about the author – La Vista Church of Christ

Thanks for your excellent website and resources

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:17:32 +0000

Question:

This note is written to thank you for your excellent website and resources.

Full disclosure: You would probably consider me a neo-conservative follower of inappropriate or sinful kinds of cooperation (although we have not supported anything like that in years) and the "Social Gospel."

I have a very solid professional background in counseling. My wife and I are working with our first young preacher couple, who suffer greatly from scrupulosity. Your information has been helpful, and I thank you.

Do you have a counseling background?

Answer:

I do not have professional counseling training. What I know has been gained from experience over the years. Often, a member experiences a problem, such as scrupulosity or autism, and in trying to help them, I study as much as I can about the issue to learn how to deal with it.

I'm glad the website is helping you and others, even if we may not agree about issues like how God tells churches to use His money. In my view, at least you are thinking about the issues, which is good.

Who writes the answers on your website?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:12:27 +0000

Question:

Who is the minister for La Vista church of Christ? Or, if not the same, who wrote most of the articles for the website? I really enjoy the hundreds of informative and Bible-based articles, commentaries, etc., and am wondering who authored most of them, since no name is mentioned.

Thanks so much.

Answer:

Any answer or sermon without a name was written by me (Jeff Hamilton). I wanted the focus to be on content and not who wrote the response.

Your class on Song of Solomon was one of the most awkward and painful classes I attended, and I really appreciate it years later

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 01:55:00 +0000

Question:

Your work constantly impresses me.

As a foster parent, I have discovered that there is a large group of brethren that dislike the nitty-gritty situations that come with helping people who are still of the world. It is sort of the "How can you eat with tax collectors and sinners" perspective. We have introduced some pretty unruly children into our congregation, and have discovered that anything less than the expected behavior is very unwelcome and makes people "who know how to go to church" very uncomfortable.

The subjects you tackle on the website, and the sheer volume of correspondence you seem to have exchanged with some very confused individuals, startled me at first, but it soon became apparent that you recognized that you go where the battle is -- and one can expect it to get ugly in the trenches.

About 14 years ago, you led a class on Song of Solomon that at the time was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I wasn't alone. I can specifically remember a number of other boys who thought it was the most awkward, painful, and even ill-advised situation, considering the intended audience. For many of us, that class was the first time any of us had heard an adult address the concept of sexual attraction out loud. The idea that the concept could be addressed in a healthy way, and that an adult could support a healthy outlet was totally foreign. In fact, I think some of my embarrassment was more for you than for myself. "Doesn't he know that this subject matter isn't discussed in nice circles?"

I have learned that my impression is actually correct -- sex isn't discussed in a proactive, positive way among Christian teachers and families, so far as I have seen. It should be, however, and to this day, you are the only one to come close to doing it -- so I came to appreciate the class and your effort, though it took me at least ten years. While such issues do come up when something goes wrong, the issues are emphasized in hushed, bristly tones, as though something odd is going on. I still have not encountered a situation where the approach was like yours: "Let's start from a healthy square one because we can and should."

I suppose I digress, but I bring that class up to say that your work, as is evident on the website, makes it clear your lack of fear (what I saw as a lack of shame!) to do the right thing definitely makes a difference -- even though it has made some, like myself who had a lot of growing to do, uncomfortable for a while.

I realize I am only able to speak from my own perspective, but I feel like I have seen enough to be fairly confident when I say that the approach of brethren has been a traditional one -- not a scriptural or helpful one. This is not a blanket condemnation; indeed, there are plenty of older Christians willing to discuss the issues with a broken but healing younger Christian, if you know where to look. (Though I fear some do not know where to look!) When it comes to our pre-teens, though, parents need to be able to head off all the poisonous information with an assertive, accurate, sensitive discussion about sex as a good thing, and not only do I think it is not happening, I don't know how to do so myself. So here I am, another generation, about to make some mistakes in my approach here because of a Victorian-Era misconception about the evil of sex. Have you written a curriculum yet?

Answer:

I really appreciate your note -- even letting me know how badly I shocked you with my open approach. It wasn't due to a lack of shame or embarrassment, or even fear, on my part when I taught that class, but rather a driving realization that problems existed that weren't being addressed because people believe "bad things don't happen to good families." You would not have known then, but I was well out of my comfort-zone teaching those things.

I grew up in a strong Christian family. There were numerous things that, as an adult, I wished I had been taught about when I was growing up. I got through it, but sometimes I think it was more from my ignorance, luck, and God's intervention.

When I was asked to teach a class to counter the sex education curriculum taught in public schools, a side aim was to put down all the things that I wished someone told me when I was younger, so I would not have struggled as much.

