Blog: Max Dawson
January 16, 2017
Lee and I are on our way home today. We have been in Florida for the past ten days. A little vacation time. A little time with brethren.
Last Sunday (January 8) we spent the day with brethren from the Temple Terrace church (in Tampa, where Don Truex preaches). After morning worship Lee and I had Sunday dinner with the Kerry and Kim Keenan family. Wonderful people. Kerry and I spent the entire afternoon studying evangelism. Kerry is one of the great evangelistic workers in the kingdom. That evening I presented a lesson on evangelism to the Temple Terrace church. What a terrific congregation!
Monday was Lee’s day. That meant shopping at the flea markets in Kissimmee. I got to carry her packages.
On Tuesday, I spent nearly the entire day with David Witherington. David is one of the 22 deacons at the Temple Terrace church. The leadership of that church is much like ours at Dowlen Road. In addition to the 22 deacons, 13 shepherds lead the congregation. Like me, David loves classic cars. We got to look at a lot of cool cars at the Kissimmee car show.
On Wednesday evening, Lee and I worshiped with the Fortune Road church in Kissimmee. Mark Copeland serves that church as a preacher and elder. After Bible class I visited with Mark and Chris Jones–another of the elders. We discussed the work of shepherding. I think they are some of the best men I know anywhere.
On Thursday I was able to spend time with my younger brother, Russ. He has been retired in Florida for about 15 years. It was good to be with him. I had not seen him in the past three years.
On Friday and Saturday, David Fenner and I spent a lot of time together at the car show. It is really great to be able to spend vacation time with brethren.
On Sunday (yesterday), Lee and I worshiped with the church in Orlando where Robert Harkrider preaches. One of our summer trainees from about six years ago–Greg Kline–now preaches full time with that church. He is doing a great job. The brethren there asked me to preach in one of the morning services. I spoke about having success in the new year. It was wonderful to worship with old friends.
We plan to visit with Henry and Marilyn Smith tonight in Mobile, Alabama. They have been our very dear Christian friends for about 25 years. After spending the night with them, Lord willing, we will be home tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.
THE FINAL WORD
You may wonder why I have written this short chronicle of our trip and why I mentioned a number of people. All the folks Lee and I spent time with, with the exception of my brother Russ, were brethren in Christ–from Tampa, Kissimmee, Orlando and Mobile. And even one from Beaumont.
I wrote this simply to point out that all Christians (not just preachers) have friends and brethren almost anywhere they go. You may not know them yet, but they are yours. It is one of the great blessings of being part of God’s family. As you and I go through life serving God we are building relationships–relationships that are cherished now, and that will be cherished forever in God’s eternal paradise.
These relationships are ones that I began to build decades ago. If you are traveling this year, make sure you meet with your brethren wherever you go. Begin to build relationships with saints in other places. You will never regret it. You will be blessed.
Blessings to you, my dear friends and brethren,
–Max