March 2024 Member Letter

March 7, 2024

Dear Brethren,

I often think that things cannot get any busier, and then, incredibly, they get busier! That has been the case for me (and others in the administration) basically since the Feast of Tabernacles last year. And things have really accelerated over the past 10 weeks. During that stretch, Sharron and I have traveled for seven out of the 10 weeks and have been away from home more than we have been at home! We returned two weeks ago from our most recent international trip—to South Africa—which required more than 30 hours of travel just to get there and another 30 hours for the return. Sharron and I were accompanied by our treasurer, Britton Taylor, to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the retirement of two longtime elders: Morgen Kriedemann and Neil Becker. It was a beautiful weekend spent with some wonderful and dedicated people!

We are now back in Texas with no additional travel plans until the Passover, which, amazingly, is less than seven weeks away. This year is referred to on the Hebrew calendar as an “intercalary year,” which refers to the fact that there are 13 months in this current year. (An intercalary year will occur seven times in each 19-year cycle.) The extra month this year puts the Passover and Unleavened Bread during the third week of April.

With less than seven weeks to go, it is time to begin the process of preparing for the Passover. Each year I am reminded of the scriptures about self-examination and preparation. While all God’s festivals are important and each has special meaning, Passover, as the first festival of the year, seems to carry additional importance. Over the years, I have developed a plan for my Passover preparation that begins at least six weeks before the actual date, and I am sure many of you have used similar plans for your personal preparation.

The Bible contains some scriptures that are hard to understand, but it also contains some scriptures that are easy to understand but difficult to put into practice. I have thought of 1 Corinthians 11:26-29 as being in the latter group. There is nothing in this verse that we don’t understand, but how do we apply it in our lives as we prepare for another Passover?

Let me quote these three verses: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians 11:26-29).

In verses 30 and 31 we see how seriously the apostle Paul took this instruction. He writes: “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:30-31). It is shocking to realize that Paul is stating that “many” sleep or have died (see the margin of the New King James Version) as a result of partaking of the Passover in an unworthy manner and not properly discerning the Lord’s body. This should cause all of us to prayerfully consider our own situation as we approach another Passover. There seem to be two important concepts found in these few verses—we must be sure that we partake of the Passover in a proper manner, and we must be sure we have properly discerned the Lord’s body.

It seems obvious that Paul isn’t talking about our worthiness. No one is really “worthy” of the sacrifice of Christ. Paul seems to be speaking of the manner in which we partake of the symbols on Passover night. He is admonishing the Corinthians that there is a proper manner for partaking of these symbols—a thoughtful and serious approach is required. The service is also to be a dignified service—the foot washing, unleavened bread and wine all have special meaning on this evening.

Paul admonishes the Corinthians to examine themselves prior to the service. Clearly, this is to be personal. You are not to judge others, but to judge yourself. You are to reflect on your life, repent of your sins and empty yourself of pride and vanity prior to coming before God. Notice also Paul states, “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (verse 28). The examination isn’t to determine if you should participate in the service, but to be sure you have counted the cost of being a Christian and you are willing to give yourself over to God and submit your life to Him.

The Passover is a very special time for God’s people, and we should be clear in how we prepare for this evening. This will be my 56th Passover, and while I am sure there are some of you who have done this more times than I have, I never want to take for granted this opportunity to come before God and be reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for all of us (John 3:16). The world needs a Savior, and Jesus Christ—not a man, a political party or a government—is that Savior. Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind, and when we gather on the Passover this year, we will be proclaiming that truth one more time.

Before I conclude this letter, I wanted to give you a brief update on where we are with the potential building of an auditorium on our property here in McKinney, Texas. We are currently in the process of negotiating with three contractors (we began with five) to see if this project will be viable. We were surprised that from the time we began our planning for this potential auditorium, building costs have gone up exponentially, by 50 percent according to some. To be perfectly clear, our goal from the beginning was to pay cash for any new building, or possibly pay mostly cash with a small, short-term loan that could be paid off in two or three years. If we can’t arrive at a price that we can afford, then we will put the project on hold until we have the cash to complete what we started. This should be determined in the next few weeks. At that time, I will meet with the Ministerial Board of Directors, and a decision will be made as to whether we: (1) put the project on hold for possibly another year, (2) cancel the project or (3) go forward with building. The determining factor will be the cost. I will keep everyone informed when a decision is made.

Thank you for your support. The Church continues to do very well with its media efforts. In the just concluded month of February, we witnessed our largest ever response to personal correspondence. For the first time in our history, we answered 2,242 requests. Although February is the shortest month of the year, we had 600 more personal correspondence requests than January. We are definitely seeing a lot of interest arise from our multiple efforts to preach the gospel.

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks