As a committed follower of Christ, I believe that abortion is not the will of God because of the many passages in the Bible that speak to the truth that God recognizes life in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 49:1b), and the many passages about that prohibit the taking of life, beginning with, but not limited to, the Sixth Commandment where God says, You shall not commit murder (Exodus 20:13), an Old Testament commandment that is affirmed in the New Testament. So, I’m celebrating this answer to prayer, and I’m celebrating the knowledge that thousands upon thousands of unborn children will now have the right to life. And, as Bob Russell wrote in a recent blog, “Maybe the next Billy Graham or Mother Teresa will emerge from among those who have been rescued. That’s reason to rejoice.”

At the same time, I’m thinking about the many women I have counseled who have had an abortion and are living with the devastation and heartbreak of their decision. I don’t want this to sound calloused or cold, but, in complete honesty, I’m not moved by someone who protests the Pro-life movement with a “My body, my choice” or “Keep your theology away from my biology sign,” although I do have a deep concern for their soul. I’m moved by desperate, frightened, and isolated women who have no one to turn to and have not had the opportunity to experience the love, grace, and forgiveness of God. These are the kinds of women I have counseled and prayed with. So, while I’m celebrating this decision, I’m also mindful of the truth that as followers of Christ, we need to continue to spread the love and mercy and grace of God to everyone, including women who, as I mentioned above, can find themselves desperate, frightened, and alone.

So, let’s celebrate this decision, and let’s commit ourselves to carrying the banner of “Life Wins” into the everyday responsibility to be the light of the world Jesus calls us to be in Matthew 5:14-16. Here are some practical ways we can make that happen.

Spiritual Influence – One of the Core Four Strategies of Mount Pleasant Christian Church is Spiritual Influence which is lived out by being willing to Develop a Friendship with someone so you can Discover their Story and ultimately Discern Next Steps on how you can point them to Jesus. One of the things Christians need to do to make an IMPACT on the life of someone who is vulnerable when it comes to bad choices is to be willing to love people in the hard and difficult places of life. It’s time for many Christians to start living out the reality of their faith in the everyday reality of a broken world where we follow the example of Jesus, who came into the world full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Support Foster Care and Adoptive Families – We have several families in our church who are committed to Foster Care and Adoption. And while we have had different “seasons” where this commitment has been more active and celebrated than others, there’s no reason why it can’t be a constant source of help and encouragement to people/children in need. You can contact Heidi Wright, our Missions and Outreach Director, at hwright@mpccministry.com to learn more about this ministry or to get in contact with those who lead and are actively involved. 

Support Care Net Pregnancy Center of Johnson County – This local mission partner recognizes that the recent Supreme Court Decision will create an influx of needs in each of their locations. They are currently finishing a build-out of their newest center in downtown Greenwood on Main Street. The Greenwood location needs are:

• Receptionist
• Client Advocates
• Medical, ultrasound tech, LPN, RN, PA, NP, MD
• Multiple construction project needs

You can contact Eric Allen, Executive Director, at eallen@carenetpc.org or 317-535-6396.

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul writes, If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV) It’s possible to say and believe and do all the right things when it comes to the Christian life but have no IMPACT on the world around you because of the absence of genuine love. Let’s celebrate and rejoice in this June 24, 2022, victory for life, but let’s also let it remind us of the importance of loving others in a way that leads them to Jesus, who offers everyone the opportunity for a new life. That’s the best way to ensure the ongoing celebration of those glorious words -  LIFE WINS!

Second, as I write this message, I realize it was basically two years ago when the COVID-19 virus dramatically impacted, not just our church, but all the churches across our country. At that time, we found ourselves trying to figure out what our next steps would be moving forward during a growing pandemic that was unprecedented, at least in my lifetime. The next several months brought a period where we worshiped from home, a slow and cautious return to in-person worship, and a new weekend reality today where we have what I would call a “hybrid” weekend experience of in-person worshipers and many who continue to worship from home. In some ways, things look very different today than they did two years ago, and in some ways, we are doing all we can to make them look the same. I’m so grateful for our staff, who have been incredibly flexible and resilient through this entire period. I hope you will continue to pray for them and take advantage of every opportunity to encourage them. To be completely honest, all of this, along with a lengthy search for a new Executive Pastor, has been exhausting for me. As a result, our Elders have graciously given me the opportunity for a little time away to rest and prepare for the next season of ministry with our new Executive Pastor. We will have different staff members filling the pulpit in the coming weeks, and my brother from Compassion Christian Church in Savannah, GA, will be a special guest speaker. I will be preaching Easter weekend as we celebrate the resurrection. Please keep our entire staff in your prayers and pray for me as I take this brief break.

Finally, I’m sure you’ve been watching everything unfolding in Ukraine. We have two mission partners who have found themselves in a position to minister to and help Ukrainian refugees. Those partners are Proem Ministries in Poland and TCM (Taking Christ to Millions by Training Christians for Ministry), who operate a Seminary in Austria that trains and serves workers in Europe and beyond. This need is over and above their regular ministry activities and has become a big challenge, especially for Proem, a neighboring country to Ukraine. This past week I listened on two occasions as three women from Proem who were in Indianapolis for a wedding shared heartbreaking stories about this need. As a result, Mount Pleasant is sending a special gift to both Proem and TCM, but we also want to invite you to help. This weekend we’ll have what I call the “tip” jars on the steps of the stage, and at the end of each service, you can drop any gift you can share in the jars. Our Worship Pastor, Brian Tabor, will explain this opportunity to anyone who doesn’t read this message. We will make sure it accompanies our special gift. To learn more about these mission partners and to join us in scripture reading and prayer, click here.

Please know how much Sandy and I love Mount Pleasant Christian Church and our IMPACT Campuses. I have always believed that a single church in Central Indiana can change the world. Thank you for demonstrating that truth over and over again.

Pastor Chris

At the same time, it’s important that we understand the value of saving money. When we look at what I call the “Four Financial Pillars of Good Money Management” (Keep Track – Plan Ahead – Save Consistently – Give Habitually) from Proverbs, we see the importance of saving. Proverbs 21:20 says, In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. (NIV) A wise man embraces the importance of saving, while a foolish man simply lives for the moment.

Without question, the greatest story in the Bible related to the importance of saving is the story of Joseph in Genesis 41. The setting is the land of Egypt, where Joseph is a slave. The past few years of Joseph’s life have been difficult as he’s been sold into slavery by his brothers who hated him, lied about by the wife of the Egyptian man he served, and sent to prison where for, at least a time, he was forgotten. Then one day, Pharaoh had a troubling dream no one could interpret or explain. That’s when Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, who had previously spent time in prison, remembered a young Hebrew slave who was able to interpret dreams. Pharaoh sent for the man (Joseph) and told him his dream. Now, I’m going to paraphrase what happens next, so you’ll need to read Genesis 41 to get all the details. Pharaoh shared with Joseph his dream that involved seven fat cows that came up out of the Nile River, followed by seven scrawny cows who ate the fat cows but still looked as scrawny as they did in the beginning. Next, Pharaoh saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. Then seven other heads of grain sprouted that were withered and thin and scorched. But the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. Pharaoh says, “I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me.” Then Joseph tells Pharaoh the dreams are one and the same. And that God is revealing to him that for seven years, there’s going to be great abundance throughout the land of Egypt, followed by seven years of famine. And the famine is going to be so bad that no one will remember the abundance. Then Joseph encouraged Pharaoh to put someone in charge of the land of Egypt to oversee the taking of a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of plenty and store it (save it) for the seven years of famine. Pharaoh liked that idea, and Joseph went from being a forgotten foreign slave to the second most powerful man in Egypt (Genesis 41:39-40). Ultimately, what Joseph did in saving a portion of Egypt’s harvest resulted in the saving of many lives, something Joseph himself acknowledged in Genesis 50:20.

But the story of Joseph isn’t the only place the Bible celebrates the wisdom of saving. In fact, let me share a few more biblical truths related to saving.

1. Delaying saving is a mistake.

Let’s be honest, we are often people who put things off – especially things that are difficult. But you can’t do that when it comes to saving money. Because when you fail to start saving early, you forfeit one of the most potent financial forces in the universe, and that’s the power of compounding interest. Don’t make that mistake. Proverbs 13:11 says, Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. (NIV) A huge part of what makes money grow little by little is that power of compounding interest, something the Bible acknowledges. Do you remember Jesus’ parable of the talents? A master went away and left varying amounts of money to three servants (5 talents/2 talents/1 talent). He praised the first two servants because they put his money to work and doubled the amount. But the third servant took the one talent and buried it in the ground, basically saying, “I knew you would have high expectations for your money, but I was too afraid of losing it to put it to work. Here’s what the master said to him upon his return. Matthew 25:26-27, You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. (NIV) When it comes to savings, you can’t procrastinate. Why do you think so many people don’t save money? Honestly, there can be a lot of answers to that question. But if I were just going to pick one based on the personal conversations I’ve had with people over the years, it would be, “I don’t have any money to save.” But, oftentimes, on further investigation, that wasn’t necessarily true. Let’s get real practical for a minute. I don’t know if you’ve ever read anything by David Bach, but he’s written several very practical books about money. And the one thing he’s probably best known for is what he calls “the latte factor.” In his book, The Automatic Millionaire, he talks about a young lady named Kim who attended a financial seminar he was teaching. When she insisted that she couldn’t afford to save any money, he asked her to describe a typical day. On her way to work, she stopped for coffee. “Plain coffee?” No, a double non-fat latte. Price: $3.50. “Is that all you have?” No, a non-fat muffin too. Price: $1.50. “So, you’re not even at work yet, and you’ve spent $5.” Kim was a little annoyed, but she went on. At her morning break, she bought a juice drink. Price: $3.95. Then a friend in the room reminded her that she always asked for the Gingko booster—another 50 cents. Oh, yeah…and a Power bar for $1.75. “We’re not even to lunch yet, and you’ve already spent over $11 and haven’t really had anything to eat!” So, David pulled out his calculator and said, “Let’s suppose that you could save $5 of that $11—just $5 a day—skip the latte and muffin. That’s $150 a month, $1800 a year. Let’s say we invested that at a 10% annual return, which is what the stock market has averaged over the last 50 years. How old are you (23)? How much do you think you’d have by the time you’re 65?” She guessed $100,000, $200,000, $500,000. Nope. Almost $1.2 million. Kim’s eyes went wide. “You mean my lattes are costing me $1.2 million?” That’s the latte factor. Now you might say, “But I don’t drink coffee.” You’re missing the point. We all waste or overspend money in a variety of ways – just think of what it is for you. What’s your latte factor? If you don’t seem to have any money to save, I challenge you to track your spending—all of it, even the little expenses—for a week, and I’ll bet you can find a latte factor. Would you be willing to forego a $5 purchase today to have a million dollars later? Here’s a great verse that can apply to saving. Proverbs 14:8, The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception. (NIV) A foolish person deceives themself by saying, “I don’t have any money to save.” A wise person is prudent in identifying money that’s being needlessly or foolishly spent.

2. We can honor God and serve others through our savings.

It can be easy to think of saving as a purely selfish activity because sometimes it is. We see that in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21. After giving this warning (Luke 12:15), Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (NIV), Jesus tells the story of a man whose ground produced a crop larger than anything he’d ever experienced before. It was so large he couldn’t store it. But rather than thanking God for the blessing or consulting with God about how he might use the blessing to help others, he decided he would tear down all his existing barns, build bigger ones and just take life easy. Jesus says that as a result, God called him a fool and demanded (took) his life. Jesus’ final commentary is found in Luke 12:21. This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. (NIV) There’s no question that saving can sometimes become a purely selfish activity. BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE. Here are some alternatives. Saving can honor God because we recognize money as a gift from God. James 1:16-17 says, Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV) When we acknowledge money as a gift from God, we’ll use it in a way that honors Him. Saving allows us to help others in need. In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul writes about what it looks like to live as “Children of Light.” In verse 28 he says, He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (NIV) One of the fundamental values of a Christian is to help others. Proverbs 3:27 says, Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. (NIV) Saving allows us to bless our families. Proverbs 13:22 says, A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is the reward of the righteous. (NIV) The bottom line is saving money allows us the opportunity to be generous, and generosity honors God. It not only honors God, but it opens the door for God’s blessing in our lives.

3. Saving can bring tension.

While saving money is clearly one of the pillars of successful financial management, it’s also something that can create tension in the life of a believer if you don’t have the right fundamental attitude toward money. In 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul writes, Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (NIV) Clearly, Paul is saying that saving money can create tension related to whether you’re trusting in yourself or in God. When Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes, he wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:10, Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. (NIV) A little later in Ecclesiastes 5:13, he writes, I have seen a grievous evil under the sun; wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner… (NIV). The bottom line is as positive as saving money can be, it’s easy to allow the pursuit of saving to create tension in your life and faith. NOTE: If I were to be honest about my own life, I would tell you that I sometimes feel tension in my spiritual life related to questions like, “How much is enough when it comes to saving money?” I can also struggle with a willingness to spend the money I’ve saved because I know the time and sacrifices involved in saving it in the first place. So how do we handle that tension? The only answer is we handle it by faith. And what I mean by that is faith is our priority when it comes to our savings. My faith reminds me that everything belongs to God. So, no matter how much time or work I’ve put into acquiring something, ultimately, it belongs to God. My faith also reminds me that my priority isn’t building wealth; it’s living a surrendered life. Proverbs 16:9 says, In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. (NIV) That means I’ve got to hold onto whatever amount of money I’ve saved, along with every other earthly thing I have, with a loose grip. And I’ve got to remember that as important as the first three pillars of financial management are (Keep Track – Plan Ahead – Save Consistently), that fourth pillar of give habitually is equally important. So, I go back to that passage I read from 1 Timothy 6:17, but I read verses 18-19 as well. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (NIV)  

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth rust and destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (NIV) We can store (save) up treasures on earth AND we can store up treasures in heaven. Our goal should be to find the right balance between the two and trust that God will honor and protect the pursuit of that goal.

The truth is there are a lot of us who are "picking them up and putting them down as fast as we can." And that will catch up with you in a negative way if you don't take the time to rest and be refreshed. Jesus understood that. In Mark 6, after a time when the disciples had experienced the busyness of ministry, we read (verses 30-31). The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."Jesus, more than anyone else, knew how overwhelming ministry could be, so he told his disciples to get some rest.

Every July, our elders present me with an evaluation. This past July, as I met with two of them to go through the evaluation, I told them I was tired for more reasons than I'll go into in this blog. As a result, they told me that once we got to the end of the year, I needed to plan on taking a brief sabbatical. And while there never seems to be a perfect time for a sabbatical, I will be stepping away from day-to-day ministry for about 4 ½ weeks starting Monday, January 4. We will continue our "My Golden Resolution" series throughout the month of January with our High School Pastor, Matt Pineda, my son (our Groups Pastor) Andrew Philbeck and my brother Ken Philbeck filling the pulpit. We have a great staff, and I know that they will continue to serve you with excellence while I'm away. I want you to know that I'm okay. The last time I saw my Doctor (my Radiation Oncologist who I see twice a year), he said, "You look great." But I am tired, and I need a quiet place where I can rest. Sandy and I will spend the first part of my sabbatical in Savannah, GA; we'll be home for a while and then finish my time away in Florida. I'll be back in the pulpit on the weekend of February 6/7.

Please pray for me while I'm away, and I promise I'll be praying for you. Pray for our Mount Pleasant/IMPACT family because I've got some important decisions to make. I need to hire a new Executive Pastor and I need to seek wisdom from God related to moving forward in the new reality created by the Coronavirus.

Finally, I love these words from Rick Warren: "Growing churches require growing leaders." I want to be the kind of leader that helps the church that I love so dearly to grow. In order to do that, I need to recognize the voice of Jesus when he says, "Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest." I love you all, and I'll see you in February.

Jesus Cares,
Pastor Chris

I wanted to take a minute to share some thoughts and realities with my Mount Pleasant/IMPACT family related to our Online Campus (Digital Church). After 17 weeks of nothing but Digital Church, we returned to in-person worship on July 11/12. The first two weekends have pretty much been what I expected. Because of the continued need for social distancing and not being able to offer any Children’s or Student programming, our numbers have been small (at least in relation to what they were before COVID-19). Up to this point at our Mount Pleasant campus in Greenwood we’ve said, “Masks are welcome but not required.” All of our IMPACT Campuses, because they’re in Marion County, have required masks. That’s about to change for us here in Greenwood as a result of Governor Holcomb’s mask order that takes effect on July 27 (watch for more details soon). So, while we’ve returned to in-person worship, the majority of our church family has continued to worship online, which is absolutely okay.

As we prepared to return to in-person worship, I made the decision to continue to pre-record the service for our Online Campus (Digital Church). I know some of you have been disappointed by this because you feel like you’re not getting the opportunity to be part of the “live” service, even though, with the exception of one song, the content is exactly the same. Let me tell you why I made this decision and then ask for your help.

Having been a Pastor for 40 years, I can tell you that weekend attendance has always played a powerful role in the life of a church. I can also tell you that weekend attendance in the American church has been on the decline for some time. This is true for megachurches and for small churches. For the sake of explanation, let’s say that you are a pastor who leads a church of 500 people (weekly attendance average). The truth is, you’re probably reaching somewhere between 750 to 1,000 people…they’re just not all there on the same weekend. As I said, this has been happening for some time. Before we began online only services in mid-March, our average weekend attendance was around 4,500. The first weekend of online only services, we had an attendance of 6,400 (probably not an exact number, but the closest we can get with the way we measure online worship). On Easter weekend, we had 10,703, which is our largest weekend crowd ever. The next weekend we had 9,118. Do you see where I’m going? Our Online Campus was already engaging a large number of people, and when the shut down came, that number grew significantly. And when we looked at our online analytics, we saw a BIG difference. Before the shutdown, we could see that most of our viewers were right here in Central Indiana. But now, our viewers are spread all over the United States and in multiple countries, including Ecuador, Italy, England, The Netherlands, Sweden, Korea and India. It’s really been pretty amazing. Our “digital” reach has exploded. And while about 25-30% of our people have returned to in-person worship (which is in line with what’s happening in the church in America), our digital attendance has continued to grow because the COVID-19 virus has accelerated what was already happening. On top of that, most Church Growth Consultants predict that during whatever amount of time the church was closed for in-person worship, people's worship habits have changed. In other words, there are probably people who will never return to in-person worship.

