Connexus Community Church

This Weekend @ Connexus

Really looking forward to Sunday.  For starters, I'm pumped because I'll be preaching live in Orillia on Sunday with the final message in the I Doubt It series. Can't wait to see everyone in Orillia again on Sunday! And one of the best preachers going is beginning a new series in Barrie Sunday (hint, it's not me!). And, Barrie, you'll have some really cool people to host the service Sunday.  Some of our Orillia team is heading to Barrie to say hi. It should be a great weekend at both campuses!

Second, we've got some big stuff coming down the pipes for the summer/early fall.  Just when I thought June was a big month, our team did more planning.  Stay tuned!

So, I'm hoping you'll be here this weekend with some friends.  Hey, I'm even interrupting my holidays to come back to preach Sunday, and happy to do it (there's a neat story behind it)....

Here's the skinny:

Orillia Campus | Sunday July 6th 2008   

I Doubt It | Part Four: I Just Doubt

Are doubts an inherent part of the Christian faith? Do people ever reach a stage where we just stop doubting? Why is it that sometimes as we grow spiritually, we question more, not less? What does God think of our doubts? What do we do with our doubts? Join us as we see how doubts are an essential part of a life of faith.

Music:
I am Free
Filled with Your Glory
Blessed be your name

Barrie Campus | Sunday July 6th 2008

Simple | Part One:  Follow Me

There is a common misconception that the church is a gathering place for saintly, perfect people. Moreover, some think that being a Christian means observing a set of rules or commandments. The reality is that the Christian life is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. And at the heart of that relationship is an invitation that Jesus extends to people from all experiences of life: "Follow me."

Music:

Sing to the King
Blessed be your name
Rain Down

See you Sunday!

Carey

The Long Weekend Rocks @Connexus

I have to say probably more than any other series we've done so far at Connexus, I've loved the I Doubt ItOrillia and wrap it up with part 4 in Barrie.   It should be a great weekend.  series.  I'm really looking forward to this weekend as we move into part 3 of the series in

If you've got friends or family over, bring them out.  I don't want to say "I promise you it will be worth it", but I've really enjoyed doing part 3 and preparing for part 4 of the series.  Man, I'm pumped!

----------------

Orillia Campus | Sunday June 29th 2008   

I Doubt It | Part Three: I Doubt God is in Control

With this much atrocity and evil in the world and around us, how could God possibly be good? Why would anyone believe in a God in light of all the suffering we see?

Service times: 8:30 am and 10:00 am

Galaxy Theaters Orillia 865 West Ridge Blvd.

----------------

Barrie Campus | Sunday June 29th 2008

I Doubt It | Part Four: I Just Doubt

Are doubts an inherent part of the Christian faith? Do people ever reach a stage where we just stop doubting? Why is it that sometimes as we grow spiritually, we question more, not less? What does God think of our doubts? What do we do with our doubts? Join us as we see how doubts are an essential part of a life of faith.
   
Service times: 8:30 am and 10:00 am
Galaxy Cinemas 72 Commerce Drive Barrie

----------------

Finally, thanks to our incredible volunteer crew.  We had a great bbq last Sunday to celebrate you, but I'm going to be celebrating you again on this long weekend Sunday when you do all the things you do to create great environments that help lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.  You inspire me!  Thanks to all our summer serve people who will be stepping up this weekend for the first time too.

All for Jesus folks.  He's more than worth it!  See you Sunday.

- Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor 

Doubt Your Doubts This Weekend @ Connexus

I'm really excited that both campuses are now full on into the I Doubt It series.  Weird things can happen at Connexus.  This man showed up last weekend and look at what happened to his hair (the guy on the right, not me).  Hardly a dull moment at Connexus.

We have some great things lined up on both campuses.  Please please please bring your skeptical friends and family members with you.  We are committed to entering into a meaningful dialogue that takes people's desire to doubt and believe seriously, so invite away.

Here's what's up at both campuses:

Orillia Campus: 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
I Doubt It | Part One - I Doubt God Can Explain Away Science
Do intelligent people actually believe that a personal God created the universe?  Hasn’t science essentially ruled out God?  Is there any evidence for an intelligent designer behind life?  What does the evidence actually say?  Jackie Wright leads worship.

Location: Galaxy Cinemas 865 Westridge Place

Barrie Campus: 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
I Doubt It | Part Two - I Doubt Jesus is God
Accepting that Jesus lived and was a great teacher is one thing, but is actually true that Jesus is God?  What evidence is there that Jesus rose from the dead, that He is the Messiah, that He actually was and is God?  Can anyone actually unearth reasonable evidence that Jesus is who he said he is?  Andrew Walker leads worship.

Location: Galaxy Cinemas 73 Commerce Park Drive, Barrie

See you Sunday!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor

Three BIG Things This Weekend @ Connexus

It is another HUGE weekend at Connexus, and given the forecast, I'm thankful all our weekend venues are air-conditioned!  Make sure your friends are ready to join you for what will be a weekend to remember in many ways.

We wrap up God and Sex in Orillia with a moment in the service you don't want to miss and that you haven't seen on-line.

In Barrie, we start a series on doubt called I Doubt It.  If you have friends who question whether God and science are at odds with each other, you don't want to miss this weekend.  The discussion in this clip will get you and your friends asking some intriguing questions as we move into week one of the series!

