True North Finances Weekly Finance Numbers and Random Thoughts

Why Do We Love Profanity?

McKay Hatch is a 15-year-old boy from South Pasadena, California who people clearly hate. He’s received over 60,000 negative E-mails, most of them vicious, some including death threats that have spawned police and FBI investigations. What has this boy done that’s caused such anger? Was he caught dealing drugs? Did he rage? Did he kill? No. He started a No Cussing Club.

Read the full article at CNSNews.com

Kay Yow

Source: Beyond The Ultimate

The following is from NC State Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow:

I’m going through my second battle with cancer. I had it 18 years ago and then, for whatever reason, I found I have it again.

A friend said to me, “Kay, it is so bad that you had it return.” I wouldn’t say it is bad—it’s hard—but God has blessed me a hundred-fold more than anything I could face in this life. God is my anchor.

For me, my faith [in God] is everything in getting me through this. In Psalms there is a passage that says, “The Lord is the sustainer of my life.” I believe what He says. There is another great verse in Psalms that says, “You have cloaked me with strength for battle.” And my favorite verse is in Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I didn’t always have this faith in God. Growing up, I always attended Sunday school and church services. But though I was very active in church-related activities, I did not have a personal relationship with God as my Lord and Savior.

In 1975, I met a Campus Crusade for Christ representative at N.C. State. One day she said to me, “Coach Yow, I know you are a good person, but do you know that being a good person does not get you into Heaven?” That question made me really think deeply. Later, I agreed that she could present the message of Christ to my team following practice. At the end of the presentation, I decided to invite Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Savior and Lord.

As a result of this decision my focus began to change from a reliance on myself to God and a dependency on Him. He changed from “a name to call on” on Sundays to a vital part of my life. I cannot go through a day on my own, I don’t want to. He is my Head Coach. I have that billing of “head coach,” but I know truly who the Head Coach is—of my team at N.C. State, of my life and of everything I do.

And what is my mission? My mission in life is not to win basketball games—but my mission is through basketball to give my best to Him…to do everything I can to glorify and please Him, and not to concentrate on pleasing myself.

Is this easy?

No, but with the Holy Spirit empowerment, and by going to God in prayer, I have that power within me to make the right choices and please God, rather than myself…It is through my faith and trust in Him and His Word [the Bible]. Jesus made many promises and they’re written in God’s Word. That’s true and I know I can depend on what is there [in the Bible].

With my faith, the word “joy” has always been an acronym, in which “J” is for “Jesus,” “O” is for “Others,” and “Y” is for “Yourself.” If you prioritize things that way, that is how you have real joy. Not just happiness, but joy. That would be the same if I didn’t have cancer and I was just dealing with daily battles.

There are many things in life we can’t control…but with faith in God, we can face all challenges. God uses pain to give us some of our greatest personal growth and triumphs…and gives life meaning and purpose. He is the Head Coach. He has a game plan for my life and for yours.

Revolutionary Love

Our upcoming series 'Revolutionary Love' is a study in the book of Hosea. I was reading from Hosea last night and came across a passage that made me stop for the night and think about it.

Hosea 5
15 Then I will go back to my place
until they admit their guilt.
And they will seek my face;
in their misery they will earnestly seek me."

God's people have a pattern of following Him and falling away from Him. If you have read some of the Old Testament books like the Kings and Judges, you scratch your head in wonder of how a nation can forget who their God is after just a few decades.

When the people are at their lowest, rock bottom so to speak, they seek God for His help. And He is always there.

In comparison, churches in America were full of people seeking God on the Sunday after 9/11. It has been a little over 7 years now.
Have things changed in the U.S.?
Has a revival occurred?
Have we forgotten who our God is?

I encourage you to attend this series and learn of God's Revolutionary Love.

Change the world in a few months

Jon asked us to stand if we agreed with the following quote from Brennan Manning.

" If indeed we lived a life in imitation of Jesus, our witness would be irresistible! If we dared to live beyond our self-concern; if we refused to shrink from being vulnerable; if we took nothing but a compassionate attitude toward the world; if we were a counter- culture to our nations lunatic lust for pride of place, power, and possessions; if we preferred to be faithful rather than successful, the walls of indifference to Jesus Christ would crumble.

A handful of us could be ignored by society; but hundreds, thousands, and millions of such servants would overwhelm the world. Christians filled with the authenticity, commitment, and generosity of Jesus would be the most spectacular sign in the history of the human race. The Call of Jesus is revolutionary! If we implemented it, we would change the world in a few months."

Since everyone stood, I thought I would post the quote to remind you what our community could be like.

Remix: Mission – Service (Doulos)

Service - True North will be a place that unashamedly challenges people to live lives of complete service - in our relationships, our community, and our world.

At True North Church we think that the way a person lives is just as important as the message that we speak. That's why we stress and encourage people to live lives that are on mission in the world. We believe that when the living Jesus is "put into action" that our relationships, our community, and our world are stronger and healthier.

We will serve the LORD

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." You have probably seen this on a quaint plaque that looks like it was made after an episode of Martha Stewart. I have. When I have read it in the past I always read with this nice guy voice in my head. After reading through Joshua 24 last night, I realized it is more of a Braveheart moment than a Martha Stewart moment.

Joshua 24
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Joshua has gathered the tribes and reminded them of their recent past. He throws down the gauntlet and asks them who they will serve, now. And then it comes, "regardless of what you decide, my household will serve the Lord." Definitely Braveheart. Definitely changes the way I read the plaque now.

