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Dr. Del Tackett is the author, architect and teacher for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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Who Will Be the Next Stepping Stone?
Posted on November 25, 2009
Filed Under History | 14 Comments
The story of the Pilgrims, and Thanksgiving in general, has been reduced to some sterilized icon of people in funny hats & clothes who said “thank you” to the Indians. Not that there is anything wrong with saying “thanks” to folks around you, but the deeper story of the Pilgrims is often lost in the commercialism and now the crazy advertising of “Black Friday”.
Which, by the way, in our town starts at 4am!
Can you believe that?
No offense to those of you who will get up at 2am or earlier and rush down to stand in line in 20 degree weather to spend your money. I wouldn’t do that in the middle of the day, let alone the middle of the night. But…to each his own! 
However, the story of the Pilgrims runs deeper than just a “thank you”. I have often quoted William Bradford, their first governor, where he states of them:
“Last and not least, they [the Pilgrims] cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least of making some way towards it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.”
This “zeal” to lay “good foundations” or merely end up being a “stepping stone” for others is quite remarkable and extraordinary in our day of “it’s all about me and my story” outlooks and attitudes.
See, the Pilgrims were carrying on a Christian tradition…a Christian “worldview”. It is a worldview that sees our lives as not the center of the known universe, but as a part in the larger story of God. They used the word “Providence”. And they were standing upon the foundations of those who came before them…stepping on the stones that others had become so that they, too, might walk onward.
They were walking on the stones that John Wycliffe laid, the “Morning Star of the Reformation” who committed the capital offense of translating the Bible from Latin to English in 1382; who desired to implant the truth of Scripture into every heart; who distributed Bibles and tracts throughout England; who declared “Scripture must become the common property of all so that government might be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Hmmmmmm…a stepping stone for more than the Pilgrims, no?
They were walking on the stones and blood of Jan Huss or Jerome, both burned at the stake. Huss died with these words: “…what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood.” Jerome, with these: “This soul in flames I offer, Christ, to thee!”
They were walking on the stones of William Tyndale and Luther and Calvin. Tyndale’s last words as the flames ate his flesh: “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!” Luther, in that famous declaration, “…my conscience is thus bound by the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant…Here I stand, I can do no other; may God help me!”
They were standing on the stones laid by the French Huguenots whose blood flowed like water on St. Bartholomew’s day, when 30,000 of them were slaughtered during Sunday worship.
They even had laid some of their own before they sailed. Several among them had become the object of the pointee end of the spear for their writings…John Robinson and Robert Brown, in particular. That is why they were originally called “Brownists”.
They fled to Holland to escape the intense persecution, then finally to North America, where they wrote the Mayflower Compact declaring that they had come to America “for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian Faith”.
Bradford wrote this about their “adventure”: “As one candle may light a thousand, so the light kindled here has shown unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation…We have noted these things so that you might see their worth and not negligently lose what your fathers have obtained with so much hardship.”
I pray we don’t “negligently” lose it.
I pray that we will regain the understanding that it isn’t about our own story.
I pray we will begin to see our rightful place in the larger story of God’s Providence and act in accordance with the notion that we, too, must be but stepping stones for those who will come behind us.
May we lay good foundations…
Have a blessed Thanksgiving…
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14 Responses to “Who Will Be the Next Stepping Stone?”
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Well put! A friend and I were just talking the other day about the youth of our community and some of the problems they face, ie. alcohol & drug abuse, lack of work ethic, unhealthy relationships, lack of respect, etc. We discussed how our young ones need to learn how to make good decisions in their lives and concluded that one thing that could help was a belief that their life was not merely lived for themselves. Whether it was parents, family, community or God, they need to recognize that their decisions affected and reflected upon others. This thought adds the aspect of those who will follow us. I like it! Now to communicate that clearly to my teenage son…
Del,
Thank you for the foundation side note on history, Who Will Be the Next Stepping Stone. December 2 our Truth Project small group will be taking the history tour. I am going to print your blog as a hand-out.
Thank you for being a great servant leader and holding high a candle of truth for us to pass on too.
Did you use any C-clamps for your turkey this year? (you made history in 2008)
I took a cell phone call today from a dear friend who ended the call with this thought, Children represent about 20 percent of our population yet represent 100 percent of our future.
I have recently experienced an amazing revelation that I feel compelled to share here. We have a 8 year old daughter that will gladly tell you that she has lived in 10 homes in just eight years and says so with a smile. I think she likes the travel. Needless to say we move around quite a bit. Recently we have moved to Minneapolis and have come into knowledge of Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) and her philosophy of teaching has resulted in some serious AHA moments for both her mother and myself. In just 3 short weeks we have experienced the most incredible joys of seeing our daughter flourish in school and even to say to me “Dad i love this school” music to the ears of a father. The school employs this teaching philosophy.
Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, daughter of Francis and Edith Schaeffer has authored a book titled For the Children’s Sake, Foundations of Education for Home and School. I could not put the book down. It is simply a must read book. Any book that is dedicated with love for the truth and to our Lord is one worth sharing!
Charlotte Mason famously described education as the “science of relationships.” By this, she meant that children have relationships with many things: God, self, others, things, and ideas. It is not enough to know about them. In order for a child to be truly educated, a relationship with the person, thing or idea must form. The task of the teacher and the school, therefore, is to put the child in a position to have as many of these relationships as are beneficial.
