Connexus Community Church

Saturday Thoughts . . .

What do you think about on Saturdays?  Paying bills . . . working around the yard . . . driving the kids places . . . playing golf . . .   

The list is pretty endless.  One of the things that I think about Saturday's is "I wonder who is coming to church for the first time tomorrow."  Maybe they've never been to church before and they are coming because a friend invited them.  Maybe the last time they came was 10 years ago and they stop going because their experience was less than positive (translation: they stop going because it stunk!)   Are they worrying about it today?  Are they thinking about not coming?  I wonder what they are thinking today.

Our hope is that tomorrow (and every Sunday) people will come to church who normally don't.  If that stops happening at Connexus we'll either change or close our doors.  We are all about creating the kinds of environments where people from all spiritual background can explore Jesus.  If we end up being just a "Christian huddle" . . . we've failed.

So . . . if you are coming to Connexus for the first time tomorrow - Welcome!  If you are helping us host these environments - Thanks!

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Rich Birch
Connexus Community Church
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com

The All-Sex Weekend Continues at Connexus

It's been great to get feedback on how many of you appreciate the opportunity to tackle the issue of sex from God's perspective. God and Sex continues at both campuses this weekend.

This weekend we ramp things up even more at both campuses. Orillia, you are in for a really cool treat this weekend.  And Barrie, well, this weekend's service will either drive you out of the church or make you wish you'd brought all of your friends to see this.  I don't know which it will be...and I'm not telling till we get there.

Here's the weekend line up:

Orillia Campus | June 1st 2008
God and Sex | Part Two: How Far Can I Go?
If intimacy and sex have become separated, many people are determined to bring the two back together again, but often, we fail.  Porn, sex outside of marriage, masturbation, oral sex – where do these forms of sexual expression fit in God’s plan? How far can you go sexually? Will any of this lead to intimacy?

Ross McLeod leads worship.

Note: This service is rated PG 13.  We'll be talking honestly and biblically about sex.  There is great kids programming at Connexus at all services for kids aged birth-grade 8.

Barrie Campus | Sunday June 1st
God and Sex | Part Three: Totally Satisfying Sex
Cosmopolitan aside, is it possible to have completely satisfying sex?   How do married people find sexual fulfillment?  What about singles?  Where does real joy in sex come, whether you’re sexually active or not?

Andy Walker leads worship.

Note: This service is rated PG 13.  We'll be talking honestly and biblically about sex.  There is great kids programming at Connexus at all services for kids aged birth-grade 8.

Thanks to our amazing e-teams and volunteers who make Sundays happen every single weekend!

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday and learning and growing together!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor  

E-Mail Down and back up again

Hey - just a heads up.  If you sent an email to a Connexus Staff member or connexus address and have not received a reply, please resend it.  Our email host server crashed overnight, and we all came to work today to discover zero new emails in our inboxes.  It took till noon today (May 29th) to fix things, but there's a 12-20 hour gap where whatever was sent was lost.

Our apologies.  Thanks for resending!

An Incredible Summer Lined Up

Looks like we are heading into an exciting season over the next few months at Connexus.  Who said summer had to be sleepy as far as church is concerned?  We believe God wants to keep doing great things in our midst all summer long.

We want to fully keep you in the loop.  If you haven't been to our website lately, it's been updated regularly with all the things are happening:

• Weekends are sizzlin'! We're holding nothing back on the summer weekend schedule:

• We've still got some great mileage to go on the God and Sex series before it's finished.  We're pumped about this one!
• I Doubt It... is getting ready to launch in June.  You can watch the trailer and view details here.  Use the evite to invite your friends, plus we'll have some small rave cards to hand out this weekend (June 1st) at both campuses that you can hand out to friends and family personally.
• The Stairway to Heaven | Highway to Hell series (oh man, will that be great) follows in July/August. 

• Summer Serve. Our unbelievable volunteers have been bringin' it week in/week out since launch.  We want to give them a break to let them come to church with their friends and family and will be asking you to step up to serve for one or more Sundays this summer.  Think now about when you can help!

• Irresistible happens Sunday, June 8th at 7:30 p.m. in Bracebridge.  That's where we'll cast vision for the launch of a Muskoka campus.  Make sure all your friends in Muskoka hear about this.

• Baptism You can now sign up for baptism on-line.  Our first all-campus baptism service will be Thursday, June 19th at Bass Lake, on the huge front lawn of Rob and Rose Meeder (who host the Orillia campus service most Sundays).  Everyone's invited, and if you want to be baptized, click here.

• Volunteer BBQ 2008.  If you volunteer at Connexus, don't miss this!  We are going to party on June 22nd after church at Oro Memorial Park.

• Vision.  Our vision document that lays out the next 12 months at Connexus is on line now. Check it out!

