Josh Conn

Live Differently – Easter 2012

// March 8th, 2012 // No Comments » // 217church, Easter, Easter Services in NJ, Letters to 217

Easter Sunday is quickly approaching and I can’t wait.  I love the Easter season.  The change of the weather, the energy and atmosphere of the church, a signal of new life and new beginnings.  Starting Easter Sunday, we have a 50 day season of spiritual emphasis like we have never had before at 217church.  After 2 years and 2 weeks of ministry, it is time to take it to the next level.  I wanted to take this time and share with you some of the details about the new “Live Differently” 50 Day Spiritual Emphasis.  Live Differently is all about transformation against the odds.  What will we be addressing?

Four Areas of Spiritual Health

#1 Spiritual Health - Easter Sunday April 8th, we will be focusing on our spiritual health. Each Sunday during Live Differently you will hear this phrase – “Salvation is free but discipleship will cost you everything.”  On Easter we will be addressing the heart issue of following Christ.  What are the practices of a Christ follower? What does a healthy spiritual life look like? Heart transformation is the key and the habits of prayer, reading the word, studying scripture, and meditating on it all flow from a heart transformed.  The challenge will be to join a small group for SEVEN CONSECUTIVE WEEKS.  Taking this time to engage in a spiritually intensive season is going to sharpen us in our focus as individuals and a church.  If you want the most out of the series you have to be in a small group!

#2 Financial Health - For the next two weeks, April 15th & 22nd, we will deal with one of the most difficult issues, how we live a healthy financial Life.  How do we work, live, save, and give? Should debt be an option? How does God want me to give? God has some incredible things to say about what financial health looks like and we want to address some lies the culture has fed to us. How much debt can we pay off by the end of 2012 as a church?  Let’s find out!

#3 Physical Health - April 29th & May 6th we will tackle our heart condition and how we treat our bodies.  For some of us, this will be a literal heart check.  There is no way around it, your body matters to God.  Did you know that heart disease kills more people every year than car accidents? God cares that we take care of our earthly shell and we will discover how nutrition, exercise and healthy living matter to God. How many pounds will we lose?  Will we choose to live healthy lives in 2012?  Let’s encourage each other!

#4 Family Health - The last two weeks, May 13th & 20th we will deal with the foundational structure of society, the family.  We will deal with marriage, parenting and single living and what God’s intention for the family is. How will our marriages be healthier? What if our relationship with our children exponentially improved?  God has to deal with our hearts first and there are some great direction in scripture that speaks directly to the health of the family.

Three Environments of Reinforcement

#1 Weekend Worship – You will not want to miss a weekend as every Sunday at 10:00am and 11:30am as we worship collectively together.  What does play-doh have to do with your marriage?  Come find out and you will see.

#2 Small Group Connection - We are asking each small group to meet for seven consecutive weeks and study the “Live Differently” material we have been working hard producing and publishing in house.  Each group will get a 7 lesson DVD video curriculum and each person a small group booklet that will help guide them along the way.  We have some fun times planned for your small group with some great ideas for growth.  We want EVERYONE who calls 217church home to be in a small group.  For this reason, we want to start 15 new groups.  Want to H.O.S.T. a group?  Here is what you need

• H -Have a Heart for People - We aren’t looking for professionals, but people will a love for people

• O – Open up your Home/Apartment - We need place for these groups to meet!  we currently have 14 homes, but to get everyone in a group, we need at least 14 more!  Are you game?  e-mail dan@217church now!

• S – Serve A Snack/Share A Meal Together – Food is an incredible way to build relationships!  I love eating with people.  Don’t worry, after your 1st meeting, you can involve everyone in your group in sharing the responsibility for this.

• T- Turn on the DVD/Host a Discussion - The DVD will be easy to understand and the lesson will be full of questions to ask.  As a H.O.S.T., you just take people right through the discussion question and some veterans of small groups will be there to help you along the way with any questions you may have.

#3 Individual Journaling/Life Transformations – At the end of the 7 weeks you will have 4 vision statements for your life, rooted in scripture, God inspired, written by you, birthed out of heart change inspired by the Holy Spirit.  My prayer has always been for us to be a healthy church.  It begins with healthy people!  This process is something I personally have been doing for over 10 years and has helped me incredibly.  I can’t wait to introduce it to you.