Over the years, the nervousness has faded. I'm more confident that I can explain sensitive issues in a clear and understandable way due to the website.

Yes, actually the curriculum started about 30 years ago (time sure flies!), and I continually expand it.

For pre-teens and teenagers:

These lessons were originally written for a Christian family running a home for unwed mothers. They wanted short lessons based on making good moral decisions that didn't come across directly as Bible lessons, but where the Bible could be brought up during the discussion. Thus, each lesson has a story, a set of starter discussion questions, and a list of verses related in some way to the topic at hand.

The following were written for young people who have reached puberty through the teenage years:

There are two associated websites for these books (which the links take you to) because they generate a large number of questions by themselves. The websites get questions from a worldwide audience (many non-Christians) with people from pre-puberty all the way up into their early twenties, so some of the material in the questions and answers section will likely hit on topics you may not be ready to discuss with your children. However, if your child brings up a question that you have no idea how to discuss from a biblical perspective, it probably is in there.

I find that older teens start to question their faith and so I have a book that deals with understanding the nature of God:

The Lord Your God is an Awesome God!

It doesn't touch on sexual themes, but it is important. I've also done this as a meeting series for audiences of all ages.

Books that are good for teenagers thinking about dating age up through adults:

The first is the one you remember as I used the first few lessons to talk about dating. However, I've also used this as a meeting series for groups of all ages. While the Proverbs material is long, it has been very popular with older teenagers through adults.

For people about to get married or even just married:

For what it is worth, I am available to teach these topics to any size group.

Trip Report – 2018 (Bali)

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 00:49:00 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/TripReport2018.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: I Thessalonians 2:7-13

I. Reading from Isaiah 35:1-10

A. Vs 3 - Encourage, strengthen

B. Vs 8 - A highway – an easier way to travel through life

II. My trips to the South Asian islands started in 2013.

A. I had been studying with a young man, named Minghui, in the National University of Singapore for several years via Skype. He had asked me repeatedly to come hold a meeting in Singapore and things worked out for me to come in 2013.

B. That same year I had began studying with a young man on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Pieter decided to become a New Testament Christian, but there were no churches on that island. The nearest church was 1.5 hours away by plane and people weren’t certain it still existed. Pieter was baptized by a denominational preacher.

C. After my meeting in Singapore, Minghui and I went down to Bali to talk to Pieter. The studies went very well. A few weeks later Ed Brand was in Singapore. Minghui invited Pieter up and Pieter’s sister joined him. After talking with Ed, Mia decided to be baptized and Pieter decided to be baptized again to make sure his baptism was done correctly.

D. Both Ed Brand and Bob Buchanan started regular visits to Bali.

E. Since that time the group has expanded to include Pieter’s brother, Marco; his father; his business partner, Marlen; and her sister, Ria.

1. Mia and Ria are on a different island, so don’t attend with Pieter, Marlen, and Marco.

2. Martine, whom I baptized in 2016, fell back into drugs and no longer attends.

3. Pieter and Marco’s father doesn’t attend either.

F. This last year has been a struggle for Pieter and Marlen. A volcano on the north end of the island blew, which interrupted tourism for several months. In turn, it caused financial hardship for Pieter and Marlen. And the lack of new conversions was depressing them.

G. My main goals were to encourage the brethren and push them a little to grow stronger in the Gospel.

III. Bali

A. Kuta, on the island of Bali in Indonesia, is a tourist town. Bali is surrounded by long beaches which draws many people from around the world. There are about 2 million people in the Denpasar area, of which Kuta is one suburb.

1. While Indonesia is a Muslim country, Bali is primarily Hindu. 85% of the island’s population is Hindu, 13% are Muslim, and only 1.5% claim to be some sort of Christian.

2. Hindu idols and temples are everywhere

3. Because it is a tourist town, English is commonly spoken as a second language.

B. For the five days I was there, the typical schedule was:

1. 6:30 am breakfast

2. 7-9 am Bible study

3. 11:30 am lunch

4. 1-3 pm Bible Study

5. 6-8 pm Bible Study

6. 8-9:30 pm dinner

IV. Wednesday

A. Because I arrived at 1 am, we did not meet until the afternoon.

B. Met in the afternoon with Pieter and Marlen. Marlen could not stay as someone needed to watch the shop. I covered a few questions Pieter had from the end of I Samuel. Pieter wanted to discuss what the Scriptures had to say on finances

C. Kuta attracts the Australian crowd, which means lots of bars. I went exploring in the late afternoon. I thought I remembered the way to the beach, but I couldn’t find the right turn. I did conclude that the street I went down was not a nice part of town – too many solicitations for massages.

