NCS New Canaan

Founding Chapter

Losing Your Mind for God: A Full-Circle Journey to Radio (Steve Lee – 9/22/23 – NCS New Canaan)

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Steve Lee vulnerably shares the amazing faith journey that led to starting Veritas Catholic Network, including the time his wife asked “Have you lost your mind?!”

He talks about his childhood in New Canaan, CT and the impact of growing up in a Christian home watching parents who served others generously but quietly.

Lee explains the years spent as a missionary after college, travelling the United States and the world sharing the Gospel door to door, and how he decided to make the dramatic shift from missionary evangelism to pursuing business school and a Wall Street career.

Steve transparently shares the tensions he felt and some of the difficult situations he faced as a Christian in a Wall Street trading floor environment. He also talks about how it was a period of sharing his faith through actions more than words.

Lee then describes the extraordinary series of events through which God seemed to bring him full-circle back to the evangelistic roots of his youth. They were the incredible steps that led him to make a second dramatic shift from working at a top Wall Street research firm to starting a non-profit Catholic radio station in the NYC area. Steve vulnerably shares how his wife went from wondering if he had lost his mind to being the one to encourage him to step out in faith.

Steve then reminds us of the importance of being prepared to explain and share our Christian faith and the source of our hope–being willing and able courageously to speak up about the reality of Jesus and the truth of the Gospels, always trusting that God is with us. He reminds us that we can all point to Jesus and trust the Holy Spirit to guide us through the next steps.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Running the Good Race (Reginald Jones III – 12/16/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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With incredible humility and authenticity, Reginald “Regg” Jones III shares a unique and fascinating faith, family and life journey that had its faith roots at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Darien, site of an incredible spiritual revival documented in the book The Miracle in Darien by Bob Slosser.

Regg describes growing up with a father who decided to change the trajectory of his family by making time with his children a priority and how Regg came to face the same challenge with his own family. He explains the four “family values” that shaped much of his educational and professional journey and how he came to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord at the tender age of 11.

Jones talks about how his faith grew through the mentorship of others, the struggle he experienced after college in deciding between pursuing a path in “ministry” or “business”, how those mentors helped him choose business, and how he later came to understand that his choice was based on a false dichotomy, learning that both paths constituted “ministry”.

Regg describes his professional path through top firms such as Pepsico, Apple, Bain and Goldman Sachs, and the lessons they taught him about organizational culture. He explains how he learned to carry and share his faith in those environments and how all those lessons about culture and faith eventually helped shape the vision and culture of Greenbriar, the private equity firm he founded in his 30’s.

Regg explains the four pillars of Greenbriar’s unique culture that was born from a vision to take the best of the corporate cultures he had experienced and shape them by his faith, and he describes why he believes “love wins” even in the marketplace.

With remarkable vulnerability, Jones talks about how he navigated the challenges along the way and how God showed up with “kisses from Heaven” to encourage and guide him at just the right times. He describes challenges such as balancing a demanding career with family life, starting a new business in the midst of 9/11, and walking the “thin green line” between success and failure, always trusting in God’s providence.

Finally, Regg explains the vision that inspired his involvement in the founding of Trinity Church Greenwich.

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

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