Bread Man Plays the Guitar

True North Brochure

The Breakthrough Center

True North is at it again - members are volunteering and supporting the newly founded Breakthrough Center. The Breakthrough Center exists to unite local fellowships and congregations desiring to reach out together to the community.  It is an expression of the love of God in practical, helpful, and supportive ways.

Open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, The Breakthrough Center offers a clothing center, an emergency food pantry, basic computer classes, Grieving Together sessions, AA meetings, and support/prayer ministry. All of this is free to the community.


Those who operate The Breakthrough Center have big dreams. A future goal is the acquisition of one of the two elementary schools that will be closing in Hampton and setting up a community center that will house the homeless population as well as provide food and clothing.

Volunteers are always welcome. To learn more please visit their website.

Dis-believing Thomas

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John 20: 24-25, NIV

I like Thomas, a LOT. He was never one to hold back and he always spoke his mind ... a LOT like me! AND Thomas demands proof ... a lot like MANY of us. How hard is it to believe in the unseen ... well, for some. It seems that I have friends who find it easier to believe in ghosts than in a resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.  But back to Thomas. Thomas seems to be a man who doesn't believe in a thing just on the word of those around him. He is not a gullible kind of guy (so UNLIKE me!). When the others excitedly tell Thomas "guess what, Jesus was just here! We SAW Him!! We SPOKE with Him!!!", Thomas' response is almost a guffaw - a "yeah right and I saw flying monkeys this morning!" I love that about Thomas because he so - well, so everyman.

Now admittedly you tell me ANYTHING under the sun and I typically believe it but there are not many out there in the world like that. Most people are like Thomas - disbelieving until shown. Doubting until evidenced. Requiring proof to know. Thomas is often referred to as the 'doubting Thomas'. Pastor John implied in a previous blog entry (see A Word from John) of another title for Thomas and I am extremely curious to see where he will be going with his sermon message this week.

Back to the story of Thomas though. Jesus comes into the room and walks up to Thomas and gives him the opportunity to have the evidential proof that he requires. He allows Thomas to touch the places of woundedness. Now up to this point nobody has been allowed to touch the resurrected Jesus so I find this quite an honor. Thomas doubts that Christ was among the disciples earlier and Christ, instead of reprimanding the man for his disbelief, he offers himself to Thomas. Wow.

Wow! That's it isn't it? Christ offers himself to us, continually. Whether we believe or not Christ makes himself available for examination, criticism, and proof.  Wow ... (the light bulb goes on!) ...

Lord Jesus, may I always be aware of your availability to me and may all of us, each and every one of us, find our way to belief in You.

Until next time,
peace and blessings to each of you.

Love Remains

"Lord I believe, help my unbelief".  Jeff set out to offer proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which I mentioned here a couple of posts earlier; I have never doubted that Christ suffered, died and resurrected. Never. And yet I lack faith - I seek proof, I ask exhaustive questions and I trifle the pointless things. 


There is a quote from Angels and Demons that I believe epitomizes ... well, me. It is where Robert Langdon is speaking with the Carmerlengo.
Camerlengo Patrick McKenna: . Do you believe in God, sir? 
Robert Langdon: Father, I simply believe that religion...
Camerlengo Patrick McKenna: I did not ask if you believe what man says about God. I asked if you believe in God.
Robert Langdon: I'm an academic. My mind tells me I will never understand God.
Camerlengo Patrick McKenna: And your heart?
Robert Langdon: Tells me I'm not meant to. Faith is a gift that I have yet to receive
Tonight I heard the voice of Christ while at True North and beyond that, on the drive home in a song on KLove.



Paul Colman - The One Thing
From the album Let It Go


Here I am
In a river of questions
Can I pour my heart out to a listening ear?
I see this life
It’s valley’s and mountains
And I think of all the roads that brought me here
Oh that brought me here

I’ve questioned my reasons
The life I’m living
I’ve questioned my ability t
To judge wrong from right
I’ve questioned all the things
that I’ve ever called certain
My race, my religion, my country, my mind

Chorus:
But the one thing I don’t question is You
You really love me like you say you do
Yea the one thing I don’t question is You
You really love me like you say you do
Hold me Hold me
So Hold me

Well I’ve questioned my significance
Meaning and relevance
Does the work I’m doing really matter at all?
Well I’ve questioned my friendships
Alliance, dependence
Who will still be here when I fall?

Chorus: (2x’s)

Only one thing doesn’t change
Only one thing stays the same
All I know at the end of the day is your love remains

Chorus: (2x’s)


While I am not an academic I am forever on a quest, a student of philosophy and theology.  "Lord I believe, help my unbelief" was my daily mantra. 


