St. Paul's Blog Archive for Oct. 1, 2008
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Christian Counseling Resources
We are excited to announce that we will have three Christian counselors from two different counseling centers setting up satellite offices at St. Paul's! This will be a great ...
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Retreat Reflections
I had the privilege of being the speaker on a retreat for high school students yesterday up in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. It is an unbelievably beautiful time of year ... -
Blue Skies Are Coming!
Much of this week I have been working with the team from Visioneering Studios to get ready for our 4-day "charrette" process that starts Sunday.
A charrette refers to any ...
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Together, We Can
Just a reminder that we continue to collect food for the MACC Food Pantry. The focus this week is on canned vegetables. Next week (10/12/08) we will be ...
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75!
We have given away 75 New Believer Tool Kits in the past 10 months. I think that is very cool!!!!
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Candidate Charitable Giving
As a follower of Christ, I believe giving a tithe (10% of my income) to God's work is the minimum starting point God asks for. I know a lot ...
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Tasting Notes: Pre-Wedding Meals
My younger brother is getting married October 12 on Martha's Vineyard. It should be a great long weekend. I will be heading out to the Island on Thursday and ...
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Scouting the Land
This afternoon between services I headed over to campus with three members of the Visioneering team--Andrew, Bob, and Bruce. Fun looking at the architecture on campus. We then headed over ...
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Together, We Can
Thank you St. Paul's. As a result of your generosity, 231 food items are on their way to the shelves of the MACC Food Pantry. Our focus next week ...
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Reactions to Monday's Blue Sky Workshop
I thought last night's Blue Sky session was amazing. Over 40 of us gathered together to dream and share and it really was one of the most encouraging things ...
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Defining Our DNA...
At least according to last night's Blue Sky Workshop, some of the things that characterize us as a church include:
- A serious passion for and commitment to people far ...
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What Happens Tonight
Tonight is the second half of the Blue Sky Workshop with the team from Visioneering Studios.
Sunday, the team worshiped with us at all four services and spent time talking ...
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Voter Guides?
A friend of mine from seminary put together a Voting Guide Resource for his church that they are distributing. He wanted to know what I think.
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Hiking the Coventry Property
Beth, Vince and I spent some time exploring the 60 acres at the Coventry property today. It is very cool!
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In the Moment
I am sitting in the chapel at St. Paul’s right now surrounded by 50 or so people. The visioneering team from California is presenting the concepts that they have ...
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Blue Sky Quick Takes
I wish I had time to write a lot about the whole Blue Sky process with Visioneering Studios as well as about my reactions to the master plan presentation tonight ... -
Mission: New Orleans
Just a reminder to those interested in joining us on Mission to New Orleans beginning November 15th. The deadline for registration and payment ($75) is Wednesday, 10/15. If you ...
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Vineyard Bound
I am headed to Martha's Vineyard today and will be there through Monday. My younger brother is getting married Sunday. Today I will be with family for Yom Kippur ...
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Best Sex Ever!
This Sunday we kick-off a new series called THE BEST SEX EVER, a study in Song of Songs. Vince will be teaching this 3-week series and I promise you it ... -
Blue Sky Next Steps
Some people are asking what the NEXT STEPS are in terms of both the Storrs and Coventry properties are... here are a few:
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KEEP PRAYING!!!!
This really is the ...
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KEEP PRAYING!!!!
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Together, We Can
Just a reminder that this week (10/12) our focus is on Pasta and Sauce. Next week (10/19) we will focus on Soups. Thanks for supporting this effort.
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Together, We Can
Thank you. We gathered 117 food items this weekend for the MACC Food Pantry. Next week we will focus on Jelly, Mayonaise and Soups.
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Scriptures on Good Sex!
In yesterday's message we said that Sex is Good and Sex is Godly. Or a more fun way of saying it is Thank God for Sex and Sexiness is ...
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Not An Allegory!
In Sunday's message we said that the Song of Songs was not an allegory. In this post, I'll give some reasons why.
First, from a literary perspective, the ...
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Alternatives?
In Sunday's message we talked about God's sexual ethics. Sexual activity, sexual fulfillment is to be expressed in heterosexual marriage. God's ethic is both pro-sex and it ...
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Not What, Who
Sometimes people wonder what sexual activities are allowed in the context of heterosexual marriage. But the Bible does not give us lists of approved sexual activities. The question the Bible ...
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God Moments in my Office
Today a woman walked into my office with her cash tithe. That is not so unusual. What is unusual is that she is currently homeless. It is a long story ...
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The Least of These...
"What you have done for the least of these,
you have done for me..."
- Matthew 25:40Three things that are really exciting me these days at St. Paul's ...
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Group Life Conference Today!
We are a host site for the Willow Creek Association Group Life Conference this year and I am very excited about the line-up. We will be joining folks from all ... -
group Life Conference Underway
The satellite version of the Willow Creek Association Group Life conference is underway. We are a host site here at St. Paul's. Small crowd but great energy.
I've ...
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GLC - Session 1
Session 1 – John Burke So I have been typing notes for posting this whole time and I just lost them errrrgggg. Ok so lets see if I can remember it ...
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GLC - Session 2
Session 2 – Mindy Caliquire
“Your souls health drives everything that matters to you in your life”
That’s powerful and so truth. WOW. If my spiritual health is bad my ...
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GLC - Session 3
Session 3 – Will Miller
“What stunts community growth”
Will’s Answer: The culture.
America leads the world in Stress related disorders. 46 Million Americans move and the year average is ...
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GLC - Sat Morning
Sat Morning: The conference started off with a great worship time with some solid leaders from Willow Creek that we very similar to our leaders here at St. Paul’s ...
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GLC - Session 4
Session 4: Bill Donahue
Bill started off with a funny story about having a car problem. Life happens he says. We often don’t see it coming and we end ...
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GLC - Postings
I have to run off to work so I am handing off to Maurice Nelson to post notes for the remainder of the conference. I will be commenting later and ...
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GLC-Session 5
Russ Robinson-Session 5
Though I missed part of this session because I was out setting up our great lunch from Rein’s Deli, Russ Robinson provided practical advice on leading ...
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GLC- Session 6
Mark Batterson & Heather Zempel-Session 6
Topic: Where Community Grows Best
“God will not grow our church beyond our ability to disciple people.” –Mark Batterson
Mark is the lead pastor of ...
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GLC - Session 7
Miles McPherson Session #7
Topic: How Community Transform
He is the Senior Pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, CA. He started off by telling a story from the ...
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Volunteer for Imagine Christmas
We are already well into our planning for IMAGINE CHRISTMAS this year. We will be doing 6 SERVICES over 3 NIGHTS the weekend before Christmas and we AS MANY VOLUNTEERS as we can get! Click below to volunteer:
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Together, We Can
Thank you St. Paul's - 111 food items collected this week for the MACC Food Pantry.
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Amnesty For All
On Sunday I shared that I generally hug family and people I date and am uncomfortable with other hugs. This was met with a large response of people apologizing for ...
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A Retraction
On Sunday I said that many Christian counselors say that 2 to 3 times a week is a reasonable expectation for Christian couples to be physically intimate. Upon further consideration ...
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Who's the Man?
In Sunday’s message we said the man in the Song is undefined. But many identify the man as Solomon. In this post we’ll discuss Solomon’s role in ...
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Too Much Praise?
In Sunday’s message we said: Praise you spouse. But is there such a thing as too much praise? I doubt it. In this post we’ll discuss arrogant people ...
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More on Sex Frequency
Sometimes, for the sake of time, you have to cut illustrations. Sadly, I had to cut this one. It is a true story. (Women find it believable, men not so ...
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Weekend Flashback
We had a pretty full weekend here at St. Paul's. Here are some highlights:
- We hosted the satellite Willow Creek Association Small Groups Conference on Friday and Saturday. The ...
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Register to Vote! Seriously!!
Anyone who hangs out at St. Paul's very long knows that we don't talk about politics (directly) very often and never in an official capacity.
That said, I ...
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Advice Needed: How Would You Respond?
We get a lot of unsolicited emails at the church office and through the website. Most are looking for basic information, offering feedback, looking for a referral, etc. The vast ...
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One Year Later: 40 Days of Purpose
Last October we launched our first 40 Days of Purpose Spiritual Growth Campaign, and it was amazing. We heard tons of stories of people meeting Christ, getting connected, experiencing healing ...
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Maybe he is a Muslim after all...
I will make no official political endorsements one way or the other on this blog, but suffice it to say Barack Obama is not a Muslim.
Yet everyday I get ...
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Believe it or not...
...volunteers have already started construction on the stage for our Christmas services this year.We will be doing 6 services the weekend before Christmas and there has already been a ...
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Debt Destruction
Imagine what the people of God, could do for the Kingdom of God, if they were DEBT FREE??I just had to share about the small group that I am ...
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Special Worship Night Coming Up!
What is worship? In our lives as Christians... what is the significance of raising hands, closing eyes, and singing songs? When was the last time you left a church service ...
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Our Strategy as a church during the Economic Uncertainty
As a nation we are facing serious financial uncertainty. Even the "experts" will tell you that they don't know what is going to happen or when. Have we hit ...
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Are You Settling for Crumbs?
This is a great word from Perry Noble that really applies to Vince's message today. Check it out, especially if you are a single woman! Guys, you have to watch this too!
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Books & Resources for "Best Sex Ever" Series
If today's message (and really this whole series) impacted you, here are some resources you might want to consider...
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Thoughts on Homosexuality
Tonight at the 6PM service, during our discussion and "talk back" portion, I made a promise that (1) we will do a full sermonic treatment of the homosexuality issue soon ...
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Together, We Can
Thank you again, St. Paul's. Sunday, we collected 106 food items to be given to the Food Pantry at MACC.
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Change Your Diet
Last night during the Q & A at the six someone asked how do we keep our sexuality asleep in a sex-saturated culture? Good question. I’d say watch what you ...
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Students of Virginity
There was an interesting article in the New York Times magazine last spring on chastity groups on campuses. The participants in these groups are not necessarily motivated by religious reasons ...
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Perry Noble's Advice to Single Guys
Watch and let me know what you think... both guys and women.
Beautiful_02- Single Guys Outtake from NewSpring Media on Vimeo. -
What's Repentance?
What's repentance? The Bible uses the term a lot. What does it mean? In this post we'll look at 5 things repentance means. I got this from Mark ...
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Conviction vs Accusation
What's the difference between the conviction the Holy Spirit brings and the accusation the devil brings? Good question. In this post we'll distinguish the two, because sometimes it ...
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Sexual Addictions
In our Best Sex Ever series we did not address the issue of sexual addictions and other serious sexual problems. That's because Song of Songs is a positive, pro-sex ...
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Worth Repeating
On Sunday we concluded the message with Jesus' words to the woman caught in adultery: Has no one condemned you? Than neither do I, go and leave your life of ...
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Weekend Flashback
Even though it is Wednesday, some WEEKEND FLASHBACKS:
I thought this was an excellent weekend at St. Paul's!
We wrapped up our 3-week series "The Best Sex Ever". I ...
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Grill the Christian
I participated in the event "Grill the Christian" last night at UCONN. It was sponsored by Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). There were three of us on the panel -- myself, a ...
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About Visioneering Studios & Blue Sky Process
A few weeks ago, Mel McGowan and the team from Visioneering Studios was with us for the "Blue Sky" master planning process as we look at both our current property and the 60-acre property in Coventry. In a few weeks we will have the available on the website and I will also have an update for you on the 150 DAY CHALLENGE and what our NEXT STEPS will be.
Since many of you were unable to be here for the BLUE SKY meetings, I thought I would post this YouTube video of Mel McGowan talking about their approach. It was prepared for another church, but is still helpful for us. Enjoy and post comments!
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Speaking of Grace...
There has been a lot of talk about grace (and accusations of lacking grace) on the blog this week... so I offer you Brennan Manning on grace. I am thankful ...
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Cheap vs. Costly Grace
"Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner… Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Here is Bonhoeffer's more extensive writing in cheap vs. costly grace...
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Red Sex, Blue Sex
Here is a revealing article in The New Yorker about religious beliefs, attitudes towards sexuality and sexual behavior among teenagers. Take ...
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