| January 31, 1999 |
Vol. I, No. 40
|
When Paul and Barnabas returned from their first preaching tour, they gave a report of their work to the church in Antioch, Acts 14:27. The first few chapters of the book of Acts gives a report of the state of the church in Jerusalem. For our own records, and for the information of those who might be interested, this writing will give a brief account of the work of the Lord in this congregation over the past year and three quarters.
This congregation actually had its beginning about nine years ago. I believe a complete history would necessitate a history of the group, now no longer meeting, which existed in Lancaster County, meeting variously in Landisville, Leola, Lancaster, etc. That history will have to wait till a later time.
It was autumn of 1996 that I made the decision to come and work with this congregation, at that time known as the Wrightsville church of Christ. It was meeting in an old bank building on Main Street in Wrightsville. The proposed date for my move was to be mid-May, 1997. I wrote letters to various other congregations, seeking the necessary financial support. Over the next few months, commitments of monthly support trickled in, until, by the time of the scheduled move, the support was in line. One congregation in Texas gave me a one-time amount to help in the expenses of relocating. This congregation paid my actual moving costs: truck, fuel on the road, etc. There were 11 other congregations who supplied monthly support: one in Alabama, one in Arkansas, one in Indiana, one in Kentucky, one in New Jersey, and six in Texas.
As Betty, Sherry and I arrived here in mid-May, 1997, the Dave Bunch family was just moving away, leaving 25 in attendance here. My family of three, and my son's family of five (then living in Lancaster, now in Marietta) boosted the attendance to 33. The church, at that time, was meeting at 17 E. Market St. in Marietta.
Since we had only 35 chairs in the room where we assembled, my major priority was to find a more adequate meeting place. This proved more difficult than I expected. We found a building that would have been suitable in East Prospect, but it was snapped up by a buyer with cash in hand. We found a building that would have been ideal in almost every way, east of York, but it too slipped through our hands.
Since we didn't know for sure where the church would eventually locate, we changed the name from Wrightsville church to the Susquehanna church. We knew, that wherever we assembled, it would be somewhere in the Susquehanna River valley. As we continued to look for more adequate facilities, we rearranged the seating at 17 E. Market to allow for 42 chairs in the "auditorium."
The congregation was also short on funds. A brother in Indiana gave us a $12,000 loan to help us toward a down payment. Finally, in November, 1997, we put in a bid on this building. We were not able to actually take possession till March, 1998.
In January, '98, we picked up the Dixon family of three. In February, Jan Wilson was baptized into Christ. In March, we took possession of our building. Our first assembly here at 30 Apple Avenue was March 22. With eight visitors that day, our morning attendance was 43 -- more than we could have seated in our former meeting place. We have had visitors, either local or traveling, almost every week since we got into our new location.
In order to acquire this meeting place, we had to take out a regular mortgage and a second mortgage, in addition to the money we had borrowed to help us with the down payment.
Soon after we got into the "new" facility, Eric Dixon was able to secure for us a baptistery, which the brethren installed. That month, (April) the local church gave me a salary increase, as did one of the congregations helping in my support. We also began putting out a hand-out bulletin that month. I do the editing and most of the writing, but Percy and Jan Wilson are responsible for the layout, printing, folding, etc.
In May, we held our first gospel meeting with Mark Russell of Valparaiso, Indiana, preaching. In June, '98, we gained Clint Andrews from Tennessee, and Leah Leaman placed her membership with us, bringing her husband and two children. In July, the Maness family of five moved to our area from New Jersey and came into the congregation. That month, we had our first baptism in the "new" baptistery -- Ray Boyer baptized his son Kenny. In August, we paid off our second mortgage.
September was, in many ways, our most fruitful month. We gained the Miozza family of five, Tom and Shirley Reed, Melva and Shelby Fidler. Clint Andrews married and brought his bride, Ginger, into the congregation. Tina Small was baptized into Christ.
Late September and going into October, Phil Cavender of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, held our second gospel meeting. The meeting began with 57 in attendance on Sunday morning. That evening, a group from York dismissed their services and visited with us, boosting our attendance to a record 77.
In October, several of our younger families, along with a few from the Exton and Bethlehem congregations, began meeting, the second Friday of the month for study in the Maness' home. In November, we lost Clint and Ginger Andrews to Stillwater, Oklahoma -- but we gained the Walston family of five! Also, this month we began to send our bulletin by e-mail. Thanks to Percy Wilson for figuring out the mechanics.
In December, as a step toward becoming self-supporting, the brethren decided to increase my local support by $200 per month, and I was able to release that amount to the Pruett and Lobit congregation in Baytown, Texas, who have helped in my support for about 13 of the last 15 years. We also paid $3,000 in a lump sum (in addition to monthly payments) toward the $12,000 we borrowed from the brother in Indiana.
As we enter 1999, we have 57 in attendance (when or if everyone were to show up at the same time). We now have adult classes and four childrens' classes, and have coordinated the class materials so that each class is studying related material at the same time. God has blessed us abundantly, and with our cooperation, He will help us even more.
--CRJ
In Matt. 8:21-22, as Jesus seeks to involve His disciples in complete commitment, to follow Him wholeheartedly, one of them said to Him, "'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.'"
This is undoubtedly one of the most shocking and difficult statements in the Divine record of Jesus' teachings. Did our Lord forbid Christians' attending to the funerals of their loved ones? In the light of His own practice at the death of His friend Lazarus, John 11, and the practice of Simon Peter in Acts 9:36-43, we conclude that Jesus did not mean to imply that Christians must take no interest in the death and burial of their loved ones.
May we suggest consideration be given to this statement by scholar William Barclay: "The true explanation undoubtedly lies in the way in which the Jews used the phrase -- "I must bury my father" -- and in the way it is still used in the east." Barclay tells of a Syrian missionary who urged a young Turk to make a tour of Europe at the close of his formal education, in order that his education would be complete and his mind broadened. "The Turk answered, 'I must first of all bury my father.' The missionary expressed his sympathy and sorrow that the young man's father had died. But the young Turk explained that his father was still very much alive, and that what he meant was that he must fulfill all his duties to his parents and to his relatives, before he could leave them to go on the suggested tour, that in fact, he could not leave home until after his father's death, which might not happen for many years." Then Barclay suggests that the reluctant disciple of Jesus may well have been implying, "I will follow You some day, when my father is dead, and when I am free to go."
Another writer, H.L. Ellison says that the very fact that this disciple was with Jesus at this moment is "sufficient proof that his father was not yet dead. He did not want to be too far away when death came, perhaps because he wanted to make sure of the inheritance."
Though, undoubtedly, the statement of Jesus in Matt. 8:21 is one His harder statements to fully grasp and digest, perhaps these suggestions are worthy of much consideration, and they may help us to understand the paradoxical statement our Lord made in this passage. And, remember, the primary thrust of the Lord's instruction to this disciple and to all disciples is, Jesus must have priority in our lives. He is first of all or not at all.
--CRJ