The Visitor » 2010 » June

Here and There by Wes Price will resume when Wes recovers from surgery. We pray he will be back with us soon. =========================================
ARE WE GROWING?
Roger Owen

Do the numbers 77, 78, 76 mean anything to you? These are the numbers I hear in the foyer after our morning assembly from the one who counts our attendance. So far, every Sunday I have been here with you the count has totaled between 76 and 80. Two observations about this: First, we do not have the same people here every week, but we are having the same number. Some take trips, become ill, etc. and are not here every Sunday, and some come to visit us. Still the number stays the same. This obviously means that while the count may be the same, it indicates that we actually have more individuals involved in this body of believers than the count indicates.

Second, attendance numbers have nothing to do with “growth”. As a people in our society, we seem to have more emphasis about numbers than anything else, and we seem to think that large numbers equal success and small numbers equal failure. I have attended congregations in my lifetime that number anywhere from 13 in attendance to 1700 in attendance. I really have seen no difference in the congregations as far as growth is concerned. Some churches increase in number from small to large for any number of reasons, but the only reason God cares about is the increase in number because of teaching His word and saving lost souls who subsequently choose to assemble with the ones who taught them. All the other reasons – new building, entertaining assemblies, special activities, new-comers to the area, etc. – just shift the location of people already taught from one place to another.

But back to growth. When I read the New Testament I find the growth that God wants is within me individually. He wants me to grow up into salvation through the spiritual milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2). He wants me to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (II Peter 3:18; Colossians 1:10). He wants me to increase in righteousness (II Corinthians 9:10). And God wants me to grow in my faith (II Thessalonians 1:13; II Corinthians 10:15). So if I want to know if we as a congregation are growing, I need to know if my knowledge of God’s word, my faith in what it says, and my righteous living has increased!

I do not have control over how many people are saved. I am told to “bear fruit in every good word” (Colossians 1:10), and I am told that the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied when the word of God increased (Acts 6:7). And I am told to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19). But I cannot determine how many will be saved and how many will assemble at this congregation once they have become a disciple.

The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). No matter how much we plant and water, it means nothing, because it is God who gives the growth (I Corinthians 3:6-7). Paul said he was not sent to baptize but to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17). It is up to the hearer whether he accepts the word or not. Remember the parable of the sower (Matthew 13). One out of four is not a winning percentage in our statistical world! “Growth” in numbers is up to the soil, the hearer, not the sower. Jeremiah preached his whole life and had not a single convert!

So what’s the point? The questions still is, “Are we growing?” The answer is in you and me. Are we increasing in our knowledge of the word of God, in our faith in Him, in the righteousness of our living? If so, then we are growing! If we are just standing still, maintaining, then it would behoove us to read Jesus’ words to the “lukewarm” church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22). If our temperature is not increasing, we need to turn up the heat!
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PRAYER LIST
Wes Price–Methodist Rehab – Room 128, located just east of Charlton Methodist, 3020 W. Wheatland Road, Dallas, TX 75237. Phone in Wes’ Room – 972-708-8728.

Evelyn Dillon – Methodist Rehab – east of Charlton Methodist.
She is there to see if they can help her to get stronger.

Jimmy Mooney is recovering from his surgery.

Continue to remember Sylvia McMillion, Rick Ramsey, Jimmy Mooney’s mother (Dorothy), R. C. Bell, Lois Rodriquez and others.
Let us all pray for the Tyson Family.

REMEMBER ALL OTHERS ON THE PRAYER LIST
Adrain Arthur (great nephew of Theresa Bersano); George Bailey; R. C. Bell; Addie Bennett; Dr. “J” Coats; Perry Cotham; Urbanelle Cox; Carol & Peter Diamond; Tom Duvall; Ruby Faas; Gloria Garcia; Rita Harrison; Doris Henry; Bill Hinton; Bob and Madeline Hinton; Ed Horn; Mary Catherine Jayroe; Jean LaPine; Nancy Lindley; Sylvia & Muriel McMillion; Billie Morgan; Bobby Muirhead (sister of Billie & Jean Thompson); Lula Murray; Henrietta Pummill; Rick Ramsey; Sherri Reynolds; Lois Rodriquez; Mildred Sala, Nancy Spurgeon; Treva Traylor; Cathy Wood; Marie Works.

The following is a Special Prayer Request

Please pray for Robert Quinn as he moves from Collinsville, Illinois to Henderson, Tennessee next week as he prepares to begin attending Freed Hardeman in August, and also begins work with a nearby congregation as a part-time youth minister. He is the grandson of R.C. & Juanita Bell.

