Special to the ShowMe Times
From Baptist Press

JOPLIN, Mo. (BP)--The cast and crew of the musical "I Remember Mama" had just finished their final performance when the killer EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo.

Two people were killed and others sustained serious injuries when the May 22 tornado destroyed the theater and much of the Missouri community.

But in the wake of the tragedy, theater personnel said they felt a call from God to continue sharing the Gospel and strengthening believers through plays and musicals.

Though each Stained Glass Theatre is autonomous, there is a network of related theaters throughout Missouri started by a professor at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.

Tammy Aggus, director of the Joplin theater's next scheduled production, was helping strike down the set when the tornado hit. She told Baptist Press the experience was "just chaos."

"One of the guys ... came running from the front doors of the theater yelling at us that were still in the theater that we 'need to get downstairs now,'" Aggus recounted. "But the staircase is really narrow, and I ended up between the stage and the first row of seats just on the floor there.

"We dropped where we were because the front doors were blowing real hard. The windows started breaking out in the theater. It was just chaos. So I hit the floor, covered my head and prayed."

After approximately 20 seconds, the tornado subsided and Aggus surveyed the damage. Though she had only cuts and scrapes and a sore back, she saw a friend near her having trouble breathing and began trying to help others. One of her main goals was to calm the teenagers and children in the basement who had been in the cast.

"We got out of the building as quickly as we could because it was never a real sturdy building to start with," she said. "So we weren't sure how well it was going to hold together after being damaged like that."

The two dead were Sally Moulton, a cast member, and Randy Mell, a longtime theater patron and season ticket holder, Aggus said.

"When you do a show, you're with these people almost constantly ... for six weeks, and you always get really close," she said. "And now it's just even more. I was really glad I could be there for the kids because I'm really close to a lot of them. Most of them were there without their parents."

As a board member of the theater, Aggus said she anticipates conversations in the future about whether to rebuild.

Steven Jenkins, administrative director of the Stained Glass Theatre in Ozark, Mo., who has been involved with the Joplin theater in the past, recapped the extent of the damage.

"The entire top floor is gone. It's wiped clean. The floor of the top floor is in the basement. So getting the children out was fairly difficult," Jenkins told BP. "And of the four basement walls, I understand that at least one is still standing. That's about it."

Because rent for the 200-seat building was only $600 per month, Jenkins said finding another suitable building at an affordable price will be difficult. None of the building's contents were insured.

"My personal belief -- and I believe it's the general feeling of everyone involved with Stained Glass -- is that we're God-driven and God-ordained," Jenkins said. "God meant for us to have a theater in Joplin. I don't feel anything that tells me that that's no longer the case. So I believe they will continue."

As part of the theater's commitment to Christian values, all actors commit to church attendance and sign a pledge not to do anything in public that will tarnish the organization's reputation. Typically, shows begin or end with prayer, and productions aim at helping people grow as Christians, Jenkins said.

"When you're doing God's will, our enemy doesn't like it," he said. "And attacks of the enemy have been continuous since the beginning of that ministry. And like Christ's crucifixion, I think the enemy thinks he's finally won. But I don't believe God works that way. I believe victory will come out of this tragedy because we can't let the enemy win."

Aggus requested prayer for the Stained Glass Theatre family "as they recover physically and emotionally."

Photo Above: Stained Glass Theatre in Joplin, Mo, destroyed in the May 22 tornado, had shared the Gospel and strengthened local believers through plays and musicals. Cast member Sally Moulton and longtime patron Randy Mell were killed in the building.

Reprint of Email from Joe White

During a very difficult week recently, God encouraged me with some refreshing thoughts that I couldn't wait to share with you!

The tsunami destroys the coastland of Thailand; an 8.6 earthquake ravages the heart of Japan; the Mississippi river swarms out of its banks; a tornado demolishes three small towns in northeastern Oklahoma; a forest fire takes out seventy thousand acres in southwestern Colorado.....your mom finds a lump in her breast; your dad hears the doctor proclaim that he indeed has prostate cancer; your wife's first baby is a miscarriage.

Your heart cries out, "God? Where are you God? Is anyone listening? Are you there? Are you out there somewhere?"

Perhaps you wonder as I have wondered, "Is this a test of my faith or an act of Satan to attempt to destroy my faith?"

