Back in September I shared with you one of the ministries we would be working on integrating into the life of our church. This year was our Welcome & Connections Ministry whose purpose would be to walk alongside of people who are new to Mountview from the moment they walk through the doors until, in time, they find a home in a Discipleship Group.

I was reminded this week of a statistic recorded by Thom Rainer in his book Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, which reports that “90% of unchurched people coming into a new church reported that some factor of the people or the facilities impacted their decision to return for another visit.”

So 9 out of 10 people who visited Mountview this past Sunday will make a decision to return based upon not me, not the music, not the message, but YOU. What a tremendous responsibility and what an awesome gift God has given to you each week to love your neighbor and help someone feel at home here in this family of God like you have.

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Last month, our kids learned all about what it means to use self-control, and how we should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry (James 1:19.) The past few weeks I’ve heard from quite a few parents about how their children are putting the words of James 1:19 into action. It’s been incredibly encouraging for me as I continue to attempt to practice self-control in my own life. Here are a few of those examples.

One of our families said that while their daughter was misbehaving, and her father was getting rather frustrated with her, their oldest son interrupted and stated, “Daddy, remember the Bible verse about being slow to anger?” Taken aback, the Dad stood there for a moment. His son continued by saying, “Just remember Daddy, you promised God.”

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Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to spend more time with Austin Frantz. Austin is a full-time missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ to The Ohio State University. In one of my conversations with Austin, he shared with me a story about spending time with his grandparents and how he flat out asked them if they understood the gospel and what it means. The story really made me think, because I have always assumed that my grandparents (who have been attending church since before I was born) are indeed saved, and they understand the gospel fully. To flat out ask my grandparents seems like a very awkward conversation to have, and yet Austin out of his love for his grandparents, wasn’t willing to avoid that potentially awkward conversation.

So a couple of weeks ago, during Sunday night youth group, we had our students fill out a brief questionnaire. The questions were generally very basic and included questions like “Have you asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins by dying on the cross? If yes, when and how? If not what doubts or questions do you still have?” I was very surprised to see the responses of the students, and to learn about some of the questions that remain for many of our students. It also made me realize that often times I make huge assumptions about people based on superficial external factors. For example, if a student is relatively well behaved in youth group and comes from a good home, then historically I have made the assumption that they are probably a professing believer. As a result, I often times don’t spend time asking that student about whether or not they understand the gospel and instead move on to questions about how they are doing in terms of living out their faith. After spending time reading the questionnaires by our students I realized that with a handful of students I had made the assumption they were, indeed, a Christian. However, what I discovered is that some of them are still searching, still seeking, and still lost.

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James 1:19 tells us to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” This is something I like to call, the “Self-Control Dance.” We’ve been talking all about self-control in Route 356 lately, and have been committing this verse to memory. Whenever I read these words about being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, it reminds me of a waltz. If you’ve ever taken a ballroom dance class or been a casual observer of Dancing With the Stars, you know that the rhythmic steps of a waltz are quick, quick, slow. For centuries, people learning to waltz and attempting to not step on their partners toes have muttered, ‘quick, quick, slow’ under their breath as the music swells around them.

This is why I’ve created the self-control dance. It’s a dance that’s played out every moment of the day, with every single interaction I have. In some places, the dance comes naturally. In many other places, I am muttering the steps underneath my breath, reminding myself of God’s Word and the need to do what He says. One of those places for me is in the car, driving in traffic: quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. In the car I have trouble remembering the last two steps especially. Some of my friends laugh at the constant diatribe I keep with other drivers when clearly, those drivers cannot hear me. I tell Mr. Buick to hurry up and turn already, Ms. SUV to slow down and let me over into the next lane, and Mr. F150 to get off my tailgate, would ya, buddy? This is not slow to speak. I’m speaking before I’m even thinking about what’s coming out my mouth.

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It is just shy of 8pm, Cori and I have just put the boys to bed, and I am writing to you from my home. While cold and windy outside this evening, it is warm and cozy inside. If I wasn’t paranoid that I might burn my house down by way of a stray ember, I would have built a fire, put a Barry Manilow’s Greatest Hit on, and written this with a quill pen. Instead I will open up a Word document and by the light of my computer screen, burn my retinas, and send you some love and encouragement.

