A few letters of the thousands that have been written, testifying to how Mike Peters and the Church in Indianapolis have saved their lives, marriages, children, and souls...
It has come to our attention that many mean things are being said about a dear friend of ours, Mike Peters. While we don't have the time or energy to get involved with all the details of these utterly ridiculous lies and grade-school-type jeers, we did think we should say a few things to set the record straight regarding our friend. After seeing and hearing some of the slanderous lies and twistings of the truth, we considered trying to answer and explain some of the accusations being leveled at Mike Peters and the Church in Indianapolis. But, after further consideration, we realized that JESUS never functioned that way. Jesus was accused of many things, but you rarely see Him EVER try to "explain Himself" to the masses ("Eat my flesh and drink my blood".... "Wait a minute, Jesus. You better explain yourself or they'll think you're a cannibal." ?? Nope. That wasn’t the way it happened.) So, we’re not going to get involved in lengthy explanations of anything here on this page. Jesus did say that we would know people by their Fruit, so we did decide to share with you just a few letters, of many, stating what we know to be true of Mike and his life.
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I have known Mike Peters for 20 years, living nearby him in the same city for most of that time. I have seen him at his best and worst, in good times and bad, and under extreme pressure, and I can say he has been a wonderful servant of Jesus in all situations, far beyond what I believed was even possible for a Christian before I met him. He has helped to save my marriage, my job, my soul, and has countless times given me more of his money, time, and concern than I deserve.
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The fact that anybody needs to “set the record straight” about somebody like Mike Peters is very sad. People who do not even know Mike Peters, or who are operating out of jealousy and other, even worse, motives, are slandering him on the Internet. The worst part is that Mike has ALWAYS strived to be nothing so that Jesus would get all the glory. He doesn’t draw attention to himself in any way, doesn’t plaster his name and picture all over the stuff he writes, doesn’t charge anything for the books he has written or the work he does (2 Cor. 2:17), and everything he says and does points to Jesus, rather than himself. And for this, he is being lied about and slandered in the most unbelievably unfair ways. But Jesus said it would be like that (Luke 6:26, John 16:2, Psalm 38:20).
Please don’t be so foolish as to believe the hateful slander you can read on the Internet, whether it’s about Mike Peters or any other person. The fact that we live in the Internet age and it’s easy for anybody to say anything about anyone else and have it be read by many people hasn’t changed how GOD views gossip and slander (1 Cor. 5:11, 1 Cor. 6:9 & 10, 1 Pet. 2:1, Eph. 4:31, Col. 3:8, 2 Tim. 3:2-4, Titus 3:1 & 2, James 4:11, Prov. 16:28, Rom. 1:29 & 30, 1 Tim. 5:13, Psalm 101:5, Prov. 10:18, Matt. 15:19).
As Rick Pitino, basketball coach for the University of Louisville, said on a radio talk show, “Message boards are where unsuccessful people talk about successful people.” I’ve seen Mike Peters help change the lives of literally thousands of people...personally helping poor people in third world countries with financial support and encouragement, helping homosexuals leave their lives of sin and put on Jesus’ life instead, teaching and admonishing others and helping them bloom into real men and women of God. He has a LOT of good fruit to show for the life he has lived. What do his accusers do for anybody, other than criticize a righteous man? Are they even lifting a finger to help a homeless person get something to eat, or a drug user to kick their sinful habit? To the contrary, I personally know some of these critics, and they are living very dark lives. One of them I met 20 years ago and was, at one time, in his will as the guardian of his children. He abandoned those children and his wife to marry another woman, and is now lying about Mike Peters because Mike and the others in the church here do not condone such behavior. Many of these false accusers have similar stories. Don’t believe them.
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Words can’t even begin to express or convey the impact that Mike Peters has had on my life and my children’s lives. His faithfulness to speak the Truth in Love and Stand for Jesus and not compromise at the cost of his own comfort and life is worth far more to me than can be expressed here. He has been a true friend and brother over the past decade of my life. He constantly gives of himself to show us Jesus and encourage all of us to live lives that honor and glorify Jesus’ name. Mike has only ever pointed me towards Jesus and seeking a deeper walk with Him and learning to Love as He loves. And THAT is a TRUE Friend!!! We dearly love Mike Peters and are forever grateful for him and for showing us Jesus’ love through his life.
