“One of us”

Most of you have probably heard me tell the story of how my brother Kenneth was preaching about the incarnation (God becoming a man) one Sunday and began to tell the story of a man who went to live in a leper colony.  The only problem was he said he went to live in a leprechaun colony.  I believe it was nothing less than the favor of God that allowed me to be present, that morning so I could hear it with my own ears.  That misspeak on his part has given me lots of opportunities to tease him as well as provide me with a funny story to tell in all kinds of settings.  All that aside, the story he was trying to tell is a powerful one.  The man’s name was Father Damien.  He moved to Kalawao, a village on the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony.  For 16 years, he lived in their midst.  He learned to speak their language.  He bandaged their wounds, embraced the bodies no one else would touch and preached to the hearts that would have otherwise have been left alone.  He organized schools, bands and choirs.  He built homes so that the lepers could have shelter.  He built 2,000 coffins by hand so that, when they died, they could be buried with dignity.  Slowly, it was said, Kalawao became a place to live rather than a place to die, for Father Damien offered hope. 

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

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

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

The Story

I want to take a minute to write about a new sermon series called “The Story” that begins here at MPCC in January 2013.  The intent of The Story is to help you see the connectedness of the Bible as it unfolds from two perspectives: the lower story and the upper story.  The lower story is God’s work in and through the lives of people, places and events while the upper story is about how God uses those people, places and events to accomplish His ultimate plan of redemption. 

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Closing the Door

There’s lot’s of ways to describe it.  Some say “It’s the ugly secret that no one wants to talk about.”  Others say, “It’s the 800 pound gorilla in the room.”  The bottom line is it’s a problem, a big problem, especially for the megachurch.  What am I talking about?  I’m talking about the back door.  The truth is in most churches the back door is open and while new people are coming in the front door, others are walking out the back door never to return.  Now, to be fair, some of those who leave were never really committed to Christ and his church.  They are like the seed that falls on the “rocky” soil or among the “thorns” that Jesus talks about in The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23).  They gave an initial appearance of commitment but it wasn’t real.  At the same time there’s always a natural attrition that takes place in every church.  People die, people move, people divorce, people get mad, etc.  But the bottom line is the back door of the church is always open.  That’s certainly been the case at Mount Pleasant Christian Church over the years.  At the risk of being too honest I’ll tell you that when I arrived at MPCC in November 2001, the average weekly attendance was 2,107.  Today, in 2012, our average attendance has fluctuated throughout the year between 2,900 and 3,100.  But here’s the deal, from 2002 – 2012 (ytd) we have added 2,847.  You do the math.  While our growth has been solid, it’s fallen well short of what it could/should be.  So what’s the answer?  Let me give you four things.  First, establish high expectations for membership.  Research shows that as churches lower their expectations of members and attendees, the result is an exodus of people from the church.  Why would anyone want to be a part of something that expects nothing?  Second, get people connected to a small group (Journey Home Groups).  This helps create the kind of community that leads to long-term commitment.  Third, get people involved in serving.  The earlier a new member or attendee can get involved in a church’s ministries, the higher the likelihood of effective assimilation.  Fourth, help people develop relationships within the church.  This is why we have developed a new focused discipleship ministry called The Journey.  We have incorporated all four of these elements in The Journey to do two things.  First, and most important, is to help people become fully-developing followers of Christ.  Second, to do all we can to shut the back door.  Through The Journey you have an opportunity to make a commitment to Christ and his church.  We make sure you understand that this isn’t a casual commitment it’s the most important commitment of your life.  The Journey also gives you an opportunity to begin to travel down a specific pathway designed to help you grow.  That pathway will involve opportunities to be connected to a small group (Journey Home Group or Journey Care Group), opportunities to grow through a connection with caring and gifted people who have been trained to minister to you on a personal level (Stephen Ministry), opportunities to grow deeper in your understanding and application of God’s Word (Journey Bible Classes or Journey University) and opportunities to discover and use your gifts and talents to serve people (Journey Ministry).  I genuinely believe that The Journey is something that can have a dramatic impact on your life and our church.  I hope you agree.  Log onto www.mpcc.info and click on the link “Join The Journey” or contact Ken Jones at kjones@mpccministry.com. 

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

God At Work

I Chronicles 16:8 says, Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.  (NIV)  Centuries ago William Law wrote: “Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world?  It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who lives most, but it is he who is always thankful to God; who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.” 

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

One Hour and Fifteen Minutes – Part Two

In my most recent blog I shared my honest feelings about how difficult it is for me to understand how someone who is a Christian can’t find, one hour and fifteen minutes to attend a service completely devoted to worshiping God.  I understand that this is really not much of an issue to someone who doesn’t understand the importance of church from a biblical perspective.  So, humor me, and let me take a minute to write about that.

