‘God, where are you?’ Pandemic, war and race discussed as Affirming the Faith resumes
OKLAHOMA CITY — For hundreds of Christians across Oklahoma and…
Deeper Rest
This year's Affirming the Faith urged us to stop ‘wearing exhaustion as a badge of honor.’
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OKLAHOMA CITY — “Affirming the Faith is this weekend. Ugh!” I said under my breath.
Don’t get me wrong. I always enjoy this annual gathering of believers from across the U.S. that happens just across town from my house.
I love it after I get there, I should say. Inevitably, Affirming the Faith falls in the midst of a jam-packed schedule, and this year was extra chaotic.
Participants in Affirming the Faith 2025 listen to Wesley Walker’s class, “Deeper Simplicity.”
I spent the week wading through coverage of the White House Ukraine blowup, a nonprofit getting DOGE’d and un-DOGE’d and working on our own nonprofit’s transition to new database and human resources systems.
Then, early that Saturday, I drove my daughter Maggie to a voice competition (where she earned a superior score) and rushed her back home so she could get ready for two performances of “The Little Prince” at Oklahoma Christian Academy, where she was a student director.
In the gym of the North MacArthur Church of Christ, church members listen to Trey Morgan during Affirming the Faith.
Meanwhile, my wife, Jeanie, drove our other daughter, Lucy, to the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds for a dance competition (where Lucy earned an award titled “All the Feels,” whatever that means).
I watched the livestream of Lucy’s solo before I jumped back in my car and headed to the North MacArthur Church of Christ. As I pulled into the parking lot, I remembered that I hadn’t yet written the questions for the next day’s Bible Bowl practice.
Tim Pyles speaks about “Deeper Rest” during the 2025 Affirming the Faith gathering in Oklahoma City.
That would have to wait. It was time to Affirm the Faith. So, I pretty much dragged myself into the auditorium — and heard Tim Pyles preach on “Deeper Rest.”
“We rest not because there’s nothing else to do. We rest because there’s everything else to do,” said Pyles, minister for the Broken Arrow Church of Christ in Oklahoma. In front of an auditorium packed with more than 1,000 souls, he talked about Jesus’ practice of withdrawing from the crowds and spending time alone with his Father.
“We’ve been programmed to wear exhaustion as a badge of honor,” Pyles said. By following Christ’s example, Christians can more effectively resist the “tyranny of the urgent.” Rest is “an act of resistance” against a world that equates busyness with success.
I said to myself, “Wait. Is the Lord telling me I should have stayed home and rested today? Or maybe I just shouldn’t beat myself up if I can’t do it all.”
Trey Morgan speaks on “Practicing the Way with the Family” during the Affirming the Faith conference.
I did stick around for a few of the classes that followed. Trey Morgan, minister for the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas, talked about the challenges of scheduling youth sports and other activities for his four sons around Bible study, outreach and discipleship. There’s about a 2 percent chance that your children will get an athletic scholarship to college, Morgan said, but there’s a 100 percent chance they’ll stand before God.
Wesley Walker presented a class on “Deeper Simplicity.” Too many Christians — preachers included — fight against the idea of a simple life, said Walker, minister for the Woodson Chapel Church of Christ in Nashville, Tenn. In staff meetings, ministers sometimes talk about their packed speaking schedules, as if “the busier I am, the more important I am.”
Wesley Walker speaks on “Deeper Simplicity” to a standing-room-only crowd at Affirming the Faith.
He used a line from the Old Testament prophet Haggai, who repeatedly asked God’s children to “consider your ways.” At the time, many followers of God had restored houses of paneled wood while the Lord’s temple sat in ruins.
Walker recalled a truism from a few decades ago: “If you want to show me where your priorities are, let me see your checkbook.”
Now, perhaps we should ask, “Can I see your schedule?”
It’s so easy for me to overpack mine, especially because I can label so much of what I do as “ministry related.” But even in the blur of holy tasks, I can lose sight of Christ. It’s possible to run so fast that you can ignore the fact that you’re not really getting anywhere.
@christianchronicle OKLAHOMA CITY — Song leader Myron Bruce “called an audible” before leading “It is Well with my Soul” during this year’s Affirming the Faith seminar. After minister Tim Pyles preached about the holy significance of rest — and our need for it — Bruce led a verse of “Be Still and Know.” The North MacArthur Church of Christ hosts the annual conference. #churchofchrist #affirmingthefaith #northmacarthurchurchofchrist #churchofchrist #acappellaworship ♬ original sound – The Christian Chronicle
Affirming the Faith’s theme this year was “Deeper,” and I’m thankful for the deep dive into rest. Often, it seems like God tells me just what I need to hear just when I need to hear it. I just have to listen.
After Pyle’s sermon, song leader Myron Bruce said he was “calling an audible.” Before we sang the song on the program (“It is Well with my Soul”), all 1,000 of us joined our voices in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”
“Still.” That’s a wonderful word.
It gives me All the Feels.
Among the freebies at the 2025 Affirming the Faith were 728b stickers from Myron Bruce’s Singing With the Spirit ministry.
ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact [email protected], and follow him on X @eriktryggestad.
A study Bible produced by World Bible School opens to a passage in Matthew 5 that describes Jesus’ withdrawal to quiet places to pray.
