Dear family, brethren, and friends,

A merciful God allowed me to join Jim McDonald preaching in the Philippines in 1995 and now this is the 94^th trip – where did the years go so rapidly?  Evangelists Mark Mayberry from Alvin, TX and Harry Osborne from Tuttle, OK are in the Philippines about the same time as myself and I will be able to work with each of them part of the time.  My schedule covers April 6-May 8 including the last week in Japan, God willing. 

It seems no matter how much I try to prepare ahead, the last night at home is filled with last minute details requiring attention.  As is typical, I slept only an hour and a half, and then got up at 5:30 AM Monday to go to the airport.  I would never make it without Donna’s constant help organizing and packing clothes and other items for me to use.  There are no adequate words to thank her for getting me off and running these 94 times!

Total travel time is almost 30 hours for the three flights, but I got a lot of work done on the airplanes between naps.  Mark flew from Houston, TX and I flew from Louisville, KY, but we both were in the air 15 hours flying from the U.S. to South Korea because of strong headwinds.  We were on the same flight from S.K. to Manila, arriving at 11:30 PM Tuesday.  I got to bed at 3:30 AM Wednesday because of red tape required by the airline to look for one of my boxes which did not arrive, and taking care of some last minute matters which arose while I was traveling.    

Wednesday was filled with repacking boxes to be shipped ahead by Filipino brethren, running errands, and studying for lessons to be presented tomorrow by Harry and me in Metro Manila.  Meanwhile, Mark will fly to Tuguegarao, Cagayan Province to work with Rody Gumpad and several other preachers in the area. 

We started a two-day lectureship Thursday at the Kapitbahayan church in Navotas. The brethren expected 50 attendance, but 170 souls including about 20 deaf-mute saints  filled the church building.  I visited this congregation on my first trip with Jim McDonald in 1995 and these saints have been very dear to me through the years.  Like all congregations, they have had up’s and down’s, but they have been moving upward again in recent times.  

I started the series on “Issues Dividing Brethren” with a study of God’s plan for unity in Christ through the gospel.  As the day progressed, I covered controversies over Bible classes (some say the church sins if we conduct simultaneous Bible classes, insisting everyone must come into the same room for one class), over the located preacher (some insist the church sins if it supports an evangelist to work with them when they have elders), and over premillennialism (some teach Christ will come back to earth to institute a 1,000 year civil government).  Harry addressed the missionary society (a human organization supported by churches to evangelize), instrumental music in worship, and the one-container doctrine (some insist we sin by using multiple containers to serve the fruit of the vine in the Lord’s Supper).  

At the day’s end, I conducted an open forum in which 18 questions were submitted.  Is it right for a woman to offer comments or questions during a Bible class?  Yes, because she is not usurping the man’s role as the teacher.  1 Corinthians 14:34-35 forbad the wives of the prophets to interrupt their husbands to challenge and interrogate them, thus causing confusion.  The verb “speak” in this chapter refers to speaking in the role of teaching the assembly of men and women.  A woman offering a comment or asking an humble question in a Bible class is not attempting to take the man’s role as the teacher.  

Is it right for an elder to also preach?  Yes, some elders in the New Testament time preached (1 Tim. 5:17).  If a man’s work as an evangelists consumes so much of his time that he cannot adequately shepherd and manage the flock, he needs to choose which work he can best do since he cannot effectively function in both roles.  This matter should be decided on a case by case basis.

Is it sinful for a church to intentionally refuse to appoint elders?  Yes, because the Bible pattern is for every congregation to develop men who are qualified and to appoint them (Acts 14:23; Tit. 1:5).  If there are no qualified men, no one should be appointed, but the church should work toward helping men to mature and become qualified. 

Is the war between Iran and Israel simply a political conflict between ordinary governments or is it a continuation of the role of Israel in the Bible?  The modern state of Israel is not a continuation of biblical Israel but is an ordinary civil government like all others.  God abandoned biblical Israel as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 23-24 (24:1-35) and the Romans destroyed Judea and Jerusalem in A.D. 70.  Events in modern Israel do not fulfill Bible prophecy.

If a Christian does not agree to a certain Bible doctrine, should the church withdraw fellowship from him?  That should be considered on a case by case basis.  Such a brother may be growing as a Christian but lack understanding on certain Bible topics, which merits our patience, but if he is pressing and spreading a false doctrine, he should be stopped from corrupting the church by withdrawing fellowship from him (Rom. 16:17). 

What is the meaning of Daniel chapters 7 and 8?  Daniel 7-12 prophesies the rise and fall of governments affecting Israel after their return from Babylonian captivity.  Israel must prepare at that time to pass through periods of instability, persecution, and turmoil while remaining faithful to God until the coming of Christ.

Is it wrong to use a woman to interpret our lessons in sign language for the deaf-mute saints.?  No, because she does not assume the role of the teacher but merely conveys the lesson to the audience just as a microphone does.

Is the church God’s Israel today?  Yes, the church is God’s spiritual Israel.  He no longer has a national Israel.  The modern state of Israel is simply another human government and is no part of Bible prophecies.  “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:15-16).  The church of Christ is the new Israel, the new kingdom of God on the earth. 

The temperature is running in the 80’s, but the church building is equipped with small air conditioners and fans, which is very helpful.  I still get sweaty when teaching, but the heat is tolerable.  

Yesterday was a national holiday, which boosted our attendance, but today (Friday) we still had 100.  Jhun Layusa, Lordy Salunga, Jojo Tacbad, and many others drove long distances to join our studies.  Harry dealt with the errors of the so-called “sponsoring church” arrangement where churches funnel funds to the elders of a church which sponsors, oversees, and supports a work.  In the New Testament there was direct fellowship between the supporting church and the supported evangelist or the church which received benevolence from other churches.  He also dealt with divorce and remarriage, and the danger of receiving false teachers who tolerate and rationalize unscriptural practices on this subject.  

My lessons dealt with errors involved in churches donating funds to human institutions (colleges, retirement homes, orphanages, etc.) and the social gospel which expands the work of the church to include secular education, recreation, and all sorts of social services.  I also studied errors taught on God’s grace and unity which expand our fellowship to include people continuing to teach and practice many kinds of false doctrines and sinful activities.  Those errors contradict such passages as 2 John 9-11.

21 questions were submitted during the open forum.  Questions ranged from how churches should make decisions about supporting preachers, to whether it is sinful to neglect teaching about the need for elders, to the dangers of one man ruling a church like Diotrephes, to how to handle divorce and remarriage in a culture that has no laws regarding these issues, to why people become homosexual, to when is benevolence from the church appropriate, to qualifications of elders, to whether people forgiven of sins which are crimes must face legal consequences.  Never a dull moment!  Such questions reflect the sincere desire of souls to serve God in the proper way and to go to heaven in the end.  We had a fruitful day!

I have not seen the moon yet but know that some of you are watching it even when I cannot.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook