Mr. Creativity, Pastor Ed Young, is at it again:

Wired PR News.com – In an unconventional style of sermon, a Grapevine pastor plans to tell his congregation that he wants the married members to have sex everyday for a week with their spouses. As reported by the Dallas Morning News, Reverend Ed Young plans to issue his call to action on Sunday, the day of which he wishes for them to get started.

Reverend Young’s “sex challenge” is said to be representative of the need for married couples to reaffirm their spiritual commitment to one another amidst having to deal with additional stresses brought on by present times. Some have asserted that the pastor’s antics are a means of drawing in larger crowds. However, the pastor says “We’ve got more people than we can say grace over.” He further insists that the reasons are more in line with helping preserve the sanctity of marriage, citing “It gets people thinking on a deeper level about sex. I want people talking about.”

It starts today.  What do you think married couples?  Are you up for the challenge?

It is really important that we hear from as many GPers as possible!  Click here to take the Spiritual Life Survey.

  The leaders at Grace Place are excited about a new tool that we believe will help us to serve our congregation better—the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey.  There’s nothing more important to those of us who lead our church than your spiritual growth. Whether you’re just starting to explore the Christian faith, or you’re a long-time Christ-follower, we want to do everything we can to help you on your spiritual journey.

We want you to know about a very special opportunity. If you are a Grace Place participant, we’re asking for your feedback on our church and your spiritual journey through a Spiritual Life Survey you can access on the Internet. 

We want you to know several things about this survey:

• It’s comprehensive and thought-provoking
• You should set aside 25-30 minutes to take it
• It’s completely anonymous so you can be open and honest with your feedback
• The window of opportunity for this survey is limited to two weeks only—November 8-22.
• It’s extremely important. We know you are very busy, but please carve out the time soon to complete this survey.  The findings from this survey will shape our decisions about how to create the best possible ministry strategies to serve you better.

NOTE: When you come to the section that asks you to answer questions about the “senior pastor” or the “campus pastor” it may be a bit confusing if you try to evaluate only one or the other.  Please think of the lead pastor, campus pastor(s), and/or pastoral staff depending on the context of each question.

We want to hear from ALL Grace Place participants.  Please take the survey and encourage all of your friends who call our church their church home to participate as well. Thanks for your participation!

Take the Spiritual Life Survey now… 

A few wise paragraphs regarding the current economic situation written by author Jon Gordon:

We need to realize that the economy is not some abstract entity separate from us. The economy is us. You and I are the economy. Our thoughts, behaviors, actions and mood collectively create the economy. Government can try to manipulate our actions through tax plans, regulations and incentives but in a nutshell we are the economy. Our collective mood, productivity, innovation, positive energy and execution determines whether the economy is thriving or in a recession. Paying our mortgage helps the economy. Working hard helps the economy. Starting a business helps the economy. Making a product the world needs helps the economy. Replacing our psychology of fear with a psychology of trust helps the economy.

But how can I trust anything, you might ask, when everything I’ve trusted in is falling apart? My answer is that we’ve put our trust and faith in the wrong things. Our government, media, financial institutions and our own actions have shown us that a house built on a foundation of greed cannot stand. The cracks have been exposed and it’s a wake up call to all of us. As Charles West said, “We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them.” Our foundations are shaking for a reason. We are meant to realize that security is an illusion. There’s no power in having a big bank account. You can’t find peace in your investment portfolio and you’ll never find your true purpose in your 401k plan.

We are meant to stop listening to the media, aka, Chicken Little and have faith in something bigger than ourselves. We are meant to trust in God, not in our balance sheets. We are meant to realize that true power exists not in what seems big and strong and secure but in what is silent and unseen. This is where faith lives.

So instead of starting your morning by turning on the news, consider taking a walk of prayer. Instead of looking down at the paper, look up to the heavens. And instead of listening to the fear mongers, walk outside, close your eyes, smell the fresh autumn air, take a few deep breaths and discover the real peace you seek.

Every day, stay positive, do your best to succeed and have faith in a brighter and better future. I believe this is the antidote to fear and it is the true kind of trust that you, me and the economy need right now.

Read more at jongordon.com. 

   One of the wisest godly influences in my life is my good friend Richard Fredericks, senior pastor of Damascus Road Community Church.  Once again, I want to pass on some of his thoughts regarding the election today:

Dear Family and Friends,

Tomorrow the election is over and the country has decided.  May I make a few post-election observations, not about the candidates (who cares what I think), but about our processing of politics as Christians.

 For the record, I really admire both McCain and Obama.  To last through the gauntlet of a presidential campaign takes an exceptional person, and the strength under fire and tenacity of both candidates deeply impressed me.

 John McCain is not only a true war-hero, he is a stamina super-hero.  When most 72-year olds with a 401K only dream of their well-earned retirement, Senator McCain is energetic and proved he could shoulder the weight of the presidency.  He ran a campaign schedule that would kill most young men—including clear, rousing speeches in SEVEN states on the final day: try that sometime.  He is a model of making your whole life count for the things you care about.

 Barack Obama brought an eloquence of communication to this race unseen since John Kennedy, and his position papers on race and religion (the two hot buttons of his candidacy) are, in my opinion, must reads for their thoughtfulness—especially if he emerges as the winner. 

 Finally, the fact that we had: the oldest presidential candidate ever, the first black (bi-racial) candidate ever and that two strong women (Senator Clinton and Governor Palin) played central roles in this election definitely marks a new era of maturity and openness in American politics.

