Where did this week go?

You would think the first week of summer would slow up a little but it seemed as if things went in over-drive! Here are a few highlights from the week:

• Had some great meetings regarding what is NEXT for NStar.....throwing around some pretty fun ideas!!
• Shot the Meet Joy video bumpers the other night - what a blast to be with some incredible NStar people for a couple of hours at diner! You are going to love this series!
• Met with J.R. Lee for lunch - what a sharp guy! Everytime we meet I walk away with some great stuff! He & his team at Freedom are knocking it out!
• Got all of my stuff ready for Impact next week. I will be teaching the leaders over the weekend and then the students arrive on Monday and I will be doing the evening sessions! Can't wait - this will be my 20th year working with this incredible camp! To top it off, my son Casey will be a student - talking about coming full-circle - I was 19 when I started working there and he is now 14!!
• The baseball team returned to action this week - great to be back on the field again!

Just a few highlights from one quick week!

Memorial Day

Great post by my good buddy Alan Riley! I visited the tomb of the unknown soldier a few years ago and it was one of the most moving things I have ever seen! Thanks Alan for the reminder!

Check out his post!

NorthStar tonight

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to stay up and catch "Baseball Tonight" and see all of the highlights of the day.......let's try some "NorthStar tonight" to bring you up to speed on life around NStar & life today....

• I did not speak today - I went & just enjoyed church!! Marlon did a super job and after doing child dedication in the Compass Room , I went to the True North Video Venue
• Loved True North (Mike McClung and the band were awesome) and the vibe in the room was sweet
• Pretty cool to watch Marlon on video and watch the crowd respond and be totally engaged while he was speaking!
• Loved just sitting with Anne and just enjoying church!!!
• Anne hit a curb today on the way to church and had a flat tire on her Mini-Cooper.....thanks to Brandon Smith from NStar who went to help her & the kids and we got a new tire on it this afternoon!!! Anne is so glad Brandon showed up to help and not me!!
• We had no baseball this weekend due to some players having brothers & sisters graduating from high school - it has been weird to have the weekend off - but is has been nice!!
• Started having baseball withdrawals around 4pm today and went and watched a buddies little 8 year old boy play in a tournament!
• Reminded again today that if I didn't preach at NStar - that is where I would CHOOSE to go to church!! I love that place!
• Great to have team-mates who do a super job and we never miss a beat if I am not speaking!
• It has been a great weekend just to chill & enjoy the incredible weather!! We have put in some pretty serious pool-time!!
• Crowds were pretty strong in light of Memorial Day weekend - look forward to seeing the numbers!!
• Our student ministry announced to the students today that Greg & Amanda Blasche(our student arts worship leaders) had taken a full-time position at a church plant in Macon (their hometown). We are so sad to see them go but so excited for them & this new opportunity!! They also announced that Lauren Boyd (who grew up at NStar and has been the main worship leader at Liberty University) the past few years was coming home to take over Student Arts at NorthStar!!! This is a huge deal and if you have ever heard Lauren, you know we are getting on the best & sharpest young worship leaders in the country!!
  
• We start "Meet Joy" next Sunday!
  

We have some pretty cool stuff we are working on!!! Stay tuned to NorthStar tonight!!!!

Big day!

Today was a milestone day for the Linch family.......

• Mary-Michal finished 5th grade at Vaughan Elementary. We are so proud of the young lady she is and the wonderful school year that she has had! She won the "computer award" & a presidential award for academics!! The award she was most proud of was being voted "Most Glamorous" in her class!! Anne & I were talking today and the word that comes to mind for MM is "Overcomer". She has faced so much in life and she doesn't let anything stop her!! It is now off to middle school for our little girl! (I did cry a little - she was humiliated!!)
• Casey finished up his last day of middle school and is now off to the world of high school. I can't believe that we have a son that is getting that old and is ready for 9th grade!! Casey is not only a great student but an INCREDIBLE young man that we are so proud of! He takes his walk with God seriously and is so far of where I was at that age! He won the language arts award for his pod today and also got perfect attendance! One word for Casey is "Steady"....He is pretty much the same kid all of the time and it sure makes us proud!!

As you can see it is pretty nostalgic day around the Linch house! Can't believe that I will never walk in Vaughan again as a parent of a student there - we have been around that school along time!

Summer is here and we are going to hit the pool and enjoy every minute of it!! Can't wait!!! Way to go Casey & Mary-Michal!!

So proud!!!

I am sitting here in my office right now listening to the new worship album by Casey Darnell. Casey leads worship for the North Point ministry churches now (North Point, Browns Bridge, Buckhead) and is doing an incredible job!! I downloaded the new album off I-Tunes last night!

Casey was a part of my youth group "back in the day" and served for awhile with us at NStar!! I am so proud of Casey and what God is doing in his life!! Way to go Casey - the album is incredible! I am sitting here thinking, it seems like he was just a junior in High School yesterday, and now God is using his talents & abilities to touch a ton of lives! You just never know what God has planned for people!!

Rick Warren - I am so sorry!

I had the privilege to be invited to the Pastors Gathering at Saddleback this week. Rick invited some of the sharpest guys in the country to share with him and then invited some other church leaders to come & be a part! I was in the "come & be a part" crowd not the speaking crowd!!

Due to some scheduling issues on my end - I was not able to attend and be a part. After reading some of the blogs of guys that there - I am sick that I missed it......It sounds like it is incredible!! To catch up on some of the notes from the conference visit Perry Noble & Mark Beeson.

My son, Casey and my daughter are both "graduating" this week. My son is leaving 8th grade and heading to High School and my little girl is leaving elementary school and heading to middle school. I would not miss their special events at school for anything in the world!

Rick, I know you are not reading this blog, but if for some reason you are bored and made your way here......I am so sorry I missed the awesome gathering you put together!! Keep me in mind next time - I would love to be one of the guys in the crowd taking in the wisdom of those sharing! Thanks for being the leader you are - you have blazed a trail I pray we all follow in for those coming behind us!

Welcome to Brian Bloye!!

I hope you will check out the new blog post of Brian Bloye! Brian is the lead pastor at West Ridge Church and is truly one of the sharpest guys out there!! He is not only a great guy but is a washed up baseball player and Liberty grad!!! I can promise you, he will come with some good stuff!

Rearview Mirror

• I was blown away on Sunday when I asked how many in the crowd had prodigals in their lives that they were praying for........I would guess 2/3 of the crowd!! I was stunned and broken-hearted!
• I pray that we will learn the lessons from the "Father" about how to create a home to come home to......keep pursuing the relationship, keep pure our heart & keep pouring out unconditional love! Doing those things are not easy but when we extend forgiveness on the front end it makes it easier for us to love on the back end
• We honored our graduates at the late service - pretty awesome to see so many seniors! They have so much ahead and how cool they were in there to hear about the "prodigal".....I pray that they learn from others mistakes and make better choices on their end!
• My baseball team took 2nd place in the North Cobb Diamond Club tourney - we went 4-1 in the tourney.....pretty solid! We got smoked in the championship - we were slap out of pitching at that point! We won a thriller in the semi-final game and were out of gas for the championship!
• I sat with our Management Team this AM and had some huge discussions about what is "Next" for NStar! God has brought some incredible thinkers & leaders together on this team and it is so cool to sit in a room full of people that have "one" heart and this a love for God & for NStar!!
• Our next Merge "gathering for business leaders" is this coming Wednesday at 7:15am in the True North building! We will be talking about how God uses wildnerness experiences in our lives to teach us lessons!
• We finished our House series on prayer yesterday - this has been a solid series!
• We will do a stand alone week for Memorial Day and then begin our summer series "Meet Joy" at the beginning of June!
• I cannot wait for some cool stuff that is coming up!!!
  

Prodigals

What do you do when someone you love walks away from their love for God? When do you give up and give them up for lost? Can you ever be too far away? How do you balance "tough love" with "open arms grace"? Do prodigals ever come back and if they do what brings them home?

Can you identify with any of these statements? We all know prodigals don't we.....in fact, we may have been one. However, when someone walks away from the relationship that we were in (child, parent, spouse or friend) it almost seems helpless at times. The great news....there is always hope and it is never too late!!!

What do you do......PRAY.......How long.....AS LONG AS IT TAKES!!

On Sunday, May 18, we are going to be talking about how to pray these prodigals home!! Trust me, you are not alone and you need to go that God has some stuff that is just for you to get you through!

Pray

Yesterday, our staff spent the last part of our meeting time praying over our church and praying for our church! We spread out across the campus and each called out to God to do something great!

I do not want to just read about great movements of God but I want to be part of one! We have experienced some amazing things at NorthStar over the past 11 years but I really believe that there is another huge wave coming our way. The key is WE have to be ready......

• We have to have pure lives
  
• We have to remember that this is all about reaching people who are LOST from God's best
• We have to have strong families
• We have to pray for & keep UNITY in the church
  
• We have to work like it all depends on us and know that it all depends on God!
• We have to live our mission...."We want to show God's love in such a way that people exchange ordinary living for an extraordinary life through the transforming power of Jesus Christ"

Big decisions

There are times that you hit that are part of making who you are and who you will become. I truly believe that we are at one of those crossroads in the life of NStar! I have been delayed in blogging the past few days due to the craziness of my schedule and also just thinking & praying through some directional issues!

Here is the deal.....we are packed out on Sunday's! I don' t mean it is crowded, it is slammed in every venue (True North, Compass, Students, The Attic, The Hideout)! All over campus, we are crammed into every nook & cranny and have absolutely no room to grow in the fall! We have to do SOMETHING.......the something is the issue!

What can you do to help us at this point.........pray! Pray for wisdom, pray for direction, pray that we will make the RIGHT move at the RIGHT time! Some of the ideas we are looking at are crazy but they are so exciting! I can't wait to see what is next!!!

Two special ladies

Happy Mothers Day to two special ladies......my mom, Ann Linch in Fayetteville, GA and my wife, Anne Linch.

