Author Archives: Paul Carpenter

Leadership Lunch #2

Fri, December 9, 2011 3 Comments by Paul Carpenter

Paul Carpenter – Executive Pastor, Connect Ministries

The Myth of Manly Fatherhood

Fri, November 4, 2011 6 Comments by Paul Carpenter

Paul Carpenter – Executive Pastor

Real men don’t play with baby dolls. That is a statement that I would have stood by with firm conviction…until I became a father to daughters.

Enemies of the Heart

Fri, October 21, 2011 2 Comments by Paul Carpenter

Paul Carpenter – Executive Pastor

We all get how important our physical hearts are, but do we truly value our spiritual heart? You know, that place from deep within us where our innermost being comes out. The condition of our spiritual heart is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, but do we give much thought to it? This topic is of huge importance to followers of Jesus. Andy Stanley’s book “Enemies of the Heart” goes after this topic in a compelling and convicting way.

The reason our spiritual heart is so important is because all of our spirtual life pours out of the content of our heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” We can place far too much importance on our outward behavior and neglect our heart. (I am not saying that our outward behavior doesn’t matter, just saying that the condition of our heart matters more!) Jesus directly confronted the idea that behavior is all that matters in Matthew 5. The people knew not to commit murder, but Jesus challenged them not to hate. They knew that adultery was wrong, but he told them not to lust. Jesus definitely cared about the condition of our hearts and we should also.

Leadership Lunch

Fri, September 30, 2011 3 Comments by Paul Carpenter

Paul Carpenter – Executive Pastor, Connect Ministries

As a church we care deeply about the issue of leadership. We believe everything rises and falls with leadership. Churches, teams, and organizations that are led well excel, and those that aren’t led well fail. The church has the most important mission in the world, and we should do everything we can to lead it as well as possible. With this in mind, the Connect Team has started something new to grow in our leadership, and it is called Leadership Lunch. We gather together as a team for lunch, and invite a leader to encourage us in our leadership. One value of Leadership Lunch is to learn leadership lessons from people working in fields outside of the church. Leadership truths transcend the setting in which it is found. If you find a leadership principle in leading a school, selling a product, or coaching a team then that truth can also be applied in other fields. Of course we have to keep in mind that we can never sacrifice the truths found in the Bible because the best leadership principles are affirmed by God’s word. Enough about the why and let’s move onto what we learned from our first Leadership Lunch guest – Jeremy Walls.

The Aliens Never Come in Peace

Fri, September 2, 2011 2 Comments by Paul Carpenter

Paul Carpenter – Executive Pastor, Connect Ministries

The aliens never come in peace. That may sound like a strange way to start off a blog, but that is a real thought that I have had in the past week.

I watched the movie “Battlefield L.A.” and had that thought cross my mind. Sorry if you haven’t seen the movie, but I am going to give away a little bit of the plot. All of these huge spaceships start showing up all over the world, and every newscast has reporters that are saying, “We are not sure what their purpose is, but maybe they have come in peace.” If you have ever seen an alien movie at anytime in your life you know…the aliens never come in peace! It wouldn’t make a good movie if they ever came in peace. Who would pay to see a movie about aliens helping us to farm better or become better cooks? I started thinking if you can take it to the bank that the aliens never come in peace in a movie, what other things can you take to the bank about life? I do think I discovered at least one thing you can take to the bank as being true last week while reading the 100 Day Challenge.

Mixing it up!

Thu, March 24, 2011 5 Comments by Paul Carpenter

I love to mix things up. When I work out, it is boring to always do the same thing and it is refreshing to change up my routine. It is exciting to try new food, I didn’t say it was always rewarding, but it is usually exciting. For me, my Bible reading plan also falls into the realm of something that is improved when I mix it up.