Jon McClarnon

It’s been a slow blogging week due to trying to get things done so I can kick back with family and friends the next couple days.
Just wishing you a great Thanksgiving Day - enjoy all of the great things - family, friends, food and football.

If you’re in town, this weekend promises to be another great day as we continue with “My Own Worst Enemy” - see you then.

Heading into a short week and there’s lots to get done before the weekend…so here are some thoughts from the weekend that was as they spill from my mind - might not take long!

-Check out Jess’ post over at Searching for True North. He tried to view the morning at True North through the eyes of an outsider. See what you think.
-One of our best days ever in regards to the quality of music the band put out - it was really awesome! Here’s the setlist on the day:
Majestic - Lincoln Brester
All Because of Jesus - Steve Fee
From the Inside Out - Hillsong United
To Know Your Name - Hillsong
-Already heard from somebody this morning that was still cracking up from the letter that I read.
-In case you didn’t write down that website I mentioned…or forgot it…check it out here.
-Is there any good reason why the Oklahoma Sooners are still ranked behind Florida in the AP?
-Here’s one for you…after my caveat yesterday talking about how I don’t want us to be the church that has to compare and measure against other churches…I had someone tell me that I was a better preacher than ___________ (pastor) at ___________ (church). Hhhmmmm. (They at least reasoned that they weren’t trying to put him down.)
-I want to announce True North’s first ever Christmas musical…just kidding!
-I realize that there are a few things I can do to more effectively communicate my messages. I have a few ideas. But are there any phrases that you notice me using too often? Here’s a list to get you thinking.

That’s enough for today - let’s get to work so we can all enjoy the weekend.

Looking forward to another week at True North in our series, “My Own Worst Enemy”.

This weekend’s theme I especially chose so that I could force myself to work on it in my own life. This is something that I constantly have to keep working on. It has to do with the words that we say and the spirit in which we say them…and according to Jesus…that stuff comes from our heart.

Here’s a great story that I just couldn’t fit into the message…enjoy this real life example of the danger of our words.

Oh yes, it’s a big weekend for the Sooners to keep pushing towards an NCAA title - predicted here, long ago.

Today I was helping out at With Love From Jesus and had my first experience working in the parking lot. I rather enjoyed it as a change of pace from my normal duties -except I wasn’t prepared to be outside in the freezing cold. But I did look pretty good in my “three-sizes-too-small” orange parking vest. And I got to wield a walkie talkie which is always cool.

Anyway, a guy pulled up, rolled down his window and asked, “is this where Jesus is?” It was clearly his first time as he was trying to locate the facility and then asked a few other questions about the operation. I had a big grin on my face as I answered him, “yes, Jesus is here.”

It was an exchange that made my whole morning worthwhile. So he didn’t quite get the name of the ministry correct, but I knew what he was talking about. And his statement got me thinking for sure about how ministries, churches, and even individual followers of Jesus should be thought of.
“Is this where Jesus is?”

Isn’t that a great question? What if every church used that as their mission statement? What if every family had that question in their entry way? What if you had that question posted on the dashboard of your car? And even better than the question would be the answer we could give…that every person who comes throught he doors at True North could say, “yes, Jesus is here.” And that whenever people have been around me - no matter the context - they could say, “yes, Jesus is here.”

So if you’re a local, you know that we hardly ever get snow here in Raleigh. But walking through the kitchen to get a drink, I saw this site out the back window. Enjoy - it might be a while before we see it again.

Oh, and you also know that before students leave school today, they will probably already call off classes for tomorrow!

Today I’m another year older. No need to dwell on what that number is, but I have given a little thought to what things in my life have changed over the course of the last year. Here are the first 5 things about me that come to mind that are MORE or LESS than they were last year.

1. I have more gray hair. One of my daughters told me last year that there are 3 main causes: age, stress, or fear. Not sure about that…but nevertheless, I have more. (I was going for wisdom!)
2. I have more aches and pains…recovery time from playing basketball is at least a day longer. Sometimes all I have to do is walk down the stairs and it sounds like Rice Krispies in a fresh bowl of milk.
3. I am more in love with my wife! Additional commentary would no doubt make her uneasy…she doesn’t really like being discussed on here as it is!
4. I am more committed to building relationships in the communithy with people who are disconnected from church…and more importantly, disconnected from Jesus. This is not necessarily about True North - I’m speaking personally on this one.
5. I have less patience for “christians” who don’t live the life. I’m not trying to throw out a judgement and say that I always get it right. I’m excited to see people take steps in their faith journey when they’re committed to becoming the person God has in mind. But I’ve grown weary of “followers” who don’t follow.

There it is…5 things about me that I think have changed more or less in the last year. Hopefully during this next year God will continue to shape me and refine me. Have a good one.

