.Real.Greg.Lee.

Hey Suncrest, 

I miss a few things about being a kid and snow days are at the top of the list!  I’m going to have some time tomorrow to play with Jack and Abby in the snow…should be a blast.  I do hope the snow stops soon enough that we can still have our community group over tonight.  We’re having a little party tonight which should be a blast.  I love community groups! 

I have to give you a few quick updates from around here that are pretty eclectic: 

–Our winter “Life Building” course is almost done.  We’ve had almost 20 elementary-aged kids learning about faith, what it means to follow Jesus, and baptism.  I am hearing some cool stories about these kids. 

–“Excellence 2008” is coming.  Our children’s ministry staff (Scott Coons, Sue Hertzfeldt and Julie Coons) has been making incredible progress over the last few months in shaping the next phase of children’s ministry.  If you already volunteer there or would be interested, you have to be there at this event.  It is offered twice (Thursday, February 7 & Saturday, February 9), but the sessions are identical, so pick the one that fits your schedule best. 

-We are having baptisms in our services on February 10.  If you have any interest in being baptized or questions about it, contact doug.gamble@suncrest.org. 

–The Monopoly Series has prompted many, many, many conversations about a next step in practical money management/debt reduction.  Suncrest is going to offer some practical help with this and it starts with a no-strings-attached informational meeting following each of our 3 services next Sunday, February 10.  Make the decision to be there right now. 

–This Sunday we wrap up our Monopoly series.  I know this Sunday’s message is powerful.  In my own life it has shaped me spiritually and resulted in God blessing me and my family in a variety of ways.  I know you and your family can experience the same blessings. 

PS…In 9 days we’ll be making the biggest announcement Suncrest has had since the church launched over 13 years ago.  Don’t miss Sunday the 10th.

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Apparently, Suncrest isn’t the only one tackling the money thing right now…and finding the Bible has some wisdom.

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Hey Suncrest,

I’m not sure where to start with this.  On Sunday, we began our “Monopoly Series”  with a message about gaining control over our debt.  As an interactive element, we had everyone anonymously write down how much debt (not including mortgage) they had and turn it in. 

I expected the numbers to be high because I know how big the issue is in our culture.  But, I’m not sure I could have expected what happened.

The Numbers

1^st Service: $812,000 in non-mortgage debt.

2^nd Service: $2,905,000 in non-mortgage debt.

3^rd Service: $7,455,000 in non-mortgage debt. 

I almost got physically sick when that last number was handed to me.  I did learn later that the 3^rd service number was influenced by one household that indicated they had $4,000,000 in debt.  Even when we take that out to get a good sense of the whole, the total non-mortgage debt of the crowd on Sunday is over $7 million dollars.   

That represents 302 households.  46 (15%) of those are enjoying their freedom with no non-mortgage debt.  Those households carrying debt have an average of over $28,000.  Think about how crazy this is…that means that every month our church family is likely paying over $50,000 in just interest.

Now What?

Someone was reflecting with me about the message and said “Greg, I could tell this really concerned you about our church’s welfare.”  That is exactly right.  And we need to do something about it to help people.  Now.

This will take us humbling ourselves and acknowledging we need some help – whether that is guidance or accountability.  But it will be so worth it when we experience the freedom from this debt.  One of the very reasons that we get in these struggles is that many of us make money a private issue and have a hard time taking the step to admit we need some help. 

You have to know this:  There is no shame in getting help.  The shame is in knowing you can use a little help but rejecting it out of a potential loss of pride or embarrassment.  Like I said on Sunday…if you really could tackle this issue on your own…wouldn’t you have already done so?

So, since Sunday we have put together the framework of a plan and we need your help.  After a number of conversations Sunday, I’m confident we have people motivated to pull this off.I’m looking for: 

1.       People who have figured out how to live with no debt.  We need some of you to help others.

2.      People who currently struggle with debt, but are willing to lead others through a process to financial health as you commit yourself to it.

3.       People who currently struggle with debt and would be interested in participating in a seminar or series of classes that offers practical help with this.

We are going to have a 30 minute informational gathering on Sunday, February 10 right  after each service for those interested in learning how to get out of debt.Look for more info on this soon.  If you fit one of the 1^st two categories above (willing to help lead whether or not you struggle), please email me right back and we’ll start exploring how you can help.