This evening I have received the gift of faith.

Journey To the Cross

This is a movie I made of the six-week sermon series of True North. The Stations of the Cross were added to each week.

Enjoy.

The Stations at True North

Station One - Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane (note the sword used by Peter).
This also include Station Two - Jesus is Betrayed by Judas (but the bag of coins tossed on the ground is barely visible in this photograph).

Station Two - Jesus is Betrayed by Judas Iscariot (note the bag of coins on the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane which is the place of betrayal).

Station Three - Jesus is Accused by the Sanhedrin (which is represented by the clothing behind the rather fancy chair).
This also represents Station Two - Jesus is Betrayed by Judas (represented here by the coins tossed on the chair). 
And this also shows Station Four - Jesus is Denied by Peter (which is the rooster at the edge of the Garden stage piece on the left).

Station Four - Jesus is Denied by Simon Peter (as represented by the rooster where Peter denies Jesus three times before the rooster crows).

This is both Stations Five and Six (the columns represent Rome and Pilate).
Station Five - Jesus is Judged by Pilate (represented by the pitcher and bowl where Pilate washes his hands). 
Station Six - Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns (the Crown of Thorns hangs on a column on the left, the whip represents the scourging and hangs on a column on the right).

Station Five close-up

Station Six close-up.

Station Six close-up

Station Seven - Jesus Bears (Accepts) His Cross (however, this is a bad shot because it is taken with my cell phone).

Station Eight - Simon the Cyrenian is Made to Carry the Cross (represented by the clothing at the center of the cross). 
This is the same cross used for Station Seven - Jesus Bears His Cross (but a much better image).

This is Stations Ten, Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen.
Station Ten - Jesus is Crucified (the large cross has nails at the arms and feet though not really visible in this picture).
Station Eleven - Jesus Promises the Thief on the Cross the Kingdom of  Heaven (which is the picture on the left cross).
Station Twelve - Jesus Talks to His Mother and the Disciple John (the clothing at the base of the cross and the sandals).
Station Thirteen - Jesus Dies on the Cross (the purple cloth on the cross).

Station Eleven close-up

Station Twelve close-up.

Station Fourteen - Jesus is Laid in the Tomb (the stone with the crossed spears).

The Cross

This video is a recording of the rehearsal of this song which is co-written by Mark and Russ. The first performance led by the True North Praise team was on March 7th and it was repeated on March 14th with both Mark and Russ. I don't have a recording of that performance though.

Good Friday

Maundy Thursday

Palm Sunday

As young children, our first experience with good and evil begins with fairy tales.

Good fights against evil and wins, as good is God-given.

Fairy tales by Tumanian, Andersen and others breed us with love, beauty, justice and compassion.

Once upon a time, there lived a king and a queen. They were walking in the woods.Then they got lost and didn’t know what to do. Then an old lady came up to them and said, "Where are you going?" "To get some bread for a party at the castle," they said. The old lady gave them some bread and showed them how to get back to the castle. Everyone went to the party and had fun. -- Lost in the Woods by Joey Taylor

We grow and our experiences mature as we read more complex books.

We learn the good does not always win; sometimes evil gets the upper hand.

One day when we came back from work, we saw three gallows rearing up in the assembly place, three black crows. Roll call. SS all around us; machine guns trained: the traditional ceremony. Three victims in chains--and one of them, the little servant, the sad- eyed angel. The SS seemed more preoccupied, more disturbed than usual. To hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips. The gallows threw its shadow over him. This time the [head of the camp] refused to act as executioner. Three SS replaced him. The three victims mounted together onto the chairs. The three necks were placed at the same moment within the nooses. "Long live liberty!" cried the two adults. But the child was silent. "Where is God? Where is He?" someone behind me asked. Total silence throughout the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting. "Bare your heads!" yelled the head of the camp. His voice was raucous. We were weeping. "Cover your heads!" Then the march past began. The two adults were no longer alive. Their tongues hung swollen, blue-tinged. but the third rope was still moving; being so light, the child was still alive...For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard the same man asking: "Where is God now?" And I heard a voice within me answer him: "Where is He? Here He is--He is hanging here on this gallows." That night the soup tasted [like] corpses. -- Night by Elie Wiesel

I was thinking about these things when I read the parable of the weeds among the wheat which always screamed judgment to me. I think that's because in Jesus’ explanation of the parable he says, "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This proved to me that at the end of the days there will be judgment on those who are evil and those who are good will be saved from the fiery depths of hell.