It’s been a bit of a slow blogging week - so I thought I’d throw out my current reading list for your enjoyment. A few books I’m reading OR at least perusing.

Sticky Church

It

Simply Christian

Trading Places

One Minute Bible

Last week I started passing out invite cards announcing our new series - “My Own Worst Enemy” - and asking people to come check out the church. I think it looks pretty good - in case you haven’t seen it…here’s a shot.

Not only did I give it to individual people, I also have been leaving quite a few around town. When I go to the coffee shop, eat out for lunch OR dinner, bulletin boards, etc. Last week I thumb tacked several (using only one tack keep in mind) to the corkboard at my local grocery store. I go there about every other day for something - and I noticed that one was gone - the others in their place just waiting for the right person.
Today, however, as I was walking by, I noticed they were all gone. Well, actually, they were still there, but someone else had covered over them with their own 8.5×11 piece of paper announcing their own musical trio that would be appearing at _______ ______ _______ Church.

The thing that irritated me was not their announcement - it was the fact that there was so much more free space available to use rather than covering over my business card. I’ve said it here before - “if someone wants to go to your 3 man musical trio…great! They probably wouldn’t enjoy “My Own Worst Enemy”. If someone wants to come to True North…they probably wouldn’t enjoy your musical group.” And it’s okay. If you can reach some people that we can’t - then I consider you a part of my outreach efforts!

For all the readers, and especially people who are part of True North. There are 2 types of people that we hope to connect with and reach out to at True North…and surprise - none of them are existing church members somewhere else.
1. People who are disconnected from a church community. For whatever reason…they just moved to town, they’re looking for something different - a place to engage, etc. They are not actively involved in a regular christian community. Come on.
2. People who are disconnected from a relationship with God. It includes people who have never been to church, don’t see the need for church, or are curious about spiritual matters but don’t know how it all works. Come on.

We have no intentions, nor christian mandate to reach out to people who are already actively involved in another church.
By the way, I moved our invite cards to an open spot on the board. And, now that you know who to invite - grab some cards and start handing them out.

Before getting too deep on a new week, here’s a few thoughts from the weekend that was.

Launched the new series, My Own Worst Enemy yesterday. All in all, I think it got off to a great start and I’m looking forward to the next 4 weeks as we dive a little deeper.

Got some business sized invite cards for the series - they look really good. Make sure you get some and take advantage of the easy invite.

How about those new signs? It’s an extreme makeover of sorts and I’m now proud to actually have something on the road that mentions our name!
We actually had some visitors yesterday because of the new signs.
As a matter of fact, we had a lot of new faces yesterday at True North. Which is great because it means that people are still finding out about the church are checking it out on their own.

Got an email from someone who has been a couple times and reminded me about why we do what we do and what the goal is for us as a church. Good story about someone’s experience on the day and the life change that is occuring for them.

Played some basketball yesterday afternoon. Haven’t done too much of that lately so the knee is hurting today. I actually had to take a knee in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom because I wasn’t prepared for how much it was going to hurt when I started walking!

So thankful to have Lee leading our band and worship. Did another great job yesterday. Please say a big “thanks” to him when you remember. He’s doing alot of work and doing it well. Thanks Lee!
Setlist on the day included:
Awesome is the Lord Most High
Not to Us/Here is Our King
I Stand Amazed
LoveSong

I went a pathetic 1-4 on my football predictions for the weekend. Good thing I’m not trying to earn a living as a professional prognosticator. By the way, any reason why the Sooners are in line behind the Gators?

Start inviting someone you know for next weekends service. It could literally be a life changing day.

How about considering taking this mobile phone challenge? If so, I’d like to know how it goes for you.

Have a good one - True North-ers…
1. If you only had 30 days to live - how would you live differently today?
2. Pursue your spouse!

After taking last weekend off, I’m back - mostly inspired by something I saw a few minutes ago. I was catching a few minutes of ESPN College Gameday as they are broadcasting on the road at LSU in Baton Rouge. Some guy just behind Lee Corso was holding up a sign that said “Geaux Woolfack, Beat Dook”. Caught me off guard because it was so out of place, and I had no idea that the matchup was so national - thus, my inspiring picks for the day.
*For entertainment purposes only.

NC State @ Duke…I have to go with the home team Blue Devils in this Triangle showdown.
Georgia Tech @ UNC…The Yellow Jackets will lead early and hold on.
Marshall @ ECU…the Pirates take the W in a battle for C-USA East…however, Tulsa is the best team in the conference.
Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech…Take the mild upset as the Cowboys stick to their game plan (275 yards per game rushing!)
Alabama @ LSU…#1 goes down on the road and loses; Saban will be ridiculed mercilessly…and probably rightly so!