Father-Son

Don’t Be Afraid of the Crazy Things God Asks (Brian Jones – 2/7/20 – NCS New Canaan)

February 7, 2020 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

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”.

Live to Forgive Through Empathy (Jason Romano – 11/22/19 – NCS New Canaan)

November 22, 2019 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

With tremendous transparency and authenticity, Jason Romano shares the painful story of estrangement from his father. He takes us on a journey from childhood to the depths of hurt, resentment, unforgiveness and bondage, and then explains how that journey finally took a God-orchestrated turn toward forgiveness, freedom and healing. Romano also reflects on the rampant unforgiveness in our society and the damage it is doing.

In recounting the journey, Romano admits how difficult it is to truly forgive as Jesus forgives us. He vulnerably shares how for many years he responded to hurt by hurting back from a place of bitterness and anger. He finally came to understand that forgiveness is not about the other person–it is about you. But most importantly, he came to understand that the key to forgiveness is empathy–what Romano now calls “the antidote to life”. Romano shares that being able to finally have empathy for, and forgive, his father, started him on a life of forgiveness.

A Call to Virtuous Masculinity (Fr. Louis Leonelli – 11/8/19 – NCS New Canaan)

November 8, 2019 by NCS New Canaan 1 Comment

Father Louis Leonelli starts by sharing a bit of his life story, including his radical and miraculous conversion from a successful Wall Street businessman pursuing wealth, woman and a music career to a humble Franciscan friar serving the homeless in the South Bronx.

Father Louis then examines “masculinity”–real “toxic” masculinity, the normal masculinity that our politically correct culture has deceptively labeled “toxic”, and finally, the “virtuous” masculinity we are called to pursue as followers of Jesus. In exploring virtuous masculinity, he explains and stresses the virtues of temperance, sacrifice and humility. Father Louis ends by sharing what he believes to be the three most important priorities in the pursuit of virtuous masculinity: (1) develop and nurture a relationship with God, (2) develop and nurture relationships with the small circle of people whom we love and who love us and (3) in whatever our stations or callings in life, strive to be the very best version of ourself we can be, all to the glory of God.

A Musical Path to Spaceless Embrace (Dan Haseltine – 4/26/19 – NCS New Canaan)

April 26, 2019 by NCS New Canaan Leave a Comment

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”.

Just Anudder Brudder? (Paul Plouffe – 1/11/19 – NCS New Canaan)

January 11, 2019 by NCS New Canaan 1 Comment

Paul Plouffe shares, with extraordinary transparency and authenticity, the story of his life in three stages he calls “Building the Box”, “Maintaining the Box” and “Dismantling the Box in Christ”. In “Building the Box”, Paul explains how he created an identity in a family environment that included a father and an uncle who were boxers. He shows how our identity is a reflection of what we see in those closest to us–parents, relatives, friends, community. We select or de-select features that we want to emulate or avoid as we create a “me”. Plouffe then explains how he struggled to “maintain the Box” through life in the face of tension, opposition and new challenges. Finally, he shares how he has been exchanging his identity, piece by piece, at the Cross for a new identity–an eternal identity in which each of us is “just anudder brudder”.

Below is the Plouffe Family Mission mentioned in Paul’s talk as well as a link to a document he shared about Christian meditation.

Plouffe-Christian-Meditation

Stay Connected