FUSION

1 Peter 1-12

2012-01-23T14:07:00.003-05:00

1 Peter 1

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

This passage comes a very timely phase in my life as I am learning to deal with various personal and professional hardships. As people struggle through their problems and faith they are constantly asking, “Why?” I suggest the question should be, “Why not?” As believers you must consistently remember the theme of being recreated into a Christ like image. In verse 6 and 7 its easily stated, “ ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” As my Pastor would say it is all about the process. The process that God brings us through is almost sometimes greater than the end result. So when you are facing trials and tribulations and can’t figure out why, understand the simple things that we learn the most through our times of hardship then we can ever learn from our times of peace. Another metaphor that can be used is a blacksmith and a sword. He beats it and beats it until it is perfect.

We need to embrace the tough times and use it to propel us forward. Not blindly but towards a stronger pursuit of God. A stronger desire for God in the times of hardship is what hardship brings and the end result is as the scripture said more precious than gold.

Then & Now

2011-12-21T16:58:00.003-05:00

When I blogged regularly at my previous site, I always did an end of the year perspective. Since I haven’t done much on the FUSION blog lately, I thought I’d take the opportunity to do my year end perspective here.

For me, 2011 has been a thought provoking year of introspection. It was 20 years ago that I graduated from High School. I can honestly say that my life is nothing like I had planned and that is ok with me! As I look back I have changed tremendously!

20 Years ago…

- I lived by two mantras....(1.) You have nothing to fear but fear itself! (2.) Second place is the first loser!

- I had great dreams of making money, having power, and living the American Dream.

- All I wanted to do was get away from my home town as soon as possible.

- I had lots of angst over what I perceived as the inequities of life.

- I had boundless energy.

Today…

- I have learned that courage is not the absence of fear but persevering in the face of it.

- Every “major” decision I make involves handing my fears over to God and, in faith, pursuing the path he has marked out.

- My new mantra…"You’ll never be a man of faith if you focus on predicting results”

- On a very practical note, having a child totally changed the way I make decisions.

- I know it’s ok to lose as long as you gave it your best and did it with character.

- I’ve embraced the fact that God is a God of process. He cares more about using the process to shape me than he does about me achieving a goal of mine, even when it’s something I’m doing for Him!

- I have great dreams of how God might use me to impact people.

- I came back home because God gave me a burden to see lives changed in this region.

- I deal with inequities by being the change I want to see and trying to pass it along. A good friend of mine puts it this way, “Do for one what you would do for 100”

- I have no energy!!! LOL…my daughter has taken all of my energy!!!!

In 1991 I set out to change the world. Instead, God changed me. The death of every personal dream I had was replaced by a God given dream/vision which I pursue in his strength! FUSION is one of those dreams. It’s the dream of a ministry that impacts young adults, a ministry that will live beyond me and impact generations to come.

What dreams has God given you?

What dreams has he eliminated from your life?

If you gave him FULL CONTROL of your life, what could he do in and through you over the next 20 years?

Whistle While You Wait?

2011-09-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

Last week we started a series on discerning God's leading and direction when you are feeling compelled to leave a situation(job, location, etc.).
Usually the biggest question we deal with in these situations is that of timing.
If you are like me, God's timing never seems in sync with our timing, and as we wait on God it can be very frustrating.

Paul Tripp is a blogger for the Gospel Coalition and has posted a great piece that deals with this topic well.
Utilize this link to read his piece then feel free to add your thoughts here as it relates to our current series.

later this week I will add my own post.

Check Your Blind Spots!

2011-09-20T14:01:00.000-04:00

At the September FUSION gathering the topic of God’s leading and direction came up. The question was, how do you know when God is leading you to leave a place or situation? (leave a job, move to another location, etc.) Sometimes life makes these choices easy (you get fired, your studies bring you to a new school in a new location) but many times it’s not so clear.
Over the next few weeks I plan to blog some of the things you should consider when approaching these types of decisions. I will present these ideas in no particular order. I hope you will enjoy and interact.

I’ve entitled this post, “Blind Spots” because I want to focus on what you see or, more importantly, don’t see as you consider your move. How many times have you been driving down the highway and decided to change lanes. First you check your rearview mirror. Then you check your side mirror. You don’t see anything blocking you so you start to make the lane change. All of the sudden you hear a horn blowing. You look over your shoulder and see a vehicle whose driver is frantically trying to make you aware of his/her presence. You quickly yank the steering wheel and get back in your lane. Despite the fact that you looked to make sure the coast was clear, you missed something. This often happens when we are trying to decide about a move. We look and see what we want and therefore make the move without checking our blind spots.

There is a man in the bible named Lot who personifies this. Lot was Abraham’s nephew and in Genesis 13:5-9 we find that logistically speaking the two men could not co-exist.

5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. 8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

At first this would seem like an easy case. Things aren’t working out and we need to go our separate ways. However, a choice still needed to be made as to where Lot should go.

10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

So Lot looks at his choices and what does he see? According to verse 10, a land lays out before him that is everything you would want. It looks so good it’s actually compared to the Garden of Eden. The problem was, Lot didn’t glance over his shoulder and check his blind spot. Verse 13 makes it very clear that while this was a beautiful place to live, note the parenthesis in verse 10 that says it was beautiful BEFORE God destroyed it, it was also a very sinful environment. Unfortunately, Lot overlooked this and as we will see, his family paid the price. I often say to the folks at my church, “the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence because it’s made of artificial turf”. More often than not, we are not seeing the whole picture for what it really is.

What ensues is a scary progression. Note that in Genesis 13:12 it says that Lot pitched his tent near Sodom. Trouble soon ensues and we are informed that Lot is living “in” Sodom (Genesis 14:12). By Genesis 19:1, Lot is now the President of the Sodom tourism board.

“The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.”

I’m joking about being on the tourism board, but we do know that city officials were always stationed at the gate. In other words, Lot served with some sort of official capacity in the city. Verses 2-3 of Genesis 19 make it clear that Lot was well aware of the atrocities going on in the city. When he saw men that he recognized as holy he tried to keep them away from all of the goings on.

Let’s pause for a minute. Lot looked and overlooked. He headed towards and went near. Then he went in and soon became a part of. I don’t believe he took place in the sinful activities of the city but he chose to settle down in the midst of it. Why is that? Do you think he rationalized how this environment wouldn’t affect his faith? Do you think he was so happy with how his life was progressing, nice new home, new job, becoming the person he always knew he could be, etc, that he overlooked the effect that the sin around him was having? Clearly he did not cultivate his faith! We’ll see that in a moment.

2 Peter 2:8 has this to say of Lot,
“for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard”

Did you catch that? He tormented his soul! The decision he made brought torment to his soul and when we look at Genesis 19 even further we see that it ravaged his family. Look at some of the decisions Lot made and some of the things that happened to his family.

1. In order to pacify the homosexual men of the city who had come to rape Lot’s visitors, he offered them his daughters to do with as they wished (verses 4-8).

2. After being told to flee the city by the angels, Lot’s family soon to be son-in laws think he is joking. Lot has done so little to live or speak about a life of faith that when he does, he is not considered credible by his family (verses 12-14).

3. He exhibits no urgency in fleeing from the city despite its impending doom (verses 15-23).

4. His wife’s heart was so attached to the city that she lost her life (verses 26).

5. Lot’s daughters, who lost their fiancées because of Lot’s poor testimony, proceed to get Lot drunk so that they can commit incest with him.

All of this because Lot didn’t check his blind spot!

How can we check our blind spots?
First, through prayer and honesty make an honest assessment of EVERYTHING! I encourage you to do so from the framework of how this move will cultivate or diminish your walk with God. This is not easy to do, especially when we are enduring situations that we do not like. According to James 1:2-4, God wants to cultivate your faith through trials, not remove them from your life. He wants to give you a faith that can stand under the pressure not escape it. Also, according to James 1:5-8 God is more than willing to provide you with the wisdom you need in the midst of your trials. However, the question remains, when you hear from God will you respond? If not, these verses say you are double-minded.

Second, consult reliable spiritual friends. I’m talking about friends that value your spiritual growth. Friends that will say what you need to hear not what you want to hear. Often your spiritual friends will reveal the blind spots to you.

Finally, when you see the blind spots, deal with them seriously. DO NOT minimize them! There is a reason Satan likes to keep them as blind spots. Remember, his goal is to destroy you!
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Many an animal has wandered from the pack and been devoured!

I hope this has given you something to chew on.
Please leave your comments and come back for the rest of the series.

SUMMER UPDATE

2011-07-31T19:19:00.000-04:00

We are into the heart of summer and not much has been happening on this blog or with the FUSION ministry so I wanted to give an update.

Not long after June's FUSION Conference the leadership team hit a wall.
We realized that we are exhausted and it would not be realistic to think that we could keep up the aggressive plans we had for the summer.
As such, we decided to pair things down and focus on a few events.

With that in mind, in July we offered service opportunities with the Josh Metell Basketball Tournament and the VBS & Block Party sponsored by Lighthouse Community Church and Emmanuel Baptist church.

In August we will be hosting 2 events...
On Tuesday, August 9th we'll be taking a day trip to the Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. (See website for more detail).
On Thursday, August 11th we will be having an Ice Cream Social at Lighthouse Community Church in Old saybrook.

We hope you will join us for these events.
We will resume a regular schedule of meetings and blogging in the fall.

No Fusion 2night!

2011-07-23T15:46:00.001-04:00

No Fusion tonight! Ice Cream Social August 11th at 954 Middlesex Tpk 8pm

What's Going On...

2011-07-14T12:05:00.000-04:00

July 14th
Thirsty Thursday
8 pm to 10 pm
Starbucks Old Saybrook, Ct 06475

July 16th
FUSION Service Project
Josh Mattell 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Willimantic, Ct
(Fusion will be providing volunteers for this event)

July 23rd
FUSION
7 pm to 9 pm
954 Middlesex Tpk
Old Saybrook, Ct 06475

July 14th
Thirsty Thursday
8 pm to 10 pm
Starbucks Old Saybrook, Ct 06475

August 9th
FUSION Fun Day
Road Trip to Sturbridge Village, MA

August 20th
FUSION
7 pm to 9 pm
954 Middlesex Tpk
Old Saybrook, Ct 06475

Josh Mattell 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament

2011-07-13T08:57:00.002-04:00

Here is the latest info on the Josh Mattell Basketball Tournament in Willimantic.
on July 16th. (Fusion will be providing volunteers for this event)

We will carpool from North Cove Outfitters on Main St in Old Saybrook.
We will leave at 8am. Volunteers are needed for the following jobs...

Setup & Tear down
Registration table
Moon Bounce
Food Servers
Grill Operator
Score Keeper

Please let us know if you plan on attending. Thank you!

Podcast on Drinking and Christianity

2011-07-06T11:54:00.000-04:00

Fusion Confrence Podcast

2011-06-27T11:29:00.001-04:00

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2011-06-21T13:31:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday we had our first FUSION Young Adult Conference.
This event was something I had been trying to do for almost 5 years.
The idea was born out of a burden to reach out to young adults, the smallest demographic in almost every church in America.

The format wasn’t very different from most of the conferences you go to.
There were main sessions with extended times of worship and speakers who preached.
There were workshops where attendees could meet in smaller groups to dialogue and “flesh out” the topics.

One of the marks of this conference, which did not go unnoticed, was that while the topics presented related to the typical struggles of young adults, both the attendees and the topics were treated in an adult manner. By that I mean that the speakers and workshop leaders didn’t put on their “kiddie” gloves and baby the attendees with platitudes and clichés. Instead, attendees were challenged! They were challenged in how they approach God and Scripture. They were challenged about what they believe and why they believe it. They were challenged about making their faith real by living it on a daily basis. At the end of the conference attendees filled out a survey. One attendee commented, “My mind suffered major hemorrhaging. Very deep stuff, I was blown away in a very good way”

At the same time many surveys thanked the main speakers and workshop leaders for “being real” and for “making me feel comfortable asking questions”. Many wanted workshops to be more than 1 hour in length and wished more workshops had been offered. That’s right, many commented that an hour long workshop was not enough time.

I point this out because last Thursday we had a guest blogger who asked the church, “What’s Next?” How will the church reach the next generation? What will the next incarnation of church look like?

I believe FUSION is the future. Not simply the conference but the concept. At FUSION we believe in “digging” into God’s Word. We believe that young adults are clamoring to do so. They are tired of Bible stories and people’s opinions. They want to see what the Bible says. They want to understand scripture. They are willing to put in the hard work to do so. Most of all, they appreciate leaders who assist them with a humble attitude.

We work this out in our monthly FUSION meetings. During our two hour meetings we spend the first hour enjoying fellowship around food, discussion of current events through a biblical lens, and sharing what God is doing in our lives. In the second hour we have solid biblical teaching. We dive into passages. This is not “3 Steps to a Happy Life”, it’s examining a passage in its context and then discussing how to apply it to our lives.

If you are in CT, I personally invite you to join us.
If not, follow the events and conversations on our website and here at the blog.
I am honored that God has given me the chance to see the vision of FUSION take flight.
I pray that He continues to use this ministry to connect young adults of faith, and to equip them to serve Him in their church and community.

Fusion

2011-06-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

The Fusion Conference was amazing. The main speakers were awesome and the workshops were incredible and leading the operations portion of it was exhausting. I sat with a couple of young adults from Nj and the conversation went something like this:

Young A: I could never become a pastor. Me: Never say never. If someone would have told me a little over a year ago that I would be a part of something like this I would have either laughed or more likely restlessly ridiculed you. God can do some amazing things with you if you let Him.

Pastor Saunders asked me to write about whether I thought Fusion is the next thing. It’s a question brought up in the post before the conference. That post talked about how contemporary services are no longer the “it” thing and trying to figure out what the next thing is. I feel the future of churches is oddly enough is solid bible teaching. Young adults do not want to be spoon fed. They do not want to listen to rules and regulations without knowing the why. This is important to…the why is not just because I (as in the pastor) said so. It is a critical and cerebral analysis that would drive young adults into church. Young adults want to be educated they want to approach things with reason and many feel that the Bible cannot be approach with reason and it cannot educate. My friends say all the time, “How do 1^st century principles apply to my life in the 21^st century.” The lack of understanding comes from the perception that Christianity can be some up into do this and do that and don’t do this and don’t do that. This is due to the water down message of rules to change a lifestyle that flows from some pastors. The Christian world is fighting perception with nothing. The future is the teaching. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Fusion conference is a young adult ministry that treats like an adult ministry just gear to the pallet of 18 to 30ish year olds. Something that I believe we acknowledge whole heartily at Fusion is this quote by Warren Wiesbe “Your purpose in serving isn’t to build the biggest church or Sunday school class, the greatest choir, or the most efficient band of ushers. Your purpose is to build people of Christian character whom God can bless and use to build others”

Is Fusion the future? I would like to believe so. I would like to believe that we are setting the bar for young adult ministry. I do not believe that is a prideful thing to say when not many others exist out there willing to do whatever it takes with a ruthless and passionate tenacity to present the gospel to the demographic of the church that is in constant flight.

"If you are in CT, I personally invite you to join us.
If not, follow the events and conversations on our website and here at the blog.
I am honored that God has given me the chance to see the vision of FUSION take flight.
I pray that He continues to use this ministry to connect young adults of faith, and to equip them to serve Him in their church and community."

1st ever Fusion Podcast on Secular Music

2011-06-19T23:51:00.001-04:00

What's Next? (Guest Blogger: Nate Edmondson)

2011-06-16T11:10:00.000-04:00

As we set the stage for our FUSION Conference this Saturday, I am reminded that the heart of the FUSION ministry is to help churches equip and reach young adults.

Today we have a guest blogger who asks, "What's Next?"

Nate Edmondson is the son of a church planter and is currently a student at Moody Bible Institute. Nate regularly posts at his own blog entitled,
"On Deck".

I follow Nate because he is a young adult full of ideas and a poignant observer of church and culture. I hope Nate's observations will spur some great conversation.
Unfortunately Nate himself will not be able to interact with us because he is currently traveling throughout Europe.

------------------------
When I was in elementary school I remember going on a trip with my family and a few other families to observe “contemporary services” at a few churches in Birmingham, AL. Our family was at a large traditional church at the time, and they were considering the possibility of adding a contemporary service.

Contemporary services are second nature now. Everybody has some form or variation. What’s interesting to me, though, is how churches think that having a contemporary service automatically makes them more likely to grow and reach young people. The thought is that by having a guitar on stage and letting people wear jeans that somehow young people will want to come to church. (Ironically, these are also often the same people who criticize churches for “entertaining people” and watering down the gospel.)

Contemporary services may have been a big deal to previous generations, but most everybody in my generation thinks of the contemporary church as normal. I don’t know anybody my age who would be shocked and marvel at a worship team, or who would be surprised they could dress casually. The contemporary church is not the draw it used to be.

The problem with this is that churches are just getting back into the same traditional cycle they tried to leave. Fifteen years ago, services geared towards college students were new and exciting. Today, those services are the norm. Nothing new has emerged for students (at least that I’m aware of).

It doesn’t take an expert to see that something else is coming. Something new is going to emerge. Based on a few conversations I’ve had with church leaders who are a little older than I am, I’d say it has less to do with a style and more to do with an attitude of intentionality. To use Rick Warren terminology, it’s going to be a purposeful process of moving people from “come and see” to “come and die”. This really excites me, because I think that’s what I’m most gifted and passionate about.

You’ve probably seen this same dynamic I’m talking about, so in your mind, what’s next? What’s the new thing coming? What big shift will the church take? How should the church change? What’s the next “contemporary”?

Nate Edmondson

Dual Citizenship

2011-06-15T10:21:00.000-04:00

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. (1 peter 2:11-17)

As believers we are citizens of Heaven. When we place our faith in Christ we become members of His kingdom and He reserves a future place for us to dwell with Him for eternity (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Ephesians 1:13-14). However, God does not whisk us off to Heaven at the moment of conversion. We remain citizens of this world. Not only that, we retain a sin nature that provokes us to satisfy every desire our flesh has.

Scripture assures us that the power (and penalty) of the sin nature has been defeated and we are free to walk in righteousness (Romans 8:1-2). This walk is one of dual citizenship. We live on this earth as creatures of this earth. Yet, we are also called to manifest and represent the values of our heavenly citizenship.

In the above passage, Peter calls us foreigners and exiles. How often do we consider this? On the one hand some of us don’t consider this because we choose our earthly citizenship over our heavenly. We take on the values of this world, happy to simply carry Christ in our pocket like a “Get out of Hell” card. On the other hand, some of us are vexed by the things we encounter in culture. We look at the life of righteousness we are called to live and compare it to the “norms” of this world and at times find ourselves a bit overwhelmed.

I submit that the solution to both situations is a healthy reminder that we are not of this world. We are here for a purpose and that purpose is found in our heavenly citizenship. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul reminds us that we are ambassadors who represent Heaven and seek to bring peace between God and men (I highly recommend that you read that whole chapter).

So, in the end it really isn’t about us. This is why in our above passage, Peter concludes,
“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.” (v.16)
In the end the Christian life isn’t about fighting for the freedoms that I have, it’s about using them to represent my true citizenship.

The Believer and Drinking OR "Hey Bartender, Jobu Needs a Refill!"

2011-06-14T16:07:00.000-04:00

No doubt you’ve seen the marketing campaign based on me.
As they accurately quote me, “I don’t always drink, but when I do I make it Dos Equis!”

Seriously, the Bible is really clear on this and unfortuanely the church muddies the water.
The Bible condemns drunkenness.
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.” (Ephesians 5:18)
This is a straight forward command. It’s as clear as light!

The Bible does not forbid drinking completely.
It does not command complete abstinence from drinking.
It does give very strong warnings about drinking.

Here’s a few…
“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1)
19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path. 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. (Proverbs 23:19-21)
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. 31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! 32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. 34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35…sounds like one of Ants nights out!)

Don’t miss that all of these passages come from the book of Proverbs. A book written by a father to his son in order to teach him wisdom, that is, to skillfully negotiate life. Note his message, “Son, watch out for this stuff. People who allow their life to be dominated by it usually don’t end up successful”

This is one reason why the Bible continually instructs leaders not to allow alcohol to control their lives.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, 5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. 6 Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! 7 Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. (Proverbs 31:4-7)
In 1 Timothy 3 church leaders must not be addicted to drinking.
In Titus 2 older women are instructed to teach and mentor the younger women and again are instructed not to be addicted to drinking.

Two final points…
1. Some argue complete abstinence based on the fact that wine in Bible times had a lower alcohol content than today’s wine. This argument is invalid!
The Bible speaks of "wine” and “strong drink”. The term wine was generally used for any fruit or berry based fermented drink and had an alcohol content that ranged from 1-3%. Strong drink, often translated “beer” by new Bible translations, was grain based drinks made by other processes (distilling, etc). These drinks had an alcohol content that ranged from 4-6%. Clearly there were drinks than that rivaled today’s drinks in alcohol content.

This view misses that the Bible’s argument has nothing to do with alcohol content but the fact that alcohol has the ability to take a person out of their “right” mind. The believer is called to be in their right mind so that they can properly assess life and respond as the Holy Spirit prompts (Ephesians 5:18, 1 Peter 1:13, 4:7, 5:8).
This principle applies beyond alcohol to any mind altering substances. The believer needs to be careful with anything that alters the mind (including prescription drugs).

2. The freedom to drink is governed by the same guidelines as all Christian freedoms.
Romans 14:20-22 puts it best,
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. 22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

One and done is never fun!: The Case for Drinking

2011-06-13T01:26:00.002-04:00

So this week I have the daunting task of defending the secular view of drinking and I will add in partying. I know that this is going to be tough especially since I know the argument is clear here. Colossians 3 clearly states the case and point. I know another argument is against being of the world which is that life of evil and bar hopping and sleeping around and etc. So despite all those well laid out arguments in the Word I still have to call into question the rules behind abstaining from drinking and the lifestyle, one because I have to argue the affirmative side and two it is an interesting and close to home subject. Now again before I begin I would like to offer full disclose here. I have and still do struggle with drinking. I do enjoy my Sam Adams more then I probably should. Does this make me a bad person and Christian? I can’t answer that, I feel God will call me to answer for my transgressions. Is recognition of the struggle better than an ignorant struggler?

I have to say that even though I’m involved in the “crazy” lifestyle that since being saved I have not gone “balls to the wall” as I used to do. Do I stumble, absolutely but I still maintain that I have a relationship with Christ that is not breakable by a few drops or few gallons of the spirits. I know Brendan will probably make the Ephesians 5:8 arguments. “Don't fill yourself up with wine. Getting drunk will lead to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” This is easier said than done. I know it seems like I am making excuses for the lifestyle and behavior I sometime chose but as a young Christian honestly it’s hard. I even find sometimes that I do judge other Christians in that regard. I sense that squeaky clean image and that air of moral superiority and I am just like really cmon. Can I be faulted for my struggles because they are apparent while theirs might not be? In a way they make it hard to want to be around them. I just want to be 25. I know I am called to more but we do not live in a Christian bubble.

Some people know my testimony and understand my background and say its better because of the life I used to lead. Others say that the moment I drink that beer or start to party it up with some heathens I tarnish that same testimony. I think as people we tend to look at singular actions more than we look at the body of work. If people were to judge solely on single moments of other people’s lives how could we ever stand to look at each other with love? I know it happens. I love my friends and they are some of the biggest boozers on the face of the planet. Is it really in God’s plan that I turn my back on them because I am a Christian? That I can’t drink with them and be around them seems kind of absurd. Do I put them above my love for God I don’t think I do. They have seen me drive from a night of NJ partying because I had a Fusion event or some Lighthouse program or some conference. They say, “Wow Ant you party it up, but you faithfully attend church.” There is a sense of recognition of the devotion I have to my God in my actions and their acknowledgement.

I wish I could honestly say that the canvas of my life has been painted entirely with the Holy Spirit but I can’t. I am not ashamed of who I am. I understand that there is a war raging constantly for my soul but I know the battle is won. Someday I won’t need to party it up. I won’t have that strong desire to be in that environment. I will probably get a lot of flak for ending on this note but I guess I could some it up like this 1^st Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Where is Your Treasure?

2011-06-08T16:39:00.000-04:00

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46)

Where is your treasure?
There are many things that we pour our time and resources into.
Often times our focus and priority becomes ourselves.
Our purpose and fulfillment becomes dependent on our own gratification and pleasure.
We seek after earthly treasure thinking that it will bring joy and contentment.

If God is our treasure, what a great treasure we have!
It is too much to count! It is bountiful, like a feast. There are gourmet meals and scrumptious treats spread out on the table before us. It's a banquet table that never ends. There is food as far as the eye can see!

Best of all, our focus is shifted upward and off of ourselves.
Now God can bless us and bless others through us.
Now He can bring us to the place where it matters less and less what our plan was, and matters more and more what His plan is.

So seek the treasure of the Kingdom of God and see for yourself how great it's value is.
Mary (Deep River)

Sola Dei Gloria! : A Counter Point on the Christian and Secular music.

2011-06-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

Let me begin by stating that I do not believe that all secular music is sinful. Nor do I believe that a particular genre of music is sinful. Notes on a page are amoral. They do not become sinful when played in a certain pattern. What can be sinful is the message conveyed through the lyrics of any song. This would be the same if a sinful message were put to a Beethoven melody or a grunge rock anthem. So, a major question that must be dealt with is how the believer negotiates and navigates through the sinful messages that pervade society. The fact is we are bombarded with messages that “wage war against our soul” (1 Peter 2:11). These messages do influence us. There is a reason why advertising is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Furthermore, it has been said that today’s popular music is nothing more than self-advertisement.

So you can imagine my dismay when my friend Anthony sought to downplay music’s influence on people. Sure, he threw in a back-handed acknowledgement of the fact that music has influence, but then he went on to cast a huge shadow over the reality of that influence…at least for himself.
Let’s be clear, music influences people! It is attested to in scripture (See 1 Samuel 16:14-23 where David was brought to King Saul in order to play music to provide relief from the evil spirit that tormented him) and has been known in the world of science for thousands, of years. Music affects the emotions. It can lighten a mood, it can darken a mood, it can intensify whatever mood is already present. We live in a world where people live by their emotions. If it feels right, do it! However, this is not what scripture teaches. The Bible teaches us to do what is right and then you will feel right.
“The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” (Psalm 19:8)
This fact alone should be our fist warning to be wise in our use of this medium called music.

Here’s where my friend Anthony really stepped in it…
“Tomorrow my pastor will try to argue the points of being fed positive messages and keeping oneself kingdom minded. I hope those aren’t his only two points because alone they are kind of weak.”

You will be happy to know that they are not, but please understand that should they be, they are sufficient. After all, they were sufficient for the likes of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. In Matthew 6:33 it was Jesus who said that his followers are to seek first HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Certainly this would include whatever entertainment options we would explore wouldn't it?
Paul was pretty clear on the subject. The battle is for our minds and what we feed our mind is important!
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” (Philippians 2:8)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2)

I dare say that only a fool would think these arguments “weak”. Maybe those who make them are weak but the arguments are solid. In fact, my friend Anthony goes on to say,
“If your mind is guarded by the principles of the bible then no matter how much “secular” music you listen to should not matter.”