Thanks, Suncrest.  I just prayed for you on this issue.

PS…maybe your community group would like to tackle this as a focus?

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Hey Suncrest, 

I’m not quite sure how to describe what happened on Sunday.  The combination of Cece’s story, watching our “Egypts” dissolve, and encountering Jesus in communion created some powerful moments in people’s lives.  Lots of people took significant steps forward.  I got to pray with a lot of them.  No doubt, some were being prompted to take a significant step forward and couldn’t quite muster the strength.  I pray you will soon.

I’ve had many, many, many questions about our Celebrate Recovery program which kicks off this Monday night at 7:00pm.  Here are the big ones: 

·         Who is the program for?  Anyone struggling to get past their “Egypt”.  Anyone who feels like they battle a past hurt, unhealthy habit or something else that hangs you up in this life.  We heard a lot of comments after Cece’s story because her challenges have been with anger and forgiveness, not alcohol or drugs or something people might think of stereotypically in recovery programs.   This might be the most powerful part of CR. 

·         Who should come on Monday at 7:00pm?  At the CR kick-off there will be many people there with different perspectives.  You should come if you think CR might be for you, but on this first night you could come to get information for a family member or friend.  You could come to support a family member or friend who is checking it out.  You could come just to be inspired by the stories that will be shared of how God is helping people overcome whatever entangles them.  

·         How does confidentiality work in Celebrate Recovery?  It is of the highest value.  On the kick-off night, there will be so many people there for various reasons that people should be able to come without hesitation.  After the first night, the group is open only to others who are getting help.  You would find a supportive and absolutely confidential environment.  We know this is so important to the CR program that we actually close the church building to all other meetings/groups on Monday night so that the people coming in for CR can be confident they will be the only ones there.  

If it has even crossed your mind that CR could be helpful to you, I’d plead with you to come Monday night at least to explore it.  If you have a family member or loved one that you think could benefit, come check it out for them also.

 I love it that our church does this!  The results we see are nothing short of Changed Lives – the perfect fulfillment of our mission. 

Make sure you come on Sunday as we kick off a new series – “Monopoly”.  We have an interesting element that will happen at the beginning of the service, so please be there on time!

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I love trying to figure out how to overcome a challenge.  Two weeks ago it looked like the plan I have with a friend to visit a different Big 10 basketball arena each year was going to come to an end.  We had Minnesota and Penn State left and couldn’t figure out how to get there and back with the amount of time we could afford to be away from work.

As of today, not only are we going next week, but it’s going to be our best trip ever.  After lining up the pilot who is in our small group, a six seat airplane he has access to, enough guys to fill the plane (need a full plane to split the cost of gas!), I wanted to take a shot at getting seats right behind the Purdue Bench.

Here’s the email I sent to one of Purdue’s Sports info directors…

Hi Elliot, 

You probably get all kinds of requests since your email address is posted on Purdue Sports website.  This is one of those.  First, full disclosure…I’m an Illini fan living in a Purdue world.  Second, this is a shameless request for tickets…not free – we are willing to pay…we would just love incredible seats. 

I’ve lived in NW Indiana for 11 years and for the last 9 I’ve been traveling with my best friend and Purdue grad to watch Purdue play at all of the Big 10 arenas.  9 down, 2 to go…Minnesota and Penn State.  We didn’t think we’d get to go this year because they were too far away.  But, Iast month I learned a guy in my church (I’m a pastor) was a pilot and I got a plan for him to fly 6 of us there and back to Penn State for the game next Wednesday.   

I was imagining that perhaps not many Purdue fans are able to make it to Penn State and wondered about the possibility of getting some great seats for the 6 of us…even anything behind the bench??? Any of these reasons worthy of that? 

-Every one of these guys except me is a Purdue grad and fan. 

-With the 3 freshmen you have from NW Indiana, all of us (even me) are super excited about the team. 

-Our church has over 1000 people and is split between Purdue and IU.  I can give Purdue a big plug in my sermon this week.  I’m serious.

-Our church supports Purdue Campus House.

-Our church hosted the Purdue Bells last April as a girl from our church was a Senior in the group.

-One of my staff members is a cousin to Scott Martin (her name is Denise Tribble).

