Thursday, July 31, 2008

WKHTWTO!

I'm too old to know any of the cool "text lingo" so I'm making up my own. WKHTWTO! (Who knows how this will turn out!) In an effort to make Sunday mornings more interactive for the next three weeks we will be taking questions during the sermon via text message. The questions will appear on the screens while I am speaking and I will (attempt) to answer them. I'm really excited about this...I think it could be a way to make church more interactive...I don't really know how to completely "prepare" for sunday...and I think I may get "heckled". This may be the most exciting series ever at actionchurch-or a huge disaster. But, as Mark Batterson says-"Everything is an Experiment!"

"txt msg" will be three weeks-three different topics. This week's topic is "Does God still speak?"..."How can we know it's "him"? "What should we listen for"? Got questions...bring em'. Should be fun...

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Signs of the coming apocolypse...

I can almost hear the "clippity clop" of the four horsemans feet...
First there was a movie remake of an abba musical....


















...then the re-emergence of the "Two Coreys.












...and now these....
Prepare to meet Jesus...the end is near!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

...looking at the waves.

The Gulls did a song a couple of weeks ago called "Drifter" based on Peter walking on the water with Jesus...and later sinking and having to be rescued when he began to "look at the wind and the waves".

It's easy to "laugh" at Peter. How can a guy who is "brave" enough to walk on the water with Jesus get frightened and almost drown? Never mind that all of Jesus' other disciples didn't have the courage to get out of the boat and join them...it all seems kind of silly...until you get out of the boat...and realize that it is completely "reasonable" to believe that you are going to be smashed by the waves.

It's a matter of focus and faith actually...even in the midst of great acts of Faith..if we take our eyes off Jesus and begin to focus on the "waves", the dangers, the all-so-real probability that we will be swamped...we begin to "sink". The good news is Jesus is ready and willing to pick us up...in spite of our lack of faith. Rescue comes when we admit our lack of faith and cry out to Jesus...paralyzing fear comes when we focus on the "waves".

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Mathew 14:29-31

Monday, July 28, 2008

More bars in More places... Update.

Ok, maybe not those kind of "bars"...but I can dream, can't I? I wrote here about Jared and Melissa's "Jesus and Guinness" Tuesday night discussion group. They are getting together this Tuesday evening if anyone is interested in joining them...I think they are going to hang out the last Tuesday night of the month. Email me info@actionchurch.com if you are interested and I will put you in touch...

actionchurch..."Show and Tell"

Here's a cool link from a self described "grandpa" about attending actionchurch yesterday (link)
I'm glad that actionchurch is made up of such a diverse crowd... Thanks for the link and the kind words Rich! We're not getting old...we're just going "vintage"...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Sunday Recap: "at the movies" pt. 4

Today was the final installment of the "at the movies" series. Today we screened the "Bucket List" and talked about finding the joy in life. Happiness comes from happenings...joy exists "in spite of" our circumstances.
The highlights:

  • Holy cow...the ac allstars were awesome today! We have a lot great "young" bands but they are going to have to practice a lot of years to keep up with the all-stars...we are really fortunate to call these guys (and gal) the "house band". They started out with the Jeff Beck version of "People get ready" followed by "Stand by me" ""Undo me" (Jennifer Knapp) and an amazing rock-n-roll version of "I saw the Light"... I can't believe Jerry managed to make a Hank Sr. song rock...hard! Really an amazing week musically...It would be worth coming to actionchurch just for the bands.
  • Great crowd again today...we have been consistantly growing during June and July.
  • Today we tested our "TXT MSG" system for the series that starts next week...as usual it is a "hacked" together scramble...but It looks really good. Josiah had about zero sleep after driving back from an out of state wedding to be there but still managed to work his usual "miracles"!
  • I'm thanful we have a Mac expert to help us (Jeff)...of course if we all had PC's we probably wouldn't have any computer problems... :-)
  • The ac was not working right upstairs in actionkidz...last week the kidz froze...this week it was hot...ugh.
  • Lori brought me a tissue when I said I might cry during the bucket list...I didn't need it...but I love how she is ready for any "contingency".
  • Thanks to the Fife family for loaning us their popcorn machine for the month of July and providing the popcorn for the series...you guys rock!
  • I'm both excited and scared about the possibilities of the upcoming three weeks of "TXT MSG"... when we tested letting people "live text" their questions up to the screens, the first message was "Your fly is open"...I'm gonna get heckled!!!! (By the way...you guys are texting my phone so I know who you are :-)
  • Lots of wet motorcycles in the parking lot today. It poured during the service. Michele put up the top on my "thing" Thanx!
  • I'm thankful for joy...It hasn't been a very "happy" week...In fact it's been tough in almost every way...but I really have a sense of "joy" because of what God is doing each week...
  • I almost forgot...I saw people dancing on the deck during "Stand by me"...that makes me smile.

Friday, July 25, 2008

What kind of prayers?


I'm guilty quite often of praying "safe prayers"...prayers that don't really need God to be answered. "Bless us all...thank you for your blessings"...not "bad" prayers...just wimpy "safe" prayers...prayers that "won't make God look bad" if they don't get answered.


Part of the way I prepare each week is to print out the scripture I will be using and carry it around in my pocket and read it whenever I have a chance. This verse is seriously "messing with me".

7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! John 15:7 nlt

I've been "holding back" in my prayers for actionchurch...for my family. I think I'm going to have to start praying some "dangerous" prayers...prayers that make me look a "little insane"...a little "out there"...


What kind of prayers are you praying? Anyone want to join me in some "crazy dangerous prayers"?

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The "Good Life"..


This week is the final "episode" of actionchurch "at the movies." We're gonna be screening "The Bucket List". This movie was actually the last one to "make the list" for the series because at first I was not really that enthused about it's "message"... At first glance (and for the first hour+) it seems like the "point" is that the only things that make life worth living is adventure...travel...jumping out of airplanes...visiting the pyramids. (Sounds like a lot of fun...it just doesn't fit into most of our lives...)

But what about the 99.9% of the "rest" of most of our lives that are not filled with adventure...excitement...not "picture postcard" worthy? Is it possible to "live the good life" on a day to day basis? Without a private jet and a chauffeur? When the most adventurous thing you've done lately is try something different on the menu at the Olive Garden?

I'm gonna be exploring these questions on Sunday. I hope it brings some new answers...and some new questions!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

...not "selling" anything.

I had a couple of "young people" (saying that makes me sound like an old-timer I know...) knock on the door last night. The first thing out of their mouth after "hello" was to tell me that they were not "selling anything" or taking donations. They proceeded to tell me that they were part of a program teaching young people "poise" and "life experience" by sending them door to door to talk to people... At the end of their "presentation" they asked if I would "grade" their presentation by ordering some magazines...the more magazines I ordered, the higher the "score" they would get for their "presentation..." I offered them cold drinks and gave them some "life experience" by telling them no sale!

I hate stuff like that! I hate sales pitches and ploys... I'm a sucker for door to door sales so if they would have been half way "straight" with me I might have bought something. (That's why Michele hates when I answer the door.) I never want to do this sort of "bait and switch" at actionchurch. We certainly are never going to "pressure" anyone. Everyone is welcome whether they are a skeptic or "believer"...but we are about influencing people to become followers of Jesus...no "tricks"..."no ploys"...no apologies.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

...many plans


"Painful honesty" time here. Lately I have been "stressing" about all the "stuff needed" to take actionchurch to the "next level" as we grow... Every week as Fat Daddies fills up with "people who don't like church" it makes me happy...that's why all of our crew works so hard...to create an environment that people actually want to attend on Sunday Mornings. (Thank you all!) As our church grows though, another part of my brain is creating a never ending "checklist" of things and people we are going to need for the "care and feeding" of a growing church...







        • More Organizational systems and structure... ( I suck at this but it is necessary)
        • More Volunteers (especially in actionkidz!)
        • More "Time" to do church stuff...everyone is currently volunteering... It will get more and more difficult to meet the demands of actionchurch in our "spare time" I know that as we grow we will need to compensate people (including me) for at least some of their time.
        • More "stuff"...Even now there is a big list of "things" we need to do actionchurch more effectively...Signage, equipment, technology...
        • More "serving our community"... there are so many opportunities to help people and I believe as actionchurch grows we should INCREASE those efforts...not decrease them because we are busy trying to "maintain our deal"...
        • More Money...lots more money...in fact most of the things above depend on having more funds available and to be honest right now we are financially struggling... we have been since day one! Most weeks we need a miracle to survive...let alone expand. I am so thankful for the people who chose to support actionchurch financially on a consistent basis...we just need a lot more of them.

        I can clearly see an amazing future for actionchurch. A future where we become an undeniable force for good in our community. A future where our little "church in a nightclub" becomes an un-ignorably large group of people intent on Making Jesus Famous in York county. A future where our artists and crew create an unforgettable experience on Sunday mornings at multiple venues...I can see it...I'm just not "good enough" at raising the money necessary, creating the organizational structure necessary, or technologically savvy enough to "make it happen".

        I read this verse the other night and it's been "kicking my butt" ever since...

        21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21 nlt

        It reminded me that even though I could "clearly see" (that's my job as a leader-vision) what actionchurch would be like at the stage we are at now...I "can't do" most of the stuff that got us where we are now! I've always been a lousy fund raiser...I hate asking for money...I'm not very good with organization, any organizational structure we have now came from Michele...If it weren't for our actionchurch crew...Sunday mornings would not happen, whether I showed up or not! The church is way "beyond my abilities" even now.


        In the end I've decided to keep dreaming...keep planning...keep talking about the amazing future I see for actionchurch. I'm going to do even more praying and trusting that "the Lord's purpose will prevail". That people with the skill sets needed will "show up"...that we will be blessed with the funds needed to expand and prepare for the future. Realize that it's not that actionchurch is going "grow beyond my abilities"...It always has been! The rest is up to God...

        Sunday, July 20, 2008

        Sunday Recap: "at the movies"pt.3

        Week three of actionchurch "at the movies". Today we watched the final few minutes of I am Legend where Will Smith is yelling " I can save you" "you're sick", " I can save all of you" to all the zombies trying to eat him...even though he has the "antidote" for their sickness in his blood. That scene reminds me so much of Jesus saying "Father forgive them...they don't know what they are doing" while he was dying on the cross. My talk was from John 12:23-28 where Jesus explains his coming death as a "grain of wheat falling into the ground and Dying". I ended by asking the question which would honor the one who sacrificed their life and blood for our "cure"... to waste the blood "antidote"? ...keep it for ourselves? ...or to share it with everyone and save the world? We are here today because the followers of Jesus chose the third option.

        The Highlights...

        • Great sound today...I actually told Scott that it was (believe it or not) a little "quiet" last week. Turned out he forgot to turn on the amp that runs the low end woofers...it was thumping like normal today. Thanks to Jake and Scott for giving us great sound and lights each week.
        • The Gulls on stage today for the first time. This is a really original (in a good way ) band. We will definitely be hearing more from these guys...The started with an accoustic cover of smashing pumpkins "disarm" but the real highlight of the morning was their originals. They are one hot "sea faring" band from Lancaster county...
        • I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the bathtub up front today...we borrowed it from downstairs in case anyone needed to curl up in it during the movie clip like Will Smith did in I am Legend...not sure if anyone "got it" but it made Josiah and I laugh...
        • This had to be the most technically difficult service we have ever attempted...we have come a long way since February.
        • Lori and Michele make the rest of us look like we work in slow motion...thanks!
        • Today was the first time I ever had to cut a slide from my PowerPoint during the service...I just attempted to "cram" a little too much stuff in this morning. I am very serious about ending on time (12 noon). People bring their friends every week and they need to know that they can "trust us" to end on time...if I have to cut something to make that happen...so be it.
        • This was the most work I have ever put into a sermon...I want so badly to convey the "greatest story ever told" in an understandable and entertaining way...I hope we accomplished that today.
        • We had a lot of people out today but attendance was still really good. Great to see new folks checking us out.
        • I know we had a few people of "field trips" from other churches...we've been doing this five months now so actionchurch on Sunday morning seems pretty "normal" to us...it must really be a "culture shock" to church folks though...
        • Several people told me how much they "hate" me for "making" them watch I am Legend...I guess there were a few sleepless nights....sorry:-)
        • our graphics look so much better since Josiah "took over"...our stuff looks like a graphic artist did them(example above)...instead of a house painter....!!
        • One more week of "at the movies"... we will definitely repeat this series (with current movies of course) next summer.
        • I am looking forward to the 3 sermon series we will be doing in August/September...the best is definitely yet to come...

