On Friday, June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and returning the question of abortion’s legality to the states. The Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization upholds a law from Mississippi that bans abortion after fifteen weeks of pregnancy. In its ruling, the Court’s conservative majority said that the Roe decision was egregiously wrong in recognizing a constitutional right to an abortion. States now have broad latitude to regulate or prohibit abortion as they see fit. A six-to-three margin decided the case, with Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissenting. The majority opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito. Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, captured the significance of this moment for Christians everywhere when he wrote: “Today is the day to give thanks to God – life wins!”
 
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!

Hey, Mount Pleasant and IMPACT family, I want to take a minute to share some updates with you. First, after a 14-month search, we have hired a new Executive Pastor – Aaron Gable. Aaron, his wife, Tracy, and their four children live in the Atlanta area, where he has been the Lead Pastor at Lifebridge Church for the past ten years. Aaron was born and raised in Colfax, IN, on a farm where his parents continue to live today. He is a graduate of Johnson University (formerly Johnson Bible College) and has a strong resume of leadership and service in the local church. His role as Executive Pastor will be to oversee the day-to-day operations of the ministries and ministry staff. Aaron will begin commuting to Greenwood three days a week in April, planning to relocate with his family to Greenwood on June 1. Please pray for Aaron, Tracy and their four children as they begin this transition.

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
 

This past weekend was week three in our “A Generous Life” message series. My plan for week three was a message focused on the importance of saving money. However, as I shared with you in this last weekend’s services, I felt God moving me in a different direction. So, I gave a message from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 called, “We Fix Our Eyes.”

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.

Hey Mount Pleasant/IMPACT family, I hope you're experiencing a good start to 2021. Some time ago, a newspaper in Tacoma, Washington, carried the story of Tattoo, the basset hound. Tattoo didn't intend to go for an evening run, but when his owner shut his leash in the car door and took off with Tattoo still outside the vehicle, he had no choice. A motorcycle officer named Terry Filbert noticed a passing vehicle with something that appeared to be dragging behind it. As he passed the vehicle, he saw the object was a basset hound on a leash. "He was picking them up and putting them down as fast as he could," said Filbert. He chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued, but not before the dog reached a speed of twenty to twenty-five miles per hour and rolled over several times. (The dog was fine but asked not to go out for an evening walk for a long time.)

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

Sandy and I did something new this year – we put up our Christmas tree on November 12. That’s really early for us. We usually put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving. But since Thanksgiving is so late this year (November 28), she said, "Why don't we start a new tradition by putting the tree up on your mother's birthday?" This was a sweet gesture on her part, especially since I had been thinking about and missing my mom a little bit more than normal this year. So, the Christmas tree and all the Christmas decorations have been up at our house for a while now. There’s something special about decorating for Christmas because it creates an attitude of expectation. And because, for the past 39 years of my life, Christmas has been inseparably linked to church, that expectation is focused on my physical family and my spiritual family as well. That’s especially true at Mount Pleasant, where I have enjoyed some of my most memorable Christmas experiences.
 
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

 
No one ever taught me about money. The only thing my father ever said to me about money when I was growing up was, “We don’t talk about money.” Fortunately for me, I have always been pretty conservative, which kept me from getting into too much trouble financially speaking. When I young, I always saved my allowance – something I’ve carried with me into my adult years. As I got older, I avoided debt, no matter how much I wanted something I couldn’t afford. And I never lived beyond my means. But I can remember a time in my life when I realized that even though I had managed to avoid a lot of big money mistakes, I needed to take steps to educate myself about how to be the best money manager possible. So, I began to read whatever I could get my hands on related to money. In the beginning, I read books written by Larry Burkett (How to Manage your Money) and Ron Blue (Master your Money). These books taught me about the importance of managing money with a plan. I read The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason and learned about the power of compounding interest. I read The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Staley and learned that anyone could save a great deal of money (even become a millionaire) if you spend less than you earn and invest well. Later on, I read books by Dave Ramsey and David Bach. The bottom line is, I took the time to educate myself when it came to handling money. Years later, I can tell you that it was one of the most important things I’ve ever done.
 
Over the years, I’ve tried to pass the things I learned and worked for me on to my children. I also made the commitment to not just preach and teach on money management (the Bible is the single best financial book available – especially the Book of Proverbs), but to make sure that the churches I served offered different kinds of practical instruction about money. We do this today at Mount Pleasant with Financial Peace University, the Legacy Journey, Budgeting Workshops and Financial Coaching. But, if I were going to sit down and write out a list of the best money management advice I could give, it would look like this (I’ll limit it to my top 5 for the sake of time).
 

1. Take responsibility for yourself.

Proverbs 13:16 says, Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly. (NIV) In other words, a prudent man (a wise man) takes steps to educate and equip himself for whatever challenges he faces. When it comes to managing money, “I didn’t know” and “No one taught me” simply aren’t good enough. Take responsibility for yourself.
 

2. Embrace the biblical truth that everything belongs to God.

Psalm 24:1 says, The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. (NIV) In this verse, “everything” means everything. That includes the money and possessions you have. And just in case you think that’s not fair because you’re the one who worked for what you have, consider these words from Deuteronomy 8:18. But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth… (NIV) Everything belongs to God. And since everything belongs to God, every spending decision is a spiritual decision.
 

3. Be the kind of manager who acts out of knowledge.

Proverbs 27:23-24 says, Be sure to know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever and a crown is not secure for all generations. (NIV) I’ve counseled enough people to know that two of the biggest reasons why people have money problems are that they don’t know the condition of their finances, and they don’t have a plan for savings. You need to know how much is coming in, how much is going out, and where it’s going. And you need to know how strong your financial “safety-nets” (emergency funds, insurance policies, etc.) are. You also need a plan for savings, both short-term and long-term. Saving money doesn’t happen by accident, and leveraging your future security on lottery tickets or a big inheritance is a poor substitute. Saving money needs to be a priority in your life, even if you only have a little money to save. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Proverbs 13:11. Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. (NIV) I mentioned earlier that I learned about the power of compounding interest in a little book called The Richest Man in Babylon. If you begin early, and you’re wise in your investments, you can turn a little money into a lot of money, but only if you have a plan. Proverbs 21:5 says, The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. (NIV) 
 

4. Spend less than you earn.

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) The simple meaning behind this verse is a wise man has plenty because he controlled his spending while a foolish man has nothing because he spent (devoured) all he had. It’s foolish to try and “keep up with the Joneses” (or anyone else for that matter) when it comes to homes, cars, vacations, etc. because the Joneses are broke. The best commitment, from a practical perspective that I ever made, was to determine the kind of lifestyle I wanted to live and stick to it, no matter how much my income increased – that decision created financial margin in my life. And as my income has grown, the margin has grown.
 

5. Be generous.

I believe in the importance of being generous. I believe in the words of Proverbs 11:25. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (NIV) I believe that when we’re generous, three things happen: we imitate God, we show our love for Jesus in a tangible way, and we give ourselves the opportunity to partner with God and the work He is doing in the world. I’ve never regretted one dime that I have given to the local church or to a ministry that I believe in. And I don’t have time or space to write about all the ways God has been generous to me in return. Sometimes that generosity has been financial, but it has also come in many other forms. I don’t give to get; I give to be obedient, to be faithful and to simply be a part. I’m glad that I never let poor financial management, living a consumptive lifestyle and restricting debt ever keep me from being generous.
 
I hope these words will not only encourage you but also challenge you to take a long hard look at your attitude and actions with regard to the money God has entrusted to you – whether it’s a little or a lot. And I hope and pray that you will embrace generosity with regard to the ministry of Mount Pleasant Christian Church. We are currently running a deficit when it comes to our budgeted need (we’re behind by about $140,000), which, quite frankly, jeopardizes our ministry commitments. We need your help to make sure we can continue to be the church God has called us to be.
 
Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

This weekend (September 7/8) kicks off our new "Room for Doubt" series. That might sound like an odd title for a sermon series but here's what I'd like you to consider. As Christians, we should make "room for doubt" in our lives, in our relationships, and in our churches. Now those last two things make sense. We should welcome relationships with people who have doubts because that opens the door to honest conversations and the possibility of a spiritual journey. We should make room for people with doubts in our services because what better place to learn and be challenged. We should also make room (acknowledge) doubt in our own lives. Let me explain that with the following illustration I found in a book called, “Faith and Doubt” by John Ortberg.
 
As long as you have faith, you will have doubts. I sometimes use the following illustration when I'm speaking. I tell the audience that I have a twenty-dollar bill in my hand and ask for a volunteer who believes me. Usually, only a few hands go up. Then I tell the volunteer that I am about to destroy his (or her) faith. I open my hand and show the twenty-dollar bill. The reason I can say I am destroying his faith is that now he knows I hold the bill. He sees the bill and doesn't need faith anymore. Faith is required only when we have doubts, when we do not know for sure. When knowledge comes, faith is no more.
 
Sometimes a person is tempted to think, I can't become a Christian because I still have doubts. I'm still not sure. But as long as doubts exist, as long as the person is still uncertain, that is the only time faith is needed. When the doubts are gone, the person doesn't need faith anymore. Knowledge has come.
 
I tell the audience that this is exactly the point Paul was making in his first letter to the church at Corinth: "Now we see ("see" is a 'knowing' word) but a poor reflection (now we have confusion, misunderstanding, doubts, and questions) … then we shall see face to face (we don't see face-to-face yet). Now I know in part (with questions and doubts); then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (13:12).
 
I will be honest and tell you that I have spent a great deal of my life as a Christian avoiding doubt because I never made room for doubt. If I had my own doubts, I felt guilty. If I encountered someone with doubt, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to answer their doubts. But my experience last year in my Spiritual Discovery Group where every session was focused on the doubts of my non-Christian participants, removed my fear.
 
Maybe you are like me (like I used to be) and you're afraid of doubt because you never made any room for doubt in your life. These next five weeks at Mount Pleasant (and all of our IMPACT campuses) have the power, not just to change that, but to change the way you approach the people you know and love who are a long way from God. I'm praying that will happen. And don't forget that this weekend we begin our new Sunday morning service schedule with services at 9:15 and 11am. I'm anticipating a large crowd this weekend, but we'll have our overflow spaces ready, and we do have 1,200 seats in our Worship Center which means we have room for 3,600 people between Saturday night and Sunday morning. I would ask, if you are able, you might consider parking across the street at the Community Life Center.
 
I'll see you this weekend (bring your one life and/or a friend) for Room for Doubt.
 
Pastor Chris

A few weeks ago, I announced that we will be moving from 3 Sunday morning services to 2, beginning the weekend of September 7 and 8 (our Saturday night service will remain the same – 6pm). Let me take a few minutes to share why we made that decision and why we chose the new service times.

First, when we began three Sunday morning services in January of 2017, everything was great. I was anxious about what 11:30am 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 8:45am. Over time, however, the number of worshipers at both 8:45am and 11:30am 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 8:45am and 11:30am. This was both disappointing and troubling to me.

Second, three 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 three Sunday morning services began to limit our worship experience because we were always “watching the clock.” Having three services required changing our programming from an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and five minutes at 10am and 11:30am and an hour at 8:45am. 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 three 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 8:45am to 11:30am. 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 11:30am). I did my own personal survey of several other megachurches in our brotherhood and found that the most common Sunday morning worship times were 9am and 11am. Finally, I prayed for direction. In the end, I chose 9:15am and 11am. 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.

On Saturday, April 13, we will once again be involved in a food packaging event as a part of our Go Change the World week. We will gather in the Community Life Center in three separate sessions (8:30-10:30am, 10am-12:30pm, 12:30-3pm) to pack over 400,000 meals that will be sent to our ministry partner in Cuba. Earlier this year Sandy and I spent several days in Cuba and we were told on multiple occasions what an incredible difference these meals made for people in need. One of our Core Four Strategies at Mount Pleasant is Serving Others (across the street and around the world). This event gives all of us an opportunity to serve others in a powerful way by being willing to give up 2-3 hours on a Saturday.
 
In a social media post earlier this week I asked the question: Why do we (MPCC) have to send out these “last minute” appeals for more people to volunteer for such a worthy cause? Honestly, I don’t understand why this event doesn’t fill up in a matter of days. The only conclusion I can come to is we have lost sight of the power and significance of serving others, which is what Jesus says leads to greatness in the eyes of God. The world has differing ideas of what makes us great (maybe those are the things that fill up our Saturdays), but the Bible is very clear - greatness is found in living for others.

For most of his career Albert Einstein kept the portraits of two scientists on his wall: Sir Isaac Newton and James Maxwell. Toward the end of his life he replaced those portraits with Mahatma Ghandi and Albert Schweitzer. He said, "It is time to replace the image of success with the image of service."

Maybe he had been inspired by Schweitzer's words: "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know, the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve." Jesus said it like this: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (Mark 10:43-44)

We still need over 900 people to meet our goal of packing over 400,000 meals on Saturday, April 13. You can sign up by going to our website, mpcc.info, scrolling down the Home Page and clicking on the “Go Change the World” icon. Sign up your entire family, sign up your home group, sign up your neighbors, sign up anyone who wants to spend some time making an IMPACT on people who live with food insecurities. Put the things the world has to offer on hold for 2-3 hours on a Saturday to do something that God honors. We need your help.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Hey Mount Pleasant family,

Since we are just days away from December, I wanted to give you a couple of reminders. First, if you haven’t already turned in your “Money Talks” Generosity Commitment Card, you can do it this weekend. If you haven’t picked up a card or lost one, you can find them on the shelves by the doors outside the Worship Center. If you weren’t able to be in church to hear my final “Money Talks” message (Let’s Talk about Generosity – November 17/18), then take the time to listen online as I shared a great deal of information about how your generosity makes an IMPACT on thousands upon thousands of people every day both locally and globally. The greatest investment anyone can make is an investment in generosity because it changes you and it changes the world.

The second reminder I wanted to share is that this weekend we’ll begin a new series called, “Christmas at the Movies.” I’ll be using four familiar Christmas movies to share four challenges that can help all of us experience the best Christmas of our lives. Because of the variety of movies there is something that will appeal to everyone. On week one (December 1/2), we’ll be using the holiday classic, “White Christmas” to talk about the importance of serving others. On week two (December 15/16), we’ll use the movie, “The Family Man” to talk about how to deal with regret. On week three (December 22/23) we’ll use the movie “Elf” to talk about the importance of being joyful. And, finally, during our Christmas Eve services (December 24 – 2, 4, 6 & 11pm), we’ll use the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” to talk about how Christmas is a time to believe in miracles. And don’t forget about our annual Christmas Services that will be happening on December 7 at 7pm, December 8 at 4 and 6pm, and December 9 at 8:45, 10 and 11:30am. Our Children’s Choir will be singing on Friday and Saturday.

Finally, research shows that non-Christians are more likely to attend a Christmas or Christmas Eve service than any other service, including Easter. That means Christmas is our number one opportunity to invite someone to church. Christmas at Mount Pleasant (Christmas at the Movies and our annual Christmas Services) would be a great time to invite your One Life to church. Let’s not miss the opportunity.  

Jesus Cares,
Pastor Chris

Last week I wrote Part 1 of a blog called, “It’s all about IMPACT.” In that blog I tried to share a little bit of the history and vision for our IMPACT Ministries here at Mount Pleasant. As a reminder, we have 3 current IMPACT Ministries. There’s our IMPACT Center on our Greenwood campus that serves 450-500 people in 4 services every IMPACT Thursday (morning – afternoon – evening) and IMPACT Saturday (morning). Because of the growing number of people coming to us each week we are planning on adding an additional service on Friday morning (IMPACT Friday). This new service will not be open to new guests and will only provide food.

There’s IMPACT Old Southside located just south of downtown. As I mentioned last week, we are currently involved in remodeling a building we purchased (1429 S Meridian, Indianapolis, IN 46225). We’ll use this building to serve the community and house a new church that will be a Mount Pleasant satellite. Then there’s IMPACT Fairfax. On July 1, Mount Pleasant took ownership of the Fairfax Christian Church (602 N. Berwick Ave., Indianapolis 46222). IMPACT Fairfax has become a Mount Pleasant satellite. We have been involved in a “soft launch” at IMPACT Fairfax by sending some of our staff and volunteers each week to preach and lead worship. An official restart will be planned now that we have hired a new IMPACT Fairfax Pastor. Andrew Fillmore, his wife, Aylssa, and their three children arrived in Greenwood this week. I’ll be introducing him in our weekend services soon.

I can imagine that there might be some people, even after reading Part 1 of this blog, that are asking, “Why?” I want to use this blog to provide a more comprehensive answer to that question. First, this is a great way to live out our vision and mission. Our vision statement is: “To be a church that is locally focused and globally engaged with an undeniable IMPACT for Christ.” Our mission statement is: “To change the world (for Christ) one life, one family, one opportunity at a time.” We’re doing both of these things through our IMPACT Ministries. We’re making an undeniable IMPACT for Christ in communities that no one seems to care about. And we’re changing lives in a variety of different ways.
 
Second, our IMPACT Ministries serve Jesus by serving “the least of these.” In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus shares “The Parable of the Sheep and Goats.” In that parable he says that when we meet the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, those needing clothes, the sick and prisoners (people can be enslaved in all kinds of ways), we minister to him because, …whatever you do for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40). The communities that we are focused on for our IMPACT Ministries are filled with all of these needs. Third, it’s our responsibility. Jesus shares an important principle in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 12:48 he says, When someone has been given much, much will be required in return. (NLT) God has given us “much” at Mount Pleasant (generous people and great resources). We need to embrace our responsibility to use what we’ve been given to make an IMPACT on people in need.

Fourth, our IMPACT Ministries provide us with great opportunities to live out the great commission to make disciples. Every Thursday and Saturday we have hundreds of lost people come to our IMPACT Center for help. The Old Southside community is filled with lost people. The Fairfax community is filled with lost people. Do I really need to say any more? Fifth, I love the local church. The fact that our IMPACT Ministries give us the opportunity to plant new churches and restart churches that are in decline energizes me. It was a local church that changed my family’s future when some men from that church visited my grandmother in the hospital after a serious car accident. I wonder how many of you reading this blog would say that it was a local church that changed your family or your life? I don’t want to see communities without churches and I don’t want to see existing churches close their doors. God works through local churches.  

I hope that you will embrace this vision for IMPACT because we can’t do this apart from your support. I mentioned in Part 1 of this blog that we needed the continued generosity of our Mount Pleasant family to underwrite these ministries. But that’s not all we need. We need people with missionary hearts who will make a commitment to helping plant new churches and restart declining churches. You’ll be hearing and reading more about that in the days to come. But I’m going to ask all of you to commit to this prayer: “Lord, what role do you want me to play in Mount Pleasant’s IMPACT Ministries." I really believe that what we’re doing today is just the beginning. So, I’m asking for your help to do something that has eternal value.
 
Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

I love the word IMPACT. In fact, I love it so much, that a few years ago I told our staff that moving forward our word for ministry would be IMPACT (always in caps). I’d be lying if I told you that I knew exactly what that was going to mean, but I did have an idea. The first thing we did was rename our then Community Ministry Center (CMC) the IMPACT Center. Next, we began using the name IMPACT Thursday and IMPACT Saturday for the ministry that happened there on those days. As the ministry of IMPACT Thursday/Saturday began to grow and I got to know the stories and needs of some of the folks who came every week, I asked myself: “How can we take this ministry that’s having such an incredible IMPACT on so many people to communities that are under-resourced and under-served?” That led us to a community we originally called “Concord” but later came to identify as “Old Southside” (just south of downtown).

After a lot of prayer, information seeking and investigation we launched IMPACT Old Southside. From the beginning I said that we would have a three-fold strategy for any off-campus IMPACT site. We would live in the community, learn about the community and love the community (don’t forget the words: Live-Learn-Love). We hired Jed Fuller to be our IMPACT Old Southside Pastor, and he and his family moved into the Old Southside community. We purchased an existing building (1429 S Meridian, Indianapolis, IN 46225) and are currently remodeling it to serve the Old Southside community in a variety of ways including the planting of a church that will be a Mount Pleasant satellite. I’ve been thrilled with all the different things that have happened in the Old Southside community over the past several months. I’m talking about community cookouts, VBS, service projects, Celebration of Abundance (Thanksgiving), Ready, Set, Go (school supplies), Pastor in the Park, a Summer Feeding Program, a Celebrate Recovery Group to name just a few. Jed and his wife Adrienne, along with some great MPCC volunteers have been doing a tremendous job.

At the same time I began to have a growing vision for helping churches that were in decline. I’m talking about churches that were once vibrant and relevant but have now, primarily because of a failure to adapt to their changing communities, dwindled down to just a few faithful members who are having a difficult time keeping the doors open. I began to pray that we (Mount Pleasant) might have the opportunity to leverage our health and resources to give dying churches a second chance. The specific word that came to my mind was “restart” and I began to pray for God to open a door. In the fall of 2017 I got a contact from a man who was a leader at Fairfax Christian Church (602 N. Berwick Ave., Indianapolis 46222). This was a 100 plus year-old church that had shrunk to 30-40 people. To make a long story short, after several meetings the remaining members voted unanimously to turn their church over to Mount Pleasant. This happened on July 1st of this year. We have been sending members of our staff, as well as volunteers to Fairfax every Sunday to lead worship and preach. Recently we hired a young man named Andrew Fillmore to be our IMPACT Fairfax Pastor. He and his wife, Alyssa and their three children will be joining us at the end of this month. Because we’ve had so much going on over the summer and preparing for our special One Life series, we haven’t had an official launch for the restart of Fairfax Christian Church that will become IMPACT Fairfax, another Mount Pleasant satellite. Fairfax has a large building, but it needs a lot of updates and upgrades. This past Monday I spent time walking the Fairfax community with our Church Administrator, Matt Goodpaster, and I felt overwhelmed by all the needs and opportunities. I’m so excited about what God might do in this community.

