Beginning Sunday, April 11 - Life Hurts / God Heals

I think it will be accepted as fact if I say, "Sometimes life hurts"...won't it?  

I mean life just takes a toll, especially on relationships:  Marriages, friendships, brothers & sisters, parents & children, at work, at home, at church, at school...even our relationship with God shows some wear and tear after awhile.

Many people struggle to trust that God really wants the best for them and their relationships.  In fact, where there has been hurt...He wants there to be healing.  

We will spend a few weeks exploring God's desire to heal what may have been hurt in our relationships.  Here are our topics:

April 11 - God wants to heal our relationship with Him.

April 18 - God wants to heal our relationship with other people.

April 25 we will take a one week break from this series as we invite our Executive State Minister, Dr. Doug Talley, to share with us as a part of our Indiana Ministries Consultation.

May 2 - God wants to heal our own self-image, or you may say, our relationship with ourselves.

We hope you will join us this Sunday, April 4th for our Easter Sunday Celebration!  We will be putting the finishing touches on our Lent Series:  One Month to Live.  And then mark your calendars to be with us beginning April 11th for Life Hurts / God Heals!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

Beirut, Lebanon Mission Experience

BEIRUT, LEBANON 

MISSION EXPERIENCE

May 2-9, 2010

A 5-person team from Mooresville Church of God will embark on a week-long mission experience in Beirut, Lebanon in early May.  The team consists of:

Pastor John Crump

Maggy Fisher

Rhiannon McKinley

Marlene Crump

Pastor Ron Crump

 The logos to the left represent the two ministries that the team will be working with while in Beirut:  Heart for Lebanon, led by Camille Melki and Cedar Home, led by Chadi Melki.

While working with Heart for Lebanon the team will be distributing food to Iraqi refugee families who were driven out of their homeland due to the war and persecution by Muslim extremists.  The team will also be doing home visits with the Iraqi families to minister to the relational and spiritual needs of the families.  The team will also have opportunity to minister to the Iraqi women during a special worship service designed just for them.

The team will be lodging at the Cedar Home for girls, an orphanage that ministers to the life-long needs of orphaned girls in Lebanon.  While at Cedar Home the team will be leading nightly devotion and game times with the girls as well as doing some assorted projects around the Home.

Both of these ministries are affiliated with the Church of God.  The Melki family has a long history of Church of God ministry in Lebanon.  Camille and Chadi simply carry on a rich heritage of effective ministry to the people of Lebanon.  The leaders and staff of each of these ministries are changing the world through the powerful and mission-focused ministry they do each day!

Would you pray for our team as we travel?  Would you pray for God to use us to encourage the Heart for Lebanon and Cedar Home staff and leaders?  Would you add Heart for Lebanon and Cedar Home to your list of prayer targets?  God is working all around the world and we are privileged to partner with our brothers and sisters in Lebanon to accomplish a small part of the work He has called them to accomplish in their part of the world!

In His Grip,

Pastor John 

 

Indiana Ministries Consultation - April 23-25, 2010

Mooresville Church of God is entering an important season of its life and ministry. April 23-25 will be an opportunity for us to examine our ministries, our practices, our habits, our structure, all of those things that define who we are and why we exist as a church.

Every congregation needs some self-examination as well as some accountability.  Indiana Ministries of the Church of God is offering to assist us with both of these productive efforts.  

The MCHOG Board of Directors recently submitted an extensive Self-Study to the Indiana Ministries Consultation team.  They will review it over the next few weeks, come spend the weekend of April 23-25 with us, and then provide feedback, recommendations and insight for our future ministry and mission here in Mooresville.

Here is a synopsis of the steps and timeline for the consultation:

April 23-24:  Consultation team will interview the Pastoral Staff, congregational focus groups and individuals to gain further perspective and information about our ministry, mission and effectiveness.

April 25:  Dr. Doug Talley, our Executive State Minister, will be preaching and sharing the Consultation Team's recommendations with the congregation.

May 9:  Our congregation will hold a Special Business Meeting to vote on the recommendations put forth by the Consultation Team.  If the recommendations are accepted, the Consultation Team will then draft a covenant detailing what Indiana Ministries will provide for MCHOG and what our congregation will do to accomplish the recommendations.

Early June:  Our congregation will hold another Special Business Meeting to vote on acceptance of the covenant with Indiana Ministries.  If the covenant is accepted, our congregation will be assigned a coach who will assist us and provide accountability for us as we accomplish the recommendations over the next few years.

What is the goal of this consultation and why are we doing it?

