Acknowledgements

BECOMING A MATURE CHRISTIAN
By Donald W. French

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to acknowledge the help of many people in the shaping of the mindset that formed in my character over the 56 years of my life. First of all, I want to acknowledge my indebtedness to my parents, Jesse and Lena French, who raised me to believe in, to love, and to obey the Lord above all else. I disagreed with them about many things while I was a youngster at home, but it is amazing how much wiser they have become as I grew older. After having done not so good a job in raising three kids, I am truly amazed and filled with respect after looking back and seeing how good a job they did with seven.

I also want to acknowledge the tremendous aid I received in my younger years, studying with preachers of the caliber of Jack Cutter and Ervin Waters. From Jack Cutter, I learned about preparing sermons, studying topics and how to understand the Bible and the basic doctrines that differentiate the Church of Christ from the many religious organizations that exist. Additionally Jack has been a tremendous help to me in helping edit this book, without his help, it would not have been nearly as readable. From Ervin Waters, I learned compassion and an enthusiasm for personal work. To both of these men, I want to express my appreciation and love for taking the time to encourage a naïve young kid.

Additionally, I want to thank Steve DeWitt of the Yuba City, California congregation, who put a bug in my ear one evening in March of 2007. He is the one who first put the idea into my head about writing a book of some of my sermons. At the time, I just laughed, but then my brother, Ken French, of the Norco, California congregation agreed with him and said he thought I had a unique perspective and ability to tie verses in the Bible together.

So if there is anyone to blame for my undertaking this task of assembling this book of some of the sermons I have given over the years, it is these two men. I appreciate their encouragement very much.

For those of you who do not know me, I possess no superior knowledge or training and have held only one weekend meeting in my entire life and that was at the Winters congregation in California around 1980 give or take a year or two. I do not even classify myself as a preacher, but am proud to have been a teacher of the gospel in a number of congregations, such as the 64th Street Church of Christ in Sacramento, California where I have studied privately and taught publicly for the last seventeen years, two years at the Yuba City Congregation in Yuba City, California, and for one year at the Fair Oaks congregation, in the Sacramento area. I also owe a special thanks to the North Area congregation, where I taught and worked for approximately ten years. The congregation there gave me the opportunity to teach and supported me part time, while I was attending College.

I also want to give a special acknowledgement to my very special Aunt, Flora Helvey, who passed away in November of 2005, after having been in a convalescent hospital for ten years suffering from Alzheimer’s. When I first came to Sacramento from Redding, in 1973, at the young age of 21, she was the first to encourage me to teach and work for the Lord. She sold Watkins’ Products in order to give me the money to eat, to pay for gas for my 1966 Ford Mustang. She is also the one who got me the job working at the Crestwood Manor Convalescent and Psychiatric Hospital where I met the woman I have been married to for 31 years, my wife, Jeannette. I owe everything to Jeannette, She has laughed at either me or my jokes, put up with me telling everyone I had to go to a mental institution in order to find someone that was crazy enough to marry me, and encouraged me and been there for me through thick and thin. Without her, I do not believe I could have stayed the course and fought the good fight. Thank You, Jeannette, my sweet loving bride of 31 years.