Forrest Keener
Evangelist
Oklahoma City, OK
Phone:
405.378.2081
Email:
keenerfl@cox.net
Sherwood Baptist Church
2845 S.W. 39th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73119
Pastor:
Paul Brown
Email:
pastor@sherwoodbaptist.com
Web site:
www.sherwoodbaptist.com
Newsletter - June 2008
Dear Pastor Brown, and members of Sherwood Baptist Church,
May and June of 2008 have been very busy months, I started the month of May at Grace Baptist Church, in Fairborn, Ohio, in a one week revival meeting . It was the sixth meeting I have had the wonderful privilege of preaching there in that many consecutive years. The meeting started on April 28 and closed out on May 4. I spoke a total of eleven times during the week, including two TV messages. There was a lot of sickness in the church, but the attendance was still great, with many visitors, and we had a wonderful time.
The following Sunday, May 11, I preached in both services at home, in Sherwood Baptist Church. Pastor Brown was in California, and it was my honor and privilege to supply for him. On May 18, I spoke for the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Duncan, OK . What a joy it was to spend the day with our dear friends in Duncan. They are seeking a pastor, and we are praying that God's leadership would be very real to them.
On May 20 through 22, my wife and I attended the Annual Bible Conference, in Fort Worth, TX, and I had the privilege of Preaching there again. That location put us almost half way to Bayou Vista where our children, grand children, and now, our great granddaughter live. That is too good a chance to pass up so we went on down, spent nearly a week with them, and had a great time.
On June 6-8, I was in Dothan, AL, where I spoke twice in their Annual Bible Conference. I also had a good time with some great friends, the Ed and Connie Colley family, their three wonderful sons, and some other good friends in those parts. I got home on the 9th and left again on the 14th to preach a revival meeting in Leighton, AL. That was a special time with Phillip and Nancy Potter, dear friends since 1976, and the other precious people of Faith Baptist Church in Leighton. It was a special joy to have Bobby Amos, pastor over in Fulton, MS, and his wife June, who are some wonderful friends, visiting in all the week night services. All the people in that area are just great folk to be among
Sunday June 22, I was back home at Sherwood and had the grand privilege of preaching in the Sunday morning service of our Annual Bible conference, then spending the next three days, hearing some of the best preachers in the country.
I preached two funerals during the months of May and June. One was Frances McCune, our beloved neighbor for over forty years, and a faithful member of Bethel Baptist Church. The other was Charlotte Tubbs, also a member of Bethel Baptist Church, whom we had know for over forty years. We are always being reminded that death is the most certain event of our lives.
In all, I preached 24 times in May and June, and I loved every bit of it. If I live another ten years with the health I now enjoy, I hope I can just keep on keeping on. God bless and keep all of you.
In brotherly love,Forrest and Mary Keener
Newsletter - May 2008
Dear Pastor Brown, and members of Sherwood Baptist Church,
This is my second bimonthly report to you as my sponsoring church. I request, and trust, that if in my previous report, or any that follow, there is any careless, improper, or ambiguous statement, you will let me know, so that I may correct it, or alter my manner of reporting.
March and April of 2008 have been much more fully occupied with traveling and preaching than were January and February. Of course, this is normal, since not very many meetings are scheduled by most churches during January and February. March and April have been much more fully scheduled. During these two months, I have spoken in four churches in Oklahoma, two churches in Mississippi, and one in Ohio. I have spoken a total of, at least, twenty-two times in March and April and eight times already in the month of May. I spoke a total of eleven times in Fairborn, OH, including two TV messages. The remainder of May, and all of June, has an extremely full schedule.
The opportunity to preach in each of these churches was a blessing, and it seems that God gave good liberty in all of the pulpits. I have preached in all these churches before, and that adds to the joy. This was my sixth revival meeting in six consecutive years, at Grace Baptist Church, in Fairborn. I enjoyed great Christian fellowship with God's people there, and in all of these churches. What a privilege of grace it is to serve the Lord. Getting acquainted here at Sherwood and learning to associate names with faces is still an interesting challenge. I expect that it would not have been as challenging at 34 as it is at 74. I have known many of you for years, but oh, how rapidly you change! This is especially true of those who were teenagers only seven to ten years ago at youth camp. In any event, I still am in the process of connecting names and faces, wives with husbands etc., and you have all been very patient with my wife and me. I think my wife is picking up on names faster than I am. We want to thank all of you for receiving us so warmly and graciously. A change of churches, after nearly fifty years in the same church, is traumatic, but you folk have really made us feel wanted and welcome. Thank you for being so nice, and we love you more as the days go by. Pray for my wife as she is still struggling with driving on OKC interstates. She is making real progress and I think will soon be able to go where she really needs to go, at least, drive to church alone.
