Calling and Purpose

Walking on [Frozen] Water: Miracles in Maine (Rev. Richard Berry – 4/28/23 – NCS New Canaan)

April 28, 2023 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

When we first heard from Pastor Richard Berry in 2016, he shared miraculous stories of how God–or “Dad”, as he affectionately refers to Him–responded to the heartfelt and desperate cries of a small-town pastor wanting to provide a home for the homeless and food for the hungry in Skowhegan, Maine.

With tremendous humility, Berry explained how his eyes were opened and his heart changed toward the homeless. It was a message of hope. “Dad” is still in the miracle business when his children get on their knees and ask for help.

When he came back (via Zoom) in 2020, Richard shared more stories of hope, human dignity, miracles, joy and self-reflection from the Covid pandemic. By this time, he had published three books chronicling the miracles happening in Maine.

Richard has now written four books and the fifth is scheduled to be published in 2023. In his third visit, he described the extraordinary lengths to which “Dad” will go for one person. Richard explains how he thought he was dying, but it turned out to be an elaborate and amazing ruse from above in order to reach another person with the hope of Jesus.

Berry also describes how “Dad” opened his eyes to miraculous healing. He explains how, after 30 years as a cessationist preaching that God’s miracles stopped nearly two thousand years ago, God used him as an instrument to completely heal a person from cancer.

Why should you listen? For the same reasons you should listen to the earlier talks and might want to read his books: If you want to smile, if you need to laugh, if you are willing to cry, if you are lacking hope, if joy seems to be hiding, or especially if you are questioning your belief in God, Jesus or the role of his Church in our world today.

To contribute to Dad’s homeless shelter in Skowhegan, Maine, click HERE.

Riding the Creative Wave by Faith (Dennis Collins – 4/14/23 – NCS New Canaan)

April 14, 2023 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

Dennis Collins humbly shares the journey that brought him to the New Canaan Society over 20 years ago and then led to him becoming part of the worship band that played each Friday morning for many years.

Dennis also describes the upbringing that provided a rock-solid Christian foundation, how that foundation has helped him navigate the world of entertainment, and how he has tried to provide that foundation for his own children.

Although Dennis almost seems embarrassed when he hears someone list some of the legendary musicians with whom he has performed**, he talks about times when his career provided opportunities to winsomely share his faith and times when he had to gently but confidently defend his faith. He also vulnerably describes his commitment to do the right thing in God’s eyes and how it has required him to turn down certain assignments.

Collins emphasizes the importance of Christians continuing to study and grow in their faith and suggests some of his favorite books and passages of the Bible. He also explains why it is important for our work to be integrated with our faith.

In an extended 15-minute Q&A, Dennis discusses, among many other things, how he has been intentional about drawing boundaries in order to remain connected with his wife and children despite a career in the music and entertainment industry.

**He has recorded and performed with such artists as: Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Bonne Raitt, Steely Dan, Alicia Keys, Jackson Brown, Jon Batiste, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Billy Joel, Sting, Ralph MacDonald, Jimmy Buffet, Willie Nelson, Carly Simon, Patti LaBelle, Bette Midler, David Bowie, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Jewel, Nelly, Ja Rule, Clay Aiken, The Blue Man Group, Lauryn Hill, Moby, Angelique Kidjo, Al Jarreau, Serge Gainsbourg, Patti Austin, Donald Fagen and many others.

Against All Odds: Casting Your Nets (Eric Torres – 3/17/23 – NCS New Canaan)

March 17, 2023 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

With great transparency, Eric Torres shares the broken childhood that equipped him to love broken kids, and the words of life spoken into him that have allowed him to speak words of life into so many young people.

Eric vulnerably describes a challenging childhood growing up in Bridgeport with a father who was an addict and a drug dealer. He tells about the lies–the words of death–spoken into him and how he began to internalize them and believe he had no future other than to drop out of high school and follow in his father’s footsteps. He believed he had no hope, no purpose and no destiny.

Eric then explains how, on his 16th birthday, his life was set on a new trajectory. He was invited to church, and a woman took him out for pizza and a pitcher of water. He describes how she affirmed him and spoke words of life. Torres reveals that he came to know Jesus that day through the relational acts of that woman. She invested in him and gave him a hope, a purpose and a destiny.

Eric tells how he went on to graduate from high school, get a bachelors and a masters degree, teach for 18 years in the Bridgeport schools and spend two years as a principal.

Torres then talks about how his life took another turn at 40 years old when his kidneys failed. Within a year, God miraculously provided a transplant and a new job as Executive Director of Elevate Bridgeport.

With tremendous humility, Eric describes how, though Elevate, he is able to show Jesus to young people by speaking life, hope and purpose, changing the trajectory of their lives just as words of life and the love of Jesus changed his. In describing the four-part Elevate model of character building and life skills, full-time mentors, adventures, and college and career preparation, Eric shares that the Elevate motto is “No one gets there alone.”

In closing, Eric challenges us to recognize we were made “for such a time as this” and to hear Jesus’ call to cast our nets on the right side of the boat to see what He has waiting for us.

Going from Mess to Mission (Nick Agneto – 2/17/23 – NCS New Canaan)

February 17, 2023 by NCS New Canaan 1 Comment

With extraordinary humility and vulnerability (and his father in attendance), Nick Agneto shares the amazing journey from “mess to mission” that was prophesied when he was just a boy.

Nick describes a typical childhood in a dutifully religious and loving family followed by an adolescence searching for love and intimacy in all the wrong places. He talks, in “spoken word” poetic style and with remarkable transparency, about the “mess”–a tale of women and nightclubs fueled by a cornucopia of drugs that left a trail of brokenness.

Agneto recalls learning about the awakening of his father’s faith and the way he quietly pursued God, all the while modeling a new way of being for his family. Nick shares the anger he felt toward God in the middle of the “mess” as he searched for intimacy and God pursued him.

Nick also tells the amazing story of his miraculous and instantaneous healing at the hands of a visiting preacher through the power of the Holy Spirit. It was a healing that transformed his life, launching him toward the life of “mission” prophesied by a Catholic priest when Nick was an altar boy. Nick explains that he made a decision that day to follow Jesus whole-heartedly.

Nick challenges us to take the step he finally took–to choose intimacy with Jesus, to choose healing, to choose new life, to choose to know His love so that we can love others, to say “I want you, Lord!”. He challenges us to listen for God, to hear what He has for our lives, and to “be about our Father’s business”. He challenges us to share the story of the cross and how it has changed our stories. He challenges us as NCS brudders to “show up” for each other.

A Tale of Tragedy, Triumph and Changed Lives (Tom Mallon – 1/20/23 – NCS New Canaan)

January 20, 2023 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

Tom Mallon humbly shares the incredible journey that took him from growing up in southern Ohio (a la “Hillbilly Elegy”) as one of seven children with nine people living in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home to building and selling his company in an innovative way that changed the lives of his employees.

Tom describes a turning point in his faith when he asked God what it meant to be “saved”, and God vividly revealed situations in which He had provided for Tom supernaturally. From that revelation, he knew God loved him and that he was “saved”.

Tom recounts his career path from working in the local glass factory, to selling books door-to-door for seven summers (including as a Harvard Business School graduate without a job), to 11 years in commercial real estate, to watching his first business venture fail due to a bad partnership, to starting the business that he would eventually build, sell to an ESOP and then sell to a Catholic health system, resulting in the lives of his employees being profoundly changed (13 employees becoming millionaires, 3 more receiving $900,000 and even the lowest-paid employees walking away with $400-500,000).

Tom vulnerably shares how God used a triple-tragedy (death of his first business dream, death of his father, and a health challenge) to “roto-rooter” his soul in preparation for his second business venture.

He describes the growth of his second venture and the drawn-out sale process that took the business through two letters of intent before the Holy Spirit convicted him to pursue an ESOP sale by asking “what is the best business decision you can make for your company’s future that will increase the ministry and mission of the business?” Tom also shares how the faithful culture of the business grew after the ESOP sale.

Finally, Tom explains the lessons he learned about the importance of “aligned capital” and how those lessons led to the formation of his current venture, Perpetuate Capital.

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