The word made fresh
First Street Church of Christ minister emphasizes practical biblical teaching
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Rocky Moncus is the new minister at First Street Church of Christ.

Rocky Moncus knows the power of the gospel to transform lives. It's a lesson he learned early, after loved ones' struggles with drugs and alcohol motivated him to enter the ministry.

"People really kind of helped me, and I wanted to be able to help other people," said Moncus, the new pulpit minister at First Street Church of Christ.

The minister plans to focus on "expository preaching," which uses close readings of a scriptural passage to explain the text's meaning and help worshippers apply the message to their lives. A graduate of the Lubbock-based Sunset School of Preaching, Abilene Christian University and Austin Graduate School of Theology, Moncus considers biblical teaching one of a minister's most important callings.

"That's what Jesus taught us to do," he said. "The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and it has the power to change lives."

An ongoing Sunday series on the book of James, paired with Wednesday night studies of Proverbs, for example, will illustrate practical Christianity, Moncus said, as believers will learn about two books focusing on godly wisdom.

Along with teaching, Moncus believes the Lord has called him to care for church members and their families. The pulpit minister began his career in Cleburne, where he served for 10 years as youth minister. He then worked for eight years as Marble Falls Church of Christ's family minister, before preaching in Smithville for two and a half years.

Passionate about teaching Scripture, Moncus said he preached at least one or two sermons a month even when he was a youth minister. Although he enjoys studying theological writings, he said he draws his philosophy of ministry directly from the words of Christ.

"Love God, and love your neighbor," Moncus said. "If you do that, everything else takes care of itself."

He and his wife Barbara, an Abilene native, have two children: Kelsey, 14, and 12-year-old Luke, a sixth-grader. Kelsey, an eighthgrader at Lampasas Middle School, joined the family through an open adoption.

After living in Smithville, a town of 3,900 with a Class 3A high school, Kelsey and Luke are enjoying the additional extracurricular options they have in Lampasas, Moncus said.

The minister also is excited about his new opportunities to serve others, he said.

"Wherever He needs us I guess we'll just try to be available," Moncus said. "I try to be open to whatever God wants me to do."