During the unsettling and uncertain time of this Covid-19 crisis, Dudley Hall shares where we can confidently find hope.
Seeking God’s Will in the Big and Small (Dean Harrington – 2/21/20 – NCS New Canaan)
While many people seek God to discern His “purpose” for their lives, Dean Harrington believes God is real and alive and wants to be even more involved in our day-to-day journey. Dean humbly and transparently shares two amazing stories–one involving his business and one involving his personal life–to illustrate that God wants to talk to us about all our decisions–big and small.
First, Dean shares a business story in which God intervened to save his business by blocking an expensive transaction. Although at the time Dean did not understand the impediment, God made clear to him in prayer that he was not to proceed. Within months the business experienced an unexpected and substantial contraction that would have killed it had the transaction gone through. After surrendering his business to God, Dean watched it go through a complete transformation as he humbly sought guidance for each decision.
Second, Dean shares a very personal story that he had never told publicly before speaking to the New Canaan Society. God pursued Dean relentlessly for many months to remove an idol from his life. Dean very humbly describes how he tried to evade God’s will, and how God kept speaking to him more clearly and loudly until he finally surrendered.
Finally, Dean shares the “abiding” process he uses daily to humble himself before God, ask specific questions and listen for the guidance of his loving Father.
Click this PDF link to download a copy of the “Abiding in the Word” document Dean made available. Abiding in the Word
Don’t Be Afraid of the Crazy Things God Asks (Brian Jones – 2/7/20 – NCS New Canaan)
Brian Jones shares, with great vulnerability, the incredible life journey he and his family have been on by listening to God’s stirring and then having the courage to take a leap of faith and say “YES”. He tells how this journey has taken him: from thinking he would go to seminary and pursue being a pastor to a highly successful career in finance; from a finance career on Wall Street to a stint as the executive director of a church in Dallas; and from having a few children to having five and then adopting a sixth–and then moving back to a Manhattan apartment (with five children still home).
Jones also shares some of the lessons he has learned along the journey, including about marriage, raising children and being a good steward of God’s gifts. He urges us, at those times when you “can’t say no” but you “could say no” to God’s stirring, to be bold and willing to take major risks. Jones explains that, in his experience, it is not about God asking for a 20-year or 10-year or 5-year plan–it is about following Him and being faithful in the next “yes”.
My Journey to the “Why” of Work: Understanding the Intersection of Faith and Work (Paul Michalski – 1/24/20 – NCS New Canaan)
Paul Michalski shares the seven stages of his 50-year journey in understanding the intersection of faith and work–understanding the “Why” of work. From Stage 1 of “Shallow Faith Plus Dreams” (knowing at 8 years old that he wanted to be a lawyer and being unable at 13 to reconcile the prophetic utterance by a Catholic bishop that he would “be a priest one day”) to Stage 7 of “Living My Why” through a new venture called Integrous that provides integrity advice and legal counsel to leaders serious about faith/work integration. In between, he describes stages called “Living My Dream”, “Hit by a Sledge Hammer”, “Clueless”, “Into the Wilderness” and “Bringing Faith and Work Together”.
Paul explains how it took a crisis in his marriage 2003 to awaken his faith and an Abrahamic moment in 2009 to begin a 10-year wilderness journey that including exploring identity and the intersection of faith and work.
Paul describes how he came to his personal mission (“to redeem work through the impartation of wisdom, spotlighting God’s truth and connecting its meaning to organizational cultures and practices”) and how that led to the mission of Integrous and development of the concept of “Integriosity”®. He also explains what he believes to be the three divine purposes of work and business (Humanize People, Beautify the World and Glorify God), the four steps in the process of Integriosity (Renew, Re-Imagine, Re-Align and Restore) and the four key “mind shifts” necessary for true faith/work integration.
Paul ends by sharing 18 lessons he has learned along the journey.
Click THIS LINK to subscribe to the Integriosity Blog and learn more about Integriosity®
Click the link below for a PDF of Paul’s slide presentation
Click the link below for a PDF of the chapter “God and Marriage” from the book Miracles by Eric Metaxas.
http://assets.newcanaansociety.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2018/04/22175510/GOD-AND-MARRIAGE.pdf
Stewarding Hardship: “Shut Up and Listen” (Mark Herzlich – 1/10/20 – NCS New Canaan)
We all go through hardship–but how do we steward the “gift” of that hardship to bless other lives? After a touching introduction by Rob Brinkman (with an amazing story of how God used Mark Herzlich in Rob’s life, unbeknownst to Mark), Mark recounts with tremendous humility and transparency (and a wonderful dose of NCS humor) the journey that took him from hearing he would never play football again to winning a Super Bowl ring. Herzlich also shares how he first met his wife, and the extraordinary way she helped him realize his true manhood, which wasn’t on a football field.
Mark also explains how he and his wife made a conscious choice to use the platform God has given them–“Super Bowl Champion”–to make a difference in marriages, in how men treat women and in how people face challenges. In partnership with his wife, Mark Herzlich is stewarding well the gifts of extraordinary blessing and extraordinary hardship that God has allowed in their lives. It is a story worth hearing–so be like Job (and Mark) and “shut up and listen”. Job 40:5 (MSG).
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