Sunday Thoughts

Here’s a few thoughts running through my head about Sunday…

 

• It was a good day at FC today
• I loved the new song the worship team kicked the service off with “One Way”.  If you come late to FC, you miss a lot.  Sunday at FC is great from start to finish!
• We looked at how we can face the uncertain future
• Scenario planning is huge;  IF God wills…THEN…
• How many times do you ask God, “God what do you want me to do, or NOT to do?
• We are managers of the life God gave us: I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.  We are not able to plan our own course. Jer. 10:23
• Life is like mountain climbing; you need to live in the moment
• I struggle with this, with God’s grace, He’s helping me with this one
• The budget and officer vote was overwhelmingly accepted!  Yea! 
• Spent some time down at “Living Proof”, our Student Ministry at FC.  The core kids were cleaning up the environment prepping for this Friday and the big Lock-in coming up!  We’ve got a great group of students who are highly committed to God and each other. 
• If you want to serve in a highly meaningful environment, you can make a difference in a Student’s life on Friday nights – they average around 125 students!  Contact our Student Pastor, Matt Balogh at Matt@FellowshipChurchCT.com 
• I went to Lymans Sunday afternoon – that place is hopping!  Ran into a family who is considering make FC their church home.  Cool stuff!

Weekend Wrap Up

Here’s a collection of thoughts from this Weekend…

 

• Saturday was my beautiful wife’s birthday!  She turned 39…REALLY
• I’ll be paying for that previous remark
• I love Laura more today than ever!
• The Baby Dedication service was a lot of fun today.
• It’s easy to see how God has a heart for children
• Worship today was absolutely amazing; the band and team led us into an amazing time of responding to God – thank you Marcel and team!
• I love what God is doing with FC, there is an amazing spirit among everyone on Sunday
• It was great to see our Director of Children’s Ministry, Lara Santamaria up front today.  She has an amazing passion for kids connecting with Christ.  I love that she is on the staff team! 
• If you are at all interested in volunteering in the FC Kids Ministry contact Lara at lara@fellowshipchurchCT.com
• The preschool kids from “The Sound” were hysterical, I think serving with preschoolers is a lot like “herding cats”
• I love those four families that were dedicating themselves and their children to God…Contratulations Gustavsons, Pulinos, Richardsons and Watermans
• It just hit me that they all have three syllables in their names!  Wow!  I don’t really have a point, this is what you get sometimes for reading my blog
• I loved the “slide show’ of the children – really great pictures!
• First time I preached using play-doh – that stuff’s addictive!
• First time I preached using a GPS device – those things are pretty cool! 
• Christmas is coming if anyone’s interested?! J
• James is an “in your face” writer; you can tell that he was a Pastor.
• Words have the power to direct, to destroy and to bring life!
• The words we choose is an issue of the heart!
• Liked what Lara said about the # of weekends we have with our kids…sets everything in perspective (“Teach us to # our days… Psalm 90)
• Lots more comments related to James again today – people just keep commenting on how this series and this book (God’s Word) is changing their lives!
• Had lunch with the fam at Denny’s today after church – we talked about who were the “best” and “worst” babies – lots of laughs and good memories.  In case you’re wondering here’s the rank from best to worst.  Jillian (she ate and slept like clockwork), Ben (best disposition – extremely happy baby), Stephen (stubborn, didn’t sleep through the night for over a year), Jonathan (more stubborn than Stephen!  Hard to believe J!  First kid so you know how that works).  Today, they’re all great kids – I wouldn’t trade any of them!
• Time to go, Sox are ready to play Game 7 soon – Go Red Sox!!!