Get ready!  God is about to do something pretty incredible in your life…

Just Follow – The Direction for 217church

// February 29th, 2012 // 8 Comments » // 217church, Church Leadership, Church Planting, Leadership, Letters to 217, Momentum

I am SO PUMPED about the next season at 217church! Starting Easter Sunday we enter into a brand new series called “Live Differently.”  This series will address the heart transformations that happen when we follow Jesus, particularly in the area of spiritual, financial, physical and family health.  Our #1 energy going forward will be to architect a church where discipleship and multiplication flow at the speed of the Holy Spirit.  I believe a church plant happens in three Phases:  As a matter of fact I think every church needs to cycle through these phases every so often recognizing that churches have seasons.

#1 Establish – Getting everything up and running, getting all of our vision, systems, values cemented so we can have a strong future.  We have had an INCREDIBLE Launching pad for this church.  WE ARE ESTABLISHED.

#2 Empower – People flourishing and 217groups owning the responsibility to make the vision of the church happen through serving, learning, inviting, caring (praying) and eating together.  Every group cell has the power and the DNA of the church built in.  Experience a 217group and you have experienced the potency of 217church!  Every group has the relationship base to become a disciple making group.  I believe we are in the dog days of the Empowerment stage. I believe we will make a major transition from Easter 2012 to the Fall into the following stage:

#3 Extend - Multiplying Disciples, which multiply groups in different neighborhoods and then eventually send missionaries abroad. We will launch various discipling models for people in different circumstances but they will have one marked uniqueness.  They will be 1-1 transformational relationships.

Here is what this means for us:

A Philosophy I hold close is I believe discipleship best happens 1-1, life on life.  I am amazed at these two simple words of Jesus… “Follow Me” (Mark 1:13) I have had a 1-1 coaching/discipling relationship ongoing for almost 10 years now.

The vision statement for 217church is to “Create Environments where people can meet and FOLLOW Jesus.”  Meeting someone is one thing, following someone is a totally different thing. Following Jesus is hard work and I need help.  If we pattern our lives after Jesus eventually we will have to battle the heart issues of pride, possessions and purity. Paul encourages in 2 Timothy 1:13, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 

Our guiding word will be COACHING…why coaching?  I believe it best describes what a disciple maker does! Coaching is a discipline within disciple making that we will focus on.

Here are our guiding principles:

#1 We will coach in order to learn to coach -  The second part of Mark 1:13 is often forgotten when talking about disciple making environments… “and I will make you become fishers of men.”  You are discipled in order to disciple. What God entrusts to you through relationships, he EXPECTS you to impart to others.  Jesus fully expected the disciples to do something with their experiences with Jesus.  They were transformed by Jesus and were responsible to lead and disciple others.

#2 We will leverage 217groups to do life on life coaching - By the fall every leadership team member and every small group leader will have a coach.  This is someone who will disciple them.  This represents about 15% of our congregation.

#3 We will Develop a coaching culture that will trump everything else – This is how we will measure growth in our church.  Everything in our church will point to coaching relationships.  This multiplication will lead us into the Extend phase:  2 Timothy 2:2 says ^“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”   That’s FOUR GENERATIONS of discipleship in 1 VERSE! Did you see that?

#4 We will use various tools/methods – There is no one size fits all, but we have our hands on some great proven tools and some we developed on our own that speak to the culture of Central New Jersey and our church.

This will not be easy.  This will be messy. This will be hard work.  This will be Holy Spirit driven.  This will be a movement. We will get attacked.  We will persevere.  We will be transformed. This will be very expensive…

“Salvation is free but discipleship will cost you everything.”  Your leaders are preparing…Who is in?

Models Wanted – Momentum Day 22

// February 13th, 2012 // 1 Comment » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Family, Finances, Life Purpose, Momentum

Scripture:  Acts 22

Key Verse: Acts 22:22-23

“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ “

I like pictures.  Tell me what you want and I will have more questions, but show me a picture and I will surely understand.  I recently sat down in the barber chair and the young new stylist looked at me and said, “what are we doing to today?”  I said, “I’m not sure, what do you think?  She proceeded to show me a glut of pictures of what I might look like if I were in a GQ magazine.  I looked at a picture of the well sculpted hair and said, “that one, but I’m going to keep my shirt on.”

In the above passage the apostle Paul was fighting for his life and at the same time contending for the Gospel of Jesus.  He was uniquely a Jew and a Roman citizen.  His whole life screamed that transformation was possible.  He paints a picture through telling his story of how he met Jesus.  The underlying krux of this whole persecution of Paul is that he is just as ordinary as everyone else, but he happens to know what he wants to look like…Jesus. Paul does what Jesus says despite being a cheat, a murderer and a liar.  On a road to Damascus he saw a clear picture of Jesus and said, “that is the picture right there.”

