It's Not Rocket Science

One of my favorite biblical characters is Joseph (His story is told in Genesis 37-50).  If you grew up in Sunday school, then you know that as a very young man he was sold into slavery by his brothers who were filled with jealousy because Joseph was their father’s obvious favorite.  Joseph ultimately wound up in Egypt, the slave of Potiphar, who had such confidence in him he put him in charge of everything he owned.  While in this position, Joseph was sexually propositioned by Mrs. Potiphar, who falsely accused him of rape when he emphatically told her “no.”  As a result Joseph wound up in prison where he developed a reputation as an interpreter of dreams.  When this talent (gift from God) came to Pharaoh’s attention, he called on Joseph to explain two very disturbing dreams.  After listening to Pharaoh’s account of the dreams, Joseph interpreted them by saying Egypt was headed for seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.  That was the economic forecast of the day.  Joseph then recommended a plan for storing food during the good years so Egypt could survive the bad ones.  Pharaoh liked the suggestion, so he made Joseph his Chief Operating Officer and gave him the authority to make it happen—which is exactly what Joseph did. 
There is a lot we can learn from Joseph when it comes to the reality of our current economic forecast.  I, like all of you, grow concerned when I hear and read the negative economic forecasts that dominate our news.  At the same time, all of us, like Joseph, need to understand and embrace a common sense approach to the future.  In his book, Surviving Financial Meltdown, Ron Blue identifies that like this:



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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

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

Recently, as part of a college speech class my daughter took this summer, she was required to give a seven-minute “persuasive” speech. This wasn’t the first speech she had to give, but it was the last one and by virtue of that, it was important to her grade. In preparation for the speech, the professor gave the class a list labeled “Restricted Topics,” which included date rape, drinking and driving, going Greek, euthanasia, AIDS, teen pregnancy, smoking, physical fitness, marijuana, drinking age limits, alcoholism, teen suicide, eating disorders, recycling, child abuse, procrastination, washing your hands, seatbelt usage, abortion, safe sex, STD’s, organ donation, and global warming. These restrictions were based on not wanting to offend someone in the class.

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

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

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

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

This past week we enjoyed a great Father’s Day celebration in all of our weekend services. I appreciate the great work that Brian Tabor and Joey Santos do in our worship and arts ministry. I hope you know how blessed we are to have them both. And I hope you know how blessed we are to have so many talented singers and musicians right here in our church.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what the future can look like for Mount Pleasant Christian Church. In the local church, just like in so many other areas of life, there is always a need for strategic planning. At the present time our church is experiencing God’s blessing in some very tangible ways. The completion of our Community Life Center/Student Ministry Center almost a little over a year-and-a-half ago has been a great blessing. And I hope that you would agree with me that the discomfort of re-modeling and re-purposing almost all of our main campus was well worth it. This week our staff is moving into the new Administrative space and the only two items left on the agenda are converting the Y.A.C. to a Chapel and re-modeling the Music Suite.

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

This past weekend, as most of you know, we experienced 114 baptisms in our weekend services. I’ve got to tell you that in 30 years of full-time Christian ministry, I have never been a part of something like this. I have never seen God move in so many people so spontaneously to respond to the call of faith expressed in baptism. Months ago I made the decision to preach about baptism on this particular weekend. But apart from praying diligently, making sure we had extra towels and baptismal “clothes,” and letting people who had gone through our Membership Inquiry process know that I was going to be sharing a message about baptism, we didn’t do anything on our own to create this response. It’s Wednesday morning as I write this blog entry, and I’ve got to tell you I’m still feeling very overwhelmed by what God did. Here are some of my reflections and thoughts from the weekend in no particular order.

After you’ve baptized your first 22 people, don’t change back into your street clothes because there just might be two more people who come. After you’ve baptized your first 24 people, don’t change back into your street clothes because there just might be three more people who come. After you’ve baptized your first 27 people, just wear your wet clothes home because, who knows, you might meet an Ethiopian man in a chariot somewhere along Bluff Road, and you’ll need to be prepared.

While the Bible makes it clear God moves and works in response to our faith, I’m so thankful there are times when God also chooses to move and work in spite of a lack of faith, or, at the very least, uncertain faith. I’ve never been as bold in my call for people to come and be baptized as I was this past weekend. But after the message in each service I changed into my baptismal clothes, came out of Joey Santos’ office and asked someone on staff, “Did anyone come?” I even did that at the 10:45 service when I had already baptized 64 people. Thank You, God, for all the patience You have shown to me over the past 30 years. Help my faith to grow.

As strong as my conviction is about New Testament baptism (all the things I shared with you this past weekend), driving home after the 10:45 service my heart felt a little heavy because I know there were people in each service who do not understand or share that same conviction. And my prayer was that our relationships will still be strong and open, and that, together, we will trust God to guide and direct our lives.


