Although he generally hates talking about himself or his past, Terry Wilcox humbly and transparently shares the amazing journey of his life with Jesus. Terry explains the decisions that set the course for his life–accepting Jesus, surrendering his life to the Holy Spirit and telling God he would embrace any opportunity God provided to talk about Him–and he reveals the incredible adventures that were in God’s plan for a “farm boy from Western Pennsylvania who barely got through college”. Terry also shares the conclusions of a life lived fully with Jesus–God is faithful and His grace is sufficient.
“Keepin’ It Real” (Brian Brooks – 6/7/19 – NCS New Canaan)
An Amazing Journey from Death to Life (Richard Williams – 5/24/19 – NCS New Canaan)
With great humility and vulnerability, Richard Williams shares his amazing journey “from selfishness to servanthood . . . from death to life”. After talking about growing up in a loving home of 13 children with a mother who cared for everyone and a father who learned to read at 54, Williams explains how the desire to “succeed” and “fit in” as a college graduate in a professional career led him to years of drug addiction that eventually destroyed his “successful life” and even his relationships with his family.
He then tells us about the amazing journey back to “life” that began when he arrived at Pivot Ministries in Bridgeport, CT. Richard transparently shares his 12-year transformation from a new Pivot student whose life was “all about me” to the Executive Director of the ministry–a position that is “all about the well-being of others”.
A Musical Path to Spaceless Embrace (Dan Haseltine – 4/26/19 – NCS New Canaan)
Dan Haseltine tells us that a songwriter’s job is to describe the world as it is and as it it could be, and he presents his vision of both.
Starting with a painfully vulnerable description of his childhood, Haseltine explains how a dysfunctional and volatile family life pushed him to music, and how music led him to mission. He transparently shares the generational brokenness that resulted in him growing up without access to a father, and then reveals how watching the Live Aid concert in 1985 transformed his understanding of rock and roll and permanently fused in his mind “music” and “mission”.
After describing the unlikely genesis of Jars of Clay at a small college in southern Illinois, Haseltine explains how the band was led to use its platform of musical success to embrace mission by starting the charity Blood:Water.
In telling this story, Haseltine reveals two lessons he has learned about humanity. First, that human beings often try to control or destroy things we do not understand, and second, that we long for “spaceless embrace” with each other but continually drive wedges between ourselves. Haseltine then offers his vision of the world “as it could be”.
Now What Do I Do? (John Rowland – 2/8/18 – NCS New Canaan)
With the humility of a man who has been broken, the authenticity and faith of a man who has been re-made, and the charm and wit of a man who was the first Connecticut governor to be elected to three terms since 1784, John Rowland shares the journey that led him to work for Prison Fellowship Ministries.
Rowland explains how life’s crises, including his two experiences with incarceration and the loss of a child to an opioid overdose, led him to consider the words of Chuck Colson, “God has to break us to re-make us.” Rowland found himself reflecting on what he had done with the hardships and what God’s purpose and plan was for him–asking, “Now what do I do?”. Rowland also shares the moment when, facing the prospect of returning to prison, he felt hopeless and how one simple sentence from his daughters made all the difference.
Finally, Rowland tells about his realization in prison that he had many blessings waiting for him when he returned home–a family, finances, friends, a home–and that many of his fellow inmates had none of these. Rowland shares about his commitment to do something about their situation and how he trusted God to steer him in the right direction after he was released. God steered him to Prison Fellowship.
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