|
|
|
Parks Society "Rocks" in Orlando
I made my first visit to NCS Orlando/The Parks Society last week--my wife Lisa and I were invited down to tell "our story" (must have been an off-week). Although Orlando was cold and overcast, the Parks Society meeting was warm and bright!
The Parks Society was one of the first NCS chapters--even before we thought of non-CT groups as "chapters". Dave Robinson and Michael Tremain have been gathering brudders in the Winter Park area of Orlando since a long time ago. They outgrew Michael's house a few years ago and, based on attendance last week, they are outgrowing their current home (standing room only, and I am confident it had nothing to do with the speakers).
Here are some of the highlights:
--Brudders "showing up"--at least 12 guys were there cheerfully setting the place up at 6:00 am
--Dunkin Donuts arrived on the back of a Harley (honest)
--Coffee that was "home roasted" by two of the brudders
--Terrific space that feels like a big home (it used to be a private home)
--Awesome and irreverantly funny worship band in true NCS style
--Tremendous energy and fellowship
In short, if you find yourself in Orlando on a Friday, be sure to see if the Parks Society is meeting, and if it is, get your butt over to Winter Park to visit--you will be blessed.
Posted by Paul Michalski on 2/10/2010 4:26:32 PM
“Showing Up” as a “Faithful Presence”
I attended a funeral service today for an NCS brudder, Ed Wheeler. I don’t like funerals, because they remind me that my days are numbered. I particularly dislike funerals of people who are not really old, because they remind me that my number is unpredictable. Ed was only 55. I am approaching 49. But Ed’s funeral made me think about “showing up”—what we say NCS is about at its core (I thought about it so much that I sent myself an e-mail that said “showing up” just so I wouldn’t forget). It also made me think about what it means to be a “faithful presence”—what the 2010 Retreat is all about.
Ed’s life, illness with cancer and death held many examples of NCS men “showing up” as a “faithful presence”:
- Ed gave up a financial career to show up as a faithful presence in broken lives as a family counselor because he believed God had called him to help heal marriages
- When Ed was healthy, he would come to NCS and show up as a faithful presence by volunteering to run the book/CD table.
- When Ed was very sick, he still showed up at NCS meetings whenever he had the energy, regardless of whether the speaker was famous or not, because Ed knew NCS is about the fellowship—it is about showing up in the lives of your brudders. His faithful presence taught hope and faith by example.
- When Ed was hospitalized, two NCS brudders with very busy lives, Dave Swanson and Wiley Mullins, showed up as a faithful presence at the hospital day after day to pray with Ed and support Ed’s wife Karen.
- When Ed went home to the Lord, his NCS brudders showed up at the visitation and the funeral (in fact, Dave Swanson gave one of the eulogies and ask all NCS men in church to stand up—it was nearly 50% of the men in the room)—faithful presence.
At an NCS New Canaan meeting earlier this month, Paul Young, author of The Shack, told about the seven men who stood by his side while he watched his home get auctioned in a foreclosure (CLICK HERE to hear Young's powerful message about finding God's love). Before getting involved with NCS, I sometimes wondered who, other than my family, would show up to my funeral—I no longer wonder, because I have brudders.
If you only “ show up” at NCS meetings just to hear a speaker (or only show up when the speaker is someone “famous”) or if you only “ show up” in the lives of brudders at NCS meetings, then you are missing something really, really important. I don’t know what my number is, but I am thankful to Ed, Dave, Wiley and many others for reminding me to make the most of every day I have by connecting with and loving those God has put in my path—reminding me to be a “ faithful presence”. I know it's not something I am good at, but I know it is something I need to get better at. That was part of the powerful message of last week’s NCS New Canaan speaker, Dr. John Seel (one of our Retreat speakers). If you weren’t there, I strongly encourage you to listen (CLICK HERE to hear Seel's message).
CLICK HERE to register for the 2010 Annual Retreat
Posted by Paul Michalski on 1/30/2010 3:10:08 PM
"Showing Up"--Faithful Presence Through Flippin' Flapjacks
A key message of this year's Retreat will be how NCS can have a positive impact on our communities when brudders are a "faithful presence" in all area of their lives--part of being a faithful presence is being "present"--showing up. Brudders from NCS New Canaan, NCS Fairfield and NCS New Haven came together around one of our brudders, Doran Wright, who was launching a church in the inner city of Bridgeport, CT.
Doran's launch plan was to welcome the community to a pancake breakfast, and his NCS brudders "showed up" to help out. That's what we do--"show up" in each other's lives. NCS New Canaan recently heard from Paul Young, author of "The Shack"--he told us about he seven men who "showed up" to stand by him at the foreclosure auction of his house. Do you have three or five or seven men in your life who would "show up" for you when you needed them? If not, think about getting involved in an Energy Group.
Here is Doran's thank you:
" I could not be more proud of and thankful for my NCS Brudders who turned out yesterday from NCS New Canaan, Fairfield (The Journey) and New Haven-- and I hope I'm not leaving any other chapters out inadvertently-- for their support of yesterday's launch of Church at the Seaside. They were indeed a faithful presence. While I tried to thank and encourage everyone personally, as you can imagine it was an incredibly full and busy morning on every front and I was pulled in every direction so I could not spend time with the pancake crew. But what a job they did, working right alongside their "Men of the Rock" brudders from Black Rock Church to put on what everyone hailed as an incredible breakfast. I heard comment after comment about the excellence of the breakfast.
So, if you think a blanket thank-you to the brudders on my behalf and that of Church at the Seaside, I'd be all for it.
They contributed to a successful launch orchestrated by Jesus to impact this community for Jesus. Although I do not have a precise count, we probably had a crowd of 150, of which approximately 1/3 were volunteers. Not bad for launching on a January morning in a tough spot where no church has existed before. Praise God!"
Go Doran--Go God!
Posted by Paul Michalski on 1/19/2010 6:40:56 AM
Some Thoughts on "Speak Truth"
Speak Truth
By Paul Michalski
“Live Pure, Speak Truth, Right Wrong, Worship the King”—this NCS paraphrase of Lancelot sounds really good, but what does it mean for us—NCS men? I have been giving that question a lot of thought. In this inaugural NCS Newsletter I will share some of my thinking on “Speak Truth”, because it is arguably one of the most central tenets to our mission.
While the world might think “Speak Truth” just means “don’t lie” and Christians would agree it also means “preach the Word of God accurately”, it has a much deeper meaning in our NCS community. For us, “speaking truth” also means being committed to TRANSPARENCY in our friendships. Until recently, I only understood one side of transparency. It’s the side that we NCS men have gotten pretty good at—owning up to our failures and mistakes. It’s tough because it makes me vulnerable to others, but I believe this type of transparency is critical to deep friendship because my vulnerability hopefully leads to your trust (and vice versa).
More recently, I have come to understand another equally important side of transparency in friendship. I now see I have two dark sides—the one I hide and must confess to others for light to shine on it (admitting my faults) and the one that is in my blind-spot that only others can help me see. Transparent friendship requires both (1) being able to share my hidden darkness without fear of judgment (the fear that says “if you really knew me you wouldn’t be my friend”) AND (2) giving a friend the permission to reveal to me the darkness I do not see in myself (without fear that I will reject him) and being willing to be honest with my friend about his blind-spots. It means being willing to risk a friendship for the good of a friend—that takes permission from the friend and tremendous trust in God’s ability and willingness to support transformation through transparent friendship. In fact, this second type of transparency is where I REALLY need my friends—if no one loves me enough to point out how I am blindly sabotaging my own life then I am doomed to continue blindly sabotaging it!! Of course, before revealing to a friend the “truth” about him that you see, it is critical to ensure that you are indeed speaking “truth” from your perspective—that it is grounded in the Word, coming from a pure heart, spoken in love and expressed in words of what you see, feel or experience from your friend’s actions or behavior rather than in words of judgment , condemnation or accusation about your friend. As one NCS brudder said recently—“That kind of transparency scares the spit out of me!” There was a great observation in a recent devotional by Ron Hutchcraft:
Fear often keeps us from God's best - parenting out of fear, leading (or failing to lead) because of fear, resisting God's call or God's assignment because of fear, missing God's best because of fear of failure, leaving someone we know spiritually lost because of fear of sharing Jesus with them. Faith, on the other hand, focuses on the greatness of your Lord and reaches for His hand, and says, "I'll go if You're going with me."
Not only is this kind of transparency in friendship difficult, it is hard (really hard) to achieve in a big NCS chapter meeting—it requires the intimacy that is found in an NCS Energy Group. I would submit that Energy Groups, not Chapters, are really the core of NCS and the key to moving closer to the vision of transformation through transparent friendships. Get in an NCS Energy Group and step out in faith with some brudders.
Posted by Paul Michalski on 12/14/2009 10:31:45 AM
Five CT Chapters Come Together for a Father-Son Pig Roast
NCS New Canaan, NCS Fairfield, NCS Norwalk, NCS New Haven and NCS Hartford joined forces for the First Annual NCS CT Pig Roast on September 19.
Over 100 brudders and sons "showed up" at Jackson Cove Park in Oxford CT today for a full afternoon of sun, fun and great food. This was a powerful example of the "community" of NCS--we even had some NY and NJ brudders make the trip.
The day started at Noon with games (horseshoes, corn hole, football, frisbee), water sports (tubing, jet skis, wake-boarding) and hot dogs with some seriously delicious chili. As the hot dogs were just starting to be served, Alberto the cigar roller showed up (courtesy of NCS Norwalk) to provide fresh post-lunch stogies.
At about 2:30 pm, the Young Life team kicked into gear with some Chapter v. Chapter competition. There were four events orchestrated by two strange-looking hillbillies in the back of a pickup truck (this was Oxford, CT after all---did any one honestly know there was an Oxford CT before today??) The games began with an activity that involved putting something in your mouth and spitting it as far as you can. Hal Rosser (that's right, the big deal private equity guy on the NCS national board) spit the farthest for an NCS New Canaan victory. This was followed by the Shovel Race, Bat Spinning and Inner Tube Wrestling. Bottom line--NCS New Canaan was the champion with two wins. Young Life guys--you're GREAT!!
As the last Inner Tube Wrestler went down, the 110 lb pig came out. Despite the serious doubts of our brudders in NCS Winston Salem who didn't think a bunch of Yankees could pull of a pig roast, a fabulous pig feast (with plenty of cracklin!) was followed by an ice cream sundae station (courtesy of NCS New Haven) and then a very encouraging and humble talk by former CT Governor John Rowland.
Special thanks go to Armand Amendola (Leader of NCS New Haven) for having the vision of an all-CT father-son event and then seeing it through. But it really was a joint effort of a planning team consisting of Armand (NCS New Haven), Dave Swanson and Wiley Mullins (NCS Fairfield), Luke Layow and Mike Shoaf (NCS Hartford), Tom Robidoux and Art Crisci (NCS Norwalk), Bill Jolly (NCS CT Ambassador) and me (NCS New Canaan). Thanks to those brudders and all the volunteers who "showed up" today to help.
Blessings.
Paul Michalski
Posted by Paul Michalski on 9/19/2009 9:45:32 PM
|
|
|
|