"Is this going to make me bitter or better?"
"Is this going to defeat me or make me stronger?"
"Is this going to cause me to retreat or fill my heart with ever deepening resolve to serve God more diligently?"

One of my true heroes is Dr. Howard Hendricks, longtime Dallas Cowboys chaplain and one of the finest seminary professors, speakers, writers and exhorters who ever lived. When his wife Jeanne was just about to go under anesthesia for invasive skull surgery he took her by the hand and proclaimed, "either God is sovereign or He is not. And, if He's not, we're in deep trouble. But I'm coming down on the side that He is."

Either God created the cosmos or it was a blind chance accident.
Either God formed you in your mother's womb or you are just one random step up the evolutionary ladder from the ape family.
Either God has a plan for your life or He is an absentee dad.
Either Mary was a virgin or she wasn't.
Either Jesus died on the cross to save us from all our sins or He didn't.
Either believing Christ by faith and surrendering our lives to follow in His steps leads us on an absolutely certain road to Heaven or it doesn't.

As a battled and bruised old granddad, having been on the battlefield for 62 years myself, I stand on the side of my mentor Howard Hendricks. In the middle of the toughest, most grueling season of my life recently, when it felt like the 8.6 earthquake had hit my house, a dear friend took me on a refreshing scriptural journey to Genesis 50:20 where a victorious and empowered Joseph responded to his brothers who had beaten him and left to die in a pit. Now they crawled in fear to kneel at his feet to beg him for mercy and crumbs off his table. Joseph proclaimed with humble charity, "what they intended for evil, God meant for good that many lives would be saved."

Three days after I was reminded of that reflection of God's sovereignty. 3400 men showed up for an event where I in my brokenness was blessed to be able to build and proclaim the cross of Jesus. Somewhere between 2000 and 2500 men and many of their sons rushed to the cross to surrender their lives to follow Jesus as "the Genesis 50:20 principle" echoed in my ears, "....that many lives would be saved."

A dear kamp family friend of mine lost two of their three precious daughters in a tragic Am Track derailment....
A close family friend discovered a lump in her breast this week....
Another dear saint sits by her husband's bedside day and night comforting him throughout his final stages of cancer....
A father of three small children just lost his wife to an untimely encounter with cancer....

I stand in awe of the faith and the humble response of these dear people! They, like Dr. Hendricks, all "came down on the side that GOD IS." For me, I have been greatly comforted and lifted up by Hezekiah's word to his fearful army as they faced total annihilation by King Sennacherib and his massive Assyrian army in II Chronicles 32:7 & 8, "Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah." David was well acquainted with pressure, personal failure, tragedy, and deep resolve. Psalm 103:19 speaks peaceful resolution to my heart today, "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all." Isaiah echoes with stereophonic comfort, "He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 25:8.

If you or I embrace the premise that indeed God is sovereign, several other very comforting and emotionally stabilizing factors follow like a string of loaded box cars connected securely to a powerful train engine pulling them faithfully and resolutely down the steel tracks of eternity through our tearful days and long sleepless nights.

I Corinthians 10:13 is boxcar #1 . Even though God does not author or desire "bad things to happen to good people", He acts as a filter and will not allow the "world, the flesh and the devil" to give us more challenges than we can take. "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."

Boxcar #2 is often overlooked and trivialized because of our calloused familiarity with it. For your own peace and security never unhitch this boxcar of assurance from the train. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28

I've seen the truth of boxcar #3 played out in magnificent ways in my life and those that I have counseled over the decades. "Who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (II Corinthians 1:4.) The beauty of God's creative hand in this securing principle is that God not only will comfort ("speak bravery") into my life in our hardships but in doing so He'll also use that hardship to equip you and me so that we can give empathy, warmth and wisdom to others who experience similar hardships in our future relationships. It takes a mom who has lost a child to understand another mom who has lost a child. It takes a cancer survivor to be able to come alongside a friend who's just been diagnosed with the same life threatening disease.

My many tragedies have become my trophies.
My many catastrophes have become my care packages to others.
My many afflictions have become my affirmation to those to whom I am blessed to comfort in theirs.

The boxcars are countless that follow the magnificent lead engine of God's sovereignty and the great train of promises and truths that follow.

Alas, the caboose at the end of the train fills your heart with hope in sufficient amounts to empower the believer to stand firm through any trial that awaits you at a future station down the railway. "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Romans 8:38 & 39.)

