Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: July 31, 2005
HAS IT BEEN A YEAR ALREADY?
Ben Justice
This time last year, the Justice family made the move to Sullivan, MO to begin
work with the Sullivan church of Christ. Time has flown by. It is hard to believe
that it has been a year already! I would like to reflect back on the past year and
look into the future.
WHERE WE HAVE BEEN
It is my aim as a preacher of the gospel to preach the whole counsel of God (Acts
20:27). It is my goal to fulfill the gospel preacher’s charge: “PREACH THE
WORD” (2 Tim. 4:1-2). I have striven to do these things in a balanced way. I
have striven to preach the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), yet with boldness (Eph. 6:
19). I believe that most know me well enough by now to know that I am
interested in pleasing God — not man — in my preaching (Gal. 1:10). As Timothy
was commanded to do nothing by partiality (I Tim. 5:21), I, too, have striven to do
this.
Over the past year, we have studied many different topics. Hopefully, a wide
range of subjects have been covered. We have looked at a number of series,
including Fellowship, Gentiles in the OT, The Inspiration of the Bible, and
Corrective church discipline. We have considered moral issues such
homosexuality, tobacco, and immodesty. One of the highlights of the year, at
least for me, was our Gospel Meeting at the end of April. Our door-knocking
campaign was very successful, with over 2000 doors being knocked. The turn-out
for the meeting was great, with 70 present one evening. I hope and trust that
the lessons presented on the church were beneficial to each and every one. The
world desperately needs to hear these lessons from God’s word, and even many
in the Lord’s church.
The church has recently purchased a tape duplicating machine to be able to copy
sermon tapes for anyone who desires them. The machine will copy both sides of
a tape and rewind it in about 3 minutes. Not only that, but it will copy 4 tapes at
a time. If you would like a copy of a certain sermon, please don’t hesitate to get
a copy. If you know of a friend or family member who you know would benefit
from a certain sermon, again, get a copy. This is a work of the church.
Also, we have a web-site up and running. There are many articles, including the
weekly bulletin articles, special studies, and others. There are audio sermons
posted to listen to. Look for more material in the weeks and months to come.
From a personal standpoint, my family and I have truly been overjoyed this past
year. The congregation at Sullivan is a loving and caring congregation. You have
welcomed us with open arms into the family of God at Sullivan. You are to be
commended for your unwavering stand for the truth, especially in the midst of so
much compromise on every hand. It is a joy for me to be able to preach to the
congregation each and every Sunday. You are to be commended as well for
having such a receptive spirit to the truth. There is always room to improve, and
I hope that I have presented lessons that have made you think. Hopefully, I
have stirred you to greater service in the kingdom of Christ. There is no greater
service.
On Wednesday evenings, I have been teaching from the book of Matthew to the
adult class. We are now in the last chapter. Just a few more weeks and we will
be finished with Matthew. I hope and trust that everyone has learned some
things from these studies.
During the past year, we have been able to purchase our own home. For the past
several years, we have either been living in a preacher’s home or renting. We are
excited to be able to finally have a place of our own. More and more
congregations are getting away from the preacher’s home. It was no doubt a good
thing in years gone by, but today, I would encourage those congregations who
have a preacher’s home to get rid of it, if at all possible. If not possible, then
they ought to work toward that goal. When a preacher and his family have their
own place, they can better identify with the community, build equity and value in
the home, and really be able to put down roots. This is what we plan on doing,
Lord willing!
WHERE WE WANT TO GO
It is my goal to stay with a congregation until retirement. This is my goal at
Sullivan. Preachers’ moving around every 2 to 4 years is not good for the local
church, the preacher and his family, or the community. Congregations that
thrive are those who have a long-term preacher.
During the next year, it is my continued aim to proclaim the whole counsel of
God. We will study previously taught lessons, realizing that repetition,
repetition, repetition, is the key to learning. If you are like me, then you are
prone to forget things, and so, we must be reminded of God’s truth, especially
those fundamentals of the gospel of Christ. We will also study in depth and
weighty things. The goal of the congregation is to grow in the grace and
knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
Let us also strive to grow numerically. I have some things in the works that
hopefully will help in this endeavor. One of my goals, even before I arrived at
Sullivan, was to begin an annual lectureship program. Hopefully, this can
become a reality within the next year or two. I also plan on presenting some
ideas about having special lectures that address current issues the church
faces. The men have authorized me to schedule some good and sound gospel
preachers to hold meetings for the congregation over the next several years. I
know of several men whom I believe will benefit the congregation. Since we had
such a successful turn-out for our recent gospel meeting, this will be the time
that we have it every year. Go ahead and keep this in mind for the end of next
April. There are other things I have on the agenda that I will be presenting to
the men over the next several months. I am here to work, and I hope you are
too.
After we finish up with Matthew in our Wednesday adult class, I plan on
presenting a study on “Hermeneutics: How to study, interpret, and apply the
Bible.” This should last several months. Then, after that, Lord willing, I plan on
presenting a study on “Biblical Authority.” I hope that you look forward to this.
This past winter, I presented a special class every Tuesday evening on
“Leadership.” I appreciate very much all of those who came to the class. Tapes
are available on all of these classes if anyone would like a set. Coming up this
winter, I plan on doing the same thing on each Tuesday evening. I have not yet
decided what subject we will be studying, but I can promise that it will be a
benefit to each one. Whereas the “Leadership” class was mostly geared toward
the men (even though women should know what to look for in a good leader), this
class will be directly applicable to everyone.
There is a lot to do. I hope and trust that each one is excited about what lies
ahead. The future for the Sullivan congregation looks promising. I pledge to
fulfill my role. What about you? We are all laborers together with God (I Cor. 3:
9). TO THE WORK!