 Now three observations about us:

 Once we decide for a candidate and against the other, based on their positions (a good thing) there is a tendency to impugn the motives and character of the candidate we did not chose.  Fiery zeal and words like idiot, crazy and dangerous get applied to both. I would be willing to wager a year’s salary that if you spent a long weekend with either candidate (and with an open heart) you would leave with great respect—perhaps not for their positions—but for their character and sincerity.

 Second, my prayer for the American church is that we always respect the political process but stop believing anything other than the church sharing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord can transform America.  Political leadership matters, especially in a crisis (as Lincoln and Roosevelt demonstrated).  But throughout history, whenever Christians believe their political party will usher in God’s righteousness—without exception—things have gotten corrupt at best and deadly at worse.  Our hope is God’s grace alone, shared by Christians who believe Jesus alone is the answer, not legislation.  I think perhaps Christians bent on political salvation may be the new legalism.  

 Third, God’s Word calls us to be “completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2.  There is no clause that says ‘except for politics.’  Christians should be marked by passion for beliefs coupled with an equal dose of civility because of genuine humility about our own sinfulness and lack of infinite perspective on what God is up to.  NOW—let’s pray for our new president—whoever he is.  (Richard Fredericks)

This is a hilarious video that Steve Kurtright, Berthoud Campus Pastor, used last week to start his message on the apocalyptic genre of biblical prophecy and the different interpretative approaches.  I asked him to do that message in preparation for my messages on the last six chapters of Daniel.  Worship Pastor, Brett Wilson, did a creative dub on the video so it sounds like the singer is introducing Steve!

In Daniel 10 the prophet is troubled as he contemplates God’s will for his people and the future.  So he devotes himself to prayer, employing a certain type of fast for the purpose of focusing his attention on the Lord.

 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks.  I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips. (Daniel 10:2-3)

At the end of this three week time of prayer and fasting an angel showed up and gave him encouragement and understanding. 

Over the last couple weeks I took some time away from message prep, staff meetings, and office work to study, pray, reflect, and write.  I’m working on my doctoral dissertation which involves seeking God’s will and direction for Grace Place.  I decided to do a three week “Daniel’s Fast.”  For me it meant drinking nothing but water (which will get your attention if you are a coffee drinker like me), no meat, and no “choice food”, which I decided would mean no sweets, fried foods, rich foods… eating just simple healthy foods like fruits, nuts, vegetables, and grains.  I have found this to be a very helpful spiritual discipline to help me give serious focus to seeking the Lord and also sort of a physically cleansing experience. 

There should be nothing legalistic about fasting—like we’re trying to get God to notice us or earn his favor.  But it is a time honored, biblical, spiritual discipline that can be helpful for focusing our attention on the Lord.  And there are different types of fasts—not just abstaining completely from food, but also a Daniel type fast.

My dear friend, Richard Fredericks (pictured here with his wife Sallie), is senior pastor of Damascus Road Community Church (www.damascus.com) where I served as associate pastor before launching Grace Place.  Richard recently began an email to his congregation with some incredibly inspiring words.  I hope these paragraphs challenge you the same way they did me!  Thanks Richard.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross to make your life safe.

Jesus died on the Cross to make you dangerous for God.

Asking for God’s protection is fine.

But when was the last time you begged God to make you dangerous and bold, for Him?

Or asked that along with staying safe, your children would grow up to be dangerous difference makers and not just mediocre materialist?  God knows, the world doesn’t need more of those—folks whose only real passion is to stay affluent until they die.

Praying for your home and job are good things, but Jesus called us to pray for passion: Father, Thy will be done in me as it is in heaven—even if it leads me to a cross. I’m Yours, all in, all the time, in every way.  A disciple.

We follow the One so passionate that His last days on earth are called: The Passion.  Yet somewhere along life’s way we get so tame we probably bore our guardian angels!   We stop pursing a holy passion and settle for a paycheck.  Our greatest fear becomes the loss of our comfort instead of the loss of our God-story, and once that happens, faith is boring and not even our comforts really comfort us.  I know.  I’ve been there.  I don’t want to live there.  Being wild and free in Jesus really is a whole lot more exciting than being tame and caged by a lifestyle.

So what makes you passionate?  What makes you get angry or sad or excited?  Right now, maybe just an occasional movie or vacation!  If so, go ahead and pray this out of the box (NON-protect my lifestyle) prayer with me:

Lord Jesus, ignite in me a holy passion—a burning vision for doing Your will; and a trust that makes me obedient to you right now, today, right where I am, whatever You say.  Amen.  Go ahead, say it.  I dare you.  I double-dog dare you. (Richard Fredericks)

There was a lot of talk about this video last week after we showed it in church.  I love the imagery of all those water buffalo marching back to rescue one of their own from the lions.  I hope and pray that our church will be community that comes quickly to the aid of one in our midst who is attacked and wounded!  (This is longer than the edited version we showed).

Does God have a perfect will for your individual life?  Does he have a certain job he wants you to have, a certain spouse he has picked for you, a specific school for you to attend, a certain house or car he wants you to buy?

Or is God more interested in having you follow his moral will that is revealed in the Bible?  Does God promise to give you wisdom to make decisions and then grant you a great deal of freedom to make choices as long as you are living within his moral will?

If you’d like to grapple with these questions, along with the leaders at Grace Place, read the article, “Decision Making and the Will of God.”  This article is a transcript of spoken presentations made by Gregory Koukl.

Decision Making and the Will of God