Yet after further reading and research. I realized that this is about judgment but not ours ... God’s judgment. This means it’s not our job to tell people which ones they are. We are the ones being judged and no where does it say that we are to judge others. The separation of wheat and weeds is a divine task for a divine time. When the smoke finally cleared in my head I realized that this parable really tells us that God is not doing much about the weeds at this time; God is kind of resistant to make that judgment call now, he is waiting for the end of the age. But wouldn't it be great if there were only wheat left? It would almost be a utopia. But nope, Jesus tells us that the wheat and the weeds are to grow up together. When it is time to harvest God will do the work only God can do. Until then, we have to learn to live with one another. Good and evil.

I don't personally believe in evil in the world and yet when I actually open my eyes and take in the world around me I must pause and consider the possibility. Sometimes we ask, as the man asked of Elie Wiesel, “Where is God?” What does this tell us about God? Why does God let such awful things happen to innocent people? If God would stop evil when we wanted him to though, then what is stopping him from taking me out right here and right now? What stops him from passing judgment on me when I lie, when I gossip, or when I do not honor my parents? In God’s eye who is the wheat and who is the weed? In the eyes of God my own sins may be the same as the people we call evil, a weed.

I guess the good news of this parable is that God knows the difference between wheat and weeds and waits until the end of days to do anything about it. God's judgment is yet to come. Thank God.

The Tare Among the Wheat

This ... this is who we are ...tare among the wheat.


you don't know the kind of man i am just how deep the valleys run i've got shadows that are oh so cold soil that's never seen the sun when you said i'd never do you wrong you don't know how wrong you were cause i've sown seeds among the stones and thorns where nothing grows out of the earth never sing of what you've done never sing of who you are cause they're just words to bring you down there are tares among the wheat credits from Three Birds EP, released 31 July 2010

A Cup of Cold Water

I was sitting here, at my couch, thinking about the message that John offered this evening, about serving the least and the lost and the forgotten when my e-mail box chimed in "four new messages" (yes, she speaks to me!). Well, pulled from my deep thoughts I went to my mailbox to see what was there. One of the messages was the "Care-mail" that I receive as a Stephen Leader. A devotional message from Stephen Ministry. This is what I received in my mailbox:

In reading the devotional book Seize the Day with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I came across this thought, based on Matthew 10:42. "He who offers a cup of cold water to the weakest and poorest who bears no honourable name has ministered to Christ himself, and Jesus Christ will be his reward."

There was a link to read more of the devotion, which I of course clicked on.

To the Least Psalm 41:1 (you'll have to look that one up yourself)

"He who offers a cup of cold water to the weakest and poorest who bears no honourable name has ministered to Christ himself, and Jesus Christ will be his reward." -- The Cost of Discipleship

Those who minister to others in the name of Christ will be blessed. But that blessing does not necessarily mean anything other than a fuller possession of the life of Christ. We seldom get back in kind, but that should never be a problem for us. It only becomes a problem if we have not given only for the sake of Christ. In ministering to the poor and needy we will be blessed, for they are able to give "riches" unknown to those who have everything.

Meditation

Giving for the sake of Christ means that we expect nothing from those to whom we give, but everything from Him whose grace and blessing we seek.

Charles Ringma, Seize the Day with Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Colorado Springs: Piñon Press, 2000), June 24.

Wow!

By now I hope that all of you know that I do NOT believe in consequences.

Any ways, I was having a difficult time this afternoon and in part with this scripture passage. If you have read two blog posts ago, then you know that I believe myself to be a goat; John and I discussed this with Jack this afternoon - my "goatiness" I mean. Imagine the impact of receiving this e-mail message at this time from Stephen Ministry.

While I don't believe that I ever minister "in the name of Christ", I do believe that I do what I can for whom I can when I can because I think it is pleasing to God for me to do so. I think that, in receiving this e-mail on this day, God is taking his hammer and beating me over the head! Again. What do you think?

So, I offer to you this devotional thought; please take this meditation and dwell upon it and what it may be speaking to your heart.

I Am A Goat!!

As a kid I never really knew the Bible; oh I knew the words of God but not as read from the Bible ... needless to say, things became a bit mixed up and befuddled in my mind when it came to scripture. Basically, everything I "knew" about the "gospel" came from either Jesus Christ Superstar or Godspell (dating myself, I know).

Now Jesus Christ Superstar was the darker of the two and had way more singing, far less speaking so I "learned" more from Godspell. I especially loved watching the live performances by Las Cruces High School (mostly because Jesus was played by T. J. who was the most adorable boy I'd seen and I, admittedly, had a huge "crush" on him ... I was in high school after all!). So, why the walk down memory lane to the way back? Well, this weeks sermon message is from Matthew 25: 31-46, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Immediately I was transported back to the movie Godspell.