You will find that we at RiverTree place our emphasis on these relationships. They lie at the core of our educational philosophy. Of course, no relationship is more important to a child than his or her relationship with the Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ. Allowing this relationship to develop is of highest importance to us. From morning assembly, in daily Bible times and weekly chapels and on throughout the day, life is lived at RiverTree in submission to the authority of God.
Teaching a child……….. “I am, I can I ought I will”
It is my hope and prayer that this School and future Schools with this truth for teaching our children flourishes in America and does become that stepping stone.
in his love and his love for his children.
Pete
ps Parents Teachers and Educators for further information with regards to River Tree one can visit the schools website http://www.rivertreeschool.org It is simply awesome!!!!
Nicely Done Dr. Tackett,
Sounds like a condensed version of the service. ^_^ Very true though. Perhaps we would take a greater interest in politics as a nation if we only understood our history.
I am a descendant of several of the Pilgrims. I am grateful for their legacy of faith, and how that legacy has carried through many generations to me. In 2002 while visiting the East coast we stopped at a church our ancestors founded. That church celebrated 250 yrs in 2007!
I have been plagued in the past with concerns about living a life that mattered. But when I consider those who founded that church, as well as the Pilgrims, I see how a life lived for the Lord is the successful life. Also, how the fruit of our labor is so often not realized until after we have lived. I now know that even if I am not remembered by anyone except through family history, it is okay. I am passing on their faith and mine. That is the legacy I want to have. A family legacy I am thankful for.
One morning I was enjoying breakfast with my four grandchildren and thought how overjoyed my missionary father would have been to see the fruits of his faith in his greatchildren as they shared their thoughts on how wonderful God is.
Yes, and now is the time to read and sign The Manhattan Declaration!
Del,
I just received the newsletter today and read your blog. I agree whole heartedly with your comments. There are things I try to bring into my fifth grade class through historical fictions and readings which illustrate to them our true foundations. Even such things as Christmas, and the origins of that holiday as illustrated through the book “The Autobiography of Santa Claus” show the students that “Old St. Nick” was a “pastor” or bishop who loved Jesus and spread the Gospel and that the term Christmas has roots in Latin going back the better part of 900 years (as opposed to “Happy Holidays,” etc.). So, thank you for teaching us and giving us greater insight into our heritage and bringing focus to the truth of the November/December holiday seasons!
That would be Manhattandeclaration.org
already signed it.
Del thanks for inspiring us to be and do more for our Lord and posterity! May God’s grace continually shed on thee!
I am a professor at a Christian University and just two weeks ago, prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of my students was discussing a paper she was submitting for another class. The student had concluded that we were not founded as a Christian nation based on what we have become. She felt that any nation founded on God could not have ended up with “today’s” cultural morals, etc. While I did not agree with her conclusions I also sought to express that the killing of Abel by Cain was only one generation removed from God. I tried to convey that sin’s existence did not take away from God’s purity or desires for his creation. Thank you Dr. Del for further clarity on our nation’s founding. Blessings to you and everyone at Focus.
Del,
I only began to “know you” through the Truth Project materials, and now your blog & newsletter.
Your ministry is phenomenal, guiding Christians to a worldview that implants God’s truth and changes our perception of daily life, and the future.
Your talent, insight, and wisdom would be valuable anywhere, in any job or position. Thanks to the Lord, he has led you to this pivotal work.
May the glory be His.
In Christ’s name,
Gary
I am so thankful for your ministry and for the History of the United States but I am becoming more and more convinced that one of the problems we’re facing is as a result of being impressed by and with our fore fathers instead of knowing and loving The God of our fore fathers. All these “stepping stones” before us were filled with a personal relationship and love of The Eternal God!
It is so evident to me that that same passion burns within you and I pray that God continues to use your faithfulness to declare Him as the origin and essence of LIFE.
where did he declare “Scripture must become the common property of all so that government might be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Dr. Tackett in ‘The Truth Project’ quotes an edited version of the Mayflower Compact:
We whose names are underwritten…
having undertaken,
a voyage to plant the first colony
The New School Version (Dr. Tackett’s Label)
I am unable to find this edited version. Could the textbook be identified?
Dr. Tackett offers this ‘real version.’
In the name of God, Amen.
We whose names are underwritten…
having undertaken,
for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith…,
a voyage to plant the first colony…
The Real Version (Dr. Tackett’s Label)
In fact Dr. Tackett’s version is itself edited.
The text is:
In the name of God, Amen.
We whose names are underwritten,
the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc.,
having undertaken,
for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country,
a voyage to plant the first colony
The True Version
The Mayflower Compact reads:
In the name of God, Amen.
We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the 11 of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domine 1620.
Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
[RL, I was referencing Dr. Lutzer's work. The citation is listed with the others on the web site. I think you were making two points. First, that there is something wrong with presenting a portion of a text rather than the entirety. Practically, this must be done. I quote from Washington's Farewell Address rather than go through the entire speech with the students. At issue in the lesson was how historical revisionism can be used to paint a different picture in someone's mind. I believe we were fair with what is happening in current textbooks and with the intent of the Pilgrims. Bradford's writings also confirm that. Secondly, with your quote from Matthew, I think you were judging me for judging.
I always appreciate the opportunity, however, to look at myself, the worst of the worst, a sinner in the third degree, saved only by the grace of God. May the Lord bless you as you continue to study and learn to apply His Holy Word. dt]