Thankful? For What?

Happy Thanksgiving? Well, at least I think so. You see, I say that in light of the many different ideas about what Thanksgiving "is". Someone recently on Facebook shared, "its not a religious holiday, its when the pilgrims thanked the Indians for helping them". Huh? Did I miss the memo on this one? Is this what the school books say now? I don't know, but before we declare "Happy Thanksgiving" we should at least get some sense of what this holiday is all about. After all every holiday has an occasion or historical event we are remembering...so it would be best to get some idea of what we are remembering to be "thankful for"...and what isn't. Now being thankful for the Indians for their help to the Pilgrims isn't a bad thing...its just not the main thing! Historically there appears to be some cooperation between the Pilgrims & the Indians...and yes it helped. But according to the earliest writings on the subject, the Pilgrims prayed & fasted for several days in Thanksgiving for God and His provisions.

George Washington endorsed this idea when he declared the first official Thanksgiving in the United States.
"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and

Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness":

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best."

Given under my hand, at the city of New York,

the 3d day of October, AD 1789

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln echoed his sentiments when he declared Thanksgiving a Federal Holiday as well. There seems to be a consistent thought running through both of these presidential proclamations...I wonder why so many miss the obvious?

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.

"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battlefield; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed,

Done at the city of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Somehow I think George Washington & Abraham Lincoln have a better knowledge of why we have Thanksgiving here in the United States, than most of us. I trust their own words, rather than the ideas of others. How 'bout you? For that I am Thankful.

be God's!
Brian O
ECHO
Lead Pastor dude
Friends Community Church
Tyler, Texas

The Point

This summer, my family & I accepted the opportunity to pastor a great group of people that call themselves Friends Community Church. It is located in Tyler, Texas. Truly a church for people who don't like church. A church that is willing to be different for the sake of reaching those who are not comfortable or attracted to other more religious expressions of church life. Though Texas is known as the land of many churches...and east Texas as part of the "bible belt"...and as a fellow pastor friend would say, "its pharisee heaven"...FCC recognizes the need for a different kind of church. I like that. That is why we made the big move from Eugene, Oregon to Tyler, Texas. It wasn't for the "big bucks"...it wasn't for just "a job"...it wasn't because I always "dreamed" of living in Tyler, Texas...it was for a reason more important & worth laying my life down for. In short...I "get" where FCC is trying to go...more importantly, "who they are trying to become"...and that is a journey I want to be a part of. The contrast is stark, yet the result is the same. Eugene, Oregon is highly unchurched...90% of the population do not attend church regularly...sadly most don't trust the church as an institution. In Tyler Texas, most are supposedly "churched"...they say just under 50% attends church regularly (defined as once a month). But when you get to the actual numbers of committed church goers... even in "pharisee heaven"...only around 30% are regular church goers. The result in either extreme, in either city, is the same...more people do not trust the church...than do. How sad is that? More people are left without hope in their spiritual needs...distant from the Jesus that loves them so. Yes, the religious mask is more commonly worn in east Texas... but the lack of spiritual vibrancy lives on. Are lives being transformed? Is Jesus likeness growing in His people? Has the "religious" taken precedent over "relationship"? Are we practicing a 'form" of spirituality..."yet denying its power." Friends is a church committed to being different, for the sake of the "majority" that do not like...trust...or "get" the other church expressions in Tyler & its surrounding areas. Does that mean every other church in Eugene, Oregon or in Tyler, Texas (or anywhere for that matter) don't get it? Does it mean they are wrong and FCC is right? Does it mean they are all fake & only Friends Community Church is real? That's a definite NO! We as a church, are a messy bunch, and we are on a journey too. FCC is a group of people growing into the people God designed us to "be"...but perfect, HA, HA...we definitely are NOT !!! Our hope is that Friends Community Church can be uniquely different for the sake of those we are able to reach...perhaps some people other churches cannot reach will find a home with us...& that is a good thing. We know that those other churches will reach "some"...we will reach a different "some"...but together the Kingdom is expanded...and isn't that the point? More people exploring the Love of Jesus...more people experiencing His Love personally...more people expressing it to others...and after all, isn't that the point?

be God's!

Brian O

ECHO

Lead Pastor dude

Friends Community Church

Tyler, Texas

Reality? What a Concept !

Interesting, isn't it? Reality that is.
Or at least our search for it. Humanity's search for meaning. There is only one reality...anything else is an illusion...hence the dilemma! Is it to the extreme "right?"
Or to the extreme "left?" Is it a place of legalistic constraint without purpose...without meaning? Or is it a free form illusion of unhindered self-expression? Somehow, someway, both have failed us miserably. The puritanical restrictions of the past often seem senseless. Oh sure, some do have value...indeed even wisdom...but most seem senseless. But the extremes to which their "do's" and especially their "don't's" take us are often too much to handle...let alone take seriously! Yet the idea that the ultimate freedom has no boundaries at all...well that too has proven itself disastrous. What has the era's of 60's and 70's freedom proven? Our current era has reaped the consequences. Our media is full of alcohol and drug rehab commercials. The sexual revolution has led to a sexual paranoia, as diseases, AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and abortions abound. Our culture is plagued with welfare babies, single parents galore, emotionally and physically scarred men and women, sexually confused people, plus millions burdened with disease. Broken homes, divorce, children without a parent (or parents) and our societies obvious breaking apart at it's seams, leave us still searching. Is this as good as it gets? Perhaps "freedom" is not what we thought? Can humanity exist without boundaries or guidelines or parameters? Have we neglected something in our hedonistic search for fulfillment? Surely, we cannot go back to the senseless superstitions of the past? Perhaps though, there is reality within some of these boundaries? Perhaps real freedom exists somewhere within them? Perhaps, reality says, "Life without parameters leads to self-destruction!" Perhaps, the illusion is finally fading as reality sets in... it's called the "truth!" If there is "truth" then it has a "source". That truth then is the Source of all wisdom. Anything else is just a lie...a facade...a deception. That deception leads to error, which inevitably leads towards destruction. Has the scientific, technological, and spiritual "advancements" of our day really done much to improve the human condition? Does the "cake" of our life, simply have more decorations...does it really taste any better...does it really satisfy any better? Are we the victims of this cruel hoax...or perhaps, we've learned the hard way? At ECHO we want to be a safe place for anyone to explore the reality of life...to come along side people as they search for the Truth...the Source of all Truth & Wisdom. This journey is not a quick one...but a patient one...and different for each of us. But the Truth...is a constant, and found in only one Source...that we can discover together!

Be God's!
Brian O
ECHO Lead Pastor
Friends Community ChurchTyler, Texas