We have officially launched our Lights at Lamar campus ministry. We had a display last week on campus where we passed out Bibles and bookmarks. We had a great response with our bookmarks that we made. Additionally, we had seventeen people to sign up who are interested in attending our studies. We will begin our first study this Thursday. Our college students have done a tremendous job in getting this work off the ground.
I had the opportunity to preach in Port Author last night. This was our first time visiting this congregation. Nikki spent the weekend having a sleep over with some of our young girls on Friday and Saturday. Then she spent some time with some of our young college women Saturday evening. It was a busy but profitable weekend. It is always a good thing whenever you can spend time with other Christians.
This past week was a good one. I am working with our college students as we prepare to begin meeting on the Lamar University campus. Lamar University is a four year school and is located here in Beaumont. We are calling our group Lights at Lamar. We will begin our Bible studies on September 24th and will meet every other Thursday for a Bible study. There is a welcome day on campus this Thursday, where organizations can pass out information. We will be passing out a Bible bookmark that we created, fliers, and Bibles for the students. This is going to be a great opportunity to win souls for Jesus. Our college students have done a great job in making this possible. We are confident that this will be the beginning of something great.
Time is flying by fast in the preacher program. I am preparing for my next class that I will be teaching in a few months. It will be a study on the book of Psalms. This will definitely be an exciting course.
Nikki and I have begun to get more serious with our health. We have a sister in church who is a personal trainer. Nikki trained with her twice last week. This week she will bump it up to three days. God willing, I will begin training with her in October. We have done a good job with eating properly and working out, but there is always room to grow. I am giving myself a goal by the end of the year to be back at my college weight.
Well, it’s time to get back to the books. Take care and God bless.
It has been a few weeks since my last update. August was a busy month. The biggest event of the month was our teen weekend. We called it, “Moments of Decision”. We had Phil Robertson from Alabama conduct the teen event. He did a tremendous job. All of his lessons were fantastic. He had the attention of our young people for the entire weekend.
We began with a Friday evening session. On Saturday morning, we met at the building for another session. After the Saturday morning session, we all met at Carl Chesser’s house . We played games (basketball, softball, and football), ate a lot of food, and ended the afternoon with another devo.
The rest of the month flew by fast. I began teaching my first class with the college students. I was able to preach in Baytown, Texas. That was a great time.
We are still studying the book of Isaiah in our morning devotions. I have just begun reading “The Case for a Creator”. I have created close to 40 sermon sketches. I have also been preparing one new sermon a week.
God has really blessed us during the time that we have been here. I was blessed to make it to see my 31st birthday. Nikki began her new job at one of the ophthalmology clinics in Beaumont. But more importantly, God has been using us to further spread the good news about His Son Jesus. Praise be to God!
Live and Learn or Learn and Live
August 9, 2009, Ben Lee
Week Four of Preacher Training (July 26th-August 1st)
This was another busy but prosperous week for me. I put in about 47 hours. The week consisted of a continuation of weekly Bible classes with our young students, getting Bible studies set up in the community, personal studies, and sermon preparation. I gave my first sermon here Sunday evening. Thank the Lord it went well. There is definitely room for significant improvement, and I am confident that each week my preaching will improve. Max and David have provided me with great advice in delivering a sermon. One aspect of preaching that I have been working on is clarity. For example, making sure that my outline is clear and concise, so that my sermon will be the same. I will have the opportunity to preach here again this Sunday evening God willing.
I had something that happened to me this past Wednesday that I had never experienced before. We had a song service for our Wednesday assembly. The singing was great! So often, when the singing is great and when you reflect on how awesome God is to you, at times you can get a little emotional. A couple of songs prior to the invitation that’s exactly what occurred. I thought that by the time I got up to speak the tears would have ceased. That was not the case. I have never cried in front of an audience of about 300 people. I have learned though that there is nothing wrong in displaying emotion while giving praise to God. It took me a little while to recover, but thankfully I was able to get my invitation out.
We had the privilege to have Dan (aka Danny Boy) Summer (aka Summertime) and Silas (aka young preacher) Watt visit us over the weekend. They were down in Galveston for a wedding and got to Beaumont Saturday evening. It was great to see them. It has only been a month since leaving Columbia, but it feels much longer.
Well, I hope and pray that all is well with everyone. Take care and God bless!
Brotherly,
Benjamin Lee
Who Do Men Say That I Am?
August 2, 2009, Ben Lee
Week 3 of Preacher Training
This past week was a busy but productive week. I put in about 50 hours. I am thrilled with the time that I have to fully focus on the work of an evangelist. I began a new study with two of our high school students on miracles. One of them had a conversation with a friend about miracles and wanted to learn more on the topic. It’s great to see our young people having religious discussions with their peers. Along with this study I am conducting another study with one of our young men in the book of Acts.
Wednesday I led another college class study at the building. We are finishing the book of Genesis and beginning this Sunday we will be diving into the book of Acts. I will be teaching this semester. The teachers at Dowlen Road have such tremendous support from the other members in preparing for class. The only thing the teacher has to be concerned with is teaching. There are other eager brothers and sisters who put together all the class materials (binders, workbooks, etc) and prep the room with decorations.
I was able to visit a few members in the hospital with David during the week. I finished my sermon prep and preached in West Orange this past Sunday. We had a great time in the Lord. Between the individual Bible studies, college devotions, and couples devotions, the week went by extremely fast. We ended the week on a high note on Sunday when we were welcomed by the congregation with a big potluck lunch. There are some awesome cooks here! We really appreciate the warm welcome the church has given us during this transition period.
Week 2 of Preacher Training
This past week was a busy one. We were able to take part in the college devo class on Tuesday. We got into a great discussion regarding the doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witness. There were lots of questions, and it was good to be able to assist in that matter. I taught my first Wednesday Bible study class and gave the invitation again. I was able to take part in a one on one study with Max and one of the young men in the congregation. We will be doing that study again this Tuesday. Friday we had a new couple that recently moved here from Alabama over at our place for dinner and games. We played Phase 10 and to my surprise I didn’t win. I usually dominate at Phase 10 (even though I’ve only played it a total of 3 times)!!! Nikki actually won which means I will be hearing about this forever. Saturday, one of the couples from Dowlen Road had a big BBQ at their house in the country. We spent about 4 hours out there playing horse shoes, eating, talking, and singing praises to God. We were all outside in a big tent, but eventually moved inside due to the rain.
Sunday I was able to preach in a couple of congregations. In the morning we went to West Orange and worshipped with the saints. We were able to meet Heath McCain’s parents. The congregation there has about 60 people. In the evening we preached in Buna. It was a great experience. God willing we will be going back out to West Orange this Sunday. After evening service we made it back to Beaumont for the last few minutes of worship. After worship we then attended the young couples get together. All of the young couples get together on Sunday evenings. Each week they all meet up at a different home. Last night there were at least 10 or 11 couples.
In the three weeks that we have been here, there have been several baptisms. A young man who is friends with one of the sisters was baptized last night. After having regular studies with the sister and her dad (who is a deacon) he became a Christian. PRAISE THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS! Another one of our deacons just recently baptized a friend of his after doing some studying with him. PRAISE THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS! What a joy it is to know that the gospel still has the power to SAVE. It is encouraging to see the studies that are taking place on a daily basis, and souls being added to the Kingdom of Christ.
Since we have been in Texas believe it or not I have actually lost some weight. Despite all of the meals, dinners, and snacks during devotions, I am fitting into some shorts that I couldn’t fit into in Columbia. With the heat down here my appetite is not as big as it usually is. I am hoping and praying that this will continue. The high school students have given me the nickname of M&M, because they found out how much I like them. They give all of the PIT’s (preacher in training) nicknames while they are here. I’m glad they don’t know how much I love cookies; otherwise they would be calling me cookie monster.
This week will be another busy week for me. I am preparing to begin reading my second book. The book is by Ed Harrell and is called The Churches of Christ in the 20th Century. I have to finalize my sermon for this Sunday (Who do men say that I AM), Bible study this Tuesday, teach class on Wednesday, and a variety of other daily studies.
I hope and pray that everyone is doing well. Thanks so much for the support and prayers
Brotherly,
Benjamin Lee
July 20, 2009
Week 1 of Preacher Training
I have just completed my first week of preacher training. Praise God Nikki and I were able to get to Beaumont Texas safe. We were a little nervous with the drive simply because we were travelling with our two cougars (I mean cats). Thankfully we didn’t have any accidents at all. We stayed in Little Rock Arkansas on Thursday for some much needed rest. We arrived to our new apartment the next day around 1:30pm. We were welcomed into Beaumont with some home cooked gumbo from one of the elders. It was absolutely delicious. On the 4th we went over to one of the deacon’s home for the afternoon. We had great food, fellowshipped with the saints, played games, and relaxed. It was a great way to spend the day. On Sunday we went to worship and I was able to sit in the college class. I will begin teaching the college class beginning this Wednesday.
Monday morning all of our furniture arrived and was all in one piece. Great job to the brothers at Eastside for assisting me in the loading and packing! We had quite a bit of assistance from the brethren to unload everything. It was a little bit more difficult since were on the second floor of the apartment. It’s such a blessing to be able to count on church family to assist in matters like this. The sisters came over to help Nikki out in the kitchen. We had another couple that came over later on in the evening to help us unpack. The demonstration of love here has been great.
Tuesday it was off to the races with the training program. Max and David reviewed the criteria with me again and what is expected from me. I was able to get set up in my office (the cubby hole). You will see why when I post photos. The cubby hole is great because it’s a place of quietness where I will not be disturbed. Below are some of the responsibilities and requirements that I have while I am here.
One sermon Outline a week for the first year and then two a week in the second year.
Create five sermon nuggets that I could potentially preach at a later date.
Daily devotionals from 8-9am Monday through Friday.
9-10 books to read with daily book reviews as I go through each book.
Provide the invitation every Wednesday after Bible study (2-3minutes).
Practice sermon in front of Max and David prior to giving it.
Visiting the sick
Setting up home Bible studies
Teaching the college class
Needless to say I will be busy while I am here. Tuesday evening we attended our first College class devo. The classes meet each week at a different home. It was great to see about 16 young people taking time out of their schedule to praise and worship God. We had Bible study and then we sang hymns to God.
Wednesday was a busy day with devotions, invitation prep, Bible study, reading, visiting the sick, and then evening Bible study. Thursday and Friday were much of the same. I was able to get through my first critique from David and Max. What fantastic feedback I received with my sermon outline, presentation skills, delivery, and my power point slides. I have already incorporated the changes to the outline and slides and I see a notable difference. I will be preaching my first sermon in Buna Texas this Sunday. God willing I will be preaching at Dowlen Road on August 2nd.
I will be keeping everyone posted of what is going on. We love and miss everyone. God Bless.
