I had a good Sunday. But I missed worshiping with and preaching to the Shiloh Church.
Thanks to Pastors West Wilson and Donald Lewis for ministering the word to the congregation at Shiloh.
It was my privilege to speak during the celebration of the 50 years Dr. John A. Reed Jr. has served as Pastor of the Fairview Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.
Pastor Reed was one of my father’s closest friends. He was “Uncle John” to me, when I was a boy.
The morning my father died, I was flying home to Los Angeles. Dr. Reed was flying home from Los Angeles, after preaching a week of meetings at my dad’s church. He turned right around and was there for me and with me that week.
After my father’s passing, Uncle John became “Pop” to me. He has been a father figure for me throughout my adult life. He ordained me into the ministry. He helped install me into my first congregation. He gave the message at my wedding to Crystal. He counseled me when I was deciding to move to leave my father’s church for Jacksonville. He helped install me at Shiloh. For more than 15 years, he let me speak at his church’s annual revival.
I often say, “It happens after prayer.” It is the title of my upcoming book. That line is the truth I learned from Dr. Reed.
Dr. Reed, his family, and the Fairview Church have been a great source of support and encouragement through the years. And it was an honor to be with them for this special celebration.
Out the pulpits of my two pastorates, there is no congregation I have preached to more over the years than Fairview. It was a homecoming, of sorts. I enjoyed preaching to this word-loving congregation again.
I witnessed something I had never seen in worship before. At the end of the service, Pastor Reed asked for prayer for his ailing wife. Then he admitted to the congregation that her sickness weighed on him and that he desperately needed their prayers. As he was talking, several members left their seats and came to the altar and began to pray for their pastor. Within minutes, several hundred members literally surrounded their pastor in prayer. That’s what it means to cover your pastor!
After service, a brother thanked me for the live streaming of our worship services at Shiloh. He had surgery and could not attend church for 12 weeks. He got through it, he said, my watching our Sunday morning services. Way cool.
Likewise, a young man came up to me and said, “From a young preacher to an old preacher, thanks for the message.” Old preacher? Who, me?
I had dinner with my mother and younger sister, who both live in Oklahoma City. My mother’s birthday is the day before mine. And this year was the first time in a long time that we did not spend our birthday together. I missed her and was glad to see her, if only briefly.
My Miami Heat destroyed their supposed rivals, the Indiana Pacers, to extend their winning streak to 18 games.
Did you see DeAndre Jordan’s monster dunk?
Well, what do you say? The Lakers have clawed their way into the eighth playoff spot.
I predict the Duke Blue Devils will win the NCAA Basketball Championship this year. Who you got?
How was your Sunday? How did your teams do this weekend? Join the conversation in the comments section.