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

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

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

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

Pastor Chris

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One Hour and Fifteen Minutes

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It’s Thursday afternoon and I’m already tired.  Sandy and I got up at 3:45 this morning to drive an hour to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, return our rental car and catch a 7:00 flight home to Indy.  Now I’m in the office finalizing some details for the weekend and preparing for a funeral on Saturday.  In the middle of all of this I took a minute to check our attendance numbers from the past weekend.  If you remember from the previous weekend, I told you that I was going to be out of town so Sandy and I could help celebrate her dad’s 80^th birthday and so I could see my mom for the first time in two years.  I thought that sharing that information would be a good thing.  And I was excited to let everyone know that John Caldwell was going to be filling the pulpit.  I even shared a personal story about how much John’s ministry at Kingsway Christian Church in Avon had blessed me at a very vulnerable time in my ministry many years ago.  I said, “Let’s have a full house…let’s put our best foot forward and welcome John to MPCC for a great weekend.”  Disappointed is not a strong enough word to tell you how I feel having seen the numbers.  I don’t want you to misunderstand me, I’m very thankful for those of you who were here but our attendance was well over 500 less than our year-to-date average (and it’s not even Fall Break weekend).  We didn’t have a full house and we didn’t put our best foot forward in welcoming John to MPCC.

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

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

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

One hour and fifteen minutes.

Pastor Chris

Waiting

I don’t know anyone who likes to wait for anything.  I certainly don’t.  Ever since my treatments concluded on February 21^st, I’ve been waiting to find out the results.  After a couple of months I was given a date for my follow-up PET scan (May 14^th) and an appointment to find out the results (May 16^th).  But before I could count on those dates I had to see my Radiology Oncologist one more time to make sure my throat was healed enough to actually do the PET scan.  I had that appointment today and everything is a go.  Now I’m waiting till next Monday for the scan.  The good news is I don’t have to wait quite as long for the results because I’ll be seeing my Dr. on the 15^th (next day) instead of the 16^th.  But it’s all been waiting.

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Just Say It!

It’s Monday morning and I’m in my office enjoying a feeling of normalcy that I haven’t experienced in a long time.  I can walk down the hall and greet my staff, I can see people sitting in the Connection Café enjoying a cup of coffee and I can hear the preschool class that meets directly below my office. 

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

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

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

Positive Attitude

In the book, Strengthening Your Grip, Charles Swindoll writes, “Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.”

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

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

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

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

1.     The complete destruction and eradication of the cancer in my neck and throat (still several weeks away from a follow-up PET scan).

2.     The ability to transition from the feeding tube to being able to eat by mouth (there’s no timetable pressure here but I’ll be glad when the feeding tube can be removed).

3.     The ability to produce saliva (the radiation has really burned up my saliva glands…some will return…some may not).

4.     The return of my taste buds (my Dr. told me this could take a long time but then he followed that up by saying, “But you’re doing so well, who knows?”).

5.     Safe travel to Savannah and back.

See you soon,

Pastor Chris

“Oh what a beautiful morning!”

February 22, 2012, oh what a beautiful morning!  It’s the day after the completion of my treatments and when I stepped outside my front door I was overwhelmed by the beauty and the warmth (for February) of the day.  It felt so good that I had to walk down to the corner of the block and back which is something I haven’t felt like doing in a long time.  I don’t want to be too subjective but it was hard not to feel like this was a special gift from God to me.  And I’m very thankful.

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Hang On!

Today was my 15^th trip to the Cancer Center (sounds strange to read those words).  At the end of this week, on Friday, I will receive radiation treatment number 18 so I’ll be just past the half-way mark of this journey.  And while I’m in a battle every single day I meet someone who is in a bigger and more frightening battle than me.  Today I met a man named Rusty who is 54 (one year older than me).  He’s having radiation to treat a cancer in his throat right on the edge of his vocal chords.  The Dr.’s have told him there’s a good chance me will lose his voice.  On top of that he’s already had three back surgeries and a year ago December he was laid off from his job and hasn’t been able to find a new one or qualify for disability.  NOTE: I’d like to ask you to add Rusty to your prayer list.