D. Marco joined Pieter and Marlen. We talked about working ethics.

E. Pieter and Marlen took me out to a food court for dinner

V. Thursday

A. Met with Pieter and Marlen in the morning. We talked about what roles a woman can have in the church and modest dress.

B. Did some exploring in the late morning. I found the beach and explored another street that was a bit better than the one I found the first day.

C. Walked to Pieter and Marlen’s shop for the afternoon class, which is about 1.5 miles from the hotel. There was no power for the first hour, which made things a bit hot. We talked about personal money matters and planning for uncertainites.

D. Met the owner of a plant grower on my walk back. She hand signed that she was impressed that I walked. But she didn’t understand my answers to her questions.

E. In the evening we talked about things we can control and not control

F. No dinner after as Pieter had a dental appointment.

G. Hotel plays the same Balinese flute tune from 7 am to 10 pm. Exotic the first day, annoying the second.

VI. Friday

A. Met with Pieter and Marlen in the morning. We finished off lessons on money and business practices. I wanted to encourage Pieter and Marlen to learn to dig into their Bibles when studying, so we stared lessons on Hebrew poetry

B. On the way to the shop for the afternoon study, I tried yet another street. I found out that people will worship just about anything. I found a shrine with the Harley-Davidson logo done in mosaic.

C. We continued the lessons on Hebrew poetry in the afternoon.

D. After class I walked south along the boardwalk for the beach

E. I also noticed there is no fourth floor in the hotel. Turns out that 4 is considered unlucky in the region (the word “four” in several Asian languages sounds very similar to “death”).

F. In the evening we discussed how to evangelize the area and talked about the fact that there is no one right way to reach people.

VII. Saturday

A. Marlen wasn’t feeling well, so I only met with Pieter in the morning. We covered Economic Systems and talked about Pieter’s future plans.

B. Explored to the southeast of the hotel.

C. I realized that walking around Kuta is much like a Nintendo game. You move on different levels. Sometimes the paving tilts unexpectedly. One almost flipped over. Obstacles push you out into the street with the traffic to dodge. Pedestrians don’t have the right-of-way in Indonesia.

D. Finished off Hebrew Poetry in the afternoon at the shop

E. In the evening we talked about avoiding debt

F. Afterward we when to Ultimo Italiano. It was in the north section of Denpasar that attracts the European crowd. The shops are fancier here, though the traffic is just the same.

VIII. Sunday

A. Met only with Pieter at 8 am. We went out to a coffee shop. Covered Proverbs 1-2

B. Pieter took me to the beach. Stopped at McDonalds where Pieter wanted me to do some pictures of two new granola cereals

C. Services from 2-4 Marlen, Pieter, and Marco attended. Class on Proverbs 4. Sermon on Abigail.

D. We walked a beach path all the way to the airport to see the sunset

E. We went out to dinner at Taco Loco. First time they had Mexican food.

1. The driver of our car hit a parked car. Pieter thinks he dozed off. I was shocked that he didn’t stay at the scene. Pieter said he almost hit another car. I couldn’t tell, all the driving is crazy there, but we made sure we took a taxi back.

F. After fetching my suitcase, I was dropped off at the airport about 10 pm. I flew out at 1:25 am on Monday. After 23 hours of sitting in planes, I arrived home at 5:30 pm on Monday.

IX. Results

A. From Marlen, “Mr. Jeffrey, Thank you for your visit. I am so blessed to be able to meet and study the Bible with you. Thanks for the encouragement. I pray that you can have a safe travel to home and be reunited with your beloved family. Please take care.”

B. From Pieter, “Hi Mr. Jeffrey, Hopefully you arrived safely back to your home. Thank you for coming. At the time that I need it very much. Now I have confidence. Now only one way / option for me, I need to walk with God.”

C. Matthew 28:19-20 - It isn’t just about baptizing. Teaching is also needed

D. Consider what Paul did - Acts 14:21-22; 15:41; 18:23

E. Too often I hear of preachers anxious to make converts in remote areas, but few spend the time to get congregations established and functioning.

Trip Report – 2016 (Bali, Singapore, Malaysia)

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 00:18:00 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/TripReport2016.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Romans 10:17-18

I. My trips to the South Asian islands started in 2013.

A. I had been studying with a young man in the National University of Singapore for several years via Skype. He had asked me repeatedly to come hold a meeting in Singapore and things worked out for me to come in 2013.

D. Both Ed Brand and Bob Buchanan started regular visits to Bali.

E. Since that time the group has expanded to include Pieter’s brother, Marco; his father; his business partner, Marlen; and her sister, Ria.

F. A liberal group did start in Bali in 2014, but it is over an hour away from where Pieter lives, so they decided to try and get a church going in Kuta.