There are moments in time when it dawns on a pastor, just how blessed he is to be serving the Lord along side of like-hearted, like-minded disciples. In recent days, I have been spending a good deal of time in worship, in meetings, and just walking the halls and observing who it is God has assembled here at Mountview.

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Lance Scotney

It could be a pecan pie for a new neighbor; an encouraging note to a friend who is down; helping someone move with late notice. It isn’t difficult to see the need all around us. Family. Friends. Those who aren’t so lovable. You get the picture. Mountview is sending a group to New Orleans on Monday, April 9, and they will return on Saturday, April 14. You are invited to serve. A week of labor and caring. You won’t forget the experience or the people. Please join us on Sunday, January 15, after the 11am service for some additional information and an opportunity to ask questions. For more information contact Lance Scotney (lscotney@columbus.rr.com).

Paul Lambert

When does it feel like Christmas for you? Is it when you head over to Menards mid-September and see Christmas decorations and lights for sale, or maybe just after Thanksgiving when you and the family put up the tree.

What made it feel like Christmas for me has had to change. Formerly, I would have told you that the first time I had to shovel the driveway was when it finally started to feel like Christmas, or when my family and I would head to a nearby Christmas tree farm and cut down a blue spruce that took my dad hours to pick out. But now that Columbus is my home all of that has changed, and not in a bad way. Read more »

The preschool family has been very busy in November and December. We have had parent/teacher conferences, made a living flag for Veteran’s Day, conducted our Savory Foods fund raiser, collected food items for the Thanksgiving food drive here at Mountview, participated in Operation Christmas Child, held a Thanksgiving “Feast”, collected mittens and hats for the Dahlberg Center, went on a family field trip to Marmon Valley Farms for the Country Christmas live nativity, and held our annual Christmas program here in the sanctuary on December 9 to a full house!

We thank everyone who helped in any way with these projects and events! We especially thank Adrielle Van Bibber for directing the best Christmas program ever! We congratulate Amy Richards, the teacher of our Little Lions, on her marriage to Colby Richards on December 11. We sadly say “good-bye” to Jenna Mann who has resigned from her assistant teaching position here at the preschool in order to pursue her academic career and we happily say “welcome” to Debbie Spurlock who is the newest member of our teaching staff, taking Jenna’s place on January 3, when school is back in session after the Christmas holiday. Read more »

This past Sunday we held our annual Route 356 Christmas Caroling luncheon. We had over 25 of our Mountview family join us this year, heading from house to house spreading good cheer through song. Sometimes, as I plan this event, I wonder if it really is worth it to take everyone out in the cold to sing a few Christmas carols at peoples’ doors. This year God reminded me just how much this event does mean in the life of our church.

Following lunch together in the fellowship hall, we split into two groups so we could visit more people. One of our groups’ first stop was at my house, to sing for my mother, Candy Platine. My neighbor Nancy happened to be out in her yard as we were singing, so she stopped to listen. She told me it was such a blessing to hear and loved that our church goes around to sing for people who are not able to get out too much. At our next stop, one of our little carolers asked if we could stop at her grandmother’s house, because she happened to live on the street where we were. We all agreed, and headed down the street. What a blessing it was to watch her grandmother’s face light up as we sang for her. Read more »

Recently I have been contemplating when Christmas became such a huge inconvenience. I am not just saying that as some rabid traditionalist who believes that Jesus was born on December 25, so, darn it, we should all be in church. I am also not saying this as one who is the pastor of a church that is forcing me to hold worship on Christmas morning. But rather as one who continues to find it very strange that the Christian community is going out of its way to not be in church on the one time in six years that Christmas falls on a Sunday.

The reason people say that they will not be in worship on Christmas is, in my estimation, preposterously weak. The overwhelming reason for most people not attending is because worship competes with their “family time” of breakfast, opening presents, or watching movies. Honestly, even as I write those shallow words, it saddens me to think that what is trumping the church’s worship of God sending the gift of His son Jesus to a lost and dying world is a Steven Segal movie they have seen a zillion times.

I pass no judgment. I condemn no one. I am not grandstanding. I don’t want to argue this point with people and I am not looking to guilt people into showing up to church. I don’t want my name in the paper or an interview on TV. I make no comment on the message this sends to an unbelieving world made up of people who are highly skeptical of Christians. It just saddens my heart to think that instead of having the faithful come and worship the newborn king, people will be somewhere else, doing something else that in their minds is clearly more important that worshipping their Savior.

In Him,

Pastor Kevin