From the Heart of the Collyder |

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Sara’s Story: Faith in-part has Fear

I hate the word “Authentic” – there I said it!

The Secret is Out!

15 Reasons to attend Collyde Summit 2012

April 18, 2012 in My Journey/Calling View Comments

We are so excited about Collyde Summit coming up on May 19, 2012 in Plainsboro, New Jersey. If you are considering attending, you’ll want to go ahead and REGISTER TODAY to get the BEST POSSIBLE RATES on tickets. Wednesday, April 25th is the final registration deadline for early bird discounts on ticket prices, so go ahead and get your friends/team or staff signed up at the lower prices (use code “TENOFF” to get $10 off).

Here are 15 reasons why we are excited about Collyde Summit, and why you should attend:

Reason #1: The speaker lineup – Pete Wilson, Tim Lucas, Gabe Lyons, Joan Ball and Rob Cruver (here is a clip of gabe lyons talking about calling: link)
Reason #2: Two words: Aaron Shust. LIVE concert by singer, song-writer, dove-award winner (Listen to Aaron’s new song: “My Hope is in You”)
Reason #3: CALLING – our theme. The Creator of the universe made you uniquely with a divine purpose in His mind. Read our theme - link
Reason #4: Two of our favorite worship leaders – Raphael Giglio and Jason Yost
Reason #5: Did we mention – AARON SHUST! Look forward to him singing “My God My Savior” and “My hope is in You”
Reason #6: Great coffee from Land of 1000 Hills Coffee throughout the Summit plus you’ll hear their amazing story of CALLING from their founder – Jonathan Golden.
Reason #7: Our hosts are funny, Spirit-led and they will inspire your hearts – Pastor Mike Leahy (Liquid Church), Pastor Boyd Hannold (Princeton Alliance Church), Pastor Josh Conn (217 Church) and David A Dein (Star 99.1 FM).
Reason #8: When is the last time you went to an event like this in NJ? Don’t miss out – Be there – Register @ www.collydesummit.com
Reason #9: Meet three great adoption ministries in ONE place: Bethany Christian Services, Miriam’s Heart and New Rhythm.
Reason #10: AWESOME opportunity to worship and praise your God in a modern, wireless-friendly, cutting-edge church campus: Princeton Alliance Church. We love this church and their friendly staff!
Reason #11: Hope Center Arts is leading us in Dance Worship in Session # 2! You don’t want to miss these Talented and Spirit-led artists. Here is one of their videos – link.
Reason #12: Listen-up, all you Mission-trip -goers!!! Collyde.com is launching our FREE missions funding module! You can raise upto $5k for your missions trip expenses from your supporters!!!!
Reason #13: Mom, it’s a good reason for some kid-free “Me Time” Come and listen to His voice about your calling.
Reasion # 14: You’ll realize – you are not alone. Over 800 of us will be seeking His face together. Meet and make friends with others just like you.
Reasion # 15: The Holy Spirit. We have been praying for the last 7 months for the Holy Spirit to speak to each one of you. With so much prayer, we expect the unexpected – we expect great things. As you worship, hear from great speakers, worship with great artists and hosts, we hope you realize how much God loves you and how fearfully, wonderfully & purposefully, you were created.

Make sure you Register TODAY. Can’t wait to see you there!

2011: A Year of Favor for Collyde

December 26, 2011 in Collyde/Social Media View Comments

Every good steward or leader must sit down at some point to reflect on the journey of the year that has passed and recount the Faithfulness of God in their life. Why? Because as mere mortals, we tend to forget all the great things He has done for us. A simple fix. Remember and Write it down.

So here it is: 5 things that happened in Collyde this year – which had His fingerprints all over it.

5. Collyde Human Trafficking Night. 24 people gathered together to view Brandon McCormick’s ”The Candy Shop” (watch entire movie here). Many were deeply moved by this event, as we discussed Human Trafficking and how we can stand up against it. Tears were shed… as we had jewelry made from these women displayed on a table. It was very powerful to think that what we had in our hands was made by a little girl or newly-freed woman hundreds/thousands of miles away. I hope we can do another one in 2012. Pictures

4. New Team Members: In 2012, we had 4 amazing new people join the Collyde Team. Lynn Allred, Moo Kim, Scott Coppala and Chris Ottenstroer. You can learn more about them on our team page: Link. In 2012, we will be looking for a Lead Communications Person, Lead Platform Technical Director and 2 programmers that can help program our platform. Please note: all of our team members are contributing their talents on a volunteer basis. Interested? Email me directly: jinu@collyde.com

3. Rumors of Collyde Summit 2012: Yep…. there I said it. I dare not say more For those who have no idea what I am talking about – some pictures. Details are coming …. soon!!! If you want to be the first to get details, signup here.

2. Collyde Launch: After a journey of 5 years and 7 months, on Sep 15th, Collyde launched www.collyde.com at Story Conference in Chicago. You can read a little about it – here, browse our brochure – here and see pictures of our launch – here. Humbled. Honored. The Collyde team is looking forward to 2012 to tell the world about Collyde.

1. Collyde Family Party: You might be wondering why collyde launch is not # 1 The truth is there is nothing more important in your life than the moments that you get to spend together on the Journey. Life is too short if you are running from one project to another or one business objective to another. At Collyde, we realize that our precious moments are when we are together as a Family and our Collyde Family Party was the best event in 2011. [Thank you, Collyde Team! You guys are the best!] Pictures

So what has God done in your life in 2011 that you are extremely thankful about? Remember it and Write it down…. and Share it.

“Halle –uuuu—aaaahhhh – Thank You, God”

November 22, 2011 in My Journey/Calling View Comments

So when was the last time you were this happy to “Thank God”? This was shown at my church this week – Phoebe is the daughter of my music pastor, Pastor Raphael Giglio. Even more….. I wonder what our Heavenly Father felt as Phoebe was dancing around thanking him.

Maybe this is what Jesus felt as one of the ten lepers came back to him after being miraculously healed from leprosy. The Bible says in Luke 17:15-16 “….when he saw that he was healed, he returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks“.

Looking back in 2011, has God moved on your behalf? Did He show up and amaze you? Heal you? Give you a promotion or a job? Protect your kids? Take a moment in the next 4 days and meditate on this. I think we will realize, God has been faithful. And yep…….. if thankfulness is abounding in your heart, maybe close the door and dance around like Phoebe and tell him “Thank you, God… Thank you, God…. Thank you, God……”

Giving Freely – I mean freely!

October 19, 2011 in My Journey/Calling View Comments

If you are a Christian, Giving is a word or principle you probably heard over and over and over again. Maybe the only giving that was talked about in the church when you were a kid was money. So every now and then when you hear Giving - you probably cover your ears and run away. No worries, you are in good company – I feel the same way But truth be told – there are very few principles in life I hold so dearly as this one because I think it reflects the heart of God and if you can grasp it, it will transform you. (for God so loved the world, He gave….)

Jesus said in Luke 6:38 – “…..for with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Let’s read it again. What is being said here is quite radical. Jesus is saying that God the Father will use the same measure – the exact same measure we use – to give blessings back to us. Now to make sense of it, go take a measuring cup from your kitchen and fill it with water and look at it. Jesus is saying that heaven will use the same measuring cup you use, to give blessings back to you. Radical? I think so!!!

Now pause. Before I move ahead, I do not believe in the prosperity doctrine you may have heard about. And no, this measure is not about quantity, it is really about your heart. Do you go out of your way to serve others? When you give, do you give freely from your heart? I think it is the condition of the human heart that we like to keep an account in our mind of how much grace and favor we have shown someone, hoping it happens in return or at least we get recognized or receive a visible appreciation. But let’s change all that. GIVE FREELY…. I MEAN FREELY. Give in such a free way that your right hand does not know what the left hand gave. Giving involves sacrifice. Sometimes it costs you much to give but give freely anyway – because God your father in heaven knows your heart.

Isn’t it freeing to give? It is when you realize what is really happening – in the heavenly realm – you can give joyfully.

“Dear Leader, are you motivated by Love?”

October 6, 2011 in Organization/Leadership View Comments

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I have always wondered why Paul would be lead by the Spirit to make such a great comparison/competition between Faith, Hope and Love. “Faith” allows you to see God and “Hope” allows to you to meet Him (because of the cross) but Love….. hmmm…. I had to really dig deep to understand why Love won this competition. Thankfully I got the answer, one Sunday morning, from my pastor/brother – Pastor Rob Cruver, who said “Love is what motivated God to send His son to die on the cross. Love started it and kept Jesus going toward the cross to give His life because He saw you and me in our sins and knew He had to save us”.

As a leader, what motivates you? Why are you doing what you are doing?

Let’s take an inventory and challenge ourselves to be motivated by Love. Give freely. Stand with dreamers and help him/her. Spend the next lunch with your secretary and ask him/her “How are you doing?” If you are a pastor or in ministry, stand outside your church this Sunday service and shake the hands with everyone that walks into your church. Ask people around you – “how i can help you?”

Wouldn’t it be great if we start this wave of servitude – where we search for those “pure” divine moments and those encounters to look into the eyes of another friend/colleague and say “I am with you. I’ll fight with you”.

Days before Collyde alpha launch: What’s on Collyder’s mind?

September 13, 2011 in My Journey/Calling View Comments

Someone asked me an interesting question recently – “What is going through your mind as Collyde is about to launch after 5 years?” I took a pen and paper and this is what I wrote:

Have you ever wondered why David, a tiny little guy – small frame, 17 yrs old, walked in front of Goliath, a freakishly huge terrorizing bully, and had the audacity to say these words “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel“. Do you think David was extraordinaryly brave and had no fear at all? Or was it something else? If this was a movie, I would pause it right there with a new caption “5 years earlier“. I think what we don’t see are the struggles, tears, lonely moments that made David who he was to become. God sends us many storms in our lives to empty us of ourselves. It comes to a point in the journey where you realize 2 things:

It’s not about you:
- There will be a moment in your journey with tears in your eyes you say “I am tired. I don’t want anything.. only your Will. I give my life to you” . This should sound familiar because Jesus said something similar as He surrendered Himself to the God the Father saying “…. Not my Will but yours be done”. There is an important lesson here – “The greatest resistance to God’s Will in your life is You”. Our hopelessly human hearts take a long time to realize “It’s not about me”. But here is the good news… as you reading this, no matter what stage of the journey you are in, you don’t have to worry – God will do His work – in spite of you. He will cause all things to work together. All the clay needs to do is surrender to the Potter’s hands.
It’s about Faith in God:
- Secondly, you begin to believe and have faith as God leads you step by step. It’s interesting to hear David actually tell us two instances about the Lion and Bear. He clearly realized as he stood over the carcess of the Lion and Bear….. “…hmmm…. there is no way I had anything do with this….. It was the Lord. His Spirit was with me“. He saw what faith was all about. It did not come from a fallen human’s heart (much of what the world teaches us today), it came by yielding to Him and saying “Dad, give me the power to believe and the faith to move ahead. Let your Spirit come on me”.
It’s not just your story:
- Finally, this is not just your Story…. it was the story of many other lives intersecting at the right time and place. I wish and hope every one of you get to meet the Collyde team – Moo Hyum Kim, Shiju Varghese, Chris Ottenstroer, Sunil Kurien, Scott Coppola, Lynn Allred. And the countless people who looked into my eyes over and over again in the last 5 years and said “Fight. This is His dream. Don’t give Up“. I cannot stop this blog by saying that the greatest inspiration in my life is my wife, Ann. I don’t just say that because it is a nice thing to say…. But she spoke life into these “dry bones” by calling the dry bones to rise. Her words, presence and holiness gave me the courage to stand when I couldn’t.

Question: Has God given you a dream? Are you facing a Goliath right now?

Psalms 121:1-2: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth”.

Collyde launches Alpha on Sep 15th @ Story Conference

September 12, 2011 in My Journey/Calling View Comments

Collyde is launching on Sep 15th, 2011 @ Story in Chicago.

On Sep 3rd, there were 6 of us in a small room in Edison, NJ dedicating Collyde as an offering to God. Our prayer “God, allow Collyde to spur your people’s calling and further your kingdom here on earth“. According to the National Congregations Study, roughly 60% of churches/ministries are anywhere from 7 to 99 people and struggling to survive without resources (time, treasures and talents). Collyde’s heart is to stand next to the body of Christ and help spread the good news of the Gospel, and save lives – all over the world!

Wanna read everything about Collyde – View our online brochure

Question: Are you connected to a church/ministry/cause? If so, go ahead and signup for our Alpha phase and be among one of the first organizations to tell your story.

Here’s the point: Jesus prayed.

August 4, 2011 in Organization/Leadership View Comments

Someone recently told me “what separates a great leader from a good one is prayer“. This morning I woke up and the simplicity of this devotional struck a chord with my heart. Jesus Prayed. So I wanted to share this Devo with you. May it challenge us to put aside our strategy presentation decks & ellaborate 5-yr plans to find a moment to pull away from “your crowd” (anything that keeps your day busy) to chat with our Dad.

——

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” - Luke 6:12

The point of this devotion isn’t going to be new or novel to anyone familiar with God’s Word. It’s a truth that has been stated and shared many times over. Chances are, it won’t take you by surprise. So why bother devoting the time and space to it? Because it’s so vitally important. Here’s the point: Jesus prayed.

We see it here in Luke Chapter 6, and this is by no means an isolated incident. When we pull back and look at the Gospel records, we find that He prayed in a variety of ways, at a variety of times, and in a variety of locations. The variety of ways include His spontaneous prayer in public at the Tomb of Lazarus (John 11:41-42), His private night-long vigil here in Luke 6:12, and His prayer among the mixed masses of those He miraculously fed (Matthew 14:19). Jesus prayed during the deep and dark hours of night (Matthew 26:39), at the breaking of the dawn (Mark 1:35), and in the afternoon (Luke 23:44-46). He prayed in the mountains (Mark 6:46), in the wilderness (Luke 5:16), in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32), and even on the Cross (Luke 23:34).

You get the point. In just about every possible situation and scenario, we see the Son of God communicating with His Heavenly Father. In fact, it’s not a stretch to say that you can’t possibly separate the person of Jesus Christ and the practice of prayer.

Now, if God’s almighty and all-knowing Son spent His time and energies on the practice of prayer, what does it say about it’s proper place in our lives? Doesn’t it stand to reason that it should be all the more imperative for we who are totally helpless on our own?

Again, it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. But it’s so important that it needs to be repeated: Jesus prayed and so should we.

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