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Where would I be today, if it weren’t for Mike Peters and those around him who pointed me to JESUS 18 years ago? No doubt I’d be a drug using, immoral alcoholic, and still chasing dreams of sand. As my husband says so affectionately of Mike, “He passes out hope like candy,” and that Hope is Jesus. Mike has spent decades living outside of the religious box of unchanged lives, and there are MANY who owe their changed destinies to his faithful pursuit of God, and hard work of Serving and Loving us in truth and action. Michael is living out his debt of love and gratitude to Jesus for forgiving his sins. He could have ignored God’s call on his life and the Gift God has put inside of him, but Mike has chosen instead to serve, to love, and to lose his own life into God’s people. For that decision he is being hated, abused and torn down by evildoers. “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” (Titus 1:15-16)
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Since day one of meeting Mike Peters years and years ago, the Shepherd’s voice in this man has been loud and clear. To this day, I owe my Life in Christ to his willingness to speak the truth in Love to me on countless occasions, sparing me of a narrow, mean, petty life. And it’s not just been words, but sacrifices and actions on his behalf for me as well. I gave up a long time ago trying to pay him back, knowing that what he wants MOST for my life is that I’d myself honor Jesus well and pay only the “continuing debt of love” to fellow-saints. He’s never once flattered me, coerced me, or pressured me to do anything, ever. I’ve only ever been inspired and helped and nurtured by the life of Jesus shining through him, to Love the Master with all my heart. How could anyone ever fault someone for that? The fault-finders are those who don’t want to repent of sin in their lives and have a beef with God – just like it was for Jesus. It’s VERY clear if anyone wants to be honest about it. Even the littlest children can see the difference without being told.
I ask God regularly that I might have the faith and courage that this man has and the Love of Christ and the protective heart and the covering over of people’s weaknesses (“follow me as I follow Christ” is a biblical thought). When I hear of lies about him, I can only think: “You will know them by their FRUIT.” That’s what GOD says, is the measuring rod. Anybody can sling words around but no one on the planet can fake changing a life to being more like Jesus. And no one who knows his life can deny the positive and life-saving changes to thousands of people world wide. It’s undeniable. Why did God put a man like this in our generation? I don’t know, but any person who knows God would be a fool to ignore the wisdom and growth that could be had, by responding in faith to the Jesus who lives inside of him. His “success” at affecting so many lives(tangible good fruit) and lifting up a clear trumpet call of Truth that exposes the current-day sludge of religion, has been a huge offense and affront to many who are driven by jealousy, ambition and pride and have something to lose. Even though it’s been very rough going in recent years (from evil people who despise truth), mike remains undaunted and more determined than ever to carry his cross. I have always appreciated and respected that uncompromising commitment to Truth no matter what – applying it to himself and to everyone he knows with no bias toward anyone, and with no self-protection.
It’s been clear to me for years, as I’ve watched his life and learned by example, how he spends himself every waking moment for other people, for Jesus’ sake. That is ALL he does. Every day. It’s so obvious to anyone who knows him and is honest. So please don’t judge an innocent man by mere words you see on a computer screen. God never said to do that. You’ll get dragged off in your head and heart into a very dark world, by a bunch of hateful, ugly lies. Can’t you tell? God said you’ll know them by their fruit, not by what people “say” or “report.” PLEASE don’t jeopardize your own future with Jesus, and those you care about, by listening to wickedness and slander. “Bad company corrupts good character.”
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Whenever I hear of anyone writing slanderous things about my friend and brother, Mike, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Some things I’ve heard are laughable because they are so opposite what Mike’s true character is like. But it makes me want to cry because he has poured himself out so much for me and my family, over and over again. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be married to my wife right now if it hadn’t been for his help.
And as for being a giver vs. a taker... I’ve never seen Mike do anything but give, give, give—even out of his own poverty and need. In fact, right at this moment, I have in my possession a large sum of money that he gave me, even though there was no way he could afford it, to pay for an upcoming surgery I need.
Mike has never asked me for anything, and yet he has spent the last 18 years since I met him giving up his life for me and everybody else that I know.
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I have been deeply saddened to hear of the slander and lies about my friend, Mike Peters and the Church he is a part of in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bible says not to let what you know as good to be spoken of as evil. So, I must share what I know to be true. I have never lived in Indianapolis, but have relatives and many good friends in the Church there. Our family has visited them many times over many years. I could relay so many stories of kindnesses and goodness toward me and my family from our brothers and sisters in the Church there. I will just share this: Our family met Mike Peters more than 25 years ago. We moved to different cities and stayed in close touch. Then about 8 years later our family was having financial difficulties and we were having to live with another family. We called Mike Peters and asked him to pray for us. We did not ask him for money, but he mailed us money so that we could rent our own place. We knew this was a sacrifice. Fortunately, our home sold very shortly after that and we were able to get a house. We will never forget Mike’s generosity and kindness, he is and has always been a true friend. We have stayed close to Mike and others in Indy over the years. I am remembering a time when we were having a crisis with our teen-ager and at our request, Mike drove hours to our home to help. Another time our family needed help in sorting through some problems and we asked Mike to help us and he again drove for hours to sit with us and talk and pray through some very difficult and painful things. We saw God’s wisdom coming through a humble servant who had obviously asked God for wisdom for us and our situation. Other families in our church have had similar experiences of time spent sacrificially and wisdom given and marriages healed because Mike and others have cared. Mere words could not express how thankful we are to God that He has blessed us with such friends. It is God’s wisdom, His love, His provision coming through earthen clay pots who have emptied themselves of ambition, pride and self-seeking and offered themselves to God. There are other people we have known who have [read more here]
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I’ve known Mike for about 20 years. He has been my closest Friend in many ways. I have a very special memory treasury of things during these past 20 years: Mike has cleared my vision, loved me when I should be spanked, forgiven me when I’d hurt him and others, encouraged me many, many times always pointing me to Jesus, given me much equipping along the way with things that were way over my head, showered me many times with kindness, money, gifts, sacrifice, helping in direction with my children who are now grown and living for Jesus themselves, showing up at just the right time, and just being my friend when I needed one so badly. I’m so thankful for all that I’ve received from him. I’ve watched children grow up and choose loving Jesus rather than the trinkets of the world. They have “best” friends of people twice their age, work hard and with excellence, grow up to really change the world around them and honor God first because they WANT to. I’ve watched my own children enjoy Mike’s daddy-heart with them as he has provided leadership and guidance as they have looked for that. And did I mention he’s my friend? His standards are high for himself, and he’s helped me reach much higher also. These are just some things I could say about Mike but there’s a lot more.
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I have known many people in my life, but have never met anyone more giving of himself. Mike is truly ONLY about what God wants. And, sometimes, just like with Jesus and those who walked the seashore with Him, Mike’s passion and love for Father scandalizes and exposes my own flesh and self-motives. But, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I want to be like Jesus and I’m thankful for the very high price Mike has paid to get himself out of the way and LIVE a life of devotion and sacrifice that continues to call me and many others higher....
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Our family first met Mike Peters when he was in his early twenties. Mike was a new Christian and I had never seen such love for Jesus, such a passion for God. He was an engineer with an excellent company and he had a bright future. Mike’s love for Jesus and his desire to advance the cause of Christ was very much overriding his desire to pursue his career in engineering. He eventually quit his job and decided to move to pursue serving God full time. We spent many nights as families together discussing how to grow closer to Jesus and that there must be “more” to Christianity than we were currently experiencing. We also spent time together reaching out sharing Christ with our neighbors. I remember one night when we were talking about how the Church could and should be, loving, vibrant and alive for Jesus, I mentioned a couple of well-known Christian men who had made an impact for good as far as positive change in church history. I said something like I believed that God was going to use him to change the direction of the complacent, lukewarm church, like He had used those men. He stopped me and said, “I don’t want to be a star, I only want to be a servant.” This heart and attitude has characterized Mike for all the years we have known him.
Do I write this just to defend a mere man? No. I am compelled to write because [read more here]
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Well, we should stop here. There are many, many, many more letters we could post here from people all over the world. But, we’ll stop here for now and just say: We Love Mike to pieces! He is the most generous man we know. He deserves every “good citizen” award a city would ever give out. He has shown us the character of Jesus. He has taught us how to love. He has taught us how to care for the children. He has taught us how to love our spouses and stick together. He is a good and loyal friend. And, that’s all we have to say about that!
If you want to see some of our favorite pictures of Mike Peters...
2007