I ask, how is a person’s mind guarded by the principles of the Bible? Is this something mystical that God does devoid of your actions or is there a personal role each of us plays by watching what we feed our mind? Can we think that a steady diet of corruption can be overthrown with a hearty helping of down home Bible goodness?
Let me be more specific. In the sermon on the Mount Jesus said that if your eye offends you that you should gouge it out (Matthew 5:29). His point is that we should never allow any body part to be used as an instrument for sin. Is the ear any different? You say, “the eye doesn’t commit adultery” but it is used by a sinful heart to head down that path. "The ears don’t sin", but they can be used to head down that path.

So here’s my first point. Sin is rarely a static action. That is, it rarely happens on its own, especially in the life of a believer. It is usually the result of a walk that is becoming more and more out of sync with God. This happens on the inside and only later is it revealed through our actions. Listening to VULGAR secular music may not make you sin today or tomorrow, but it does add fuel to your burning sinful heart! It gives your “old self” oxygen when we are told to kill the old self.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5, also see Romans 8:13)

Second, as a believer my calling is to glorify God. That means to reflect Him and his character to those around me. Don’t think I’m trying to be too high minded here. I understand the value of “down time”, rest, relaxation, de-stressing, and entertainment. But even in partaking in those activities I have an opportunity to reflect something of God. After all, God rested, God enjoys beauty, and God gave man creative and artistic abilities. We who know God and honor Him ought to enjoy life more than those who don’t have a relationship with their creator. And that is why we need to examine everything that we do, so that as 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

I applaud my friend Anthony for being respectful of exercising his freedom around others who would be offended. But I encourage us all to be ruled by God’s spirit, not our own ideas or preferences. Consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6:12,
“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”

I leave you with two questions you should always be asking yourself.
1. Who’s telling you to do the things you do?
Who calls the shots in your life? Do you call the shots? Do you follow what the culture dictates?
2. Is there something that controls me?
Is their an action I “live” for? Can I leave and/or put down everything in my life or do I need to do and/or have it?

Ant’s WTH of the Week: The case for secular music.

2011-06-06T01:47:00.002-04:00

Pic from /www.zazzle.com/

The Christian world has deemed secular music as horrible and powerfully influential and downright sinful. The arguments are old and tired. They are weak and many times used as justification for some kind of legalism even though no one would ever call it that. The arguments have been used not only by the Christian world but also the “regular” world when it comes to the influential power of music. I believe that music effects mood and admit may sometimes effect actions indirectly but it is more of a rare thing. In America we tend to live by the exception instead of the rule. The rule is that music does not radically affect the behavior of the masses. My pastor and I have decided to do a point and counter point this week and the topic if you haven’t already guessed is Christian music or better yet the case for secular music.

Tomorrow my pastor will try to argue the points of being fed positive messages and keeping oneself kingdom minded. I hope those aren’t his only two points because alone they are kind of weak. God is supposed to seep into our lives completely. If a simple song can side track us then the issue is a lot deeper. Listening to a rap song to me is nothing. I am not influenced by what I watch and what I listen to. Those things exist purely for entertainment. What it boils down to it is the person not the music.

Another question I would like to pose is a person acting out of habit or because they love God? That is an important question. If you are acting out of a strong conviction in your heart then bravo. If you however are acting out of a belief of this is how I should be then I don’t think that is as equally acceptable. Morally unto itself is worthless. I think that is where this concept of not listening to certain types of music becomes this kind of elitist and moral badge readily available to distinguish the “mature” Christian from the immature. I understand when a brother and sister is out of line there needs to be a response by his and her friends when it comes to behavioral issues that could lead to sin but it is music. If your mind is guarded by the principles of the bible then no matter how much “secular” music you listen to should matter.

Now I think the point of respect needs to be brought up when speaking about music. If a fellow believer gets into my car and doesn’t like to listen to Jay Z I shouldn’t blast 99 problems when they get into my car to be some kind of jackass. There is a point in which we shouldn’t offend others just because they do not agree. This is a two way street. A believer shouldn’t be offended when getting into another believers car and the Christian radio stations are not on any of the presets.

I am going to conclude even though I could go on because its 1:30am and I am tired. I guess my final point is this. That music is one of the things that we like to create this rule and line but where do we stop. We could replace music with any of these following words; locations, movies, friends, and so on. We cannot create rules to mandate a pattern of heaven. We must first accept a pattern of heaven and our lives will create mandates that will allow for that pattern. To put it simply you don’t start out monopoly with all the hotels on your property. You must work at it and if in that work you believe whole heartily that you should not listen to secular music good for you. If you do not believe it will affect you more power to you. It is just music. This is Anthony Diaz signing off and saying that’s my WTH of the week.

God's Timetable is not our Timetable

2011-06-01T09:10:00.004-04:00

“He is the one who created time, like everything else, and He uses it for his own purposes. He is not within it, wondering what's around the next bend, as we are; He is outside of it, in the eternal ‘now’. He made the next bend.” (Taken from: Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World, by Dr. David Jeremiah, p. 200, emphasis added)

This struck me. I wonder what's around the next bend!
I wonder how the pieces of my life fit together.
He made the next bend! So we can trust Him.

We can trust that when He's ready He'll bring it all together to form a beautiful picture.
He grants us the desire of our hearts; and I believe that if He has put a strong enough desire into our hearts, in His timing, we will see that come to fruition.

It's hard, this trusting stuff. It's hard when we are living in the world and our focus is on all the things around us and the worries and anxieties of day to day.
But if we link in with God's purpose, we are linking into His eternal plan, which, He knows the beginning and end of. He knows the beginning and end of any trial I am facing.

He knows the beginning and end of each event down to the minute, down to the millisecond. That's how much detail he has each of our lives planned.
It blows me away! What an awesome God we serve.

In his book, Dr. David Jeremiah talks about how this knowledge can totally push away anxiety. Trust, complete trust, in the sovereign plan of God wipes away anxiety and worry.
However, we are a work in progress and it's a process!

Each day we learn more fully how to trust Him.

It's funny, as I was looking at Dr. Jeremiah's book tonight, I was thinking.
God knew I would be holding this book right now, thinking these thoughts, and He planned that I would have this book!

Today didn't just happen by chance. God knew every minute of our day before we lived it.

Not only that, He knew how today would fit into the larger picture of our lives and how it would all work together for our benefit.
"For I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord, plans to help and not to harm, plans to give you hope and a future!" (Jer. 29:11)

He knew where I would be today.

He knew minute by minute what I would be doing and every thought I would think.
"Before a word is on my tongue, oh Lord, You know it completely!" (Psalm 139)

This is beyond my comprehension!
That He knows us all so completely!
Wow. What an awesome God we serve!

Mary (Deep River)

Change You Can believe In

2011-05-31T10:02:00.000-04:00

This week marks a change for the FUSION blog.
As you can see on the right side of the page, we have changed the format/schedule of the blog. Since today is my opportunity to post, I thought I’d walk through the changes we have made and why we have made them.

Let me begin with FUSION’s purpose statement.
FUSION exists to bring young adults of faith together to build camaraderie and to equip them to better know and serve God in their churches and community.

This statement is the core that drives this ministry. It is not just an empty statement it is our lifeblood. Everything that we do seeks to achieve this purpose, including this blog. In the past this blog represented our only online presence. As such it had multiple functions. We used it to pass along information, to encourage and challenge people, and to spread the word about this ministry. Today we have expanded to include our own website and social networking outlets. This being the case, it was time to define why and how we would utilize this blog.

We want this blog to be a resource for young adults of faith. This blog offers a safe place to converse and express your thoughts. It will have posts intended to equip and encourage you in your walk with God. It will provide you with a forum to share what God is teaching you.

Here’s how it works.
My name is Brendan. I am the pastor of Lighthouse Community Church and the founder of this ministry. My right hand man is Anthony Diaz. He is the self-declared director of this ministry. Anthony and I will be posting each week on Monday and Tuesday respectively. In fact, Anthony submitted a great post yesterday. I encourage you to read it and comment.

On Wednesdays we will post a devotional. These devotionals are submitted by various members of the FUSION team. Here’s a preview, tomorrow’s will be from a young lady named Mary who has been learning the value of God’s timing. Guess what? You can submit one as well! We’d love to hear what God has been teaching you through His word! Email us at fusionyaministry(at)gmail(dot)com and share what God has been teaching you along with the passage of scripture He’s been using in your life and we will post it. If you are shy you can even submit your devotional anonymously.

On Thursdays we will have guests whom we have invited to share about themselves, their ministries, or whatever God has put on their heart.

We really hope you like the new format and would like to hear from you.

The case for Fusion

2011-05-30T11:50:00.001-04:00

I like how a great deal of people have the perception that a majority of young adults are apathetic. I adamantly think this is untrue. I think that the demographic of young adult is constantly changing. Every generation has its thing and since the world keeps changing the beliefs of young adults keep changing as well. The interesting thing is that older people cannot grasp that concept. They cannot understand the mind of a young adult so they write them off as being hard to understand or apathetic to everything since they cannot be reached in certain conventional ways.