Finally, Let us say, as always, thank you to the church, and all the other churches, and individuals, who so faithfully supply our financial needs, indeed, more than our basic need is supplied. God, through His people, is always so much better to us than we could ever deserve. God bless and keep you all. Please keep my wife and me in your prayers.
In brotherly love,Forrest L. Keener
Newsletter - March 2008
Dear Pastor Brown, and members of Sherwood Baptist Church,
This is my first bimonthly report to you as my sponsoring church. My practice has been, and if it meets your approval, shall continue to be, to make a bimonthly report, between the first and tenth of the month following the two months for which the report is made.
January and February of 2008 have been relatively quiet as far as my preaching, but was still very busy in other duties. Having just moved into a new house we have been very busy getting things into place and corrections made on the house. Closing out the old utilities, etc., in Lawton, ordering the new ones on Oklahoma City, and paying the bills and deposits, has almost been a full time job within itself.
During the month of January, I preached a revival meeting at Pine Grove Baptist Church in Houston Texas, and in February, I spoke twice at the Annual Missions Conference of Bethel Baptist Church in Lawton. The opportunity to preach in each of these churches was a blessing, and it seemed that God gave good liberty in both of those pulpits. I also enjoyed great Christian fellowship with God's people in both places. What a privilege of grace it is to serve the Lord.
Getting acquainted here at Sherwood and learning to associate names with faces has been another interesting challenge. I have known many of you for years, but oh, how rapidly you change! This is especially true of those who were teenagers only seven to ten years ago. We want to thank all of you for receiving us so warmly and graciously. A change of churches, after nearly fifty years in the same church, is traumatic, but you folk have really made us feel wanted and welcome. Thank you for being so nice!
I am excited about the many ministries being maintained and promoted here in Sherwood. I believe God blesses activity, and He really seems to be blessing Sherwood. I sometimes have a hard time remembering all the special services and activities. Thank you for being patient with me. I learn slowly, but I forget quickly enough to make up for it.
March and April promise to be very busy months. I already have two meetings scheduled for March and three for April. Please remember me in prayer, that I may be usable and used of God in these meetings. May God bless and keep all of you in His tender care.
Finally, Let us say thank you to the church, and all the other churches and individuals, who so faithfully supply our financial needs. We can say, we truly "... have all and abound."
In brotherly love,Forrest L. and Mary Keener
Newsletter - January 2008
Dear Pastor Robinson, Church and Friends,
On November 11, 2007, I wrote and read to you one of the most difficult letters I have, in my entire life, composed. In that letter, I informed you that my wife and I would be moving to Oklahoma City. We had found a nice home with a very small yard, which our age was increasingly demanding, and which we just had not been able to find in Lawton. I said you should feel free to stop all financial support immediately, but requested that you retain our membership, and sending authority, until we were settled on a sponsoring home church. You were much more than just gracious in honoring my request, and in the way you did it. You went far beyond what we requested, in that you voted to retain our same level of support until we were settled on a home church, and one to be our sponsoring church. Your love and liberality has been wonderful, but it has also made it even harder for us to leave you.
In essence, this months report is a follow up of that letter, in that I am making my last report to you as our sponsoring and sending church. We have united with Sherwood Baptist Church, in Oklahoma City, Pastored by Brother Paul Brown. Brother Brown, and Sherwood Baptist Church, have been great friends of Bethel Baptist Church of Lawton, of her ministry, and of this preacher for many years. While this is a very difficult move for us in all kinds of ways, we believe that the Lord has led, indeed, has constrained us in this direction. I pray it will be understood by all, both within and outside Bethel Baptist Church, that this move does not result from any disagreement with the church, with pastor Robinson, or with any member, or members of Bethel Baptist Church. I expect to continue a warm relationship with Bethel Baptist Church, and all of you as individuals, as long as I live.
Brother Robinson has, just this week, asked me to be one of the guest speakers in Bethel's 2008 missions conference. I look forward, with great anticipation, to this engagement. We also look forward to seeing all of you again at that time. I appreciate the confidence he has shown in me by this invitation.
To all who might not know, our new mailing address is 9601 Crooked Creek Ln. Oklahoma City, OK, 73160. Our home Phone # is 405 378-2081. My cell # is the same at this point as when we were in Lawton. I may change that within a month or so. Our new home church, and sponsor, is: Sherwood Baptist Church, 2845 SW 39th St, Oklahoma City, OK, 73119.
In closing let me say, Bethel Baptist Church, we will always love you and pray for you, as a church and as individuals. You have been so good to us through the years, in putting up with our flaws and errors, and in caring for our physical needs. As time passes Forrest and Mary Keener will pass. So is the way of all flesh. You will remember us for a while but only for a while. It is my prayer that Bethel Baptist Church and her ministry will far outlive us. I pray that your hearts will be dedicated to this cause.
In brotherly love,
Forrest L. and Mary Keener