TheTruthTree.com is a free resource website developed and published by the MetroSoul Urban Outreach Team.  It is oriented towards people who are seriously seeking spiritual growth in their lives.  Admittedly, we're Christians and we believe the Christian faith works, but we're open and committed to helping all people journey on their quest for God regardless of whether they are seekers, believers, non-believers, or skeptics.

Our materials are developed by members and associates of the MetroSoul Urban Outreach Team.  These members are believers who have discovered certain aspects of spiritual growth in their lives.  While each of us still have our respective weaknesses and limits, together we hope to present complete and comprehensive resources for others to use on their journey.

If you have questions or comments about TheTruthTree.com, please feel free to contact Team Developer Ben Cheek at ben@thetruthtree.com.   

What is TheTruthTree.com All About?

God knows and cares about your life story. Every moment from your birth until now, painful or happy, special or common, good or bad — he has witnessed them all. He accepts you just as you are. He has a plan for you— just for you. His purpose for you is custom tailored to fit your experience, background, and personality.

This is the central concept of TheTruthTree.com.  Picture a large tree in your mind. Although there are millions of leaves on this tree, no two leaves are exactly alike. In the same way, no two people are the same: you are unique. True, you may be similar to others in your physical appearance, background, speech, or personality, but no one is an exact copy of you.

In your mind, pick one of the leaves on the tree to be you. If you look around you, there are other leaves, some very close to you and some far away. All the leaves are connected to twigs which merge to form branches. The branches connect to form larger branches, which all come together in the tree trunk. The leaves on your twig are the people who see things as you do, who talk and act very much like you. Even those people on twigs close by are very similar to you. However, the farther away a leaf is from you, the more different it is—many of them are on other branches all together. All the branches, and all the twigs and leaves through them, are connected together at one common point: the trunk.

The trunk of the tree symbolizes the truth and God. The trunk is the support and source of life for the rest of the tree. In the same way, God is the support and source of life for everyone—the center of all reality. Although each person connects with this life-source in slightly different ways, he is still the center of everything for everyone. Now, depending on its position, each leaf on the tree sees the trunk differently. In the same way, there is one truth and one God, but there are endless viewpoints depending on the life position of each person.

Our Core Values

• To communicate concepts and deliver resources that promote spiritual growth, based on the teachings and practices of Jesus.
• To be in continuous dialogue with contemporary culture, answering questions and addressing issues of concern today with timeless truths translated into concepts and language for people of today.
• To provide balanced views and complete information where ever possible to promote deep faith and full personal ownership.
• To promote the growth of simple faith-based communities and groups that share life and support each other.
• To provide all our resources and services free of charge as a symbol of God's grace to humankind.

Our Promises to You

• We will at no point solicit funds or ask for donations for our services.  All that we provide through our website is given free of charge.
• Spiritual growth requires deep and often difficult faith decisions.  Therefore, we attempt to never manipulate information or give only one side of the story.  We want people to grow based on real truth they have gained for themselves and fast talk, slanted views, and propaganda are counter-productive.  We recognize, however, that our cultures and faith give us certain biases.
• It is not our place to judge.  Everyone must be honest with themselves in the spiritual growth process, and while we may bring concerns to light, it is not our role to make comparisons or cursory judgments.  Therefore, come as you are.  Only God has the right to judge and he will help us all over come our weakness.
• You are a human, and therefore of extreme value to God.  Therefore we endeavor to treat you with respect and tolerance.

Where We're Coming From

Like everyone, we have roots which effect who we are today.  TheTruthTree.com is developed primarily by individuals who share a common heritage in the American Restoration Movement.  The key founders of this movement, Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, believed in being "Christians only, but not the only Christians."  They left combative and competitive denominationalism to be Christians defined only by their identification with Jesus, unified by simplifying faith to that one core value (read an article about these founders).

This movement has grown over the past century-and-a-half to include tens of thousands of non-denominational self-governing churches spread across the world.  Today, the two most prolific branches of the Restoration are the Independent Christian Church and the Churches of Christ.  Most of the writers for TheTruthTree.com come from the Churches of Christ tradition.

Most of us currently live and work in the New York Metro Area.  We participate in starting new churches in the metro area through simple non-denominational self-sufficient groups.  We are interested in working with the highly diverse and often post-modern populations in which we live, and helping them develop grass-roots communities of faith.

TheTruthTree.com is a project of the MetroSoul Urban Outreach Team.  MetroSoul believes in providing quality, free resources for spiritual growth to people from all kinds of backgrounds at all stages of their spiritual journey.  This is just one of the ways MetroSoul is accomplishing its mission to help develop grass-roots faith communities, especially in the New York Metro Area.  For more information, visit the MetroSoul Website.

The Exploring You Worldview Survey is a resource based on "TheTruthTree" concept.  The Exploring You Worldview Survey asks you to complete 20 simple statements to discover the basis of why you think and act the way you do and God's unique plan for you.