be available at the front of the sanctuary for you to place your offering in as you leave worship.

Music: We will take it one step at a time. For now, we will not have congregational singing, but will continue to have music. Music has been and will always be a vital aspect of worship. It will continue to be a meaningful part of worship each week. We will be creative in our approach!

Streaming: We will continue to stream our services indefinitely. It is important to us that everyone remains connected to the church while remaining at home. We love you!

Nursery: The nursery will be open starting at 10:15 for babies through 5 years of age. Children will be instructed to wash their hands upon arrival and dismissal. Teachers will use extra care to keep your kids safe.

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Reasons to Stay Home: If you feel it is the r ight choice for you, then it is the r ight choice. If you are immune compromised or have someone in your family that is, please use caution. If you have been ill or been exposed to others who are sick, please be on the safe side.

Committee Meetings: Com m ittee m eetings w ill m eet in -person in the Dining Hall so that each person can sit at their own table. Please schedule meetings through the church office so we can make sure the space is cleaned before and after your meeting.

Small Groups: I w ant to encourage sm all groups to consider m aking plans for m eeting in-person, outside. Each small group needs to begin visiting about what that might look like. Some groups may choose to meet under the portico at the church and bring their own lawn chairs. More information about small group opportunities will be coming in the next few weeks.

Church Office: The staff is back in the church office. It will remain closed to outside visitors for the summer. If you need to visit a minister, we love parking lot conversations.

Phase 2 is tentatively scheduled to begin June 21st. In this phase we will begin to resume Sunday morning Bible Study. Look for more information in the coming weeks. This will look different for each group.

Phrase 3 is tentatively scheduled to begin July 8th. In this phase we will resume Wednesday night activities in a limited capacity. As we serve, Sarah

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY Feeling the Walls for a Light Switch

One of my favorite poems is “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins. He

wants us to treat a poem as a story to be entered into, a work of art to behold.

Not a problem to solve or a specimen to dissect. He says, “…hold it up to the

light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive.” My favorite line is

where he asks us to “…walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a

light switch.” Collins disdains those who have no patience for the process and simply want to “…tie the

poem to a chair and torture a confession out of it…” This type of person has no interest in the

transcendent nature of a poem. All they want to do is find the answer to this question: what does it

mean? There’s nothing wrong with the question. Of course we want to discover the meaning! But the

irony is they are cutting themselves off from the very thing they seek. They are opening the first page of

a novel then flipping to the very end expecting to discover the meaning of the book without actually

reading it!

Is there a lesson here for us as we approach the Word of God? All too often enter into the Scriptures

looking for answers when God has invited me into a grand story. An adventure of epic proportions I

cannot fully fathom. I sit there with a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet when the God of all creation is

asking me to enter into the room and feel the walls for the light switch. To hold up his words to the

light and see what shines through. To be swept up in the mystery of His all-consuming love. Don’t get

me wrong. The meaning and interpretation of Scripture is of utmost importance. It matters what we

believe about Jesus, God, and the Holy Scriptures. But so often our attempt to dissect meaning out of

God’s Word turns Scripture into a frog we dissect in biology class instead a living, dynamic, experience.

The same can be said for all those who dare to follow the way of Jesus. Listen to these words of Eugene

Peterson: “The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped — it requires an active participation in

following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory, in circumstances

that become clear only in the hesitations and questionings, in the pauses and reflections where we

engage in prayerful conversation with one another and with him.” I can spend hours trying to tell

Sarah or the boys about a hike I went on in the mountains. I can describe the landscape, the wildlife I

encountered, the switchbacks and curves, the way the light danced as the sun filtered through the trees,

the feeling of exhilaration when I reached the summit. They can have all the information about the

hike and may even be able to repeat it back to me. But the only way for them to truly experience the

hike for themselves is to lace up their shoes, fill

up their water bottles, and go on the journey.

And as they do that information they’ve received

becomes transformational as they experience the

reality of it all.

As we open up the Scriptures this week, may we enter into the passages and not only read them but let them read us. May we be reminded that the Jesus we follow is not content for us to simply adhere to a set of propositions but to embrace a new way of life. A life full of mystery, beauty, detours, and sacrificial love. Let us be brave enough to enter the dark rooms and feel the walls for the light switch. Brad

Introduction to Poetry

BY BILLY COLLINS

I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light

like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room

and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem

waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

Stay Connected from a Distance

Even though we are all keeping our distance from one another, there’s still plenty of ways to stay connected to your church family!

We are posting a LOT of new content to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/firstbaptistokc). This is where Sarah will be delivering her sermons, we’ll have prayer times, interactive questions, and much more. The page is open to the public, so you don’t have to have a Facebook account to view the page.

Please use our Facebook page as a way to stay connected! Think of it as our virtual church building.

If you have a prayer request that you would like to submit, please email PrayFirst@fbcokc.org. If you would like to receive the Pray First emails, please email PrayFirst@fbcokc.org.

We have a new website! If you haven’t heard, we’ve been working on a new website for several months. It’s got a fresh look and is easy to navigate. Check it out at www.fbcokc.org

Finally, reach out to your fellow church members. Give them a call, a text, or video chat. We’re all in this together, so find creative ways to stay connected.

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY Numbers 9:19. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the

Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out.

When our son Nathan was young he wanted to cross a busy intersection on his

bicycle in order to get to the other side. The other side held for a young boy an

escape and perhaps a little danger in order to look and purchase, at that time,

a collection of baseball cards. This collectors card shop was after all a place

that made a young boy feel cool and maybe a little older. I recall though that it

was more about the crossing of that intersection that could bring more thrill and coolness.

Now as a mom I only had to think about this question (he did ask permission) oh……..one second. It was

a question I didn’t have to mull over and pray about it. I did not think it wise, so I said “NO”. Honestly, it

was not the right time in his life to let him venture off into something that could be risky for him. Nathan

obeyed. Call me smothering, hovering or overpowering if you will but I said no. Now mind you, I had no

problem getting in the car and driving him over there but I had a feeling that just wouldn’t have made as

good a story. You know that feeling as a parent, when you want to do things that your children find

pleasure in and you want to allow these desires.

Sometimes in life we want what we want when we want it even if it is not the wisest thing for us. Thank

God He uses people who are for us and who want to help guide us in wise choices. I believe God provides,

protects, and positions us in situations that teach us boundaries. Boundaries that can protect us from

things we are not ready for, or ready to experience. Listen to those boundaries, after all it is our choice

and given for a reason and purpose.

Don’t cross the street before your time (metaphorically) but listen to wise council and when the time is

right, use all of what God has given you to do and proceed with caution. We have those stop lights

(parents, teachers, friends, family spouses, preachers, and bosses)……….for a reason. Not so much to

keep you from doing or experience something but to

guide you for when the time is right. Toni

An excerpt from “Streams in the Desert”;

Young person wait – do not be in such a hurry to make

a change. Minister stay at your post! You must wait

where you are until the cloud clearly begins to move,

wait for the Lord to give you his good pleasure! He

will not be late!

An hour of waiting! Yet there seems such need To reach that spot sublime! I long to reach them – but I long far more To trust HIS time!

FAMILY BUILDING COMMUNITY

Budget Report:

Includes contributions through: May

Budget Requirements thus far (thru the Month of May) 247,677.50

Budget Receipts Received Thus Far 215,935.56

Budget Requirements-Month 49,535.50

Budget Receipts Received This Period 37,228.00

Received to Date (%) For Current Month 75%

Received to Date (%) For Year (thru May) 87%