So, with all of this in mind, I made the decision to continue to pre-record our Online Campus service so that we could have the freedom to discover new and better ways to engage with online worshipers. Now, I’ll be the first to say that this is a work in progress, so there haven’t been a lot of new things added to the Online Campus – at least not yet. But this is our goal because, as one Church Leader has stated, “The future of the local church will be shaped by how we handle the digital opportunity now.” And I, for one, do not want to miss the opportunity to reach lost people or encourage what might be called unchurched or de-churched people because I’m unwilling to do something new.

I’m am, in many ways, a very traditional person. And over the past few months I have found myself grieving over the loss of church as I have known it my entire life. I’ve always been thankful for the ability to reach people through our Online Campus, but the expansion of the Online or Digital Church would not be my first choice, especially not at my age (and now I’m being very transparent). I have gone through some significant internal battles over whether or not I’m even equipped, at my age, to be a pastor in this new age of doing church. But the Digital Church is here to stay (some of you may remember that a few years ago I said this was coming during one of our January “State of the Church” messages). And here’s the conviction of my heart. If we use our Online Campus only for the benefit of existing members, we are missing a huge opportunity to reach new people and help them grow. And I believe God expects us to use whatever means necessary to reach people.

So, if you are missing the old way of worshiping online where the live service was simply “streamed,” then I want to ask you to do two things for me. First, embrace the new format of the Online Campus and pray that God will show us how we can make it a more engaging experience for the new people we are reaching. I’m going to believe that when the time is right for you and your family (and I trust that to you completely), you are going to return to in-person worship. That means Digital Church is something that’s temporary for you. So, pray that God will show us how to make this the most effective tool it can be for reaching new people (lost people). Second, as you worship through our Online Campus, pray for the people who are worshiping with you that you don’t know and will probably never meet. Pray that we can reach them on a personal level and help them discover the new and better life Jesus offers. Pray that we can engage them in some kind of online Bible Study or Small Group that will help them to grow.

I’m anxious for the day when we will all return to in-person worship. I’m longing for the day when I can say, “Go ahead and stand with me for the reading of the Scripture,” and a large crowd of people stands in front of me with Bibles open. And I’m longing for the day when I feel your hearts and your involvement and your energy as I preach. You have no idea how much I miss all of those things. But even when that day comes, we won’t simply be going back to church the way it was before. Church has already changed – whether we like it or not. And we need to make sure we embrace the positive opportunities of that change to reach and engage as many people as possible in the name of Jesus. So please pray for me and please pray with me as we discover new ways to reach people.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Recently I wrote an article for Christian Standard Magazine about how we (MPCC) are expanding our ministry to reach underserved people and communities through our IMPACT Ministries. In the article, I talked about attending a Mega-Church Pastors Conference several years ago and hearing Ben Merold, a preacher that I respect deeply say, “Sometimes our opportunities become our vision.” That statement stayed with me and is a big reason why we have the IMPACT Center here on our Greenwood Campus. I also wrote about the day I was in the IMPACT Center and had the thought: There’s no set model of what a church looks like today. That led to the question, “How can we take what we’re doing on IMPACT Thursday/Saturday to other communities in the Greater Indianapolis area?” Fast-forward, and today we have three satellite campuses called IMPACT Old Southside, IMPACT Fairfax and IMPACT Bethany. The uniqueness of each campus emphasizes the truth that there’s no set model of what a church looks like today.

I just finished shooting a welcome video for this weekend’s online service, which is all we’re able to offer during this unprecedented time of social distancing as we try and stop the spread of the Coronavirus. And while I know this is a time of anxiety and fear for many, I’m thankful that we can continue to be a church that worships together even if it’s in a digital format. I don’t have an exact number of how many people joined us for worship online last week, but when I looked at the number of devices that were logged into the service and the number of views on Facebook, I was a little overwhelmed. Honestly, it was probably the largest “attendance” that we’ve had in a while. It didn’t “look like” a normal weekend, but we continued to be a church committed to coming together for worship.

Now that we know we can continue to worship, let’s remember that there’s much more to being the church than just the weekend experience. Let’s continue to practice the many “one another’s” of the New Testament within our church family as well as with everyone we encounter. Let’s love one another, encourage one another, care for one another, serve one another, pray for one another, etc., every chance we get. There’s no question that everything happening around us is creating new opportunities for spiritual conversations with people…with your one life. Anxiety and fear are everywhere in this time of unknown, and we, as the church, have the opportunity to model and speak words of faith. 1 Peter 3:15 says, But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… (NIV) This can be as simple as saying something like, “As a Christian, I put my faith and my trust in God and the truth of His Word. In the Bible we can find the words “do not be afraid” or “fear not” 365 times. Isn’t that amazing? God gives us a Bible verse that says, “do not be afraid” for every single day of the year.” Many people who aren’t Christians and never go to church are familiar with Psalm 23 (it’s probably the most common passage of Scripture on a Funeral Program). Psalm 23:4 says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (NIV) The bottom line is, you don’t have to be a theologian to be able to tell someone why you choose faith over fear in difficult times. In fact, the best thing you can do is tell someone your personal story of how you came to put your faith and trust in Christ and how, because of that, you know that whatever the future holds, you’re not afraid.

Here’s the bottom line: No matter what happens, we will never stop being the church because the message of the church is the hope of the world. Let’s continue to worship together, let’s continue to love and care for one another and let’s continue to carry a message of hope.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

This year we’ll be using the theme Vintage Christmas. This isn’t something that’s original to me; I got the idea while doing some research online, and I loved it. The word “vintage” describes quality, authenticity and legacy. So, throughout December, our focus will be on an authentic and meaningful Christmas experience. We’ll talk about the things we can do to make sure our hearts are fully prepared to experience the fullness of Christmas, and we’ll be dipping into the past, so to speak, to share some of our favorite songs and elements from past Christmas’ at Mount Pleasant. I’m looking forward to a great month of worship.

There are a couple of things that will be different about Christmas this year. First, we won’t be having the “big” special Christmas Service weekend this year. There are a couple of reasons why. First there is the sewer expansion and road closures. I’ve looked at the numbers before and after the road closures, and there’s no question this project has had an impact on our weekend attendance. And with only one way on and off the property, traffic flow has become a challenge for a weekend that draws over 6,000 people. Normally our special Christmas Service would be happening on the weekend of December 7/8, and we would add two extra services (Friday and Saturday afternoon), but we won’t be doing that this year. Instead, we’ll be following our regular weekend service schedule. We will have a Children’s Choir singing in each of the services, which will be very special. I want to encourage all of you who will be inviting family and friends to hear the choir to ask them to come on Saturday at 6pm or Sunday at 11am. Our Sunday 9:15am service is already very full. Along with the Children’s Choir, we will have some special music that weekend that I know will bless you and add to your Christmas spirit. The second reason we won’t be doing our “big” Christmas Service this year is it’s been something we’ve done now for several years, and taking a year off will help us be even more excited and creative for next year when things (roads) get back to normal.

The second thing that will be different about Christmas at Mount Pleasant this year is the days and times of our Christmas Eve services. Again, because of the road closures and the difficulties of handling so much traffic on a single day, we will be spreading out the Christmas Eve services across three days. We’ll have a Christmas Eve service on Sunday night (December 22) at 6pm, Monday night (December 23) at 7pm and Tuesday (December 24) at 4pm and 11pm. This service schedule might seem a little odd, but it's actually something that many churches have been doing for some time. Having Christmas Eve services on multiple days creates more opportunities for people to attend, especially people who are never able to attend because of travel or family activities. Each service will feature some Christmas carol favorites as well as a very special candlelight moment. We’ll be offering childcare for under two years old on Sunday night and Monday night, and under four years old on Tuesday afternoon. I’ll be preaching at each of the Christmas Eve services.

I hope you’re looking forward to Christmas this year. I really believe our Vintage Christmas theme will be very special. And remember, all the research says that people are more open to coming to church at Christmas than any other time of the year. So, as you think about Christmas at Mount Pleasant – invite a friend, or maybe even your one life.

Jesus cares, 

Pastor Chris

First, when we began 3 Sunday morning services in January of 2017, everything was great. I was anxious about what 11:30 would look like but on the first week we had almost 600 people in the Worship Center and that number remained steady for several months. We also had a strong crowd at 8:45. Over time, however, the number of worshipers at both 8:45 and 11:30 began to fluctuate and then began to shrink. This resulted in our Children’s Ministry, something I consider one of the strongest growth engines of our church, having a difficult time fully programming these two services because of the small number of children. We have what I consider to be an incredible Children’s Ministry space that should be busy and loud and active and winsome during church, but that just wasn’t the case on Sunday mornings at 8:45 and 11:30. This was both disappointing and troubling to me. 

Second, 3 Sunday morning services had become difficult for our staff and for our volunteers. I had multiple conversations with our Children’s Pastor and our Middle School Pastor about this and came to the conclusion that we were stretching people too thin. 

Third, having 3 Sunday morning services began to limit our worship experience because we were always “watching the clock.” Having 3 services required changing our programming from an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and five minutes at 10 and 11:30 and an hour at 8:45. As a result, I began to feel like we were losing a little bit of our identity as a church related to music, the message and any spontaneous leadings or responses. 

Fourth, I’m not ashamed to say that 3 Sunday morning services were absolutely wearing me out. I would go home exhausted after every weekend and I began to feel the effects on my throat and my voice. That is exacerbated by the fact that my throat will never be as strong as it once was as the result of the radiation treatment I received in 2012. 

In the end, after a lot of discussions and a lot of prayer, I decided we needed to make the switch. The next question was, “What will be the times of the new Sunday morning schedule?” This was a difficult question because we now had people attending all the way from 8:45 to 11:30. So I sat down and thought through the time shift I was asking people to make. I talked to my staff and got input from multiple people, and I gave special attention to our Children’s and Pre-teen/Middle School staff. I looked at each Sunday morning service to see which service had the highest number and percentage of first-time guests (the answer was 11:30). I did my own personal survey of several other megachurches in our brotherhood and found that the most common Sunday morning worship times were 9 and 11. Finally, I prayed for direction. In the end, I chose 9:15 and 11. And while the only feedback I’ve gotten personally has been positive, I’m sure there are those who don’t like the new schedule. If that’s the case, I want you to know that I’m sorry. There’s no way that I could come up with Sunday morning service times that would please everyone. But this wasn’t an arbitrary decision and it wasn’t a quick decision. 

So, on the weekend of September 7 and 8, we launch our new Sunday morning service schedule. At the same time, we will also be launching a new 5-week sermon series called, “Room for Doubt” (we’ll be doing “Room for Doubt” at all our IMPACT campuses as well). The series will begin with special guest, Mark Mittelberg, who will not just be teaching, but also receiving and answering specific questions related to the Christian faith (I’m copying Mark’s bio at the end of this blog). I’m asking you to do two things. First, support our new Sunday morning schedule. That basically means be willing to come to church a little earlier or a little later. And if that’s too difficult, think about attending on Saturday night at 6pm. Change is not unusual in a church like Mount Pleasant. But we’re not changing anything about who we are, what we believe or how we do ministry – we’re just changing the Sunday morning service times. Second, make a commitment to be at all 5 weeks of Room for Doubt. Here are the questions we’ll be addressing:

• Is Doubt Always Bad?
• Does God Really Exist?
• Isn’t the Bible Full of Myths and Mistakes?
• Why Do Christians Say That Jesus Is the Son of God?”
• Is It Intolerant to Say That Jesus Is the Only Way?”

I can’t think of a better time to invite your one life or anyone who has doubts and questions about spiritual things. This is a series that could change someone’s life for all eternity. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog (and don’t forget to read Mark Mittelberg’s bio below). I’m praying that this new Sunday morning service schedule will go smoothly and that great things happen in and through our church as the result of “Room for Doubt.” 

Jesus cares, 

Pastor Chris

Mark Mittelberg is a bestselling author, international speaker, and leading strategist in evangelism. His published materials include the Making Your Case for Christ training course, and The Case for Christ: Daily Moment of Truth devotional (both with Lee Strobel).

Mark also wrote Confident Faith — winner of Outreach Magazine's 2014 apologetics book of the year. His previous book, The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense, is an update of a classic that touched millions of lives — recreated by Mark for a new generation. He also wrote The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (with Answers), which addresses the ten spiritual questions believers most want to avoid. Prior to that Mark collaborated with Strobel to produce The Unexpected Adventure, a story-based book designed to encourage Christians to seize everyday opportunities to talk about Jesus.

Mark is also the primary author of the celebrated Becoming a Contagious Christian training course (with Lee Strobel). This course has been translated into more the twenty languages and has been used to help nearly two million people share Christ in natural ways. He also co-authored the Becoming a Contagious Christian book, followed by his leadership-oriented Becoming a Contagious Church, which presents an innovative blueprint for church-based evangelism.

In addition, Mark was contributing editor for the reference Bible, The Journey: Revealing God and How You Fit into His Plan, he was a contributor to Reasons for Faith, edited by Norman Geisler and Chad Meister, and God Is Great, God Is Good, edited by William Lane Craig and Chad Meister — and winner of the 2010 Christianity Today award for best book on apologetics. More recently he contributed to Sean McDowell’s books, A New Kind of Apologist and Sharing the Good News with Mormons. Mark’s published pieces have sold a total of some 3,000,000 copies.

Mark was the original evangelism director at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. He led in that role for seven years, and then served as Executive Vice President of the Willow Creek Association. He was also an editorial consultant and periodic guest for Lee Strobel’s television show, Faith Under Fire. He and Strobel have been ministry partners for more than thirty years.

After receiving an undergraduate degree in business, Mark earned an MA in Philosophy of Religion, graduating magna cum laude from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. He also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mark and Heidi live near Denver, Colorado, and are the parents of Emma Jean and Matthew, both of whom serve in fulltime ministry roles.

Our Vision Statement: To be a church that is locally focused and globally engaged, with an undeniable IMPACT for Christ.

This is the Vision Statement that I, and our elders wrote several years ago as the result of working with a Leadership Consultant. As we talked and prayed about what we wanted our church to look like we came to the consensus conclusion that we wanted to be a church that made an IMPACT on the world for Christ, both locally and globally. That was our vision. And we are living out this vision every single day. Several years ago, while attending a conference, I heard a speaker say, “One of the best ways to evaluate the effectiveness of your church is to ask the question: If my church were gone tomorrow, would anyone notice?” The answer to that question for Mount Pleasant is, “Absolutely!” Our church makes an undeniable IMPACT for Christ, every single day, both here in our community and around the world.   

Our Mission Statement: To change the world for Christ: one life, one family, one opportunity at a time.

If a Vision Statement describes the kind of church we want to be, a Mission statement describes how we get there. Simply stated, we try to make an IMPACT for Christ on every person and every family we meet, as well as through every opportunity that comes our way. We emphasize “one life and one family” because regardless of how large our church is, we want to do our best to have a personal ministry to people. Is that difficult, it absolutely is, but that’s our goal. We emphasize opportunity because sometimes, no matter how much we plan, God presents us with ministry opportunities that we didn’t expect. And those opportunities become, not just new ways to reach people and make an IMPACT, but a part of our vision as well. A good example would be the fact that we never had a vision for a Food and Clothing ministry. But through the persistence of a church member we began to explore that possibility and now we have the IMPACT Center on our campus that draws hundreds of people/families onto our campus each week, giving us the opportunity to share with them the love of Christ. And the success of our IMPACT Center has caused us to expand this ministry beyond our campus and community. Our first off-campus IMPACT ministry is taking place just south of downtown Indianapolis in the Old Southside neighborhood. We hired an IMPACT Old Southside Pastor (Jed Fuller) and purchased a building at 1431 S Meridian, Indianapolis (46225) and are getting ready to re-purpose that building to minister to that community and house a church. This is just the first of what we hope are several IMPACT ministries around the city. Once we identify communities in need we want to do three things. We want to LIVE in the community (Jed and his family live in the Old Southside community), LEARN about the community and we want to LOVE the community. This isn’t the traditional multi-site model embraced by most megachurches today, but it’s the model that we have embraced.

Our Strategies (What we do to stay focused on and live out our vision and mission):

• Compelling Weekend Worship
• Relational Discipleship (the ministry of small groups)
• Serving Others (across the street and around the world)
• Spiritual Influence *(to be introduced in August 2018)*

Our strategies reflect the things we promote for every member/attender in order to be the church that God has called us to be. We need people to be faithful in worship, to get connected to a small group (spiritual growth happens best in community), to serve in the ministries of the church (this service can happen weekly, monthly or beyond depending on you) and as I will be sharing with you in the future, we need our members/attenders to be committed to the kind of spiritual influence that can reach others with the message of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the church as the “body of Christ.” He says in verse 12, The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (NIV) The overriding message is that the church needs all its members working together to be healthy. Your faithful participation in the strategies that drive our vision and mission, as well as your faithful, consistent and generous financial support will enable us to be a part of a ministry much bigger than ourselves…a ministry that has the potential to change the world. Let’s embrace this vision and change the world!

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

In addition to our food and clothing ministry, we have also been able to use the IMPACT Center as a part of our IMPACT Chin ministry. The Chin people are refugees on the southside of Indianapolis who have come to the US from Myanmar because of religious persecution. We’ve had two groups of Chin believers worship in the IMPACT Center. Our first group has moved on to their own permanent church home after they grew from less than 100 to over 200, and our second group ended up outgrowing the IMPACT Center and now meet at 1:00 each Sunday in our Chapel (they also utilize some of our classroom space). At the current time we are talking with a new group of Chin believers about meeting in the IMPACT Center. We are also currently receiving bids to equip the main meeting room of the IMPACT Center with audio and video capabilities that will enhance our ministry on IMPACT Thursday and Saturday as well as make it a better space for church services.

All this to say, “What a great resource!” A few years ago when we were involved in our “God @ Work” campaign to raise money to build the IMPACT Center along with increased classrooms, parking and maintenance space many in our church family gave sacrificially to this need. Let me tell you that your giving opened the door to multiple ministry opportunities that are changing the world for folks right here in Central Indiana. As a result, there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think about the word IMPACT and how we can continue to grow as a church that is locally focused and globally engaged with an undeniable IMPACT for Christ.

Thankful for the power of IMPACT,

Pastor Chris

I have always had a vision for a church that provided multiple opportunities to reach and serve people. And while Mount Pleasant Christian Church is far from perfect (there’s no such thing as a perfect church), I’m seeing that happen each and every week. So let me encourage you to embrace that vision and that opportunity by making some important commitments for the remainder of this year. First, commit to faithfulness in worship. While we are a church that is involved in lots of ministry opportunities, our major focus continues to be our weekend services. The Bible encourages us in Hebrews 10:25, Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing… (NIV) I know you’ve got a busy life. I know weekends are filled with lots of options when it comes to your time. But I also know the great value of committing an hour and fifteen minutes to worship. Making that commitment is something you’ll never regret. Second, get connected through a Home Group and through regular service. Church was never intended to be a, “Just show up once a week” experience. We can’t live out the “one another” commands of the New Testament (love one another – serve one another – bear one another’s burdens – etc.) if we’re not “connected.” Get connected to a Home Group (you can even recruit your own Home Group) and say “yes” to the many opportunities to serve on a weekly or monthly basis. Third, Be faithful and consistent in your financial support. It takes money to do ministry – especially when your ministry is so focused on making an IMPACT both locally and globally. We operate on a fiscal year that runs from July 1 thru June 30 and we have begun the 2016/2017 fiscal year a little behind our budgeted needs. This isn’t unusual as lots of our church family are gone through June and July with vacation and lots of other activities. And I know that “back to school” always brings an extra expense to families with young children. But our financial commitments are continuous and we don’t want to fall behind. We’ve got operational costs to support the great campus God has blessed us with, a large staff (and families) to care for, and significant opportunities for IMPACT through the IMPACT Center (food & clothing) our IMPACT Chin ministry, local & global mission partners, and the list goes on.

So here’s my encouragement to you. Take some time today to thank God for the ministry of Mount Pleasant Christian Church (say that prayer right now - it really is incredible). Ask God’s blessing on the many ministry opportunities that are before us throughout the remainder of this year. Then be prayerful and thoughtful about your response to the three commitments I’ve shared. Be faithful in worship, get connected through community and service and give faithfully. I can tell you that one of the greatest decisions my wife Sandy and I have ever made, was the decision to be faithful, consistent and generous supporters of our local church. There has never been a moment when we regretted or fretted over this support. We have our weekly gift automatically taken from our account so it’s here even when we’re not. And I can tell you from years and years of firsthand experience, no matter how much we give, we can never out give God.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

One of the ministry opportunities we offer that I’m most excited about is our Financial Freedom Ministry. Simply stated, the purpose of this ministry is to provide Biblically based financial resources for our members (or anyone in need) to become excellent stewards (managers) of God’s money. Now, this is nothing new as good Biblically based financial stewardship has always been a part of our teaching at Mount Pleasant. But we’re “raising the bar” in what we’re able to offer to help you become a good steward. In addition to offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) at different times throughout the year, we’ve also begun to offer Dave Ramsey’s “Legacy Journey” which is a seven-week Biblically based class that teaches you how to live and leave a legacy for generations to come. But there’s even more. In addition to these classes, we now have three Dave Ramsey trained Financial Coaches to assist you with special questions and needs. These coaches will come alongside you to help you achieve your financial goals no matter where you are in your stewardship journey – whether you’re living paycheck to paycheck, saving for some special need like college for your children or planning for retirement. These “coaches” are not insurance specialists or brokers and they won’t try to push or sell any products. Their sole mission is to help equip you with practical advice and a Biblical toolbox to enable you to become financially free so you can fulfill God’s purpose for your life. Depending on your specific situation, they might recommend qualified professionals for you to consult with (tax attorney, estate planner, etc.), but you will be in control at all times. Our coaches will only make recommendations to you, the follow through is up to you. And this confidential service is being offered at no cost to you.

There’s no question that being financially free is God’s will for all of us. The Bible teaches us that everything belongs to God (Psalm 24:1, The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.) so when He entrusts something to us (like money), we need to follow His instruction and His guidelines for how it is handled.  That’s God’s expectation. And God knows how easy and how dangerous it is to lose the right attitude or perspective about money. That’s why Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:10, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (NIV) Don’t make the mistake of being a slave to money. Use however much or little God has entrusted to you for His glory. We can help you do that through the Financial Freedom Ministry.

If you’d like to take advantage of this ministry, then just contact Don Vandoski at 317-513-5859 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday (please respect those times). He will confidentially discuss your situation and connect you with one of our coaches. You can also learn more about this ministry by clicking here. Don’t keep putting off taking steps toward financial freedom…act now.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Centuries ago John Fawcett was the pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England. Since he was a talented and dynamic preacher, he received an offer to be the pastor of a large, affluent church in London. It was a great opportunity, but it presented a problem: He dearly loved the congregation in Wainsgate, and it was killing him to leave. After he and his wife had packed away all their belongings, members of the church came to see them off. During their goodbyes, Mary Fawcett said to her husband, "John, I cannot bear to leave!" He thought for a moment and said, "Neither can I. And so we won't. This is our home, these are our people and this is where we will stay." John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry serving this one church. Shortly after making this decision, he wrote these words...

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
That's the verse everyone knows. Here's one of the other verses.
We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.
This song reminds me of an immutable truth in the church, whether you’re talking about yesterday or today…we need community…we need each other.

Fall break is over and I hope that everyone who was able to get away had a fun and restful vacation. This two-week break (just like spring break) has an impact on three weekends of worship and always puts a dent in our momentum. So my hope, and my strong encouragement, is that as we move into the end of the year we will commit (or re-commit) ourselves to faithfulness in worship, growth and service. That’s something that can begin as early as this weekend as we kick off our annual stewardship series with the first of four messages called “The New ABC’s of Financial Freedom.” I hope you picked up your free copy of the book and, if you’re in a Home Group, I hope you’ve purchased your workbook (the cost is only $5). This series isn’t something that’s focused primarily on giving but on what it means to be a good steward with all the resources God has entrusted to us. We’ll be talking about some very important financial issues that impact our lives every day.

So, to those who’ve been gone, “Welcome back.” And to all of us, “Let’s get focused on faithfulness.”

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Now I don’t want to be misleading in any way. I’m not routinely involved with doing things that would fall into the category of the impossible…not in the strictest sense of the word. But sometimes the things I need to do feel impossible. But whether the task is impossible or simply feels impossible the solution is the same. Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible. In other words, do what must be done then do what can be done. And eventually you’ll look back and see that you’ve accomplished more than you ever imagined.

So much of success in life is wrapped up in an attitude that says, “I’m not going to give up…I’m not going to quit.” That has always been and will always be the key to success in life. And so that’s how we need to approach each day in life. In Psalm 90:12 David writes, So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Now, I don’t believe David is writing about counting our days, he’s writing about making our days count. How do we do that? The answer is by doing something. We get up every morning and whatever it is that’s in front of us we start by doing what’s necessary, then we do what’s possible and in the end we find we are doing the impossible (or what once seemed impossible). How do you think Noah built the ark? How did Nehemiah rebuild the walls of the City of Jerusalem? The answer is one day at a time…one board, one stone at a time. We make our days count when we do what’s necessary, then do what’s possible and end up doing the impossible.

Jesus Cares,

Pastor Chris

Greetings in the name of Christ, I wanted to take a minute to write and share some important information with you. 

At Mount Pleasant Christian Church we operate on a fiscal year that runs from July 1 to June 30. That means we’re just a little more than 2 months into the 2014/2015 fiscal year. Because the fiscal year starts in the middle of the summer we always start a little slow with our giving and this year has been no different. Financially we are in very good shape with regard to our income verses expenses but after the first 10 weeks of the fiscal year we are $122,218.45 behind in our general fund giving. Now, again, because of the way we manage God’s money we are not in any trouble with regard to our income verses expenses. However, if we continue at this pace it will ultimately effect our ministry commitments on some level. So I’m writing, first, to inform you and second, to challenge you to help us remove this deficit so our ability to operate our local ministry and support our global partners will not be in jeopardy. I am deeply thankful for all the generous people who support the ministry of MPCC and I trust that God will continue to provide-but sometimes we just need to be reminded of the need. 

One of the best things Sandy and I have ever done with regard to our stewardship is make our giving automatic. I’m out of the pulpit anywhere from 8 to 12 weekends a year but we continue to give every weekend even when we’re gone. You can learn more about that by contacting the church and asking for information. Our online giving is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just log onto www.mpcc.info to learn more. And, as you know, each week we have a time of offering in each of our services. 

Thanks in advance for your help in removing this deficit. Please continue to pray each day for the ministry and impact of Mount Pleasant Christian Church both locally and globally as we strive to change the world one life, one family, one opportunity at a time.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

I love this story. Maybe it’s because I just celebrated my birthday, but I don’t think so. I love this story because it reminds me that most of our limitations in life are self-imposed. You don’t find any verses in the Bible where God says you’re too young, too old, too weak, too poor, too uneducated or too anything to be used by Him. The reason why is because there are certain qualities that trump all the limitations you can imagine. One of them is faith and one of them is a willingness to suit up and give something a try. That’s what Mike Flynt did.

Recently I was reading through Acts 2, and the miraculous event that happened on the Day of Pentecost that ushered in the beginning of the New Testament Church. When the people who were witnesses to that event were trying to figure it out the Apostle Peter stood up and gave an explanation that was based on some prophetic words spoken years earlier by the prophet Joel. The prophecy described things that would happen in the last days and one of the statements (Acts 2:17) was, Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. (NIV) Now, I don’t want to be guilty of misusing this verse of Scripture but I just love the idea of old men dreaming dreams. The Bible is filled with story after story of God using people with lots of years (uh, I mean experience) to accomplish His will and His purpose in the world. There’s no reason why you can’t be one of them.

Psalm 92:12-14 says, The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. (NIV) You’re never too old to bear fruit for God, not if you live by faith and you’re willing to suit up and give something a try. So decide today to never let the number of candles on your birthday cake keep you from dreaming big dreams and pursuing whatever challenge, opportunity, desire or interest comes your way.

Jesus Cares,

Pastor Chris

In 1912, a marathon runner named Shizo Kanakuri was chosen to represent Japan in the Summer Olympics at Stockholm. He began the race but along the way was overcome by the heat so he stopped at, of all things, a garden party for refreshment. But he stayed too long – more than an hour. At that point he thought it was too late to get back in the race so he made his way back to his hotel and then, anonymously, boarded a ship and sailed home, too ashamed to tell anyone he was leaving. For more than 50 years his disappearance was a mystery and he was listed as a missing person in Sweden. Then, one day, he was discovered living a quiet life in southern Japan. In 1966 the Swedish Public Television network called him with an offer: Would you like to finish your run? The 85- year- old Kanakuri accepted, and he traveled to Stockholm to finish the race he had begun so many years before. This time he crossed the finish line. His final time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds. His story and Paul’s words remind us that our reward is not found in starting the race, our reward is found in finishing.

So here’s the question: Is there something you have started but have failed to finish? It’s never too late and you’re never too old to get back in the race. Start running today, the finish line is still there.

Jesus Cares,

Pastor Chris

Galatians 6:9 is my life verse because it has always reminded me that no matter how I’m feeling, no matter how discouraged I might be, no matter how many challenges I am facing it’s always too soon to quit. And it reminds me that God always has a “proper time” for the events in my life. Now, if I’m going to be honest I will have to tell you that there have been more than a few times when what Paul calls the “proper time” took longer to arrive than I wanted. There have even been times when it felt like it would never arrive. But it’s in those moments when we really need to dig in and make the determination to persevere because it’s always too soon to quit.


B.C. Forbes once wrote, "History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats." Here’s what I’ve learned over 34 years of ministry in a small church, in a turnaround church and in a megachurch: Ministry consists of overcoming one defeat after another. That’s true of the Christian life as well. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that, as Christians, we are in a spiritual battle every day with an enemy who wants nothing more than to destroy our lives. And oftentimes he accomplishes that goal by causing us to get so tired or so discouraged or so frustrated that we just quit. But quitting is never the right choice. We may struggle at times, we may get stuck, we may lose a little ground but it’s in those moments that we need to remember: It’s always too soon to quit.

So wherever you are and whatever you’re facing in your life today, just remember, God has a “proper time” for you to reap a harvest. And you will discover it…I promise…if you just remember that it’s always too soon to quit.

Jesus Cares,
Pastor Chris

Just consider the following: Philippians 1:12, Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. (NIV) Philippians 1:14, Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. (NIV) Philippians 1:19, For I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. (NIV) Philippians 1:21, For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (NIV) Paul could have spent his time in jail feeling sorry for himself…who could blame him. He could have embraced a negative “woe is me…there’s no hope for tomorrow” attitude. But that’s not what he did. Instead, he focused on the good things that were happening in spite of his circumstance because he was convinced that God is good.

Sadly, pessimism comes naturally to most people. Because of that, we need to make the decision each and every day to choose optimism. If Paul could be an optimist in a Roman jail, then why can’t you and I choose optimism in our daily lives? Don’t let the negative things that are happening today, no matter how big or how small, keep you from believing the best about tomorrow. Larry Elder once wrote, “Optimism, it’s not just a mind-set, it’s a behavior.” Let’s all decide that we will behave, each and every day…regardless of our immediate circumstance like we serve a God who works all things for our good and His glory.

Jesus Cares,
Pastor Chris

I hope this email finds you doing well and enjoying the fall weather. I wanted to take a minute to write about a new sermon series that begins this weekend. The series is called "Simply - Generously - Joyfully" from I Timothy 6:17-19. In this series we'll be talking, once again, about what the Bible says with regard to money. Talking about financial stewardship (money management) is one of my favorite things to do for a couple of different reasons: First, because the Bible has so much to say about money and second, because money can be a dangerous thing when not understood and managed from a biblical perspective. In fact Paul says that the pursuit of money can cause people to "wander from the faith and pierce themselves with many griefs" (I Timothy 6:10). That's why I believe talking about money is one of the most important things we do each year.

One very important part of this years teaching on money will be the challenge for everyone in the church to bring the "whole tithe into the storehouse (church)" on the final weekend of the series (November 16/17). We did this last year as a part of our series "30 Days to a more Generous Life" and it was a great blessing to everyone who participated as well as the church. This will be a critical part of this years series because we are currently a little over $40,000 behind our weekly budgeted need to cover our operating needs as well as our debt retirement. At the beginning of October we were operating in the black then the two weeks of Fall Break came. Those two weeks affected three weekends of offering leaving us with our current deficit. I'm confident that we will be able to make up this need but not apart from your help. So, if you've been gone for one or more of the past three weekends then make sure you "catch up" with regard to your giving and make plans now to bring the "whole tithe into the storehouse" on November 16/17.

We've got some exciting ministry opportunities coming in the last two months of the year. Let's make sure that none of them are compromised by a lack of financial resources. I'm very thankful for the many generous people here at Mount Pleasant and I know we'll more than meet this current need.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

I want to remind you of a very special event coming up this Saturday, September 14th, at 7:30 in the Student Ministries Center.  We will be having a "Meet the New Youth Pastor" reception as Matt Pineda, our new Senior High Youth Pastor, and his wife Shelby will be joining us for an informal meet and greet.  This reception is open to anyone who would like to attend but I'm especially encouraging all our families with Senior High students to plan on being involved.  After much prayer and an extensive search I genuinely believe God led me to the exact person we need to lead this ministry.  We have everything we need to build a dynamic Senior High Student Ministry in place but we can't do it alone…Matt can't do it alone.  We need your help and your support.  So here's what I'm asking.  Come to the meet and greet reception this Saturday night, encourage…ask your high school student(s) to come and get in on the ground floor of what God is about to do here at Mount Pleasant, be willing to use the influence you have with your kids and other kids to promote our student ministry.

We live in a world where people's first question is often, "What's in it for me?"  The church should be different.  In the church we should ask, "What can I give" or "How can I help."  This is an opportunity to ask those questions.  We need your support and we need your kids participation to create a dynamic Senior High Student Ministry.  So I'm asking you for your help.  

I look forward to seeing you this Saturday night,

Pastor Chris

First, it's been a very busy summer.  We've already had Family V.B.S., two mission trips (one to Mexico and one to Poland), several sports and youth camps run through the CLC, Summer Fun Days through our Pre-School and just this morning our 7th & 8th graders left on a charter bus to Knoxville for the CIY Mix Conference.  Next week our Sr. High kids will be headed to Holland, MI for the CIY Move Conference and later in the month well over a hundred of our elementary aged kids will enjoy a week of church camp just down the road at Camp Allendale.  In addition we've got another mission trip planned for Mexico.  This is always a busy time. 

I've been spending a lot of time trying to fill a couple of open staff positions as well as find someone for a newly created position.  I'm excited to announce that Matt Goodpaster, our CLC Director, is going to be moving into the role of Church Administrator.  In this role Matt will assist me by overseeing the day-to-day operations of the church. In addition, he will continue to have oversight of the CLC through the existing staff.  Please pray for Matt as he begins this new role effective July 1st.  I continue to search for a new Senior High Youth Pastor.  This has proved to be more difficult than I first thought but I'm confident that the right man is out there.  Pray for God's leading in this effort.  Also, I have created a new position on staff that I am simply calling the "Serve" Pastor.  The Serve Pastor will have oversight of all our local and global missions.  This will include providing oversight to the current staff that runs our food and clothing ministries.  Please pray that God will provide the right individuals to fill these roles. 

