Jon McClarnon

Seems like a long time ago that I was at theater for our worship gathering…but it was only yesterday. Thanks to my friend Chris Mills for leading worship and doing such an awesome job. Always love having him with us. I put off the conclusion of “Stuff Jesus Made Up” until this coming Sunday and we jumped to the first week of “One Prayer”. You can watch the message from Craig Groschel on the podcast page.

After services I took off with our high school students for a week at Milligan College TN. A small detour and we rolled in for dinner.
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Its been a good day today. No injuries…no ER trips…no wandering kids…everyone is engaged from the get go. We did suffer a humbling defeat to a mostly girl volleyball team and were ousted in the first round. Looking forward to basketball tomorrow.

Please pause for a moment and say a prayer for our students that they would have a life changing encounter with God.

I will try to keep you posted. You can find some pictures over at www.facebook.com/bluedevildad

Before diving into this, make sure you’re up to speed with Part One. The basic idea is that the reason we quit things (relationships, tasks, give in to temptations, etc) is simply because it’s easier than sticking it out. Yep, quitting is easier than enduring.

In part two though, I want to give you my thoughts on what makes it possible to endure.

Go back to that thing in your mind that you quit – that you wish you had stuck with… And then come up with something that you wanted to quit…and actually did stick with it. What made the difference? If you think about it long enough, I bet you can come up with the answer.

Endurance is always linked to two things: On one arm is trial/trouble/temptation. On the other is hope. People have endured some pretty remarkable circumstances and difficulties if what they believed to be on the other side was worth it.
For instance, driving 8 hours in the car depends on whether we’re going to Disney OR a family reunion (for most of us).
If you’re a 16 year old boy that’s required to meet the parents on a first date – you have to decide…is she worth it?
A boss might endure the discomfort of firing an employee if it would mean better work relationships, reduced tension, and higher productivity.

However, for me, nothing is worse than having a married couple come to me and say, “we’ve got problems and I don’t think its’ worth it.”
Or to have someone else say, “the temptation is too strong, I couldn’t resist it…I didn’t want to fight it anymore.”

Those people who do endure things in life are those who hold to hope, believing that things can be different.
The marriage will be stronger, the job will be more enjoyable, the disease will not pull me down…
Hope holds out for a better life.
But sometimes, hope as we might, things don’t go our way. We hoped in one direction and got something different than we thought.

Real hope, hope that can be trusted, hope that has promise is found in God. It’s the hope that says, “you don’t walk alone.” Hope that promises that “when you can’t see, God can.” It’s this hope, that says, “God carries me through, when I hang tough.” It’s this hope that says, “I can draw on God’s strength for this one.”
Ultimately, God will deliver on his promises. Only a few dare to put trust in the God of hope. Sometimes the doctor does walk in and say, “I can’t explain it, but the tests are negative.” Sometimes, he doesn’t. In those times, the Christ follower holds to the promise, that while God may not choose to set things right now, we have the hope that someday, in another time and place, He will.

For those who are ready to quit…whatever it is…choose to HOPE – it is the fuel for endurance!

Reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday, the 24th) is True North day to serve and love on the people of our community through the ministry of With Love From Jesus.

As you might guess, requests for food and clothes are on the rise right now, as more and more families have needs. Any amount of time you can give is great – from 9:30 to Noon.

WLFJ is located at 421 Chapanoke Road – volunteers should go behind the building and enter there.

I had a great Father’s Day – didn’t do a whole lot of anything. The usual stuff – morning at True North…homemade pizza…laying of the couch watching the US Open…friends showing up in a panic because they can’t beat the final level of Super Mario 3 on Nintendo…one child throwing up…and watching Slumdog Millionaire with my wife. A regular day, but a good one.

Thought the morning at True North was great. We went for the stripped back approach on worship and it turned out really good. Thanks to Katie for leading us and Bryan for providing the acoustic vibe. Songs on the day were:
Awesome God – Vicky Beeching
This is Our God – Hillsong
From the Inside Out – Hillsong United

“Stuff Jesus Made Up” landed on the story of the prodigal son…the lost son….however you want to refer to it. Podcast title is “Prodigal Father” – because he was definitely the most “excessive and lavish” character in the story. You can listen here.
Remember that “home is where they have to take you back.”