I think that we have failed in a lot of respects in trying to break through to our youth. I think that’s were Fusion comes in. It is an organization for young adults ran by young adults. I really cannot describe the mobilization of God throughout the history of Fusion. I have heard that famous quote multiple times. In “In His time he will reveal to you where he is working so you can join Him.” Join us for the conference because He is at work. Join us for Fusion because you need it. The great thing is you probably do not even know it. June 4^th is our next Fusion at 954 Middlesex tpk in Old Saybrook Ct.

First Annual FUSION Conference

2011-05-17T16:05:00.000-04:00

FUSION is excited to announce our first annual
FUSION Conference for Young Adults!

The FUSION conference is a FREE one day event for young adults of faith (ages 18-30ish). The conference includes... dynamic worship, passionate speakers, and workshops designed to encourage and equip young adults to live out their faith and serve God in their church and community.

The conference will be held at Grace Church located at 336 main St Old Saybrook, CT 06475.
It begins at 10am and will wrap up by 4pm.
FREE lunch for those who register before the date of the conference.

For more details visit our website here.

Young Adult Ministry (part 5): Now What?

2011-05-13T16:26:00.000-04:00

As I bring this series on ministry to young adults to a close, I want to look at what is currently happening at my church and some challenges we work to overcome.

In the Summer of 2008 I returned to my CT roots to start the work of Lighthouse Community Church. While serving as a youth and young adult pastor in Maryland I had tried to start a conference specifically for young adults but it never got off the ground. So in the Fall of 2009, I worked with two young men I was discipling to launch Lighthouse “RAW”. The idea behind “RAW” was to get as many unbelieving young adults in the room as possible and to engage them in an open and frank dialogue about faith, God, and spirituality. While “RAW” was fairly successful, I learned that the greatest impact it had was on the young adults of faith who attended. They shared that listening to my conversations strengthened their faith and their ability to defend the faith. In June of 2010 “RAW” was put on hiatus for the Summer, and in the Winter of 2010 FUSION was launched.

Unlike its predecessor, FUSION targets young adults of faith. If these young adults regularly attend church, FUSION seeks to build their faith and equip them to serve in their church. If they do not attend church, FUSION seeks to reconnect them to a growing relationship with God. The intended result is that these young adults will begin impacting their peers with the truth of God’s Word.

FUSION is non-denominational in nature. Any young adult may attend any of our events. All young adults who attend are encouraged to invite their friends.

This leads to our first challenge. I purposely chose to make this a non-denominational ministry because I have found that in this area, young adults have little regard for denominational distinctives. They want to study the Bible and fellowship and are not willing to hold up denominational distinctives as a reason not to do so.
The challenge is that the leaders of their various churches are not so open. I am not disparaging any pastor for trying to protect his members from false-teaching, etc. I go out of my way to meet and speak with any and all local Pastors about the purpose of the group. I explain how this ministry allows 3 young adults from their church to fellowship with 3 young adults from 5 other churches meaning that 18 young adults are now receiving solid Bible teaching and being equipped to go back to their churches to serve. The response is usually polite but what is clear is that Pastors in this area are tribal. They would rather start their own group than send their members to FUSION. I applaud this! If this ministry causes churches to start their own ministries I celebrate. But, the fact is that the root issue is tribal. Interestingly I have found that the closer a church is to me in theology and doctrine, the less likely they are to endorse this ministry.

Another challenge comes from the young adults themselves. I find that many young adults today do not want to be held accountable. It is very hard to disciple a generation who has such a wide definition of “judging”, and has attached such a negative connotation to it. Don’t get me wrong, I deplore judgmentalism, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a willingness to open ones-self to biblical assessment and correction by another without taking it as an offense. You’ve probably heard the mantra, “Only God can Judge me!” My response is, “Watch out what you wish for!” The bottom line is that a major impetus for spiritual growth is forming relationships whereby we open ourselves to others to assess the good and bad in our life. Young adults are willing to open up to one another but very hesitant to address areas of sin in each others lives. Young adults are not alone in their aversion to this but since it is young adults we are discussing it is worth noting.

The final challenge is ministering to a generation that wants to celebrate the lowest level of accomplishment. Maybe this isn’t a challenge as much as an observation. This is the generation where everyone who played tee ball got a trophy. Mine is the generation (the last of its kind) that only celebrated winners. Second place was the first loser. Today it seems that young adults want to celebrate and be acknowledged for everything. It’s like the wide receiver in the NFL who jumps up and dances after making a routine catch. I yell at the screen, “That’s your job! Thanks for doing your job now get back in the huddle you moron!” I laugh as I write this and admit that I find myself shaking my head at the level of self-congratulations young adults pass along to themselves and expect to receive from those in authority. Oh well, I’m sure I’ve stirred the pot enough, so I’ll close.

FUSION meets one Saturday a month for fellowship, worship, and a time of Bible teaching.
FUSION also meets once a month for a time of fellowship and fun group activities.
FUSION has also spawned “Thirsty Thursdays” which meets at the local Starbucks, twice a month, for the purpose of making mid-week connections.
Visit our website at www/fusionyaministry.com

NEXT WEEK FUSION WILL MAKE SOME MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS ON ALL OF IT’S SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS, SO STAY TUNED!!!!!

THIRSTY THURSDAY!

2011-05-12T12:59:00.000-04:00

Thirsty Thursday tonight! 8pm Old Saybrook CT 06475 Be there or be square!

FUSION

2011-05-07T07:44:00.002-04:00

Fusion tonight! 954 Middlesex Turnpike. 7pm to 9pm www.fusionministry.com Come through for discussion worship and fellowship.

Young Adult Ministry (part 4): Please Check Your Misconceptions at the Door

2011-05-05T10:13:00.004-04:00

As we steer this series towards home I have to say that it has been great seeing how much conversation it has produced. Thanks for the great comments that have come in here. I am humbled by the remarks I received offline along with the reports from my church’s young adults who have shared with me their peers reactions and the conversations that they have had.

So, here’s my pedigree once again. I assisted with a church plant that targeted inner city youth and young adults. I was a youth and young adult Pastor. In my current church the fastest growing demographic is young adults. My point, I have learned some things over the years that have stood true no matter where I have ministered to young adults. Therefore, in this post I wish to clear up some misconceptions that many churches and church leaders have in regard to young adults and faith.

Misconception #1
Young adults are so self-centered that they care very little about God and faith.
It is exactly because they are self-centered that many young adults DO in fact, care about God and faith. When I say that they are self-centered what I mean is that they are on their own, or trying to be. They are attempting to “make it”, to chase dreams and figure out what matters the most in life. Yes they default to self, last time I checked you and I often do as well. But by and large there is still an openness to explore God and faith. The key is that it must be done in a way that is sincere and relevant. Remember, many of them have an aversion to church created by the level of hypocrisy they have seen in many church going folk. The more open and honest you are with them the more they are willing to allow you to guide them on a faith walk. The more you show them how to think through biblical principles, as opposed to spoon feeding them “do’s” and “dont’s”, the more they appreciate God’s Word.

Misconception #2
In the name of relevance they like it dumbed down.
I believe that God’s Word is relevant. I do not need to make it relevant I simply need to show people it’s relevance and timely nature. This is never more true than when ministering to young adults. BUT, this doesn’t mean that I dumb down the Word or my teaching of it. If a young adult has spent any time in church they have already had the Bible relegated to a bunch of stories. What they want now is to dig in! Whether or not they accept it and incorporate it into their lives, young adults want to dig in and explore all that the Bible has to say about life and any particular topic. They want to see it for themselves. They want someone to slog through tough passages with them. They are smart enough to begin formulating real life application.
One of the young adults from my church recently attended a conference. The main speaker of the conference handled one topic throughout several sessions in the span of two days. I thought it would be great to have this young adult be in an environment where the speaker would lead an effort to “dig in” to a subject.
When the young man returned home I asked how things went. His first line, no lie…”I think he dumbed it down for a mass audience.” My jaw dropped. How could you set up an environment for “concentrated” study then deal in terms of generalities and platitudes?
Don’t be afraid to dig in and dissect passages with young adults!

Misconception #3
If you reach out they won’t respond.
If nothing else, have the courage to engage young adults in conversation.
Utilize the techniques of “Active Listening" to better understand them.
I have found that young adults have a lot of opinions and most of them love to share those opinions. If you are open and honest with them, willing to admit your, and the church’s, faults, they will respond and appreciate your efforts.
What they say of church folk is also true of young adults, “They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Young adults, have I come anywhere near hitting the mark?
Let me hear from you!
Do you, or have you ministered to young adults?
I’d like to hear of other misconceptions you have experienced.

Fusion this Saturday

2011-05-05T08:25:00.002-04:00

Come and join us for Fusion this Saturaday at 954 Middlesex Tpk in Old Saybrook Ct, 06475 at 7pm. Remember .....

FUSION is a ministry based in Old Saybrook, CT

that exists to serve the valley shore and beyond.

Our events bring young adults from all denominations together for fellowship and encouragement.

www.fusionyaministry.com

Fusion is visiting another young adult ministry!