Here is the problem: Okay, you aren’t going to find Jesus walking the earth.  He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, scripture, prayer and all creation. However, you will find people to help you figure out the next steps in your life who also bear the identity of Jesus.  This is where modeling comes in.

How do I find a good model?

#1 Recognize you need more than one -  It is nearly impossible to find someone who is accomplished at everything.  They just don’t exist.  You need multiple models for different situations.  People to help you who specialize in certain areas.  Our media driven paparazzi culture has turned models into idols.  if you make your model an idol, you will surely be disappointed.

#2 Define what you want help with - If someone sits down with me and doesn’t know what they want, I can’t really help them over the long haul. Know what you want help with and then write down some specific preferred outcomes you have.

#3 Look at lots of pictures - You have to watch people.  I didn’t say envy or make an icon of someone, but be a diligent observer.  If it is in the area of family that you want a model, look for someone you can model your family after.  If it is starting a business, time management, spiritual discovery, or physical health, look for lots of different types of models.  Take every step to ensure they are authentic.  In essence, “Don’t take nutritional advice from an obese man.”

Here are four areas to start with…

1. Spiritual health

2. Family health

3. Financial health

4. Physical health

One more thing...when you know what you want to look like, something has to give, people will be ticked at you.  The people might – just – start – a – riot…

When To Stop Arguing – Momentum Day 19

// February 10th, 2012 // No Comments » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Family, Momentum

Scripture:  Acts 19

Key Verse: Acts 19:9

“But when some became stubborn…he withdrew from them“

Sometimes its just not worth it.  When you are arguing with a stubborn heart, you realize there is no use.  I didn’t say, don’t try.  Paul reasoned with the people in the Synagogue for 3 months, but there came a time when he realized he was wasting his breath.  His impact was finished.  He had won over about every person he could at that time.  It was time to move on.

Here is the problem: When it comes to conflict and arguing, most of us operate from the premise we – are – right. When we lose the ability to have honest, civil, open conversations with one another, it isn’t worth it.  People yell and scream like children, all in the name of expressing feelings. It’s not about how loud you yell, but do you listen?  People don’t know how to fight fair or agree to disagree.  comically, we then claim the other party is obstinate, intolerant and bias, unwilling to change.  Always seek to understand the other party.  Always acknowledge that you probably have hurt the other person. If you don’t, it will be obvious you are in it for yourself.

When should we move on from a conversation?  When is it wise to take a break and call it good?

#1 When people start to shout -  It is pointless to have a conversation if someone can’t remain civil.  I have seen people blame their heritage, genetics and about everything else for losing their temper.  Right…fill in ethnicity here ______________ and then blame ancestry…ridiculous. “I’m Italian! I’m Albanian! I’m English! I’m Puerto Rican!” I’m………….A person who takes no responsibility for my actions!  Take a break.

#2 When you have made a LITTLE progress – I have seen so many marriage discussions going so well, then all of the sudden the couple tries to solve every problem accumulated over the last 20 years in 1 hour.  It doesn’t work.  Accept and embellish the small victories.

#3 When there is no Mediator - Some people should not even start to talk without a mediator.  Use your wisdom.  You know when it will not go well. Be realistic.  Get someone to set ground rules for the conversation.

#4 When you fail to share the goal of the conversation at the beginning – If you go into an argument without a shared desired outcome, it is not going to end well.  Your motivations will be misunderstood and you will just end up frustrating each other.

Are you in an argument, about to be in one? Hope this helps…

Question: What is holding you back from being reasonable in your disagreements with others?

Why You Should Sing At Midnight – Momentum Day 16

// February 7th, 2012 // No Comments » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Momentum

Scripture:  Acts 16

Key Verse: Acts 16:26

“and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened…”

It’s late and you are tired.  You had a hard day and you would rather forget about it.  You feel like you have been beaten and the world has you bonded in shackles in prison.  You just lost your job. You are a prisoner to your own pain.  You have a physical disease, a mountain of debt and one step forward feels impossible.  You just need some sleep, everything is blurry. You are a prisoner of your own sin, your own doing.  Worse, you are a prisoner because of what someone else has gruesomely done to you.  It’s not fair and you wonder inside if anyone cares. It is all finally coming to a head, something has to give.

