NCS New Canaan

Founding Chapter

Listen, Leap and Let God Be God (Kevin O’Bryan – 4/1/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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With NCS humor, humility and honesty, Kevin O’Bryan shares the incredible journey that led him to walk away from a successful career in architecture and project management in order to partner with his wife, Maria, in a new film and TV venture they call First Fruits Entertainment. He reveals how he has learned (through trial and error) to listen to God, take leaps of faith and then let God be God.

O’Bryan humbly shares a circuitous journey that revealed to him the truth and power of Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Kevin describes how the idea for their first film, Blue Jacket, came to him before he went to college when he was acting on the TV show “Buffy and the Vampire Slayer”. O’Bryan then shares how his life took many twists and turns before that idea resurfaced years later.

He explains how his life began to change in dramatic ways when he heard the voice of God and decided to follow it. Most dramatically, in college God gave him the plan and promise that would follow him to this day: If he took a leap of faith and moved to NYC and started a career in the arts (abandoning his planned career as an architect), God would take him on an incredible journey, he would meet his wife, and his family would join him in his new-found faith.

With tremendous transparency, Kevin shares how every element of that plan and promise from God has unfolded. He talks about how he took a leap of faith and moved to NYC to pursue the arts, and he met Maria. He vulnerably recounts how worldly financial concerns and the feeling that he had to be the “provider” for his family led him to put that plan and promise aside for 18 years pursuing financial security through a successful architecture and project management career. He also reveals how, when the stress from that path became too much and he hit a wall, God lovingly showed him his disobedience, reminded him of the plan and promise, and then showed him what was possible if he listened for God’s voice, took a leap of faith and let God be God.

Kevin admits that when he shared with Maria that he wanted to quit his secure job and pursue First Fruits Entertainment with her, she replied “Finally.”

During Kevin’s talk, he showed a “sizzle” teaser for Blue Jacket. Although the audio of that teaser has been edited out of his talk, you can watch it below.

For more information on Blue Jacket (including how you can participate), visit the Blue Jacket website HERE

Seeking God’s Will in the Big and Small (Dean Harrington – 2/21/20 – NCS New Canaan)

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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

My Journey to the “Why” of Work: Understanding the Intersection of Faith and Work (Paul Michalski – 1/24/20 – NCS New Canaan)

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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

http://newcanaansociety.org/new-canaan/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2020/01/My-Journey-to-the-Why-of-Work-NCS-New-Canaan-1-24-20pdf.pdf

Click the link below for a PDF of the chapter “God and Marriage” from the book Miracles by Eric Metaxas.

http://newcanaansociety.org/new-canaan/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2018/04/GOD-AND-MARRIAGE.pdf

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

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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.

12 Ways To Make Work a Prayer

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As a senior partner in a global consulting firm and a deacon in the Catholic Church, Gauthier Vincent is uniquely positioned to contemplate the intersections and integration of faith and work. He shares 12 ways he has found to ground his work in his faith, and explains how he applies these practically on a daily basis in his own life.

  1. Embrace the purpose of your work (remember all the people whose welfare our work contributes to)
  2. Realize your freedom (just follow Christ)
    Ideas 1 and 2 are about growing in gratitude and in spiritual freedom
  3. Practice a life of virtues at work (even work becomes a good habit, i.e., virtue and a school of selflessness)
  4. Do it right and make it beautiful (beauty always leads to contemplation)
  5. Always be cheerful (joy calls on Joy)
  6. Live the Gospel literally whenever you can (as you take the last seat and sub-optimize your work, you trust in the Lord)
  7. Welcome Christ in everyone (look at the Christ image in all, from the CEO to the janitor)
    Ideas 3-7 are about living the right way, as a child of God
  8. Cultivate the Presence of God during the day (turn your heart to the Lord with ejaculatory prayers, sweet words, e.g., as your watch beeps every hour)
  9. Practice the Examen (reflect on your day and look for how the Lord touched you through consolations and desolations)
  10. Begin and end your day in a contemplative mood (begin with a time for Scripture and Silence and the Silent Presence will stay with you during the day)
  11. Let the cross transform you (above age 25 one learns essentially through failures and suffering; there the Lord comes closer)
  12. Love the world and everyone in it (if you don’t work with love you deprive your co-workers, family, clients, etc.. of the real value of your work, i.e., the love with which you work)
    Ideas 8-12 are about the mystical life at work, the life of union with the Beloved

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