A welcoming echo from Heaven's hall of fame sings to my heart today. After losing his family, his possessions, his friends and his health, the old warrior Job proclaims, "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! That with an iron stylus and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!"

Again, the "old master from Dallas" has given wisdom in abundance to my beleaguered and weary soul.

"I choose to come down on the side that GOD IS. "




P.S. See how through this one man's testimony God used to bring him closer and reveal His true identity!
"I know that I haven't responded to the mass emails but I have received them and applied the necessary principles to me and my family's lives. So much positive has happened to us since the Men At The Cross meeting and just as many obstacles have tried weaken our faith. You guys gave my life hope to see all those men and young boys cry out to GOD. It showed me that anything that I thought was too much to bare I should not only put it in the Lord's hands but think about all the other less fortunate people in the world and not be so selfish. My wife was car jacked one week after the conference with our three daughters in the vehicle. No one was hurt but that showed me that GOD has tremendous mercy and grace over our lives. The car was found the next day and all 4 teenage suspects apprehended. I was furious! At that moment the Lord reassured me that prayers do get answered. So instead of seeking revenge, I received an opportunity to coach and mentor a inner city youth basketball team and teach them positive reinforcement and hopefully prevent this type of thing from happening again. Wow GOD has a way of bringing us closer and revealing his true identity! You are a true man of GOD. Don't ever change and keep on encouraging people all over the world. Hope to see you again!"

P.P.S. Hollis Jones & his new book "The Entrusted Leader" are superb! I've gone through his syllabus and it is a great, great resource for ALL men's leaders! Check it out at: www.entrustedleader.com

A Great Friend - Great Speaker/Writer named Mike Silva just came out with a new book! Anything Mike does is sincere, wise, and straight to the heart! I highly recommend "#1 Man" Check it out at https://mikesilva.org/donor.php!

P.P.P.S.
Here are the confirmed 2011 conferences:

July 16: St. Louis MO
September 10: Lincoln, NE
September 17: Alexandria, LA
September 23: Rochester, MN
September 24: Aurora/Chicago, IL
October 7: Cape Girardeau, MO
October 8: Tampa, FL
October 15: Branson, MO
October 22: Kansas City, MO
October 29: Central, PA
January 28: Alton, IL

If you know a man in any of these cities who'll be great to join the team, email me at Joe@kanakuk.com 


More events are coming soon! Check our website for more updates (www.menatthecross.org). If your city isn't listed and you want to put together a conference there, contact Marc Harris at marc@menatthecross.org

For these youngsters, the lemonade and sweet treats they were selling Friday afternoon were "special." Out on a hot Friday afternoon were (from left) Maddie, John Paul, Sarah, Cole, Seth, and Alex - just some of the youngsters at Small Wonders Daycare who sold lemonade to raise funds for Alex's Lemonade Stand foundation. Alex's Lemonade Stand fights childhood cancer one cup of lemonade at a time. The kids had their stand near the Walnut Street entrance of First Baptist Church, and they will be there every Friday afternoon until the end of July. The children say their goal is to raise $1000 to donate to the Alex's Lemonade Stand foundation. The foundation is named for young Alexandra "Alex" Scott of Manchester, Conn. Shortly before her first birthday, Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. On her first birthday, the doctors. She started a lemonade stand to raise funds for other children with cancer. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)

Greetings!

I just came back from a powerful and Christ-centered weekend at the Missouri Annual Conference of United Methodist Churches in Springfield, Missouri.

In his opening address, Bishop Robert Schnase, the leader of Missouri United Methodists, highlighted two videos of our church in Sikeston. The video clips focused on our growth in numbers and discipleship, and our outreach in the recent Hope Epidemic event. You all are doing great work, and it is a humble privilege to be your pastor! If you would like to view the "Awakening" video that details our Healthy Church Initiative.

New to First United Methodist Church in Sikeston? Thank you so much for looking us over. I want to invite you to a face-to-face time for us to get to know each other, and to have some question and answer time about our church and its mission. Please be my guest at LUNCH WITH THE PASTOR at 12:30 this Sunday, June 12, at Patrick's Deli on Malone Street! Lunch is on us!

