OUR HISTORY: REFLECTIONS IN THE DARK
Dusk. The time in between. There’s an uncertainty about this time, a question of when the day ceases to be and the night begins. Where certainty lies is in each minute being darker than the last. Six o’clock darker than five-thirty, six-thirty darker than six. Such is the game the night plays with us, slowly giving us less and less light until, at last, it tears away the final glimpse of sun and plunges us into a murky black void.
This is life for some, an impossible existence where the past is always brighter than the future. There’s a common understanding that there was light at some point in time, or maybe a memory of light, or perhaps simply a confabulation. Be that as it may, there is assuredly no light now.
This is life for some, an impossible existence where the past is always brighter than the future. There’s a common understanding that there was light at some point in time, or maybe a memory of light, or perhaps simply a confabulation. Be that as it may, there is assuredly no light now.
Many believe the Church—that which Jesus said even the gates of Hades would not overcome—is disappearing into this darkness. As one of history’s most famous musicians stated >>>
Jesus—or whatever little, untarnished fragments remain of him—is thought to have lived in that distant light. But that was 2,000 years ago. The Church, consisting of the supposed “followers of Jesus,” has continued to darken alongside the rest of the world.
Fortunately this is the perspective of many, not all.
There remains a remnant, a group of people fueled by a focus on the light beyond. A light that is in the future but somehow reflected now by those who continue to follow Jesus’ commands to love God, love others and make disciples. While they show no disregard for the current state of the world around them, they focus their sights heavenward knowing that the source of all light will direct their journey.
The magnificence of the stars reminds them of the meekness of their condition yet the supremacy of the God who empowers them. “If the Creator can speak the universe into existence and set it all into motion,” they ask, “what amazing things can He do to bless the world through His people?”
Among those waiting in eager expectation you will find the Northstar Church Multiplication Center, existing to equip churches and church planters in the work of birthing new healthy communities of disciples. The pages that follow tell the stories of these stargazers and dreamers—people who know that God is still at work revealing His kingdom in their neighborhoods and cities and want to join Him in it. When brought together, these smaller stories form a metanarrative that tells of God’s on-going work in and through the Northstar Church Multiplication Center.
These are our stories, but we hope you will come adopt them as your own.
Jesus—or whatever little, untarnished fragments remain of him—is thought to have lived in that distant light. But that was 2,000 years ago. The Church, consisting of the supposed “followers of Jesus,” has continued to darken alongside the rest of the world.
Fortunately this is the perspective of many, not all.
There remains a remnant, a group of people fueled by a focus on the light beyond. A light that is in the future but somehow reflected now by those who continue to follow Jesus’ commands to love God, love others and make disciples. While they show no disregard for the current state of the world around them, they focus their sights heavenward knowing that the source of all light will direct their journey.
The magnificence of the stars reminds them of the meekness of their condition yet the supremacy of the God who empowers them. “If the Creator can speak the universe into existence and set it all into motion,” they ask, “what amazing things can He do to bless the world through His people?”
Among those waiting in eager expectation you will find the Northstar Church Multiplication Center, existing to equip churches and church planters in the work of birthing new healthy communities of disciples. The pages that follow tell the stories of these stargazers and dreamers—people who know that God is still at work revealing His kingdom in their neighborhoods and cities and want to join Him in it. When brought together, these smaller stories form a metanarrative that tells of God’s on-going work in and through the Northstar Church Multiplication Center.
These are our stories, but we hope you will come adopt them as your own.
