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.
Benjamin Lee
July 13, 2009