I am proud of United Methodist commitment of funds and hands-on work as the city of Joplin, Missouri digs out of the recent killer tornado's damage. Google "Aaron Brown - Joplin Memorial Service" to hear a powerful statement of faith in the midst of tragedy, delivered by one of our United Methodist pastors in that city. As of last weekend, we have several volunteers for a Volunteers in Mission Workteam to Joplin. Rick Sherman has agreed to lead this team. He will work with the United Methodist Office of Creative Ministries to determine a date.

Our neighbors in Morehouse continue to need the presence of Jesus' servants as they recover from recent flooding. Thank you to Becky Kuykendall and her team of volunteers who went to Morehouse last Thursday to distribute food! I'll be part of a flood recovery workteam going to Morehouse this Saturday, June 11. If you can help, meet us at the Family Life Center at 7:30 to fill out waiver forms; we'll plan to be in Morehouse around 8am and work until around 2pm. If anyone has drywall experience, that's a particular need, but all hands are needed.

Flood waters are working their way down the Missouri River again, and have displaced some people along the way. We will know in a couple of weeks how southeast Missouri will be affected. Depending on rainfall, we might need to be ready for a second round of flood relief. We are reassembling our flood relief team, under the leadership of Pastor Toni Dee. Toni's team will meet this Sunday night, June 12, from 5-6pm in the Grace Cafe at the south end of our facility.

This weekend is Confirmation Weekend at First United Methodist Church in Sikeston. Ten seventh-graders will publicly profess their faith in Jesus Christ and commit to being a part of our church's mission of leading people in new life with Jesus.

We'll also begin a new series titled, "Friend Request: Confirm/Not Now." We'll celebrate the life-changing challenge to each of us to be a friend, make a friend, and bring a friend to Christ! Speaking of friend requests,

In these days that are both exciting and challenging, I still return to the last lines of the Creed of the United Church of Canada: In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God! I believe this with a driving passion, and it is my deepest desire that everyone experience the truth of this statement. Thank you for being a church body committed to God's vision for all people.

Geoff Posegate

By Allen Palmeri,
Special to the ShowMe Times

BREWER LAKE, Mo.-Brandy Crisel stares into the slowly receding waters of the New Madrid Floodway, trying to see her childhood home. It might be one-quarter of a mile away.

For two solid weeks, the house built by her parents, Roy and Barbara Smith, has been engulfed by the Mississippi River floodwaters. The federal government's decision to blow a hole in the nearby Birds Point levee May 2 has assaulted dozens of houses and led Crisel and her parents, members of Wyatt Baptist Church in Wyatt, Mo., to trust even more in Jesus.

"I've said over and over again that God sees what we can't see," said Crisel, 36, who teaches the women's Sunday School class at the church. "We live in a bubble. We only see what's around us, but He sees the big picture.

"For whatever reason, I know it's going to be OK. I know that God's going to provide and that this was done for a reason. We may not understand it, but He knows. With Him, that's all we need. We've cried, of course, at the loss, but I know that He's in control of it."

She remembers her father working 60 hours a week and coming home on the weekends to tear down old houses for salvage material that the family would use to build their home.

"It started out with just one big concrete room, and we built it to a two-story house," Crisel said. "I watched my dad sweat, and I watched my dad ... one hammer and one man. Me and Mom have said that all our lives, but we couldn't hire anybody to come in and do it.

"We would hoist plywood up with a rope and nail it to the side of the house on the upstairs. There's just a lot of heart and a lot of sweat poured into this house that he built for my mom, so it is hard."

She is glad that her husband Ray and children have helped her take her parents into their Charleston, Mo., home. She said the house near Birds Point will be rebuilt, even if her parents need to start all over again with four concrete walls.

"They go paycheck to paycheck," she said. "They don't have anything to fall back on, so it's hard losing their home.

"Growing up, Dad would build us clubhouses in the trees. I remember Dad building the stairs, and it took him a while. Mom grew up really poor, and she just knew that rich people had big houses, two-story homes. It wasn't fancy. It wasn't top-notch. But it was her two-story house."

Many stories of resilience, pride, and faith can be found in Mississippi County as 2011 is forever linked with the monumental floods of 1927 and 1937, but it will not knock the residents off their land. The spillway is filled with steely resolve as farmers, pastors and workers wait for the water to go down.

"Don't forget about us," Dean Wallace, pastor of Wyatt Baptist Church, said.

Allen Palmeri is associate editor of The Pathway, newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention.