In Memorium: Don North

On Thursday August 26th, 2004 an incredible man went home to be with Jesus.

Don North, a pastor and friend from Oroville, was killed in a mortorcycle accident Thursday afternoon. God only knows why. Don ministered in the Tri-Counties area for nearly 30 years; leaving a mark of humility, substance, and most importantly love everywhere he went. I came to know Don at the annual regional prayer summit held at the YWAM base of Richardson Springs. Don and I most recently worked together on the board of the Center for Transformation Studies, a fledgling graduate program being developed in Chico, CA. While we were growing in our friendship, I was not as close to Don as some of my fellow leaders in the area. His passiong has had a real impact on us...

Don left a legacy of love. While playing drums earlier this year at a conference in Davis, CA I heard Don speak on this familiar topic. During his session he shared what is, in my opinion, one of the most profound statements concerning the Kingdom of God. He said: "God is building His Kingdom on gifts of friendship". Stop and think about that for a moment. If you get the idea here, you will see that there is nothing that happens in the Kingdom of God outside of the context of relationship (more specificially friendship). There is a divine Chain Reaction effect from relationships. One pastor ministers to an elder in his church, who in turn prays for someone at a church service. That person is encouraged and goes home to shares with her husband what God has done...he rejoices. The next day at work he shares of God's faithfulness with a dispondent co-worker whose son is constantly in trouble at school. The mother decides to start attending church again. Her son's behavior improves after attending youth group, where he meets the son of a missionary. One night while having dinner at the missionaries home, he hears stories of God's intervention in the lives of people in Africa...and his heart is runined for ministry. He goes to seminary, is commissioned to Africa, returns five years later, starts a church...on and on the reaction goes. I think you see the point. Relationships become catalysts for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. A few divine relationships can have a much greater impact on humanity than a dozen church outreaches.

Jesus figured he needed 12 relationships to transform the modern world of his time. Don, following in his father's example, saw every personal contact as the possible beggining of something eternal. Whether it would lead to planting a seed into an individual heart or a contact that would lead to a regional gathering, Don saw each friendship as the birthplace of a move of God. Heaven touching earth in the context of relationships. Jesus did the same: joining Zacheus for lunch, interacting with some fishermen from Galilee, or spending many hourse with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Each relationship had the potential for a divine intervention.

It is the same for us in our lives today. We overlook the importance of relationships, segregating God's intervention into our world from them. One mindset believes that God can be a part of a relationship. Don saw the relationship itself as the invitation for God to intervene. It was the means to the end. This doesn't mean that something is always going to happen, but if you know that God looks to work in relationships, then you perk up a bit...waiting for that divine nudge from the Spirit to discover God's hand in the friendship. I can only hope to see this truth worked into my life. I am not seeking to make friends as some sort of evangelistic agenda. Sometimes what God wants to do in that friendship is to teach me something. Every relationship contains the "elements" that will produce the "chemical reaction" God can use to advance His Kingdom in our lives and the lives of others. We need only be aware of this truth, and in turn watch and pray...that person you meet in the supermarket today may very well change your life for eternity. Are you listening?