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Please find on the table in the foyer:

The July, 2010 Calendar

The new Power for Today: July, Aug., and Sept., 2010

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Vital Signs: June 20, 2010

Bible Study 53 Offering: $2,439.75 Morning Worship: 75 Budget: $2,893.27 Afternoon Worship: 41 Wed. Eve. Bible Study, 6/16:31

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Take Time To Pray

“Looking Forward” by Jack Armstrong

Well folks this has been a good week, it seems like Bro. Wes has finally turned the corner, and is on the road to recovery! Oleta and I were visiting with him this week and he said after we asked how he was doing, “Well I’m doing fine, now if I can only get rid of this illness.” Sounded like the ‘ol Wes.

It sure was good to see Juanita Bell and part of her family there last Lord’s Day, but we sure do miss R.C. and pray he get’s better real soon. They are a family of Christians!

We also haven’t heard from Cloyce and Kay Jurecka in a while. Sure hope they are doing good. Speaking of these two we also want to thank all of you who call to check on Wes whlle he has been out and I’ve heard him say it means a lot to him and he knows the prayers are what has brought him through along with some find doctors who know that the Lord is guiding them! That and the fact they spend private time visiting with Wes and Alma Faye. It sure makes me feel good about them.

By the time you get this we will have celebrated Father’s Day and we were fortunate to be able to eat out with our “kids”, and I use that word loosely, since our son, Jack is 63 and our Angie is now 43. It’s so good to get together with them! Seems like in these times getting together with the family only comes at special occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Memorial Day. Things are just moving too fast or maybe it’s that I’m just getting old.

We sure hope you all had a great Father’s Day, anyway! I’m running short of time since I waited too long to write my column so I’d best sign off for this time and we’ll see you next time the Good Lord willing.

We pray all of our sick and shut-ins are doing much better, we love you all and miss you…. Remember our Goal…

“When Duty Becomes Desire”

See you soon. “Here and There” Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) =====================================================

Here and There by Wes Price will resume when Wes recovers from surgery. We pray he will be back with us soon. =========================================
KNEE-JERK REACTIONS
Roger Owen

I have been intrigued by two events that have just happened recently that shows us just how “reactionary” we really are to situations around us. The first event happened a couple weeks ago in South Carolina. A young man in his twenties paid the $10,000 filing fee to put his name on the ballot for the Democratic Party Primary election for United States Senator. The only other candidate on the ballot was the incumbent who was seeking his fifth term as Senator. The young man did no fund-raising, held no rallies, and almost literally did no campaigning. He still lives at home with his father, and doesn’t have a “steady job” of any kind. Interviews I saw indicated that he really had no idea what the Senate was all about, he just wanted to run for it. When asked if he had held any campaign rallies, his answer, was, “I had a few friends over for a party.” This young man received sixty percent of the votes and literally destroyed the incumbent in this primary. Talk about a “knee-jerk reaction”! The voters were just determined that they were going to vote for ANYBODY who opposed the guy who had been there helping the current administration! The incumbent has been duly punished by his constituents. But…what if this young man wins against the Republican candidate in the final election? Will the country be better off with a congress of Senators who have no clue what it is all about? I guess it depends on just how angry voters are at the current administration.

The second event that has happened over the last two weeks involves college football and the Big 12 Conference. Nebraska decides they want to go to another conference. The next thing you know other schools in the Big 12 Conference panic and start worrying about their future. A third conference starts inviting the Texas and Oklahoma schools, minus Baylor, plus Colorado, to join their conference. Baylor cries “foul” and begins lobbying for them to be the sixth school and not Colorado. So Colorado prematurely jumps to join that conference to keep Baylor from possibly squeezing them out. Now the Texas and Oklahoma schools have decided they are staying put and the Big 12 Conference will continue on…minus Nebraska and Colorado. Again, all of these events happened suddenly as “knee-jerk reactions” for fear that someone else might beat them to something. I have a feeling that some time later both of these two schools will secretly neglect having made such spur-of-the-moment decisions without taking time to consider all the apsects of their actions.

How many times have we had “knee-jerk reactions to situations in our lives because of anger or impatience due to the fear we might miss out on something? I chuckle at Jonah when he finally got to Nineveh and preached of the impending destruction that God was bringing upon them. Nineveh repented and God relented and decided Nineveh was to be spared. Jonah was angry because he thought Nineveh would think of him as an idiot because what he predicted did not happen. His “knee-jerk reaction” was to pout and to tell God, “See, this is why I fled to Tarsish. I knew you would do something like this and leave me looking like an idiot! So, why don’t you just take my life because I would be better off dead than alive.”

