Church

Because of what Jesus has done for you, you have the ability to deeply impact another person. My parents were married in 1952 and lived most of their married life on West Eden Street in East Peoria. I was brought home from the hospital to 100 West Eden and attended the East Peoria Church of Christ until I left for college in 1987. While in junior high and high school, there were several older men from the church who taught our Sunday and Wednesday Bible classes. One of my favorites went to be with the Lord in November of 2000 -- Jeff Glover. Along with the others, he was a consistent presence in my life through very important years. In 1984, I was baptized by our preacher -- Brad Carman. Not long after, he invited me to give a devotional at church. Then he asked me to preach on a…

Our vision: "Mountainview will impact South Denver and beyond by fostering a movement to start healthy 3G campuses and churches." Do you know what is the eighth largest country in the world in terms of population? China India Indonesia Brazil Pakistan Bangladesh Churchgoing Americans Non-churchgoing Americans! Churchless Americans are more numerous than Canada, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa & New Zealand … combined! Here's another fact in American Christian culture: Most of what gets counted as “church growth” is actually transfer growth, rather than conversion growth. In other words, it's saved people moving from one church to another rather than a new person crossing from darkness into light. Where I live, Metro Denver, is one of the highest unchurched areas in the country! I had coffee recently with John Leach, senior pastor at Jubilee Fellowship Church. They began in 1998 and have grown to several thousand people worshiping in…

We lived in California for 15 years and lived through several earthquakes -- though we were never close to the epicenter of any of them. The first one we experienced was the 1994 Northridge earthquake. At the time, we had a little Peek-a-poo dog who woke us up around 4:30 in the morning. We didn't know what was going on. The dog was yipping and yapping, running in circles on the bed. About 30 seconds later, our walls began shaking and we knew we had experienced an earthquake. As bad as the earthquakes are, what follows them can often be worse: fires and aftershocks. If you’ve lived very long, you know that life’s troubles can be like that -- there’s the first explosion and then the aftermath. A family member has a stroke, followed by rehabilitation and perhaps even learning how to speak again. A person goes through a divorce,…

Everyone will experience a loss at some point in their life. When it happens, a healthy person knows that we must go through it and not around it. This requires us to accept what cannot be changed. How you feel about it can change. What it does to you can change. But the event itself cannot be changed. This weekend we will walk through the normal stages every person goes through. Unfortunately, too many people stop too soon. A mature follower of Jesus will eventually arrive at a place of acceptance. This requires us to choose God's way over our own will. In your life, is there something that’s over that you need to accept? A job, relationship, or something in the past? Only when you can surrender what you cannot change will you truly begin to experience God’s love and mercy. When you surrender your will to God’s way,…

Have you ever encountered a sign like this one? Personally, I've never seen an actual sign like that, but I’ve experienced it many times. At some point in life, each of us will approach an intersection where you struggle to make sense of life. For some, it might be trying to choose a major in college. For others, it could be whether or not to buy a house -- or which house to buy. Often, the stakes are higher. It might be health or marital decisions. When you hit one of these intersectins, it's not clear which way to turn. The signs might be confusing. If you're downtown, the person behind you is probably honking at you. If you have ever encountered this intersection, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in good company. Nearly every major figure in the Bible expressed doubt or confusion at some point in their lives.…