II. Bali

1. While Indonesia is a Muslim country, Bali is primarily Hindu. 85% of the island’s population is Hindu, 13% are Muslim, and only 1.5% claim to be some sort of Christian.

2. Hindu idols and temples are everywhere

3. Because it is a tourist town, English is commonly spoken as a second language.

B. For the six days I was there, the typical schedule was:

1. 8 am Breakfast in the hotel

2. 9 am Study

3. 10:30 am Pieter and Marlen left for work

4. 4:30 pm Study

5. 5:30 pm Dinner

6. 7-9 pm Study

C. Typically I first address questions that they have from their own studies and then go into a deeper study. For this trip I selected a series on the nature of God.

1. On Wednesday morning we discussed Romans 1-9, especially chapters 1, 2, 7, and 9 since Pieter and Marlen had questions in these chapters.

a. My emphasis was on understanding the context to help grasp a difficult verse.

b. Wednesday afternoon we studied about God being our Creator and what that implies for us.

c. We didn’t have a study Wednesday evening since Pieter had school to attend.

2. On Thursday Martine joined our study. She had previously studied with Ed Brand when he was there about a month ago.

a. Pieter had taken a taxi and in chatting with the driver found out that he was a preacher at an Assemblies of God congregation. Pieter mentioned that Ed Brand was coming soon and the preacher invited Ed to come speak to his congregation. He was well received and from that meeting Martina wanted to learn more.

b. She had been baptized in the Assemblies of God, but confession wasn’t included. So we studied what we must do to be saved and she decided she wanted to be baptized that afternoon after she went home for some clothes. That baptism took place in the hotel’s swimming pool that afternoon.

c. During the afternoon study Peter wanted to know what it meant that Christians would judge the world (I Corinthians 6:2). Martina wanted to know about the sin leading to death (I John 5:16-17).

d. In the evening we finished the study on God being our Creator and did another study on God being Holy. We end with going over the books of the Old Testament and how they are organized.

3. On Friday the morning study was with Pieter and Marlen. We covered questions Pieter had about I Corinthians.

a. The afternoon study and evening studies included Martina. We talked about marriage, divorce, and the wife's role in marriage.

4. On Saturday, in the morning we studied how we treat God as holy.

a. The afternoon study was about excellence in a wife. I also taught them two songs and showed them how music is read. I also went over the grouping of the books in the New Testament.

b. While driving to where we ate dinner and back we discussed whether good people can be saved without Christ, whether we will know each other in heaven, and the thousand year reign of Christ.

c. In the evening we talked about instilling responsibility in our children.

5. On Sunday we had worship and I talked about how God cannot lie.

a. We spent the afternoon exploring a section of Denpasar

b. After dinner we had one last study session. Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the topics covered.

III. Singapore

A. Is an island nation with a population of about 5 million. Think of it as being like New York city, only very clean and safe.

1. Four official languages are spoken: English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.

2. The entire country is one large city. There are no farms. Everything is imported.

3. It is the fourth largest financial center in the world and in the top five busiest ports in the world. It is basically a merchant city.

4. It is also a very rich population – one out of every six people there are millionaires

5. Its wealth and culture makes it difficult to teach there. People are polite, but they strongly avoid confrontation. They won’t tell you no or disagree, they just avoid you or not come

B. The basic schedule here was to meet with Emiko and Lilian in the afternoons for a few hours then in the late evening I met with Lifu, a student at the university that I met the first year I was in Singapore and with whom I studied with weekly every since via Skype.

1. On Monday afternoon we talked about how to respond to someone who asks why God allows suffering.

2. On Tuesday Lilian brought a friend and we finished our discussion on why bad things happen to good people. We also started talking about the book of James.

3. On Wednesday we talked about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and how to teach people the gospel

4. With Lifu, we continued our study of Revelation each night.

5. On Thursday the only meeting scheduled was attending a class at the Lavender Church of Christ, where they where just beginning a study of I Thessalonians.

a. Only six other people were there, despite that Lavender is supposed to be a fair size congregation.

b. Emiko asked about scheduling me for a meeting there next year, but she was told that one man does the scheduling and that if he agrees, it has to be planned many months in advance. I suspect that they will simply stonewall. None of the churches in Singapore like conservative preachers.

C. Lilian and Emiko are talking about possibly getting with one of the men who is more sound and starting a church.

IV. Malaysia

A. Koto Kinabalu is a city in the Sabah region on the island we call Borneo. The island is divided between three countries.

1. The population of the city is about 450,000

2. The main religions are Muslim, Buddhists, and Christians. There has been some violence against the Catholics here by the Muslims.

