I have said many times over the last few months that our so-called economic crisis is a moral issue and no amount of government intervention will solve it.  We are a greedy, self -centered, and materialistic group of people.  The front news story on today’s paper of a Wal Mart employee who was trampled to death by the throng of shoppers is just another said commentary on our nation. 

Overall I think the economic crisis has been overstated.  When the lowest paid football coach in the Big 12 makes $935,000 and people have enough money to rush into stores to snatch up bargains (I am assuming that most of these people were not there to buy the necessities for survival) then I suggest that we think twice about the disservice we do to those who survived the depression by comparing our plight to theirs.

Secondly, if those who have been blessed economically such as myself and most people I know, would practice Extraordinary Generosity (the title of my message last week) many of our economic problems would disappear.  I do not deny that we have many people living below the poverty level for a variety of reasons including fathers who will not pay child support which is again a moral issue.  We could, in fact, make a huge difference in the lives of those people if we were just a generous nation instead of a selfish nation.

The big question that never got asked in the last presidential debate was: If in fact you are deeply concerned about the less fortunate among us, how much of your income did you give away last year to personally address the issue?  Of here is another:  If having the wealthy pay more taxes is a part of the solution and since our government will allow a person to pay more taxes than required, how much did you pay?

Regardless, of whether we are democrats, republicans, independents are undecideds, we must get beyond the rhetoric and do our part individually to address the issue.  Here is what my family and I have been committed to for the last 25 years to help:

1.  We will always give at least 10% of our income to a local church where lives are being transformed.  Life transformation is the real key to seeing our nation change from where it is today to a generous nation concerned about the plight of the less fortunate throughout the world.

2.  We will give over and above the 10% to the building program of such a local church where will also give generously of our time and talents..

3.  In addition, we will give money and other items and resources to other organizations and people who are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others.  We currently help support a msssionary, a crisis pregnancy center and other non-profit organizations.

Many of my friends are doing the same if not more.  There is no doubt in my mind that my family has been richly and undeservedly blessed so I hope no one sees any of this as boasting but rather simply the response of someone who has had their lives radically changed by the grace of God.

I have a friend whose son would watch The Road Runner cartoons and at some point as he watched Wiley Coyote preparing one of his ill fated traps, the little boy would proclaim, “That not a good idea.”

So this news article falls into the “that not a good idea” category:

If you are a drug dealer you should not wear a t-shirt that reads "It's not illegal unless you get caught" -that not a good idea.

I spoke at our Keller campus today.  We concluded the series Beyond Ordinary with the message Extraordinary Generosity.  I used an illustration involving a person from the congregation in which I gave the person 10 one dollar bills.  I told them the money was theirs to use however they wanted all I asked was that they five me one dollar back.

I wanted people to see that the first step to becoming a generous person was to give a tithe to the Lord.  In the first service, I gave the 10 dollars to a little boy named Charles. He willingly gave back one dollar.  After the service I thanked him and he told me he put 2 of the dollars in the offering.  He got it!

After the service a man approached me to tell me that he agreed totally with what I was saying about trusting God by giving a tithe.  He had started his own business recently, even though his family was deeply in debt.  In the midst of it all he decided to start tithing.  A few weeks after making that commitment he received a contract with a large company in Dallas.  Earlier this week his brother in law who had come into some money told him to list out all his debts.  He did so and sent it to his brother in law who proceeded to pay them all off with no strings attached.

I  rejoice for those who take the step of trusting God with their finances.  I pray for others to experience all that God has for them by simply giving back to God what is already His.

I read this book to help me prepare for a new Christmas series I will be sharing at FOTP Grapevine in December.  I did glean some insights that I will be able to use overall the book was not a homerun and certainly not a must-read.

Rick of course is the author of the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life.  That book has been used in such a powerful way in so many lives.  The bar was set pretty high with that work and so The Purpose of Christmas seemed pretty bland in comparison. 

I do think since it is a very short, easy to read book that it can be given to a friend to help them really grasp the real meaning of Christmas.  Assuming that is the target, I can see how it could be an effective tool.

The theme of the book really revolves around the fact that Jesus and the offer of the free gift of eternal life make up the most significant gift we could ever receive.  This gift he says is priceless, will last forever, and you can use it everyday of your life.  If people can get nothing more from reading this book while it may not be one of my favorites, it will be worth the time it takes to read it.

