New Canaan Society Franklin Podcast

“In the one year I have been talking with people through Hope4America,” said Jay Frank, “I have personally responded to 395 prayer requests. Of those, 274 people have prayed to receive Christ. It is such a humbling experience.” Hope4America uses social media ads to help people struggling with fear, anxiety, anger, loneliness, addiction, PTSD, and more. Those who click on an ad are directed to a page where they find hope for their struggles and a presentation of the Gospel. Those who next submit a prayer request are referred to a partner like Jay Frank. This amazing ministry is headquartered in Brentwood. And this Thursday Jacques Aebli and Tom McCoy will tell us how Hope4America started, what it does, and how you can become involved. Be sure to invite your friends who have a passion to help others find Christ. Jay Frank said, “I have to tell you Hope4America has been the most rewarding mission that I have ever been involved in. My spiritual life, my prayer life, and my relationships with others have been greatly enhanced.”

May our hearts be broken with the things that break the heart of God. This week some guy -- perhaps even in Middle Tennessee -- booked a flight to Cambodia to have sex with children. And the scam call you received yesterday may have come from a building in Myanmar with 100,000 scammers, who themselves have been trafficked and beaten if they don’t produce. I’ll admit sex tourism is not pleasant to talk about. It’s not on the top of my list for breakfast conversation. But human trafficking is not just a problem in Cambodia and Mexico. It has been reported in all 41 counties of Middle Tennessee. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, generating one quarter trillion dollars a year. Numerous Christian organizations work to fight human trafficking. One of them – Atlas Free – is a network of 40 organizations in 25 countries working to end human trafficking. Jonathan Stone from Atlas Free will be with us this Thursday to tell us how he went from being a church planter and pastor to jumping in with both feet to help this cause. It’s a story worth hearing.

What is the Middle Tennessee New Canaan Society and why does it need newleadership? Mason Rutledge, president of the national organization, will be with us on Thursday. NCS started as an east-coast group of guys who got together in the family room of Jim Lane’s house in New Canaan, Connecticut, where they could share what was happening in their lives. They began to bond with each other and started other groups in Fairfield, Connecticut, Manhattan (where B.J. Weber was involved), Bergen County, New Jersey, and even Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For several years B.J. urged Wes Yoder to start an NCS chapter in Franklin and in 2011 some brothers from Winston-Salem sponsored a lunch here to encourage us. Marty Wheeler, who was at the lunch, approached Andy Marshall to see if we could have the breakfast at Puckett’s. Andy had been praying that God would use his restaurants for God’s glory and we’ve been meeting at Puckett’s ever since. The early New Canaan Society groups had a New York flavor. The Manhattan chapter used to meet at Rockefeller Center, for instance. Our Middle Tennessee chapter has its own down-home flavor. But the goal is still the same: one guy telling another, “This is what I want to share with you from my own life.”

Ray Mullican is a 62 year-old Franklin boy. You may know him from Brentwood Academy, from Christ Community Church, or from sitting next to him at Puckett’s. His story is not unique, but it is his to share this Thursday. Loss, grief, anger, rage, shame . . . depression. What happens when God turns out to not be who you thought He was? What happens when you do all the right things so that people will like you and so that God will be your genie in a bottle, but it stops working? Ray was a faithful believer, a college athlete, an engineer with a beautiful new wife. He did his thing “for God” and God came through for him in incredible ways . . . or so it seemed. Then a series of losses including two failed business and practical bankruptcy brought grief . . . and shame . .  that led to rage-based depression, all while Ray got a Masters in Biblical Counseling and served as an elder at Christ Community Church. Ultimately, however, Ray sat in his car, praying and crying, “God I’m not going to kill myself, but I would appreciate it if you would give me a heart attack and let me die.” Then God took away Ray’s 9-year-old daughter, Erin, who died in a car accident. God’s shocking, almost audible words to Ray’s heart were unexpected. Ray surrendered to a good God, not understanding everything. He soon came to mentor and deeply love the 17-year-old young man who had caused Erin’s death.Ray now has an extraordinary job -- to follow Jesus and invest in others.

Dan Pitts, owner of True Artist Management, and Paige Pitts, founder of New Hope Academy, will be with us this Thursday. Dan was a typical white kid who, Wes says, “knew next to nothing about racial injustice until he started working with Toby Mac and DC Talk and learned about the challenges that come with racial prejudice.” At the same time, Paige became deeply convinced that God calls His people to care about justice and righteousness. And since access to educational opportunities is a key indicator of racial inequality, she founded New Hope Academy 28 years ago in Franklin as a school of excellence that is both ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. Williamson County is the 22nd richest county out of the 3,144 counties in America. It’s easy for us to ignore the fact that some of us live in house trailers; a few still have outhouses; there is homelessness in our county. It’s easy for us to ignore that God calls His people to care about justice and righteousness.

This Thursday Mark Montgomery, Williamson County Director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, will share his story, including the opportunities he has had to be a coach of coaches. Mark, a father of four, is from South Mississippi and attended Southern Miss on a football scholarship. Coaches are in a unique situation because athletes look up to them for guidance not just in sports but in other areas of life. Mark will tell us how he uses his experiences in teaching and coaching to encourage other coaches to reach young people in classrooms, on the fields, and courts.

Are you doing what God created you to do? Can you identify your spiritual gifting and do you understand God’s purpose for your life? This Thursday Andy Reese will ask two simple questions that will help you find your spiritual gift. This is not something just for 20-year-olds. Better understanding your spiritual gift later in life can help your gift to mature and strengthen and can be rewarding to you and a blessing to others.  Andy Reese has spoken twice at our NCS breakfast, but that was 12 years ago. He is a rainwater management engineer who also founded Freedom Prayer, a ministry that provides a biblical model of prayer counseling. He has four children, five grandchildren, is a retired military officer, writer, and serial entrepreneur.

Pastor Marvin Young, one of our own, has offered to share part of his fascinating story.  He’s a big, passionate man with big, creative ideas who serves the one true God who, in so many ways, is bigger than we can comprehend.   What is Marvin passionate about? Food (he can talk about pork rinds and Creole seasonings), mentoring kids (he’s starting a youth program in Franklin like the one he started in Ohio that helps young people become entrepreneurs), prayer (One Heart Ministries, of which he is pastor, has held Sunday evening Prayer on the Square, and Marvin leads a prayer walk every Friday morning at 6:30).   Marvin prays for unity, healing, and revival.  He and his brother were musicians with Starvin’ Artist Entertainment.  He renovates houses.  And Marvin was a narcotics agent who switched sides.  He met Jesus in what he calls “Bible Camp” (Federal Prison).   Enjoy hearing part of his amazing story and testimony here and be sure to meet him on a future Thursday the next time you see him sit by the window at NCS.