We will conclude this series on the stories Jesus told this Sunday – you can read ahead here to the story in Luke 7.

Also, coming Sunday, my friend Chris Mills is leading worship – you will want to be there. Love having him come when he gets a chance.

So glad to see so many guys in service yesterday. Wish I had more duct tape to pass out to say “thanks for what you do”, but hoping those dads who got one will put it to good use.

Lots of people traveling, so be safe. If you’re in town…make a point of being there on Sunday and expect God to do great things. He doesn’t take the summer off!

Last week I wrote a short note about “Why we Quit Rather than Endure”. I will post part two this week, so check back for that.

Have a good one!

Looking forward to celebrating Father’s Day tomorrow at True North. If you’re in town…hope you’ll be there.
We’re continuing the series “Stuff Jesus Made Up” by looking at the most famous of Jesus’ parables and probably the most familiar.

Excited about unplugged worship led by @katieneumann. And, I have a few special prizes for 10 lucky dads among us. Not sure how I’m giving them out yet.

I’m also doing a very brief interview with a new friend – Charlie Godfrey – who recently graduated from high school and spent 3 months working in an orphanage in Liberia.

Going to be a great day!

Here’s something that has been on my mind recently, so I thought that I’d bring you in the loop and let’s work it out together.

First off – some of you are going to take this wrong and go down a road that is not to be traveled. So listen up from the beginning to my disclaimer. The following thoughts have nothing to do with the future of True North Church and my involvement with it as pastor! Got it?

I think that I know something about all of us. One of our greatest regrets in life is closely tied to endurance…or lack of it. Do you have anything in your life that you quit on that now you wish you had stuck with? I do.
A short list of things I’ve quit on:
- drum lessons
- paper route
- computer class
- basketball team
- caring about good things
- a few relationships
- fighting some temptations

I guess this surfaces now because I have a lot of things going on in my life that make me just want to quit…to give up…to do anything but press through.
Why do I do that? When given the choice to stand under a test, trial, temptation…why is it that I so often quit, walk away, or give in? Why don’t I stand under difficulty, stand against tough times, and stand through temptation?

Here it is, write it down, soak in the wisdom:
It’s always easier to quit something than to endure it.

Endurance is the picture of an Olympic weightlifter who is trying to hold the barbell over his head – those who can’t handle it, drop it or it falls on them – those who win are the ones who stand under it until the referee says you have been there long enough.

You’ve got something going on in your life right now and you’re trying to decide if you want to stay under it and endure it OR quit and walk away. Let me offer this:
Some of the greatest spiritual victories going on today are by men and women who have simply survived.

There’s more in my head…and I want to keep this at readable length…so I’ll give part two later. There is something at the other end of trials, tests, and temptations that makes endurance possible…

A big weekend, so I’m going to dump out my thoughts and get more focused in on the week ahead.

I’ve already jumped into next week’s “Stuff Jesus Made Up’ – you can read ahead if you want – Luke 15.

As far as yesterdays service…wow…one of the best overall worship experiences I can remember in a while from my perspective. Don’t get me wrong…as some of you will!…I think every Sunday is great…just seemed that everything we had control over, was all working together.

We are having lots of new faces every week. I love having first timers who jump right in from the beginning! Some guy I’ve never met gave me a side hug on the way out yesterday…don’t know you, but I thought that was awesome! I also heard today that we had some visitors who were really looking for the other theater church…whoops!

The music rocked! Lee and the band did a phenomenal job and people were engaged and participating. You can always sense a big difference between playing and singing the music and group worship. Big difference…and yesterday, on the whole, we had group worship.

Here are the songs in case you’re interested:
King of Majesty – Hillsong
Majesty – Lee McDerment
‘Till I See You – Hillsong United

I thought Jess’ video announcements were quite entertaining. Anyone else? Perhaps a regular feature in the future is in order?

The teachings on the parables…“Stuff Jesus Made Up”…has generated a lot of good discussion. By the way, the short films we’ve used at the end of each service are also available on the podcast page.

Last night, our middle and high school students did some work at With Love From Jesus. We have some great kids at True North – they do a lot of “service” in the church and out of it. Next time you see one, say “thanks”…chances are they helped set up the theater OR helped watch one of your kids.
For the rest of us…the next True North day to serve and love people from the community at With Love From Jesus is Wednesday, June 24th.

Last night I also rejoined the old basketball team. Looks like I’m going to make a summer run and see how it goes again. First game is coming up this Thursday – I’ll keep you posted.
On the physical fitness note…what’s happening to my gyms? Another one closed this weekend and rumors are that one more is to follow. That will leave me one option in the county!

Make it a great week.

This morning I’ve had two conversations with people – both who are wrestling through the same thing – at different levels. The issue is this: I want to do what God wants me to do with my life…I want to make a difference in the world…and I want to do something that I really enjoy…and I know this much – it’s not where I am and what I’m doing.

One of these people has been wrestling with this for years and finally, recently, took the big leap and started the wheels in motion. Resigning from the current job and waiting… Just waiting, praying, seeking God for how the next phase is going to unfold.
The other is at the point of taking that big leap and still working through the process of knowing that something must change to pursue dreams and what God has in store…just trying to calculate if it’s going to be possible.

When we made the decision to pursue a church plant it became obvious to me that there is a very fine line between faith and stupidity.

I’ve used that often with other people in similar situations. To a lot of people, leaving the security of your job, steady income and even identity is enough to deter them from such a decision. A decision that, in the end, is even intended to honor God. “Maybe I should just wait until I know how it’s going to turn out?” Here’s the problem with that – you NEVER know how it’s going to turn out. And if you don’t take the leap – you NEVER will.

To onlookers – these decision seem to be just plain old stupid. Why would you do that? To those making the decisions…some days, it even feels that way. But deep down inside, you KNOW that you must do it in order for God to reveal the next steps.

Here’s what I think: I think that God honors risk. I think that God honors trust. I think that God honors faith. I don’t think God honors stupidity. Sometimes the only way you can tell the difference is in a moment. One moment where you are convinced that God is leading you to take that leap. There might only be one moment…when God’s word comes to you (Bible reading, prayer, wise counsel, the Spirit) and the choice is to jump, not knowing the end result OR stay where you are and hold God at arms’ length, and wonder…what if?

If knowing about the details of your life and the outcomes of your decisions is your main requirement…then forget the journey. But if trusting God and honoring God is your main agenda – then risk and trust is probably right around the corner.

Thanks to my two friends who are reminding me that playing it safe is no way to live. (Playing it wise IS!) But honoring God is always the right thing…no matter if it looks stupid to everyone else.

I’m actually hanging out with the family at the beach for a few days…but I got up early. I went looking for some coffee and found the “hot donuts now” sign – I had to pull in. Just chilling a bit before I head out to play at Aberdeen Golf Club with my brother in law. Looking forward to unwinding afterward either poolside or oceanside. Sounds good doesn’t it?

Sunday I passed out ice cream during the message to help illustrate the problem with envy and why it’s hard to celebrate what we have. My own kids have been talking about the ice cream portion, but it’s helped to make the point…envy starts when I look in your bowl, rather than being grateful for what is already in mine.

It was a great day all around in my opinion. Great music, fantastic participation, met lots of new people, and ice cream…a winner for sure.

I was just thinking about the parables OR short stories as a teaching method and still amazed at how easily they communicate the truth to people. It’s easy to remember…it seems to sneak up on you when you don’t expect it – and while I think the stories generally have one point in mind – they have many facets to them.

For instance, this morning I was thinking about this story from Sunday…workers in the vineyard…and realized that oftentimes I am the one who plays the role of “grace monitor”. Meaning, it’s easy to make judgments on who deserves grace and who doesn’t.
This is definitely something that I need to have refined in my own life…that monitoring God’s grace is not my job…it’s his.

Well, I gotta head out…off to the course.
Already looking forward to Story 3 this Sunday…have a good one.

Here are a few books that I’m reading OR trying to read.

Lost and Found by Ed Stetzer

Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

The Challenge of Jesus by NT Wright

And I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of this one:
Holy Roller by Judy Lyons