It is crazy to have had two Anne's in my life all of these years! The fact is - I cannot imagine my life without either of them. I had the privilege of growing up in a home with a mom who loved me for who I was and the feeling of security that she provided was huge! I never doubted for a second that she loved me no matter what and she taught me more about giving than I will ever express in words. She lived giving and it made on a huge mark on my life and also the lives of my brother & sister. Thanks Mom!!

My wife Anne is amazing.....the atmosphere she creates in our home everyday is incredible! You walk in the front door and you feel love. Casey & Mary-Michal are so blessed to have a mom that loves them for who they are and sees the best of who they could be! I don't know what I did to deserve Annie in my life but I am sure am thankful!

Happy Mother's day to my 2 Ann(e)'s!!!!

Full Weekend

What a weekend.....I am getting ready to head to NStar for a big "Mother's Day" morning! I heard Rick Warren say a few years ago that the 4 biggest attendances at Saddleback were......Easter, Christmas Eve, Mothers Day & Time Change in the fall! We are trying something new today with 7 photographers all over campus taking family shots for mom! We are matting the 5x7 pics for the families and will have them available for pick-up next week! (Great idea from Rick Warren!) This is all of course weather dependent - we are praying it is dry for the day!

Friday night - NorthStar was out in force at the Relay for Life walk to cure cancer! The team had the corner booth for the huge walk and fed hundreds of local high school students during the night! At the same the Acworth Police were holding the "Round the bases" walk to raise money for the special needs field in Acworth. They walked for 24 hours straight to help get the funds necessary to break ground on this incredible complex! I got there around 11:30pm friday and walked for awhile and met some great officers that attend NStar......what a great group of guys!

After almost 6 hours at the ball-field yesterday - I am looking forward to an incredible morning at NStar and then coming home and enjoying my family (baseball-free) for the day!! Can't wait for all that is ahead today!!!

Incredible night

Tonight was an awesome night!

Dr. Jack Llewellyn, the renowned sports psychologist, came & spent about an hour talking to my 14U baseball team. Holy cow....these young men were sitting with a legend and a man that has worked with some of the greatest athletes in the world! To sit and listen to him & his stories and about the mental side of the game was incredible!

I work my tail off in my role at NStar as Senior Pastor and my outlet (hobby) is coaching these young men. My goal is that we give them the tools that make them not only great baseball players but great men one day!

The biggest take away for me tonight is that the great people in this world have the ability to bounce back and quickly move through mistakes. I tend to dwell on failures rather than gathering up and moving out to WIN!

I am 39 now and I am committing to the Lord that the rest of my time on this earth - I will play to WIN everyday and quit playing not to lose!! I hope these guys realize how awesome tonight really was!!!

Distractions

I feel like that one of my biggest struggles life is in the area of distractions. I realize that big sins usually destroy people but I know that our everyday journey with God can be robbed by distractions. I think that sometimes we miss God's best by doing other "good" things.

What could we do to insulate ourselves from distractions and stay focused on what is the big deal of our days? I think the enemy has a file on me and inside the file folder are a list of things that he knows will "potentially" get me off track from serving God.

Do you recognize when you are being distracted? Do you catch yourself before losing focus?

The enemy doesn't have to use big stuff......he just has to use "stuff" to get us off track!! If we see it coming, we can protect our days and make better use of the time that God has given us!!

Congrats buddy!

I am so proud today for my buddy Steve Roach who welcomed his third little girl, Hayley Elizabeth, into the world!! Steve & I go back to 2nd grade and have been the best of friends since that time! There are very few people you meet in this world that you can journey with this long in life and now getting to work together and watch him be a great husband & dad is pretty cool!! If you can have a friend like this to get through life with you are are blessed! Enjoy your 3 little girls Mr. Roach!!!

Great lessons!

Check out this post from Alan Riley, a great friend of mine!! I hope everyone reads this and learns some super lessons to live by!

Wrap Up!!

• Maybe the hardest I have worked in a long time!!
• Hosted a 14u baseball tourney since thursday - 13 games over 4 days....W0w!! My Titan players & parents worked so hard and I am so proud of them!!
• Our friends the Eele's were in town from Arizona and found a house and are moving here in a few weeks!! I can't wait to have them here!! Some of the greatest people I know - Allatoona High School is going to be blessed to have Dave on board coaching & teaching!!
• NStar was rocking this AM with the incredible band & choir.....!!
• Continued our prayer series talking to men about our role as leaders in our homes & families!
• Favorite statement in scripture this AM - "I do believe, help me with my unbelief"!!!
• The Gary Allan song this morning fit so perfectly!!
• Over 80 8th graders showed up for the 8th grade graduation at NStar.....those students absolutely adore Nick Person and the investment he has made in their lives over the past three years is amazing!! As a dad of one of those 8th graders......I am overwhelmed!!
• Three weeks left of school!
• On Saturday, the ribbon was cut on the special needs playground in Acworth.....the groundbreaking for the special needs baseball field is just around the corner!! Can't wait!!
• Great vibe in the services today...there were a few times that I was overcome with the spirit in the room!
• I am so spent but so fulfilled that the weekend is over and it went so good all the way around!!