Being directionally challenged, I canrelate to following story which took place earlier this fall: 

Duke officials were a bit surprised when, at 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday, about an hour before the scheduled kickoff of their game against James Madison, two men parachuted into Wallace Wade Stadium and landed at the 35-yard line with a game ball.Problem was, the Blue Devils — who were warming up on the field along with their guests from Virginia — weren’t expecting it.

“All we know is, they must have missed their jump site,” a team official said.And they did — because the jump site was meant to be about eight miles away.North Carolina was scheduled to receive the game ball for its contest against McNeese State via an aerial team at about that time in Chapel Hill.

According to UNC assistant athletic director for promotions Michael Beale, the plane was in the air, but the jumpers from Virginia-based Aerial Adventures opted to cancel the leap into Kenan Stadium because of a severe weather front — which would later delay both games.Evidently, when the clouds eventually opened, the pilot thought they were over the correct stadium, and the skydivers jumped — realizing only when they landed in Wallace Wade that they were in the wrong place.The two men immediately scrambled off the field with the game ball, and when UNC associate athletic director Rick Steinbacher was informed by a reporter of what had happened, he immediately called Duke officials to confirm the miscue, and offer his apologies.

We celebrated the Lord’s supper this past Sunday and saw two more people baptized.  It was such a special time for us as a church.  The two adults who were baptized are two people who have been attending since our very first preview service back in the summer.

After our second service on Sunday, we went to the home of some of our members right down the street from the church.  We baptized in their hot tub as our church family gathered around to watch.

I pray that God would send us many more people who need to know about His love and forgiveness.

Let me just begin by saying this is a great book!  It is the true story of Ernest Gordon who spent three years as a POW during WWII.  He was captured by the Japanese and forced with other POWs to build the notorious "Railroad of Death".  Both the academy award winning films The Bridge Over The River Kwai and the film To End All Wars are based on this book.

I had used a remarkable story from this book as an illustration but had never read the book.  I ordered a copy last week.  I received it on Friday and finished it on Monday.  The first 40 pages or so are a little confusing but from that point on I could not put it down.

This is the amazing story of how two men who loved the Lord and their neighbors in the most horrible of living conditions, changed history.  Ernest Gordon was befriended by these men while he was in the Death House in the prison camp waiting to die.I don't want to ruin the story but Gordon who was not a Christ-follower when he enlisted ends the book with this line:

"He (Jesus) comes into our Death House to lead us through it."

Read it.  I am going to list it as one of my all time favorites.

This has to be one of the most exciting times of my life.  We are seeing lives changed, marriages restored and people realizing how much God loves them.  

This past Sunday we had 120 in our two worship services.  We had 9 more people join at our Lifequest 101 class.   We have three people who want to be baptized as a proclamation of their faith in Christ.

This Monday night I got a call from one of our couples who told me how God was restoring their marriage. 

God is truly working through the people of FOTP Grapevine!

 Tomorrow I will start a new series, Beyond Ordinary.  We will be looking at how to live an extraordinary life.  My greatest fear is not that I would ever murder someone or commit some crime - I am capable but not overly concerned.  My greatest fear is that when life is over I will have lived a nice, moral, mediocre Christian life.  I want to live an extraordinary life. Obviously, not every shares my desire as evidenced by this story:

·         From the self-composed obituary in the Casper (Wyo.) Star
Tribune of James William "Jim" Adams, who died September 9th:
"Jim, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other's [sic]
courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that
he had lost his battle . . . primarily as a result of . . . not following
doctor's orders. . . . He was sadly deprived of his final wish, which
was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to
buy booze for a date." [Casper Star Tribune, 9-23-08]

For those who want to live beyond ordinary lives here are our topics for this series:

Nov. 9– Extraordinary Love

Nov. 16 - Extraordinary Relationships

Nov. 23 – Extraordinary Generosity

Nov. 30 – Extraordinary Gratitude

At Fellowship of the Parks, we say it is never too late (as long as you are breathing) to become the person God intended you to be.  Well here is a never too late story.  Seems this guy in Michigan returned a library book that was due 47 years ago.

Here is a part of the story -

“I figured I’d better get it in before we waited another 10 years,” he said after turning it in Friday with the $171.32 check. “Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing.”  (I love this line!)