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

1.     Hang on to your hope.  Psalm 20:1 says, May the Lord answer you when you are in distress (trouble); may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.  (NIV)  In verse 5, he writes, May we shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God (those banners should say “Great Joy!”).  When you’re in a difficult time in your life you need to remind yourself that while things are ugly now,  God is going to see you through

2.     Hang on to your commitments.  Psalm 20:3 says, May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.  (NIV)  Oftentimes when we are in a time of difficulty we are tempted to stop everything we’re doing or at least put it on hold until things turn around.  But when you stop being faithful to God (in worship – in service – in giving) it’s almost like you’re saying, “This isn’t working…I’m not getting my money’s worth for all that I’m contributing, if I were I wouldn’t be going through this difficult time.”  But that’s not how it works.  We need to hang on to our commitments even in difficult times because God continues to see our faithfulness and He won’t forget.  Hebrews 6:10 says, For God is not unjust.  He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers as you still do.  (NIV)  NOTE: I’ve been thrilled at the attendance and the giving that have taken place over the past three weeks while I have been in treatment.  Thank you, church family, for hanging on to your commitments in this difficult time for all of us.

3.     Hang on to your dreams.  Psalm 20:4 says, May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.  (NIV)  When I was first diagnosed with this cancer I have to be honest and say I had thoughts that I might not ever be able to preach and lead the church again.  I don’t have those thoughts anymore.  Instead, I look forward to coming back and being a better preacher and leader than ever before.  That’s my hearts desire.

4.     Hang on to your prayers.  Psalm 20:5b says, May the Lord grant all your requests.  (NIV)  God wants to answer our prayers so we need to continue to pray.  What a blessing it is to know that so many people, all over the world, are praying for me.  And my encouragement is to be persistent in those prayers.

5.     Hang on to your priorities.  Psalm 20:7 says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  (NIV)  There’s nothing like walking through a difficult experience to help you see exactly where your priorities need to be.  As Christians, our priority is the Sovereign God who created and sustains all things.  Every other choice falls short. 

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

1.     Pray that my pain meds will ease the discomfort in my throat that’s only going to get worse over the next few weeks (this is a big deal when I try to sleep).

2.     Pray that I maintain a satisfactory weight.  Right now I’ve lost about eight pounds.  I’m told that those who lose the least amount of weight do the best.

3.     Pray the radiation that my thyroid is receiving as a part of the overall treatment will not do any permanent damage. 

4.     Pray for me to have the strength to meet this challenge one day at a time.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Random Thoughts

 As I write this blog I’m seven days into my radiation therapy which is exactly 1/5^th of the way through.  That might not sound like a big deal to some but it’s a big deal to me.  Every day closer to the end is a big deal to me.  It’s also enough time for me to formulate some random thoughts about where I’ve been and what I’ve experienced.

When the Dr. first told me that I had cancer my first feeling was anger.  But I wasn’t angry with God.  I was angry that cancer is a part of this sinful fallen world and that anyone has to have it.  As time went on that anger remained but it slowly became replaced by a resolute trust in a Sovereign God who doesn’t make mistakes.  That’s not to say that I don’t have my “down” times. The absolute last thing that I want to do is make it seem as if I’m some kind of spiritual giant in this journey.  Sandy and I both continue to have moments when fear creeps in.  We continue to shed tears and fight the temptation to ask, “Why me?”  But here’s the great thing about faith…it’s a foundational thing that keeps the fear and the tears and the questions from being in control. 

Every time I go to the cancer center I’m struck by the kindness of those who are working/serving there.  I guess we get used to some pretty lousy customer service when we shop and dine, etc.  But I’ve encountered a lot of kindness in my cancer journey.  There should really be a way to honor people who give hope to the hurting.

I seem to be the youngest person in the Cancer Center…and I’m not that young.  I mentioned that to Sandy today and then said, “That just gives me a longer period of time to be a cancer survivor.” 

I ran across this quote today when I was doing some study.  “God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.”  (John Aughey)  I don’t think I have cancer because God is punishing me.  That thought never crossed my mind.  I do believe, however, that every Christian could use some cleansing on a practical level.  I’m praying that God would do just that for me.

One thought that keeps coming to my mind is, “Will my life ever get back to being normal?”  In some ways I believe that it will.  I’ll have normal days with normal activities and normal outcomes.  At the same time I hope that it doesn’t in the sense that, just like Jacob walked with a limp after he wrestled with God (Genesis 32), I can see great value in “limping” through the rest of my life because the limp will always remind me of an incredible encounter with God. 

Finally, one of the things that sustains me is the knowledge that thousands of people continue to pray for me.  I don’t know where I’d be without the prayers of God’s people.  Please continue to pray for me, Sandy, Andrew, Tricia, Kara and Grace.  I love you all and can’t tell you how much I miss being with you each weekend. 

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Specific Prayers:

1.     Pray that I will be able to eat and drink and maintain my weight.

2.     Pray that some of the “extra” problems I’ve had this first couple of weeks (cold – stomach problems) will go away and not make this more difficult than it has to be.

3.     Pray for my Dr.’s (Dr. Garrett – Dr. Fairchild – Dr. Smith) as well as the nurses and therapists who are caring for me (too many to name).

4.     Pray that my witness will be strong.

5.     Pray that every day the cancer in my neck and throat is being completely destroyed and eradicated from my body.

6.     Pray God’s blessing on the church and all of our staff.

There are two things I believe about 2012 at Mount Pleasant Christian Church.  First, it’s going to be a year of great learning for me and two, it’s going to be one of the greatest years in the history of the church. 

I write those words as I find myself in the beginning stages of my treatment for a cancer that began in my right tonsil and has spread to two lymph nodes on the right side of my neck.  Already I am learning the importance of patience and allowing someone else to be in control of what’s happening in my life.  Those are not easy lessons…especially for me.  I’m also learning the value of trusting others to do what I often convince myself I can do better.  That’s an extremely difficult lesson to learn.  But I know that God is involved in all of this and when the conclusion to this chapter of my life is written it will be for my good and God’s glory. 

I also believe that God is going to do some great things at Mount Pleasant throughout this process as well.  We just finished an incredible year of ministry filled with too many highlights to mention.  And I can tell you that, from a leadership perspective, we’ve got some great plans for the future.  In fact, as I write these words I am chomping at the bit to share some exciting news about future expansion but I’ve got to wait until all the pieces are in place.  In the meantime, I want to encourage you to continue to be faithful in your worship, service and stewardship.  I’m not going to be able to be in the pulpit for a while but I know you’ll be blessed by the speakers we’ve got lined up.  Here’s a look at the next several weeks:

• January 7/8 – Andrew Philbeck (my son and one of my favorite preachers)
• January 14/15 – Kenneth Philbeck (my brother and the East Campus Pastor at Savannah Christian Church, Savannah, Ga)
• January 21/22 – Kenneth Philbeck
• January 28/29 – Andrew Philbeck
• February 4/5 – Ajai Lall (President and Director of Central India Christian Mission)
• February 11/12 – Ajai Lall

I know you’ll be blessed by each message these men will deliver and I believe that this will be an opportunity to have a front row seat to see how God is going to continue to build His church even in circumstances we would have never sought on our own. 

Please continue to pray for me and my family and pray for Mount Pleasant.  Paul writes about the power of perseverance in I Corinthians 9.  My favorite part comes in verse 24 when he writes, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  (NIV)  I’m looking forward to seeing how God will bless and reward each of us for continuing to run the race of faithfulness.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Real Faith (An excerpt from the sermon “God is Good”)

I’ve always known that there are basically three kinds of faith that are represented among people who call themselves Christians.  First, there is inherited faith.  Inherited faith is a faith that you receive from someone else like your parents or a spiritual mentor like a Pastor or Sunday School teacher.  I had the good fortune of growing up in church where there were many faithful people who impacted my life so I know what inherited faith is all about.  The second kind of faith is textbook faith which is a faith that you read about in the Bible or maybe in the biography of a great Christian.  Again, because I grew up in church I have vivid memories of learning about the great faith of  Abraham who was willing to obey God and sacrifice his son  One of my favorite Bible stories was how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, because of their great faith, were willing to defy the kings edict and not bow down to an idol.  Textbook faith is what the Hebrew writer was talking about when he wrote in Hebrews 12:1, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…  (NIV)  He’s talking about the many men and women who lived by faith in Hebrews 11.  In addition, over the years my life has been blessed on many occasions by reading stories about people like John Wesley or Hudson Taylor who were men of great faith.  The third kind of faith is proven faith.  Proven faith is personal faith that’s been developed and refined by going through the trials of life and comes out on the other side saying God is good.
Here’s what we need to understand.  When the trials of life come…when you find yourself in the middle of a storm…when things are more difficult for you than they’ve ever been before, as good as inherited faith is, it’s not  going to carry you through because it was something that was just passed on to you by someone else.  When the trials of life come…when you find yourself in the middle of a storm…when things are more difficult for you than they’ve ever been before, as good as textbook faith is,  it’s not going to be the faith that carries you through because it’s just something you’ve read about.  But when the trials of life come…when you find yourself in the middle of a storm…when things are more difficult than they’ve ever been before, it will be proven faith that helps you make it through because proven faith is your faith…your faith that has been tested and found to be true.  Proven faith is your faith that will be able to stand up to any circumstance no matter how difficult it may be.  And at the end of the day proven faith helps you to say, “Yes, this is awful, this stinks, this is terrible but it doesn’t change the truth that GOD IS GOOD.” Sometimes it is hard to remember that. Absolutely it’s hard. But in those moments your only choice is to hold on to that immutable truth about God that he is always good and just know that ultimately his goodness is going to come through, somehow, some you’re your circumstances today might be causing you to have a hard time seeing that God is good but he absolutely is, and THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE.