The Man Who Changed Everything for Me
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor
I was 22 years old when I met him at a conference in Oxford, England.
He saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself. He invited me into his world, let me sit in the front row of his ministry, and spent the last 15 years shaping me—as a preacher, as a pastor, and as a man.
Mark Toone is my spiritual father.
I don’t use that phrase lightly. The Bible takes spiritual fatherhood seriously. When the prophet Elisha watched his mentor Elijah ascend into heaven, he cried out, “My father, my father!” (2 Kings 2:12 ESV)—and those words have always moved me, because I understand them from the inside.
This Sunday is Father’s Day, and we’ll be in the Fifth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.” (Exodus 20:12 ESV) Honor isn’t just sentiment. It’s recognition made visible. It’s gratitude that refuses to let a legacy fade.
Which is exactly what this Sunday will be.
Mark and Cyndi Toone will be with us in person. We’ll hear from them—what these past two years of retirement have looked like, what God has been doing in their lives, and what this new season holds. I’ve missed them, and I suspect many of you have too. It will be a joy to be together.
And we’ll do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.
Our congregation will be asked to vote to bestow upon Mark Toone the title of Pastor Emeritus. It’s an honorary title—it carries no pastoral authority or defined role—but it is a formal, lasting expression of our deep respect and gratitude for 37 years of extraordinary service to this church and this community.
There is no better day to do it than Father’s Day.
If you’ve been part of Chapel Hill for any length of time, you know what Mark and Cyndi have meant to this place. And if you’re newer, this Sunday is your chance to understand the foundation you’re building on.
Come ready to celebrate. Come ready to say thank you. Come ready to honor.
I’d love to see you tomorrow.
Pastor Ellis