A Thanksgiving Greeting

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
—Psalm 106:1

The Manhattan Declaration

As the pastor of a large church, I’m often asked to sign petitions or declarations. I generally do not take part in many of them. But The Manhattan Declaration was one that hits so squarely on the foundational beliefs that I hold so dear, that I couldn’t not sign it.

About 150 evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic leaders signed the statement, which was released to the media last Friday. You can click here to read the nearly 5,000-word declaration in its entirety, but basically it defends three core issues—the sanctity of human life, biblical marriage and uncompromising religious liberty. All three are issues that, unfortunately, are in grave danger in our great country today. I am providing just a few words here on what the declaration states:

Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.

We cannot stand by and do nothing as religious organizations are asked to do what goes completely against their foundational beliefs and convictions. I urge you to read the document, stand steadfastly by your convictions and pray that the Lord will protect this great country and the beliefs it was founded upon.

Sondra Saunders 30th Anniversary

I remember meeting Sondra Saunders for the first time when I came to Prestonwood in 1989. Two things were obvious: her passion for reaching others for Christ and her love of children. Sondra had been at Prestonwood for 10 years when I arrived—her legacy as our Children’s Minister already cemented. And, yet, here we are 20 years later and Sondra is just as steadfast in her commitment to Christ and this church as she was in those early years.

Sondra has been a true blessing in the life of this church. In the three decades that she’s been here, she’s seen about 28,000 children come through here. I can’t imagine our Children’s Ministry without her. And I know our church family can’t either. I’m always so touched to see little kids running over to Ms. Sondra and giving her a big hug. There’s a reason why this church has named only one building—the Saunders Children’s Building—for a person. And, frankly, I can’t imagine we’d ever do it again.

Sondra Saunders is special. And I am so blessed to call her co-laborer and my friend. She has a special place in the heart of my family. My youngest son, Josh, now 26, grew up in the Children’s Ministry and loved it and now my grandson, Ian, just adores Ms. Sondra.

So as we celebrate her 30th anniversary at Prestonwood this weekend, I want to thank Sondra for loving our Lord and for loving our children.

OUR VISION

When I come to Prestonwood on Sundays and see people streaming in, it’s an amazing thing. I never come to this corner and look at this property when I don’t remember that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think. And that’s been a key Scripture passage for us as a church. I never take for granted the amazing work that God has given us to do here, and the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

I thought I’d share with you the vision God has provided for His Church here on this hill. At Prestonwood, our vision is:

1. To engage in worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is life-transforming

2. To boldly preach and teach God’s inerrant Word without compromise, with compassion

3. To share the Good News of salvation with as many people as possible by every means possible

4. To provide a church in which people are cared for, nurtured, and blessed

5. To equip families to live in godly, wholesome relationships

6. To help Christians grow in their faith and apply biblical principles to their lives

7. To provide ministry opportunities that enable Christians to discover their spiritual gifts and use them in Christian service

8. To send and support ministries to the nations and to our neighbors

FIT FOR LIFE

We had our first annual PowerPoint Fit for Life Family Fun Run and 5K this morning. And, I'll tell you, it was fun! For a first-time run we had an incredible turnout with more than 600 people (and a couple of beagles)... The folks I spoke to said they had a great time, and I was so happy to hear it because we're already pumped about next year!

We started with the one-mile Fun Run around the Prestonwood campus. The cool thing was that because it was contained, it was safe for the whole family. And we had a lot of little kids out there, including my lightning-fast grandson, Ian! Then the 5K took us through a nice neighborhood just north of the church. I can testify that it was a bit challenging with a couple of pretty good hills, but I had a blast running with my daughter, Kelly, and I felt pretty good when we finished.

The kids had a great time in bounce houses and we had some local companies on "Sponsor Alley" giving out free food and drinks and lots of coupons. And besides providing a great event for the community, the run and 5K benefitted PowerPoint Ministries. My heart has always been in taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and PowerPoint allows me to do that. I'm grateful to all our PowerPoint listeners and supporters--including the new ones we met today!