I can’t even imagine what it must have been like on the Day of Pentecost when about 3,000 people accepted the message of Christ and were baptized.

I’m thankful to be the Senior Pastor of Mount Pleasant Christian Church. I’m thankful to lead a staff who is willing to say, “What can I do to help/serve?” I’m thankful to be a part of a Brotherhood of Churches who has a common goal of restoring the biblical pattern of the church for the ultimate purpose of uniting all Christians as one.

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

I wanted to take a minute to write and say what a blessing this past Easter weekend was for me, and I hope and pray it was for you as well. I’ll be honest and tell you I didn’t quite know what to expect in terms of the crowd because Easter fell on one of the two weekends that bookended Spring Break. I’ve never seen anything like Spring Break in Central Indiana (I hope many of you were able to get away and experience a time of refreshment and renewal). But the end result was an attendance of 4,385, which is the second highest weekend attendance in the history of the church. What makes that even more amazing was that Saturday night’s service was far from full (not sure why…maybe it had something to do with the 6pm tip-off of the National Semi-Final game involving a certain Indianapolis area team). If you were at one of our Sunday morning services, you know that the Worship Center was packed. And each Sunday service included more than 100 people in the overflow area. Our Video Venue also had a record crowd of 125. In the end it was simply a powerful weekend. I’m very thankful for all the efforts from our Worship and Arts staff as well as the entire church staff who demonstrated a willingness to serve in whatever capacity they were needed.

On April 17-18 we’ll begin a new verse-by-verse study of the Book of I Peter entitled, “Where is the Hope?” The apostle Peter wrote this letter to believers scattered throughout the regions of Asia Minor because of increasing hardship and persecution that was causing some of them to wonder if God had abandoned them. He wrote to let them know it was possible to find hope and meaning in the midst of their suffering. This series (with a few breaks for holiday weekends) will take us through the summer and provide a great opportunity for growth for all of us. I hope you will pray for me in my preparation, and then plan on being present for each study.

Finally, on a lighter note, I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to have a freezer full of Blue Bell ice cream. I hope you did not miss the April 5th introduction of Blue Bell into the Indianapolis market. I also hope you are doing your part to make sure Blue Bell stays around. Let your local Meijer store know how much you appreciate them for carrying Blue Bell, and fill out a product request form at your local Kroger or Marsh or wherever you shop. There’s an important reason for this that will become clear when I get to share my latest Blue Bell story with you at church. I’m hoping that will be soon. In the meantime, keep buying. My newest recommendation is a flavor called “Butter Crunch.” It’s vanilla ice cream with chunks of Butterfinger candy bars. (I know…I know…this is a little over the top).

Jesus cares,
Pastor Chris

A Blue Bell Prayer

In my last blog entry I shared some thoughts about friendship based on a recent trip Sandy and I took to Houston. I have to be honest, though, and tell you that one of the things I miss the most about living in Houston (and Broken Arrow), is Blue Bell Ice Cream. Now if you've been a part of the Mount Pleasant family for any length of time, you know that I have a slight addiction to Blue Bell. My recent trip to Houston didn't help this addiction as I discovered a new flavor called "Candy Jar." Listen to how Blue Bell describes "Candy Jar" ice cream on their web site. "Rich caramel ice cream containing all of your favorite candy pieces - peanut butter cups, chocolate chunks, peanut brittle, chunks of caramel, and chocolate crisp pieces." Who could say "no" to that?

The original Blue Bell creamery is located in Brenham, Texas, located just outside of Houston so there was never any problem getting the ice cream there. The second creamery Blue Bell opened just happened to be in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and its opening just happened to coincide with my family moving to Broken Arrow. But, alas, there is no Blue Bell joy in Greenwood, Indiana. So for the past eight years I've had to be satisfied with occasional splurges of three gallon containers of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla purchased from Carrabbas restaurant or a few days of Blue Bell gluttony when I'm on vacation. But the winds of change just might be blowing through Central Indiana.

According to INDYSTAR.COM Blue Bell has plans to break into the Indianapolis market with the construction of a cold storage warehouse on the northwest side. The article says, "Plans for an Indianapolis distribution facility appear to signal a major move into Northern markets."

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100215/BUSINESS/2130332/Blue-Bell-ice-cream-hopes-to-build-here?GID=3eT7/UFIjiUdALQLCWsKAq3l4Ku0KQflkgsHVWyLF0M%3D

Suffice it to say that we've all got something new to add to our prayer lists. If Blue Bell does make its way to Indianapolis, I'm going to be modest and only claim somewhere between 75% to 90% responsibility.

You can thank me later,

Pastor Chris