Jonah proceeded to go outside the city and fix him a perch to sit down and pout and watch the city to see what happened. God planted a plant to grow up and shade Jonah from the sun and Jonal enjoyed it. When morning dawned God sent a worm to attack the plant so that it withered and died in the hot sun and wind. I can just hear Jonah saying, “O, great, now the worms are even after me!” Again, he pled with God to let him die. Both times God asked Jonah the same question, “Do you do well to be angry?”

When we are angry and impatient, “do we do well to be angry?” Are we practitioners of the “knee-jerk reaction” syndrome? I am thankful God does not operate this way. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalm 103:8 ESV). We would do well to also be slow to react when our anger or our impatience is riled up.

On another note, Linda had encouraged me to pass on her heart-felt thanks to the anonymous person who blessed her and several others with blankets in the pews to help keep them warm. Her name was pinned to hers and everything! What a terrific gesture! Thanks again – whoever you are!
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PRAYER LIST
Wes Price–Charlton Methodist– A Tower, Room A 3117. Wes is steadily improving. Please keep visits to 10 minutes.
Evelyn Dillon is home and feeling better. Son, Larry, is staying with her Jimmy Mooney- Charlton Meth.- had day surgery on June 18th.
Also remember his mother Dorothy Mooney. Lois Rodriquez is home and will have 3 more chemo treatments and then a CAT Scan. She hopes to be back at church soon.
Let us all pray for the Tyson Family.

REMEMBER ALL OTHERS ON THE PRAYER LIST
Adrain Arthur (great nephew of Theresa Bersano); George Bailey; R. C. Bell; Addie Bennett; Dr. “J” Coats; Perry Cotham; Urbanelle Cox; Carol & Peter Diamond; Tom Duvall; Ruby Faas; Gloria Garcia; Rita Harrison; Doris Henry; Bill Hinton; Bob and Madeline Hinton; Ed Horn; Mary Catherine Jayroe; Jean LaPine; Nancy Lindley; Mark Locke; Sylvia & Muriel McMillion; Billie Morgan; Bobby Muirhead (sister of Billie & Jean Thompson); Lula Murray; Henrietta Pummill; Rick Ramsey; Sherri Reynolds; Mary Russell; Mildred Sala, Nancy Spurgeon; Treva Traylor; Cathy Wood; Marie Works.

** Please add to your list of June Anniversaries: Please take note: June 21st – Steve & Ann Browning – Anniversary (their anniversary was left off of the calendar by mistake) ——–

We want to offer our congratulations to the following: Jean Lovell has a new great great grandson and all are doing well.

Spencer Ross’ baby son has arrived and all are doing well.

Paul Delgado graduated from the Brown Trail School of Preaching: ——–

New address for Dorothy Jackson Bell Aire Crestview Ct. #211B 224 W. Pleasant Run Road Cedar HiIl, TX 75104 Phone: 972-291-3883 ——– We want to offer our love and sympathy to Pat Morris and family. Mary Russell, Pat’s mother, passed away June 14, 2010 at the age of 95. Her funeral was Thursday, June 17, 2010. Mary wil be missed.. Address for cards. Pat Morris 239 Autumnwood Trail Gun Barrel City, TX 75156
‘Looking Forward” by Jack Armstrong This past week we received a real sweet letter from the Buck Reed family thanking all for the love and care we showed Buck. He was always ready to help out in any way he could right up until he had to go to the center. He and Bro. Ramsey Wright were both hard of hearing and the two of them would keep right on talking after the service started, but no one ever said a word to either of them because we loved them and knew of their hearing problems.

Sometimes we just can’t help looking back to some of our dear friends who have gone on before us, but they are happy memories in most cases.

I remember when Clinton White, Jimmy Morris and I used to climb those stairs in the back of the auditorium to count the collection each Lord’s Day and Clinton would almost run up those stairs even in his eighties and Jimmy and I would huff and puff behind him.

Then it comes to mind how Glen Payne used to love to kid our preacher. How our dear sisters have always had some good advice for us before the service, like Baby Jones, Sue Lawrence, Estelle McLarty, Addie Bennett, Henrietta Pummill, and last but not least, Maurine Fleming. By the way let’s all start wearing our name tags again to make it a little easier on Bro. Roger and Linda.

We received some great news on June 13th. Bro. Wes seems to have turned the corner and is getting better now. He may have started eating some real food. Let’s all be cautiously encouraged and keep him in our prayers that he gets better each day, and keep Alma Faye and their family in our prayers, too!

Once again I want to say how fortunate we are to have Roger and Linda Owen here with us in Wes’ absence. He is one of those fellows who you like right off the bat, and grows on you the longer you know him.

We want to say a word or two about another very, very important person at the JBCoC, and that man is Bro. Jacob Locke, who has really had to double up since Wes has been out. Go by and tell him how much we love and appreciate him for all he does. We would be lost without him and Joyce! Folks this is on top of all the volunteer work they do over at Methodist Central Hospital, and have been doing for many years. In my book that is going way above the call of duty. Semper Fidelis i(Always Faithful) ================================================This congregation has been invited to share the program and lunch at the Iglesia de Cristo Church of Christ today at 11:45a.m. The church is the former Edgefield Church of Christ – 420 N. Edgefield at Seventh

Here and There by Wes Price will resume when Wes recovers from surgery. We pray he will be back with us soon. =========================================
Summer Is Upon Us
Roger Owen

We have now entered the month of June. Every year it is the same for me. When I see June show up on the calendar, I know hot times are ahead. Summer officially begins on June 21, but it FEELS like summer before we get out of May.

This is not good for me. It is not just in inconvenience issue, summer is a threat to me. I am much more in danger of dying from the heat than dying from the cold. Sunburns for me were very common growing up. I had a major melanoma removed in 1982. Allergies have made my eyes extremely sensitive to the bright sun’s light. And I suffered a head injury in high school that somehow caused the blood vessels in my head to be stretched thinner than they are supposed to be. As a result, if I get too hot, extreme headaches arrive, and they are so severe that I am totally useless for about a day and a half. I can only hibernate in a totally dark room with the air conditioning going full blast until I cool off and my heart-rate slows down, stopping the pain from the blood trying to rush through my now thin blood vessels to help cool me down. So needless to say, I am an INDOORS kind of guy!

The only way I could play golf was to tee off at dawn, before the sun came up and put a zip-lock bag of ice in my hat when the temperature rose above 75 or 80 degrees. It would melt pretty fast and I had to refill it continually throughout the round. My playing partners did not know about the ice because I did not want to listen to all the teasing and deal with the embarrassment of being such an “oddball.” I always filled the bag when they were busy hitting their shots. One day my ice bag sprung a leak and I had no back-up. So I positioned the part of the bag with the hole in it towards the front of my cap and pushed the bag back far enough on my head so that the hole was above the combination of ice and water. Then it did not leak – until I leaned my head over to putt and all this water came gushing out! One of my playing partners shrieked, “Man, you sure sweat a lot!!” Needless to say, the heat has curtailed any attempt to regularly play golf any more.

Many will remember 1980 as a record-setting heat spell. In August, we hit 10 days in a row over 100 degrees and many of those days were as high as 113 degrees. I had a pick-up truck that had no air conditioning in it. I would drive to work, then completely clean up all over again and change clothes once I got there. When the week-end arrived, I drove to Oklahoma and my uncle (a truck and auto mechanic) installed an air conditioner in my truck.

So, what’s the point? When I deal with the heat, the only thing on my mind is finding some relief; some shade, a breeze, some air conditioning, etc. It is at that time I am reminded most what Hell might be like. Jesus describes it as “everlasting fire” in Matthew 25:41. That’s all I need to hear! EVERLASTING – no relief! No shade, no breeze, no air conditioning. Nothing!

Today, we don’t talk much about Hell. People don’t like to be told it is possible they could go there. We are all about emphasizing the positive and ignoring the negative. Yet it is still a reality that Jesus talked about often. Keeping me out of that place cost Him His life! Shouldn’t we still be concerned about warning each other about such a place!

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the day of the Lord, he told them it would happen “while people are saying, ‘There is peace and security.’” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Hebrews 10:26-27 still says, “For it we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

What do we see when we encounter lost souls? Hungry people? Poor people? Unfortunate people? Needy people? It occurred to me that if we are only wrapped up in feeding them, housing them, helping them, giving to them, or helping with whatever they need to make their physical lives better, we are doing no more than prisons do when they offer a prisoner on death row whatever he wants to eat for his last meal before execution. People are in danger of suffering heat like has never been suffered before. What can we do about it?
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PRAYER LIST
Wes Price–Charlton Methodist– A Tower, Room A 3117. May have short visits. Is slowly improving. Remember to limit your visits to 10 minutes. He tires very easily.
Jimmy Mooney will have day surgery at Charlton Methodist at 7:15 a.m. on June 18.
Carol and Pete Diamond need our special prayers at this time. Carol is the cousin of Sylvia and Muriel McMillion and her husband, Pete, has a malignant brain tumor and is not doing well at this time.

REMEMBER ALL OTHERS ON THE PRAYER LIST
Adrain Arthur (great nephew of Theresa Bersano); George Bailey; R. C. Bell; Addie Bennett; Dr. “J” Coats; Urbanelle Cox; Evelyn Dillon; Tom Duvall; Ruby Faas; Gloria Garcia; Rita Harrison; Doris Henry; Bill Hinton; Ed Horn; Mary Catherine Jayroe; Jean LaPine; Nancy Lindley; Mark Locke; Sylvia & Muriel McMillion; Dorothy Mooney; Billie Morgan; Bobby Muirhead (sister of Billie & Jean Thompson); Lula Murray; Henrietta Pummill; Rick Ramsey; Sherry Reynolds; Lois Rodriquez; Mary Russell; Mildred Sala, Nancy Spurgeon; Treva Traylor; Marie Works.

Vital Signs – May 30, 2010
Bible Study 54

Morning Worship 64

Afternoon Worship 36

Wed. Eve. Bible Study 5/26 30

Offering: $2,158.50

Budget: $2,893.27

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We want to offer our much love and sympathy to Jacob & Joyce Locke and their family. Jacob’s sister, Alice Marie Holley “Bedie” passed away May 31, 2010 at the age of 92. Her funeral was at Williams Memorial Chapel on June 2, 2010. Interment was in Garland Mills Cemetery in Garland, TX.
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We want to offer our much love and sympathy to the family of Magdalena Gonzalez. Magdalena passed away on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. The visitation was Friday at Jeter Funeral Home. Her funeral was Saturday, June 5, 2010 here at the church officiated by Robert Johnston, minister of the Longview Church of Christ in Longview, TX and former minister of the old Mt. View Church of Christ. Magdalena was a long time member of Mt. View Church of Christ and then a long time member of Jefferson Boulevard Church of Christ. She was a loving mother and grandmother and had such a sweet and happy disposition. .
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“Looking Forward”
by Jack Armstrong
We decided instead of reflecting on things in the past we will try to talk about things to come. Oleta and I had a wonderful surprise on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. We had called Alma Faye earlier (not realizing she was probably resting from spending the night at the hospital with Wes). She called us back to give us an update and said “by the way someone wants to talk to you”. Wes came on the phone and we had a wonderful visit via the phone. He sounded so good and it just made our day!
Wasn’t the letter from Josh Martinez inviting us to the graduation great! We sure do miss Val and Josh being with us but are so glad they are attending church in Princeton with their uncle and cousins. They are the grandsons of Domingo and Becky Martinez who have become permanent members of the JBCoC congregation.
We sure do miss the Bells and pray they are doing much better.
We were so glad to hear from Rick that Bill Hinton is doing so good and likes where he is living.
Speaking of looking forward, let’s all pray the doctors treating Wes will find the way to stop the leak still there in his intestines. Wes says when he sees all that great food in the paper and on TV and it just makes him crave a great meal! I told him when that day comes we will all celebrate! It’s been a long hard ordeal for Wes and Alma Faye but I can’t help but feel something good will happen real soon because Bro. Wes is a lot like Job in his resolve to keep his faith in the Good Lord, regardless of what transpires! Besides all that he has one of the most endurable, abiding, caring, loving helpmate I’ve ever seen. She’s been there through thick and thin and always says… “We must be cautiously optimistic.”

By the time you get this we will have celebrated Memorial Day and we hope you had a good one.
I have to tell you what Dan Talbott did for me last Lord’s Day. He told me to come out to the car as he had something for me. I went out and he had one of the greatest picture puzzles of a group of Marines standing in a line with the words Semper Fidelis across it in a beautiful frame. I have to tell you it is just beautiful and I thank Dan more than I can say! He told me it was for Memorial Day.
REMEMBER… “When Duty Becomes Desire”

Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)
(Just an added note)
Thank all of you for the beautiful, meaningful anniversary cards and calls. It was Number 15 for Oleta and me. Can you believe it’s been that long? Also, we saw Wes Saturday and he is looking much better. Wes had just come back from a walk up the hall and back!