        Friday, July 18, 2008

        Failure

        I got an email yesterday promoting a "program" for churches that promised to "insure that your church is filled with happy, healthy, Christians". I am not sure if the program can "deliver" a church filled with "happy, healthy, Christians"...but if it can- I have two words for them:


        God Forbid!


        God forbid that there be a Sunday at actionchurch where there was no one in the audience who is "unhappy", "unhealthy", or "unChristian"... God forbid there be a Sunday morning where there is no one attending that is "questioning", "cynical", "lost", "looking" or "let down". God forbid there be a Sunday at actionchurch where everyone is a "believer", a "worshiper" and "just looking forward to hearing God's word"... That will be the Sunday that I consider an utter failure! No matter how many people attend, how large the offering is...or how "great the music is"-the day we are only "doing church for the already convinced"...is the day we fail.
        Make sure to not miss the first song Sunday...The Gulls are kicking off the service with Smashing Pumpkins "Disarm".....oh yeah.

        Thursday, July 17, 2008

        "accidental" growth

        Last night I was working out...after eating peanut butter oreos and milk (seriously) and I realized that I had "accidentally" added 20 pounds of resistance to my bench press.

        What's the point you might ask?

        1. It's really difficult to figure out which power rods on a bowflex "add up" to a certain weight...I need a calculator.
        2. I am bragging that I now bench press 40 pounds!!!
        3. Even though I would have sworn that I was "not ready" to add more weight...I did it with only a little more difficulty. I didn't even realize I had added resistance until after my bench presses were over.

        I'm wondering if this sheds some light on why God seems to push me into "areas of more resistance" that I swear I am not ready for... Maybe we limit ourselves by what we "think we are ready for". Maybe God has to "surprise" us with more "resistance" so we will continue to grow and not plateau. I'm starting to "rhyme" so I must go...

        Wednesday, July 16, 2008

        "...more than I could ask or imagine."

        I've been following along on Perry Noble's blog about Newspring church opening their second campus. Above is a picture of their famous baptism service where they baptised over 500 people on a Sunday afternoon. We visited Newspring before launching actionchurch and they definitely live up to the "hype"...I'm not surprised at all that they had over 9000 people show up at their two campuses Sunday... What surprised and encouraged me was the last line of this post...

        Perry wrote: "Just the other day I was riding down the road and drove past the Sullivan Building on the campus at Anderson University. For those who do not know–that is where we first began having services in January of 2000.
        I remembered the weekly battle with trying to make sure the air conditioner unit was working…it usually wasn’t & we had to call a technician out to try to rig it up before our services. Half of the time it didn’t work!!!
        I remembered the Sunday we showed up and a student group had taken the sound system that we normally used…and being the mature Christians we all were…WE FREAKED OUT! BUT…thanks to “Super-Joel” we were able to piece a few things together and make it happen.
        I remembered putting EVERYTHING our church owned–I mean EVERYTHING in a closet that we rented from the college that was about four feet wide and six feet long.
        I remembered the “children’s facility” that we had to work with…a conference room that had a conference table in it that took up 75% of the room, no lie! (We had three kids the first Sunday!)
        I remembered the retreat that several of the guys took in June of 2000, six months into the church plant. We stayed up VERY late into the night praying and dreaming…I asked them all to dream BIG with me–and we wrote out our incredibly enormous goal that we all felt could happen…that by the year 2010 we could literally have 1,000 people coming to church every week.
        I remembered all of that while standing in one of the most incredibly decorated children’s rooms that I have ever seen…and it hit me, “God really is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine. HIS DREAMS for HIS CHURCH are way larger than my dreams for HIS CHURCH. And…this is JUST the beginning!”
        Read the rest

        Tuesday, July 15, 2008

        I am Legend...

        I've been working on my sermon for Sunday (We are screening I am Legend as part of the "at the movies" series.) Wow does this movie "ask" a lot of the questions that I think most of us deal with...

        • There's a sign on one of the abandoned?! buildings that says "God still Loves us"... Most of us have questioned at one time or another "How can a loving God allow so much pain and evil?"
        • Robert Neville (Will Smith) is seen praying with his family early in the film but later is shown screaming "There is no God"... Most of us have asked the question at some time "Are you really out there God?"
        • At another point in the film Robert Neville says "This isn't God's fault...we did this to ourselves"... Who hasn't wondered and question "How much free will does mankind actually have?" "Is this a punishment from God or did we cause this ourselves?"