2011-05-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday our Fusion group will be traveling to Newington, Ct to visit another young adult ministry called Connect. The ministry is sponsored by Mill Pond Church. More information on the Church can be found here www.facebook.com/MPConline. The address for the location is 719 North Mountain Rd, Newington, CT. If you plan on attending please feel free to call me at (973)573-8588 or email me at Senatordiaz@gmail.com . The meeting time is 7pm to about 9:30ish. If you want to attend please let us know so we could carpool or meet up.

2011-04-27T16:41:00.003-04:00

We are half way through a series I am doing on ministry to young adults. This series is being offered on both here and on my personal blog. While online comments have been sparse, this series has sparked quite a bit of conversation offline. This post is a response to many of the questions and comments I have received in person.

To clarify, I am not saying there was “NO” young adult ministry taking place. As I noted in an earlier post, there was a young adult ministry in place at the church I was serving in 2006, but my point was that it was poorly attended. Some churches offered a “College & Career” group, but these groups were often organized by one or two young adults with little guidance provided by the church.

I’d also like to restate that my findings were not “official” research rather information that was gathered first hand through targeted conversations with young adults living in the Baltimore, MD area in the mid 2000’s. As such, they may or may not be indicative of your particular area and this current time.

Speaking of time, there was also a distinct lack of resources for someone, like myself, looking to reach young adults. My first attempt to minister to young adults came when I taught a Bible study out of my home in 1996. In 2004 I assisted a church plant that targeted young adults. Then, in 2006 I determined to forge a path for this type of ministry. I looked around and saw plenty of Christian conferences and resources for Pastors, teens, men, women, and married couples, but very little was available for young adult ministry.

Today men like Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer have written books like Lost and Found and Essential Church that chronicle young adult research and assist churches in re-capturing those who have left the church. Jason Hayes and Lifeway have developed a great curriculum for young adult ministry called Threads. They also host several conferences that target young adults. Brian Mosley started the Right Now Campaign with the mission of challenging young adults to trade in the “American dream” in order to serve God and spread the gospel. Authors like Renee Johnson, and Kary Oberbrunner have emerged to speak directly to this generation of young adults. This list is not exhaustive but shows that there is a new effort afoot to empower young adult believers.

However, in 1996, 2004, and even in 2006 these people, their ministries, and their resources were not available. I was on my own! The first two posts in this series reflect my journey to understand and minister to young adults during a time when there were scant resources. Upcoming posts will be reflective of what I have found to be true and effective in the current state of young adult ministry.

So come along for the ride and feel free to comment over the next two weeks as we will explore current misconceptions about young adults and I announce a great new resource for young adults and those who minister to them.

Young Adult Ministry (Part 2): Where’d Everybody Go?

2011-04-21T11:11:00.007-04:00

This is part 2 in a series where I'm exploring ministry to young adults. In part 1 I shared some of my personal perceptions of American young adults. You can read that post here. This series is also being highlighted on my personal blog here. Today I will share what I found out when I opened a dialogue with young adults in Maryland. This dialogue took place over the span of almost two years and was conducted with upwards of 100 young adults age 18-30. Many of these young adults grew up regularly attending church. Many of them had not regularly attended church since graduating from high school. In a very informal manner I spoke with them about faith, the church, and their personal walk with God. Ultimately I was trying to find out why so many of them no longer attended church.

In 2006 I was a youth and young adult pastor and could not help but notice that in a church with membership numbers close to a thousand, there were less than a handful of young adults regularly attending church and even less actively participating in the church’s young adult ministry. I set out to find out why and started a series of formal and informal discussions to find out where young adults were.
Here’s what I found out…

1. Many young adults felt that the church did not care about them.
At many churches there was a distinct lack of young adult ministry.
Many of these young adults had grown up in youth group. From age 13 – 18 they had worshiped and grown in an atmosphere specifically catered to them. At age 18 that abruptly ended. Now they were considered adults and were expected to make an unguided transition into “regular” church. No more personal attention, no more age appropriate teaching, and nobody to guide them through the transition. The result was that many of them were left feeling that nobody in the church cared about them.

2. Many young adults felt that the teachings offered by the church did not relate to them and their life circumstances.
As these young adults made the transition into “regular” church they found that their life circumstances did not match those around them. They were not facing midlife crisis, most of them were not raising children, and they certainly weren’t adjusting to retirement.
They acknowledged that pastors mean well, but one size doesn’t always fit all when it comes to sermons. Too many sermons seemed to miss the mark of applying to their life.

3. Many young adults felt that the church was full of hypocrites.
On top of all of this was a powerful undercurrent of distrust. As teenagers many of these young adults had picked up on the hypocrisy prevalent in many churches. They saw parents, and reputed church leaders who acted one way in church but lived another way outside the walls of the church building. Now they were being told that hey needed to join the very group they had disdain for. To them the question was, would they play the game? Would they join the hypocrisy? Would they act spiritual on Sunday knowing that they struggled with sexual purity and a holy lifestyle all week long? Would they attend church on Sunday when they had been out clubbing all night on Saturday? The answer for many was “NO”! They may not be living right, but they would not compound things by acting a certain way in church that was not a proper representation of where they were in their life and walk with God.

4. Some young adults remained connected to their church but still felt that there were almost no opportunities for them to serve in the church.
Then there were the small numbers of young adults who had continued to attend church. It was interesting that this usually occurred when there was a personal contact involved. That is, there was someone in the church who they loved and knew loved them, someone that had invested in their life when they were a teenager. Interestingly, that person was almost never a relative.
However, there was a problem. In most cases these young adults found no place to serve within the church. Most areas of service were occupied by the “adults”, often by people who had been doing the same job for longer than the young adult had been alive. Of course nobody would dare to ask these people to step down, to do such would be an offense.
So here was a small number of young adults, bucking the trend. Often they stood in a gap, still connected with the young adults not in church while being in the church but not connected enough to be actively serving.

Next time I'll share what these young adults believe about God and their personal spiritual journey. But let me hear from you!
Which category have you been in?
What has been your experience?
Are you part of the almost 80% that left church after you graduated from high school or have you stuck it out?
I look forward to hearing from you!

Young Adult Ministry (Part 1): A Personal Perspective

2011-04-18T23:59:00.003-04:00

Hi All, This is Pastor Brendan posting.
Over the next few posts I’d like to explore ministry to young adults. Today I will share some of my personal perspective on young adults. In subsequent posts I will delve into such topics as misconceptions of young adults and spirituality. I'd love to hear what you think of my observations of young adults today. keep in mind they are simply my observations. I do not claim they are true, simply my perception. if you think I am off please let me hear it!!

I find myself compelled to explore this topic because it has been dear to my heart for almost ten years. Also, my church’s young adult ministry is really “taking off” and I am finding more and more of my time being dedicated to it. For this reason I will be posting the series on both our young adult ministry blog and my personal blog here.

I define young adults as those aged 18-30ish. While some assume adulthood at the point of marriage, I uphold this definition regardless of marital status. I do so because note that in America young adulthood seems to be elongating. My parents lived in the time when it was quite normal to get married soon after graduating from high school. Along with marriage came a “settling down” and an approach to life that revolved around being responsible, i.e. men got a job and provided for their family while women had children and managed the home.

Twelve years ago I got married at age 25. This was common for my time as most of my contemporaries got married soon after completing an undergraduate college degree. Even those who didn’t go to college often held off until their mid-twenties before getting married. However, upon getting married many of us were in no particular rush to have children as we sought to continue establishing our careers. This was the case for both men and women alike. It wasn’t until we’d reached a certain point in our career or financial standing that many of us had children. To be sure, my wife and I were in the minority by waiting seven years into our marriage, and into our 30’s, before having children. My point is that this delayed adulthood.

Today, it is not uncommon for young adults to not get married until they reach their 30’s with children not coming until mid to late 30”s. Young adulthood now clearly stretches through the twenties regardless of whether one attends college or not. Many young adults jump from job to job, often giving up financial security for the sake of comfort. That is, I often encounter young adults who have left good paying jobs because they didn’t want to live within the confines the job required or because they would rather pursue something they consider more fulfilling. Often they fall back on the safety net of their parents, moving back home as they prepare for whatever will come next. As I’ve stated, it’s not uncommon for this pattern to continue into the early 30’s. Even those who stay with their good paying jobs find no rush to get married, I have some thoughts on why that is which I may or may not discuss later. Along with the delay to marry is a delay to pick up the mantle of “responsible adult”. Instead, they choose to enjoy what I call a more sophisticated college lifestyle. You know, still plenty of drinking, video gaming, exploring musical interests (read being in a local band).

All of this to say that young adulthood today often stretches into the 30’s. Even those who get married in their twenties still don’t think in terms of classic responsible adulthood until they get into their thirties.

It is to this generation and mindset that I have sought to minister. Knowing that amid the stress and pressures presented to this group, God is able to do a powerful work. It was in my young adult years that God grabbed a hold of my life and steered it in a direction that many, including myself, never would have guessed. Can he do the same for others? Young adult, can he do the same for you? Or maybe the better question is, will you allow Him to? What does God have to offer you? What do you have to offer God?

I welcome your comments and hope you will follow this series.

MOVIE NIGHT!!!!

2011-04-12T13:13:00.001-04:00

This Saturday we are going to be watching Toy Story 3 at 954 Middlesex Turnpike in Old Saybrook. We are going to be starting at our usual time of 7pm. Bring snacks if you want. I'll be bringing my air popper. Invite whoever you want the more the merrier.