Then out of nowhere comes this urge.   It’s unlike any impulse you have ever had.  It resonates deep within you.  It is a song from long ago your mother and father used to sing.  A song that you had once forgotten and you somehow recall all the words as if you have sung this song every day since the pain first began.  It is a song with a reminder that someone loves you. A song that speaks of something you haven’t lived in a lifetime.

It is not normal to sing at midnight.  It is quiet where you are.  People are sleeping, but you have to let this song out of you and activate your vocal chords. Your faith is too fragile to remain silent.  At first it is a slight hum, then a little louder and louder…then out of nowhere you break forth into song.

It heals, it refreshes, it soothes, it stirs, it wells up from deep within and emotions pour out.  You recall, you repent, and then somehow you regain trust.  It is your greatest moment of worship and you realize an earthquake just happened.  You are finally in rubble, no stronghold is left, no worldly monuments left standing.  Your heart is open. No addiction has you, no words from the past bind you, your bond has been unfastened…

Question:  This ever happen to you?  If not, isn’t it about time?

Sing at midnight…

The Importance of Story Telling – Momentum Day 7

// January 30th, 2012 // No Comments » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Momentum

Scripture:  Acts 7

Key Verse: Acts 7:1

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia…”

A good story will captivate the heart and draw out real emotion.  When teaching, motivating and accessing the hearts of people, I try and tell stories that captivate people’s attention.  Sometimes, when you tell stories, they resonate so much that extreme raw emotion surfaces.  This is what happened in this scripture. Stephen told such a good story of the history of his people that it “enraged” the people to charge in and kill him.  That is powerful!  If Stephen were was in my speech class, he would have put ALL of us to shame.  Here are some key pieces to telling a good story.

#1 Make it personal – Stephen was one of them, a Hebrew.  This scripture is so littered with cross references, you could spend all day reading and studying the circumstances behind everything.

#2 Begin where people are - This story is an incredible appeal to the Hebrew culture.  He started where people were.  They all knew the story, but he explained it in a way they probably had never heard it before.

#3 Know where you are going -  Stephen’s punch line was incredible, “you stiff necked people…you always resist the Holy Spirit…” (vs 51) Stephen knew what the end of the story was and where it fit.  He was sharing the Gospel clearly with them.  They could not argue with it, so they just disposed of him.

#4 Have conviction – In short tell your story passionately with emotion.  So many people are afraid of emotion.  This is a cop-out.  An excuse to disengage passively and be mediocre.  Don’t just give information, deal out inspiration.  I have a philosophy I have lived with for some years now.  “If you preach soft you get hard people, but if you preach hard, you get soft people.”

Stories change people, they are the tapestry of the Kingdom of God at work…Tell yours boldly

Question:  Who do you need to tell your story to?  Have you ever written your story down?

Wisdom Speaks The Truth – Momentum Day 6

// January 29th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Momentum

Scripture:  Acts 6

Key Verse: Acts 6:10

^“But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”

I love playing card games as it is one of my favorite things to do.  I especially love when I have the Ace in my hand.  There is something about its power and influence that is exhilarating. Nothing else matters when I hold the ace because I can take any card I want at any time.  But it isn’t that you have the ace that makes a smart player.  It is often how you play the ace that matters. That is wisdom.

Wisdom speaks the truth in a powerful way.  People can try and argue with it, but it is like they are wasting their words.  The Gospel, “good news” is full of wisdom.  Here are some common results of speaking the truth from my own experience:

#1 You will offend people - Look, this is something you are just going to have to deal with.  People who are people pleasers and want everyone to like them often bend the truth.  People need to hear the truth even when it hurts.

#2 You will know who your friends are -  It is amazing how standing for something gets you into all kinds of trouble and it also draws others EVEN CLOSER to you.  When people know what you stand for they love you or leave you.

#3 It is liberating – Nothing like de-stressing through an old fashioned honest moment.  Often we carry great emotional strain when we suppress the truth.  Withholding the truth will kill you on the inside.

#4 It empowers others - Look, someone has to go first and speaking the truth will almost always inspire others to stand up for truth as well.

By the way, remember to speak the truth in love…that is true wisdom

Question:  When are you most afraid to speak the truth?