So, as I write this blog we have three IMPACT sites. We have the IMPACT Center on our own campus that reaches 450-500 people each week in four services (IMPACT Thursday and IMPACT Saturday). We call them “services” because we offer these folks a different kind of church. In fact many, if not most, of the folks we serve each week say, “This is my church.” We have IMPACT Old Southside that continues to be active in the Old Southside community as we await the completion of our new IMPACT Center and a new church. And then there’s IMPACT Fairfax. I can’t tell you how excited I am about each of these ministries. I continue to pray for God’s direction and blessing on each of these ministries, as well as future IMPACT sites. And I continue to do the best I can to lead Mount Pleasant in a way that allows us to have an ongoing and growing IMPACT in our community and the world through our global partners.
 
I can’t overemphasize how important it is for Mount Pleasant to continue to be healthy and strong in every way because the health of our IMPACT sites are dependent on the health of Mount Pleasant. This is especially true when it comes to financial health. None of our current IMPACT sites can operate on their own (at least not today). That means we will underwrite these ministries through an ongoing commitment to generosity. Because of your generosity we’ve been able to purchase the building and cover the remodel costs for IMPACT Old Southside with cash. Because of your generosity we’ve been able to set aside money to cover the cost of some important upgrades at IMPACT Fairfax. I hope everyone understands that when we were able to eliminate our debt a few months ago that didn’t mean that we could just sit back and coast. Mount Pleasant Christian Church is in a position of growth and expansion that’s all about making an undeniable IMPACT for Christ. So, join me in praying for God’s guidance and blessing. And watch for Part 2 of this blog in the coming days.
 
Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

I’ve been going to church since I was a baby in the nursery. In fact, I can still remember the woman who would rock me on her lap and read Bible stories to me when I was young. I called her “Aunt Gail.” She wasn’t a member of our church, she was someone the church hired to staff the nursery. What’s really interesting about this story is that she introduced my single mother to her oldest son and they got married. When he adopted me, along with my older sister and brother, she became my “Granny Gail.” The bottom line is I’ve been in church my entire life. And I’ve been to a lot of different church services. But I have never been to a service like the one that is happening this weekend at Mount Pleasant.

As a part of this special service in our One Life series, I will be spending about 45 minutes interviewing a group of people who are not Christians. I will be asking them questions about where they are in their personal lives in relation to Christianity, what their beliefs are about God, the Bible and Jesus. And I’ll be asking them questions about their experience with church and Christians. I can assure you that the people we’ve invited to be a part of our panel have been chosen very carefully and prayerfully after a significant time of interviews, questions and conversations. These aren’t people who have an angry or militant attitude toward God, they are people who have genuine questions and reservations about God and the Christian faith. I suspect these are people very much like people you already know in your family or where you work or in your neighborhood. These are people who have a genuine interest in spiritual things but have some kind of “sticking point” (to use Lee Strobel’s language from this past weekend) about Christianity.

Now I can just imagine someone thinking (or saying), “Why?” Why are you doing something so unusual? The answer is really twofold: First, the Bible makes it clear that every spiritually lost person matters to God who has commanded us to be ambassadors of this truth. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. Second, the best way to be an ambassador is by being willing to have a dialogue with someone who is spiritually lost. We make the mistake at times of thinking we need to have a debate. But a dialogue is much more effective. I experienced the reality of that when I hosted my first Spiritual Discovery Group in the fall of 2017. In our first session I asked each group member (none of which were Christians) the following question: “If you could ask God one question that you knew He would answer right away, what would it be?” I followed that up with the simple question, “Why?” And that led to the building of some great friendships as we engaged in spiritual conversations. I want you to see that this coming weekend in this panel discussion. I want you to have a better understanding of the mind of someone who is not a Christian. And I want you to see the value of engaging someone in a spiritual conversation. As I mentioned at the close of each Sunday service, this will be a very different time of worship as there will be people on stage talking openly about the fact that they don’t believe in God or the trustworthiness of the Bible, etc. Take that into consideration when you’re choosing whether or not to put your kids in our Children’s or Student ministry classes or bring them into the service.

Finally, will you commit to praying every day between now and the weekend for this service? Will you pray for our panel members? We need to show them the love of Jesus this weekend. We’re not going to put them on the spot and we’re not going to try and convert them with an argument or defense of our faith. We’re going to welcome them, love them and pray for an opportunity to build a relationship with them. I’m excited and, honestly, I’m a little anxious because I want to do a good job with this opportunity. So, pray for me as well. I love this One Life series we’re involved in, and I’m so excited about the opportunity for all of us to do a better job of being God’s ambassadors with the message that Jesus offers a new and better life.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

A March 17 article in the Washington Post told the story of Evoni Williams, a waitress at the Waffle House in La Marque, TX. The Post reports: It all started with a Facebook post. On the morning of March 3, Laura Wolf was eating breakfast at a Waffle House in La Marque when she overheard an older man, who reminded her of her late father, tell Williams he had trouble with his hands. The man, later identified as regular customer Adrien Charpentier, had an oxygen tank nearby and needed help cutting up his food. “Without hesitation,” Wolf wrote, Williams “took his plate and began cutting up his ham.” Wolf snapped a photo and after some internal debate over whether to share the photo, the moment was posted on her Facebook page. As of Friday afternoon, the post has been shared more than 73,000 times. “It touched me,” said Wolf, 46. “Because she’s so young. I have four kids who would’ve done the same thing, but you just don’t always see something like this.” The following day, Williams’s Facebook notifications began to light up. Her friends saw Wolf’s post and tagged her in it. Williams had no idea that someone took a photo that morning. The diner was so busy that a line extended outside the door. She said helping Charpentier was reflexive. She has been working at Waffle House since last June to save for college and this, she figured, was just the right thing to do. “I would want someone to help my grandmother or grandfather,” Williams said.

The story began to spread, eventually capturing the attention of Bobby Hocking, the Mayor of La Marque, TX. He says he “immediately felt in my spirit that I needed to do something for her.” As a result, Mayor Hocking declared March 8 as Evoni Williams Day. That’s quite an honor for an 18-year-old girl working to save money for college. But the story gets even better. Mayor Hocking received an email from Texas Southern University President Austin A. Lane, asking if the school could present Williams with a scholarship. So, a few days later, surrounded by her mother, co-workers and more than a half-dozen television camera crews and reporters, Williams broke down in tears as she received a check for $16,000 toward her college education as she was given her own special day by the mayor. “It’s always refreshing in this day and age to see the younger generation helping the older generation,” said Hocking, 68. “Because our young generation is not always cast in the best light. It never gets old seeing young people help.”

Williams still works at Waffle House five days a week — she patiently answered questions for this interview between serving customers — and plans to do so until she starts classes in the fall at Houston-based Texas Southern, where she will major in business management. Wolf said Williams does not have a car to get to classes, but some people have offered to start a GoFundMe page for her, proving that a moment of kindness can change a life.

Eventually, Williams said, she wants to open her own restaurant. She likes to cook and has worked for years in the service business. It is no surprise she enjoys assisting others, even when no one is watching. That is the lesson she wants people to take away from this attention. “Always be helpful,” Williams said. “Just try to help others as little or as much as you can. It doesn’t take much.”

What a great line: “Just try to help others as little or as much as you can. It doesn’t take much.” We would do well to incorporate that advice into our lives as believers because the Bible is filled with this very instruction. Let me give you just a sample:

Philippians 2:4, Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (NIV)

Hebrews 13:16, And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (NIV)

James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV)

1 John 3:17, If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (NIV)

One of the most well-known stories of the Bible is the story of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. While there are many lessons to learn from the story, it is fundamentally about one man helping another who is in need.

When I first read the story of Evoni Williams helping a man merely by cutting up his food, I was reminded of how simple acts of kindness can have a great IMPACT on people and ultimately the world. And while you may not get a day named in your honor or some kind of a financial reward, it will almost always open the door to some kind of blessing, maybe even some kind of special act of God. I’m reminded of the story of Jesus’ first miracle where he turned water into wine at a wedding feast at a place called Cana in Galilee (John 2:1-11). When the wedding hosts ran out of wine for their guests, Jesus instructed servants to fill 6 stone water jars to the brim. When they did, the water became wine. The guests who enjoyed the wine never knew what happened, while the servants who did the work witnessed a miracle. The same often happens for us when we help (serve) others.

So here’s the message. Helping others is the desire of God for all of us who are a part of His family. And sometimes, it’s through the simplest act of help that God moves in us, through us and around us. Remember that the next time you feel like God is calling you to a greater life. That might mean doing something as simple as listening to the people around you and then responding with a simple act of kindness and service. Once you do, just sit back and see what God does.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Like anyone who has served in a leadership role for a significant period of time, I have learned a lot about what I’m good at and what I’m not good at (I don’t think that’s good grammar but given the context of the sentence, I think it fits). One of the areas where I sometimes struggle is the communication of vision, which is bad because a clear and compelling vision is important to the success of any organization. I don’t know why this can be difficult for me. Maybe it’s because I spent so many of my earliest years of ministry just trying to survive. That began when I planted a church in Texas in 1981 without any help from a Church Planting organization, a “sending” church or even a mentor to guide me. I didn’t think about next year or beyond, I was just trying to figure out how to make it to next week. This survival mentality continued when I moved to Oklahoma in 1992 to lead a “turn-around” church (a church that had fallen on hard times and needed a re-boot). Whatever the reason, there’s no question that vision is a critical component of a dynamic church. So, to that end, let me share the vision of Mount Pleasant Christian Church, first, through some important statements.

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

Life’s been a little busier than normal for Sandy and me the past few weeks because we’re getting ready to move to a new home. For the past few years we’ve wanted to “downsize” to a ranch style home. Our two-story home with a full basement is more than we need and we’re over walking up and down two sets of stairs. We’ve been looking for a while but have been pretty picky. One Saturday night I came home from church and saw a home online that was what we were looking for. We looked at the home Sunday after church, made an offer and on Monday it was ours. So the past few weeks have been busy as we got our home ready to be put up for sale. Fortunately for us it sold in 10 days. We closed on our new home last Friday and are now making preparations to do a little bit of work inside before we move in.

We’ve lived in our current home for a little over 15 years. That’s the longest we’ve lived in any home (6 in the past 35 years). It’s bittersweet because we’ve experienced a lot of life in this house. We adjusted to living in Indiana in this house, and that was a difficult adjustment, especially for Andrew and Tricia who were 16 and 13 when we moved. We welcomed a daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren in this house. When Andrew and Kara moved to Indiana with Gracie, they lived in our basement for the first few months until they bought their own home. We faced our most frightening and difficult trial of our lives in this house when I was diagnosed with Cancer in December of 2011. When I was going through my treatment there was a time when I didn’t get out of bed except to go to the hospital each day for radiation (I had chemo once each week as well). When Gracie would come over she would look at Sandy and point upstairs which was her way of saying she wanted to see me. Seeing her little face was one of the things that always raised my spirits so I will always remember the scene of our bedroom door opening and her peeking her little face in to see me – to make sure I was still there. This house is filled with the memories of lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of sleepless nights and lots of prayers. We’re surrounded by lots of families from church and no one has lived on our cul-de-sac longer than we have.

It was difficult to find a house when we first moved here in 2001. I had “sticker” shock because the homes were so much more expensive here than they were in Oklahoma. And I have had times when I was unhappy and dissatisfied with this house even though we’ve made a lot of updates and changes over the years (it’s simply not everything I want). But I’ve been reminded in recent weeks of how easy it is for familiarity to cause you to lose your appreciation for some things. We’ve had a lot of people in and out of our home recently (realtors – home inspectors – appraisers – repairmen), and each one of them have said the same thing: “You have a really nice home.” About the third time I heard that, something “clicked” and I thought, “Yes, we do.” It’s easy sometimes to let familiarity cause you to lose perspective and appreciation for what you have. It’s also easy sometimes to focus on what you don’t have or don’t like to the point of missing everything that’s good.

All this makes me think about church. I’m obviously very prejudiced when it comes to Mount Pleasant, but I think we have a great church. Our weekend worship services are outstanding (believe me, I’ve been to lots of other churches and you are not going to find the level of quality we have at Mount Pleasant in many churches – I’m talking about everything from our facilities to our Ambassadors/First Impression people to our Children’s/Student ministries to our Worship & Arts and on and on). Our Home Group ministries provide a great opportunity for genuine community and fellowship (that’s my experience in my Home Group). And I don’t know any other church that serves people in as many ways as Mount Pleasant. But I’m afraid that, for many, familiarity has caused a loss of appreciation and perspective. I’m also afraid that, for some, it’s too easy to focus on what’s missing than on what’s present. The truth is, the words of Psalm 100:4 should be our personal theme every time we come to worship. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. Is Mount Pleasant a perfect church? No, no more than my house for the past 15 years has been a perfect house. But Mount Pleasant IS a great church, and we should be thankful for all that God has provided and all that God does each and every weekend.

So while I’m excited about moving into my new home, I have a renewed thankfulness for the home I’m leaving. I’m glad I was reminded of how nice that home is (and has been). I hope that regardless of how long you’ve been a part of the Mount Pleasant family, you will have a renewed thankfulness for the blessing of your church home and what God has provided and continues to provide each and every week. And I hope you will make a deeper commitment to be faithful in worship and connected to the life of the church in every way.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

Over the past few months, one of the most common questions I’ve been asked is, “How’s that 4th service going?” In January of this year, we changed our Sunday morning service schedule from two services at 9 and 10:45am, to three services at 8:45, 10, and 11:30am (our Saturday night service at 6pm remained the same).

The first thing I would say is, “It’s going well.” That’s based on how our staff and volunteers have been able to adjust and the basic “mechanics” behind three Sunday services. Our very first week was rough because the transition between the 8:45am and 10am service was chaotic. We made some adjustments, however, and things have been pretty smooth since then. We’ve streamlined some aspects of the service (Spotlight/MPTV) and, honestly, I preach about five minutes shorter than I used to (that’s not a bad thing, it actually makes me work even harder on the weekend message which benefits you) and if you attend the 8:45am service, you sing or hear one less song than the other services. If that troubles anyone, the good thing is we have three other service options that offers all the songs (and some people actually prefer less music). But the thing I want to stress the most is, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about our commitment to create compelling weekend services has changed.

The motivation behind this switch was basically two things. First, we wanted to address a capacity problem that we face during certain times of the year. Our weekend attendance is not nearly as consistent from week-to-week as I would like it to be (drives me crazy – keeps me awake at night), and there are certain times of the year, January – March for example, when we have larger crowds. That changes a little following Spring Break, then picks up again when school starts. And it’s not just capacity in the Worship Center, our biggest capacity issue is parking (an issue no matter what we do). We have room in the CLC/SMC lot, but most folks don’t want to park and walk across the street (I totally understand). The second motivation, and I said and wrote this multiple times, was a step of faith for the future. I also said, that step of faith was dependent upon our people becoming more faithful in their attendance and inviting family, friends, neighbors, etc. to church. During the first few months of 2017 attendance was up like it typically is, and our weekend attendance was higher than at the same time the previous year. Now we find ourselves in that time of year when people are not as consistent. But we have solved our parking problem and I have been surprised to discover how many people like the option of coming to church at 11:30am (although I notice the 11:30am number going down a little now that summer is here).

I’m not going to lie, preaching three times on Sunday morning absolutely wears me out. I’m sure our Worship & Arts folks, Children’s/Middle School ministry staff feel the same way. I’m always disappointed when we come to this time of year and our attendance drops. It begins with two weeks of Spring Break and continues from there. May is difficult because there are activities all month associated with The Race. There are proms, graduations, open houses and oftentimes church gets left out of the mix on those weekends. June and July brings a small window of about 6 to 8 weeks where people have the chance to go on vacation before school starts again, and it just goes on and on. But I don’t want to make excuses, I want to see Mount Pleasant continue to reach people for Christ. And what I know for sure today, is we have room for more. For that reason alone, I’m glad we added a 4th service.

So let me just encourage you to be faithful in worship each weekend. Honestly, it surprises me how big an issue this has become. This past weekend I thought, “We’ll have a great weekend attendance because of all the kids/adults headed to church camp. But I was wrong. We had a lot of folks head to camp Sunday afternoon, many just didn’t go to church Saturday night or Sunday morning.

So my heartfelt encouragement is, make worship a priority. It’s one hour and five minutes a week to learn about/be reminded of who God is and who we need to be, it’s a tangible witness that God has first place in your life/family, it teaches your children how to order their lives and on and on. I also want to encourage you to invite someone to church. I am actively working on the development of a new evangelism initiative that I believe will make a huge IMPACT on our church, but there will never be a substitute for simply inviting someone to church. You can pick up “Invitation Cards” anytime, outside the Worship Center doors or at the Guest Connections Room.

Our vision at Mount Pleasant is to be a church that is locally focused and globally engaged with an undeniable IMPACT for Christ. Our mission is to change the world (for Christ) one life, one family, one opportunity at a time. One of the ways we do this is through compelling weekend services. We do that really well, and we’ve got plenty of room (for now).

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

According to a new Gallup Poll, the number one reason Americans attend church is to hear Biblical preaching. And the numbers are high: 83 percent of Protestant worshipers cited sermons that "teach you more about scripture" as a major factor in why they go to church. Almost as many (80%) cited the importance of practical application. Or, in other words, teaching that connects our faith to daily life. Biblical preaching ranks above kids’ programs, outreach, and social activities. And it ranks way above music. Only 38 percent consider the worship band and/or choir a major factor.

What’s the lesson here? Let me mention three things:

1. Preach the Bible every week. And the best way to do this is to build each sermon around one text supported with supplemental texts (one of the most important rules of Biblical interpretation is we interpret the Bible with the Bible). During the introduction, provide relevant backstory on the passage. It doesn’t have to be a seminary level history lesson. I just needs to be enough information about the author, characters and cultural surroundings so that your listeners can place the text in its proper context. This can usually be done in a matter of minutes.
2. Develop major points in your message. Give people the main idea from the text and then develop points to help them further understand the text or the instructions found in the text.
3. As often as possible, preach through an entire book of the Bible. There’s no better way to counter the shocking lack of Biblical knowledge in the church today than to preach verse-by-verse through the Bible. And always remember that the Holy Spirit of God works through the Word of God. Stories, illustrations and anecdotes can be entertaining, but the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God.

I hope our Mount Pleasant family understands that this has been the commitment of our church for many, many years. This past week I found myself feeling a little bit discouraged and anxious about the “heavy” content found in portions of Matthew 5, as we continue to work our way verse-by-verse through this Gospel in a study called, “Let’s Talk about Jesus.” But then I reminded myself that every single word of the Bible was written under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit and needs to be taught with clarity and passion. I can’t be responsible for how someone receives the truth of God’s Word, I can only be responsible for how its delivered.

One more thing, it’s easy to sometimes believe that a commitment to Biblical preaching is not “seeker friendly.” The idea is that someone who doesn’t know or understand God’s Word, won’t respond to God’s Word. Once again I would refer you to the truth that the Holy Spirit, who is in this world to convict people with regard to sin, works through the Word of God. We don’t make disciples through a secular approach to preaching. And stories, illustrations and anecdotes don’t provide the anchor you need when you go through the difficult challenges of life.

We live in a day and age where people need truth more desperately than ever. There’s only one source of truth. Jesus affirmed that during a significant time of prayer shortly before his arrest, trial and crucifixion. In John 17:17 he prayed this with regard to his disciples: Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (NIV)
 
See you in church with your Bibles (and bring a friend),
Pastor Chris

On a drizzly afternoon in early 2015 seven people gathered for Washington D.C.'s newest group—The Quitters Club. Tagline: "Let's Give Up on Our Dreams … Together!" One attendee was ready to cast aside her long-held ambition to become an actress. Same deal for a would-be writer. Another was ready to quit Washington D.C. The group of strangers were drawn together by the same invite that read: "Most of us have something special we'd like to do with our lives. At the Quitters Club we can help each other stomp out the brush fires set in our hearts, and get on with our lives."

Founder Justin Cannon has quit all sorts of things—filmmaking, music, graphic design. He is tortured by the dueling forces of grand ambition and intense self-doubt. Most often, the battle leaves him frozen and despondent. At one point, Cannon expressed his growing exasperation. "I was like, 'We should have a group where people want to give up on their dreams.' I was making a joke," he recalls. "But somebody said, 'You know, that's a really good idea.'" So, a few days later he took action. He posted a note for his new group on Meetup thinking he might be forming a club of one, but within 48 hours, 35 people signed up. And for two hours, at the first meeting, the attendees expressed their dreams and their inability to make progress. But the strangest thing happened. Instead of giving up, the participants ended up encouraging each other to persevere. They decided, for example, that the aspiring actress should give it one more year before giving up on her ambitions of making it on the stage and that the “would-be” writer should devote time every day to pursue his passion. In the end, one attendee mused, “Here we are at the Quitters Club and we’re all encouraging each other to keep going.” The first meeting ended with a plan to meet again the following month to continue to help people quit. Or, as it turns out, to say, “Don’t give up.”

I hope that true story encourages you as much as it encourages me. Surely we all know what it’s like to come to a place in life where we’re ready to give up. But one of the great things about the human spirit (of course, I think this comes from being made in the image of the eternal God) is we find a way to press on…we find a way to overcome. No one can be successful in life without the will to overcome. As I write this blog, Easter is just a few weeks away. There’s no question that the story of Easter really is the greatest story ever told. It begins as a classic “rags-to-riches” story as Jesus was conceived out of wedlock (of course it was a divine conception) and born to a peasant couple who were traveling a long way from home. He grows up in obscurity and then, around the age of 30, he breaks onto the public scene with promises about a coming kingdom. But Jesus doesn’t just speak empty words, he backs them up with miraculous actions. Then, suddenly, the story takes a dark turn as he’s arrested, beaten, humiliated and nailed to a cross where he dies. But that’s not the end of the story (TALK ABOUT OVERCOMING) as 3 days later, he rises from the dead. As a result, he overcame two things that give all men hope for eternity. He overcame sin and death. And that’s what we celebrate each year at Easter.

This Easter, at Mount Pleasant, we’ll be celebrating Jesus’ overcoming story. We want to celebrate yours as well, but we need your help. When you log onto www.mpcc.info  you’ll see our Easter logo and the question: “What’s Your Overcoming Story?” When you “click” on that question, you’ll be taken to a page where you can record/film your story of overcoming some challenge, set-back or obstacle in your life. There are clear instructions on the page that make it a simple process. It might be helpful to sit down and think through (or even write out) your story in advance because each story is limited to 3 minutes. We’ve already received some great stories, but we’re waiting for yours.

Every good story has that one moment of challenge that has the ability to change the trajectory of the main character’s life (that would be you). Tell us about how you were able to overcome that challenge and what happened next. Let your overcoming story encourage and inspire others today.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

I just put the finishing touches on the first draft for the weekend message. I’m preaching verse-by-verse through the Gospel of Matthew and we are in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God). It might sound odd, given that this is the 6th of 8 Beatitudes, but this just may be the most important Beatitude. Since that’s the case, I labored over my manuscript trying to be as accurate and clear about the meaning as possible. And as I did that I confess to having a “twinge” (just a twinge) of doubt about my message. Here’s why. This past week I read a blog from a preacher I know about the ridiculousness of Christians leveling the following complaint at their church/pastor, “I’m not being fed.” The writer then went on to describe those kinds of Christians as “whiny people” who are “freakishly immature.” His reasoning was that with all the endless supply of Christian churches, Christian books, Christian TV and radio shows, Christian websites, conferences, etc. Christians who say, “I’m not being fed” is like a morbidly obese person setting down their 11th plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet and screaming at the waitress, “Bring me more food NOW!”

All of this is based on the writer’s belief that the local church exists, primarily, to cater to the unchurched rather than believers. Now there is no question that the Bible instructs/commands us to reach lost people. One of the most moving passages in the Bible is found in Matthew 9, when Jesus, after traveling around, teaching and preaching the good news of the kingdom, looks out on the crowds and has compassion on them because he saw them as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He goes on to say in Mathew 9:37-38, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Jesus reaffirmed this responsibility in the “Great Commission” found in Matthew 28:19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… And Paul makes it clear that we need to be willing to move out of our own personal comfort zones for the purpose of reaching people. In 1 Corinthians 9:22 he writes, To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I will never dispute the believer’s responsibility to be involved in reaching the lost.

I do, however, have a problem with a pseudo self-righteous, condescending attitude toward someone who comes to church expecting to hear the clearly communicated truth of God’s Word in a way that helps them grow. The New Testament doesn’t give us a lot of detailed descriptions of the methodologies of the early church, but the ones we do have place a clear priority on the teaching of God’s Word. The first words used to describe the very first church are, They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching… (Acts 2:42). In Ephesians 4, as Paul writes about unity and maturity he describes the foundational offices of the church, including “pastors and teachers.” He then goes on to describe their role like this: to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-13) All throughout Paul’s epistles he emphasized the need for the teaching of sound doctrine. In Titus 2:1 Paul wrote, You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. He wrote those words to Titus to help him as he led a troubled church on the island of Crete. The clear and sound teaching and preaching of God’s Word was certainly a priority in the early church.

The blog that I referenced earlier reflects a very real “tension” at work in the modern day church. My preacher friend began by writing: “If forced to make the decision, our church from day one has decided that we will offend the self-seeking Christian before the spiritually seeking non-Christian.” Clearly he’s writing from the standpoint that you have to choose one approach or the other when it comes to your methodology for doing church which includes the depth of the sermon. I would never support the idea of creating a church that simply caters to the desires of its members with no regard for those on the outside. And every church must guard against the subtle temptation to become inwardly focused. But God doesn’t need preachers to be clever when it comes to delivering His Word, He needs them to be clear. And no one needs to make God’s Word relevant, its truths are timeless. I’m afraid too many preachers don’t trust the power of God’s Word to penetrate hearts that have been hardened by sin. Several years ago I was at a mentoring retreat led by Bob Russell, who was the Pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY for 40 years. During his ministry the church grew from 120 to over 18,000 largely due to his biblical preaching. One afternoon he was talking about the importance of preaching the Bible (seems like a no-brainer, right). At one point, he was talking about why this is so important and he was searching for just the right word. He said, “God’s Word is…” after a few seconds, I spoke up and said, “supernatural.” He looked at me and said, “I really believe that’s true.”

I fear that too many pastors/churches today believe that the Bible somehow needs help. That’s a mistake. I absolutely reject a methodology of ministry that just perpetually feeds selfish Christians and we all need to take responsibility for our spiritual growth. At the same time, I believe that when God’s Word is delivered with clarity and passion in the power of the Holy Spirit, any heart can be challenged and changed. So does it really have to be one or the other? I’ve been to churches before where I fear I might be tempted to say, “I’m not being fed.” That wouldn’t be a selfish declaration, it would just be an honest one. We have a personal responsibility when it comes to spiritual growth, but the local church has a role to play as well. I pray for the courage and conviction to always preach the truth of God’s Word, knowing that it has a supernatural power to change lives.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

On the first full weekend of January 2017, we made a change to our Sunday morning service schedule and went from two Sunday morning services to three. The new times are 8:45, 10, & 11:30am (we continue to worship on Saturday nights at 6pm). When I announced this new schedule I told you (my Mount Pleasant family) that we were doing this to make room for more. In the past, especially at certain times or seasons of the year, we have run out of room in our Worship Center. I wish I could say that it was constant but, sadly, there are times of the year when “other things” keep many of our folks from church. But I wasn’t content to allow any kind of “growth” barrier to be in place, even if it was just certain times a year. Now we’re 8 weeks into our new schedule and, while there have been some “bumps” and we don’t have everything completely ironed out, things have gone well. I will tell you, however, that adding an extra service was just the first step, because now that we’ve made room for more, we need to reach out for more.

In the church we call this “evangelism.” The Bible describes it as “making disciples” or “sharing the gospel” which is a word that means “good news.” The bottom line is when we reach out to others, they can have the opportunity to experience the new and better life that Jesus offers. But the truth is, very few Christians ever embrace this responsibility. There are many reasons why, from fear to intimidation to “I don’t really care about unbelievers.” But reaching out to someone who is unchurched (been out of church for a long time) or unsaved, does not have to be a complicated thing.

I love the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. Philip had been involved in a very successful ministry in Samaria (Acts 8:4-8). But one day, God directed him to go to a desert road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. When he did, he encountered an Ethiopian man who was the classic definition of a seeker because he had been to Jerusalem to worship and was now sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah (a prophetic passage about Jesus). Notice the steps Philip took to lead this man to faith in Christ. First, he approached the man and asked a simple question. Acts 8:30, Do you understand what you are reading? Second, he listened to his response. Acts 8:31, 34, “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Third, Philip told the man about Jesus. Acts 8:35, Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Fourth, when Philip was finished talking about Jesus, he didn't try to force a response, he let the Ethiopian man choose for himself how he would respond. Acts 8:36, As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And that’s what happened (Acts 8:38).
Without question, the most important lesson we learn from Philip is that he was sensitive to the leading of God. And the result was an encounter with a man who was just waiting for someone to tell him about Jesus. There are millions of “seekers” in the world today, and thousands right here in our community and on the South side of Indianapolis. What we need now are more Christians like Philip, who will be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit to reach out to those seekers. It can be an invitation to church, it can be a simple question that leads to a spiritual conversation or it can be you telling someone the difference that faith in Jesus has made in your life. It doesn’t have to be fearful or intimidating. The key is communication, not confrontation.

Our efforts to make room for more will look pretty foolish if we don’t reach out for more. Will you join me in praying that Mount Pleasant can reach more unchurched and unsaved people in our community? Will you be sensitive to the leading of God and follow the example of Philip? Not everyone I have ever shared the good news of Jesus with, has become a Christian, but many have. Life is too short to spend all of our time pursuing temporary things. Let’s embrace eternity by reaching out for more.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

A few weeks ago, I told my wife, Sandy, that the question I dread the most every year when December rolls around is, “What do you want for Christmas.” I say that because, there’s not a single thing that I need and, at my age, most things I want are a little pricey. So I do my best to put together a simple and “relatively” inexpensive Christmas wish list for my family. In the end, I’m never disappointed because the gifts I receive, no matter what they are, reflect love and value. But I’ve got to tell you, I sometimes labor over that Christmas wish list.

That’s not the case when the New Year rolls around. I’m one of those guys who looks at each New Year as a new opportunity and it’s easy for me to come up with a New Year’s Wish List for myself, my family and my church. And since this blog post will be read, primarily by my church family, let me share my New Year’s Wish List for Mount Pleasant.

 1. A greater commitment to weekend worship.

This past Wednesday, in our monthly Pastor/Director/Coordinator meeting, I was sharing with my staff the reality that we live in a day and age when even committed Christians are attending church less often. The result is, you can be reaching more people overall but your attendance may be flat or growing more slowly than you hoped simply because the person who used to come once a week now comes a few times a month, etc. This is a bothersome trend for a variety of reasons but the bottom line is oftentimes a step away from church is a step away from growing more deeply in your faith, serving Christ by serving others, reaching new people, etc. I’ve seen this reality over the past 36 years and I’ve seen this trend right here at Mount Pleasant. Life is busy…busier today than at any other time in history (at least my 58 years of history). But a commitment to spend 1 hour and 5 minutes a week in corporate worship can benefit your life in so many ways. I read recently that most unchurched people became that way simply because they got out of the habit of going to church. That’s what happens when our lives get filled with other things. So…make weekend worship a priority in 2017. NOTE: Our new Sunday morning service schedule (8:45am – 10am – 11:30am) is to make room for more, part of that is you attending more often.

 2. Get “engaged.”

I want you to come to church, but even more than that, I want you to become “engaged.” This is something that our Connections Pastor, Fred Meadows, and his Assistant, Amber Clark, work hard to do. The best way to become engaged is to join our mission by serving. We offer opportunities that range from weekly service to special events throughout the year. The bottom line is we need your gifts and talents to help enhance our ministry.

3. Say “yes” to community by joining a Home Group.

At Mount Pleasant we are committed to something called “relational discipleship.” Relational discipleship is simply the opportunity to grow in community with other believers. This happens in our Home Groups where 8 to 14 people gather each week for study, prayer and fellowship. Our Home Group study time is based on a deeper look at the weekend message as the Home Group leader (facilitator) guides a time of discussion/discovery based on questions and thoughts related to our sermon notes. Home Groups provide the opportunity for ongoing prayer and support related to the needs of the group members, and there is always a rich time of fellowship. NOTE: Sandy and I love our Home Group! There’s nothing you could do in 2017 to give you a better level of connectedness at Mount Pleasant than to join a Home Group. Say “yes” to community. You can learn more about this by contacting Andrew Philbeck or Amber Clark at aphilbeck@mpccministry.com or aclark@mpccministry.com

4. Embrace generosity.

I am deeply committed to the Biblical teaching of stewardship. We have a great responsibility before God to be good stewards (managers) of everything He has entrusted to us. This includes the money God has entrusted to us. A huge part of stewarding God’s money is embracing the need and opportunity for generosity. I’m thankful to be able to do that in a variety of ways, but I’m particularly thankful to be able to do it through the ministry of Mount Pleasant Christian Church. I love, believe in and support the vision and mission of Mount Pleasant and so consistent, faithful and generous financial support of this ministry is a commitment Sandy and I embrace. In this budget year July 2016–June 2017, we will give over 1.7 million dollars away to ministry partners. This is “line-item” giving in our budget. In addition, we will give away hundreds of thousands of dollars in other “special” gifts and our weekly participation in Change For a Dollar. There is no shortage of need. That’s one of the many reasons why my wish list includes the commitment to embrace generosity. I don’t want to see our ministry or our opportunities compromised by a lack of funds. This past November, I didn’t preach on financial stewardship the way I normally do. Instead, I challenged you for 4 weeks to live with an “All In” commitment to Christ and His church, that included financial support. If you are not regularly and generously supporting the ministry of Mount Pleasant, I would encourage you to begin right now. Take a 90 Day Giving Challenge. For 90 days, commit to giving like you’ve never given before and see what the result will be for your life. Let’s put ourselves in a position to embrace the many needs that come our way by being generous.

I could list more, but I’m going to stop here. Thank you, Mount Pleasant family, for the privilege of being your pastor. My family has been deeply blessed by all of you and we look forward to seeing what God will do in the future. I pray you’ll look at my New Year’s Wish List and see yourself and ways that you can serve and be served as we trust God together.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

As we look ahead and down the road of adding an additional service time in January, there are clearly some hurdles and roadblocks in the path. Two weeks ago we unwrapped the package through the “I will Go” initiative. The need is there for our congregation as a whole to add 300-400 additional volunteers across the board! This number includes children, student, worship, connection, and many other ministry teams. On the surface it would appear that our BIGGEST challenge is to add those volunteers. I would disagree with that thought and say that our biggest challenge is: our current church culture.

Allow me to explain.

The definition of culture is: a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization. Whether you realize it or not, we have a church culture. If parts of that culture do not change, then adding 400 additional volunteers by January 7 is going to be monumental, if not impossible for all the ministry areas in our church. Here’s what I mean: we need to move past the cultural principle that we can only go to one service time per weekend. In multiple conversations with a variety of individuals, I have posed the question, “can you serve?” or “can you serve more?” When the answer comes back no, it’s often accompanied with this response: “I can’t, I don’t want to miss church, or miss the service.” Here’s where the culture shift takes place: you don’t have to! We are blessed with a congregation that will have an additional three service times to the one you are serving at. With trimming down the service and transition time between services, we are creating more options to simplify the attend one/serve one culture. I know, trust me as you read those words, it goes against the culture of most of our congregation!

As we talk about being “All In” and passionately championing the way to seek and save the lost, we have to shift our culture. In Children’s ministry we have been talking about the importance of creating a consistent place and a consistent leader for every kid! This isn’t going to happen overnight, but it needs to happen! January is just a few weeks away and our ministries at MPCC don’t have the luxury of time. The new culture that we are looking to create is that of an owner, as opposed to a renter. Owners are invested, committed, and have a major stake in what’s involved. A renter is someone who shows up, can go unnoticed, and stays involved-just enough.

It is extremely difficult to change or modify a group or organization’s culture.  I am confident that it can be done! I’m presenting a major challenge to each one of you. First, will you be part of this culture shift? Second, can you be a champion of this shift with those in your circle of influence? If we answer yes to those two questions, our church would never need another volunteer campaign again!

Chris Franklin,
Children's Ministry Pastor