The God@Work expansion plan is moving forward and I am anticipating being able to utilize the new space anywhere from the first of August to the middle of September.  Our God@Work offering is over one million dollars and there are still monies that have been pledged but not received.  I continue to be extremely grateful for the generosity of the Mount Pleasant family.

As of the writing of this, we have 8 more weeks left in The Story (we'll be taking a break this week for our Patriotic Service and another break on August 3/4 for our Back to School weekend). What a great study this has been as each and every week someone shares with me a personal testimony of how this study has created an even deeper desire in their life to study and know the Bible.  I've been thrilled with the way this has worked out and I'm already growing in my excitement for our next study called "What If?" (watch and listen for more information).

Finally, I know it's the middle of the summer and everyone is busy but don't forget about the ongoing need to be faithful in your worship, your service and your giving.  This past weekend our offering was down over $20,000 from our normal budgeted need.  That's not unusual for this time of year but it can create some difficulty bouncing back.  Don't forget that there are more giving options available to you than just the offering bag that's passed each weekend.  With automatic ACH deposits and online giving you can support the church financially even when you're not here.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.  And thanks for being such a great church.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

At the current time I am working hard to find a new Senior High Youth Pastor. I want to fill this position as quickly as possible but I am committed to taking as much time as necessary to find the right guy. In the mean time I need you to do two things. First, will you commit to praying earnestly, each and every day, that God would provide the right man for this need. We need someone who has the passion, the energy, the personality and the commitment to rebuild this ministry. I’m prayerfully seeking that person but I could use your prayers as well. Second, if you've got high school students or you know high school students would you encourage them to support this ministry? The simple truth is I need the parents and adults at Mount Pleasant to “leverage” their influence to help rebuild this ministry. I need your help. I need you to view this as an opportunity to help your kids or the kids you know learn that church is a place that’s supposed to be different from the rest of the world because church is a place where our primary focus is not what we get but what we give. I've written about this before. In fact, here’s a link to a blog entry simply called “Youth Group.” http://mpcc-front-porch.blogspot.com/2011/08/youth-group.html

So this is my personal request because I need your help. I am committed to a strong Student Ministry here at Mount Pleasant. We have a state-of-the-art Student Ministry Center and we are committed to providing funding through our annual budget. But I need your help. I need your prayers, I need your influence and I need your support.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

As we approach our special one-time God @ Work offering on the weekend of April 20/21, I am mindful of the fact that Mount Pleasant is a generous church. Now I’m sure there are plenty of folks who need to grow in the area of stewardship and generosity and that our week-to-week giving could be stronger, but the bottom line is, our church is a generous church. So, following the example of the apostle Paul, I want to encourage you to strengthen this strength by being willing to generously support this special offering.

God is at work at Mount Pleasant Christian Church all you have to do is look and listen to know that’s true. The additional parking spaces have been needed for a long time and have been a huge blessing as our attendance is currently up 12% over this same time last year. We’ve also needed a maintenance building for some time as our campus now includes over 70 acres of property and nearly 200,000 sq. ft. of building space. Our commitment to develop what we are calling a plan for “focused discipleship” has created the need for additional education space. And the sheer numbers of people who are coming to us for basic necessities like food and clothing have created the need for our new Community Ministry Center. And speaking of the Community Ministry Center, how exciting will it be to open this facility and expand our partnership with Midwest Food Bank by becoming a Super-Pantry for the south side of Indianapolis. Because of this building even more people will come to us for food and clothes. And in addition to that, we will be able to resource smaller food pantries in the surrounding area. All of this will give us many more opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with people in need. 

So let me encourage you, once again, to strengthen the strength of giving by being generous in this special one-time God @ Work offering. Be willing to trust God and give over and above your regular giving on this one weekend to contribute to meeting the needs that God has created at MPCC. Give generously, give sacrificially and give joyfully. If you have a non-cash gift we can put you in touch with someone who will help you convert that to cash. Pray for God’s leading and God’s provision in this offering. Every dollar we receive is a dollar that we don’t have to borrow and that means more money for ministry. So strengthen the strength of generosity! 

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Father Damien was not careful about keeping his distance. He did nothing to separate himself from his people. He dipped his fingers in the “poi” bowl along with the patients. He shared his pipe. He did not always wash his hands after bandaging open sores. He got close. For this the people loved him.

Then one day he stood up and began his sermon with two words: “We lepers…”

Now he wasn’t just helping them. Now he was one of them. From this day forward, he wasn’t just on the island; he was in their skin. First he had chosen to live as they lived; now he would die as they died. Now they were in it together.

There’s a sense in which the Christmas story could be told like this: One day God came to earth and began his message: “We lepers…” God didn’t come to into the world in the person of Jesus just to help us…he came into the world to become one of us. When Jesus was born God was in our skin. That’s the miracle of Christmas.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Story taken from John Ortberg’s book, God Is Closer Than You Think

I want you to know that it took me a long time to choose this new series because it’s not something that I normally do. I say that because The Story is a sermon series resource that comes from Zondervan Publishers and I almost never use these kinds of resources. But I’m making an exception for some very specific reasons. First, I believe there’s great value in helping people understand the connectedness of the Bible. I think this will be beneficial for anyone regardless of where they are in their personal spiritual development. Second, I believe that we can use The Story as a tremendous evangelism tool. All of us know someone who not only doesn’t know or understand the Bible but believes it’s a book that is too difficult to know or understand. I’m praying that we will invite these folks to come and be a part of this series so they can begin to see the Bible in a whole new light. Third, regardless of how familiar you may be with the Bible, there will be great encouragement that comes from being reminded of how God has revealed Himself and His plan through the pages of His Word.

Now, I feel like I need to share a couple of disclaimers with you before we begin. First, while this will be the longest series that I have ever done at MPCC (32 weeks) there’s no way that we can go verse-by-verse through the entire Bible in 32 weeks. There will be times when we cover significant portions of the Bible in a single weekend. And there will be times when all I’ll be able to do is give a summary or overview of significant portions of the Bible. The emphasis will be connecting God’s overall story from beginning to end. Having said that, though, you need to know that Andrew and I will be writing our own original messages and our goal will be to bring as much depth as possible to each sermon (Andrew has actually already started working on the first sermons as I continue to focus on the remaining weekends in 2012). We will not be preaching sermons that we purchased with The Story resource kit. Second, Zondervan has published some resources to go along with The Story. Two of them are The Story Bible and a companion Study Guide. We won’t be using either one of these resources. We will, however, be selling in The Resource Center, a book called “The Heart of the Story” which is like a devotional guide that follows along with the sermons. Our goal in this series is to help people understand the connectedness of the Bible in a way that leads to a deeper faith in God and a deeper desire to dig into the truth of His Word.

I hope that you are praying about someone you can invite to discover God’s love and His ultimate plan of redemption through a better understanding of the Bible. I’m praying that God will use this new series to capture, to teach and to inspire all of us to a greater desire to study and know His Word…His story.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

As we move into this holiday season I want to take a minute to be specifically thankful for the great opportunity that God has given us at Mount Pleasant to literally be involved in ministry that changes the world one life, one family, one opportunity at a time.  Whether we’re talking about the lives and families that are changed right here in Greenwood and the Southside of Indianapolis through the many ministries/outreaches of our church or the lives that are changed in different corners of the world like India, Poland, Mexico, Russia, China, Canada, Romania and Africa.  Just this past week we participated in a celebration of 30 years of ministry at CICM (Central India Christian Mission) where Ajai and Indu Lall and their family have been our living link partners for many years.  During the past 30 years over 1,000 churches have been planted and on any given Sunday over 250,000 people gather to worship as a result of this mission (and that’s just one aspect of the mission).  God has used our partnership to help make this happen.  .  In addition we are currently involved in new church plants in both Canada and Poland. We are always looking for new opportunities to expand our ministry and witness around the world.

While we are full of thanks to God for the great work He is doing abroad, we are also very grateful for the work He has chosen to do through Mount Pleasant Christian Church right here in our own community.   Locally we have entered into a very special “God At Work” expansion plan that will add 185 parking spaces to our main campus; build a new Community Ministry Center for our food and clothing ministries; add 11 adult classrooms to enhance our new plan for “focused discipleship” called The Journey, and build a maintenance building

One of the ways we can demonstrate the reality of our thankfulness is through a special weekend offering scheduled for the weekend of April 20/21, 2013. (Note: We had originally targeted one week earlier, but this date has been changed for scheduling purposes.)   We will use this offering to help offset the cost of this God At Work expansion plan.  I know that this is a busy time of year but I want to encourage you to take time to be thankful for the ministry of Mount Pleasant Christian Church and begin to pray and plan for your participation in this special offering.  This offering is about so much more than just covering a cost; it’s about saying “yes” to our continuing mission to change the world one life, one family, one opportunity at a time.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of local assemblies (another name for church). This is clear from the ministry of the Apostle Paul as he established local congregations in the cities where he preached the gospel (see the Book of Acts). In addition, Hebrews 10:24-25 not only commands every believer to be a part of such a local body but also reveals why this is necessary. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (NIV) It’s in the local body where we find the intimacy that is required to spur one another on "to love and good deeds." And it’s in this setting that we can encourage one another.

Here’s another thing. The New Testament teaches that every believer is to be under the protection and nurture of the leadership of the local assembly/church. These godly men shepherd believers by encouraging, admonishing, and teaching them and by providing accountability. Hebrews 13:7 says, Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (NIV) Hebrews 13:17 says, Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as ones who must give an account. Do this so their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. (NIV) This is something that should be noted by Christians who show more loyalty to various para-church ministries, Bible studies and Bible Clubs than to the local church. Those kinds of “ministries” don’t have the same God ordained structure as the local church. And if this were not enough, Paul gave Timothy special instructions about “public meetings” (another name for church) when he wrote in I Timothy 4 :13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (NIV) This is exactly what happens at MPCC every Saturday night and Sunday morning, we read the Scriptures and then give an explanation and application.

But perhaps the best example of the importance of the local church comes from Acts 2:42 where we see exactly what the first church did when they met together. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (NIV) In the New Testament church the believers gathered so they could learn God's Word and how it impacted their lives. They gathered, not only to learn, but also to carry out acts of love and service to one another. And when they gathered they commemorated the Lord's death and resurrection through the breaking of bread; and they prayed. Of course, we can do these things individually, but God has called us…given us the privilege of doing them through the local church. In Acts 2:42 it was the local church in Jerusalem.

Here’s the bottom line, active participation in the local church is imperative to living a life without compromise because it’s through the ministry of the local church that a believer can receive the kind of teaching, accountability, and encouragement that is necessary for him to stand firm in his convictions. God has ordained that the church provide the kind of environment where an uncompromising life can thrive. And at Mount Pleasant Christian Church it all begins with a commitment to one hour and fifteen minutes.

Pastor Chris

There are several things that bother me about this past weekend (and others like it). I don’t have the time to go into all of them and, while I’m not the smartest guy in the world (it’s probably not smart to write such an honest blog), I’m smart enough to know that some of the things I could write would not be well received. But the thing that bothers me the most about this past weekend is that there are so many Christians, in this church and other churches across our country, who can’t find an hour and fifteen minutes to devote to worship (in some churches it’s even less time than that). There are 168 hours in a week and a worship service at MPCC lasts for one hour and fifteen minutes…one hour and fifteen minutes. One hour and fifteen minutes to join together with other believers to do nothing but worship a God who devotes every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year to caring for us. One hour and fifteen minutes to live out the command of Hebrews 10:25, Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (NIV)

Is there anyone besides me (if there’s even anyone still reading) who is concerned about this? Is there anyone besides me who is concerned that our culture has become so secular that Christians - not non-Christians, not “seekers,” not the “curious,” but Christians can’t find an hour and fifteen minutes for corporate worship? NOTE: The word “secular,” by definition means “pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual or sacred.” Is there anyone besides me who is concerned that we’re raising an entire generation of children who may never recognize the value and importance of weekly worship because the secular culture they grew up in made Sunday, a day that was once clearly devoted to worship, a day that is now, for many, clearly devoted to purely secular pursuits? Is there anyone besides me who is concerned that Christian parents, Christians who volunteer their time as coaches or leaders in a variety of secular pursuits, Christian teachers, I could go on and on, often don’t seem to see a problem here? Is there any one besides me who is concerned that so many Christians, who can’t find one hour and fifteen minutes for church, are substituting different para-church organizations or Christian clubs for the local church that was established, by God, with a God ordained and God designed pattern for leadership, accountability and mutual ministry? Is there any one besides me…(I better stop)?

This weekend I’m going to do the same thing I’ve done every weekend of my life – I’m going to go to church. I’m going to preach on Saturday night and Sunday morning like it’s my last sermon. I’m going to come back to church on Sunday night for “A Night of Worship and Praise” and I’m going let that experience with my brothers and sisters who are present, carry me into the presence of God in a powerful way. But today I’m going to go home with a heavy and troubled and disappointed heart because there seems to be, with every passing year, such little regard for one hour and fifteen minutes.

One hour and fifteen minutes.

Pastor Chris

No one knows the real value of waiting more than God. Richard Foster in his classic, Celebration of Discipline” wrote, Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” That’s exactly what God wants for us, He wants us to be deep people. And waiting is one of the best ways for that to happen when we are able to wait in faith. But waiting in faith is not something that comes naturally to most people. Instead, worry often takes center stage and captivates our lives. But as one of my favorite preachers and authors says, “The difference between waiting and worrying is focus.” When our focus is on God then worry begins to disappear.

My Dr. reiterated to me today that the expectation is the PET scan will be clear. I love that about him, he has been positive and optimistic during the entire time I have seen him. If that’s the case I’ll have another scan 6 months later which means…more waiting. My prayer is that I’m going to get better at it as time goes by. One of the things that I will do to try and help make that happen is read the first two verses of Psalm 62 over and over again. My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. If waiting is a struggle for you then join me in this reading. And pray for me…I’ll be praying for you.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Now I know better than anyone that I’ve still got a long way to go until real normalcy returns.  I’ve got Dr.’s appointments and I’ve got a date with a PET scan that will tell me if the treatments were successful and the cancer is gone.  But I’m enjoying the ability to “live in the moment” which is something that all of us needs to do regardless of our circumstance.  And one of the most important aspects of living in the moment is making sure you let the people who are closest to you know how much you love and appreciate them. 

In the movie Love Actually, Hugh Grants character says in the introduction, “When the planes hit the twin towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge.  They were all messages of love.”  We should think about that for a minute.  I think everyone would agree that there’s something about difficulty and tragedy that causes you to see and understand what really matters.  That’s something that we know but often forget.  I can think of a lot of things that seemed really important to me before my diagnosis that seem of little consequence today.  What does seem important to me is making sure that the people in my life know how much I love them…how much I value them…how empty my life would be without them.  That’s something I don’t ever want to lose sight of. 

I think we can see that the apostle Paul understood how important this is when he writes things like, I thank God every time I think of you, in Philippians 1:3.  That’s just one example…his New Testament writings are filled with these kinds of words. 

If you take the time to listen you will find that most people don’t have any problem telling you how they feel about things like politics or sports or any number of other worldly things.  But how much time do we spend making sure we tell other people what we think and how we feel about them?  That has become a renewed priority for me and I hope it will become a one for you as well.  Who do you need to talk to today?  Who do you need to write a note or send a card to today?  Who needs to hear, “I love you” or “I thank God for you” or “I don’t know where I’d be without you?” from you today?  Don’t wait for some kind of trial or tragedy to remind you how important this is…do it today!

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

P.S. Please continue to keep me in your prayers.  I continue to make great progress in my healing from the treatments.  I’m taking all my “food” by mouth now and not using my feeding tube.  In fact, last night when we were “flushing” the tube it actually came out of my stomach on its own.  My mouth and throat aren’t completely healed and so I’m limited in what I can eat but I’m making progress.  Please continue to pray for my mouth and throat to heal and please continue to pray that my follow-up PET scan (yet to be scheduled) will show that the treatments worked and the cancer is gone.  I love and appreciate all of you and am so thankful for your encouragement and prayers.  I thank God every time I think of you! 

From the beginning of my journey battling the cancer in my throat and neck my Dr.’s talked to me about the importance of having a positive attitude.  I like to think that I’ve been able to live up to that advice for the past 10 weeks but the truth is there have been times…there have been moments when I have really battled with anxiety and fear.  But each time that has happened I have been able, eventually, to remember that Satan deals in anxiety and fear and because of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, Satan has no power over me.  Each time I have reminded myself that Satan hates to hear the name of Jesus, the Word of God and the truth about Jesus’ death on the cross that rendered him powerless.  So I have reminded him of those things and moved on.  It wasn’t always easy, but it was always right. 

Another positive thing is the way my wife, Sandy, has been able to remind me that from the very beginning when my Dr.’s all told me that this cancer was very treatable and curable, everything they have said to me has been positive.  That continues to be the case and so that’s what I need to remember.  The latest example happened today when I saw my Radiology Oncologist and he was just amazed at where I was in the recovery process.  He told me that I still had a lot of healing to do in my mouth and throat but that he was just amazed at how I looked and my level of energy.  At one point he called me his “miracle patient” and said that I was an encouragement to him and his staff.  They all know that I’ve got thousands of people praying for me and they acknowledged that power in my recovery. 

