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As we come to another Fourth of July weekend it is worth asking: “What is it that made America unique and great?” The truth is the founding fathers were Christians (half of them even had seminary or Bible college degrees) who took seriously the Scriptures and wanted to form a nation based on biblical principles where people could be free to worship without anyone forcing them to pick one denomination or another.

You might be saying, “Wait a minute, Clay. That’s not what I’ve been taught. I thought that many of the founding fathers were irreligious and they formed our constitution based solely and human wisdom and political philosophy.”

I hope you will hear my message this week, “The Truth About America,” because I will prove to you that our kids, by and large, are being taught lies about the founding of our country in the public schools today. It’s important that we set the record straight. Especially as we see our country going into decline in many ways. Because we have tried to take God out of public life we are becoming great in categories where we should be weak and at the same time becoming weak in categories where we should be (and once were) great!

I’m going to kick off the message with a video I made recently on the Island of Patmos where the disciple John was held prisoner for his faith and where he wrote the book of Revelation. If you’re in Colorado this Fourth of July, I hope to see you at one of our four worship gatherings, on Thursday or Sunday, in Berthoud or Loveland.

Selene and I recently returned from 10 days in Greece. What an adventure it was traveling with a group of 33 (the majority were Selene’s students) around the mainland and the islands. Because of the biblical significance of Athens, Ephesus and Patmos, I’ll be sharing some stories with you at church in the weeks ahead.

Yesterday at staff meeting I heard encouraging stories about lives that were touched last weekend by the John Burke’s message the testimonies of Bruce Newman (Loveland) and Roxanne Dye (Berthoud)—“God is For Us!” I saw colorful pictures of Vacation Bible School action and heard about the more than 30 children who raised their hands to accept Jesus. Did you know that the leaders wrote their own curriculum this year? Very impressive! Then I saw before and after pictures of the landscaping and painting transformations that happened by Grace Place crews during Sharefest at Berthoud and Thompson Valley high schools. 40-50 people worked very hard to show the love of Jesus in tangible ways. Way to go!

This weekend we conclude the One Prayer series with a message by Andy Stanley, “God is Certain.” I believe you will be moved to renew your trust in God regardless of whatever uncertainties you are currently facing in your life. We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together and worship the Lord with fresh confidence and appreciation. At the end of the worship gatherings this weekend we will receive a special offering for the Windsor Community Church. Their church was wiped out in the tornado last year and even after insurance adjustments and significant giving by the congregation they are still short of funds to rebuild. We are joining other northern Colorado churches to help out. Please pray about what you might do over and above your regular giving.

Speaking of regular giving…it’s summer time which often means vacations for many. I see people on Facebook talking about fishing, camping, hiking, boating, visiting family and all types of trips. It’s a fun time of year (and especially green this summer in Colorado!). I notice that both attendance and giving have been quite low the past couple weeks. We have been running very lean this year so we’re hoping that we will not experience a prolonged summer slump. It used to be that you had to be at church to give or send a check in the mail… but not any more. You can give online. You can give from anywhere in the world. You can give once, or set it up as a regular giving pattern (as Selene and I have done). More and more people are giving online and finding it a convenient way to consistently support God’s work through Grace Place. Don’t forget your church as you travel!

What was Jesus’ one prayer for the church?  He prayed only one thing specifically for you and me: “My prayer is not for them alone [his immediate disciples]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [all of us who are Christ-followers], that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

Unfortunately, Christians have often been defined too much by what divides rather than by what unifies us.  At Grace Place we are in a series during the month of June called “ONE PRAYER.”  We are joining with hundreds of other churches and hundreds of thousands of other believers in multiple countries who are all praying for an answer to Christ’s prayer and linking with each other to SHARE, SERVE, and GIVE.  To join the conversation go to www.oneprayer.com

1. We are SHARING teaching from other influential and gifted communicators in this series.  The theme this year is “God is______.” We are emphasizing that God is GOOD; God is LOVE; God is FOR US, and God is CERTAIN.  I’m very excited about the three guest speakers that are joining me in this series (via video-cast messages):

Craig Groeschel, founder and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv based in Oklahoma City—a multi-site church with 13 locations in 6 states!  Craig is an outstanding young leader (his church has been named America’s Most Innovative Church for two years in a row).  He’s written a number of helpful books including one that some of our staff leaders recently read together: It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get it and Keep it. Craig will give you a new way of understanding that God’s love is for you individually and personally.  For more on Craig’s ministry go to

John Burke, is the founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas.  It’s a fast growing church with 70 percent of the church in their 20s and 30s, and consists mostly of people who were unchurched before coming to Christ at Gateway.  He is the author the book No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come-as You Are Culture in the Church.  His message will challenge us to be a welcoming community and will encourage you to know that God is FOR you, not against you. For more on John’s ministry go to www.gatewaychurch.com

Andy Stanley, founder and senior pastor of North Point Community Church.  He is the son of the well known preacher, Charles Stanley, and pastors more than 22,000 in three campuses in Atlanta, not counting the 14 other partner churches they have planted around the country which also receive teaching from Stanley.  He has written many books, including one that really encouraged me: Visioneering. His message will encourage you to have confidence in the certainty of God even in the midst of hard and uncertain circumstances.  For more on Andy’s ministry go to www.northpoint.org

2. We are SERVING with other churches in “Sharefest” on Saturday, June 13, serving schools in the Thompson Valley School district by rolling up our lives and showing the love of Jesus by our actions.