Thirsty Thursday

2011-04-07T08:27:00.002-04:00

Thirsty Thursday going down tonight 8pm at the Starbucks in Old Saybrook!!!!!!

Great Quote

2011-04-06T10:33:00.000-04:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”Marianne Williamson

Why We got Started

2011-04-03T20:59:00.001-04:00

Fusion

2011-04-03T00:36:00.001-04:00

Fusion exists because not every young adult in CT believes in a lifestyle that promotes drinking and drug use.

Fusion this Sat!!!!!!

2011-03-31T21:50:00.001-04:00

Just reminding everyone out there that Fusion is going down at our usual place 954 Middlesex Tpk Old Saybrook Ct 06475 at our usual time of 7pm. If anybody needs any more info hit me up at Senatordiaz@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter

2011-03-29T21:25:00.003-04:00

Follow us on Twitter by using your smart phone to scan the bar code using a QR Code reader App on your blackberry android phone or iphone. You can still follow us on twitter by just following us @Lccfusion. Just one more way of staying connected.

Upcoming Schedule

2011-03-22T15:15:00.002-04:00

Fusion

April 2nd
Regular Fusion meeting with a Bible Study time by Pastor. Saunders. 7pm at 954 Middlesex Tpk Old Saybrook
April 16th
Movie Night!!! I am open to suggestions so email me some movie choices. Senatordiaz@gmail.com

Thirsty Thursdays
March 24th April 7th April 21st
8pm at the Starbucks in Old Saybrook.

Spring Retreat
I would like to have a group of us go up to the BCNE Collegiate Spring Retreat. I need to know if you can go by March 30th. There is some cost but don’t worry about it, if you want to come we can make it happen.

Dates: April 8-10, 2011

Studying: Join students and young adults from across New England as we explore the heart of the Christian faith, the Cross:

1 Cor 15:1-5 The Centrality of the Cross
Rom 3:21-26 The Meaning of the Cross
Gal 3:10-14 The Glory of the Cross
Titus 2:1-15 The Lifestyle of the Cross

Speaker: Jared Mellinger

Praise Leader: TJ Odom

Location: Cody Outdoor Center, Freedom, NH

Does Your Life matter? (Part 2)

2011-03-10T18:10:00.004-05:00

The series thus far...

In a short film entitled "Trees", Rob Bell asks pertinent questions about life, namely, what is it about? And, does my life matter?

Over the next few months FUSION will be using Bell's thoughts as a starting place to explore life. We've started by looking at God's original plan for mankind as recorded in the first book of the Bible, Genesis.

So far we've looked at the first two chapters of Genesis where we've seen God at work creating the world as we know it. As he created, everything built to a grand crescendo that climaxed with the creation of mankind. The text clearly shows that humans are distinct from all else that God created. We are created in his image and has been given responsibility to oversee the rest of creation.

Consider this in your own life. Maybe you don't believe in God or maybe you don't understand why he has allowed certain circumstances in your life. Consider for a moment that "In the beginning" you were created out of love, given a perfect environment, and were fashioned to enjoy a relationship with your creator. Even though we no longer enjoy that perfect environment, the same loving God still calls you into a relationship with him.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Join us on April 2nd as we continue our journey down the path of life together!

Thirsty Thursday

2011-03-02T22:23:00.001-05:00

We will be having a Thirsty Thursday tonight at Starbucks in Old Saybrook usual time of 8pm. 3/3/11

Does Your Life matter?

2011-02-27T21:05:00.005-05:00

In a short film entitled "Trees", Rob Bell asks pertinent questions about life, namely, what is it about? And, does my life matter?

Over the next few months FUSION will be using Bell's thoughts as a starting place to explore life. We'll look at God's original plan for mankind and we'll explore how to live a life that matters.

Join us on March 5th as we journey down the path of life together!

Thirsty Thursday (February Schedule)

2011-02-07T17:44:00.007-05:00

In the month of February, Thirsty Thursday will be held on The 10th and the 17th.
Both gatherings will be held at Starbucks in Old Saybrook from 8-10pm.

Thirsty Thursday is a gathering of young adults who get together to have good drinks and conversation in a safe environment.
All are welcome to join us, so stop in!!!

FUSION!

2011-02-01T10:10:00.004-05:00

Come out this Saturday night (Feb 5th)as we have our first FUSION in our new building!

The new "place to be" is located at
954 Middlesex Turnpike
Old Saybrook, CT

The building is located in the Old River Center on RT154 on the way from Old Saybrook to Essex. You can't see the building from the road. It is a yellow building located behind Essex/Saybrook Antiques and the Riverdog Yoga studio.

We will be sure to put out the FUSION banner!!

Join us starting at 7pm!!

Thirsty Thursday

2011-01-20T00:06:00.000-05:00

Thirsty Thursday going down tonight at the Old Saybrook Starbucks at 8pm.

Fusion Tonight!

2011-01-15T14:40:00.002-05:00

We are going to have our Fusion meeting at the home of Pastor Saunders. It is right down the street from Starbucks. We are going to start the year right by learning what tools we all can utilize to help our walk and of course enjoy some great fellowship. Anymore questions you can call me at 973-573-8588...and of course the time is 7pm

Upcoming Fusion Dates

2010-12-29T23:41:00.001-05:00

January 15th will be the next Fusion date. We will however have two "Thirsty Thursday" on the 6th and the 30th.

The Missional Church... simple

2010-12-29T11:52:00.000-05:00

Anthony's thoughts on God

2010-12-22T02:48:00.001-05:00

Here is a video Pastor Brendan shot of me during the summer. Just thought it would be a neat post.

Dec Fusion

2010-12-13T00:31:00.002-05:00

The last Fusion even was held on Dec 4th and it was amazing for me. We watched a short video that could relate to everyone’s life there. The overall theme of the video was one of confidence in God can steer you through the inevitable storms. It was a great theme especially since the week of Masterlife (a bible study by Avery Willis) that I am in is pretty much along the same lines. The video was about a man who was walking through the woods with his son on his back on a nice day; however, it starts to rain. He starts to make his way back to the cabin and the storm is getting worse and worse and he takes his son off his back and begins to clutch him tightly to his chest and began to run back while whispering to his son, “I love you.” The lesson in this story was that we need to cling onto God in our times of trouble. He can weather us through any storm. Some good quotes out of the Master life book are as follow: “As a Christian, you are not exempt from difficulties. But remaining in His Word cultivates a relationship in which you can successfully weather those storms. When you have a relationship with Christ, He shows you how the Scriptures point to Him as the source of guidance and strength.” “With God’s word in your hear you can face any circumstance.” That was the general theme overall for Fusion this week.

Jordan one of the members of the leadership team closed out with some powerful words. He explained how he saw the video as analogous to humanities’ relationship with God. He saw the man in the woods as God and the baby as humanity. Our whole concept and perception is derived from the world around us and what we define as our current reality. Reality is always deemed as the whole picture; however, when we look at the world from the father in the story we see a different reality. We see how this storm is just a momentary thing, a literal, physical manifestation of a problem that is simply occurring in this single moment in time. As people how often do we look at our problems and think that this is it every other week seems to be the worst week of our lives. One of the most memorable passages from scripture is very blunt about worrying about today. Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Going back to the video I remember Jordan saying how often do we clutch to God in adversity. I can simplify that by asking plainly how often do we clutch to God in general? This point brings us to another question in our times of trouble what are the things we are clutching to?

Side Note: another "Thirsty Thursday" event this Thursday at 8pm at the Starbucks in Old Saybrook.

Presenting "Thirsty Thursday"!

2010-12-06T22:50:00.002-05:00

This Thursday will kick off our "Thirsty Thursday" event at 15 Main St
Old Saybrook, CT 06475 at 9pm at Starbucks. Its just a way to hang out and enjoy the presence of fellow believers and just be in a positive environment. So come on out and don't forget the coffee or drink of your choice is on the Big Man...Woop Woop!

What Are Life's "Essentials"?

2010-11-02T15:54:00.000-04:00

Jokes.com

Brian Regan - Lost Baggage

comedians.comedycentral.com

Brian Regan Videos

Brian Regan Jokes

Brian Regan Standing Up

Just some good music

2010-10-24T20:00:00.001-04:00

A Renewing Feeling of God’s Presence and Love

2010-10-07T18:08:00.004-04:00

Our second Fusion meeting took place on October 2nd and it was fantastic. Several new people came and thoroughly enjoyed being there. Michele had this to say about our 2nd meeting. “A few people who came said they were glad we started something like this, because frankly there are not many fellowship groups like these around for our generation. This group gives us the freedom to speak what is on our hearts, questions, doubts, or just to get a renewing feeling of God’s presence and love. I loved how everyone got involved in the discussion.” Fusion is the positivity that exists outside a church environment specifically for believers and non-believers.

The discussion was on Acts 17:20-28. We discussed having and finding a relationship with God and being able to see God and candidly whether or not God cared about us. Having these kinds of discussions are very important for the new believer and the mature believer. Believers all start with a fire for God; however, that fire over time becomes weaken and lessens from the pains trials and tribulations of the world, especially in the age ranges from 16 to 30. The pressures from our peers at this point seem overwhelming and daunting. Fusion exists to combat this. Fusion exists to reassure ourselves and to reaffirm our love of God and conversely God’s love for us.