3. The city is not as densely packed as Kuta or Singapore

B. The church in Malaysia was started by Nicholas Rowe and his wife Justina. They were converted in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, back in the 1980's when Nicholas came here for college. Nicholas also attended Florida College to learn more before returning to Malaysia.

C. Daily schedule:

1. 6 am brisk walk

2. 7 am breakfast

3. 8 am study

4. 9 am study

5. 11 am lunch

6. Free time in the afternoon

7. 6 pm dinner

8. 8 pm study

D. On Friday I introduced several members of the congregation to shaped note music. They were using Hymns for Worship, but never really knew what the shaped notes were for.

1. We studied God being our Creator and what that implies about us and our worship of God

2. Afterwards, I was asked: Were there other created people beyond Adam and Eve? Was Adam a combination of both male and female? We also talked about how to answer questions in general and what to watch for in questions.

E. On Saturday, we studied about God being holy and our need to treat God as holy and be holy ourselves.

1. In the afternoon I taught several a bit more about singing and introduced them to old songs that are new to the Christians here.

2. In the evening we talked about the fact that God cannot lie and its implications for us.

F. On Sunday, during worship, I taught three lessons in a row: God Is Love, Gentle Cords and Bands of Love, and The God of Justice.

1. In the afternoon I taught a bit about proper breathing and paying attention to the punctuation. Taught a few more songs.

2. In the evening I taught on My God of Mercy.

G. On Monday morning I taught: King of Kings, and The Lord is a Jealous God.

1. The ladies gave me a list of questions that we covered in the afternoon:

a. Can we communicate with the dead to ask forgiveness if we haven’t asked before he or she died?

b. Can we associate with a Christian and family members who left the church?

c. Can we continue to talk to family and friends who refuse to listen and stay away from you?

d. What do you do when a family relationship is broken because of your religion?

e. How do parents deal with growing children, teenagers, and spouses who get involved in alcohol, smoking or drugs?

f. How do you avoid quarrels about religion with family members who are not Christians?

2. In the evening I presented my final lesson: The Eternal God.

V. There are good Christians in each of these locations, eager to learn more of the truth. They need encouragement because they are isolated by geography.

A. Fortunately there are several preachers now providing periodic visits: Bob Buchanan, Edward Brand, and myself. Each of us teach the same doctrine but in different ways which is good for the local Christians.

B. What is need is for other Christians to also visit.

1. To see and learn from Christians who are not preachers. There is a bit too much awe of preachers

2. To learn to participate

Trip Report – 2015 (Bali, Singapore)

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 00:27:00 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/TripReport2015.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Romans 10:17-18

I had an opportunity to revisit the two groups I worked with last year. This time my wife, Gaye, agreed to come with me. It was the first time she has been out of the country. The church in La Vista paid my travel expenses and I paid for my wife’s travel.

Bali

The island of Bali is a part of the Indonesian island chain. It is 2,230 square miles in size. For comparison, Nebraska is 77,421 square miles and the counties surrounding Omaha (Douglas and Sarpy) are 587 square miles combined.

The population of Bali is 4.2 million people. 2 million are in the Denpasar area. The population density of Denpasar is about the same as Omaha.

Denpassar, the capital city of Bali, and the surrounding towns are chiefly tourist cities due to the huge beach that lines the western edge of Bali.

The primary religion of Bali is Hindu (85% of the population); 13% are Muslims, which is Indonesia’s official religion; and 1.5% claim to be Christians. The only group you won’t find represented in Indonesia are atheists. Residents of Indonesia must declare some sort of religious belief.

Idols are everywhere and you see idol worship frequently each day. Idols are often placed by doors to buildings and on each corner of every bridge. I assume they are for protection. You have to be careful walking outdoors because offering boxes are typically placed in front of doors. The picture to the right shows a Hindu temple that was just outside of our hotel room.

Buildings are not tall in Indonesia. The rule is that a building cannot be taller than a palm tree. Thus, the population is spread out. Interestingly, there are no real empty lots. Any empty space is used for farming.

The city is not clean. Trash is everywhere. You can’t drink the water, it is under a boiling restriction. While sidewalks are being installed, there aren’t many and they are being built on top of open sewer ditches. Despite this, there are many pockets of beauty here and there and some really good restaurants.

When I went last year, there was no church of Christ on the island – liberal or conservative. Since last year, one liberal group started, but it is over an hour’s drive from where Pieter, Marlen, and Marco live. Pieter tried worshiping with this group for a while but decided to try and get a church started in the Kuta area where he is at.

Pieter’s mother divorced his father when Pieter was young. He and his siblings were cared for by their grandmother. Eventually, Pieter had to drop out of school in the ninth grade to support himself and his siblings. He worked for his uncle in a toy store in Kuta for a few years, and when his uncle decided to sell the business, Pieter, Marlen, and a silent partner bought it. Pieter and Marlen have been running it for the last 11 years since Pieter was 18. Pieter is currently working on completing his high school education and plans to enter college after that.

Last year, the week after I left, Pieter and his sister, Maria, went to Singapore. There they studied with Ed Brand, from Russelville, AL, and Minghui, who had joined me in Bali. May was baptized. Though Pieter was baptized by a denominational preacher after studying with me, he decided to be baptized again to be certain. Since that time Pieter has baptized his father, his brother, Marco. His business partner, Marlen, has been worshiping with them. Maria lives on a different island and decided to go back to the denomination she had been attending, though she has since left it again. Only Pieter, Marlen, and Marco are worshiping together. Bob Buchanon visited them in January. Ed Brand visited with them a month or two later.

Gaye and I worshiped with Pieter, Marlen, and Marco for two Sundays. They only knew three songs from Hymns for Worship that Ed Brand had taught them. They would sing the same three songs every Sunday. I taught them three more songs. They have been using pretzels for the bread for the Lord’s Supper, so Gaye and I told them how to make unleavened bread, only to learn that they don’t have a stove. I mentioned this on FaceBook and a sister wrote back with directions on how to make the bread in a skillet, which we passed on to them.

Pieter and Marlen would come about 7:30 am each morning before their shop opened up and we would study for just over an hour before they had to leave (Monday through Saturday). After work, they would join us again at about 4:30 pm and we would study for another 2 hours. Pieter had classes several nights, but when he didn’t we would go to dinner and then study again for another 2 hours. There was even one night that Pieter came back after school to study for another hour. On both Sundays we spent the entire day together, studying between meals and seeing places. Marco’s work schedule only allowed him to join us a few times.

The daily studies were in the hotel lobby and in restaurants where other people could see us and overhear our conversations. A few of the hotel staff seemed interested. We invited them to join us but eventually learned that at least one was a Muslim, which was the reason for her declining to join us. We also had some of the other guests stop by to encourage us, including one who came in clearly drunk, but at least he was polite.

Here is a list of the topics we covered in the ten days we were there. As you will see, they covered a wide range of issues. When I was asked to pick a topic, I would use a story from the Bible as the basis, figuring that these would stay with them longer.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the ending of miraculous gifts
Repentance, using Simon as an illustration
Sins that lead to death and those that do not lead to death
Baptism: Looking deeper into its meaning and purpose, using John 3 as the base text.
The Lord’s Supper
Marrying someone of a different belief
Whether I Corinthians 7:12 meant Paul made uninspired statements in the Bible.
Marriage and Divorce
The need for repentance before baptism and what is repentance
Faith, using Peter’s walk on the water
The mention of blood moons in Revelation
“The day of the Lord” meaning “judgment”
Shadrak, Meshak, and Abed-Nego: faith and confession
Hannah’s prayer: The need for persistence in prayer
Difference between elders and deacons
Supposed contradictions in the Bible
Jehoshaphat and the dangers of making peace with evil
Jabez’ prayer: Resolving apparent contradictions and digging for deeper meaning
Uzzah and the need to be obedient to God
The story of Micah in Judges to illustrate how false religions start and survive
The story of David being told “no” in regards to building the Temple and how to handle disappointments
Giving, both to the church and in helping people
Bitterness and how it can become the cause of sin
How to get along with people
Samson: How God makes use of even sinners and how a lifelong sinner can repent

After we left, Pieter sent me this note:

“Thank you for the time, effort, and sacrifice you made to be with us, and also for all the brethren that support this trip. May our Lord Jesus Christ give you safety on the way back to your home.” The next day I also received this: “Hi Mr. Jeffrey, It’s almost a day we spend without you. I still hear your voice and laughter echoing in my mind. Thank you for the time, effort, and sacrifices you made to be with us. It means a lot to me and Marlen. We are very lucky to know you. With all the effort you put in. Lord willing we can grow to be better Christians. Sorry, we are located very far away. Maybe sometime in the future, Lord willing, we can come to you in the US, so we can know how long the journey you made to be with us.”

There are three preachers trying to visit Bali and stay in touch with these new Christians: Bob Buchanon, Ed Brand, and myself. We are trying to stagger our visits so that those in Bali are not left without encouragement for long.

Singapore

Singapore is a small island at the end of Malaysia. It is about 276 square miles in size and fairly flat. Compare this to Nebraska’s size of 77,421 square miles, or the size of Douglas County, where Omaha is located, at 340 square miles.

The attitude toward distance is reflected in the country’s size. Going 20 or 30 minutes is considered a long way. But you can get to most places in Singapore in under 2 hours. Essentially the island is one large city of 5 million people, about the same size as New York City in population and land area. But it is New York City totally cleaned up. It is also a very rich city. It is the fourth largest financial center in the world and in the top five busiest ports in the world. It is basically a merchant city. One out of every six people there is a millionaire.

Four languages are spoken in Singapore: English, Mandarin Chinese, Malaysian, and Tamil. It makes navigating the city easy. It is one of the most culturally diverse countries that I’ve seen.

While we were there the city has been suffering from a heavy haze due to farmers in Indonesia burning forests to make room for planting. The haze had been going on for a month and they were expecting it to last another month before it cleared off. On really bad days people are wearing masks.

The government is extremely authoritarian. Laws are strictly enforced and penalties are severe; yet, it is not oppressive as you might suppose. You don’t see or hear of much crime. You generally don’t see beggars. The city is kept very clean. The transportation is very efficient. There isn’t even much noise. Traffic for this size city is relatively light because car ownership is very expensive and discouraged.

Like most large affluent cities, the population is only nominally religious. Finding people interested in a serious Bible study is difficult.

Singapore has about a half-dozen liberal churches. There are no conservative groups. The one church where conservative brethren were welcomed, Northwest Church of Christ, has moved into Mutual Edification. When brethren disagreed, they were basically told to go elsewhere. Since the conservative brethren left, they heard that it was being taught at Northwest that baptism is not essential for salvation. Not all remaining at Northwest agree, but nothing is being done about the false teaching either.

There are only three conservative brethren left and they are worshiping at Lavender Church of Christ, which is probably the least liberal of the remaining churches. Minghui and Deng Xin, who were there last year, have married and Minghui is now teaching math at Florida College.

I held studies for the brethren on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 6 to 10 pm.

On Tuesday we had a woman named Debra visit from the Seventh Day Adventists. We discussed:

How to establish biblical authority by harmonizing the texts in their context.
The need for repentance, and the need to forgive.
Because of our visitor, we got into a discussion about the end of the Old Covenant and Sabbath worship.
This also led to a discussion of how Christ’s death brought salvation to those under the Old Law as well as under the New.

On Wednesday Peter Culpepper stopped in when he arrived in Singapore. He does a lot of business in Singapore and visits regularly. It turns out he knows the Sizemores who just left La Vista to return to Washington, D.C. We discovered we knew many people and then realized that Peter was the treasurer at Annandale back when we lived in the Washington, D.C. area 25 years ago. The topics we discussed on Wednesday were:

How false teaching is promoted, how to spot it, and how to counter it.
The inappropriate use of church funds, such as supplying food at worship (a common practice in Singapore), and funding church camps. We tried to make it clear that food and camps are not wrong if done by individuals – it becomes wrong to spend the Lord’s money on things He doesn’t authorize and it is wrong to blend entertainment with worship.

I also got to study with Lifu at the National University of Singapore. Minghui introduced me to Lifu last year and I’ve been studying with him weekly via Skype since that time. We studied for about 3.5 hours on Tuesday and then 6 hours on Wednesday. We talked mostly about I and II Samuel on Tuesday, which Lifu had just finished reading again. We also continued our study of Proverbs, covering chapter 17. He had a number of good probing questions about the texts.

Lifu is a member of a huge denomination that has 25,000 members. It has been in the news recently because the leaders have been convicted of misusing funds and attempting to hide it from the auditors. Lifu was very disturbed by this. We discussed what was wrong with the organization and how those errors led to a lack of checks on the use of the funds. We then talked about contributions, tithing, and how funds were to be used according to the Bible. We then discussed how the New Testament church was organized and the roles elders, deacons, and preachers played in the church. Lifu wanted to know how he could find such a church and I encouraged him to check out the churches of Christ.

My brother, Darrell, and his wife studied with a woman in Singapore via email for a while, so I contacted Janet. Emiko, Gaye, and I went to visit Janet and her mother. Emiko is arranging a study with Janet.

Jordan Park Church of Christ, near Huntsville, AL, where my brother worships, also sent a list of over 230 people they had correspondence with in Singapore and two people in Bali. I wrote to all of them before heading over there. Half the email addresses were no longer valid and only Janet and one other woman, who was out of town the week we were in Singapore, wrote back.

We talked a lot with Emiko about getting a Bible study group going with hopes of it growing large enough to start a sound church in Singapore. But those left in Singapore feel overwhelmed by the task.

Both Bali and Singapore need sound preachers but finding someone able and willing to live there hasn’t worked out so far. Even for some sound brethren to live there while they work would greatly benefit both groups. The brethren still have fond memories of the time the Percells were living in Singapore. It should also be noted that the university in Singapore attracts a large number of students from around the world. Many are eager to learn about Christianity because it isn’t taught in their home countries.