        This movie scares the bat crap out of me but I am looking forward to trying to "bring a little light out of the darkness" on Sunday...

        Monday, July 14, 2008

        Bare feet...

        I ran across this article from the New Yorker "You walk wrong" about how the wearing of shoes is "ruining" our feet. The author quotes a podiatry expert Dr. William A. Rossi saying that “Natural gait is bio mechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person." The "big idea" of the story is that feet are "perfectly designed" instruments (the author would say "evolved") and our culture of wearing shoes actually harms their ability to function properly. "Shoeless" societies in Africa actually have healthier feet. (although they do have to say "ouch" "ouch" "OUCH" a lot more when they walk across hot sand...)

        Here's a couple of things I am wondering:

        1. Why do I read anything from the New Yorker...I need a life.
        2. Following Jesus is often described as "walking with God"... I wonder what parts of our modern "walk with God" are hampered and even harmed by our christian "church" culture of "discipleship programs" and "community building programs" etc.
        3. What would a "bare foot" walk with God look like?

        What do you think?

        Sunday, July 13, 2008

        Sunday Recap: actionchurch "at the movies" II

        Today was week two of the at the movies series...we talked about living a life at peace with your self and others from Luke 6:37-42 and the movie Dan in Real Life. Conflict with our values leads to conflict with others. Conflict may make a great story...but it's a miserable way to live.
        The Highlights-

        • Had the super group;-) "Different isn't that good" onstage...although I announced that they were fresh from touring Europe with David Hasselhoff, they were actually members of The Recovery, "our Josiah" on keys, and Seth on Base. They started the set with "Over my head" (the Fray) then played "Learning to Breathe" (Switchfoot) and "All hands on Deck" (Waking Ashland). The Guitar was out due to a bad cable on the first song but they rocked the rest of the set. Josiah sang "Let my love open the Door" (Pete Townsend) from the Movie sound track to close out the service. He sings, he plays keys...he kicks butt on graphic design...sorry ladies, I think he's taken.
        • I had a lot of feed back this week from this post... seems people really dig the "club" atmosphere over having only lines of chairs like a classroom. I think we had a pretty good mixture of keeping more tables available but still maximizing out seating. Thanks Dave for working it out!
        • Speaking of seating...great crowd again. Summer is definitely not the "off season" at actionchurch...we are definitely growing.
        • I hooked up a giant digital clock that I can actually see out at the video box...our services are literally planned down to the minute and I have been having a lot of difficulty actually seeing the clock on stage (or my watch) in the low light...I love the new one.
        • Had a couple of new people sign up to be on the monthly rotation for actionkidz...Thanks!
        • This series is really "stretching" us in how we can integrate video into the service...I think we are learning some stuff that will be useful later in the year.
        • ...although no one is actually "paid" at actionchurch...I think we have one of the best "staffs" I have ever worked with. Thanks to all the crew!
        • I dig this series...I love the smell of popcorn in the morning...but I think some stuff we are doing in August is going to be the best "actionchurch" yet...stay tuned.

        Friday, July 11, 2008

        God's Pottery on Last Comic Standing...

        I saw these dudes (link to God's Pottery website) on Last Comic Standing last night. I laughed, I cried...I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit. They have captured everything "cheezy", "too nice", "preachy", and just over-the-top-annoying about "Christians" and turned it into a comedy act. Their "act" is funny,and "true"...but sad when you think about the "caricature" that Christians have become in our society...yikes.


        Thursday, July 10, 2008

        Dan in Real Life Clip...

        Here's a "bonus clip" from Dan in Real Life. Unfortunately the Ruthie "pigface" Draper song won't be one of the clips used Sunday...so here it is for your listening (and singing) pleasure. I am really looking forward to Sunday. I love this movie and I feel like there are great biblical truths in it that will help all of us in our relationships. I'm definitely looking forward to preaching week 2 of "actionchurch-at the movies".

        Wednesday, July 9, 2008

        More seats on Sunday morning...

        I'm gonna throw out some stuff that we are working on/thinking about to create more seating for our guests on Sunday morning. First of all, there are still plenty of seats available...no need to stay home to "free up some seats for others". We are consistently growing though, and the seats available are becoming more scattered and in less desirable places in the club. Although "preachers and bands" like to "play to a packed house"...being completely full is not comfortable for our guests...especially if they arrive late and have stand in the back. As we head into the fall this will increasingly become a problem. We are working to created more empty seats in the best possible locations. Here's some ideas we are working on...

        1. Replacing tables with more seating. I love having tables available...but as we grow we are going to have to probably remove/reposition them. I don't like this option but it may happen.
        2. Invest in technology (IMAG) to put an image of the band and my wildly handsome face up on the screens so that no matter where someone sits they will be able to see. (hearing on Sunday morning is not a problem...) ...this option will increase our capacity greatly...but we do not currently have the funds to do it.
        3. (Eventually) a second service. ...I think 11am is the earliest that our actionchurch peeps or bands would want to show up (and the set up crew is already there at 8am)... so it would probably have to be at 1pm... maybe we would call it the "Hangover Service" not sure about that time slot.
        4. (More bars in more places)... our vision has always been to be in multiple locations...this is the longest term option...and no...actionchurch locations will probably not all be bars or nightclubs.

        Am I missing something? I would love to hear your idea on how we could comfortably serve more people on Sunday mornings...

        I'll close with two true-but completely contradictory statements.

        • We are already planning, preparing, and praying about how to take actionchurch to the "next level" as we continue to grow.
        • I have not a freakin' clue what exactly is going to happen...that's in God's hands. (Don't worry...this time last year I had no idea how or where to start a church (seriously)...and now we are trying to figure out how to best deal with actionchurch's growth.) God is Good!

        Tuesday, July 8, 2008

        "Better than expected" service...


        I had to send the "family monster truck" in for service yesterday. When we bought our SUV four years ago we had no idea that we would become church planters...or that fuel would double in price...I just loved the idea of being able to go "anywhere"...I bought into the idea of the Land Rover "adventure".

        The team at Land Rover Harrisburg always delivers "better than expected" service. Yesterday they showed up at they house with a sweet LR3 "loaner", called to inform us that they had located the problem and had fixed it, and promptly returned our vehicle freshly washed with a bottle of water and a note in the cupholder asking how they could better serve us. As an added bonus the whole deal turned out to still be covered by warranty! Thank God...

        I think we can learn a lot from Land Rover as a church. The "cost of ownership" of owning an SUV when gas is over four dollars/gallon is undeniably high...nothing you can do about that. The "cost of ownership" of being a follower of Jesus is also high...and we shouldn't deny that. Jesus asks us to "take up our crosses" and follow him..."turn the other cheek"..."go the second mile"... "love our neighbor as ourselves"...all of those concepts are revolutionary, and personally "costly".

        What we can learn from Land Rover is that people want to be part of "adventure"...even if it's costly. People also appreciate "better than expected" service. That's why we offer Maple donuts every Sunday morning instead of day old "specials" we could get for free. That's why we offer bottled water, Duncan Donuts Coffee...anything to make our guests feel "served". (Even freshly made popcorn during the "at the movies" series.) It's why our crew works so hard to clean and prepare the club each Sunday morning... it's why we want every sermon, every song, every graffic or video to be the best we can possibly produce. Every Sunday is an opportunity to provide someone with a "better than expected" service...

        Monday, July 7, 2008

        The best part of actionchurch...



        I wanted to put some pictures up of actionkidz upstairs. I've had so many people say after going upstairs and visiting actionkidz, "wow, I had no idea what a great children's area was just upstairs". Jeff and Chrissie Compton have done a great job of setting up an exciting environment for children to hear about Jesus. actionkidz is not "babysitting" or "child care" it just may be the most important thing we do on Sunday morning...
        We currently need more helpers to interact and play with the "kidz" on Sunday morning. No teaching experience necessary. If you are interested in helping out once a month in the best part of actionchurch please contact Michele at info@actionchurch.com .

        Sunday, July 6, 2008

        Sunday Recap: at the movies 1

        First week of "at the movies". Today's movie was national treasure 2 Book of Secrets. I talked about "what we should do" with the great treasure we have been given from our "book of secrets" the Bible. Should we be more like the secret Societies in the movie trying to protect their treasure from "outsiders"? ...or like the "treasure hunters" trying to expose the secrets and share them with everyone? I made the case from 2 Kings chapter 7 that it "is not right" for us to have the treasure of the Gospel while others are "starving" and Dying...we need to "go back" and tell them the good news...



