The following came to me via e-mail and I pass it along here to encourage anyone in the Midwest who can make the trip to Tulsa this Spring to do so. The Tulsa Workshop is a very worthwhile gathering of Christians, not only Church of Christ brethren but now also welcoming those from the independent Christian Churches.


2010 Schedule
TIME SPEAKER TITLE/TOPIC
6:00 WEDNESDAY
Pavilion Singing Groups Concerts
6:45 WEDNESDAY
Pavilion Keith Lancaster Praise & Worship
Don McLaughlin A Redeemed Past
9:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Randy Harris Reflections on Christian Maturity – Part 1
CP #1 Josh Graves The Vocabulary of Faith – Gospel
CP #2 Jason Thornton Tragedy Focuses our Journey
CP #3 Dusty Rush Empty Evangelists
EX #1 Greg Taylor Community Ministry
EX #2 TBA Minister’s Wives Forum
10:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Patrick Mead A Continuing Restoration
CP #1 David Fraze Intergenerational Connection – Part 1
CP #2 Mike Tanaro It is a Journey
CP #3 Tim Rush God’s Journey in Mexico
EX #1 Liz Pence Transformed Mind: Perfect Sacrifice
EX #2 Daryl Hayes Missed It By That Much
11:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Rick Atchley The Greatest Story Ever – The Prodigal God
CP #1 Terry Rush Evangelism: Our Journey from Christianizing the Flesh
CP #2 Allen French Worship Experience
CP #3 Don McLaughlin Minister’s Forum #1
EX #1 Eric Brunson TBA (Children’s Class)
EX #2 Lewis Parry Fruit of the Spirit – Love (Deaf Class)
12:00 THURSDAY
CP #1 Singing Groups Concerts
2:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Al Maxey From Slavery to Freedom
CP #1 Josh Graves The Vocabulary of Faith – Sin
CP #2 Joneal Kirby Why God Needs Women
CP #3 Spencer Dunlap Meeting Them Where They Are
EX #1 Eli Hooper I Act Like I’m Going to Heaven – Act 1 (Teen Class)
EX #2 TBA TBA
3:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Randy Harris Reflections on Christian Maturity – Part 2
CP #1 Josh Ross Risk-Taking 101 – The Gospel is for Risk-Takers
CP #2 Trey Morgan It’s a Cross, not an Easy Chair
CP #3 Charles Smith Marriage in the Image of Christ – Part 1
EX #1 Mitch Wilburn Ministry in Tragedy
EX #2 Phillip Major Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness (Deaf Class)
4:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Rick Atchley The Greatest Story Ever – The Prodigal Sons
CP #1 Marvin Phillips Loving Jesus When Life Hits You in the Face
CP #2 John Dobbs TBA
CP #3 Clint Davis God’s Journey in Africa
EX #1 TBA TBA (Children’s Class)
EX #2 Francisco Davila De la fosa de la muerte, a siervo de Jesús
6:00 THURSDAY
Pavilion Singing Groups Concerts
6:45 THURSDAY
Pavilion Shane Coffman Praise & Worship
David Fraze A Powerful Present
9:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Al Maxey From Law to Grace
CP #1 Josh Ross Risk-Taking 201 – Taking Risks in Relationships
CP #2 Jason Thornton Rest Accelerates our Journey
CP #3 Dusty Rush Silent Evangelists
EX #1 Dick Marcear Geezerology – Part 1
EX #2 David Jamerson Tools for Building a Biblical World-View – AWANA
10:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Patrick Mead Restoring the Heart
CP #1 David Fraze Intergenerational Connection – Part 2
CP #2 Mike Tanaro It Requires Pressing On
CP #3 Monty Daffern TBA (College Ministry)
EX #1 Liz Pence Transformed Desire: Perfect Submission
EX #2 TBA TBA
11:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Jeff Walling TBA
CP #1 Josh Graves The Vocabulary of Faith – Heaven
CP #2 Chris Lindsay Worship Experience
CP #3 Rick Atchley Minister’s Forum #2
EX #1 Eric Brunson TBA (Children’s Class)
EX #2 Fred Orr Fruit of the Spirit – Self-Control (Deaf Class)
12:00 FRIDAY
CP #1 Singing Groups Concerts
2:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Al Maxey From Faction to Family
CP #1 TBA TBA
CP #2 Joneal Kirby How God Can Use Grandmas, Widows, and You
CP #3 Spencer Dunlap Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery
EX #1 Eli Hooper I Act Like I’m Going to Heaven – Act 2 (Teen Class)
EX #2 Landon Norton Tools for Bible Study – LOGOS Bible Software
3:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Patrick Mead Restoration as a Verb
CP #1 Josh Ross Risk-Taking 301 – Taking Risks for Our Communities
CP #2 Trey Morgan The Journey toward Christ-likeness
CP #3 Monty Daffern TBA (College Ministry)
EX #1 Dick Marcear Geezerology – Part 2
EX #2 Carl Moore Fruit of the Spirit – Patience (Deaf Class)
4:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Jeff Walling TBA
CP #1 Don McLaughlin Fear vs. Faith
CP #2 Craig Hicks TBA
CP #3 Charles Smith Marriage in the Image of Christ – Part 2
EX #1 TBA Children’s Class
EX #2 Francisco Davila De siervo a amigo de Jesús
6:00 FRIDAY
Pavilion Singing Groups Concerts
6:45 FRIDAY
Pavilion Chris Lindsay/Sean Algaier Praise & Worship
Mike Cope A Fearless Future
9:00 SATURDAY
Pavilion Terry Rush Evangelism: Our Journey to Realizing the Spirit
CP #1 Bible Bowl
CP #2 John Dobbs TBA
CP #3 Shane Coffman Worship Planning 101
EX #1 Eli Hooper Abraham Got It – What Heaven Actually Looks Like
EX #2 TBA Minister’s Wives Forum
10:00 SATURDAY
Pavilion Sean Algaier The Spiritual Journey of a Big Loser
CP #1 Bible Bowl
CP #2 Mike Tanaro No One Travels Alone
CP #3 Spencer Dunlap Doing Good Opens Ears
EX #1 Liz Pence Transformed Suffering: Perfect Love
EX #2 TBA TBA
11:00 SATURDAY
Pavilion Jeff Walling TBA
CP #1 Bible Bowl
CP #2 Kyler Erwin Worship Experience
CP #3 Greg Taylor Minister’s Forum #3
EX #1 Linda Scott TBA (Children’s Class)
EX #2 TBA TBA (Spanish Class)
1:00 SATURDAY
CP#1 Chris Lindsay/Sean Algaier Teen Worship Experience
2:00 SATURDAY
Pavilion Mike Cope Raised ‘Lutheran’ in the Church of Christ –
Journey Toward a Missional Understanding of the Good News
CP #1 Acappella Concert
CP #2 —————– —————–
CP #3 —————– —————–
EX #1 Joneal Kirby Women Living Out Loud and On Purpose
EX #2 TBA TBA
3:00 SATURDAY
Pavilion Marvin Phillips Loving Jesus Over the Long Haul
CP #1 Acappella Concert
CP #2 —————– —————–
CP #3 —————– —————–
EX #1 Craig Hicks TBA
EX #2 Phillip Major Fruit of the Spirit – Kindness & Goodness (Deaf Class)
4:00 SATURDAY
Pavilion Terry Rush Fasten Your Seat Belts – Here We Go!
Jason Thornton
Shane Coffman
9:00 SUNDAY
Memorial Drive TBA Praise & Worship

www.tulsaworkshop.org

Due to recent events and fresh insights, this site is undergoing some changes.  More information will be available over the course of the coming weeks.

Thank you.

The Brazilian Church of Christ in Newark, NJ is mourning the loss of our brother Paulo Magalhaes.  He was a Brazilian man who moved to the United States way back in 1952.  The funeral was today, and for my part I shared the following remarks:


It isn’t unusual to remember the situation in which you first met someone: Where you were and what you were doing.  It may be less common to know the date.  I can say with confidence that I and most members of the Brazilian church first met Mr. Paul, as I came to know him, on May 30, 2005.  It was Memorial Day and a friend had taken him to a cookout at a church in Westfield.  Several families from the Brazilian church were there, including mine.  He sat quietly for a while in the shade near the church building before walking over and stunning all of us by speaking in quite fluent Portuguese.  He sat down in the midst of our group and quickly became the center of attention, regaling us with stories from his life and observations about culture and recollections of Brazil.

For a time Mr. Paul became a regular at our church services and other gatherings.  He decided to take full owndership of his faith and discipleship through baptism by immersion.  He was in everything a thoughtful and decisive man.  When weather or health didn’t permit him to get out, we went to him, talking the Lord’s Supper on Sundays and occassionally holding small group Bible studies in his apartment.

Mr. Paul became a part of the fabric of who we are as a congregation, and his mark and memory will remain with us.  It is perhaps fitting that a man who began his life in Brazil and proceeded to make a new life and career in the United States was able to rediscover to some extent his Brazilian roots towards the end of his natural life.  Most importantly, he found his focus and assurance in the message and hope of Christ.

It was and is our joy to count senhor Paulo Magalhaes as our brother, and he will be deeply missed.

Until we meet again.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.” (John 11:25 NRSV)

The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NRSV)

No one knows what a day will bring, much less an entire year. While making news years resolutions wasn’t part of my upbringing, I’ve long been into goal-setting.  Is there a difference?  Maybe, or maybe not.  I do know that the year ahead holds quite a bit of potential and that I don’t want to pass any of it up through lack of focus on my part.

First, my brother-in-law Marcelo has succeeded in his request for a visa to visit the United States.  He is the Brazilian missionary who stayed on in Uberlânia with his wife and kids when I moved my family to the United States.  Under his leadership one congregation has become two and a young man who was converted through his ministry went away for a two-year ministry training course.  Great strides have been made in the evangelization of the city, and Marcelo and Selma (his wife) share a vision not only for bringing people to faith in Christ but to truly help people in practical ways.  They work in marriage and family counseling, holding workshops and seminars to help people live better and have happier homes.  There is a recovery aspect to their ministry as well and a group in the church has organized to help out in social projects, such as volunteering at a local orphanage and arranging donations of funds and goods for this work.  Marcelo’s purpose in coming to the United States is to raise awareness and support for the mission in Uberlândia.  He has yet to finalize travel plans but intends to come to New Jersey first, then head to the Midwest.

Second, my family is planning on making a trip to Brazil.  This is especially significant because my wife hasn’t been back there since 2006 and I haven’t set foot in Brazil since leaving in October 2003.  Had things gone according to plan we would have been back in full-time mission work there in 2008.  At this point it seems more likely we’ll be working indefinitely with the Brazilian community here in the northeastern United States and making occassional trips to Brazil.  It would be best if we created a fund for these trips.  At this point we are nowhere near the estimated $3500 we’ll need for airfar, and I’m estimating that renewing our paperwork for travel (including American passports for my wife and daughter who were naturalized in 2008) will cost no less than $1000.

Third, this is the year when we intend to get serious about youth ministry.  A few of our congregation’s young people are now teenagers and we are anxious to begin holding regular youth group meetings in our home beginning in January.

Fourth, my wife and I want to head to Honduras in December 2010 to help with the second annual “Jesus Banquet.”  Click here and here for more on this effort.

Fifth, there are unsettling uncertainties we face here in the year ahead.  The start-up I work with in New York is running out of investor funds.  If we don’t succeed in raising another round of funds by the end of January or beginning of February we’ll have to close up shop.

Through it all, with all the hope, potential and insecurity of a new year, we move forward believing in the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who was revealed most fully in Jesus of Nazareth.

Your prayers for us and the good we seek to do are deeply appeciated.  Happy New Year!

When I was a child I remember feeling as though the two months of summer vacation was an endless golden expanse of time. My mother told me that the older I got the faster time would seem to go by. Like everyone else I have discovered this to be a sad truth. Looking back at 2009 I see that it was a very full year, however quickly it now seems to have passed.

Some of the best times have been those spent with brothers and sisters in Christ with the Brazilian church in Newark, NJ. Aside from our regular service schedule we’ve also celebrated every major holiday together, held countless cookouts at each others homes, hit the beach a few times (I don’t go in for that myself!) and held our annual church retreat. We were especially glad for the retreat this year, having lost our spot at Camp Manatawny, we found another camp which we were able to rent for a couple of days. We studied the Bible and worshiped together as well as spent a few hours with activities in the camp lake (paddle boats, swimming, etc).  Click here for pictures.

For me, the real high point of 2009 took place at our church retreat when I baptized my daughter into Christ. As I’ve said elsewhere, it really doesn’t get much better than that.  Her decision wasn’t made in a vacuum, of course.  Since she was a little girl I’ve been reading Bible stories to her and my wife and I have prayed with her and discussed what it means to believe in God and follow Jesus.  She’d been saying for a while that she wanted to be baptized, but didn’t seem serious until she spent a week away at church camp.  She returned dead serious about becoming a Christian.  I spent a couple of weeks studying the Bible with her nearly every evening before baptizing her at the retreat.  Another girl from our congregation was similarly affected by her time at church camp and was also baptized at the retreat.  We are thankful that our children are making commitments to Christ and pray to be more effective in reaching people, young and old, beyond our immediate family and fellowship as well.

Shortly after the church retreat my wife and I took our daughter and a young man from church to RevGen, a major Christian music festival in our part of the country.  Click here for pictures. We had a good day there and we began to consider again the possibility of active youth ministry.

There were a number of immigration victories for some of our church members as well.  One couple began the year being granted permanent visas and promptly arranged their first trip in over a decade to visit family in Brazil.  Another couple received word over a month ago that their permanent visas should be available soon, and have been issued valid work permits.  Another man who was actually picked up by immigration authorities over a year ago has been approved for permanency, opening the door for his wife (their son was born in the U.S. and is therefore a citizen).  We rejoice with these good people and continue to pray for our friends who have their cases pending in the immigration courts.

About a month ago I was finally able to get a website up for our congregation.  We are talking about splitting it into two websites, as there are Brazilian and Hispanic congregations meeting in our building and sharing leadership.  For now it is one website which you can see by clicking here.

Last but not least, my brother-in-law Marcelo was approved for a visa to visit the United States in order to raise mission support!  I thought it nearly impossible with our present immigration climate for him to receive this visa, but apparently the consular official looked up our record and that of my mother-in-law (she has been in the States twice to visit) and opted to give him a chance.  He plans to come to the U.S. next year, so more on him in my next post where I’ll talk about goals and plans for 2010.  Click here to see a photo of Marcelo, Selma and their children.

Thank you for your continued encouragement, support and prayers as we seek to promote peace and development in Brazil and throughout the Brazilian diaspora.

The video above seems pretty accurate, doesn’t it? I don’t know if I’ll ever be cool enough to be a good “fit” for this role, but at least I have a beautiful wife (it’s in the lyrics)!

You may have noticed that while this site is called “Cristo Invicto,” the domain name is “igneousquill.org“.  Then again, maybe it never occured to you.  Just in case, here’s the explanation.

For pretty much everything I do online I try to use “Igneous Quill”.  When I got to thinking about starting a new non-profit to promote peace and development in Brazil and elsewhere through education, the first name that came to mind was “Igneous Quill Institute.”  That would have been all well and good, except that I then got to thinking about how that would sound to Brazilian ears.  Specifically, I realized that the name would translate rather poorly.  What to do?

The very next name that came ot mind was “Cristo Invicto Institute.”  Since two of the words are already in Portuguese, translation is quite simple.  Further, the name identifies well with the beliefs that underpin this effort.  “Cristo Invicto” refers to “Christ Undefeated” or “Christ Victorious.”  There is atonement theology at work here which tenaciously declares the powers and authorities exposed and defeated through the cross of Christ.

Rather than reserve a domain with “Cristo Invicto” in it, I opted for consistency with other sites I’m operating.  This certainly wouldn’t be the first non-profit to do so, given that the Central Asia Institute uses https://www.ikat.org/ .

Whether you agree with my reasoning here or not, I thank you for taking the time to read.  Once this work is truly underway I’ll be counting on people, perhaps like you, who share a vision for helping Brazil’s youth to acquire skills that will help lift themselves out of poverty.  It is nothing less than hope for a nation.

Using simple online tools and a $10 domain, I’ve got a functioning website up for the Igreja de Cristo em Newark. This is the congregation my family has been a part of since moving to New Jersey. Of all groups you’d think Christian churches would strive to have the most updated, informative sites out there. I mean, don’t they want to attract people? Static websites that aren’t regularly updated are unappealing to people nowadays and, rightly or wrongly, leave an impression that the church is inactive. Worse still are floater sites that someone set up before moving on, leaving no one with access or expertise to continue maintaining them.

Check out the new church website. You’ll notice it’s in blog format. This facilitates keeping the site active with fresh information, as multiple people have access with posting privileges. The rather odd mix of Portuguese, Spanish and English you’ll see on the church site is representative of our congregation. We are a Brazilian congregation and a Hispanic congregation sharing the same building. The first Sunday of every month we worship together in Portuguese and Spanish. Most of the youth seem more comfortable with English than the language of their parents. This is who we are.

Over on Facebook a while back Keith Brenton quoted from Star Trek: “If I may be so bold: It was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Starship command is your first, best destiny. Anything less is a waste of material.” – Mr. Spock to Admiral Kirk, Star Trek II. Then Keith asked, “What’s your first, best destiny?” The answer that came immediately to my mind: “Mission in Brazil.” That’s got me thinking.  A lot.

For a couple of years I taught English and did missionary work in Brazil, South America.  My wife is Brazilian-American, and my children were both born there.  One day while I still lived there a letter came in the mail from a woman who attended a church I’d served in Missouri.  I don’t remember anything else she said in the letter, but I do remember she said: “you’re living your dream!” That day as I rode the city bus home from work I saw a Brazilian flag flying high over a John Deere dealership (yes, they have those there) and remembered her words.  I felt a deep sense of satisfaction.  It’s been a while now since I felt that way.

We left Brazil for a multitude of reasons, not least of which being the tenuous financial situation of both the country and our household, and the fact my permanent visa was taking so long to be approved.  Our intention was to move back in five years.  That was 2003, it’s now 2009 and I haven’t been back once.  My wife went to visit her family in 2006 and my mother-in-law has been to visit us in New Jersey a couple of times.

What happened?

There’s a large Brazilian population in the part of New Jersey where we live, and we attend a Brazilian church.  Products from Brazil are readily available at area supermarkets.  I don’t have to deal with the frustrations and indignities of life in a developing nation still hung over (though they’d scarecely admit it) from years of a military dictatorship and rife with silly, counter-productive ideologies.  Still, it just isn’t the same.

We have a good life here in the United State and I can’t see uprooting our family for another major move, but that doesn’t change my sense that Brazil was, is and will always be my “first, best destiny.”