Weekend Wrap Up

 

Enjoyed C3 on Monday

Below are some thoughts regarding this past weekend…and it was a crazy one!  A memorial service for Joe and Elaine Lepage’ son, Joseph on Saturday morning; a wedding rehearsal on Saturday night; church on Sunday morning; a wedding on Sunday afternoon and an all-day church conference on Monday…whew! Grab a cup of coffee, this one’s going to be a little lengthy…

 

 

• God was evident in EVERYTHING the past three days
• Everything that happened this weekend exceeded expectations
• I have a HUGE amount of respect for Joe & Elaine Lepage; they had friends they haven’t conversed with in over 20 years attend their son’s memorial service to support them – THAT is a life well lived…get close to this couple, you’ll learn much and your life will be enriched!
• I’m still praying for you Joe & Elaine, it’s an honor to be your Pastor
• FC really responded for this wonderful couple by handling everything for the reception afterward – way to go Bob, Donna and everyone else involved.
• Friends of Joe & Elaine attended FC on Sunday due to what they saw of FCers on Saturday – that’s the power of both diet and exercise (you had to be here Sunday to know what I’m talking about – get the DVD )
• I said “bye” to my parents on Saturday afternoon — that was sad, I’ll miss them.  I love my parents and I know I’m truly blessed.
• On Saturday night, I was involved in my largest wedding rehearsal – 60 people!  Frank and Kimber’s family are really amazing. 
• It was the most orderly wedding rehearsal I was ever a part of  (and still fun).  It reminded me of these “large families” you see on TV – they run a tight ship otherwise nothing gets done.  Creativity comes out of order. (Gen.1)
• There was amazing attention to detail in this wedding and it made for an amazing and memorable experience.
• Cool thing, Kimber and Frank submitted a “Love Story” in the Sunday Courant and mentioned FC a few times in the article – we had a first time guest in our Sunday Service due to this article!
• We had 6 first-time guests on Sunday – Sunday was a holiday weekend!  That’s a first for FC
• We had a family attend FC for the second time on Sunday as well – Yea God!
• Sunday was our best-attended Columbus Day weekend in years – Yea God!
• Believe it or not, Columbus Day weekends have killed us in the past, not sure why because its not a “major” holiday, submit a comment if you have any ideas
• Had some people commit to reading through the book of James for the duration of the series “According to Jim”
• Don’t forget to keep praying for FC 1 hour a week all you 10Kers – it’s making a difference.
• Still following up on the multiple people who checked off “I’m committing my life to Christ” 
• A bunch of people checked “I’d like more information on church membership”
• We’re going to have to offer another LIFE Trax 1 class — soon
• I love the heart of FC, many people are diving in and willing to help where needed.  I’ve got BIG news I’m dropping in about a month concerning a huge improvement we’re making to make it quicker and easier for people to serve
• Frank & Kimber were married Sunday at 2:30pm
• We had a team of fantastic volunteers from FC clean and polish up the facility in record breaking time to help pull this “production” off!  Way to go guys!
• It was one of the more beautiful weddings I’d seen – bridesmaids all in different color gowns
• Frank and Kimber have some great friends and wonderful family
• It was an honor to marry them!
• After the ceremony, one of the videographers ran up to me and said, “This was the best wedding I’ve ever been to.  It was so personal and it was truly a celebration!” She loved the clarity. It was a great testimony to Christ and FC.
• I’m jealous of Frank and Kimber; they’re in the Caribbean for the next two weeks!
•  Took the staff team and my wife, Laura and Bob Schulte to Northway Church in Clifton Park, NY to attend the “C3 Conference”
• Northway Church is an amazing church making a huge difference in the Northeast
• Ed Young, Pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX was the keynote speaker – and he really “bought it”
• This conference was both encouraging and challenging.  Encouraging in the fact that we confirmed that we are doing a lot of things right; challenging in that we feel we can do so much better.
• Major point of the day – “The church exists for those who haven’t attended it yet”
• This conference galvanized our staff team – we were all exhausted at staff meeting this morning yet it was still full of energy and some great ideas.
• We are jacked about this Sunday – we will be dedicating parents and their children – you will NOT want to miss this one
• I’m honored to be your pastor!
• That’s it for now, I need to get reacquainted with my family and prep for tonight’s Red Sox Game (I’ll probably fall asleep by the third inning!)

