What if there was a place…
What if that place turned out to be a church? -January 2007.
I though it would be appropriate to post it again on this final day of 2008 because it is happening...there is "such a place"... we're living out that dream...with God, nothing is impossible.
Recently something has occurred to me about what is happening at actionchurch. Every person in our growing crowd is there because someone introduced them to our gathering. They didn't read and informational brochure (there aren't any), they didn't see or hear an "information packed" advertisement about us (there haven't been any since our launch in February). Call it "word of mouth"...call it "viral marketing"... one thing is sure, there is huge power in people introducing their friends and family to something...or someone. Our world is flooded with "information" but "introduction" is still the most powerful method of change.
I read recently that one of the ways Toyota is beating the "Big Three" is because of it's close realtionships with it suppliers...it's "partners" if you will. In many cases Toyota will actually build "extra" space into their plants so their suppliers can work side by side with them under the same roof.
From the very beginning actionchurch has been about "partnering" with other businesses and organizations. We didn't have a place to have a church service so we partnered with Fat Daddy's Nightclub. The "partnership" was great for both the Nightclub and actionchurch. (In fact I ran into the owner of Fat Daddy's last week and he is definitely "rooting for us" to grow and need a second site so we will come back!) After only a few short weeks I can already see how our partnership with Club 19 will be more of the same. We partner with Relay for Life every year to serve their organization and raise money for those suffering from cancer. Our recent partnership with Bridge of Hope for our "Extreme Christmas Makeover" is truly one of the most exciting and life changing thing we have had the opportunity to do as a church family. (They are blown away at how all of you stepped up to car for "our" adopted family! I am so proud to be part of actionchurch!)
What can you expect in the future? Lots more of the same. I believe we are just beginning to develop the resources and the partnerships that will allow our little (for the present) church do big things to serve those both inside and outside of actionchurch. Just yesterday I had two great conversations...one with a counseling organization...and one with an artist management company (bands) about how we can work together. I can see both of these organizations working with actionchurch as Forrest Gump would say..."like peanut butter and jelly".
God created us to work together in community...so it doesn't surprise me that some of the biggest advances I see on our horizon as a church will come from cooperating with others...
One of the "deal with it" situations of having church in a nightclub is Halloween decorations. Club 19 was decorated for Halloween with severed arms and skeletons hanging around the club. We asked if we could "raise" the arms up into the rafters and secure them during the service...I'm really glad one didn't vibrate down and surprise someone during the music. Ashley Z spotted our "hidden" decorations and captured them...
I went by Fat Daddy's afterward to pick up our "we've moved" sign and our "old lobby" was completely filled with witches, spiderwebs, and bats...so all in all the few severed arms were easy to deal with...
Halloween is...
a. ...a holiday celebrated in October best known for children dressing up in costumes and asking for candy.
b. ...a celebration of satanism, occultism, and consumerism in America.
c. ...an opportunity for seemingly "normal" guys to squeeze into some size 14 pumps and fishnets and head off to a party without be labeled cross dressers. (What's up with that?)
The best way to share your faith at Halloween is...
a. ...be generous, friendly and kind. What other time of year do your neighbors actually come to your door? No crappy candy, turning off the lights, or leftovers from your kid's Easter basket!
b. ...answer the door but tell everyone you don't celebrate Halloween because you are Christians. (I actually saw this on a Wife Swap episode)
c. ...Tracts, and only tracts! (NO CANDY) The scarier the better! Extra points awarded for those who mention the Spanish inquisition or name the Pope as the anti-christ! Enjoy getting the toilet paper out of your trees...
The best way for Churches to share their faith with their community...
a. ... be generous, friendly, and kind at a community event. Get involved. Give away great stuff! Urge church goers to be the "most generous house in the neighborhood.
b. ...have an alternative event. Call it a harvest party, Hallelujah party, or Fall festival. Bonus points if you feature gospel music, ban costumes, or give out prizes for reciting Bible verses. Great entertainment for the religious.
c. ...ignore it! Only 196 days 'til Easter!
The best thing to teach your children from Halloween is...
a. ...the joy of giving. How to be live out your faith in a post-christian world.
b. ...the joy of taking.... Turn out your lights and take them to all the "best neighborhoods". Grab as much candy as you can...make sure they split with you.
c. ...to be scared of witches, Satan, and cultists. ...that church Harvest parties are "almost as good as" Halloween parties. ...that they can't wait 
to grow up and be "normal".
What's the "right" choice...It's up to you.
I'll give you a hint what I believe...like the Fonz I say a-a-a-ay!
Psst...Church is people. I think one real benefit of our move to Club 19 is that it visually reminds us that like soylent green...church is entirely made up of people! If you think that church is a building...or "stuff" or equipment...right now all of our "church" is packed in a van down by the river..err bus in my driveway. From yesterday afternoon when we moved out of Fat Daddy's Nightclub until Friday when we move into Club 19 there is technically no actionchurch "building"...we're "homeless".
The great news is that actionchurch will reapear next Sunday and actionchurch V2.0 will be better than ever, because we are made up of people...not buildings or stuff!
So thanks for being actionchurch: people who helped us load our stuff after church yesterday. The people who will help us unload and set up on Friday. People who have invited their friends to a crazy church service at Fat Daddy's. People who will now invite their friends to Club 19. People who have given their hard earned cash to pay the bills for each weekly gathering. People who got up early on Sunday mornings to make sure that things were clean and set up for others...(enjoy your well earned break!) People who have showed up and allowed us to "practice" being a church from the very first service...people who just started attending last week. The list is too long to remember everyone...bands, sound engineers, artists, builders, cleaners, greeters, designers, coffee makers, coffee drinkers...you all make up this beautiful, messy, powerful, and broken thing called the church... Thank you all...I cannot wait to see what you become in our great new venue!
Here's a quick update on whats happening at Club 19 to prepare for our move there on 10.19.09 (oh yeah....we are moving to "19" on the 19th):
Thanks so much to all of you who are giving your time, talents, and financial gifts to make this happen...It is going to be amazing!
I just noticed that Chambered (playing Sunday) have actionchurch listed on their myspace as the "loudest church in the east". That made me smile.... We might also be the only church on the east (or west) coasts to start their service with "Never Enough" by Five Finger Death Punch... The "rock band" series is going to go out with a bang!
So it sorta goes without saying that I am a big proponent (read "loud mouth") about Churches being willing to "stretch" and change their structures and programs in order to grow and continue to be relevant in our society... I must admit though, that it gets progressively harder as a church grows and gets "older". actionchurch is only 8 months old...but it is difficult already to make some of the changes necessary for the much needed move to Club 19.
Our new relationship with Club 19 means we have to leave behind a really good relationship we have built with the Fat Daddy's crew. Our growth and move means that many of our great volunteers will have to change jobs and responsibilities... Some people will love the new facility, some will miss the "old" one. Even at this early stage of church growth...change is a bit painful at times...
So what do we do to "avoid" the pain of change and stretching? If we want to continue to do the work that the church was designed to do...nothing! We simply must be willing to go through the "growing pains". My prayer for actionchurch is that we remain "limber". That we constantly "move", stretch, and change to continue to connect with people in our community who are far from God. That we never get "set in our ways". That we are always ready to "risk it all" for the next opportunity to serve our community... My prayer for actionchurch is... "Lord keep us limber..."
If you can help out in any of these areas, please let us know. info@actionchurch.com I'm sure other needs will come up and I will post them as they do.
Unless you've been vacationing on Mars you've probably heard on the news that it's been a really bad week for the US economy. I'm not sure anyone fully understands the fallout from the bank failures (and the company that insures them) now...but it probably won't be that pleasant for any of us.
Are you concerned about your retirement savings? ...your mortgage? ...your job? You are not alone. Millions of Americans share your concern. Being involved in a small business (how we pay the bills) and a non-profit church (really, really, non-profit ) I'm not blind to the fact that both sectors are pretty severely affected by a downturn in the economy... I don't think; however, that the creator is "surprised" by this situation. In fact (as we talked alot about in the "un" series) God often uses difficult circumstances to show his "undeniable" power. I'm certainly not looking forward to the hardship that a "rocky" economy brings...but I am looking forward to seeing how our God provides for my family...and our actionchurch family. That's "security" to me...
18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. 19 They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough. Psalms 37:18-19
I'm really glad Lance let us borrow his Jeep from Mount Zion Offroad for the fair. Not only did it attract a lot of attention (and NO we are not raffling it off) but it was great to make coffee under in the rain last night. Thanks to everyone that has donated their time, stuff, and cash to make this happen. Even though the weather has not been great and attendance is down...we have given away more coffee and balloons this year than last by a lot! Tonight is the last night we will be out and we will have given away "everything but the tent and the Jeep" by the end of the evening.
One of the very best parts of hanging out at the actionchurch tent at the fair is all the great questions we get from people interested in what we are "all about". I love how open and honest people are in their questions. But you know what?...Prior to working in the actionchurch tent I never had anyone come up to me and ask me a question about Jesus, religion, or the church I attended in all the years I have been to the York Fair. It just never happened!
The reason we get the privilege of answering peoples questions about God and faith is because we were willing to "risk" our time and money in renting a spot at the fair, stocking it with free Dunkin Donuts coffee and Balloons, spending hundreds of hours volunteering to serve (Thank you all!)...and basically being vulnerable and "dumb" enough to "put ourselves out there" in the community...
Contrast the above scenario with the gentleman who came by our tent this evening, delivered a short Bible quiz and lecture, and left me with a tract that I "should read". I am certain that he had the very best intentions...the information he provided was correct...but the reason that his tract ended up in my office trash can is quite simple... I never asked him a question!
I am convinced that the reason that so many view Christianity as an arrogant and pompous religion is because we are so concerned about having "all the answers" that we forget to care enough about people to earn their trust, be patient and wait for their questions... Answering questions people ask is viewed by them as a "service"...answering questions no one asked is viewed as an annoying "lecture"...I'm just sayin'
I can't help but compare this years York Fair "coffee and balloon extravaganza" with last years event. The main difference this year is that there are so many people doing things better than I did last year. We have people who can make a better pot of coffee than me... (a couple of the batches I made last year were only semi-liquid...like the kind that you buy in a truck stop at 3am). Everyone is better at giving away balloons. (For some reason kids are generally frightened by me...go figure...just a long haired dude in a black t-shirt lunging at them with a balloon...) We have lots of people that are better at telling what actionchurch is all about than me. Incompetency has its rewards!
I think actionchurch is getting better as a whole because of my (self admitted) incompetence... Our visuals are so much better since Josiah took over. (Have you seen the new invite cards?...) Our pictures are much better since Ashley Z took over... Set up has never been better than the last few weeks since Bill, Dave, Garrett and crew completely raised the bar... The cool thing is that the more things the people of actionchurch "do better" than me...the more time and focus I will be able to put into the one area that I actually excel at...drinking massive amounts of Caffeine and dreaming up new "adventures" for us to embark on as a church... dreaming of things that seem impossible even in light of the great things we have already seen God do as a church. (Which of course will highlight some new area of incompetency and allow many other people to participate and make actionchurch a better place!)
Play the "incompetency home game":
What do you suck at...how could you replace those efforts with something you excel at?
(Since Michele reads this blog I must add that I have never used this "incompetency strategy" at home to "show" that I am incapable of loading a dishwasher, clothes dryer, or hitting the hamper with my socks....YMMV...may cause cranial bleeding. Performed on a closed track by proffessional drivers.)
Wanna see more actionchurch York Fair photo's? Here's the link to our "official photographer" Ashley Z's Flicker page of today: (Link) Thanks Ashley!
Came home last night tired, filthy, and smelling like funnel cakes...that's just a normal Friday night for me...but I think I developed a case of "balloon tie-er's" hand. Yesterday was definitely the "right" way to start off the York Fair.
Garrett and I hadn't even completely set up the tent when someone asked if we were a "Satan Church" because our tent was black...We got yelled at for riding on the running boards of Lance's "loaner Monster Jeep"...which by the way-everyone asks if we are "giving the Jeep away". I told a young "Bible Scholar" who wanted to argue, that he should NOT come to actionchurch, ... just another typical night at York Fair.
Thanks to all the actionchurch folks that helped out last night...not only do Michele and I appreciate the help (I actually got to take Reagan down to see the "bunnies, chickies, and duckies" because the tent was covered) but it makes the time so enjoyable because actionchurch folks are a lot of fun!
I love hangin' out with actionchurch folks and giving stuff away for free...No Strings Attached,
Stop by and see us...tip your waitress...we're here all week.
(I'm not sure why I am writing this post in King James English...it just seems more "commandment-ey")
1. Thou Shalt enter through Gate number two off of Richland Ave...unless thou wish to wonder "40 days and 40 nights" in the wilderness of York Fair.
2. Thou Shalt find the actionchurch tent on Lottery lane...next to the Jeans Funnelcake stand, across from 105.7 the X...just up from the duckies and bunnies.
I am really thankful for all the people who have signed up to help/hang out at our tent at the Fair (details) this year! After the great response we had to our Relay for Life effort this year I wasn't surprised that we will be taking a great team to meet and serve "York Countians" at the fair...when there is an opportunity to serve the community, actionchurch folks step up to the plate in a big way! You guys Rock!
I've been thinking though, that besides all the great volunteer support we have this year, in some ways it is becoming more difficult to do community events like the fair...not easier. Last year all we were concerned about was telling the people of York county about Jesus...and a place that they could hear about him on Sunday mornings even if they "didn't like church". All our efforts and funds were focused on that goal! This year we are balancing "outreach" (I hate that word but whatever...) events with planning, funding, and preparing for upcoming Sunday mornings and dealing with the "care and feeding" of the organization we call actionchurch. The typical...and sadly, normal... response would be to become less and less outward focused as we become larger and more complex as a church. To shift our focus from those "outside"...to caring for "each other" on the "inside". It's a subtle shift...but it happens...
The thing that inspires and motivates me to never let actionchurch become "inward focused" is the mission that Jesus gave to the church before he left for heaven: "Go into all the world and preach the Good news to everyone". It doesn't say "wait for the world to come to you"... and as far as I can tell there was no expiration date!
He didn't say "go into all the world" ...
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