Finally, Irresistible happens Sunday night at 7:30 at the Rene M. Caisse Theater in Bracebridge. If you know ANYONE in Muskoka who is interested in launching a church they can bring their friends to, tell them about Sunday night.  I'm so looking forward to being there Sunday night to cast vision with Rich Birch about launching Connexus Muskoka. The music is going to be amazing!

Please pray for our communities and region this weekend.  Pray that God would move.  Pray that God would change lives.  Pray that we would hear from God in a powerful way.  Some of us are even fasting and praying on Saturday as we get ready for Sunday.  Maybe you can join us!

If you want the official skinny, here it is:

Orillia Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
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?

Galaxy Theaters  - 865 West Ridge Boulevard, Orillia

_____________________________________________

Barrie Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
I Doubt It: Part One - I Doubt that God Can Explain Away Science

Do intelligent people actually believe that a personal God created the universe?  Hasn’t science essentially ruled out God?  Is there any evidence for an intelligent designer behind life?  What does the evidence actually say?

Galaxy Theaters  - 72 Commerce Park Drive, Barrie

_____________________________________________

Irresistible | 7:30 p.m. Bracebridge
What sort of relevant environment would church need to be so we could invite our friends?  Let’s imagine together.

At Connexus we believe the church should be the most irresistible place in the community because we think it honours God and serves our communities.  Currently we have locations in Barrie and Orillia. There is a group of leaders from Muskoka that have asked us to partner with them to launch a new church right here in Muskoka. This event is going to be the first step towards that launch. 

The event will have music, video and a relevant message.  While we love kids (a lot!) but for this event we will not be hosting our children’s environments. 

Invite some friends with you who you think might be interested in learning more about what we need when we talk about church being irresistible.

Rene M. Caisse Theater - 100 Clearbrook Trail, Bracebridge

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  

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

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

Stories

This is celebration week at Connexus as we mark six months since launch.  We had a great day in Barrie yesterday and are completing look forward to bringing the party to Orillia this coming weekend. 

In the message yesterday I got the chance to tell stories.  Nothing amazes me more, humbles me more or encourages me more than hearing people tell stories of how God has impacted their lives.

No doubt, Connexus has attracted a whole new crop of people over the last six months.  In one of the services, I told the story of a Laurie-Ann and her husband Ron who came to us right after launch. They were both already committed follower of Jesus. One morning in our "shake a hand" time they introduced themselves to a young couple.  She was completely unchurched in background and he hadn't been in a decade (bad experience growing up). The next week, the couple found Laurie-Ann and Ron and sat down next to them.  Ron and Laurie-Ann struck up a conversation with them, spent some time with them, and invited them to join a community group. 

After the service, a couple came up to me and said "Hey Carey, we are that couple. I can't tell you how this community and this experience has changed our lives." Both have now made a commitment to follow Jesus, and one of them is getting baptized.

I could go on....six months into this, I am beginning to hear story after story like that.  It makes it so worth it.  I know so many in our community have sacrificed so much on both campuses.  Yesterday, I had one of those days where I realized that every ounce of energy we can pour into this is more than worth it, and I just left SO grateful for this community and each of you.  The investment we are making now will resonate into eternity.

How Has Your Life Been Impacted?

Something really cool is happening next month.  Connexus is turning six!  Six months old that is, and we are going to party!

As part of a special celebration Sunday, we would love to hear about how your life has been impacted by what God has been doing.  We would love to hear from everyone - people who are brand new, people who are a few months into the journey and those of you who made the transition with us.  What has God been doing in your life?

Rather than posting the stories here on the blog (and ruining the surprise), please email them to us at mystory@connexuscommunity.com.  We'll be collecting them and using them in a variety of ways in May and beyond.  Can you give us a few sentences, a paragraph or a story?

Some questions we'd love to hear you reflect on:

1. How has my life changed in the last six months?
2. How have I experienced God differently?
3. How has my family been impacted?
4. How has this ministry environment help me to share God with my friends?
5. What has moved me most deeply in the last six months?

Don't miss Sunday May 11th in Barrie and Sunday May 18th in Orillia when the birthday party comes to your campus!  We want to celebrate what God is doing.

- Carey Nieuwhof

This Weekend @ Connexus

Okay, I'm just plain excited by the season we're in right now.  I see more and more people beginning to invite their friends.  And I'm pretty deeply excited about the services lined up at both campuses this weekend. 

There's some unusual stuff in both services for both you and your friends, plus we're hitting on some core issues that I think everyone's engaged in.  I hope you'll make Sunday a priority this weekend so we can experience what God wants to do in our lives together.

Here's what's up:

Orillia Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Jesus the Guru - Part Three - What Can the East Learn from Jesus?
Eckhart Tolle, in his Oprah-endorsed best selling book A New Earth, claims the messengers of Buddha, Jesus and other prophets were humanity’s “early flowers” and that a higher consciousness is arising. Is that all Jesus was?  What else did Jesus bring that followers of eastern spirituality might benefit from or need to deal with?  This weekend, we’ll look square on at Jesus’ claims about truth.

Barrie Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Jesus the Guru: Part Four -- The Missing Peace
Of all the world religions, Christianity offers something that no other religion really offers: forgiveness, made possible not by human effort, but by divine grace.  Not karma, not reincarnation, but forgiveness. Why is that, and what does it mean? Join us for a discussion that we hope will go beyond enlightening and become life-changing.

Remember to tell your friends about our great kids environments too.  And finally, if you want to go for lunch with your friends who are exploring Christianity after church, gift cards toward lunch are still available at each campus during the Jesus the Guru series.

See you Sunday.

-Carey