I am a blessed man.  When I was a young man I could have never written a story like the one I live.  My wife and children are amazing.  I wish I could freeze time to enjoy these days a little more.  My prayer is that I would be the man they need me to be.

My life passage, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, sums up my thoughts concerning ministry.  I am so grateful that God calls me faithful even when I wasn’t faithful.  My prayer is that I would be the man that Jesus died for me to be.

1 Timothy 1: 12-17 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. ¹³Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus ¹⁵Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

When I came to Christ I was added to the Every Nation family.  One of our values is spiritual family, meaning, that the church is a family and the call to follow Jesus is not a call to isolation, but a call to family.  One of the greatest joys of my life thus far has been my EN family.  I am constantly amazed as I travel internationally that I have family from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation!  In this family I have fathers and grandfathers (thank you), brothers and sisters (we can do it), and sons and daughters (we need you). I am so proud of my spiritual family!  My prayer is that I would be the leader in this family that God has called me and Every Nation has equipped me to be.

Finally, I realize that at this point in my life there is so much more to do.  I am convinced I need to be a more aggressive learner.  I am committed to surrender all I am to become a passionate follower of Jesus. I am compelled to fulfill the mission to honor God by planting Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, socially-responsible churches and campus ministries in every nation. My prayer is that not only will I be sinless, but selfless – here I am Lord, send me!

Happy Birthday to me and my August 4th friends!

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Anytime a church leader begins to discuss their desire to reach people, build a big church, break a numeric barrier, get off a growth plateau or add numbers there is usually a confrontation from the super-spiritual.  Comments are fired at the leader like, “God is worried about quality, not quantity,” or “bigger is not always better,” or “now, don’t be prideful pastor.” Often as pastors prepare to give their “vision speech,” they open with a disclaimer like, “Not that I am worried about numbers, but…” or “Not to compete with the church down the street, but…” or “If God’s will is for us to stay this size then fine, but…”

Why is that we as church leaders feel compelled to make excuses for growth? Is church growth bad? What about numbers are they holy or unholy?

Well, good news for us church growth fanatics…

• There is an entire book of the Bible called Numbers. (Numbers 1:1-2)
• Jesus himself drew crowds. (Matthew 8:1)
• God takes the credit himself for growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
• The book of Acts has several numerical growth indicators.  After Peter preached the church grew from 120 to 3,120. (Acts 2:41)

I don’t know, maybe its the old football coach in me, but the idea of a scoreboard makes sense.  I think as the church we ought to know the score.  Call it my carnality or sin nature, but deep down inside I want to win!  After all didn’t Apostle Paul call this a spiritual wrestling match? That is “rastlin” in Tennessee!  (Ephesians 6:12-13) And didn’t Christ come and deliver a knock-out punch on the cross? (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Thanks to one of my church leader heros, Nelson Searcy, I have coined (or stolen) a new term called, “Maximum Redemptive Potential” (MRP). Now, that term helps to spiritualize growth.  It helps to make numbers holy!

Here is the concept… God’s desire is that every individual, small group, ministry, and church reach its Maximum Redemptive Potential.  As followers of Christ we have a MRP and God wants us to get there.  As a church its the same.  This is equally true for our small groups and ministries.

God’s Word says that we have been handed the ministry of reconciliation, as God is making His appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)  Jesus died for the redemption of the world. God commissioned his disciples to make redeemed disciples.  Through our individual and corporate Maximum Redemptive Potential God’s plan continues!  We all have a part to play in God’s redemptive master plan.

Here is the question…

• For you personally: are you reaching your MRP?
• For your small group: are you reaching your MRP?
• For your church: are you reaching your MRP?

I feel better about numbers already and I hope you do.  If you have reached your MRP, then you have grown enough, your small group can end, and your church can be satisfied.  If you haven’t then let’s concern ourselves with numerical growth!  Imagine what it would be like if we all achieved our Maximum Redemptive Potential…

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*** I warn you this is a brutally honest blog.***

When asked about my recent leave of absence many asked, “How was your vacation?” or “How was the sabbatical?”  Let’s get this straight – it was neither a vacation or a sabbatical.  I have to be honest – those five weeks messed up my routine.  I felt the pressure that many “stay-at-home Moms” feel.  My schedule was wide-open family stuff from daylight to past dark.  Moms – I feel your pain.

The most important part of my day is my personal time with God.  My schedule over the last few weeks wasn’t as conducive to that as my regular “pastor – dad” schedule.   ATTENTION: THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SPENDING TIME WITH GOD.  Here is how Pastor Mark Batterson said this in a recent blog on a similar subject, “If you want to grow spiritually, you need a consistent diet of Scripture.  In fact, you will never outgrow your consumption of Scripture. There is no substitute. There is no supplement.”

While I was out playing the role of “disneyland dad” as I call it… running from big moment to big moment… I realized that I developed the following symptoms: I was grouchy, selfish, irritable, complaining, short-tempered, tired, lazy and spiritually numb.  The symptoms were easily recognizable by all, especially my spouse and kids.  Someone actually said, “I will be glad when you go back to work!”  Work is not what I needed.  What I needed was Jesus.  I was missing my daily time with God.

I need Jesus – bad.

For me, this was an eye-opening experience of how easy it is to fall-out of the routine or discipline of spending time with God.  Every week at Bethel Community Church we stress the importance for every follower of Jesus to read the Bible.  A huge part of growing in God is spending time with God through worship, prayer, and His Word. Reading your Bible is much like physical exercise… every day that you miss it, it is much easier not to do it the following day as well.

One more warning for pastors and those in ministry… Bible reading has to be for personal devotion.  Often times we read/study to see what God would say through us instead of spending time with God to see what He wants to say to us!  As pastors and leaders, we must recognize the priority to be a Christian first and spiritual leader second.  We can only minister from what is within.

I need Jesus – bad.

Here are a couple of Bible reminders on the subject:

• James 4:8 – Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
• Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
• 1 Peter 2:2 – Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.
• Psalm 119:72 – The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
• Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
• 2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

My response?  Repent. To steal a line from the late King of Pop, “make a change.”  I believe it was Einstein who said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  Confess your mistake and start fresh today.  Proverbs 28:13 – “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”

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This blog is the ninth in a series of the top 10 things that I learned during my five week leave of abscence for the birth of our newest addition – Caden Jonathan Michael.

Christy at Dover Castle

#2 -  I have a wonderful wife

Main Entry:      wonderful
Part of Speech:     adjective
Definition:     great, extraordinary
Synonyms:     admirable, amazing, astonishing, astounding, awe-inspiring, awesome, brilliant, cool*, divine*, dynamite*, enjoyable, excellent, fabulous, fantastic, fine, groovy*, incredible, magnificent, marvelous, miraculous, outstanding, peachy*, phenomenal, pleasant, pleasing, prime, remarkable, sensational, something else, staggering, startling, strange, stupendous, super, superb, surprising, swell, terrific, too much*, tremendous, unheard-of, wondrous

All of these synonyms together do not accurately explain how blessed I am to have my wife!  You have got to read my reflections from 14 years of marriage that I wrote for our anniversary which we celebrated on July 1st.  It will give you insight into our relationship.

These five weeks of leave have taught me (reminded me) the following things about my wife:

• Christy is selfless.
• Christy needs a raise.
• Christy is a great mom.
• Christy really loves me. (Why? I’m not sure.)
• Christy is that Proverbs 31 woman. (Proverbs 31: 10-12)

I found this recent article that summarizes what I have learned.

Families Can Customize Mom’s Job Description and Create a “Mom Paycheck”

Are you wondering what mom should be paid for her work as mom? Salary.com has valuated the “mom job” of both the Working and Stay-at-Home Moms! Based on a survey of more than 12,000 mothers, Salary.com determined that the time mothers spend performing 10 typical job functions would equate to an annual salary of $122,732 for a stay-at-home mom. Working moms ‘at-home’ salary is $76,184 in 2009; this is in addition to the salary they earn in the workplace. The job titles that best matched a mom’s definition of her work are (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, facilities manager, van driver, psychologist, laundry machine operator, janitor and chief executive officer.

Amen.

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Perry Noble, NewSpring Church

Perry Noble is the Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church, located in Anderson, SC.  He is a great blogger.

I wanted to pass along this blog that he recently posted with five questions we should all wrestle with from a recent meeting he led in South Carolina.  He developed these questions from 2 Corinthians 2: 1-7.

Five Questions We Should Ask Ourselves

Last night I had the honor of speaking to the men at NewSpring Church that were ordained into the ministry…I challenged them (actually, I challenged everyone in the room) to wrestle with five questions…

#1 – Am I Obsessed With His Mercy or My Ministry?  II Corinthians 4:1

If we are obsessed with ministry we will never feel good enough…if we are obsessed with His mercy then we can truly live in the freedom that there is no need to prove ourselves!

#2 – Am I Being Careless or Cautious? II Corinthians 4:2

OR…I asked it this way as well, “Is there anything you are doing privately that, if it became public, would disqualify you from the ministry?”  If we are going to live lives that are above reproach we must be intentional about it…it will not happen by accident!

#3 – Am I Obsessed With His Word or My Words?  II Corinthians 4:2

Our theology HAS to be the driving force behind our methodolgy…and the only way to solidify sound doctrine is to be obsessed with it!  We can get so obsessed with what we want that we lose sight of what God wants (like people meeting Jesus!!!)

#4 – Am I A Fighter or a Flake?  II Corinthians 4:3-4

We are at war…and not with other people (Ephesians 6:12) but rather with a very real enemy who works hard at blinding the minds of unbelievers…and we will either step up to the fight or run from it!

In fighting we have to do battle with…

A. Critics – they will always be around…the people who know everything you are doing wrong but don’t know you.  They lash out at you–but not out of love and or concern…but with a self righteous/arrogant attitude.

B. Conforming – People try to make things “normal and natural” rather than begging God to continue to do the supernatural

C. Clock – Many times we think if we work harder then God will do more–thus causing ourselves to set an unrealistic pace and burn ourselves out!

D. Control - No matter how hard we try–we can’t make someone receive Jesus, we can’t control His Holy Spirit…we are not in control, HE IS!

#5 – Am I Making Much of Jesus or Much of Me?  II Corinthians 4:5

The temptation in ministry is for others to see how good we are…and in doing so not fully understanding that God most often puts some of His greatest gifts in his weakest vessels!  (II Corinthians 4:7)

MY PASSION is not to be an innovative leader but rather an obedient servant who hears the voice of the Lord and does what He says.  The church does not need my creativity and ingenuity but rather the power of HIS HOLY SPIRIT as only HE can truly change lives!

—————————————–

I hope that each of these questions has challenged you as much as they have me.  Great stuff!

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Here are my take-a-ways from the message:

God commands us not to worry. Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

Jesus calls himself “the good shepherd,” and promises to lay his life down for his sheep. John 10: 11 – 15, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

We need to develop the same “hope for provision” that King David had. Listen to Psalm 23…

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. God is a God of provision in every area.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, God gives us his peace.

³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. God gives us his protection and direction. In laying down his life, he purchases the possibility of eternity for us.

⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me. God protects us with His presence and guides us with his gentle authority.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. God gives us his overflowing pleasure and joy.

⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. We all need to develop this confidence that David had for God’s provision.

I woke up this morning thanking “the good shepherd” for all of his provision in this life and in eternity through salvation.  He truly has laid is life down for the sheep and I am so thankful… Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever!

*** On another note – this summer there has been one tragic death after another… from Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon to “the king of pop” Michael Jackson and closer to home, Steve “Air” McNair.  Many people have asked me my thoughts on the subject.  My friend and Every Nation President, Steve Murrell best sums up my feelings in this blog that he calls, “The Accidental Missionary.”

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Gracie @ Fischer/McNamara Wedding

Main Entry:      compassionate
Part of Speech:     adjective
Definition:     having tender feelings
Synonyms:     all heart, being big, benevolent, bleeding heart*, charitable, commiserative, forbearing, going easy on, humane, humanitarian, indulgent, kindhearted, kindly, lenient, living with, merciful, old softie, piteous, pitying, responsive, soft shell, softhearted, sparing, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, understanding, warm, warmhearted

During my leave I had lots of time with my oldest child – Laura Grace (a.k.a. Gracie).  On June 9th she turned 10.  She is really maturing and her sprouting into a young lady has Daddy nervous! =)

Grace has always been “cautious” or “careful”.  She unlike her younger siblings has always had intrinsic boundaries that have helped protect her.  This summer at Holiday World and then Busch Gardens those boundaries disappeared!   She wanted to ride every ride and practically did!  She drug me on to major roller coasters that I was unsure of.  She is a great coaster rider!  We had a blast running to the next ride, waiting in line, and screaming to the top of our lungs each time… these will always be amazing memories!

My Sister's Keeper

Another interesting “leaning” that Christy and I want to watch is Gracie’s amazing compassion for the physically challenged and under-privileged.  A good clue for us should have been that “Extreme Home Makeover” has been her favorite TV show forever… and now she watches other things like, “Little People, Big World.”

Most recently, she has been asking me to take her to “My Sister’s Keeper,” a movie about a family defined and distorted by the leukemia of their older daughter and middle child, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva). Kate’s disease was diagnosed when she was a toddler, and to save her life her parents, Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric), conceived another daughter, Anna, who was genetically engineered to be a perfect donor of blood, marrow and whatever else Kate might need. I probably wouldn’t mind her to see it, but I don’t have the heart to tell her that Daddy can’t make it through it! However, the movie seems to have a parable like plot.   We (mankind) are sick with a disease called sin and we have to have a perfect sinless man be born and die so that we may be redeemed, forgiven, and recieve eternal life – with that in mind… I may have to see this movie! Thank you, Jesus!

The above entry on compassionate is a great adjective for our Gracie and most of the synonyms fit as well.  It is going to be awesome to see how God uses that!

I do have amazing children!  Thanks for letting me boast on them.  Make sure that you read “Things I Have Learned” #4 – #7.  Its all about my kiddos!  Sometimes…  you have to slow down to really enjoy all that God has blessed you with!  Psalm 127:3-5 says, “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” I am a blessed man!

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A recent series @ Bethel

The church has been entrusted with the role of equipping followers to fulfill the Great Commission (Ephesians 4: 11 -12).  The followers have been entrusted with the Great Commission itself by advancing God’s Kingdom through”making disciples” (Matthew 28: 19 – 20).  Instead of being God’s agent of change and an equipping center for an army of disciple-makers, Ed Stetzer said recently that unfortunately, “the church has become good people standing in front of good people, helping them to be good people.”

The Great Commission is God’s only plan to reach the world with the message of gospel.  The gospel is the “good news” of God’s only solution for man’s sinful predicament.  The purpose of our series was to help every follower of Jesus to obey God by fulfilling the Great Commission, to demystify what it means to “make disciples,” and to create some language that will help us identify the process of fulfilling the Great Commission.

With the help of the entire Bethel team and inspiration of Pastor Rice Broocks we created this five part series.  The steps that we shared include:

• Pray & Ask – it all starts in prayer.  In prayer we develop a heart for people and gain the proper motivation for ministry.
• Go & Look – at some point you have to leave your prayer closet and open your eyes to those that God wants to reach.  Usually this isn’t  a mystery it is those people that you already have relationship with… your family, friends, co-workers, teammates, classmates, etc…
• Show & Tell – “they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” – I first heard this from former Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz.  It rings true in making disciples.  You have to live the gospel, but certainly it doesn’t stop there…at some point, you have to open your mouth and share the life-changing message of Jesus.
• Laying the Foundations – Jesus said, “make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey,” meaning in making disciples doesn’t stop with a decision.  A well-built disciple must have systematic foundations instilled in their life.  The tools that we use for this is The Purple Book and the One to One Book.
• Entrust and Empower – this step is the litmus test of whether we have successfully made a disciple.  At Bethel we define a disciple as a passionate follower of Christ that lives as He lived, loves as He loved, and leaves behind what He left behind.  What did Jesus leave behind?  Disciples that were able to “MAKE ONE,” disciples that left behind what Jesus left behind… disciples who make disciples.

I encourage you to check-out this entire message series on podcast.

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hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

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