I have a good-paying secular job, but what I really want to do is preach

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 00:23:00 +0000

Question:

Hello,

I am a recent college graduate, and I currently have a secular job with a high salary. I don't know, but I always feel sad whenever I'm going to work, thinking that this is not the world I wanted to be in, this is not the job I wanted to do. In short, I'm not happy because I have the burning desire to be a full-time missionary. I have a desire to study theology and be a full-time servant of God. That would make me happy. But I don't know what to do because I know I need the job, and I still don't know how I'm going to start with my desire. I hope you could help me.

Thank you.

Answer:

First, the idea that you can only serve God completely by being a preacher is false. "Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free" (Ephesians 6:5-8). Even in a job you are doing the work of the Lord.

However, nothing says you cannot begin preparing for preaching while you work. Start learning all you can from other preachers. "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (II Timothy 2:2). Study your Bible. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15). Start teaching and preaching in your local congregation. The idea that you have to attend some man-made organization and get a degree in a man-made topic is false.

I'll use myself as an example. I decided to preach at the age of 16. I chose the career field of computer programming because I knew I could get a job anywhere in the country. As I studied for my career, I would preach wherever I could. I taught classes. I kept careful notes of the lessons I heard. When it came time to begin my secular work, I purposely chose regions where the church was small, weak, and could not afford a full-time preacher. I would preach in those congregations and work to spread the gospel in that area. Eventually, there came a time when my secular career began to interfere with my preaching. I then switched. I found a congregation where I could preach full-time and I work in my secular field part-time to supplement my income. I know many preachers who have done the same thing.

Trip Report – 2014 (Singapore, Bali)

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 00:55:00 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TripReport2014.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

How do you do it all?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 01:57:00 +0000

Question:

This is a vast site, Jeff. I still think it's crazy how you're a preacher and yet you answer most of these questions. How do you do it all? Do you like, take turns answering questions, or do you devote an entire day answering things? Whatever you do I'm all for it.

I want to see you in Heaven, Jeff. Like, I know God must smile so much when He sees you guiding others to the truth. I used to see this site on Google and think that this was one of those casual Christian answer websites until I started looking at the questions.

I also applaud you for your answers. You don't sugarcoat your replies. It's all truth 100% backed by Scripture.

Thanks for being you, Jeff; I really mean that. If I could give you a hug, I would. I may even shed a tear (or two or three). I know you'll have a big reward in Heaven awaiting you. I just pray I get there. So umm, thanks, Jeff. You're really deep for a preacher. Most aren't.

God bless.

Answer:

Thank you for the encouragement and the virtual hug. I just do what I can. I wish I could answer all the questions that come in, but I no longer can keep up. I have some people help me once in a while, but for the most part, it is just me. I try to answer two or three questions a day and when I can, I try to spend at least one day a week answering as many questions as I can.

Keep up your own studies and make God your number one priority in life and you'll make it.

I hope you are all right!

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:45:00 +0000

Question:

Mr. Hamilton,

This is not a question, simply a note to say I was so happy to see your new posts under the Q&A today. Each day I go to La Vista's website to read your answers. Many of the topics I do not struggle with (although some relate!), but I am eager to be prepared for any soul that God puts in my path; to know how to respond to situations that are foreign to me, and not miss an opportunity to help someone. In addition to reading Scripture, it has been helpful to me in reading how you point even the most worldly people to God and the Gospel. I very much appreciate you.

When several days had gone by without you posting, I began to get concerned. I have been praying that you and your family are OK, even telling my husband of your "absence." He smiled and said, "did you ever think he may just be on vacation?" Very happy to see you posting again and assume all is well with you.

Also please know, I happened across your website back in December when searching for more information regarding the use of birth control among married Christian couples. I poured over the information you provided, never having heard much of the content from any doctor's office or birth control website. I called my doctor and had my IUD removed within a week. What a "light bulb" moment. I was shaken to the core at how ignorant I had been. The experience reminded me not to take anything at face value - go to the Scriptures and determine what God has to say (which I do with some topics that you post about as well)!

Thank you again for all you do to help so many. You are appreciated!

Answer:

Thank you for your concern. I thought about mentioning that I was on vacation, but I figured that might just invite the wicked to rob my house while I was gone. We traveled to see my wife's mother and then I ran a camp for Christians who home school. I was out in the wilds of Tennessee (Pickett State Park) where there isn't even cell phone access for a whole week.

Most of today was just sorting through all the work I got behind on while being gone. But answers should be flowing again soon.