Glenn Beck's 8/27 Divine Destiny Event

About 500,000 people attended Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor event on 8/28. The event was peaceful, well-attended, and inspiring. The evening before the 8/28 event, Glenn Beck held a smaller event as a preview. Glenn Beck rented out the Lincoln center and gave away all of the tickets for free. It was an evening of prayer and preaching. More than half of the people in the stadium were invited by Glenn Beck. A special surprise was waiting for everybody else.

Getting Tickets

About 1400 people were able to obtain tickets to the event. Although tickets were supposed to be available at 10 AM on the day of the event, at least 1400 people were waiting in line at 8 PM the night before. Rather than have them wait, they distributed the tickets early. The event was broadcast on Glenn Beck's Insider Extreme (which was where I watched it).

The 8/27 Event Begins

As a warm-up to the event, an all-star choir sang. When it was time to start, the "Star Spangled Banner" was sung, with a dancer interpreting the song. Glenn Beck's radio sidekick Stu came out to introduce the host. Beck introduced Alveda King, Martin Luther King's niece. After Ms. King spoke, Glenn Beck announced who the mystery guests in the audience were: they were the new Black-Robed Regiment. The original Black-Robed Regiment were preachers prior to the Revolutionary War who preached about individual salvation and rights that were granted by God; many of them helped lead their congregations in fighting the British.

Glenn Beck reminded us of America's history with God. There have been periods of enlightenment and darkness in America's history. We started out as a group of people escaping Europe to pursue religious freedom. The colonies started to grow apart from God, until George Whitefield woke the people. Through the American Revolution and the generation of the Founding Fathers, America was a religious people. Unfortunately, America grew arrogant in its success; by the time of Andrew Jackson, we thought that God was on our side and that it was okay to push the Indians off their lands. America woke up once again in the 1850s and helped end slavery. During the Reconstruction period, America once again went back into darkness. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream started to wake us up again, but we are now once again soft and apathetic as a people. It is now time to wake back up.

David Barton, a historian who introduced Beck to the concept of the Black-Robed brigade, was introduced. Randy Forbes, a congressman and head of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, was introduced; he said the opening prayer. Raul Gonzalez led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The gospel choir sang three verses of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" including my favorite verse, which begins "In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea".

The historical context of religion in America was mentioned. Although Thomas Paine was in favor of a secular government, most of the people in America wanted the nation to be Christian. Presidents and state governments called for days of prayer (and sometimes fasting). The first wars on terror in the United States were the Barbary Wars, not the current War on Terror.

Rabbi Lapin Speaks

Glenn Beck had invited some preachers and religious speakers to preach. Rabbi Lapin was the first person to speak. Because it was the rabbi's Sabbath, he had to speak without amplification. Although we were unable to hear his speech on the Internet, a synopsis was later given to the audience. America is like a precious flower. We can't sever a flower from its roots, or else it will die. We need to go back to our roots. The audience was given three challenges: study the Bible more, say an extra prayer for this country, and make more money. Why make more money? Because you can't give money to others if you don't make anything yourself. The first step to being charitable is not needing it (as someone who once made a good deal of money and is currently on the lower end of the income scale, I can attest to this).

After the rabbi spoke, the choir came back and sang "Days of Elijah".

Gloria Copeland Speaks

Gloria Copeland was the next person to speak. She spoke of how we need to call on the Lord and repent of our sins. We need faith, based on God's word. Faith comes from hearing God's word. We need to trust that God will answer our prayers, and we need to stay in faith until our prayers comes to pass.

Dave Roever Speaks

Dave Roever was the next person to speak. He talked about how the Highway to Heaven goes through the Valley of Weeping. He should know. When he was younger, he went to Vietnam and a grenade blew up in his face. Much of his face was lost. He tried to kill himself, thinking that his wife wouldn't love him anymore. Fortunately, she did, and they are still married today. A black man names "Rosey" came to help him. Rosey didn't care about skin color, only about Dave. After Dave recovered, he was able to work with the troops.

Dr. Patrick Lee Speaks

Dr. Patrick Lee was invited to speak next. He spoke about Ephesians 2:10. We are God's workmanship, the Bible says. There is a struggle between two different worldviews. One side believes that our choice should be the main goal; we don't have a duty to a creator. Another view sees God as the creator of the world, with a plan and a purpose for the world; we are to conform our minds to that plan. Our country has been blessed by God; therefore, we should thank God publicly for his blessings.

Twila Paris sang "True North".

David Barton explained that the church used to be practical. They started the first hospitals, were involved in education, and helped to abolish slavery. Although he believed that religion didn't need to mix with politics, it was important to get involved with others. This explanation helped set the mood for the next speaker.

Miles McPherson Speaks

Miles McPherson is a preacher from San Diego. After he was saved, he stopped doing things like using cocaine. His church volunteers to help others. Because our towns our surrounded by moral decay, we need to do the things that Jesus did. We need to reach out to those in need.

Gina and Chuck Norris, although not preachers, came up to read some passages from the Founding Fathers. They read from George Washington's inaugural address, George Washington's farewell address, a letter from Benjamin Franklin, and a letter from Samuel Adams.

J.E. McKissick sang "God Bless America. It was a beautiful version. There were some verses that I had never heard before; they may have been written for the event.

The Final Prayer

The final prayer was said by John Hagee. In his prayer, he mentioned that "it is the soldier and not the preacher that has given you freedom of religion." Therefore, "Let us begin the process of returning to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Finally, "we confess that America cannot survive without your presence."