White Bluff
CHAPEL

The Final Test of Love
    Mar 8, 2020
    John 21:15-17
    Dr. James Pool

Not This Again: Revisiting an Old Story
    Mar 1, 2020
    Luke 10:25-37
    Dr. Hulitt Gloer

Bible Studies

All meet at Fellowship Hall

Sunday Mornings, 8 am

Men's Ministry
  Mondays, 7:30 am

Wednesday Evenings
  6:30pm (6:00 supper)

Bible Study Fellowship
  Thursdays, 10:15 am

Community Ladies Bible Study
  Fridays, 10:00 am

Striving Forward - 6/28/20

	ission				Athletes in Action: Brian Firle Update and Commentary
		oment			Posted July 1, 2020

The following is Brian's latest update on his ministry within the Pro-Cycling arena. In addition, at the end of his report you can select to read his latest comments, thoughts on Evangelism and Social Justice. Brian's words are always profound and will enrich your thinking about the status of our world today.

Ministry Update!

Ministry this summer has continued to be an interesting challenge. Our staff team has made every effort to connect even more intentionally with athletes throughout our sport. We have fought for more discipleship opportunities and we have seen great fruit in our athletes, as they are dealing with a great deal of uncertainty. When an athlete doesn't have goals in sport, it makes life and motivation quite difficult. Walking with them hand in hand this spring and summer has been a gift and I could not have done it without you all.

Recently, USA Cycling has opened up competition regulations to be decided by their local organizations. The UCI, the global cycling federation, has possibly opened up competition after July 1st, yet with COVID still a legitimate threat and most international travel banned, there is a great deal of confusion about what will actually happen.

As of now there are a LOT of events crammed into the fall schedule, in every discipline. Three grand tours (including the Tour de France), the World Cup mountain bike racing series (a really big deal for the Olympics next year), along with hundreds of other events internationally, and a full cyclocross season planned for the fall in the United States. There is no telling how many of these events will actually happen, but athletes are hoping to be racing some time after September 1st. We continue to pray for a cure or vaccine, for our doctors and healthcare workers, and the leadership of all organizations involved in our sport.

Some of the more notable news in my personal world is that one of our athletes and disciples has been chosen for the "long list" of athletes going to the Olympics in cross-country mountain bike racing. We personally know most of the athletes chosen for our Olympic teams, but to have a committed disciple chosen on the mountain bike team is something we are celebrating. There are other Christian athletes on the roster for the road and time trail events, but just after two years of investing in the mountain bike world, having one of our athletes possibly representing the USA in the Olympics is really special. I will rope you into more of that journey later in the year as things progress.

Regardless, I wanted to say thank you to all of you. I pray you are all safe, healthy, and enjoying a lovely summer!

Love you all!

Brian

You can also read Brian's thoughts on Evangelism and Social Justice.

	ission				Casa Bernabe Dealing with Covid-19
		oment			Posted July 1, 2020

The following update was sent to Pat Griffin, the Chapel liaison for Casa Bernabe in Guatemala.  Pat and her family have been involved with Casa Bernabe for a number of years.  Pat indicates that if you would like to provide some support for Casa Bernabe, you can give a check to the Chapel designating Casa Bernabe as the recipient in the memo section.  As you can see below, they are much in need of funding.

As far as an update goes, things here in Guatemala are mostly unchanged as far as the restrictions go that we shared in our last update.  However, the virus continues to spread rapidly and cases are growing as much as 700+ daily and anywhere from 20 to 40 deaths per day.  The whole healthcare system is collapsing under the weight of so many cases and not enough supplies or personnel to care for them all. 

Right now we still have a mandatory curfew everyday at 6pm, Sundays are all-day lockdowns.  We must wear masks anywhere outside of our home.  There are daily restrictions on which cars (depending on their license plate number) can be on the road.  Schools, churches, malls, gyms, sports, etc. have all been closed since March and continue to remain that way.  The borders are closed except for Guatemalan citizens and/or permanent residents. The streets are lined with white flags of people in need of food or help.  We have been doing weekly donations of food to the families from our school or the biological families of our kids who are in need, but it never seems like it's enough to help all the people in need.  All around, it's a very sad and scary situation.  We are praying for God's intervention!

