There was a time when I was a big baseball fan. When I was a boy, I loved the Cincinnati Reds (The Big Red Machine) because I liked Johnny Bench who was from Oklahoma. I suffered through their World Series losses to the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A's in 1970 and 1972. But back-to-back World Series Championships over the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in 1975 and 1976 made it all worthwhile...  Read More

It’s Wednesday afternoon, 5:02, and I’ve been kind of depressed all day long. Now, before any of you fire off an e-mail telling me not to feel that way, I need to tell you why. Sandy and I just got back from a few days in Dallas where we were able to spend some time with our son and daughter-in-law. We did all the things we like to do except play golf (unseasonably cold weather in Dallas). We ate ...  Read More

It’s been a couple of weeks now since the conclusion of our very special “What’s Your Story” campaign, and yet I continue to hear and receive comments about how meaningful it was to so many of you. I can honestly say that I have never been a part of a series that was so genuine and real in its impact. God always moves in powerful ways when we talk about things like dealing with trials or the impor...  Read More

This past week Sandy and I traveled to Savannah, Georgia, to visit my brother and his family. My brother moved to Savannah about six months ago to serve in their global and local outreach ministry. But after being there for just a brief time, they gave him a new position, and he is now the pastor of what they call their east campus (Savannah Christian Church is one of the largest Christian Churche...  Read More

Monday, October 12, 2009 (10:15am)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…especiall...  Read More

My brother, who recently moved to Savannah, Georgia, to work on the staff at the Savannah Christian Church, called me recently to ask me about some details related to the spiritual heritage of our family. He’s writing a sermon about “change” and wanted to tell the story of my grandmother’s conversion. Because he’s eight years younger than I am, he doesn’t know or remember the story as well as I do...  Read More

I’m very pleased with the way our What’s Your Story campaign has begun. The past two weeks we have had great services, great crowds, and great responses from many of you. Thank you for being willing to look past a worship center in the midst of a massive “face-lift” and focus on what the Holy Spirit is doing as He moves in us and among us.This past week we talked about Nicodemus and the dangers of...  Read More

This weekend begins a very special new sermon series called, “What’s Your Story.” I can honestly say I am more excited about this sermon series than any other I have preached in the past. Over the course of the next six weeks, we will look at six people who had personal encounters with Jesus (A Samaritan woman – Nicodemus – A blind man – A paralytic – John the Baptist – Peter), and we’ll see how J...  Read More

This past week while Sandy and I were vacationing in Boca Raton, my cell phone rang just as we were getting ready to head to the first tee. The caller on the other line didn’t know I was on vacation and wanted to talk to me about how Mount Pleasant could be involved in the local arrangements for next year’s North American Christian Convention when it returns to Indianapolis. He did know that I hav...  Read More

I’m writing this blog entry while my son and daughter-in-law are in town. That means I’ve got both of my children at home at the same time. That’s something that just doesn’t happen very often. In addition, my younger sister is here with her three children that I’m very close to. The whole experience has got me thinking about the great joy and the great responsibility that comes with being a paren...  Read More

I’m not an alarmist, and I don’t ever want to be guilty of trying to frighten anyone unnecessarily, but sometimes I look around at the reality of how far our country has gone from her Christian roots, and it troubles me. It troubles me, in part, because it makes me wonder what the future holds.If you take the time to do the research you find that the average lifespan of the world’s greatest civili...  Read More

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 ...  Read More