-I actually hope my 2 kids will go to Purdue.  I would switch my allegiance from Illinois then…or I could do it now if you guys can come through for me.  (This seems like it would be a great year to switch away from Illinois anyway J.) 

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I could not have predicted what happened at Suncrest over the last three weeks.  We did a message series called “Hooked” that traced the story of the Exodus in the Old Testamanet and paralleled it to the things that enslave us in our own lives today.  Each of us have our “Egypt” (that habit or hurt or hang-up that entangles us) and each of us have a desire to get free from those Egypts. 

At the same time, most of us find it very challenging to actually do so.  Like the Israelites, a lot of us actually choose to return to the slavery because even though it isn’t pretty, it is predictable.  Or we find ourselves wandering when we have have tried to get away from something but haven’t walked into a new life with God (to extend the metaphor…our Promised Land).

The real stories of Kevin/Patti and Cece are what made the difference in this series…connecting with people and stirring them to take steps themselves.  Sunday, we also had an element of watching our own “Egypts” dissolve before our eyes and then encountering the power of the cross through communion. After our third service, I spent 35 minutes praying with people who were definitely wrestling with God over a few things.  For me, it was a fantastic line of people.

-I hugged a young lady in the first row who has told me for 4 months she felt she needs a relationship with Jesus.  We are going to sit down to talk soon.

-A guy came up an introduced himself.  He had been turned off to church/God by a legalistic church 16 years ago and found Suncrest through a friend in August.  He’s been coming ever since, wrestling through lots of spiritual stuff…and this series was the kicker.  He’ll be at our Celebrate Recovery kick-off Monday night.

-A lady who was on her first visit to our church…she ran into a couple of old friends, we prayed together for this challenging season of life she finds herself in.

-One of my favorite elementary kids at Suncrest…she just came up to give me five and say “hi.”

-A couple I married a few years ago and had begun attending our church…then disappeared about 6 months ago.  They have been back for 2 weeks and they came at the perfect time with this series. God is at work.

 -A lady who has been coming to our church for a few months at the invitation of a friend.  I got to talk with her in the fall about some next steps in her life and my heart just goes out to her situation.  She just wanted to say she is hanging in there and looks forward to Suncrest every week.

The emails started Monday — I’ll just share a line from one… “Eleven years I have been at Suncrest and I can’t tell you how awesome the service was Sunday.”

God is definitely stirring something as we head into 2008.  I’m always thankful for his activity in our church.

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I’m a skimmer in the blog world, but every now and then something catches my eye that I think needs to be absorbed.  If leadership is important to you at all, this post from Jon Ferguson is worth reading:  You Know You’re Not Leading When . . .

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1.  My neighbor came over in the snow New Year’s day to borrow my extension ladder.  His satellite dish was packed with snow on top of his house and he was without football!  I love it that we have a real friendship with the neighbors.

2.  I watched the movie with Christmas Vacation with Rick Barker, Tim Barbee, and Ben McHugh…among a few others.  It’s a Christmas break tradition for these guys who I once had in Student ministry.

3.  We had our small group Thursday night.  I love our group.  We talked a lot about Suncrest’s move to becoming multi-site and their input was very helpful.  The guys in the group are also formulating a plan to fly to the Purdue/Penn State game at Penn State with the pilot in our group.  Should be fun!

4.  The presidential race started and I’m a political junky.  Not sure who I want to vote for yet so that makes it extra exciting.

5.  Our elders and staff had great conversations starting out the new year about renewing our commitment to doing all things with excellence at Suncrest.  This is huge…and frankly an area that could use some increased attention.

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1.  Jenny, Jack and Abby were gone.  I love them.  Probably like everyone else, I love a day of alone time.  By day 2, it got real old and we are working on day 6 now.

2.  A new year makes me itch to get things moving again…and I felt like I moved too slowly on some things at Suncrest in 2007.

3.  I spent all day on January 1 alone at home sanding drywall after it had been mudded/taped.  Sanding was OK.  Prep and clean up was the worst.

4.  This afternoon, I stood over a man’s bedside as he died.  It was unexpected.  I got the call to come to the hospital after 1:00 and he was gone by 2:30.  I’ll never have the right words to say to a grieving family in that situation.

5.  I had dreams of how much I would get done with Jenny and the kids out of town.  At the end of the week, there is a lot left on the list.

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