Thankfully here at Casa Bernabe, God continues to provide for all of our needs.  We have been working with only about 2/3 of our staff since March as well, with all of our staff staying full-time on campus.  During their off time, we have opened our dorm rooms that we usually use for teams so that they can at least get out of their house a little bit and have a change of scenery, but it has been very challenging, to say the least, for our staff.  Edgar and I personally spend many nights trying to ask God to show us how to care well for our staff and children during this time.  We know that everyone is growing weary. 

We continue to need God's strength as we try to care and serve well His children and youth!  During the hard part, though, we have seen a lot of good.  Our kids at Casa Bernabe have benefitted from having more of our attention and fewer distractions.  We have been able to do a lot more sports activities with them and times of prayer and worship or movie nights, things that normally only happen once in a while.  We see God moving in their hearts as well.  We continue to trust Him to move their hearts toward greater intimacy with Him!  

Sara Drake Salguero
International Relations Director
Casa Bernabe - FOCE/FUNPRONI
(502) 4216-4416
www.foce.org

	ission				Chapel Men's Ministry: "The Hands of God"
		oment			Posted July 1, 2020

The White Bluff Chapel Men's Ministry, Version 2020, has had to make some adjustments and alter how we do things, but our Mission to be the "The Hands of God" has not changed.  Our group is committed to the task of using our abilities to assist our neighbors whenever we can.

We do this by being available for various maintenance, construction, and transportation projects, or sometimes we can just be a friend who listens.  There is no fee for our services.

We have a group of "Minute Men" who have volunteered to be available on short notice for emergency or semi-emergency situations that sometimes arise, but usually we prefer to schedule activities, trying to spread the helping opportunities among our group. We are blessed to have many willing and able men available.


Recently we assisted with the arrangements to hold "Chapel on the Lawn" by working with setting up the sound system for the best presentation.  Additionally, Ed Helmbeck, Larry Turner, Rick Faught, Bill Allen and Bill Pierce (not pictured) assembled on June 27th to pick up trash on 933.

If you would like to join as a member of the Men's Ministry or would need us to assist you in some way, please call!

Rick Faught
Men's Ministry Chairman
817-913-0777

Dr. Marshall Now W.B.C. Full-Time Senior Pastor
Posted July 1, 2020

As you may already know, Randy and Susie Marshall have been in White Bluff for the past three weeks. Randy gave his first Chapel sermon on June 14 during our second Chapel on the Lawn service.  In the interim before his official retirement from the military, Randy has continued to complete a project for the Air Force, one which allowed him to work from home, here in White Bluff.

Colonel Marshall’s retirement from the Air Force became official on June 30.  During the week of June 21, Randy, Jody Yarbro and Howard Clement traveled back to Warner Robbins AFB in Georgia, where an formal retirement ceremony was held honoring Randy.  Upon their return, Randy officially became White Bluff Chapel's Senior Pastor.

Randy’s presence has already been felt through his sermons and work with the Chapel staff.  The Chapel is in very good hands.  A big thank you is owed to the Pastor Search Committee that subsequently became the Pastor Settlement Committee, making sure all was satisfactory before and since Randy and Susie arrived.

Arrangements were made to move forward the website publish date so that Chapel members and friends could participate in viewing Randy's retirement ceremony along with all their family and friends across the country and within the military.

Randy Marshall's Retirement Ceremony - 7/1/20

After over 30 years of Air Force service, Colonel Randy Marshall, the Command Chaplain of the Air Force Reserve Command, retired. Maj. Gen. John (Jay) Flournoy, Deputy Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command presided over an abbreviated videotaped ceremony. The actual Retirement Ceremony that was scheduled for July 1 at the Robins AFB Chapel was cancelled due to safety precautions put in place out of COVID-19 virus concerns.

