My home church, NorthStar Church, sponsors a great resource that has become a daily surfing stop for me - GrowthStarts Blog.  Postings include Bible Study notes, great quotes, useful links, plus info about special classes and seminars NorthStar is hosting to help you grow in your knowledge and application of God’s word and godly principles.

The blog is the work of NorthStar’s Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development, Randy Elster.  Randy is a multi-talented guy, with a background as a worship leader and incredible creative and organizational gifts… I know, imagine anyone having both of those skill sets!  Randy’s blog entries here tell you a lot about the depth of his walk with the Lord.

I especially like the quotes.  Here’s a recent example:

M.C. Richards: “A knowledge of the path cannot be substituted for putting one foot in front of the other.”

And here’s a great link from GrowthStarts:  Michael Wade from Execupundit gives a list of all-purpose scapegoats in The Blame List: 30 Culprits.

Check Out GrowthStarts.  You’ll find lots of useful stuff there.  It’s a great resource.

A little bit about the NorthStar Church… The church recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, and over the last decade they have become a model for church starts to emulate.  NorthStar has been recognized as one of the fastest growing church starts in the country, and that growth is a result of phenomenal involvement in the community, exciting worship, relevant messages, and an awesome staff team.  Marlon Longacre, NorthStar’s Pastor of Community Development is something of a legend throughout Cobb County because of his involvement with schools, businesses, service organizations and other churches.  He was named “Citizen of the Year” in one local community because of his efforts to get NorthStar out into the community.  Over the last ten years, NorthStar has planted or assisted dozens of new church starts.

Mike Linch, NorthStar’s senior pastor, is an outgoing, gregarious guy with an infectious smile and laugh. He is refreshingly transparent and his passion for people is obvious after spending five minutes with him.  He is also wonderfully devoid of a besetting ego, more so than any successful pastor I’ve ever met. Mike loves to talk about his team and their gifts, skills and accomplishments and will almost always deflect a complement aimed at him to them.  To top it off, he is a gifted communicator with an easygoing, conversational style whose passion for what he is sharing is evident.  I’m proud to call him my pastor and my friend.

Mike reached out to me four years ago when I was serving as worship pastor at another church in the community.  We first visited the church in 2003 when I had a Sunday off.  After leaving vocational ministry in 2005, we considered NorthStar our church home, but sadly, for the last two years we were not able to attend regularly while serving as an interim and/or part time worship leader. Since May, Fonda and I have been able to do something we have really never been able to do in our married life - just attend church and be a worshiper and a learner.  It has been so refreshing for us.

Being a longtime veteran and sometime victim of the so-called worship wars, it is so refreshing to go to a contemporary church that is attended by a diverse blend of generations, cultures and social strata.  NorthStar is a wonderful melting pot of different people who are committed to “show God’s love in such a way that people would exchange ordinary living for an extraordinary life through the transforming power of Jesus Christ.”

NorthStar is going through an awesome season of ministry right now, and we are thrilled to be there to watch God work.