Progress Matters – Momentum Day 4

// January 27th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Momentum

Scripture:  Acts 4

Key Verse: Acts 4:4

“But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”

We all want to see it.  Whether it is in our parenting or athletic pursuits.  Whether it’s in our career or simply getting out of debt.  We want to see progress.  The question is, “are we getting anywhere?” The disciples saw it as they were being persecuted and people were lashing out against them.  Whatever was happening to them was worth it because five thousand people came to Christ. They saw progress.  Progress makes pain worth it!

But here is the problem.  Often times, we don’t see progress like we want.  We may even be doing everything right, but we seemingly never arrive at our destination.  Our business doesn’t grow, Our marriage may feel empty. We have done everything possible to get out of debt. We should be further along, but we are not.  Many times though, we ARE making progress, we just don’t see it like God does.

You won’t always see the progress, but know it is there.  There is no way you can see what God sees.  I remember being in the back of the car asking my Dad, “are we there yet?” My dad would lovingly say, “not yet son, just a little while longer.”  I trusted him and we always got there.  Progress is there. Don’t lose heart and keep on moving.

Living Without Regrets – Momentum Day 3

// January 26th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // 217church, 2nd Anniversary 217, Momentum

Today is day 3 of the Momentum Reading plan.  It’s simple: 1 day = reading 1 chapter of Acts for 28 Days. Today, January 25 read Acts 3.

Scripture:  Acts 3

Key Verse: Acts 3:15

“and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.”

We all have them, things that remain imprinted on the fabric of our souls.  They are regrets from the past.  I know it seems impossible; forgetting what is behind us, the mistakes we have made, the people we have hurt, the debt we incurred, the relationship we ruined, the child we didn’t love well enough, the wife we abandoned, the time we cheated. With these actions come scars.  They hurt. My deepest regret is my sin. Just like Peter said above, “we did this.” We crucified Jesus.  Peter doesn’t speak from piety, he speaks from a place of realizing his past apathy.  He avoided the crucifixion altogether and denied Jesus three times.  But remember, Jesus restored him three times as well…and he has restored you.

Maybe you don’t feel like it, but hear Jesus now, “You are adopted as sons and daughters.” (Eph 1:5) Cling to Jesus today, live without regrets, create new moments Jesus would be proud of.  Make the most of today.  You are forgiven.  No regrets…

Not Enough Drunk Christians – Momentum Day 2

// January 25th, 2012 // 3 Comments » // 217church, Momentum

Today is day 2 of the Momentum Reading plan.  It’s simple: 1 day = reading 1 chapter of Acts for 28 Days. Today, January 24 read Acts 2.

Scripture:  Acts 2

Key Verse: Acts 2:15,17

“For these people are not drunk, as you suppose…¹⁷ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit…”

Of course I’m not talking about alcohol, c’mon. Really? Everyone seems to want to tame the book of Acts.  That is what happened then… can’t we accept it for what it is and say why not now?

Dad - If you would get drunk then maybe your wife would respect you.  Maybe your kids would receive your correction. Maybe you would get out of debt.  You’d say goodbye to your vices.

Mom – If you would get drunk, that husband of yours would look at you differently. Your kids would admire your dedication and passion.

Teenager -Maybe you could tell a good catch from a loser.  Maybe you wouldn’t NEED a boyfriend or girlfriend.  Maybe you would realize your life starts today and you can make a HUGE difference in the world.  Maybe all the sudden you would become responsible.

College Student - Maybe you would realize your passion in life and stop using your mommy and daddy’s money to fritter away your existence through alcohol, pornography, partying and tweeting about how stupid your life is right now while a few good young men and women keep their integrity.  Maybe if you got drunk you would have some integrity?

Retired? - Maybe you would GIVE your whole retirement away to advance the Gospel so you could die broke and happy.  Maybe you would wake up and see the pointlessness of golfing and owning 2 vacation homes and dying with a bank account full of money your kids will fight over. Maybe you’d live before you die and accept that the American dream is as empty as a dried up well.

Pastor – Maybe people would get saved, maybe the reason your church isn’t growing is because you are waaaaay too sober.  You tried it a while back but, getting drunk is too risky, what would people say if I preached like I was drunk?  If I raised my voice? If I led with conviction? If I got emotional? If I actually did what I told everyone else to do from the platform I preach on?

This may be a bit much for you.  If it is, you are probably pretty sober.  It’s ok.  At least you will live a life with the illusion of safety, comfort and the reality of mediocrity .

Question: What is holding you back from becoming intoxicated?  I want to be a drunk father, pastor, dad.