Date: December 13th 2008

Greetings to all!

I hope this email finds everyone well and anticipating the new year to come. Things have been very busy on this end as my family and I have been traveling quite a lot visiting congregations all over the states and sharing the gospel message. Many thanks to all that have received us in that regard.

I have three requests with this letter. The first is in regard to a resource that I believe will ultimately be very helpful to many. I attended a workshop (Polishing the Pulpit), this year where the elders, deacons, and preachers were sharing solutions to various circumstances of concern facing elderships. For example: 3 boys teen boys begin attending services. After a few months they are baptized. Shortly thereafter, the boys are not seen for 2 weeks. When follow up is conducted, the boys inform the elders that though they would like to attend they have been forbidden to do so by their family. What advice/action do the elders engage in? The elders/deacons/preachers in response to the scenario share feedback as to how they would have handled the situation had it arisen in their congregations.

What I would like to request of you are scenarios that you may have heard of or engaged in during your service of the Lord. Additionally, I would like feedback as to what actions were taken to resolve the matter within the law of the Lord. If you would choose to provide such information, please do not include any names of involved parties or congregations. All identifiable information will be removed on this end from any material used. The purpose to which I intend to use the material is for future training and development of those within the church. Oft such data has been shared in various brotherhood publications, but many individuals may not have access or see such data. My focus will to be eventually provide such data online at thatchristianwebsite.com as well as utilizing such material for development classes. Any material provided will be greatly appreciated and its source will be confidential.

The second request I have is on behalf of myself and the Paulding Church of Christ in Ohio. We are seeking the Dickson New Analytical Study Bible. The older or new releases would be fine. Honestly, these are running over $200 online because they are out of print. We would like to find some which are affordable. The purpose being to use them in study and spreading the gospel. If anyone has copies they are willing to donate or sell for under $100 please contact me (Travis Main) at this email or brother Tim Dooley at:

Minister: Paulding Church of Christ
355 Klingler Road
Paulding, Ohio 45879-9274
(419) 399-4761
pauldingcoc@windstream.net
dooleytimothy@hotmail.com
http://www.pauldingcoc.com

Thank you for any help in the above that you can provide.

Finally, I would like to request your prayers on my brother and fellow minister in Christ Esudas Bontha. If you have been paying attention to the news as of late, there are many scary things going on in India - Including a $250 a head bounty for the killing of ministers. Please keep him and his family on your hearts and minds. He and his son have been actively preaching in up to 4 congregations in the region they live for a good long time. They are excellent examples of Christian love and benevolence, bringing in many HIV orphans into their home and caring for them as their own. When times get tough for us in the USA, remember, we have brothers and sisters throughout the world enduring first century terrors to this day.

Recently, I have been adding an audio study of I Corinthians to the website. They can be found in the Sermons and Outlines Section of thatchristianwebsite.com . Additionally, I have added a few video sermons to the site in the video section. The video section is something I plan to be adding to with regularity in the near future. I have been playing with video and believe I am at the point where I can start recoding these for public use soon. Some state that I need to record with a paper bag over my head, but my children bubbling with excitement over their later bedtime curfews disagree.

Thanks again for your consideration in all these mattters. Please feel free to link to http://www.thatchristianwebsite.com and pass the site on to others.

God Bless,

Travis Main