Message from Michael: RA26 Regional Minister’s Report

Describe Your Church in 3 Words

Regional Assembly 2026 Business Meeting

State of the Region

Rev. Michael Davison
March 7, 2026
Regional Assembly

Good afternoon, Oklahoma disciples, partners in ministry, guests, and friends, both here in Edmond and in the digital space on YouTube.  Thank you for gathering for fellowship, prayer, study, worship, and service.  In this brief time, we’ve experienced what happens at church camp every day.

Camp registration is open, and camp directors are recruiting counselors.  Children, youth, and adults of all ages are invited to spend a week in the wilderness with other followers of Jesus to build connections, be equipped, and empowered for their journey in faith.  That kind of intentional community can transform places and people into Holy ground and proclaimers of the good news of God.  And, I still believe that can be enough to alter the trajectory of a person’s life.

Oklahoma Disciples have many partners in ministry.  We just heard from three we know well: Phillips Theological Seminary, the Oklahoma Disciples Foundation, and the Convocation of Christian Churches. Thank you, Doug, Eric, and Milton, for giving us a glimpse of the ways your organizations equip people and empower them to proclaim the good news of God.

We share ministry with partners beyond our borders, and we are thankful for those who have traveled to be with us:
Rosario Ibarra, from Disciples Church Extension Fund.
Jose Martinez from New Church Ministry.
Thomas McCracken from the Pension Fund.
Bobby Hawley from the Christian Church Foundation, and
Terri Hord Owens, our General Minister and President.
Thank you for the ministry you offer all Disciples and our neighbors.

From solo State evangelists to a large staff in a centralized location, to the small decentralized staff today, the Region’s strength and vitality are embodied in the volunteerism, collaboration, and covenantal accountability of the laity and clergy.  It’s always been that way.

In 1997, Chalice Press published You Might Be a Disciple If . . . ¹   It’s a little book of tongue-in-cheek sayings that were used to describe our denomination.  I think these four continue to describe who we are pretty well.

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  when you’re asked what Disciples believe you say, “Which ones?”²

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  you’re sure the ‘free church’ tradition doesn’t mean you don’t have to put anything in the offering plate.”³

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  your pastor’s weekend is filled with weddings nobody else in town would do.”⁴

“You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  the children in your church think the Last Supper must have been a potluck.”⁵

Siblings in faith, this is a time of opportunity and experimentation as we build a bridge to a future of the church we continually imagine, envision, and claim. Rev. Terri Hord Owens encourages us to  “Be the Church we say we are.”  We call ourselves disciples, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world, welcoming as we have been welcomed.  That is lived out in each congregation a little differently, depending on local needs, resources, and leadership.  This is not work and service we will ever finish, though, maybe we can take something off the list for the next generation.

Last fall, I invited the Region to “describe your church in three words.”  One of my responsibilities as Regional Minister is writing a report about our Region for the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  I submitted that report last week, and this is how I described the Region: “In their own ways, our congregations are faithful, effective, and innovative⁶  as they proclaim the good news of God and follow Jesus.”  Let’s take a trip around the Region for a few minutes.

First Christian Church in Luther offers GED classes and what they call “Boots on the Ground ministry.” Members of the congregation pack bags with personal items, toiletries, snacks, and other necessities, then travel to Oklahoma City to deliver them to unhoused (homeless) neighbors in need.

Our hosts here at First Christian Church, Edmond, offer Breakfast on the Boulevard, a hot breakfast and sack lunches weekdays from 6:30-7:15 am for anyone who needs a meal.  That began in 1990.

Central Christian Church in Enid continues to organize and host ‘The Enid Welcome Table.’  Anyone can come on a Sunday evening for a sit-down, plated meal served by volunteers of all ages from organizations around Garfield County.

First Christian Church in El Reno leads its community’s Blessing Baskets, a non-profit that provides food for people in need.  On Thursdays, the Lunch Bunch volunteers serve a free lunch to 100 or more high school students and provide snack bags for them to take home.

First Christian Church in Ponca City continues to host a Friendship Feast every weekday evening for anyone in need of a meal.  And they host a community garden on their property.

In Chickasha, Shepherd Street Christian Church and First Christian Church worship together on World Communion Sunday.  Shepherd St. Christian Church hosts a spring gala, an evening of food and music, to raise money to fund scholarships for high school seniors.  That’s coming up on March 14th.  First Christian Church helped found the Chickasha soup kitchen.  Most of our congregations have an outdoor food pantry or support one in their community.

Tomorrow, the members of East Sixth Street Christian Church, Shepherd Street Christian Church,  and New Vessels Christian Church will worship with Wildewood Christian Church, as they host our General Minister & President, who is preaching.

Harvard Ave. Christian Church is partnering with First Christian Church in Broken Arrow to help the congregation experience renewal and sustainability with leadership, visioning, and funding.

First Christian Church in Stillwater, as they have for many years, led an intergenerational mission trip last summer and invited other congregations to join them.

First Christian Church in Sulphur emphasizes mission and service for its youth group alongside bible and fun.  One way they do that is by creating Valentine’s cards for Veterans and nursing home residents. They deliver the cards each year.

One more, “You Might Be. . .”  “You Might Be a Disciple If . . .  when asked if your congregation is pro or con on any social issue, you answer, “Yes.”⁷

The renewed war in the Near East and our Nation’s role in it is an ongoing lament for me.  I know others disagree.

Rev. Don Heath ministers to persons on death row and represents Disciples with the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Rev. Kelley Becker and Rev. David Wheeler traveled with a group of ecumenical clergy to Minneapolis to mourn and witness one of our government’s policies in practice and its tactics.  They also received training for standing with the stranger among us.

First Christian Church in Norman often hosts lectures to help educate and create conversation about relevant topics of the day.  Last weekend, they hosted an event for the Oklahoma Faith Network’s “No Hate in the Heartland” lectureship series on “How the Holocaust Relates to the Events of Today.”

Reconciliation isn’t easy, but it is possible.

No report to the Region can be complete without some numbers.  Last year, the Region distributed $8,750.00 in Disaster Funds to congregations and members.  The Region gave $1,900 from the Pastoral Care Funds to help clergy in need.

There will be five of us when we welcome Rev. Shannon Cook to the Regional staff next month.  I want to thank our excellent staff, Ellen Spleth, Carrie Cobbs, and Marla Hensley, for all they do that you don’t see and for their work, encouragement, and preparation alongside the planning team and all the volunteers for this Regional Assembly.

Because our congregations give to the Reconciliation special offering, the Commission for Faith and Action provided $9,432.00 in reconciliation grants to 4 congregations: New Covenant Christian Church in Oklahoma City, First Christian Church in Guthrie, Central Christian Church in Enid, and First Christian Church in El Reno.

There were two ordinations. Rev. Patrick McKenzie was ordained at New Vessels Christian Church, OKC, in August of last year.  And, Rev. Richard Bowles was ordained at Simplicity Church in Edmond last month.

In 2025, First Christian Church in Claremore committed $10,000 from a gift they received and purchased medical debt, relieving $1.74 million in debt for 1,575 beneficiaries.   The Claremore congregation has committed $5,000 this year and is asking their siblings in faith in the Region to join them in raising $20,000, which, through the organization Undue Medical Debt, could relieve up to $3.3 million in medical debt for our neighbors this year.  I will ask the Region’s executive committee and board to commit dollars for this project, and I encourage all our congregations to join FCC Claremore in helping our neighbors in need.

Mr. Rogers often recalled his mother’s advice: “Look for the helpers.”⁸  Oklahoma Disciples, you are the helpers.  And that is no small thing.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) can’t fix the bacterial polarization that has returned to our world, our Nation, some of our congregations, and Christendom, but we might be an antibiotic that can treat it: through our service, through our willful intention to stay at the table when we disagree and the two or more hours of honest conversation about our beliefs, connections, accountability, and covenants, and through our commitment to be a voice of gospel that incarnates grace.  As one of our clergy put it, “It is moving toward people rather than away.”

Oklahoma Disciples, there is ministry to do and gospel to be that only you can do in your communities, and only you can be around your banquet table.

The same is true for this covenant we share as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma: there is ministry to do and gospel to be that only WE can do and only WE can be: celebrating, creating, expanding, mobilizing, staying, and welcoming when we host a banquet.  Beyond the walls of the church is the banquet.

That was a quick trip around the Region and a glimpse of the Jesus-like things congregations are doing.  If I didn’t mention your church, please let me know what you are doing to embody the gospel in your community.

It is my honor to serve alongside you.

Disciples, you are a blessing.

——-

Endnotes

1. David Polk, ed., You Might Be A Disciple If . . . , Chalice Press (St. Louis) 1997.
2. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
3. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
4. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
5. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
6. I first encountered the idea of faithful, effective, and innovative congregations in the mid-2000s while serving on the Kentucky Regional staff.  We spent time in consultation and workshops with George Bullard, who uses this idea to understand the lifecycle of a congregation and its resilience through change.  George Bullard, The Congregational Life Cycle, bullardjournal.org 2021.
7. Polk, You Might Be A Disciple If . . .
8. Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers Talks With Parents. Berkley Books (New York) 1983.