Dennis's Profile

Church at Home // Week 10 :: The Long Haul 1

We move this week to the third stage of spiritual growth--the Long Haul. Brian interviews graduating senior Jared Bieker in our Marked Up/Marked By segment. Next Sunday join us for a live online interaction at 10am. Continue reading

Posted May 24, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Church at Home // Week 9 :: Growth in the Messy Middle (pt 2)

Church at Home is ready for you! We continue to explore the second phase of growth, the Messy Middle. Brian also interviews Minooka Senior Bryson Laken. Oh, and check out Brian's COVID hair! Continue reading

Posted May 16, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Church at Home // Week 7 :: Growth (pt 1)

This weekend we moved to Minooka to shoot at Shellie's. Brian and Reilly's house is about the pet. Shellie's is all about projects. You'll get to see her latest project, and how it relates to our teaching. We will also... Continue reading

Posted May 2, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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What's Your Plan? (4 of 5)

April 30. Next up, May 1. How's your plan looking? How will you use this month-long quarantine to take steps toward spiritual growth? May is a great month for growth. Remember, April showers bring _________ __________. We plant gardens, watch... Continue reading

Posted Apr 30, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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What's Your Plan? (3 of 5)

We're all in this together. Every time I catch that phase during the COVID quarantine (and we hear or see it about very 20 minutes), my mind starts blasting out with the kids singing on High School Musical. What is... Continue reading

Posted Apr 29, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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What's Your Plan? (2 of 5)

May 1 is just a few days away. It will be our second COVID shut-down month in Illinois. We can let the month happen to us, or we can use this truly unique window intentionally. God has given us space... Continue reading

Posted Apr 28, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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What's Your Plan? (1 of 5)

It's Monday. No, really, today is Monday. We invented a new Time Zone. Covid Time. All the days blur into one. Last week we were informed that Illinois will be sheltering until the end of May. As the days roll... Continue reading

Posted Apr 27, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Stay at Home Week 6 : Believe

This weekend you'll meet my grand puppy Griffey as we Film from Frankfort! Don and Misty Yost will share verses they have marked up that have marked them. Oh, and Alexander Kyle will share his interpretation of The Story Maker.... Continue reading

Posted Apr 26, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 5.3 of 5) *Leaning into Lament*

Today's post is pretty simple, and you get to write it. Write a lament this weekend. Start by addressing God. In the address you may include some attributes that are relevant to your complaint. Move then to the complaint itself,... Continue reading

Posted Apr 25, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 5.2 of 5) *Leaning into Lament*

Today we are breaking down the components of a classic lament. Most scholars identify four, sometimes five elements of a lament. Let's look to Psalm 13 for our example. It opens with a complaint that is applicable to the Corona... Continue reading

Posted Apr 24, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 5.1 of 5) *Leaning into Lament*

Lament. Why is anger a go-to emotion? Because we do not lean into other more accurate emotions. Anger is our shot gun. It scatters everywhere. Other emotions are more finely tuned, but we have left them undeveloped. Certain emotions have... Continue reading

Posted Apr 22, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 4 of 5)

As last week moved along, my intense anger started to subside. Spiritual practices really work. God's presence really works! So far we've looked at the daily check-in prayer and monitoring what is feeding our souls. Today we are going to... Continue reading

Posted Apr 20, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Contagious: Courageous or Fearful

Church at Home // Week 5. This week we headed to our living room. We're talking about a Christianity that is contagious! Both fear and courage are contagious. Which virus will you spread? Continue reading

Posted Apr 20, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 3 of 5)

Input influences output. What goes in comes out. When my spirit is disquieted, I have to ask the question, "What am I ingesting?" What is my mental food? In the COVID era, my diet intentionally changed. I am on the... Continue reading

Posted Apr 16, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 2 of 5)

We need to talk. We need to talk to God. We need to listen to God! When untangling emotions and deciphering feelings, the Daily Check In Prayer (found here) is my starting point. Why? First, it makes me conscious of... Continue reading

Posted Apr 14, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Grrr... (part 1 of 5)

I wish I had traced this better. I've been aware of it, but I have not written it down. How have you reacted to the COVID shut-down? Week One I went into overdrive. There was so much to do. I... Continue reading

Posted Apr 13, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Easter Sunday with SouthField

Watch with SouthField this Easter Sunday starting at 9:00am. Check in and say hi on the live chat. Watch to the last minute. The ending is priceless! You'll need a copy of this card too. View/download here Continue reading

Posted Apr 11, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Confess

Pain moves us to seek the heart of God. It presses us to ask why. Wonderings arise. Questions about our connection with God arise. This is a good thing. We need to ask serious, soulish questions. While we should not... Continue reading

Posted Apr 6, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Palm Sunday with SouthField

Ready to see how quarantine is affecting Brian, our family extrovert? Watch the beginning! Here's the link to our Palm Sunday message: https://youtu.be/leF4Tm6TNOo During Lent we've been debunking lies the serpent whispers to us, This week's lie: God Helps Those... Continue reading

Posted Apr 5, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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COVID-19 April Prayer Initiative :: YOU IN?

We started 2020 with Twenty-One Days of Fasting and Prayer. It proved to be a powerful season of community. One feature that united us was knowing that we were praying together on the 20's of every hour. We were never... Continue reading

Posted Apr 1, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Prayer Initiative :: Part 1

COVID-19 is starting to hit closer to home. With the virus now present in our region, we have people going to work, serving among those who are infected. I want to pray, by name, every day for our church's first... Continue reading

Posted Mar 31, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Hope

Today we wrap up with Step Five of our five-stage Daily Check-in Prayer. Step Five: Look Toward Tomorrow With Hope I really appreciate this step. My personality is bent toward unproductive, even morbid introspection. I can go dark on myself... Continue reading

Posted Mar 29, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Conversation

Are you ready for Step Four of this five-stage prayer practice? Step Four: Choose One Feature (Emotion) of the Day and Pray From It. Step Four flows out of Step Three. In Step Three we comb though the previous twenty-four... Continue reading

Posted Mar 28, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Inventory

Today we look at the third step of our Daily Check-in Prayer Practice. Step Three: Pay Attention to Your Emotions In this prayer, we conduct a scan of the past twenty-four hours. An emotional review is central to this whole... Continue reading

Posted Mar 27, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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Gratitude

In this series, we are unfolding a prayer practice that raises awareness God's presence in all things. Yesterday we looked at Step One: Become Aware of God's Presence. Today we build on that awareness by dwelling upon the past twenty-four... Continue reading

Posted Mar 25, 2020 at dennis martin papp

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