Sunday Thoughts

Here are some thoughts and reflections about this Sunday…

 

• There was a huge buzz inside the atrium way before the service started, I had a feeling today was going to be a good one.
• Pastor Steve hit it out of the park for his official “swan song”  (even though we’ll hear from him more in the future)
• I counted five times people clapped during the message
• It really is all about worshipping God, no matter what the circumstance
• Speaking of worship, thanks Marcel and crew for leading us in one of the most inspirational worship times ever! 
• Jon kicked it on the violin today, as well as, everyone else in the band
• I thought the building was going to collapse from the noise and energy in the room today
• It was great to see Cinema Church in the house today, we’re praying for you guys!
• Can’t believe the amount of Wesleyan Students coming out
• Had lunch with a bunch of the Wesleyan Students today at the Howard’s house, great bunch of strong believers; they’re changing Wesleyan!
• We had at least one person that I know of who accepted Christ today, good possibility of much more!
• God was hugely evident in our service today
• Had some more people sign up for the “10K Prayer Throw-down”.  Fantastic!
• Sorry Mets fans, my heart goes out to you…
• Not so sorry for you Yankee fans though (although I still love you!)
• A question for Yankee fans:  Which “Joe” would you rather have managing your team?
• Well, gotta go and get some sleep, it’s gonna be some late nights this week watching the Red Sox play in “Soxtober”!

Communion Tonight

I’m excited about tonight’s communion service.  We haven’t had a midweek communion service in a while. There’s going to be an extra time of worship and some great special music as well.  New look for tonight, we’re utilizing lights rather than candles.  I can’t wait.  See ya at 7 PM.

I’m Loving Mondays

That sounds crazy, right?  Who loves Mondays?  Well, I’m going to take it a step further, you’re going to think I’m certifiable but I love meetings on Mondays!  Yes, you heard it right. 

 

We recently moved our weekly staff meeting to Mondays and I have to tell you, the past couple of weeks have been great.  What we do in a typical meeting is go around the table and share what we have seen or are engaged in that is accomplishing the mission of FC.  These stories are pretty cool and encouraging.  We also come together as a team and help problem solve various situations in each of our areas of ministry.  This has turned into just an encouraging and creative time. 

 

We pray together, We’ll also review the past service and look to see what we can improve on to make every Sunday just an amazing experience that tells the truth about God. Everyone is pretty straightforward here and in the midst of it, cheering each other on.  There’s also some strategic planning involved as we look to important opportunities in the future. 

 

But you know what makes it the best?  What makes it the best is not the information necessarily it’s the people.  It’s great to challenge and be challenged and I absolutely love laughing on Mondays!  We have such a great staff here at FC.  I’m so honored to be leading and serving with each of these people.  Getting together with this team just launches us forward for the rest of the week.  I’m glad we’re meeting on Mondays!  

Sunday Thoughts

• It was great greeting people at the door today, nice seeing everyone when they first come in
• FC is a place where faith comes to life!
• God wants you to have huge faith and confidence in Him!
• The way faith comes to life is through trust in God in every area of our lives
• The foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ!
• We had another family interested in joining FC today
• Had an Ethiopian student from Wesleyan, who was recommended to FC froma an overseas missionary…this makes us an international ministry!
• My Patriots got smoked by the….Dolphins?  It’s gonna be a long season
• Closed our pool down, guess it really is the end of summer…time for some fried dough!

Date Night

One of the things you’ve heard me talk about in church is the importance of married couples to have a date night.  What I’ve found out is that it’s easier to talk about something than actually do it. Last I checked, life goes by pretty fast.  I’m excited to say that a couple of weeks ago Laura confronted me on the issue and actually planned our first date night in a very, very, very long time.  We had a blast!  We went to Max Amore’s in Glastonbury and split a pizza.  It was such a great time being together! So the plan is to have a date night EVERY Thursday night.  The plan is that each of us take turns planning the night’s activities.  Obviously we cannot afford a weekly night at Max’s so we decided it could range from a cup of coffee to a nice dinner and anything in between.  Food is not necessarily a requirement.  

My turn for planning is coming up this Thursday and I need your help!  What can I do that would be really, really cool but not break the bank?  

And another question.  When was the last time you married couples had a date night?  When is your next one scheduled?  You may not choose to have a weekly date night but how about a monthly night out? Make your plans TONIGHT! Who knows, maybe we’ll see ya out there!

Sunday Thoughts

Wow!  This morning was absolutely incredible; below are a few thoughts about today…

• I am so exhausted, this morning emotionally wiped me out, I could sleep until tomorrow easy!
• There were a lot of people involved in prepping for today’s service – Thank You!
• There’s nothing that compares to a life well lived. Integrity and perseverance matters!
• The room was packed today, it was nice seeing the kids today
• It was great seeing Jim Burroughs today – traveling all the way from AZ!
• It was so neat listening to a room full of people worship God; great and heartfelt singing!
• FC is blessed.
• Was it me, but that cake tasted better than normal!
• Someone said afterwards, “Thanks for not making this into a funeral dirge, this truly was a celebration of a life of ministry”.  That made my day because that was what we were shooting for today.
• Talked to a first time guest after the service, and apologized for having a different type service this morning – they said they loved it and are definitely coming back next week!
• Talked to someone who says he is an atheist and is investigating Christianity here at FC, he told me after the service “I cannot get over the amazing feeling of community here”. 
• Pastor Steve and Sandy were honored today, but God was glorified.

Throwdown Thursday!

Welcome to the first edition of “Throw-Down Thursday”.  If you have taken the 10K Throw-Down challenge, I can’t tell you how excited I am that you’re on the team.  If you have not taken the challenge let me explain to you what it is.  I am looking for 200 people to commit to pray for Fellowship Church for one hour a week for one year.  That’s a total of 10,000 hours of prayer!  If you would like to join the challenge simply comment below and you’re in! 

 

It’s my desire that we all strategically grow in our habit of prayer. Truly, nothing of significance will happen in our lives or through our church except through prayer.  The existence of FC itself is an answer to prayer.  Think of this as a way of being personally discipled in prayer.  Here’s how I’d like to accomplish that.  Each Thursday I’ll pass along key things you can pray for about FC.  These are not the only things to pray for, but merely some key ministries, people or events that you can focus on for the week.  I’ll also pass along information and resources that have helped me in my prayer life, as well as things that God is teaching me throughout this journey.  So whatdayathink???  You up for it?!!

 

One more point, before we get started.  Let’s talk about time.  What we’re talking about is one hour a week.  This can be accomplished in many ways.  You can pray for an hour straight in which I’ll share with you some ideas as how to do this in upcoming weeks. Or you break up your prayer time.  Maybe 10 minutes a day for six days; or 15 minutes a day for four days…you get the picture. 

 

 

This week, let’s start with this….

 

• If you haven’t sign up for the “throw-down”, do so today by commenting below. 
• Here’s some things you can pray for concerning FC…
  • Pray for “Living Proof” our student Ministry. It’s launching this Friday night!  Pray for a great evening. Pray that all of the technical aspects of the night run smooth (new environment, new everything!), pray that the students who were invited would be there, pray for Matt, our youth pastor on his inaugural Friday night, pray that the students who attend will be challenged and awakened by the Gospel. Pray that God would be glorified!
  • Pray for this Sunday’s service as we honor Pastor Steve and Sandy Eiss.  We want God lifted up in this!  I’m really excited about this! 
  • Pray for our church’s transition.  Pray for wisdom for our leaders.  Pray for God’s guidance and direction.  Thank Him for what he’s already done!
• Look for God to change and mold you through this process.  Invite Him to do so; and watch what he does!

 

Well, there’s a lot more to talk about when it comes to prayer, but that’s enough for this week, one down and 51 to go.  Let’s get started!