The Biggest Obstacle to Pilgrim Success

       The Pilgrim congregation began the process of deciding who would go and who would stay.  John Robinson, their pastor, would stay for now with the group in Leyden.  The others sailed for England, then waited in Southampton in anticipation of the longer leg of their journey.  A letter arrived from their pastor with final words of encouragement.  The topic was community.  The biggest threat to the success of their venture would be unresolved conflicts between them.  Here was his advice:

1. "First, as we ought daily to renew our repentance with our God, especially for our sins known, and generally for our unknown trespasses."  Keeping short accounts with God and experiencing His forgiveness ought to make it easier to overlook the infirmities of others.
2. "We must be watchful that we ourselves neither give, nor easily take, offense."  This small group would depend on each other for survival.  Dissension could spell their doom.  The answer would come in "brotherly forbearance."
3. When choosing leaders, choose the ones who will entirely love and promote the common good.  Then, yield to them with all due honor and obedience.

Robinson closes his letter with a benediction:  "He who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rivers of waters, and Whose providence is over all His works, especially over all His dear children for good, would so guide and guard you in all your ways, as inwardly by His spirit, so outwardly by the hand of His power, that both you and we also may praise His name all the days of our lives.  Fare you well in Him in whom you trust, and in whom I trust.  An unfeigned well-willer of your happy success in this hopeful voyage.  John Robinson."

Adventure in the Kingdom of God

       William Bradford had a name for his group of pilgrims, men and women who left everything behind in Europe to build a new life in a new world: "adventurers." Big dreams and a big God held the minds of these adventurers captive. I am amazed by the process of decision-making the pilgrims used because it is so normal. They made a list of the reasons for moving, the reasons for staying, and then tried to answer the objections they had uncovered. The decision they came to shaped the history of a continent. What a pedantic way to reach such a climactic decision!
       Here are the reasons for moving that Bradford listed in "Of Plymouth Plantation:"

1.  Their current status in Holland was tenuous. Their training as farmers won them no favor in Leyden and the menial work that was available did not pay what was needed to support their families. The hard work would not attract new families and some who were currently suffering might not persevere.
2.  They had left England in 1608 and their energetic and committed leadership was beginning to age. More than a decade had passed and the window of opportunity was beginning to close. They felt a decision must soon be made if it was going to be made at all. 
3.  Holland was no place to raise a pilgrim. The parents began to notice that their hardship and poverty was beginning to take a toll on their children. The children worked long hours next to them and were beginning to show similar signs of wear. The children were also tempted, when they saw their peers in Leyden live in licentiousness and yet prosperity. It was enough to make a teen envious. 
4.  The pilgrims wanted to make a difference in the new world for the Kingdom of God. They wanted to be an outpost for missions. Others would follow their lead and from their beachhead in the New World travel to even more remote regions for the sake of the gospel cause.   

       These adventurers had the right priorities: Provide for and protect their families and get the gospel to the world. They would risk everything in the service of these ends. Pilgrims yes, but adventurers in the Kingdom of God!