Today’s guest writer is Tammy Choleva.  Tammy’s testimony is a response to this past Sunday’s sermon on how the gospel transforms our approach to our community.

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:35-40)

My family moved to our current home back in October of 2000. We purchased our home with great hopes and expectations that God wanted to use us to reach out to our new neighbors, even though we didn’t know a single one of them. We didn’t know how or when we would be used, but we knew we would be used.
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Matthew 10:8 – Freely you have received, freely give.

Is there a crazier juxtaposition in the world than Thanksgiving and Black Friday?  On the former day, we are encouraged to reflect on what we are thankful for, to enjoy what we have, and to develop an attitude of gratitude.  And then, millions of people set their alarms for some ridiculous hour so that they can push through the crowds the next morning in order to get the best deals on toys and goods for the holiday season.  In the blink of an eye, gratitude turns to covetousness; thanksgiving to full-blown consumerism. 

Now, I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing to go out this Friday and save money on gifts for the loved ones in your life.  I am saying, of course, what most of us know to be true, that the Christmas season has the frightening ability to inspire the worst in us – greed, the lust for that which we do not have, impatience with the traffic and crowds, and a general stress with the busyness of the season.  Thanksgiving may last for a day, but the feelings of gratitude can fade quickly in the bright lights of the holiday season.

So why not decide to take a different path this year?  Read more »

This past Sunday, I joked that the best evangelist in our church has been Mr. www.newlife-glastonbury.org, our website.  That was meant both to challenge our church members to consider who God might be asking them to invite to church or to the Family Fun Day this Easter season, as well as to honor what God has done through the hard work of Matt LaCroix, who created and administers our website.  As a church that only recently moved into a 7-day a week space, our website has been instrumental in serving as a front door to our church for many people who want to learn more about us, and we have been blessed to have someone like Matt who has dedicated numerous unpaid hours to giving us an excellent presence on the internet.  Our goal with the website has been to give people a picture of what our church is like before they even enter our doors, as well as to provide another opportunity for our sermons and Pulse essays to reach people with the gospel.

Matt and I have been working the past couple of months on a redesign of the website, and this Sunday we launched the new site.  Read more »

 Back at the end of November, The Hartford Courant published an article about the food problem in New Britain and how an increasing number of people were going without food because of the worsening economic climate.  In that article, they mentioned Isaiah 58, a ministry led by Ray Labbe that had been feeding the hungry and homeless faithfully almost every Saturday since 1990.  This service to the people of New Britain was staggering for two reasons – most importantly, for the remarkable faithfulness to God displayed over 18 years of ministry, and secondly, for how under the radar it was!  With no fanfare, no marketing plan, and no desire for glory, Ray and a team of volunteers had been preparing hot soup, hot dogs, bags of apples and canned goods, and lots of other food, packing up the big blue van, and carrying it all across the river to New Britain for the simple reason that God tells us to:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter– when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-7)

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Matthew 10:8 – Freely you have received, freely give.

Christmas is just around the corner, which means that sometime this weekend you will be standing in the mall trying to decide what your mother-in-law or 22 year-old son might want for Christmas, and you will ask yourself that annual question, “wait, why I am doing this again?”  So, for those who resonate with that question, or who are thinking of ways to do it differently next year, might I offer a few suggestions on how your family might collectively decide to use your money to achieve a nobler purpose than procuring the latest Wii game or a newer flat screen TV?
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If you read The Hartford Courant on Sunday, you may have seen the front page article about the great struggle it is to feed all the hungry in New Britain.  The article included a great little write-up on Isaiah 58, including a picture of our very own Lori Cordero.  Isaiah 58 is a ministry led by Ray and Linda Labbe of Glastonbury that has been serving hot food and giving out free groceries from their truck (Big Blue) in New Brite Plaza almost every Saturday for over 15 years.  Our church has been privileged to be a part of the Isaiah 58 ministry for many years, supporting them both financially, by giving Christmas gifts to the children, and with volunteers.  Along the way have been some great people who have volunteered regularly, like Terri Baldwin, who was fluent in Polish and able to minister to the large Polish population that would come to eat; Kim Ferrero, who for a time coordinated a clothing ministry to the people who came to Isaiah 58; and Danny & Lori Cordero, who have been helping out for the last sixteen months.

I spoke with Ray today to hear more about the article and to let him know that some churches have contacted us about getting involved with the ministry.  I was shocked to hear him tell me that not all of the response to their ministry has been good.  Apparently, the health department read the article and wasn’t pleased about this little soup kitchen on wheels that has been operating under their noses for over 15 years Read more »

Imagine that it’s your first day in prison.  You’re a first time offender, having committed a non-violent crime, and you’ve been sent to a minimum security prison.  Having had no previous experience with being locked up, you’re not entirely sure what to expect, but from all the movies you’ve seen and books you’ve read, you’re pretty sure you’ll have to be tough, trust no one, and probably make powerful allies.  At some point during your first day, some guy you’ve never met comes up to you and gives you a little package of food and stuff you might need while you’re locked up.  How would you respond?  Surely you’d be suspicious, wondering what the catch might be.  Most likely, you figure, this guy wants you to be in debt to him, so that some day when he needs a favor he’ll come calling.  “No,” he says.  “There’s no catch.  This is just something a few of the Christians in here do to make sure you’ve got some things you might need, and to know there are people in here who will be praying for you and there if you need anything.”  And with that he leaves.

All of a sudden prison just got a lot less frightening, a lot less lonely.

Incredibly, the above story is basically true.  Read more »

It’s only twelve days until the Second Annual Fido and Whiskers’ Big Day Out, an event in which our church will be partnering with Glastonbury pet businesses in order to put on a fun, free event for our community.  For those of you who weren’t around for last year’s event, I had been praying and thinking about ways to get our church out in the community, in order to meet and bless people and connect them to our church, and I thought I might do a Blessing of the Animals.  I had been to a couple of those with my beagle Otis that had been done by churches, and I always loved the simple and fun way those churches made connections with people in their community.  But as I began planning the event, I thought “why not involve some pet businesses and make it a larger scale event for families and their pets?”  And once we added in the agility course, our celebrity judge Rachel Lutzker, promotional help from The River 105.9, and lots of help from the people at NewLife, we had ourselves a great event that drew about 400 people and 200 dogs! 

   
            Eric and Sharman doing the Blessing of the Animals

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Church.  Marketing.

Two words that should never be in the same sentence, some would say (unless that sentence reads: “the church should never be involved in marketing”).  Marketing the gospel, the argument goes, treating it like another product to be sold, is an affront to God and the ways He builds His kingdom.  Others, however, would disagree, claiming that marketing is an essential part of evangelism, communicating the gospel in a clear and attractive way that brings people into the church and into a relationship with God. 

What do you think?  More importantly, what does God think about the concept of church marketing?
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C.S. Lewis once said that “the church is the only organization that exists for the benefit of non-members.”  God’s people are called to be very outwardly-focused, seeking to bring others into a relationship with Jesus and to display God’s kingdom on earth through works of love, peace, and justice.  I’ve been thinking about that truth recently as we’ve been contemplating the risks and rewards involved in moving our church to a new location that would increase just about everything – exposure to the town, financial bills, and ministry demands on our members.  I see this opportunity as a serious challenge to everyone from the leadership to the most recent attendees as to whether or not we agree with the above quote.  Do we exist primarily to serve ourselves and to care for each other, or to see this community and world transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ?

I am sure that most people want to say the latter, of course.  The hard part is, however, that the answer to what we truly believe will come not by our words but by our actions.  Consider the following:

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