Mark Hester, Mark Behel, and I attended Hawk Pride church of Christ. They set aside one Sunday night a month to allow one of us to preach. Each of us would get a turn every third month. The congregation listened patiently and kindly as we stumbled through our sermons. Those experiences galvanized my desire to preach. The willingness of those folks to give us those opportunities is something I will never forget.
It was my turn to preach. I had prepared a particularly great lesson. As I expounded the logic of my conclusions I noticed that my mentor, John Hester, sat with his arms crossed, his head slightly tilted to one side, and gave an occasional glance at the clock. "This is going great," I thought, "John is lost in deep thought and time is flying by for him!" When church dismissed, he invited Debra and I to supper the following weekend. After supper John and I left our wives to themselves and we retired to the living room where he shared great and wonderful truths. As we talked, a light went off in my head. "I preached about that last week and was mistaken!" He smiled lovingly and said, "Yeah, I know." I had just been corrected and never realized that he was doing it! It didn't even hurt! The last time Daddy corrected me for something I had done wrong, it hurt for hours! Several years later, Hawk Pride invited me to be a guest speaker during their Gospel Meeting. I taught principles from the book of Job. The entire time I noticed that John was sitting with his arms crossed, his head slightly tilted to one side, and was giving an occasional glance at the clock. I thought, "Uh Oh!!" After the lesson, he gave me a courteous complement. I told him, "Oh no you don't! Tell me what you are REALLY thinking!" Then he proceeded to share things with me about the book of Job that blew me away! It was one of the best nights of my life!!!
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." I believe John was "filled"! Let's all stay hungry and thirsty!
It was my turn to preach. I had prepared a particularly great lesson. As I expounded the logic of my conclusions I noticed that my mentor, John Hester, sat with his arms crossed, his head slightly tilted to one side, and gave an occasional glance at the clock. "This is going great," I thought, "John is lost in deep thought and time is flying by for him!" When church dismissed, he invited Debra and I to supper the following weekend. After supper John and I left our wives to themselves and we retired to the living room where he shared great and wonderful truths. As we talked, a light went off in my head. "I preached about that last week and was mistaken!" He smiled lovingly and said, "Yeah, I know." I had just been corrected and never realized that he was doing it! It didn't even hurt! The last time Daddy corrected me for something I had done wrong, it hurt for hours! Several years later, Hawk Pride invited me to be a guest speaker during their Gospel Meeting. I taught principles from the book of Job. The entire time I noticed that John was sitting with his arms crossed, his head slightly tilted to one side, and was giving an occasional glance at the clock. I thought, "Uh Oh!!" After the lesson, he gave me a courteous complement. I told him, "Oh no you don't! Tell me what you are REALLY thinking!" Then he proceeded to share things with me about the book of Job that blew me away! It was one of the best nights of my life!!!
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." I believe John was "filled"! Let's all stay hungry and thirsty!