So here I am a little more than two weeks out from my treatment and I’m doing really well. I’ve been getting out and doing a variety of different things and I’m getting more and more anxious to return to church.  Tomorrow morning (Sat/10^th) Sandy, Tricia and I and a friend are heading south for a few days.  We’ll be in the Savannah, GA – Hilton Head, S.C. area. We’ll visit my brother and his family, walk on the beach and I’m hoping to hit some golf balls. We’re all looking forward to the trip.  Please continue to pray for me and my family.  This week I’ve begun (slowly) to try and eat and it is a real challenge.  But I’ve already overcome some huge challenges so there’s no reason to believe that I can’t do this. 

As always I want you to know how much I love you and how much your encouragement and prayers have meant to me.  I know I wouldn’t be doing as well as I am today without you. Because of that I’ll close this blog with a new list of prayer requests as well as some ongoing.

1. The complete destruction and eradication of the cancer in my neck and throat (still several weeks away from a follow-up PET scan).
2. The ability to transition from the feeding tube to being able to eat by mouth (there’s no timetable pressure here but I’ll be glad when the feeding tube can be removed).
3. The ability to produce saliva (the radiation has really burned up my saliva glands…some will return…some may not).
4. The return of my taste buds (my Dr. told me this could take a long time but then he followed that up by saying, “But you’re doing so well, who knows?”).
5. Safe travel to Savannah and back.

See you soon,

Pastor Chris

I’m sorry I haven’t been too active with my blog or tweets or facebook posts lately. The last few weeks of treatment have been hard and my prayer has just been, “Lord, give me the strength to make it through the day.” Please don’t think I’ve forgotten about you. I haven’t even had much contact with my family and closest friends. I can’t talk for very long so that eliminates the phone and I just haven’t had the energy to get online. But I woke up today ready to move forward. Now, I don’t know exactly what that will look like because God is in charge of the healing, I just know that I’m ready. My Dr.’s have told me that the next significant thing to happen is a second PET scan to determine the result of the treatments. My ENT Dr. told me that this could not be scheduled until my mouth, tongue and throat have healed so there can be a clear “canvas” so to speak for the scan. No two people heal the same so this can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks. The Dr.’s also told me that it would probably take a few weeks before I start to really feel better. So here’s my request for all of you, please pray with me that the healing process would begin and would go as quickly as possible. I’m not going to try and rush things, I just want to feel better and get on with my life.

As always our prayer needs to be that the combination of chemotherapy and radiation has completely destroyed and eradicated the cancer from my neck and my throat. My Dr.’s tell me they are very pleased with what they see but the PET scan will be the test that give us the results. Please continue to pray for me and my family that our spirits and attitudes will stay as upbeat and positive as possible. Our enemy the devil likes to creep in and sow negative fearful thoughts and sometimes it’s hard not to listen. So I need my church family to surround my family with a hedge of prayer and protection.

I want you to know how much I love and miss you all. Not being able to be in church, see your faces, sing God’s praise, and preach His Word has been so difficult. But I’m thankful for the faithfulness that you have demonstrated during my absence. And I’m very grateful to Andrew, my brother Kenneth and now our interim preacher, John Russell for filling in for me. And I can’t tell you how proud I am of our entire staff led by our Executive Pastor, Alan Baumlein, as they have continued to lead the ministry of the church. And I want to thank our Elders for their love and support of me and my family. I hope that we all recognize just how special Mount Pleasant is and how much God has blessed us. I love this church!

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

If you walk into the doors of the Cancer Center than no doubt you’re going through a difficult time in your life.  But when difficult times come we need to remember that the Bible teaches us that there are certain things that we need to hang on to in order to make it through.  One great example is found in Psalm 20.  Let me just list them for you.

1. Hang on to your hope. Psalm 20:1 says, May the Lord answer you when you are in distress (trouble); may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. (NIV)  In verse 5, he writes, May we shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God (those banners should say “Great Joy!”).  When you’re in a difficult time in your life you need to remind yourself that while things are ugly now,  God is going to see you through
2. Hang on to your commitments. Psalm 20:3 says, May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.  (NIV)  Oftentimes when we are in a time of difficulty we are tempted to stop everything we’re doing or at least put it on hold until things turn around.  But when you stop being faithful to God (in worship – in service – in giving) it’s almost like you’re saying, “This isn’t working…I’m not getting my money’s worth for all that I’m contributing, if I were I wouldn’t be going through this difficult time.”  But that’s not how it works.  We need to hang on to our commitments even in difficult times because God continues to see our faithfulness and He won’t forget.  Hebrews 6:10 says, For God is not unjust.  He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers as you still do.  (NIV)  NOTE: I’ve been thrilled at the attendance and the giving that have taken place over the past three weeks while I have been in treatment.  Thank you, church family, for hanging on to your commitments in this difficult time for all of us.
3. Hang on to your dreams. Psalm 20:4 says, May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.  (NIV)  When I was first diagnosed with this cancer I have to be honest and say I had thoughts that I might not ever be able to preach and lead the church again.  I don’t have those thoughts anymore.  Instead, I look forward to coming back and being a better preacher and leader than ever before.  That’s my hearts desire.
4. Hang on to your prayers. Psalm 20:5b says, May the Lord grant all your requests.  (NIV)  God wants to answer our prayers so we need to continue to pray.  What a blessing it is to know that so many people, all over the world, are praying for me.  And my encouragement is to be persistent in those prayers.
5. Hang on to your priorities. Psalm 20:7 says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  (NIV)  There’s nothing like walking through a difficult experience to help you see exactly where your priorities need to be.  As Christians, our priority is the Sovereign God who created and sustains all things.  Every other choice falls short. 

Thank you all for your continued love and support.  Thank you for your faithfulness to the ministry of Mount Pleasant Christian Church.  And thank you for praying for me each and every day.  I love you and miss you and look forward to the day I will be back in the pulpit.  Here are some updated prayer requests:

1. Pray that my pain meds will ease the discomfort in my throat that’s only going to get worse over the next few weeks (this is a big deal when I try to sleep).
2. Pray that I maintain a satisfactory weight. Right now I’ve lost about eight pounds.  I’m told that those who lose the least amount of weight do the best.
3. Pray the radiation that my thyroid is receiving as a part of the overall treatment will not do any permanent damage.
4. Pray for me to have the strength to meet this challenge one day at a time.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

I never went to youth group with anyone who went to the same high school as me. In Tulsa, we drove all the way across town to go to church because of a long family connection. In Houston, I didn’t live in the same school district where the church was located, so none of my “friends” went to my youth group. Not only that, but I didn’t really share anything in common with any of the kids in the youth groups. When I was in high school, I played football and basketball. My first summer job was working at an indoor tennis facility. I was pretty heavily involved in all things sports (that was before that kind of involvement kept you out of church). The rest of the kids in both of my youth groups were pretty much the original “Geek Squad.”  There were no athletes in my youth groups and, honestly, no one that would have been in the “popular” crowd (whatever that means) in their school. I never had a young or “cool” Youth Minister. In my Tulsa church, our Youth Minister had kids older than me, and in my Houston church, there was no Youth Minister. There were no special facilities, no big budgets…nothing. 

Now, that doesn’t sound very appealing, but the truth is, my time and commitment to both of those youth groups were some of the most enriching experiences of my life…certainly my spiritual life. To this day I continue to have a connection to the kids I went to youth group with, as well as some of the sponsors who gave their time to teach and to lead. But it wasn’t just good for me. Looking back through the lenses of time and maturity, I can see how my participation was beneficial for others. I’m hesitant to write that because I don’t want it to sound too self-important, but I know from personal conversations with others that God was able to use me as a witness and example and leader to others. 

What is so sad and disheartening for me today is the reality that many teenagers don’t even participate in church youth group (we call it Student Ministry today). And if they do, it’s often a classic “consumer-driven” choice or it’s not even a church at all. I’ve heard all the reasons why over and over again (friends – youth ministers/leaders – time – schedule – popular kids – etc.). Here’s my response – observation – question – whatever you want to call it. And I’m not writing this for the purpose of offending or accusing, I’m just expressing my thoughts and experiences (isn’t that what a blog is for?) and I’m asking you to take a minute to think about what I’m writing. We live in a day and age where everything is measured by how much we get out of it. That’s the reality of the world. Shouldn’t the church and our participation…our commitment to it be different? Shouldn’t the church, which includes the youth group (student ministry), be measured by how much of ourselves we put into it for God? Isn’t this something that we should be passing on to our children? 

Over the past thirty-plus years, I’ve seen youth programs that were driven by big personalities and by big events. They’re impressive…there’s no question about that. But I’ve also seen that when that particular personality is gone or the big events end, there’s a noticeable drop-off in participation. When Jesus fed hungry people, he had thousands of them pursuing him. A little later when he began to tell them what it cost to be his disciple, many of them said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60). Then the inevitable happened. “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).

I didn’t go to the youth group with the dynamic youth minister, with my friends, or even with the kids that I wished were my friends. Sometimes we rode in an old broken down church bus to a “rustic” church camp or a pizza parlor (which was a big night out in the 1970s). I saw “Jaws” with Ginger Braun and Deena McCollum, girls I knew from youth group…girls I would never have been friends with in any other setting…girls who became great friends. I played church league basketball with guys who were terrible basketball players (that meant I got to take a lot of shots). We had Bible studies, swim parties, youth services, and on and on. And as lame as those things may sound, I know my life wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Check out the website for The Solomon Foundation: www.thesolomonfoundation.org

The Solomon Foundation exists to provide financing for churches to help them grow to the next level in their ministry, thanks to the many individuals and churches that invest in one or more of TSF’s savings and investment plans.

What do you need to know about The Solomon Foundation? 

• TSF began with and will always have the oversight and accountability of two of the most dynamic churches in our “brotherhood” of churches (Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie, TX, and Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, AZ).
• TSF is committed to core values that are simple, biblical, and inspirational: (1) Honor God, (2) Help people come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, (3) Help investors get a great return on their investments, (4) Help churches get to the next level in their ministry, and (5) Have fun!
• TSF has a board that consists of some of the most trusted and respected Christian leaders in America. The board is a unique blend of some of the top pastors in America, along with other gifted leaders with ministry, finance, and business experience. Check out these board members at www.thesolomonfoundation.org/board-of-directors.htm
• TSF is committed to providing financing to churches to help them grow and move to the next level in their ministry. TSF will only make loans to churches and will not make loans to any church that has not submitted a written plan for paying off the loan as expeditiously as possible.
• TSF offers savings and investment rates that are beyond competitive with other financial organizations. TSF is actually an industry leader. Check out the current rates at www.thesolomonfoundation.org/rates.htm
• TSF has a vision to partner with Christ in building the kingdom of God by helping churches get financing to purchase land and build facilities so that more people can come to know Jesus Christ.

I want you to know that I consider it a great privilege to be a member of the Board of Directors of The Solomon Foundation. And I’m thankful that our church is a strategic partner of a ministry committed to excellent interest and eternal impact.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris 

I hope you will plan to be here each of these weeks and I hope that you will invite family and friends to be here as well. I’m counting on your continued support while I take this time away. When I return to the pulpit we will conclude our special series “Next” (Understanding Tomorrow, Today) series by talking about The Great White Throne Judgment, The Reality of Hell and The Glory of Heaven and I have a very special new series planned for September that is based on The 23^rd Psalm. 

Keep me in your prayers while I’m away. I’ll be at the North American Christian Convention in Cincinnati, around Greenwood, In Florida for a vacation with family and visiting my mother in Texas. I’ll be busy but I’ll be thinking about and praying for you.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

I’ve known for a long time that I was going, to begin with, Matthew 16:13-17, where Jesus pressed the disciples on the issue of his identity (But what about you…who do you say I am?). I’ve also known for a long time that I was going to use this as an opportunity to preach a very pointed message aimed at those who have never made any kind of profession of faith. I was prayed up and prepared, but when we closed the final service not one single person had responded to the invitation. 

I’ve got to tell you that I was surprised…very surprised. Not because I thought my words and delivery were so powerful that dozens of people would stream down the aisle. I prayed several times that God would just use me as His messenger and that He would speak through me. I was surprised because, as I wrote earlier, it was a pointed message. I felt the emotion of how tragic it would be for anyone to reject Christ. And I asked people to admit the need of their life, step out in faith, confess that faith, and join me in the baptistery to experience a new beginning. But no one came. 

I received some strong encouragement from different people after each service. I was genuinely appreciative and encouraged by what they said. I knew in my mind that “seeds” were planted and that one day there would be a harvest. But I was still surprised. Later in the day, that surprise turned into sadness and disappointment. 

Then Monday morning came (it’s Monday at 4:46pm as I write this). When I got to my office, I began to read the online devotion that comes to me each day. Today’s devotion was called “Only for the Lonely.”  The Scripture reference was 2 Timothy 4:9, 11, 16-17, and the devotion itself was a prayer for those times when we struggle with loneliness. Here’s the part of the devotion that was most meaningful to me. We pray especially for those who are lonely because they are distant from You. We ask You to bring them to a knowledge of Your Son and keep them restless and sleepless and struggling until they have come to that place of faith in Your Son.

This past weekend, 2,908 people were in church. Of the 2,908 people, 2,195 heard, if they listened, a very pointed message about the need to recognize and confess Jesus as “the Christ…the son of the living God.” I’m praying that some of them are feeling lonely tonight and that they will one day find the comfort and companionship they need in Jesus. I hope you join me in that prayer.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

I’m also looking forward to what God is going to do both in and through Mount Pleasant Christian Church in 2011. At our Elders meeting, we went through our monthly “Ministry Report” where we were able to see some of the highlights of the past month. The truth is there have been many highlights in 2010. Throughout the year we spent our time in studies like Contagious Generosity, A New Command, Where is the Hope (a verse-by-verse look at I Peter), Let’s Pray, and The Joshua Project. On the weekend after Easter (April 10/11) we had the incredible experience of baptizing 114 people in our four services. Our Easter weekend, Patriotic weekend and special Christmas weekend were all outstanding. This year’s Christmas services saw a record attendance of 4,930. In 2010 we saw the completion of a massive remodel of our facilities that included Bibleopolis, an interactive children’s ministry space that is absolutely incredible. There were Mission trips, VBS, Sports camps, and a Blue Bell ice cream truck at our Volunteer Appreciation picnic, I could go on and on.

As I think about 2011 I understand the importance of things like vision and strategic planning. But I’m also convinced that one of the most important elements of continued growth and ministry will be persistence. To that end let me share a series of inspirational quotes and truths about persistence.

If Columbus had turned back, no one would have blamed him. No one would have remembered him either. -Unknown

Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm. -Unknown

There is nothing so fatal to the character than half-finished tasks. -David Lloyd George

We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it. -Helen Keller

The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success. -David Sarnoff

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. -Theodore Roosevelt

Failure is our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is a delay, not defeat. It's a temporary detour, not a dead-end street. -William Ward

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. -Calvin Coolidge

It is never too late to be what you might have been. -George Eliot

So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now, I know one of the greatest principles of success: if I persist long enough I will win. -Og Mandino

Genius, that power that dazzles mortal eyes, is oft but perseverance in disguise. -Henry W. Austin

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. -Dale Carnegie

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance. -Samuel Johnson

As inspirational and challenging as these words are they pale in comparison to what Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (NIV)

Here’s to continuing to discover the power of persistence. I love you all and I’ll see you next year,

Pastor Chris

That said I find myself wishing I had a better memory today. I say that because last night (November 4) one of my lifelong friends in Oklahoma suffered his second heart attack in four days and died. Duane was 53 years old. We became friends when I was in the eighth grade, and we shared a lot of great times growing up together. He had one of those “larger than life” personalities. He was friendly, he was funny, and he had one of the best tenor voices I’ve ever heard. I could listen to him sing for hours. Sometimes we sang for hours. We were very close as classmates and remained close even though life brought all the natural changes that getting older can bring. One thing that helped is that we were both pastors so we shared not only the bond of friendship but the bond of living out a calling. And even though I’ve spent the last few days remembering him and our time together, I really wish I could remember more.

I’m mindful today that the Bible has a lot to say about “remembering.”  Most of it is a reminder to us to remember the presence of God, the promises of God and the way God has provided for us in the past. No doubt God knows that remembering is not something we do well which brings me back to wishing I had a better memory today. 

There are certain things I don’t ever want to forget. Here are a few in no particular order. I don’t ever want to forget the sorrow I feel when I am confronted with the reality of my sin because that feeling helps me to avoid sin in the future. I don’t ever want to forget that God has forgiven my sin and that once it has been forgiven; He has chosen to remember it no more. I don’t ever want to forget how I feel each time I hear Tricia sing. I don’t ever want to forget how Sandy looked on the day Andrew got married. I don’t ever want to forget how I feel when my son asks me for advice about ministry. I don’t ever want to forget all the ordinary people in the church I grew up in who loved and encouraged me. I don’t ever want to forget wanting to be exactly like my Uncle Mike when I was growing up. I don’t ever want to forget the unique bond I have with my brothers and sisters because no one else will ever know what it’s like to grow up together. I don’t ever want to forget that my mom and dad did not grow up in perfect homes. I don’t ever want to forget how much I love the local church. I don’t ever want to forget to be thankful for everything I have and thankful I don’t get what I deserve.

That’s just a very partial list. I don’t have enough room for everything I’m thinking. But if I were going to add just one more, it would be that I don’t ever want to forget the blessing of having some special and unconditional friendships when I was very young. And I don’t want to forget to look for my good friend Duane when it’s my time to walk on streets of gold. I don’t think he’ll be hard to find. I’ll just listen for his voice and follow the applause.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

One of the things that I have noticed over the years is the tendency that we all sometimes have to make excuses for our lives rather than take responsibility for our lives. A classic example of this can be found in the familiar parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable, Jesus talked about a man who went on a journey but left three different servants with varying amounts of talents (5 -2 -1). The first two servants put their talents to work and doubled them so that when the man returned, he was able to celebrate their efforts. The third servant, I’m sure you remember, simply buried his talent in the ground. When the man returned, he presented him with what he had been given along with an excuse (I know you are a hard man so I was afraid of losing your talent). As a result, the talent was taken from the third servant, and he was thrown “into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  (Matthew 25:30).