Jesus, played by Victor Garber, separates his gaggle of companions into two groups - the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. I love the costumes and since I'm a bells and whistles kind of gal I love the bright colors and silly voicings used throughout the movie. With the sheep on the right and the goats on the left, Jesus recites the parable, sending each sheep happily up the steps for all of their good deeds. While the poor goats on the right are left wondering when they failed to feed, clothe, or visit Jesus. As much as I hate to admit it, from the first viewing of Godspell I have always believed myself to be a goat ... left kneeling on the bench asking of God "but when did I NOT do for you God?"

"I give my spare change to the homeless on the street corners whenever I have loose bills in my purse." "I have driven Miss Virginia all over the city on many an errand; I have even visited her in the nursing home when she wasn't at her best and didn't remember who I was." "I've gone to a juvenile detention center to do crafts with the girls there, once." "I've put coats in the buckets at the credit union in the winter for needy kids." "I've feed you, visited you, clothed you!"

But, I tell myself over and over again that isn't good enough - I am nothing more than a goat. Would Jesus think that? I don't know, honestly. I do so little so much of the time ... I feel inadequate and useless, rarely Christian much less Christ-like. I am a goat!

Then I stumbled upon this video:

Could I really be doing something right? Have I actually fed Jesus, clothed Jesus, visited Jesus?

YOU Feed Them

You feed them. YOU feed them. Those were the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples on that now famous day when the thousands were fed. What was he telling the disciples, exactly?

Well ... in my mind this is how I see things. The crowds were hungry - literally and spiritually. They were eating, no devouring, the words of the master teacher Jesus Christ and as they sat, all day long under the burning sun, they became physically hungry as well. They had needs only half of which were being satisfied. I think that the disciples, when they came to the Lord and asked him to send the crowds away, missed that all important detail - that the crowds were being fed spiritually - and the disciples were asking Jesus to deprive the crowds of further spiritual nourishment. More than that, they were saying "Hey, Jesus look ... you're in charge of this 'shindig', you need to find a way to feed them."

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

You see, Jesus looks his disciples square in the eye and says "YOU feed them", a powerful command that should have rippled through the millennium and centuries. Of course, I know how hard it is to fulfill such a command. I am just like those disciples - you tell me to 'feed them' and I'm totally lost. How the heck am I supposed to do that? Now give me a gazillion tons of grub and a line of hungry homeless and I can get into the trenches and spoon out dish after dish of food with the best of them; but, to come up with the way to feed them - well just forget that. I can feel with and for the disciples. I am them. I think that many churches are. I believe that many churches see the need but have absolutely no idea how to go about implementing a way to feed the people; I'll even go so far as to say both physically and spiritually. I think there needs to be a re-visioning of the church - church needs to be turned inside out as well as the people.

So, how do we, we the church of True North, go about feeding the people? Well, I have no answers to that question - I hope John has some ideas on Sunday but quite honestly I'm not sure exactly in what direction he'll be heading with this text ... that's the bad thing about writing before the message is delivered. I guess, if you join me on Sunday (and yes! I will be there this Sunday) we'll all see how far off the mark I truly am.

Control Freak

I really hated missing True North on Sunday evening - I am SUCH a control freak that I feared disaster or catastrophe would happen were I not there to make sure everything got done “right” and that everything was set up“correctly”. Much to my chagrin - True North went off without a hitch; the High Freques sounded better than they had since opening and the images worked perfectly with John’s message, everything got set up and taken down exactly as it should have, fresh warm just baked cookies at the ready. Sigh… … it’s very crushing you know … the realization that I truly am unimportant to this team …

Are You Ready for What's Next!?

Are You Ready for What's Next!?

Ok, so I Matter ... now what? Ok, so I'm found ... now what? Ok, so I've received the living water ... now what? Ok, so I am a new creation ... so, Now What!? Well, now we'll be exploring what it means to be loved by God, to be found valuable and worthy in God's sight; you ARE a new creation through Christ so now we'll look at what that means to BE a new creation in and through Christ. First we'll look at how we're Changed (Inside & Out) in Luke 5 and then move into and through Christ's mission and ours as we learn that we must Feed Them in Luke 9 and to care for The Least of These in Matthew 25. From there we'll Let Our Light Shine out from under a bushel as we look at Matthew 5. Finally we'll end this six-week sermon series by examining our call to be Sent in Luke and our Commission in Matthew 28. Are you ready? Really ready? Are YOU Ready for What's Next!?

High Freques

Godparents for Tanzania. Bringing hope through education to the youth of Tanzania.

more about "Godparents for Tanzania. Bringing h...", posted with vodpod