The Adventure
Posted July 1, 2020

A phrase that causes my wife to stop and take notice is “Honey, what do you think about…” Through our almost 38 years of marriage, she has heard me ask “Honey, what do you think about…”

• Being a pastor’s wife?
• Being an Air Force chaplain’s wife?
• Us moving to Ft. Worth/Yorktown/Stockdale/Dickinson?
• Me taking a full-time chaplain position in Miami?
• Me being gone for six months on a deployment to Qatar?
• Me taking the Deputy Command Chaplain/Command Chaplain position(s) in Georgia?
• Us moving back to Texas and serving as pastor at White Bluff Chapel?

Each, time the phrase introduced a question revealing my thoughts and indication of potential change of location and ministry.  Whether the pronouns above included “me” or “us,” the changes directly influenced “her” - my wife Susie.  Each time, no matter how outlandish the question (i.e. move to Miami!) her response was/is “If you feel like the Lord is leading, I am ready, let’s go!”  Any “success” that I have had as a pastor or chaplain is directly related to her “yes!”  I invite you to take a look at my abbreviated military retirement ceremony above.  A chapter of our lives has officially closed.  A new chapter with White Bluff Chapel has begun.  The words of life and ministry are now being written in this new adventure as we eagerly anticipate what the Lord has in store.  Please note that on every page, past and present, written in the margins, enabling all of this to happen are the words, “She said yes!”

Life Throws Us Curve Balls:
Uncovering the Mystery of Multiple Sclerosis
Posted July 1, 2020

by Aggie Gladbach

"It is how we catch the ball that counts, not that it is thrown our way!"

Author's note: I knew that how I wanted to share my story would come to me when I least expected it. Sunday, as I listened to Randy's sermon, it began to materialize.

Growing up in Fulton, Missouri, my last thought would have been: One day I will not be able to run, not even walk without the assistance of a "rollator."

You could say I was a tomboy. My favorite place on Saturday mornings was up in the top of our mulberry tree, sitting on a comfortable limb with my comic books. Afternoons were spent playing baseball with both boys and girls. Sometimes my mom would look out and might even find me playing football.

Playing golf, swimming, riding bikes through the country side; that was Agnes Ann, better known today as "Aggie." Living in Texas didn't slow me down. Golf continued to be a favorite sport and if I do say so myself, at one time I wasn't too shabby a player.

Our four children grew up. David still lived at home, as he was saving money anticipating getting married. He worked evenings and late nights, so we often walked together early in the morning. On the way back home, he would often say, "Mom, pick up your feet; you're dragging your foot." I knew I was, but my leg was weak. This was 1988.

In 2000 we moved to White Bluff. Bill and I played golf. I was in the women's golf association. Heat had never been a problem for me. It didn't get too hot for Aggie. Then suddenly, if it was 85 degrees or warmer, I couldn't handle it. Exhausted, coming off the course, I often thought, "What is wrong with me?" I couldn't get out of the sand traps except from the real shallow parts. Just going up and coming down from the green was a struggle. I could no longer bend down to pick up the ball out of the hole while still keeping my balance.

Time to check things out. My primary doctor arranged an appointment for me with a neurologist in Waco. Thus began the journey of uncovering the mystery of MS. The first thing I asked him was, "Could I possibly have MS?" They did the MRI and cat scans and nothing showed up in my brain that indicated MS. They treated me for arthritis of the spine and neuropathy. Even with all the medication I was taking, I continued to get weaker.

It was 2005 and I was really having trouble with my hips. I had a right hip replacement and did fine with it; however, it was getting harder to walk and the medication didn't seem to be helping. I thought, "I am going to be in a wheelchair if we don't find out what is really wrong." I kept insisting I felt like I was walking like someone who has MS. I asked for a second opinion. The neurologist sent me to Temple for further tests. They ended up saying I needed my left hip replaced. My surgeon didn't think that was the problem but since it would eventually need to be replaced, he did the surgery. Recovery was not as successful as the right hip had been.