        The Highlights:



        • First time for Fire from the Sky on stage...I like this band...especially their song that they closed with "Case of the Mondays". They came out of the box strong with a cover of "Pressure" by Paramour... tight set. I look forward to having them back.
        • Graphics looked awesome today...Josiah has completely revamped the look of our onscreen stuff for Sunday Mornings. Everything looked great! This is the first time I have prepared a sermon and not done my own powerpoint...ever! I think one of the best signs of the growth at actionchurch is the stuff that I am no longer doing on Sunday morning.

        • Verse of the Day...As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. 2 Kings 6:25 and you thought grocery prices are "high" now...

        • ...so we decided to put out more chairs this morning...even though it's a holiday weekend... because we were packed last weekend...even with the extra chairs we were packed again...wow. I am seriously starting to pray and prepare for a soon coming "space problem". I will be posting about some possible solutions over the next few weeks.

        • Had fresh made "movie popcorn" this morning! Thanks to the Fife family for letting us borrow their machine...it smelled great...lots of clean up afterwards though.

        • We are definitely experiencing "growing pains" in lots of areas. We need more people in actionkidz especially. actionchurch at 5 months old is a lot like a five year old baby...growing like crazy, and constantly needing it's "messes" cleaned up!

        • I enjoyed preaching using National Treasure 2 this morning but Josiah and I talked afterwards and I now have lot's of ideas about how to make it better next week. I am really feeling "driven" now to "raise our game" in lots of areas on Sunday morning...especially my preaching. Every week is important...every week is someone's first week at actionchurch.

        • I say it every week but thank you to all the "crew" that set's up and tears down...you guys rock.
        • As excited as I am right now at what is happening Sunday mornings at actionchurch...I get the feeling that this is just a minuscule portion of what is coming in the future...this is only the beginning.

        • "Dan in Real life" next week...watch it!

        Saturday, July 5, 2008

        Friday, July 4, 2008

        Independence day...


        "The Constitution is as much the work of Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament were the effects of divine power." Dr. Benjamin Rush (signer of the Declaration of Independence.)
        I hope everyone has a grateful (and great) 4th of July...

        Thursday, July 3, 2008

        Happy Birthday Reagan!

        I can't believe my little princess is turning five today. Being Reagan's "Daddy" is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. Happy Birthday birdie...

        Reagan loves to Dance and Sing at actionkidz...apparently she is doing the "Elaine Dance" in this photo...(see below) She definitely got her beauty from her mommy and her "dancing ability" from me!

        Wednesday, July 2, 2008

        Racing tomorrow night...

        We're going to be going to the races tomorrow night (July 3) to cheer on the actionchurch #222 car at Susquahanna Speedway. (link) This will be the first time that we have been out to the track this year since most of the races are on a Saturday night. (a "school night" around our house since we get to the club early on Sunday mornings) I'm looking forward to seeing Bob run the car but I am bummed that the Extreme stocks aren't running until Saturday night. Lance Danmeyer has been attending actionchurch for a couple of months and has put our logos on his #87 Camaro in the Extreme stock division... I was really looking forward to seeing two actionchurch cars running around the track! I'll try to get picture of his car up on the website.

        If you get out to the track this week cheer on the #222 Legends car on Thursday night and the #87 Extreme Stock Camaro on Saturday night... As Darrel Waltrip would say so eloquently...boogity boogity boogity!

        Tuesday, July 1, 2008

        I need a memory course...


        ...or maybe a brain transplant. Last week when we had baptisms one of my greatest fears...besides drowning someone...was that I would call them by the wrong name. As many of you know(especially if I call you by the wrong name) I have about zero memory...especially for names.

        Well things were going along pretty well until I completely blanked out on someone's name...someone I knew really pretty well...someone who had spent 15 hours at the relay for life so I had talked to her lots...I just completely blanked on her name. I thought I could be "cool" so I leaned over to my wife Michele and asked her "Quick..what's her name???" "Michelle...her name is Michelle!" was the answer. The worst part is that I thought no one knew...turns out I'm not that "slick" and "newly baptized Michelle" heard the whole conversation. yeeesh! I am so embarrassed...