How many of us live our lives with no results but plenty of excuses? Part of the good news of God’s Word is that we don’t have to live this way, in part, because we are not alone. When God gives us a responsibility or a challenge, He also gives us Himself as our number one resource. When Moses died and God gave Joshua the responsibility of leading His people into The Promised Land, He said to him in Joshua 1:5, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you.” (NIV) Now that promise wasn’t exclusive to Joshua and the challenge before him. This is a promise that God gives to all believers. 

You can take ownership and responsibility for your life and leave all of your excuses behind today. You can face the giant or mountain or whatever it is in your life that’s keeping you from experiencing God’s best today. You can be a leader today. You can accomplish whatever goal and realize whatever dream you have today. You can do it if you remember that God will be with you, the same God who parted the Red Sea and multiplied a handful of fish and loaves to feed thousands. But you also need to remember that God expects you to do your part. Here’s a simple truth to remember about your relationship with God. God will do the God things, and we have to do the people things.

Identify the challenge(s) in your life today, take the first step, and remember that you are never alone.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

2000 – Tech bubble bursts in March 2000

2001 – Terrorist attack of 9/11

2002 – Enron, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, Qwest, Global Crossing, ImClone, and Adelphia – hiding debt and misrepresenting earnings

2003 – War waged by the U.S. and Britain against Iraq begins; North Korea withdraws from the treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons

2004 – Spain rocked by terrorist attacks; UN Atomic Energy Agency tells Iran to stop enriching uranium.

2005 – Hurricane Katrina; Rising interest rates

2006 – Political corruption scandals; Interest rates rise; Housing markets begin to slump.

2007 - Housing markets meltdown.

2008 – Credit crisis hits the financial sector.

The truth is you can go even further back in time and find some event or threat that has created uncertainty in the economy. The question isn’t, “Will there be economic uncertainty?” The question is “How will we handle economic uncertainty when it comes?”  There’s no better resource than God’s Word when it comes to answering this question. Here are some biblical instructions that will never let you down:

1. Keep Track

Proverbs 13:16 says, Every prudent man acts out of knowledge but a fool exposes his folly. (NIV)  The first step to handling economic uncertainty is to know your own economic condition. Ron Blue, founder of Ron Blue and Company (a firm that provides financial services from a Christian perspective), says that every person or family should take a financial physical. This involves answering four questions: What do I have? What do I owe? How much am I spending? How strong are my safety nets (insurance/savings accounts/etc.)? Once you do that, you simply need to begin to keep track of your finances. 

2. Plan Ahead

This means making a budget (Call it a “spending plan” if you hate the word budget). Rick Warren says, “A budget is telling your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went.”  Proverbs 21:5 says The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. (NIV) A budget is critical to personal economic health because financial freedom is not based on how much you make. It’s based on how much you spend. 

3. Save Consistently

Proverbs 13:11 says Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers little by little makes it grow. (NIV)  The Bible says that it is a mark of wisdom to save for the future. Proverbs 21:20 says, In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. (NIV) American Demographics magazine shows that the majority of baby boomers (those born between 1946-1964) will be broke at retirement age. What’s the problem? The problem is materialism funded by debt. I know that in our current economy, many people are showing more of a willingness to save, but materialism has already done its damage. And if we were completely honest, we’d have to admit that we got into debt before the economy began to struggle. When times are good, we buy, and then we pay for it by signing away our future. When times are bad, we struggle. Proverbs 22:7 says, The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (NIV) When debt keeps us from being good stewards (saving – giving - etc.), then debt is a big problem.

4. Give Habitually

Proverbs 3:9-10 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (NIV)  Giving is an act of gratitude. When we give, we acknowledge that everything comes from God. Giving is an act of priority in the present. When we give, we demonstrate that God has first place in our lives. Giving is a statement of faith. When we give, we put ourselves in a position to allow God to fulfill His promise of blessing in whatever way He chooses to bring that blessing. 

Economic uncertainty won’t steal your happiness and peace if you live prepared. In the end, it’s just a matter of obeying God’s Word.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris 

There is a lot we can learn from Joseph when it comes to the reality of our current economic forecast. Like all of you, I grow concerned when I hear and read the negative economic forecasts dominating our news. At the same time, all of us, like Joseph, need to understand and embrace a common sense approach to the future. In his book, Surviving Financial Meltdown, Ron Blue identifies that like this:

1.) Take a financial physical. The beginning point to a proactive approach toward money management will always be determining the actual state of your finances (something most people aren’t realistic about). 

2.)   Establish a finish line. Decide where you want to go (Set some goals). What’s important to you when it comes to your finances?

3.)   Plan how to get from here to there.

This is basically what Joseph did when he was given the responsibility of preparing Egypt for the seven years of famine that would follow the seven years of plenty. And, if you know the story, you know that Joseph was quite successful. The best thing about this kind of plan is that it’s not “rocket science.” It’s just common sense.

One more thing, that famine in Joseph’s day spread beyond Egypt. As a result, people came to Egypt from all over the world to buy food (Genesis 41:57). That meant that Joseph was able to be a witness to the rest of the world about the power of common sense and stewardship.

That same opportunity is available to each of us today. Will you be like Joseph or will you be like the rest of the world? God’s will is for each of us to practice good stewardship in our lives so that we can live without fear and anxiety. And in times like these, that kind of life provides a powerful witness. 

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

P.S. Don’t forget that during tough economic times, the number one commitment we need as believers is a commitment to giving. When we give we acknowledge that God has first place in our lives and that we trust Him to provide for all of our needs. This kind of commitment brings blessing and peace. This may not make sense by the world’s standards, but I’ll take God’s standards any day. 

In one class leading up to the speeches, the professor went around the room to get an idea of what each student was thinking about with regard to the speech. Tricia said she was leaning toward “volunteerism.” He didn’t seem too excited about that topic. Another man said he was considering a speech focused on how foolish the Christian faith was, which emphasized the ridiculousness of believing in the supernatural or miraculous stories of the Bible.

In the end, Tricia spoke on volunteerism and got a very good grade. The man I mentioned above did his speech on the foolishness of faith. He began his speech by saying, “What would you think if I told you that 92% of all the people in the U.S. believed in unicorns? He went on to liken that to a belief in the literal interpretation of the Bible citing a Fox News survey that indicated 92% of Americans say they believe in the Bible. You can just imagine the rest of his speech’s content.

Here’s my question. When did we get to the place where we won’t talk about something like physical fitness because we don’t want to offend someone who is overweight or out of shape, but it’s okay to completely trash and dismiss someone’s personal faith in God with ridicule and a condescending attitude? That friends, is an up close and personal illustration of the state of our culture. At first, it makes you angry. Then it just makes you sad.

The way Tricia described this man in her class made it clear he was pretty impressed with himself. How do you respond to someone like this? Proverbs 26:4 says, Do not answer a fool according to his folly or you will be like him yourself (NIV). In the end, all we can do is pray for someone who openly mocks God because the Bible makes it clear the day will come when that will no longer be an option.

Pastor Chris

I was surprised and deeply moved by the video element of my son sharing a Father’s Day blessing to me from his church in Grand Prairie, TX, (Brian and Joey managed to keep that part of the service hidden from me). Sandy and I haven’t seen Andrew and Kara in a while, and we really miss them. The news that they are expecting their first child in December makes us even more anxious to see them.

I can’t think of anything that makes you more conscious of your role as a father than learning that your son is going to become a father because, as we learned this past weekend from a brief look at the lives of Abraham and Isaac, a father passes on the reality of who he is to his children. I’m praying that my son will have the wisdom and discernment to follow the example, not just of his earthly father, but of his Heavenly Father as he prepares to face the challenge of being a dad. It’s a great blessing and a great responsibility.

While studying for last week’s message, I ran across a story of how when John Wooden graduated from grammar school, his father gave him a card. On one side, it read: “Four things a man must learn to do if he would make his life more true: To think without confusion clearly; to love his fellow man sincerely; to act from honest motives purely; to trust in God and heaven securely.”

On the other side of the card was this Seven Point Creed:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

When Wooden told the story of receiving this card, he said that his dad gave it to him with these words, “Son, try to live up to these things.”

I encourage every dad who reads this blog to find the time to share a personal moment with each of his children. It may be a moment they remember for the rest of their lives.

Jesus cares,

But the blessings we are experiencing go well beyond buildings and construction. We are also welcoming a lot of new people to our services each week and, better still, we are seeing many new people become a part of God’s eternal family. And virtually every week someone takes the time to tell me about the great things that God is teaching them or that God is doing in their life or family. Does that mean everything’s perfect, no, but it does mean that things are moving in the right direction.

That brings me back to strategic planning. Every leader knows that success (blessing) today does not guarantee success (blessing) tomorrow. And every leader knows how important it is to look down the road and try to be prepared for what tomorrow brings remembering that ultimately God is in control. Proverbs 16:9 says, In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. (NIV) I believe those words…I’ve lived those words. So it’s important to plan for the future but to do it with an eternal perspective.

This is something I’ve been doing as a pastor for the past 30 years. But I’m going to be honest, and tell you that it’s not my favorite part of being a pastor…it’s not my favorite part of being a leader. I believe in strategic planning. What we’ve seen happening on our campus for the past three-and-a-half years has been a part of a strategic plan. I’m excited about what God has in store for Mount Pleasant. But let me tell you what I like the most. I like the challenge of making each and every weekend something special. I understand the importance of planning for three years, five years, ten years down the road. But I love planning for Saturday and Sunday.

This might sound a little benign to someone who gets captivated by a long-term vision, but I have always wanted the church I serve to be a place where people are moved and blessed and…happy. A few weeks ago we had a baby dedication ceremony. We do these on Saturday nights so we don’t have as many time constraints. On this particular Saturday, we had seventeen babies and it was exciting. In fact, you could feel the excitement in the building. A few minutes before the service started I was walking off the stage and saw a woman who is a pretty new member. She asked me, “What’s happening tonight?” I told her it was a baby dedication and I said, “You’re going to love it.” This was her reply. “I love everything this church does.” And that friends, made my day because that’s the way I want people to feel. That’s a strategic plan that’s been in my heart in every church I’ve ever served.”

We’ve got some big plans for the future. But even better than that, we’ve got some big plans for this weekend. I hope I see you there.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

There's no question that one of the greatest gifts God has given to us is the gift of friendship. I was reminded of that this past week as Sandy and I traveled to Houston for a week of vacation. Houston holds a special place in our hearts because it was where we met, where our kids were born, and where we had our first ministry. Houston is also home to some very special friends.

One of the unique things about friendship is that it is something that can bring great joy and great heartache. No doubt that's why Paul instructs us to "rejoice with those who rejoice" and "mourn with those who mourn" in Romans 12. We did both of those things while in Houston. I have two close friends named Darrel and David who I lived with before any of us were married. Sandy and I married first and then I had the privilege of marrying Darrel and Kathie and then David and Suzanne. Kathie and Suzanne stood with Sandy and Darrel and David stood with me when we were married. Suzanne is Sandy's long-time best friend who lived down the street from her while she was growing up. I don't have enough room in this blog to describe the depth of our friendship. So when we travel to Houston it's like we travel back in time and experience life the way it was over twenty-five years ago. We eat together, we go to movies together, we shop together, we play golf together, we stay up late together, but mostly we laugh together.

Houston is also the home of the best mentors Sandy and I have ever had. Two couples, in particular, are Jack and Charlotte Tipton (both from Oklahoma) and Rusty and Linda Wilfong (both from Illinois). We got to worship and have lunch with Jack and Charlotte on Sunday. On Saturday we got to see two of Rusty and Linda's kids and their families as we celebrated one of their granddaughter's birthdays at their new home in Fulshear, Texas. It was a beautiful, warm, blue-sky day with a light breeze...just the escape you're looking for in February. The only problem was that Linda wasn't there. The last time we were in Houston (February 2008) we were there so I could preach her funeral. The day after Valentine's Day that year Linda suffered a heart attack, fought for her life in the hospital, but never made it home. It won't be a surprise to any of you that I didn't make it very long before I broke down and cried. That happened when I was praying for our lunch. A little later in the day, when everyone was gathered around the table singing "Happy Birthday" to three-year-old Addison, it was just too much for Sandy to take as she thought about how much Linda loved moments like that. I told her that she was supposed to be the strong one in our family. Later, as Sandy and I sat with Rusty on the back patio we talked about Linda and everyone cried.

I love the fun that friendship brings. I love the laughter and the celebration...I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I feel the same way about the sadness and the pain that friendship can sometimes bring. It was a different kind of joy that Sandy and I felt as we sat there on the patio with Rusty, but it was still joy. Proverbs 17:17 says A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (NIV)

Do you have a friend that you haven't laughed or cried with in a while? Life gets busy with work and grocery shopping and paying bills and Super Bowls and meetings and shoveling driveways and time spent worrying and sitting in front of a computer screen like I'm doing right now. Don't miss out on friendship. Don't miss out on the full experience of friendship. Whether you're laughing or crying, there's no question it's one of God's greatest gifts.

Pastor Chris

According to MapQuest, it’s exactly 926.04 miles from my driveway to his. But it feels a lot farther. It will feel even farther on the 18th when he celebrates his 25th birthday and farther still on the 25th when Kara and he celebrate Christmas because Sandy, Tricia, and I will be here, and he will be there.

When Sandy got pregnant, I just knew we were having a boy. In fact, I was so confident that I went out and found a small Rawlings Signature Series baseball glove with the autograph of Reggie Jackson (my favorite baseball player) and stuck it on the corner of his crib. Andrew grew up to be a baseball player and gave me more thrills than I can even describe. When he was 14 and playing in his last baseball season before high school ball, he got hit in the face with a pitch and broke his jaw. For six weeks his jaw was wired shut. When the wires were finally removed, there were a few games left in the summer season, and he wanted to play. I was worried, not knowing what it would be like his first time up to bat. But in the first at bat of his first game back, he hit a two-run home run over the right field fence (the ball completely smashed the windshield of a car parked in the wrong spot). That’s just one example. Earlier this year he got the opportunity to preach in the Sunday morning services of the church he serves in Grand Prairie (Crossroads Christian Church). It was their back-to-school Sunday, and there were over 4,300 people there. Sandy and I listened to the message online, and it was awesome! It was even better than a two-run home run. Some days it just hurts to be so far away—to be separated from someone you love so much.

I wonder what it was like for God the Father when His Son Jesus chose to give up His heavenly position and authority and come to Earth to identify with people like you and me.” I mean, I know that He is the Sovereign God of the Universe. I know He is not limited by, or subject to, the frailty of flesh and blood like we are, but I wonder how it felt. We know there was a deep love between Father and Son. Matthew 3:17 says, “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased.’" If I can feel the heartache of separation from my son, just imagine how God felt when Jesus became a man. Just imagine what it was like for God the Father to see His Son lying in a manger in Bethlehem knowing full well that one day that baby in the manger would be nailed to a cross.

I hope this Christmas gives you the opportunity to be close to the people you love—family and friends. But more than that, I hope this Christmas gives you the opportunity to understand, maybe for the first time—maybe like it’s the first time all over again—the great love that God has for you. A love so strong that He was willing to send His Son and experience the pain of separation so that you could experience the joy of togetherness with Him.

Merry Christmas,

Pastor Chris

P.S. I hope you will be at our annual Christmas service this weekend, and I hope you will invite a friend to join you. We have designed this service to be very “guest friendly.” That doesn’t mean it will be “watered down.” That just means it will draw people in and then confront them with the gospel. Don’t let anything keep you from being a part of what God is going to do this weekend.

Normally everything at the satellite campus is “live” except for the message which is a video from the main campus. But this last weekend my brother brought the message. He preached from Psalm 51 and talked about how important it is, if we’re ever going to change into the person God wants us to be, to be honest about our sins.

I’m eight years older than my brother. He and my younger sister were still at home when my parents divorced, and life for them got pretty difficult. Everyone deals with difficulty in different ways, and, for a time, my brother made some really bad choices. But one day when he realized things needed to change, he called me. We talked for a little while, and then I said, “I want you to come and go with me to church camp.” I was scheduled to be the dean of a senior high week at Tanglewood Christian Camp in Lexington, TX. So he went. While he was there, God dealt with his heart, and he made a commitment to turn away from his sin (the Bible calls that repentance). He also made a commitment to enroll at Dallas Christian College (he had already been to two different colleges where he spent most of his time…well he doesn’t really remember much about that time). So my brother enrolled in and graduated from Dallas Christian College. While he was there he met his wife Jolene, and they have been serving the local church together now for almost twenty years. And it all started with a moment of recognition followed by a phone call.

I imagine there are many moments of recognition in all of our lives. The problem is we don’t always take that next step. For my brother Kenneth, it was a phone call to someone he could trust…someone he knew loved him. What would it be for you? One of the great examples of that next step is found in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. After this son had demanded an early inheritance from his father and wasted it all on wine, women, and song (loose translation), he found himself with nothing but a job feeding pigs. Luke 15:17 says, When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ (NIV) You know how the story ends. The father was actually waiting for him to come home. And when he did, the celebration was incredible.

Is there some next step you need to take? Is there something you need to do? Don’t let anything stand in your way. Somewhere there’s a celebration waiting to happen.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

P.S. The weather in Savannah and Hilton Head was perfect every single day. I ate a lot of Blue Bell ice cream and played a lot of golf. How cool is that!

Wow! That’s all I can say about this past weekend’s worship experience. I could feel the power of the Holy Spirit in each service, and I know that everyone who was present was blessed and challenged. But I have to be honest and tell you that I was really disappointed (It has always been hard for me to hide my disappointment) in the number of empty chairs…especially at our 9:00 service. Several months ago when I first began to imagine this series, I actually checked the Colt's schedule and the school calendar so that I could schedule this particular weekend at a time when there were no obvious conflicts. That’s because I knew how powerful it would be. That’s why I took the time to encourage everyone a couple of weeks ago to make sure they didn’t miss the last two weeks of this series. The end result was our lowest “What’s Your Story” weekend attendance…almost 500 fewer people than in previous weeks. Someone told me they believed the low attendance was due to the temporary seating in the Worship Center. I suppose that could be a possibility, but I just can’t bring myself to believe that something like that would really keep someone out of church, not unless they had some genuine physical disability. Someone might read this and think that I’m overly concerned with numbers. That’s really not the case. I just know how much time and effort went into last week’s service and how important the message was. (Whoa. There’s no way I can publish this. It’s way too negative/honest. I should know better than to try and write a blog on a Monday.)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 (8:45am)

Wow! That’s all I can say about this past weekend’s worship experience. I could feel the power of the Holy Spirit in each service, and I know that everyone who was present was blessed and challenged. But I have to be honest and tell you that I was really disappointed (It has always been hard for me to hide my disappointment) in the number of empty chairs…especially at our 9:00 service. Several months ago when I first began to imagine this series, I actually checked the Colt's schedule and the school calendar so that I could schedule this particular weekend at a time when there were no obvious conflicts. That’s because I knew how powerful it would be. That’s why I took the time to encourage everyone a couple of weeks ago to make sure they didn’t miss the last two weeks of this series. The end result was our lowest “What’s Your Story” weekend attendance…almost 500 fewer people than previous weeks. (Apparently, Tuesdays are not much better)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 (2:37pm)

(Nope)

Thursday, October 15, 2009 (5:14 p.m.)

This weekend marks the conclusion of our special “What’s Your Story” campaign. I hope you’ve been blessed by what God has done each and every week. I have been particularly thankful to those who have had the courage to share their story whether it’s been in the main service, on our website, or in a small group setting. One of my main goals for this series was to try and communicate that we are not a church filled with “stained-glass saints” but real people with real lives in real need of God’s grace. We have a very special element planned for this final weekend that I believe is something we will all remember for the rest of our lives. I hope that you are planning to be present at one of our four services so that you can be a part of what God is going to do. I have to tell you that we will once again be sitting in temporary chairs. It’s painful for me to have to write that. We tried to synchronize our re-model schedule to only have to do this for a couple of weeks, and this will be the sixth straight week with the folding chairs. It’s not our fault. The only thing we’ve been guilty of is believing the people who sold us the new seats when they gave us our delivery date(s). I apologize for that. Please don’t let it keep you from worship this weekend. Thanks for your patience.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

I’ve told you before about my grandparents who owned a bar on the west side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was the life they lived for several years. That was the life that my mother was raised in and influenced by. That was the life that led her to make some of the choices she made as a young woman. But a little over fifty years ago, my grandmother was in a serious car wreck that crushed her pelvis. She ended up in a hospital, flat on her back with a long recovery ahead of her. It was during that hospital stay that some men from the Osage Hills Christian Church visited her and told her that God loved her and explained to her how she could have her sin forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. That visit was the beginning of an incredible transformation. Once she was out of the hospital, she had to wear heavy metal and leather braces. But she was so anxious to obey the command to be baptized that she wouldn’t wait until she was free of the braces. So she went to church, answered the invitation, made a confession of faith, and two men carried her into the baptistery on a metal folding chair and baptized her into Christ. Not long after that, my grandparents sold their bar, and my grandmother became the secretary at Osage Hills. She spent the next sixteen years of her life in that position until she was diagnosed with breast cancer. One weekend they had a special service where the people were asked to bring or wear a pair of shoes that had a significant meaning for their spiritual life (I know this because the preacher told this story at my grandmother’s funeral). My grandmother brought those leg braces. I can still remember, as a boy, seeing them hanging on a nail in her garage. I’m sure that every time she looked at them she was reminded of how God stepped in and re-wrote the story of her life.

But God didn’t just re-write the story of my grandmother’s life that day in that hospital room…that Sunday in that baptistery. He re-wrote the story of my mother’s and uncle’s lives. He re-wrote the story of their children’s lives, including mine. And he re-wrote the story of my children’s lives. And the story goes on and on and on.

That’s one of the things that makes this What’s Your Story campaign so special, and one of the reasons why it’s important for all of us to take the time to recognize and tell our story. My life has not been perfect. I’ve made and made a lot of mistakes. But because of the faithfulness of ordinary men who were making a hospital call on a woman they had never met, my story is covered by grace. And if I were ever asked to wear or bring a pair of shoes that had a significant meaning for my spiritual life, I’d have to find those braces.

What’s your story?

Pastor Chris

This past week we talked about Nicodemus and the dangers of legalism. While researching that message I ran across the following story:

One afternoon a man named John, dressed in blue jeans, walked into a bank to finalize a business transaction. The teller told him that the officer he needed to see wasn’t in, and he would have to come back the next day. John said that would be fine and asked the teller to validate his parking ticket. The teller informed him that, according to bank policy, she couldn’t validate his parking ticket because he had not completed a financial transaction. John asked for an exception, since he had come to the bank intending to do business, but was unable to because the appropriate officer wasn’t in. The teller didn’t budge. She said, “I’m sorry, that’s our policy. Rules are rules.”

So John decided to make a business transaction. He decided to close his account. John’s last name was Akers. He was the chairman of IBM, and the account he closed had a balance of one-and-a-half million dollars. This qualified as a financial transaction, and the teller was required to validate the parking ticket.

One of the signs of legalism is when rules and regulations become more important than people. Now I’m not saying that there’s no place for rules and regulations because that would be foolish. But one of the things Jesus taught us with the example of his life is that people come first…people are a priority. My prayer is that we would always be a church that models the ministry strategy that people come first!

On another note, our new video venue has gotten off the ground. On Sunday, September 13, we began a new video simulcast service in the Student Ministries Center at 10:45am. Each week there is a Host Pastor, Worship Team, Greeters, and Guest Gathering folks to make you feel welcome and to help with the overall worship experience. The worship, special, and message, along with any special elements, are seen from a live feed to the Worship Center while the decision time as well as the communion and offering are handled live by the Host Pastor. During the service the SMC is set up with tables and chairs and those attending are able to enjoy some morning refreshments as they worship. Our hope and prayer for this service is two-fold. First, that we might reach some folks who would feel more comfortable in a setting like this. And, second, that this would help free up some space in the main service. If you’ve ever attended our 10:45 service, then you know that it can sometimes get pretty crowded.

So pray for this new service. Pray for God’s blessing on all of the technical details. And pray that God might use it to reach even more folks in our community and on the south side of Indianapolis. You might even want to give it a try. Who knows, you might like it.
Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

While I’m on the subject of church, I read a very thought-provoking article in the Christian Standard written by a man named Paul Williams. He wrote about a recent evening when he was flipping through the television channels and happened upon five comedians (O’Brien, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Craig Ferguson) all with one thing in common – every one of them was wearing a suit and tie. He went on to say that the next week he traveled to Louisville to attend the North American Christian Convention. While he was there, he attended five of the main sessions where the speakers/preachers all wore polo shirts or, as he called them, “hide the fat Hawaiian shirts.” Williams went on to talk about the progression he’s experienced in his own ministry of shifting from preaching in a suit and tie to blue jeans. Then he wrote these words:

Some day archeologists will discover evidence dating back to the early 21st century. They will gather behind closed doors and puzzle together about the early days of the third millennium. What fascinating conclusions will they reach? I can see the headline: “Clothing Unlocks Secrets – Ancient Civilization Worshiped Comedy – Laughed at Religion.”I am not a curmudgeon. Really. I’m not. You can ask my kids. I am pretty sure there is no right or wrong here. But you have to admit, it is fascinating. How did we get here? How did David Letterman end up doing his monologue in a suit, while I quote Scripture in a pair of Levi’s?

It’s something to think about.

Finally, this weekend when you come to church, you’ll find the Worship Center in the midst of a pretty extensive facelift. That means for about three weeks we’ll have to sit on folding chairs and deal with floors in various stages of stain and carpet as well as walls that are going through their own transformations. I hope it won’t be a distraction to you and that you’ll remember to focus on the end result. I guarantee it will be well worth the inconvenience. But in the meantime, you might want to bring your own seat and/or back cushion if you think folding chairs will be difficult to endure. Please join with me in praying that the setting will in no way detract from what God is doing in the service.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

As a boy growing up in Oklahoma, I loved sports—all sports. I have a brother who is seventeen months older than I am, and he was a natural athlete who was always bigger and faster and stronger than everyone else. I was not. So for many years, I lived in the shadow of his touchdowns, his rebounds, his home runs, etc. But I had one thing my older brother didn’t have and that was desire. Since everything came easy to him, he really never worked at it. He just showed up. It wasn’t that way for me. But by the time I was a sophomore in high school, things had changed. He was still a football star who had opportunities to play in college, but I wasn’t in his shadow any longer. In fact, when it was all said and done, I achieved more success than he did even though my family forced me to move from Oklahoma to Texas, and I didn’t play any sports as a senior. NOTE: Just so you know I’m talking about achieving a small measure of success in a 2A school with about five hundred students—not really that big a deal when you look at the big picture.

I spent a lot of my growing-up days playing, practicing, and loving sports. I passed that on to my own son who played both basketball and baseball as a boy and settled on baseball in high school. I have a lot of great memories that revolve around sports. But to be completely honest with you, for the first time in my life, I feel a genuine sense of disinterest in sports. See, I believe that sports have gotten out of control in America. And I’m talking about every level, from youth sports to professional sports. When my son played t-ball for the first time back in the spring of 1990, the baseball league we played in had rules concerning the number of practices you could have in a week and how long they could last. By the time he was playing what we called “competitive” ball in Oklahoma, there were teams that played well over a hundred games a year. I’m talking about teams of nine-year-old and ten-year-old boys. And it just kept getting worse the older they got. When my son played American Legion ball the summer before his sophomore year in high school, I remember being at a game where some of the parents began to talk about how their boys had decided not to go to church camps and church mission trips so they wouldn’t miss any games and jeopardize their place on the team. That same summer Andrew went to a Christ In Youth Conference in Colorado and missed two games. Now all the boys on that team were good baseball players, but by the time they were seniors, there were only two of them who were on the varsity and only one of them ended up playing college baseball at a Division III school, but it was so important that it took precedent over church and church activities.

And what about professional sports? When I moved to Indianapolis, I decided to become a Colts fan. But I’ve got to tell you that it’s really disappointing to me when some people can’t make it to a Saturday night or Sunday morning church service because the Colts have a home game.

So, am I looking forward to another season of college football? The answer, honestly, is I don’t really care. I’ll still pull for the Sooners, and they’ll still be my favorite team, but, honestly, I don’t really care. Even the team that I have loved since I was a boy represents in one way or another everything that’s gone wrong with sports today.

On a more positive note, I do care about the sports and recreation ministry we have at Mount Pleasant because it’s built on and around Christ. And I love the fact that we give families in our community the opportunity to participate in sports without it taking over their lives. I understand that recreational sports simply don’t meet the needs of every child or family and that there needs to be a place for higher levels of competition and achievement. I wouldn’t have been satisfied with recreational sports when I was young. But here’s my question. At what cost? In America, we have a history of being people who dive headlong into an opportunity without taking the time to examine the cost—without asking any questions about the long-term results (Does anyone remember subprime mortgages?).

In Ephesians 5:15-17, Paul writes, Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (NIV) Just what is the Lord’s will for you and your family when it comes to sports? That’s a great question. Your answer or conclusion might not be the same as mine and that’s okay (I’m not writing this to offend anyone.). But what’s really important is that you at least take the time to ask the question. What is the Lord’s will for you and your family when it comes to sports?

No doubt we’ve all heard the story of Eric Liddell (Remember the movie Chariots of Fire.) who refused to run in the 100-meter race at the 1924 Summer Olympic games in Paris because it was scheduled on Sunday. Instead, he ran in the 400-meter race where he not only won a gold medal but also broke the world record. Just before the race, an American masseur slipped a note into Liddell’s hand with a portion of I Samuel 2:30, Those who honor me, I will honor. Following the Olympics, Liddell became a missionary to China where he died in 1945 as a prisoner in a Chinese Internment camp. In 2008 in a poll taken by The Scotsman newspaper, Eric Liddell was voted the most popular athlete Scotland has ever produced. And that, friends, is a big deal when you look at the big picture.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

I’ve never known any parent who didn’t want the best for their children. I’ve heard and read stories about neglectful parents and absentee parents but I’ve never known any personally. The parents I know love and nurture their children. And that’s where parenting can sometimes get difficult. I write that because in our efforts to give our children the life they (we) always wanted it’s sometimes hard to recognize the things that are best for them.

That point was driven home to me in an online article I read in Leadership Journal. It was written by John Ortberg, one of my favorite authors. He wrote: Psychologist Jonathon Haidt had a hypothetical exercise: Imagine that you have a child, and for five minutes you're given a script of what will be that child's life. You get an eraser. You can edit it. You can take out whatever you want.

You read that your child will have a learning disability in grade school. Reading, which comes easily for some kids, will be laborious for you.
In high school, your kid will make a great circle of friends; then one of them will die of cancer.
After high school, this child will actually get into the college they wanted to attend. While there, there will be a car crash, and your child will lose a leg and go through a difficult depression.
A few years later, your child will get a great job—then lose that job in an economic downturn.
Your child will get married, but then go through the grief of separation.
You get this script for your child's life and have five minutes to edit it.
What would you erase?
Wouldn't you want to take out all the stuff that would cause them pain?

I am part of a generation of adults called "helicopter parents," because we're constantly trying to swoop into our kid's educational life, relational life, sports life, etc., to make sure no one is mistreating them, no one is disappointing them. We want them to experience one unobstructed success after another.

What should be the goal of our parenting…to give our children happy lives free from anything difficult or unpleasant; or to do our best to see that our children grow up to be the men and women that God wants them to be knowing that God uses difficulty and adversity to shape and mold? Is it better for our children to never learn the meaning of sacrifice or the benefit of doing something that they, at least initially, don’t want to do? Or is it in their best interest to experience what life is really like by learning that life is not perfect, no one gets their way all the time, and children don’t always know what’s best for them?

Sometimes I fear that in our efforts to give our children everything they/we want we fail to give them what they need. One of the most troubling statistics that I have read in recent years is the high percentage of young people who drop out of the church between the ages of 18-22. Thom Rainer writes a lot about this in his book Essential Church. He writes that more than two-thirds of church-going young adults between the ages of 18-22 drop out of church. He then gives a “Top Ten Reasons” list for the dropout.

1. Simply wanted a break from church.
2. Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.
3. Moved to college and stopped attending church.
4. Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
5. Moved too far away from the church to continue attending.
6. Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
7. Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church.
8. Disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues.
9. Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church.
10. Was only going to please others.

I’m a big fan of Thom Rainer and I’m sure that he did a lot of research in compiling his “top ten” list. I wonder though, if there’s not something missing. If it were me, I would add one more thing. We’ll just call it number 11.

11. Never really taught the importance.

Proverbs 3:1-6 says, My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

1. No-fault divorce
2. Increased disrespect for parenthood and parents
3. Meaningless marriage rites/ceremonies
4. Defamation of past national heroes
5. Acceptance of alternative marriage forms
6. Widespread attitudes of feminism, narcissism, hedonism
7. Propagation of antifamily sentiment
8. Acceptance of most forms of adultery
9. Rebellious children
10. Increased juvenile delinquency
11. Common acceptance of all forms of sexual perversion 3

It’s hard to read that list and not see that, if history is correct, America is in a precarious place. What will it take for us to return to faith and faithfulness? I don’t know that I have all the answers to that question but I have one answer that we can all embrace: we need to pray. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (NIV)

1. What in the World is Going On (David Jeremiah)
2. America on the Decline (La Shawn Barber)
3. Family and Civilization (Carle C. Zimmerman)

This past Tuesday Sandy and I drove out to Camp Allendale to visit our kids and volunteers who are enjoying a week of church camp. Chris Franklin, our Children’s Pastor, has done a tremendous job creating enthusiasm and support for Allendale. When he first came to Mount Pleasant we had around 20 kids going to camp. This week we’ve got 120 campers and the enthusiasm continues to grow.

I know one of the reasons why Chris is such a big supporter of church camp is because he went to camp when he was a kid. I can appreciate that because I had the same experience. Every summer I would get on the old church bus at Osage Hills Christian Church and head off to Sunset Bible Camp at Greenleaf State Park. Now Sunset Bible Camp was nothing like Camp Allendale. In fact, if you’ve never been to Allendale I’d recommend you find a way to visit. I’ve never seen a church camp with better facilities. But Sunset Bible Camp will always be important to me because I can still remember the day my Youth Minister sat on the side of my bunk during rest period and explained the gospel to me. Later that week I went forward and made a confession of faith and the following Sunday I was baptized in my home church.

One of the sad things I have noticed over the years is that the interest and emphasis in church camp has declined as so many other options have become available to our kids. There are sports camps, cheerleading camps, band camps, choir camps, art camps, academic camps, and on and on. And while I don’t want to be misunderstood…I certainly don’t think there’s anything wrong with these kinds of camps…I do sometimes wonder if we’ve lost a sense of priority when it comes to our children’s schedules. The only kind of camp my kids ever attended was church camp. And Sandy and I both talked about the memories we have of being at camp with them. Those are precious memories to us.

Sometimes in our desire to see that our children get to have every benefit available to them, we can lose sight of the most important benefits. I’m talking about eternal benefits. I can’t write this from personal experience but I really doubt that a sports camp or a band camp can change someone’s life for all eternity. But church camp can. It did for me. And even though I’m 51 years old I still remember memorizing all the books of the Bible when I was at camp.

Proverbs 22:6 is a Bible verse that gets used a lot when it comes to our children. It says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (NIV) There’s a lot involved in that word “train.” We seem to understand that when it comes to school and sports and all other kinds of extra-curricular activities but sometimes fall short when it comes to spiritual things. My hope and prayer is that God would help us to continue to build the kind of Children’s Ministry that will help all of our parents make the right choices when it comes to their children…the kind of choices that have eternal consequences.

Jesus cares

Pastor Chris

As Sandy and I were driving back to our hotel after our dinner together, we talked about how one of the most difficult aspects of ministry is it often takes you so far away from family, friends, and familiarity. Danny and Kristi and their two boys are now living hundreds of miles away from their families, their hometowns, and everything that’s familiar. And while they are very excited about being in their new home and church because they know that it’s God’s plan for their lives, that doesn’t mean they don’t feel the emotional pangs of being away.

I know that there are many people right here at Mount Pleasant whose work has taken them away from their families and their homes, but I want to ask you to think for a minute about those on our staff who are a long way from home. I say that because when you are in vocational ministry, your opportunities for travel and vacation can be pretty limited. Think about it. Most people have the freedom each week to take the weekend or even a long weekend and use it to visit family to “go home.” That’s not the case when your every weekend revolves around church services. I’m not saying that as a complaint, just a matter of fact. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be traveling to Tulsa to meet with my brothers and sisters to talk about my mom and her living situation. I don’t know what the exact days will be yet, but I do know that it will be easier for my brother and sisters who aren’t in full-time ministry to do this on the weekend. Some people say, “Just take time off during the week.” That sounds good but unless you take the weekend off as well, you don’t really have time off because you’ve still got to do whatever your individual ministry requires you to do to be ready for the weekend.

Why am I writing this? I’m not writing it to whine or complain. I’m writing to ask you for a favor. In Mark 10:29-30, Jesus said these words to his disciples, I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age. (NIV) What does that mean? It means that God rewards the sacrifices we make for the kingdom. I don’t really think that Sandy and I and our children have had to sacrifice anything significant for the sake of the kingdom…certainly not in comparison to other believers. But I realized a long time ago that when it came to serving Christ, my life did not belong to me. And I have tried to be faithful to follow him wherever he was leading. That led me from Texas to Oklahoma to Indiana. And while this is our home, there is a sense in which it’s not (I hope you don’t misunderstand that). This is not where we grew up. This is not where our family is, etc. And there have been many times when we have missed and longed for our family and friends. There are moments, still, when I wish my children could have grown up around our family and our oldest friends. But I will tell you this that over the years God has given us thousands of people to be our family and friends. Because that’s what God does. I have two earthly brothers, but I have hundreds of spiritual brothers. I have two earthly sisters, but I have hundreds of spiritual sisters. I have many people who have been like a mother and father to me. And it’s made my life rich. It’s made our lives rich.

Here’s what I’m asking you to do. Be a brother or a sister—a father or a mother—maybe even a grandparent to those folks on our staff who are far away from family and home. Be the blessing or reward that God promises to those who are faithful. We’ve got some folks on our staff who have come a long way to be a part of the Mount Pleasant family. What I’m asking you to do is make it your plan to be a family to them.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Maybe I’ll take a stab at writing my random thoughts. I’m looking forward to doing a sermon series on Jesus’ seven statements from the cross. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time but never have been able to get the timing down (seven weeks leading up to Easter). What’s really crazy about that is that I have complete control over my preaching calendar. Go figure! I hate carrying 40 lb. bags of salt down to my basement to the water softener. The last time my son was home I went out and bought 10 bags and got him to carry them (I wish he came home more often). I’m so pleased with the direction of our worship and arts ministry under the leadership of Brian Tabor. I’ve never heard the church sing with more passion and enthusiasm. There’s a lot of pressure when your wife’s birthday is Valentine’s Day. Fortunately for me, I’ve got the best wife ever (I hope you feel that way about your wife), and she doesn’t put any pressure on me. I’m working from my home while we remodel the church, and it’s very quiet. I love it. I think Jack Bauer is the greatest television character of all time. My younger brother just accepted a ministry position with the Savannah Christian Church in Savannah, Georgia. I hired my brother to work for me in my last church, and we were on staff together for about five years. He was one of the best staff members I ever had and played an integral role in the growth of the church. That was one of my favorite times in ministry. This was a good move by Savannah Christian, but when he leaves Tulsa, my older brother will be the only one left there to take care of my mom. My mom lives in a retirement community and has developed a lot of short-term memory problems. It seems to be getting worse, and I don’t know what the future holds for her. I’ll be traveling to Tulsa sometime in March to meet with my brothers and sisters and the woman that runs the retirement community. I hope you’ll keep that in your prayers. 

I’m going to keep writing my blog. I’ll probably experiment from time to time with some different styles and options, but I’m going to keep writing. And I’m going to try and write more regularly. Despite my writing struggles, I’m so thankful to be in the position I’m in where I even have a blog. I love Mount Pleasant Christian Church and no matter how creative or insightful I was feeling, I could never find the right words to express how thankful I am for all of you. I believe the church is in the right place at the right time to live out the vision of changing the world one life, one family, and one opportunity at a time. I hope you feel the same.

Pastor Chris

Recently I’ve been reading a book called, Signs of Life (Back to the Basics of Authentic Christianity). In one section the author, David Jeremiah, tells the story of something that happened several years ago to his friend who was a seminary student in Dallas, Texas. As a part of his course in pastoral ministry skills, he was required to spend a Saturday night in the busy emergency room of a large hospital near downtown Dallas. Under the supervision of a hospital chaplain, the man was to minister in whatever way he could (prayer, encouragement, counsel) to those coming into the emergency room.

Late that Saturday night an ambulance brought in a woman who had attempted to take her life by cutting her wrists. She was past middle age and very thin, and her face indicated years of despair and hard living. Her wrists were bandaged, and the doctors had stabilized her so she was in no danger of dying. But she was in a highly agitated state and needed someone to comfort her. So the man stood by her side. Later, when the doctor caring for her had finished and left the room, the man began listening to the woman’s story with a measure of compassion no doubt strange to her. No judgment, no trying to evangelize her, no trying to point out where she was wrong. He loved her by listening to her. When he did have the opportunity to speak, he told her how much God loved her, cared about her, and understood the pain she was feeling. When it was time for the woman to leave the treatment room, she looked up at the man and asked, “Are you Jesus?”

We can do a lot of different things to try and convince the world that Jesus is who he says he is and that he does what he says he will do, but there will never be any better evidence than simply letting him live through us. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (I John 2:6)

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

P.S. I’ve been thrilled with the wonderful worship experiences we have had so far in 2009. If you attend the 10:45am service, you know we are running out of room. We’ve already established an overflow set-up each week in the YAC. In the past two weeks, we’ve had 56 and 80 people worshipping via video. I love the 10:45am service. I love preaching to a capacity crowd, but I’m concerned this could become a growth barrier for guests, especially if they have trouble finding a parking space. So I have a request. I need some 10:45am folks to be willing, for the sake of growth, to park across the street at the CLC. We’re going to begin a shuttle service next week. If the weather is good, the shuttle will pick you up at your car. If the weather is bad, the shuttle will pick you up from the foyer of the CLC. Thank you for your flexibility!

Well, it’s January 14th as I sit down to write this blog entry (Sorry it’s been so long), and I’m wondering how you are doing with your New Year’s resolution(s). I didn’t really make any resolutions for 2009, but I did think about something I heard a long time ago related to the importance of my thought life. Here it is: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. The biblical parallel to those words is found in Proverbs 23:7, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (KJV)

Here’s an undeniable truth. Our thoughts have a powerful impact on the direction of our lives. No one knows that better than God. That’s why He commands us to think great thoughts. Let me give you some examples. Romans 8:6 says The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. (NIV) Colossians 3:2 says, Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (NIV) My favorite is Philippians 4:8, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. (NIV)

In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us that we can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. But how do we do that? The simple answer is that we fill our minds with great thoughts. And there is no greater resource for great thoughts than God’s Word. So here’s my New Year’s resolution that’s two weeks late: Saturate my mind with God’s Word. It’s my resolution because even though I read my Bible a lot and I spend a great deal of time thinking about how to communicate it to others, saturating my mind with God’s Word is much more than just reading and dissecting. Saturating my mind with God’s Word is about absorbing it and letting it permeate my thoughts each and every day. It’s a matter of reading, memorizing, and meditating.

So I encourage you to join me in this resolution because to paraphrase Proverbs 23:7, “You are what you think.”

Pastor Chris

I can’t even imagine a Christmas without Jesus. So on this Christmas Day, as we conclude our annual “Twelve Days of Christmas” devotions, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas where Jesus is present in every thought, in every word, and in every deed.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him, all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16)

Merry Christmas!

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Undoubtedly many of us have “gift cards” or “gift certificates” on our Christmas shopping list. I know that Sandy and I do. You can give someone a gift card to a department store, a restaurant, hotels, gas stations, golf courses (Did you catch that last one?), etc. Gift cards are great! But I never thought I would see a gift card used the way that was described in a recent Washington Times article that said, “Indiana residents in need of a quick stocking stuffer this holiday season have an unusual option: Planned Parenthood gift certificates. The group’s Hoosier state chapter on Wednesday began selling gift certificates redeemable at any of its 35 facilities for any service provided - from basic health screenings to birth control to abortions.” Betty Cockrum, the president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, was reported as saying, “The gift-certificate program is the first of its kind by any of Planned Parenthood’s 99 affiliates nationwide.”

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, said, “Planned Parenthood claims that it is doing this in the name of women’s health. A gift certificate for health services might be a thoughtful and meaningful, if unusual, gift. But Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, performing multiple thousands of abortions nationwide each year. The organization also receives hundreds of millions of dollars in income from performing these abortions. Abortion is a big business, and Planned Parenthood is the market leader.”

The Los Angeles Times corroborated Dr. Mohler’s comments by reporting that the Indiana chapter of Planned Parenthood performs about 5,000 abortions each year. If you go to the Indiana group’s website (which I did), you’ll see that you can purchase gift certificates online in $25, $50, $75 and $100 increments. They say you can use the certificates for a basic health exam for $58. So, why would someone need $100 gift certificates unless you were using them for an abortion?

According to The Washington Times, “Planned Parenthood affiliates operate more than 880 centers nationwide.” Ms. Cockrum said, “While it’s too early to judge the program’s success, she plans to offer the certificates year-round.”

Earlier this year, during our Think Biblically series I shared the following truths from the Scriptures about abortion:

1. Life begins in the womb.
2. This life is the special object of God’s loving care.
3. Unplanned and ill-timed pregnancies can lead to amazing things (That was certainly the case for Mary and Joseph).
4. God’s redeeming grace covers all our sins.

While I can certainly understand and even applaud the use of a gift card for basic health exams, it makes my heart heavy to think that someone could use a gift card for an abortion. It’s sad to think that at this time of year, we celebrate the birth of one child who changed the world, we can also make it so convenient to end the life of so many others. Note: Special thanks to Barry Cameron at Crossroads Christian Church, Grand Prairie, TX (www.crossroadschristian.net) for some of the information contained in this article.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

A little over a year ago Jamie was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His subsequent surgery and follow-up could not have gone better. He found out recently, however, that he was going to need to begin several weeks of radiation therapy. His doctor assured him that he was going to continue to have a good outcome from all of this, but the news was difficult to take. So this holiday weekend seemed like the perfect time to just go and be together. And I’m so glad I did. We spent our time talking, laughing, and remembering and I was reminded of the truth that sometimes the most powerful ministry we can be involved in is just being present.

In Galatians 6:2 Paul writes, Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. (NIV) The word “burdens” simply refers to the things that sometimes become too much for us to handle on our own. Sometimes the best way to help someone handle the burdens of life is just to let them know that they aren’t alone. Sometimes our presence gives the people we love the strength and resolve they need to face the future.

I remember several years ago when I was ministering in Oklahoma I was particularly burdened by a funeral I was going to lead. A young man who lived next door to his mother and father had taken his life. He had been that son who never seemed to find his way in life and faced one trial after another. This was devastating to his parents, especially his father, who at the time was dealing with his own terminal cancer. I spent a lot of time with them leading up to the funeral and at times the father would just cry uncontrollably and question God about all that had happened. The night before the funeral we had an elders’ meeting at the church, and I shared with those men how difficult this was and how burdened I felt. The next day when I got up to lead the funeral, I looked out at the audience and saw every one of them present. They didn’t know the family, but together they took time away from their work to simply come and be present to let me know I wasn’t alone. That’s something I will never forget.

There are ministry opportunities that take place center stage, in the spotlight for everyone to see. I’m very familiar with those moments. But the visibility of those moments doesn’t necessarily make them the most powerful or important. Sometimes the most significant ministry takes place in the back, in the crowd, and out of the spotlight. And those are moments that all of us can be a part of.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

The Bible teaches us that marriage was designed by God…that it was a part of His “very good” creation. And yet the truth is many marriage relationships, for Christians and non-Christians alike, are less than fulfilling. While Song of Solomon has given us some very good and very practical instructions for experiencing a lifetime of marital love, there are some other practical things we can do.

1. Make a commitment to spiritual growth. A successful marriage requires wisdom and maturity in the lives of both spouses. The kind of wisdom and maturity I’m talking about comes when you are growing in your faith. If I want to be the kind of husband God desires, then I need to overcome things like pride and selfishness, and I need to grow in humility and service. As I mature in Christ, I will mature as a husband.

2. Make a commitment to pray. One of the best ways to bless your spouse and bless your marriage is to find the time to pray together. Every strong marriage has a deep well of intimacy, and intimacy happens when you pray together.

3. Make a commitment to be faithful. Unfaithfulness can be eliminated when you make a commitment to only think passionately about your husband or your wife. The world might say that sexual fantasies involving other people are okay, but Jesus doesn’t say that (Matthew 5:28). And making this commitment today can guard your every tomorrow.

4. Make a commitment to communicate. Proverbs 13:17, in The Living Bible says, Reliable communication permits progress. A few years ago Newsweek released a story that said, “The average couple talks to each other alone four minutes a day.” They also wrote, “The average couple spends 47 hours a week in front of the television.” It’s easy to slip into the pattern of only talking about who’s dropping off or picking up the kids or here’s my meeting schedule this week. That’s valuable information, but that’s not the kind of communication needed in a great marriage. A marriage relationship needs the kind of communication that is focused on the needs of each spouse.

5. Make a commitment to trust and to forgive. The Bible teaches us in James 1:13 that we can always trust that God is not associated with evil. We need to have that same trust with our husband or wife. I Corinthians 13:5 tells us one of the characteristics of love is that it “keeps no record of wrongs.” We need to have that kind of love for our husband and wife. I know that no one is perfect and that there are times, even in the best marriages, where you can be hurt and disappointed. But that doesn’t minimize our need to think, expect, and give the best.

In February of next year, Sandy and I will have been married for 27 years. Ours has not always been a perfect marriage, but it’s been a marriage where some fundamental commitments have always been present. And those commitments were made from the heart. As a result, we have seen and experienced God’s blessing.

Thanks for all the kind words related to When a Man Loves a Woman. You are blessing me, and you are a blessing to serve.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

When I was a boy growing up in Oklahoma, I went to church every week. I went to Sunday school, Sunday morning worship, Sunday night youth group, Sunday night church, and Wednesday night Bible study (wow – that sounds like a lot!). I didn’t go to a big church. The truth is I have no real idea how many people attended my home church. That’s just not something that ever entered my mind. But I have a very good memory of who attended my church.

I remember Mary Bonawit who always had a smile on her face and who had a heart for foreign missions. She was instrumental in helping Vijay and Pushpa Lall get the support they needed to start the Mid-India Christian Mission (several years later one of their sons would found the Central India Christian Mission, and Mount Pleasant Christian Church would become his living-link in the states).

I remember Maurice and Margaret Oakes. Maurice was always around the church willing to do whatever work or service was needed. One time we had a youth campout on the property behind our building, and when some other boys (not me) in one of the tents would simply not be quiet and go to sleep, he threw a bucket of water on them (that was old-school church discipline).

I remember Bill and Jane Beard, who always let us come over to their house for swim parties. And I remember Mrs. Suttle, who, during the brief time my dad attended church, used to call him “Willie Tom” (his name was William Thomas). I could go on and on.

Now, all of the people I have just mentioned were adults when I was a child. But I knew them because we were a multi-generational church. We didn’t have a separate worship service for students or young adults or senior citizens. We all worshiped together in the same service at the same time. I consider that a blessing. Some people might not think that’s practical or the best approach in a church like Mount Pleasant and that’s okay. But just the other day Mary Smith stopped me in the main lobby and told me a story about how one of the children in her Sunday school class talked to her about how he heard Pastor Chris talking about how God doesn’t want us to worry. A little later I got an e-mail from Bruce Humphrey, our Senior High Pastor, telling me about a Sunday night Collision service where he became aware of one of the students talking to God about how Pastor Chris said we should trust God and not worry. A few days later our middle school Pastor Mike Sheley told me how our 5th and 6th graders “lit up” when they attended the main worship on the weekend we talked about contentment from Philippians 4:10-13. That’s what they had just studied and would continue to study once Sunday morning “56” resumed.

I would have never known any of the people I mentioned earlier if I never attended church with them. And while I can’t tell you that I listened to and learned from every sermon I heard when I was a child, I listened enough to learn about a loving God and a seeking Savior and a plan of salvation. And as I got older, I listened enough to understand what it meant to answer the call to what we used to call full-time Christian service.

I love our Children’s Ministry and our Student Ministry. I love the special and specific services and opportunities we offer them here at Mount Pleasant. I think every parent should have their children participate. But I also love standing on the platform at 10:45 and seeing teenagers in front of me. I’m not naïve or arrogant enough to think that they hear everything that I say, but I certainly believe the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of truth, can speak to their hearts in that moment and change their lives forever. So I believe in multi-generational worship. And I believe in creating the kind of worship environment where we can be connected and learn from each other as we focus our attention on God and God alone.

Pastor Chris