OceanSide church of Christ
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STILL
IN BUSINESS, BUT…
Victor
M. Eskew
While Jesus lived upon the earth, He was about His Father’s
business. As early as twelve years
old, He had this concept in His mind.
When His parents lost Him in Jerusalem, they were deeply distressed. When they found Him in the temple, “his
mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, they father and I have sought
thee sorrowing. And he said unto
them, How is it that ye sought me?
Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke
2:48-49).
Throughout His ministry, His efforts were
centered upon doing the Father’s will.
Numerous passages stress this focus. “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do
the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). And again, He said: “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek
not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John
5:30). A third passage is found in
John 6:38. “For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Up to the moment of His crucifixion,
Jesus’ aim was to do the will of His heavenly Father (Luke
20:41-42).
When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, He
established the church to carry on the Father’s will (Acts 2:37-47). It is interesting that the church is
often referred to as “the body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5; I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph.
1:22-23; Col. 1:18). The church is
the divine institution on earth authorized to carry out the Father’s will (Matt.
6:10; Col. 1:9-12). In essence, the
church is to be engaged in the Father’s business.
The OceanSide church of Christ has been in
existence since 1984. Since the
first day that her doors were opened, she has sought to be about the Father’s
business. She continues to be about
the Father’s business at this present time.
The elders of this congregation want every
member to know that OceanSide is still in business. However, due to circumstances beyond
their control, they have been forced to make some changes that will be effective
on Monday, September 1, 2008. These
changes are listed below:
1. We
will no longer be having our P.M. Worship Services.
2. Wednesday
evening Bible Study will also be cancelled.
3. We
will cease all mission efforts, except the support of the Kostines. Their support, however, will be reduced
to $250.00 per month.
4. We
will no longer provide monthly contributions to the Children’s Homes in Mt. Dora
or in Valdosta, GA.
5. We
are going to suspend our mailing of House-to-House.
6. We
will do away with the position of Office Manager.
7. The
minister will assume a part-time position with the congregation. He will teach the A.M. Bible Class and
preacher the A.M. Lesson. He will
continue to reside in the preacher’s home and will receive $500.00 per week for
his salary. The elders have asked
him to find a secular job in the community.
Again,
these seven changes will be effective on the first of September. It is believed that these changes will
help OceanSide continue to be about the Father’s business.
At the first of the year, the shepherds will
re-evaluate the work. If further
action is needed, the elders can cut other aspects of the work: the teaching program, the youth program,
VBS, and our gospel meetings.
Further downsizing may be needed in the future to ensure that we continue
to be about the Father’s business.
All those who will be directly impacted by these
changes have been notified. The
elders spoke to the Kostines and the Cains this past week. Letters have been sent to Mt. Dora,
Raintree Village, the Latin American Mission work, and the Prison Ministry
telling them of our discontinued support.
The elders have met with both Aaron and Victor about these changes. The leadership appreciates their
understanding and willingness to accept these changes. They will work with Victor until he is
able to secure a job. Again, the
eldership regrets these changes, but fortunately, we will still be involved in
the Father’s business.
It is realized that these changes will directly
impact every member of this congregation.
A few members may be deeply upset.
The leadership, however, believes that within a month or two almost
everyone can adapt to these changes.
Others will not be impacted as badly by the changes, but the may still
experience some grief because OceanSide is having to downsize. Again, within a few weeks, this grief
will subside when all realized that these changes were needed in order to keep
our doors open. We will definitely
still be in business, but with only a few changes to help us continue to be a
viable congregation of the Lord’s people.
AN
ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE CHANGES
Aren’t you glad that the above article is not
true? How sad it would be if
OceanSide had to take such drastic measures in order to remain at this
location. Such a picture, however,
is not impossible to imagine. Our
attendance and contribution cannot continue to fall without some measures being
taken. Members cannot continue to
display apathy toward the Bible classes and Sunday evening worship without some
type of change being inevitable.
Brethren, the leadership at OceanSide is
committed to doing the will of God in
all things. They want to continue to offer classes
that will help each member to grow in Christ. They want to offer programs and work
that will enable all to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. We need every member to commit to
faithfulness. We need every member
to give liberally. We need every
member to find many places of service and serve with diligence and joy. Yes, the OceanSide church of Christ is
dedicated to the Father’s business “without the “but.”