One of the things I mentioned during the meeting is that the difference between believer and non-believer is that the non-believer is incapable to recognize and unconscious to God’s love. The believer can experience and recognizes God and His love all around us each and every day. So if you have the chance to recognize something amazing why wouldn’t you try it? What is there to lose? The answer to that question is your old lives, that void, that missing feeling that you have. That is what you lose. It does not matter if you never believed in God. It does not matter if you never entered a church. Everyday you wake up is a new chance to love God and to make it the first day of the rest of your new life. Stop denying yourself the ultimate joy and happiness. If you already accepted Christ and God as the leader of your life here is the chance to recapture that joy with others. Developing Christian spirituality is an unparalleled journey; take the first step at the next Fusion.

Lastly, I will end with Michele’s thoughts, “By having such an intimate relationship with God, He overflows and radiates from us. I felt there was an amazing peace which you could feel in the atmosphere. I am excited for what God is doing. I see He’s already excelling this group to new levels with him.”

I heard this song off a Steve Gaines Sermon

2010-09-25T20:00:00.001-04:00

Come one Come All!

2010-09-13T21:40:00.003-04:00

Fusion kicked off Saturday night and we had 6 people show up for our first night. It was an amazing experience and just a great night of overwhelming fellowship and positivity. One of the first people to give their testimony was Jordan Chabot. He had this to say about the Fusion.

Jordan Chabot: Saturday night was a great time of: fellowship, worship, prayer, and discussion. After worship the Spirit led people to give testimonies and I felt a shift in the atmosphere of understanding and revelation of who God is. I felt that everyone who was there was touched by the spirit of Jesus.

Jordan gave an extremely powerful testimony. It had a great deal of insight and knowledge that flowed with boundless spiritual wealth. It was truly amazing and from a personal standpoint the testimony I needed to hear to evaluate myself and my walk with God.

Fusion is about this. It is about seeing God’s hand in the life of young people. We all come from various backgrounds and faiths and cultures and are held together by a common belief in all loving and all powerful God. We are a group of young adult believers who are disappointed with the alternatives out there and need a safe environment to display the religious and spiritual angst we feel, or to just share our faith and lives with each other in a positive atmosphere.

I hope and pray that more people can read this and that their hearts and minds are softened. That they know that they could possibly use a place like this to further their understanding of: God, the Bible, the church and the Gospel. So I hope you come out and enjoy and if you already have come out to join us its my hope you come again.

Anthony Diaz

What Can I Expect at FUSION?

2010-09-04T14:34:00.004-04:00

A relaxed, "come as you are", atmosphere.
A lounge or coffee shop environment with free food and coffee.

After ample time of mixing and greeting we'll probably phase into a time of worship in song.

Next we'll have "Open Mic". This is your time to shine!
Sing a song, share a poem, rant about what "grinds your gears", it's your chance to stand on a soapbox and give your two cents worth...just try to keep it clean!

Then the discussion will begin. Highlighted by a drama skit or a video, we'll explore a different topic each week. You will be encouraged to interact and share your perspective. When the dust clears I'll do my best to share how the Bible addresses our topic.

Sound like fun?

We're waiting to hear from you! In fact, you can begin now by commenting on this post. What are the some of the topics you'd like to have us address?

BTW, we offer child care as well.

What is FUSION and what happened to RAW?

2010-08-31T22:21:00.005-04:00

FUSION is an upgrade, think of it as RAW 2.0!

The basics are still the same...

FUSION is a ministry of Lighthouse Community Church of Old Saybrook, CT.
As the Pastor of Lighthouse, it is my desire to reach out to young adults age 18-30ish and engage them in an open discussion about life and the pressures they face. FUSION provides this forum. It is a place where you can explore faith and spirituality.

Make no mistake, I am unapologetic in my belief that the Bible is a guide for life. I also understand that people have questions. Good, solid questions about life, faith, and God. Therefore it's my job to show the relevance of the Bible.

Think of me as a guide. I'm not offended by your questions or skepticism. I simply invite you to come and share.

Starting on Saturday September 11, 2010 and continuing on the first Saturday of each month at 7pm in the 123 Elm St office complex in Old Saybrook, CT.
We're in the first building on the right.
Enter the black door on the right.

Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

2010-05-25T13:57:00.002-04:00

Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Rick Warren from A Purpose Driven Life

Even with that purpose, what real purpose is it without God and trying to live a Christ like life. While I fail and people continue to fail there are shining examples of God’s glory. Do not look at me for the example. Look at yourself, are you the example you can be to others.

Quotes from Mere Christianity

2010-04-28T08:17:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. I have been thinking about what the next post should be about. I decided since my knowledge of the Lord is very fresh that I shall keep the postings very short and sweet. I have decided to just start posting some inspirational and/or thoughtful quotes. When we have RAW events; I will definitely post the event and its specifics up.

Here are two quotes from C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity
“We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity. That is what has to be believed.”

“In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular doorkeeper?'”

Allow me to reintroduce ourselves....our name is RAW

2010-04-09T00:41:00.003-04:00

A reintroduction of the blog seems necessary as I (Anthony Diaz) am taking responsibility of the blog. Like Lao-tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” With that said, Lighthouse RAW is in the initial stages of growth. As the younger dialogue element of Lighthouse Community Church (http://www.lccoldsaybrook.com/) we seek to have an open forum on any and every issue always concluding with biblical relevance. Just as Lighthouse Community Church is a “safe place to belong” regard RAW a “safe place to be heard”. The name Raw comes from the very nature of being Raw. Raw is a natural organic state and we hope our conversations are equally as organic and natural.

We talk about anything and everything at RAW. Our last discussion on April 3rd was a nice casual dinner over Chinese food and a great conversation. The topics ranged from political affiliation to the justification of war; not to mention my random question of what skin color was Jesus. We want to push the boundaries and open up conceptual thinking of the Christian religion. With discussion and logical debate we seek to further our own understanding and hopefully put to bed the common misconceptions and perceptions that have ruined Christians and individuals from having a personal relationship with God.

RAW is a good time with good people. So come out and join us. Did I mention free food? Well, everyone is more than welcome to join us for food and it is our sincere hope that you stay for the conversation. We also want to reach people of all walks of life at any point in their faith or lack thereof. Pastor Brendan Saunders is pretty much our MC/Biblical facilitator during our meeting, and trust me he more than welcomes a challenge and lively discussion. So again I hope that you come out and join us. We will meet on the first Saturday of each month at 7pm in the 123 Elm St office complex in Old Saybrook, CT. We're in the first building on the right. Enter the black door on the right.

February Review

2010-03-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

I apologize that it has taken me so long to post.

Our Feb meeting was very powerful!
During our Open Mic segment several people shared from their heart and opened the door for a powerful discussion on dealing with the pain and pressures of life.

Our topic for the night was "Can We trust the Bible?"
I shared 4 reasons why I believe the Bible is the trustworthy word of God.
After I shared much more discussion ensued.

In the end, a total of 14 young adults ranging in age from 19-28 attended.
People started showing up just after 7pm and most stayed until almost 10pm.
Pizza, pasta, and good conversation was enjoyed by all.

If you attended please feel free to weigh in with some of your thoughts.

March
Saturday, March 6th
7pm
123 Elm St
Old Saybrook, CT

Subject: "Why are Christians such hypocrites?"

What can I expect at Lighthouse "Raw"?

2009-10-29T01:39:00.000-04:00

A relaxed, come as you are, atmosphere.

Coffee and snacks will be available.

We also offer child care.

When the meeting begins we'll have a music "spotlight". In this segment we'll highlight a song or music video and exam it's message.
Next we'll have an Open Mic. This is your time to shine!
Sing a song, share a poem, rant about what "grinds your gears", it's your chance to stand on a soapbox and give your two cents worth...just try to keep it clean!

Then the discussion will begin. Highlighted by a drama skit or a video, we'll explore a different topic each week. You will be encouraged to interact and share your perspective. When the dust clears I'll do my best to share how the Bible addresses our topic.

Sound like fun?

We're waiting to hear from you! In fact, you can begin now by commenting on this post. What are the some of the topics you'd like to have us address?

What is Lighthouse "Raw"?

2009-10-29T01:19:00.000-04:00

Lighthouse "Raw" is a ministry of Lighthouse Community Church of Old Saybrook, CT.

As the Pastor of Lighthouse, it is my desire to reach out to young adults age 18-30ish and engage them in an open discussion about life and the pressures they face. "Raw" provides this forum. It is a place where you can explore faith and spirituality.

Make no mistake, I am unapologetic in my belief that the Bible is a guide for life. I also understand that people have questions. Good, solid questions about life, faith, and God. Therefore it's my job to show the relevance of the Bible.

Think of me as a guide. I'm not offended by your questions or skepticism. I simply invite you to come and share.

Starting on February 6, 2010
We will meet on the first Saturday of each month at 7pm
in the 123 Elm St office complex in Old Saybrook, CT.
We're in the first building on the right.
Enter the black door on the right.