There's more, but this will get you started.  Thanks for being partners in this incredible adventure!

Cindy Morris - Saying Hi

I just love sharing great news.  And after a long four months, it's fantastic to be able to post this one about Cindy Morris.

As many of you know, Cindy is a member of our staff team here at Connexus, and was involved in a serious car accident four months ago that nearly took her life.

Cindy was finally able to come home last week. Yesterday, she and her kids made it to our Barrie campus (her home campus) for the 10:00 a.m. service (it was a surprise - I wasn't allowed to tell) - it was like a homecoming in so many ways for our community and I think for Cindy and her kids.  When Cindy walked in, people in the foyer started to applaud.  While there are still some recovery issues ahead of Cindy, to be able to walk again and begin to function at home as a mom again are incredible. Plus her great sense of humour and infectious personality is 110% there, as anyone who has talked to her can witness to. 

I know Cindy has thanked people privately many times, but she said she wants to repeat how grateful she is for everyone's help - for the families that cared for her children (incredibly well), for everyone who went way over and above in caring for her needs, for the Under1Roof event, and for all those who have helped in every way, including the unbelievable prayer support.  I don't know anyone who wouldn't call Cindy's recovery "miraculous".  And while there is still healing and further rehabilitation that needs to happen, the progress so far has been unbelievable.

Welcome home Cindy.  Welcome back!  We missed you so much.  It's great to have you back in the community!

God & Sex Sunday Recap

So both our campuses were in the God and Sex series this weekend.  It was great to see so many out on such a gorgeous weekend, but the subject is more than a little relevant to our lives in so many ways.  I hope this engages a healthy, healing dialogue in many many lives. (If you missed the messages, catch them here on get the podcasts on iTunes.)  So many of you have already said that this has been so helpful.  Man, I'm just grateful for God's Word, which allows us to dig in on stuff that's so related to our actual lives.

As we get into this discussion, I know there will be some who want to talk about it more. Naturally, some of that discussion will happen here on line or on my personal blog.  That's great!  But some of us are going to want to go deeper and talk to someone - even seek help over an issue that's bothering us.  Where do you turn?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Talk to someone in your community group. You can chat about things in the safety of your group, or call your best friend in the group. If you're not in a group, maybe sit down with a good friend to talk.
2. We're here.  Our staff are always happy to chat, and we've got a good group of counselors we refer people to all the time. 
3. Check out some on-line help and resources that are available:
   • To get help with an addiction to porn, visit XXXchurch.com.  More than anyone else I know of on-line, they've helped people break the addiction.  The on-line stories alone are motivational. Plus find practical things like accountability software you can use to help you.
   • For good resources on those struggling with same sex attraction, New Direction is a local ministry that has a great track record and ministry.  Exodus International has also done incredible work in this area.
   • Focus on the Family has some very helpful articles on sexuality. You can browse for helpful articles for parents, couples, singles and more.
   • As an aside, I know some of you will want this. Although it no longer appears to be on the official focus site, the article I reference in week two of James Dobson on the issue of masturbation also appears here. For a contrary view from xxxchurch.com founder Craig Gross, see this.

There are a lot of ways to continue the dialogue, here, in person or on-line. You're not alone, and as we see, there is life within the limits of sexuality the way God designed it. 

If you have other questions or comments, feel free to post them here.  As always, you don't have to use your real name.

Can wait to talk about this again next weekend. Thanks for bringing so many of your friends into the conversation.  It was great to meet so many new people this weekend!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor

God and Sex, This Weekend @ Connexus

So both campuses are fully into the God and Sex series this weekend.  In Orillia, we launch the series and in Barrie, we move into week two.

Some great music, some surprises and even some give-aways are on deck throughout the series (I know what you're thinking - what would they possible give away during a sex series? Stay tuned.)

But what I'm thinking about most of all as we head into this weekend is the lives of people we know and love, and the lives of thousands we don't know but God loves.  I'm thinking about the pain in our lives (sex causes a lot of pain) and the promise and provision of God. I'm thinking about the promise of intimacy and hoping so many more people find it during the next few weeks.

I'm so excited to be able to talk openly and honestly about sex, and to be able to explore God's plan for it for us and for everyone.  I'm hoping you'll extend an invitation to a friend or family member to join you Sunday.

Here's the deal:

Orillia Campus | May 25th
God and Sex | Part One: Sex Tricks
Sex has so much promise.  But somehow it doesn’t always deliver what we hoped for.  Somewhere along the line, we got tricked. What happened? Join us as we explore sex in the Bible and see what happened to the gift God gave us and what that means for our lives. 

Service times: 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
Galaxy Theatres Orillia - 865 West Ridge Blvd.