3. We are GIVING this year by taking an offering on the weekend of June 28 to help a sister church in Windsor that was wiped out last year by the tornado.  I’ve really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the pastor of Windsor Community Church, Dan Harty, in recent days and look forward to an ongoing relationship.  Let’s see what we can do (above and beyond our regular giving) to help their building project in the spirit of unity and love. 

There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Grace Place joined together last year with more than one million Christ-followers in a series called One Prayer.  We prayed together for the unity in the church that Jesus prayed for in John 17.  We listened to teaching by gifted communicators and participated in an offering, partnering together to make a lasting difference in the world through an ambitious mission initiative: planting 500 new churches in Cambodia, India, Sudan, and China in 18 months.

God has blessed this effort, and through the leadership of Lifechurch.tv and Granger Community Church and their partner organization, we met and exceeded our goal! Check out these numbers:

• 667 churches planted
• 607 pastors trained
• 7112 people baptized
• 44,618 people in Bible studies

Exciting results!  Once again, we are joining One Prayer this June. We will hear from gifted teachers, participate with local churches in Sharefest (showing God’s love in action by serving at our high schools on June 13), and receive an offering to continue taking the gospel forward in cooperation with the One Prayer movement.  In addition to carrying on and expanding the mission work from last year, the goal is to also launch a community transformation component to improve the quality of life for individuals in the One Prayer target areas.  As a nondenominational church, this cooperative endeavor gives Grace Place a unique and valuable opportunity to partner with hundreds of other similar churches to impact people with the gospel of Jesus.  More info will follow!

 “And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing…” (1 Timothy 2:14-15)

I bet you have never heard that verse used in celebration of Mother’s Day.  What does that verse mean?  Does it mean that men get saved by grace through faith, but woman get saved by having babies?  Of course not!  So what does it mean? 

Here’s my take.  A woman (Eve) was deceived in the Garden.  Adam sinned knowingly (which makes his sin even worse), but the promise was made that a descendant who would come through the woman who would be the Savior.  Indeed, Eve’s descendant, born through Mary, was the long anticipated Messiah—Jesus.  So in whatever way Eve brought reproach on women by being deceived and the first to sin, through Eve’s great, great, great, great… grandson—Mary’s child, Jesus—salvation came.  Thus any reproach was removed and women (along with all humanity) were “saved through childbearing.”

What a noble thing to be a mom.  Happy Mother’s Day!

   This has been a long week for me since I had a class at Denver Seminary (my last hopefully) that was designed to assist 40 some Doctoral of Ministry students who are laboring (struggling?) to finish their final project and thesis.  It was helpful but intense—especially that drive through rush hour traffic to south Denver.  My hat is off to all of you daily commuters.

I’m still riding high, though, off last weekend and the joy of seeing 35 people baptized (counting all four services)!  I believe that 25 were planning to be baptized and 10 made the decision on the spot as the Holy Spirit brought conviction.  One of my friends was baptized who was an agnostic Jew when he first came with his wife to Grace Place a number of years ago—convinced that Jesus was not who Christians say he is.  It was such a joy to see he and his wife came forward spontaneously and to hear him say, “I’m fully convinced!”  Every one, young and old, has a story.  We rejoice together in the miracles of conversion!

Last night was a dynamite service at the Berthoud campus.  National financial advisor and Christian, Dave Ramsey, talked live to millions of Americans about how to choose hope in a time of economic recession.  Although there were a few technical glitches—at the broadcast site and at our site, almost as though someone didn’t want this message of hope to get out—the encouraging message and practical tips came through loud and clear.  There are follow up materials on Dave’s website, including a summary of the final and powerful three point challenge: 1) Get up and take action; 2) Stop listening to loser talk; 3) Start giving.  Check it out: www.townhallforhope.com

At all three worship gatherings this Sunday Dave Ramsey will be speaking a follow-up message (video-cast) filled with practical, doable, scriptural wisdom on getting out and staying out of debt.  This message is prepared especially for the church.  It is filled with solution-oriented wisdom, presented with Dave’s characteristic humor and straight-forward no bull style.  Next week we will return to our Acts series, And So It Begins…, but this was great timing to take a pause and get some godly wisdom, practical counsel, and much needed encouragement at this time when many have sunk into fear and discouragement.

I’m working on a message right now called “3000 Newborns.”  It’s based on the last verses of Acts 2 when Peter preached a Christ-centered message and the Holy Spirit brought conviction and 3000 people were baptized that day!  What an experience that must have been.  If the 12 disciples were the only ones baptizing and they took one minute for each one, it would have taken over 4 hours!

This week we are planning a special baptism service at all of our weekend gatherings. I have a fourfold prayer request for you:

 1)       Pray that the people who need to be there will be there at one of our four weekend gatherings.  Maybe they only attend sporadically; maybe they were one of the more than 500 extra folks we had last weekend beyond our regular attendance; maybe they will be invited by you—your friend, neighbor, relative or work associate?

2)       Pray for me and the rest of the worship teams as we seek to create the environment for the Holy Spirit to work. Our good friends Tom Ewing and Jorie Henderson are leading worship at our two campuses and really looking forward to sharing this experience with us.

3)       Pray that many will make a decision to be baptized.  Right now in Berthoud there are 7 scheduled for Thursday @ 6:45; 5 for Sunday @ 8:15; 2 for Sunday @ 10:00; and 12 in Loveland @ 10:30. 3 others are confirmed in Berthoud but haven’t let us know which service.  That’s a total of 29… but it doesn’t not include some who are going to be baptized (I believe) who don’t know it yet!  We are going to open the opportunity for anyone to respond on the spot (Acts 2 style) and I’m really praying that many will respond.  Wouldn’t it be cool if dozens more say yes to Jesus!?

4)       Pray that we will be the same type of welcoming, including, nurturing, supporting, mentoring community that is described in the final verses of Acts 2 so that these new believers will be loved and cared for as they began to grow in their new walk with Christ.

Will you join me in prayer today and throughout this weekend!?

“Why did Jesus need to rise from the grave?”  A friend of mine was asked that this week by a skeptical work associate.  “I understand why you believe he had to die,” said the friend, “but why do you believe the resurrection is so important.”  My friend said he found himself stumbling for words.  I’ve been reflecting on that very question for the last couple months and in my studies I have been challenged and thrilled by deeper insights on the importance of the resurrection, especially by reading a book by renowned New Testament scholar N.T. Wright entitled: Surprised by Hope.  This Easter I will not be talking about reasons to believe that the resurrection actually happened (and there are many good solid reasons), but instead what difference it makes for us now and in the future and how the story of Easter provides hope like nothing else—ultimate hope!

I’ve been earnestly praying with the Grace Place Senior Leadership Team about the future of our church every week since January.  I am convinced that God is preparing to birth something new and fresh and meaningful in our midst.  I’m tired of business as usual; tired of “American Christianity” which is often just a low cost, optional, add on to an otherwise overcrowded secular, materialistic, entertainment-driven, worldly lifestyle that many so-called Christians are living.

I was asked to share here some of the questions that I mentioned in my message last week that I am asking right now: What does it mean to be a true Christ-follower today in this culture in this generation?  What does it mean to lay down my life for Jesus, to deny myself, take up my cross and follow him?  What does it mean to make a difference for him with my one life to live?  What does it mean to love God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength?  What does that look like in this culture?  What does it mean to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” in every area of my life?  What does it mean to love him to point of being willing to be a martyr for him?

What does it mean to quite playing church and build authentic community?  What does it mean to take off masks and become real with each other; to know and be known, to love each other like ourselves, to truly care for each other, support each other, encourage each other, hold each other accountable, to mentor and be mentored?

What does it mean to not just “get saved” but be transformed by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, to live a life that is ever increasingly marked by the fruit of the Spirit, equipped by the gifts of the Spirit, victorious over sin by the power of the Spirit, and witnessing for Christ with courage in the world by the anointing of the Spirit?

What does it mean to unite with other kingdom warriors on a epic adventure where the stakes are high—life and death; to open our hearts and church to the full power of the Holy Spirit, to pray earnestly for and receive holy boldness from on high—to be truly shaken and stirred for him; to give our lives for the mission of Jesus—to seek and save the lost, realizing that every day around us there are people who are facing a Christ-less eternity unless they hear and understand the life changing message of the gospel and surrender their lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord?

These are the type of questions I’m wrestling with personally and with close associates.  If you resonate with these questions, please join me in prayer.  Let’s not be satisfied with status quo!

The pastors and leaders of Grace Place are in a prayerful process of seeking God’s heart for our church.  As a part of this process, I am studying once again the birth of the New Testament church and the characteristics of the new community when it was alive, healthy, and Spirit-filled–rocking the world for Christ.  I’m really excited about a new message series we are beginning as we look closely at the early chapters of Acts and seek to become more of an Acts-type church–not just playing church–but on an epic kingdom adventure!

“Underground” - March 29
“Fire Falls” - April 5
“Uprising”  - April 12
“3000 Newborns” - April 19
“Band of Brothers” - April 26
“Lame Man Dance” - May 3
“Shaken and Stirred” - May 10
“A Deadly Game” - May 17
“Growing Pains” - May 24
“Martyr” - May 31