Thanking God for snow

Before dinner tonight, we sat around the table and prayed. Nick ended our prayer with an emphatic "Thank you God for snow!" I thought it was great! Shouldn't we all be a little more emphatic with our prayers? God brings us our best days and He is there for us on our worst days. Every night should end with an emphatic "Thank you God!" What do you need to Thank God for tonight?

Remix: Mission – Community (Koinonia)

Koinonia - Greek for "the shared life".
Community - True North will be a place that stresses connecting with a smaller group of friends to journey through life together.

Nobody should go through life alone. God designed each of us for relationship. Small Groups are an essential part of who we are as a church community. We believe that experiencing life together is just as important as participating on Sunday mornings.

Small groups provide friendships, help, encouragement and many intangibles to your everyday life. Isn't that something we could all use?

Words to build a life on

There are Sundays when I have felt like I was the only person in church. The Pastor has prepared his message specifically for me. He is looking at me and speaking directly to me and no one else. Have you ever felt that way? I believe you have. That is the Spirit convicting you to listen and act upon what you hear. So you listen. Now you must act.

Luke 6 (Message)
43-45"You don't get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It's who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.

46-47"Why are you so polite with me, always saying 'Yes, sir,' and 'That's right, sir,' but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.

48-49"If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss."

The truth of Jesus is incredible and life changing. At True North, that is who/what we are all about.

What words has He laid upon your heart recently that He is now waiting for your response?
What words from Jesus will you build a life on?

Remix: How small groups changed me

We moved to North Carolina ten years ago. Finding a church to attend was on our list of things to do but not necessarily something we looked forward to. A postcard showed up one day describing a church that met in a theater, served coffee and donuts, had a live band and encouraged you to wear jeans. Wow, that sounded great to me! So we attended for probably around 4 or 5 months because we really liked the pastor. Something was still missing though.

We would show up, check our kids in, enjoy the music and message, then leave. Most of our conversations with others was a polite good morning or answering a corny topic given by the worship guy during the connect time. We really knew nobody so we decided to take a leap and join a small group. The group we auditioned met on Friday nights and was called the Married with Small Children group.

That's right, audition.

If these people were weird, then the next Friday I would find something better to do. What I found were people that I could easily relate to. People struggling with being good parents. People that wanted to know God better. People like, well, us. Friday nights quickly became our favorite night of the week. Something that we looked forward to with anticipation. Sundays changed as well. We now had familiar faces that we could talk with. We now had a reason to arrive early and remain late. This was something that we had never felt before about church. We had always felt that it was important to attend church. We just never really looked forward to going. I believe that had we not taken a chance and went to a small group, we may have continued to wander aimlessly with our faith. God would not be first in our lives.

True North always talks about life change. My life change began with small groups. They can change your life.

My prayer for you today is that you will take a leap of faith like I did ten years ago and audition a small group at True North. Discover what may be missing in your life.

Read the Bible?

I read a lot. Mostly about Christian topics. I don't devour books but I usually am reading some book or another on a consistent basis. I subscribe to several blogs that arrive to my Thunderbird news reader like email. It is ultra convenient and a great use of technology. The problem is sometimes I think that because I am reading books, blogs, magazine articles that are Christian, I substitute them for the Bible.

Last night, I was looking for something to read on the night stand and there was my Bible. Here is a confession and the really sucky part: I couldn't remember the last time I just sat and read the Bible. I'm guessing maybe 3 weeks. How do I let that happen? Books, magazine articles, blogs are great supplements and offer different insights of God's word but nothing can substitute the Holy Spirit teaching you while reading the Bible.

I need accountability.

I need your help, the True North community.

The next time you see me, ask me when was the last time I read my Bible.

Remix: Mission – Worship (Proskuneo)

Worship - True North will place high emphasis on worship experiences and participation, leading people to connect with God.

Yesterday, was an above average day at True North in my opinion. Jon did a great job discussing Worship in his message on Sunday and the band delivered 4 songs from the heart. Worship is more than the music on Sunday morning although the word worship certainly is used to describe it. Worship involves all aspects of our lives from how we treat a stranger to how we spend our money.

Remix: Are we on mission?

Our mission as True North Church is to see lives changed as we journey together toward being passionate followers of Jesus.

To help accomplish this mission we have a simple and understandable process.

• Worship - True North will place high emphasis on worship experiences and participation, leading people to connect with God.
• Community - True North will be a place that stresses connecting with a smaller group of friends to journey through life together.
• Service - True North will be a place that unashamedly challenges people to live lives of complete service – in our relationships, our community, and our world.

Are we on mission?

New series – Ekklesia

Ekklesia is Greek for church.

Join us this Sunday as we start the new series Ekklesia. Jon will discuss three aspects of True North's mission;

January 11- Proskuneo - Worship

January 18 - Koinonia - Community

January 25 - Dulos - Service

Study: Religious Teens More Likely to Abstain from Sex

Here is a good reason to get your kid to True North this Sunday.

Read the full Fox News article.

I wonder what kind of Kairos await you in 2009?

Wikipedia does a good job explaining that "Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment. The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies a time in between, a moment of undetermined period of time in which something special happens. What the special something is depends on who is using the word. While chronos is quantitative, kairos has a qualitative nature."

Jon asked us the following questions to open his message yesterday;

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