Barrie Campus | Sunday May 25th
God and Sex | Part Two: How Far Can I Go?
If intimacy and sex have become separated, many people are determined to bring the two back together again, but often, we fail.  Porn, sex outside of marriage, masturbation, oral sex – where do these forms of sexual expression fit in God’s plan? How far can you go sexually? Will any of this lead to intimacy?

Service times: 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
Galaxy Cinemas | 72 Commerce Drive Barrie

Note: This series is rated PG 13.  We'll be talking honestly and biblically about sex.  There are great environments for kids aged birth-grade 9 at all services at Connexus.

See you Sunday!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor

Radical Followers

Often we can talk a good game in the Christian world, but the real issue is who lives a good game? The longer I live my life as a Christ follower, the more I ask why my life doesn't look more like Jesus' life. It's easy to talk compassion and sacrifice, I love it when Christ-followers go out and do it.  I want to foster that kind of atmosphere as a community.

So that's why I'm excited about some of the things our people at Connexus are doing to make an impact on our community and the globe - an impact that's costing them something and expressing their faith in real terms.

Sarah Flemming and Jessie Scott, two college students at Connexus, are heading to South Africa and then to Mozambique in early June to work with children through some local churches. They'll be taking some of the things they've learned here to provide a vibrant teaching environment there.   Sarah writes:

Here are some of our prayer requests. From what I have learned this far, men and women have very different places in the community, so it will be necessary for us (Sarah and Jessie) to abide by culture expectations in our actions and appearances.  It is winter in Mozambique, but temperatures are still soaring during the daytime, and living conditions will be rough and unhygienic, please pray for our health and safety as we work.  We will run into things that will break our hearts, please pray for our strength and courage. Most importantly, please pray for our unity as a team, and that we will be open to transformation in ourselves as we serve with the love of Christ and see what He sees.

I met with another Connexus volunteer on Monday who is going to India in November to work with some of the "untouchables" in the name of Jesus.  Way to go Bill!

Another Connexus couple is spending their honeymoon in Africa working among the poor in Jesus' name (isn't that awesome?)!  And I've spoken before about Bill Fitch (who will be part of our Muskoka campus) and his amazing work training African church leaders through Listen2Learn.

On the local scene, groups and individuals are serving at places as diverse as the Light House Men's Shelter and the Pregnancy Resource Center.

This is all in addition to the great work so many of our people have done and will be doing in Guatemala.  Last March, numerous Connexus families traveled over the March break to work with the people of Guatemala.  Guatemala will be a natural focus for GlobalX (our international mission arm) when it launches in the next twelve months.

We live out our faith when we give out our faith.  You're a community that makes me grateful to be your pastor.  Thanks for expressing your love for Jesus into the community and this world at large.  You inspire me!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor 

Let's talk about sex

First of all . . . it's been fun interacting with people about our current series at Connexus "God & Sex." What a great opportunity for the church to talk about human sexuality and how that relates to our spirituality!  The feedback so far has been so very positive . . . who can you invite for this weekend?

I was thinking today about how public opinion around this whole area slides so much over the years.  I remember back in 1991 (turn on the way back machine kids!) when Salt N Pepa came out with their hit song "Let's Talk About Sex" that it caused a huge controversy.  I looked it up on iTunes earlier today and listened to it . . . funny how times have changed.  What seemed like such a huge controversy with time just ends up being a fun pop song about the reality of sex in so many people's lives! 

Church is a great place to have a dialogue about sex.  In fact it's probably the perfect place because it was created by God!  The reality of the situation is that lots of people navigate a lot pain when it comes to their sexuality and our desire is that Connexus is the kind of people where people can feel acceptance and care for the whole person.  We don't want to deny that sex is a part of life . . . we want to help people see it as a part of what God is calling us to give over to Him in a growing relationship with him.

So . . . it will be a good couple weeks talking about it.  Any thoughts on this current series?  (As always anonymous comments are okay.)

Rich Birch
Executive Director of Operations
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

Thinking About Baptism?

At our six month birthday service this month, we cast a vision for baptism.  I've already had a few conversations with people who are very excited about being baptized to publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ.  And dozens more picked up the baptism CD and application form we handed out over the last few weeks at both campuses.

We've tentatively booked Thursday, June 19th as our first baptism service.  Save the date.  More details will be coming soon.  We'll video the whole event along with some stories from those being baptized, edit the package down and play back the baptisms over the months ahead.  Should be so exciting to see what God has been doing in people's lives.

If you want to be baptized, check out the new baptism page on the Connexus site, or drop by the foyer this weekend and pick up your CD and application. 

Can't wait to hear your stories and be able to share a witness of the amazing thing God has done for each of us in Jesus Christ.

- Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor