First, let me introduce myself. My name is Carl Hanson and I have been the preacher for the Church of Christ at Cherry & A Streets in Port Townsend, Washington since August, 1984. During that time I have also taught our Sunday morning teen class, been able to accompany our teens to some of the area wide youth activities, and have also worked with them at Delano Bay Christian Camp.
In March, 1998, I began sending e-mail messages to our teens in Port Townsend, to help with their focus during the week. What began as e-mails to three teens (and printouts for the others in our small youth group who did not have access to e-mail) has grown in ways I never imagined. God has revealed that He thinks bigger than I do and has continued to open doors for this phase of ministry. I began by sending four to five focuses per week, but it soon became a daily transmission that became known as "teEn-MAIL". After some of the messages began to be forwarded to others outside our area, the list of recipients began to grow to where now the daily messages are going out to teens, youth leaders, preachers, and families in twenty states and two foreign countries (Ghana, West Africa and India). I have received a lot of encouraging responses from teens who are putting the messages in notebooks for future reference and have shared them with their friends. I have also been informed that some focuses have been used as sermon or discussion starters, for inspiration in a Christian school newsletter in Texas, forwarded to encourage others, and even shared within a prison. Only God knows how many people are receiving these focuses. Though the initial idea was to encourage teens and remains the prime objective, adults also now make up a good number of daily recipients. A number of these focuses have been developed into full length lessons for our Wednesday evening "Peak of the Week" Bible study here in Port Townsend.
Since for so many years I had difficulty coming up with even one bulletin article on a weekly basis, there are still times I fear (as I continue to get new subscribers) that the well is going to go dry. But God continues to fill the well allowing it to spill over into the lives of those who continue to encourage me by their interest and prayers. It continues to be God who brings the focuses. Frequently a response comes saying simply, "That's just what I needed today." Often it is what I needed as well. Many responses have been much lengthier and I have been uplifted and encouraged by many I have never personally met. I am greatly encouraged by adults who find benefit from these daily focuses, but I continue to be most excited by the number of teens who want the focuses for themselves and their friends.
The more I read God's Word the more I am struck by the truth of the statement someone has made: "The Scriptures are shallow enough the novice will not drown, yet deep enough the scholar will never reach the bottom." During the last two millennia countless efforts have been made to destroy God's truth, yet here we are, 2004 AD, still focusing on it today. The technology for sharing God's Word has changed, but the message remains the same and continues to meet us where we are. God's Word is GOOD! I've read the whole book and each time I do, God reveals something else about Himself, His Will, about life, about me, etc.
What is written in the daily focuses is not intended to be the last word on any subject. Always give God's Word that place! I just pray God will continue to use me to whet the appetite of others for even deeper study.
To be added to the list to receive these daily focuses, send a message to cwlehanson@cablespeed.com with the request to subscribe. You will be added for as long as you desire and as long as God keeps the messages coming.
In The Master's Service, Carl