I was doing rehab and a sweet couple from White Bluff suggested I go see Tom's spinal doctor at UTSW Medial Center in Dallas. I did. He told me there was nothing wrong with my back that any other 70-year-old woman didn't have; he sent me to the neurological muscular team at UTSW. Every test you can take was given to me. My first visit, they took 19 vials of blood, all testing different diseases. After eliminating everything, they called me in and told me they knew something was wrong but they were not able to find it. They referred me to a neurologist who specialized in MS.

One of the first questions he asked me after ruling out several other diseases, was, "Have you ever had a spinal tap?" I told him I had not. After having the spinal test and going back for the results, I learned that foreign matter did show up in the spinal fluid.

Translation: I have Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

After all these years, I learn I have MS. Bill and I had been disappointed so many times, just knowing each test would come back positive and then could be cured. There is not much they can do with Primary Progressive MS; research focuses on remitting Remissive MS.

Primary Progressive MS is very slow moving and it does not go into remission. My first memory of having problems was 1988; now it is 2012 and finally I have a diagnosis. 24 years of frustrating mystery!

Aggie the tomboy was now the Aggie who could no longer really walk, much less play golf. I decided, ok "Gladbach," (as I often refer to myself); we can feel sorry for me or we can keep on 'truckin'. I chose the latter and most who know me will say there is not much that slows me down.

Now I have oxygen added to my journey of life. I often end up wound up in the 25-foot cannula (tube), but even that does not stop me. The MS is progressing. I can tell the days it is really active. I realize one day I will permanently be in a wheelchair. What is a wheelchair? It is a vehicle to get around in. As long as I have good friends, a strong husband, and my heart beating within me, MS and COPD will be impositions that I praise God for because maybe my joy will give hope to someone else.

The curve balls come at me hard, but it is up to me to catch the ball or let it slide by. Catching the ball and dealing with it will bring joy that cannot be had in those sliders.

Farewell to James Pool
Posted July 1, 2020

As we joyfully say hello to Randy and Susie Marshall, it is with sadness that we have to say goodbye to James and Valerie Pool.  Last October I was asked to return to the chapel to help with pastoral care.  Dylan Price had accepted a job at a church in Mt. Enterprise and James had been our interim pastor who could only be at the chapel for one or two days a week due to his full-time job with One Cry Ministries.  I agreed to come back to help with pastoral care and other duties assigned. 

I had no idea how much I would enjoy this job.  James Pool was and continues to be such a blessing to me as well as the chapel.  According to James, his full-time ministry gives him the opportunity to promote and encourage Christians to cry out to God for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit in national revival and spiritual awakening.  From my standpoint, James is a master teacher for those who are tentative or bashful about praying for and with others. 

Having accepted Christ as my Savior when I was nine years old, I have said a million prayers over the past decades.  However, James somehow gave me a fresh perspective and boldness that I needed in my prayer life.  This summer James is spending multiple hours on a daily basis being a disciple for five of Baylor’s student prayer leaders for the purpose of leading Baylor’s prayer movement this coming year.  What a wonderful experience for those young adults!!

I would also credit James with helping me become more aware of God’s gracious blessings each day.  We all realize we should be grateful, but when you work with someone who is full of “thank you’s” and points out God’s gracious provisions on a daily basis, you realize how much you take God’s graciousness for granted.  James gave me a fresh view of God’s blessings and guidance every day that I worked with him.

I know that James and Valerie are perfect for the job that God has given them.  Encouraging and guiding what “being a church” looks like to youth on a college campus is such a needed and valued opportunity for our young society.  White Bluff Chapel was truly blessed by this caring and loving couple.

James and Valerie sent the following thank-you note to the congregation:

Dear White Bluff Chapel Family,

Valerie and I want you to know just how much we appreciate you. The financial gift and the beautifully framed picture of the church facility were so timely and wonderful. We have the picture of the chapel displayed prominently in our living room as a very visible reminder of your graciousness and the blessings God brought into our lives through you.

You are permanently positioned in our hearts and we will continue praying for God’s richest blessings to rest on you as you go forward in serving Him.

Thanks again!

James and Valerie

If you would like to know more about James’ ministry, please go to the One Cry website.