The mission of Mooresville Church of God is "To Make Disciples".  More specifically, "To make disciples by reconciling people to God and to each other".  The goal of this consultation is to make whatever changes are necessary in order for us to best accomplish this mission in our community!  To fail at our mission is disobedience and is not an option for our congregation.

Churches all across the United States are failing at their God-given mission.  We refuse to be one of them.  We are attempting to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to see that our congregation is outward focused, mission focused and people focused!  We asserted at our recent "Impact Your World Week" that no ministry, program, practice or habit in the life and ministry of our church is untouchable, unchangeable or sacred.  What's working we hope to make better.  What's not working will be replaced with mission-focused practices that do work.

We are in desperate need of your prayer, participation, patience and support throughout this process!  Will you commit to make this consultation, our congregation and the eventual outcomes a matter of daily prayer?  Mooresville Church of God's effectiveness, future and ministry depend on it!

Thank you for your efforts to see God's mission and purpose accomplished in the Mooresville community through this congregation!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

Mandie Marine's Blog!

Hey, just wanted you all to be aware of the great blog that Mandie Marine is updating during her mission work in San Francisco!  Here's a link to it...

http://mandiescaliadventure.blogspot.com/

Please continue to pray for Mandie!  Pray for safety, pray for strength and courage as she ministers to youth and adults!  Pray that God would use her to expand His Kingdom while she's in California!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

One Month to Live Challenge

Have you ever pressed the pause button on your life to ask some clarifying questions?  Stopped, taken a deep breath and REALLY asked yourself if you are living the life that you WANT to live?  Have you risked asking your spouse, your kids, your friends, if the life you are currently living is having a positive impact on them or the world around them?

We invite you to consider this question over the next 40 days:  WHAT IF YOU HAD ONE MONTH TO LIVE?

The season that Christians refer to as "Lent" begins today, February 17, Ash Wednesday.  It concludes on Easter Sunday, April 4th.  It is a period of 40 days in which Christ followers are called and challenged to prepare themselves, do some self-examination of their spiritual lives, make healthy and needed changes in their lives so that they can grow closer to God and reflect the life and character of His Son, Jesus.  It is during this observance of the season of Lent that we hope you will pose this question to yourself...and then act...in response to what God reveals to you.

People who only have weeks or months to live typically report that they made significant changes in how they lived during their final days.  So we wonder...why not start living that way now?

If you want a good place to start in posing this question...and answering it...you might start by looking at how Jesus lived when He knew He only had one month to live.  And that's exactly what we will be doing throughout the season of Lent leading right up to our Easter Sunday celebration!  We hope you will join us!

Sunday, February 28 -      Living the Dash
Sunday, March 7 -             Live Passionately
Sunday, March 14 -           Love Completely
Sunday, March 21 -           Learn Humbly
Sunday, March 28 -           Leave Boldly
Easter Sunday, April 4 -   Living With No Regrets 

So I'm asking myself the question, many people in our congregation are too.  Will you ask yourself this simple but potentially life-changing question...What if you only had one month to live?  How would you live differently?  How would you spend your time?  How would you spend your money?  How would you treat the people you love?  I'm excited to explore this question and the potential impact on our world if we all courageously act on it!  Join us!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

What Question Would You Ask God?

Just about everyone has questions they would like to ask God.

Even people who don't believe there is a God wish there was a God so they could ask Him their questions.

So what are your questions?

Maybe it's something about our world and why He made it a certain way...

Maybe it's about why He made you a certain way...

Maybe it's why there's so much hurt and pain in our world...

Maybe it's why your mother, brother, sister, friend or loved one died far too soon...

Maybe it's something about the Bible, the Christian faith, the Church or some other aspect of our belief systems...

Maybe you want to know, "God, do you really hear my prayers?"

The list is endless isn't it? 

Well, all pastors wish we had ALL the answers...but...we don't.  Don't get me wrong, we may be able to provide a few answers and assist you in pursuing the truth you're looking for, but make no mistake...we have questions too.

So over these next few Sundays we will answer a few of your questions.  I've had probably 15 or 20 questions submitted for consideration.  All really good...some just for fun...some out of desperation...all legitimate and worthy of time and effort.  Unfortunately, we only have 4 weeks.  So...here are the 4 questions we've chosen:

Week 1:  How can we know God's will?
Week 2:  Will I always struggle with sin?
Week 3:  Can we take the Bible at 100% face value?
Week 4:  Why would a loving God allow pain and suffering?

Join us as we seek God's answers to these questions together!

In His Grip,

Pastor John

Resolute to Grow Spiritually in 2010

Here is the link to the Lifeway.com assessment tool and plan guide for Spiritual Growth. It's a PDF file so you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access it.

http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/files/lwcF_PDF_DSC_Spiritual_Growth_Assessment.pdf