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                 To All Ye Pilgrims:

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now, I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

So reads the Thanksgiving proclamation of William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1623.  Some historians consider the first American Thanksgiving to have happened two years earlier in 1621 when a group of Pilgrims shared a feast with a group of friendly Indians. 

Others say: No, the first recorded thanksgiving took place in Virginia more than 11 years before that, and it wasn’t a feast. The winter of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced a group of 409 settlers to 60. The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come. When help arrived, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God.

One thing is certain.  From its earliest origins Thanksgiving has been about giving thanks to God.  I encourage you to take time to give God thanks wherever you celebrate this holiday.

I have a lot to be thankful besides the familiar four on Thanksgiving day (family, friends, food and football!).  High on my list of thanksgiving is all of you who make up the Grace Place family.  I echo the words of Paul thinking about you this Thanksgiving:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6)

Proverbs 27:23 says, “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.”  This is wise counsel not only for farmers but also for church leaders. If we are going to make good plans in order that our church will grow both spiritually and numerically, reaching the lost and honoring God, it is good for us to regularly assess the health of our church.  Jesus taught the importance of assessment when he talked about preparation for a building project or war: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? …Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” (Luke 14:28, 31).

Before we begin a new strategic planning process is important to hear from as many Grace Place participants as possible regarding how your spiritual life is progressing and how the church is helping or not helping assist you.  The shepherds want to know the condition of the flock.  Over 200 have taken the Spiritual Life Survey.  There are only three days left.  The window of opportunity closes Saturday night just before midnight.  Click here to take the Spiritual Life Survey.

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!