It's an actionchurch "thing"...

Mondays are my family day off so I have been enjoying this awesome weather with "the girls". I did put an actionchurch.com windshield
banner on my VW Thing. (wiki) If you've never seen one they basically look like a clown car on crack... I figure if people want to "stare at my thing" maybe they'll check out the website.

Signs of the times?

Have you noticed the deluge of "We buy all Real Estate" and "Cash for Real Estate" signs around the York area? If you haven't, you are either an extremely focused driver, or you are completely out of it and "should not operate heavy equipment". These signs are EVERYWHERE! They are on telephone poles, stuck in yards, on trucks, billboards, etc. I snapped this one out of my car window at an intersection yesterday. (By the way, that is exactly the kind of box van I would like to have for our actionchurch "gear"... )

The companies posting these signs-EVERYWHERE- are responding to the "soft" housing market and the rising number of home foreclosures happening. They "relieve" people facing foreclosure by quickly buying their homes before they are "repo'd" by their mortgage lender. (For the record: These companies make a profit by also "relieving" the distressed families of the last shreds of equity they have in their homes...draw your own conclusions.)

I hate the fact that so many people are losing their homes in York county. (Thinking out loud: I wonder what actionchurch can do to help ?) I do admire how relentlessly these companies are taking their "We buy real estate" message to the streets. I see so many people in our county with no connection to God. Foreclosure is painful, but missing out on the very reason you were created is an eternal tragedy. What if we were as relentless with the message of Jesus? What if we realized that people are even more "valuable" than distressed real estate? What if we plastered this town with our message? What if we spoke in actions that were "louder than words"? I can just see the signs!

The Church has left the Building...

This is some video from 2/42 Church(Link) in Brighton MI, "making Jesus famous" in their community. This is what it is all about... Looks like fun too.

2.10.08

If you've been to actionchurch.com you've seen the banner that says "Launching 2.10.08". I will write more about "launching" later but in the simplest terms, February 10, 2008 is the date actionchurch will begin weekly public services. Before that we will have once-a-month "Test Drive" services in November (11.11.07), December (12.09.07) and January(1.13.08) as we build momentum toward our "Launch".

So why 2.10.08? What makes that the "perfect" day to launch a church? The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that "if you wait for perfect conditions you will never plant/or harvest. (link) There are no "lucky" days, no guarantees. After research and prayer we simply feel this is a good day to launch actionchurch.

So why "set a date" at all? Why not just wait until everything is "together" and then advertise the date? Is it a cocky thing to do? (Like Babe Ruth at bat pointing toward the outfield?) Actually the opposite is true. Even as I write this on April 26, 2007 I am so tempted to hit the "delete" button instead of the "publish" button on my screen. There are so many reasons why it seems impossible that we will be ready to "do church" by February 2008. So much money that needs to be raised, staff to be hired, teams to be recruited, equipment to be purchased. We haven't even secured a meeting place yet... So many reasons.

In my life experience God "shows up" and does amazing things when 3 things happen.

1. We get in line with his plans. (Link)
2. We make ourselves vulnerable through faith (Link)
3. We give God the "credit"when it happens!

For faith to be real and effective we cannot "hedge our bets" like our wussy politicians do. We cannot be on "both sides of the issue". Instead, we have to "make a fist" and be fully prepared to look like an idiot if we fail. I believe York county needs a place like actionchurch where people far from God can meet him. I believe there are others who feel the same and will join with us! I believe 2.10.08 is a great day to make that happen! Keep that Sunday morning (11-12) open to see whether God looks like the "hero" he is, or I look like an idiot... Either way, it will be worth seeing!

Idol gives back...

I watched part one of "Idol gives back" last night. (Where was Bono?) There are two ways to look at American Idol's first charitable effort. One is that they are genuinely trying to help people by using the shows enormous popularity. The second is to think (cynically) that this is just an enormous publicity stunt to keep attention on the popular yet "aging" show. My personal opinion is that it is probably a carefully calculated combination of the two.

But what if "Idol gives back" is nothing but a publicity stunt? If so, it would mean that America's number one show, At&T, Ford, Coca-Cola, and many other top corporations think that donating millions to the needy will attract customers to their companies and increase their profits! It is yet another sign that we now live in a "compassion economy" where people choose their products based on the "good" they do for the world. Examples: Starbucks, Gap (RED), etc... The effectiveness of these current campaigns can be questioned, but the desire the public has to purchase such products cannot!

Do I think that churches should do good in a substantial way because it's currently "good marketing"? Nope, I think the church should be the most generous, charitable, and compassionate place on the planet because it was one of Jesus' primary commands! The fact that charity and generosity are currently "fashionable" is simply an opportunity for us to lead and not follow!

So what do we have to offer (as churches)if we choose not to be "part of this "new fangled" charity/compassion fad?) Bible knowledge? Yeah, that will do it...it's much too difficult to Google "bible study" on your laptop...people will just have to sit through a 90 minute church service if they want to learn about the Bible. "Fellowship"? Yeah, no one could possibly match our church picnics and potluck dinners...not bars, bowling leagues, Myspace, Tupperware parties,...no one. "Live Music"?... Yeah, that's finally it. No one can beat an under-rehearsed band with 13 back up singers singing "As the Deer panteth for the water"...definitely not MTV, VH1, American Idol, You tube, your local club, junior high talent show....Nope, no one.

What if we as churches offer the Good News of the Kingdom that Jesus preached? What if we cared more about doing good IN our communities, than looking good TO our communities? What if we actually lived like we would be judged by how we treated "the least of these"? What if we invited our friends and neighbors to join us in our mission-regardless of their "beliefs". What if we actually changed our community? Even though I've never voted for and American Idol contestant....I would "vote" for that!

actionchurch FAQ

I am creating a new category for posts named "actionchurch FAQ". (You can access it from "Labels" in the side bar.) I hope this will help anyone accessing the blog for the first time to find basic information about actionchurch quickly and efficiently.

Here's some topics I will be covering:
1) When does actionchurch officially launch? (2.10.08) Why that date?
2) What does it mean to "launch" a church? Why not call it planting or starting a church?
3) What does it mean to be a "launch team member"? How can I help?
4) What is an "actionchurch"? Why do you call it that? What's up with the lower-case letters?
5) Where will we meet? Why? (This one's gonna be fun!!!)

Any other questions? Email me info@actionchurch.com with other questions for the category.
I want to keep the category as uncluttered as possible, but I will occasionally include other posts that I think capture the "flavor" of actionchurch particularly well.

Guard your thoughts.

I have purposely not posted about the shooting at Virginia Tech this week. It's not that I think it's wrong to blog about it, (I've read some really good posts this week) It's just that I am saddened and horrified by the shooting...so is everyone else, I had nothing to "add".

As this week has gone on though, we have seen the release of the Virginia Tech gunman's video and pictures. ("Thanks" NBC, that's exactly what he wanted, fame, but at least your ratings went up a little!) Later in the week we were "treated" to hearing Alec Baldwins phone tirade left as a message for his eleven year old daughter. ("Thanks Mommy Kim" for leaking the message, sure your daughter is humiliated but at least you have more leverage in your custody case.) The only thing that made these two stories even partially "make sense" to me are these words of Jesus-

A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. (Luke 6:45 nlt)

In no way am I trying to excuse any of the horrible actions that have taken place this week, whether they made the national news or not. It's just that we have an enemy, Satan. He's not the mischievous imp sitting on our shoulder with some "interesting" plans for how we could spend next Friday night. Instead, Satan, is a thief and a liar, a rip-off artist, the ultimate con man. Contrary to what some might teach, Satan is not just interested in "persecuting" church goers. (In fact, I'm pretty sure he is very happy with how so many of them our wasting their life on materialism, a worship of religious knowledge, and self centered "Me-ism") Instead, the entire world is in his "service area" and he's very successful at ripping us off by trading temporary crap, (fame, money, sex, drugs, status, etc.) for the good and eternal plans God has for each of us.

Here's where this effects all of us. Not just Hollywood people, crazy gunmen types, and radio shock jocks...all of us. There are no "thoughtless" actions! Whatever is in our "hearts" will eventually be what we say and do. Constantly thinking lustful thoughts? Satan is ready and willing to "trade" your family, future, and character for some steamy sex. Constantly filled with bitterness and anger? Satan is ready and willing to "trade" your relationship with someone you love for a verbal/physical tirade that will "let off some steam" and feel so good. Constantly envious of how "good" others have it? Satan is "standing by". As Jesus taught so many years ago, guard your thoughts. The "truth about you" will always come out...

I've noticed...

...that ever since I put an actionchurch.com window sticker on our cars, my gas mileage has increased by at least 50%! Also, my acceleration times are lower and our vehicles have actually stopped depreciating! (Tire wear has also improved.) As an added benefit I just noticed that there are now always empty parking spots at wal-mart "saved" for me-right up front! (You know, the ones with the blue signs!)

If you would like to "tune up" your vehicle and help spread the word in the York area, let me know. info@actionchurch.com We have more "magic stickers" available.

Thanks to the crew at Fastsigns for making the "magic" possible. You guys rock!

Disclaimer: (read really fast) YMMV. Have your vehicle driven on a closed course by a professional driver. Nothing but a miracle will stop your vehicle from depreciating...unless it is a hemi-cuda from 1972. actionchurch sticker actually weighs .0002 gram and may make your gas mileage decrease by .00088%. Don't operate heavy equipment. May cause vomiting ,diarrhea, and dizziness. For God sake, don't park in handicapped spots. If you stare at your vehicle with its new actionchurch sticker for more than four hours, see a doctor immediately.

York Relay for Life (Two)

I posted about our first community event(original post) , York Relay for life two weeks ago. There are now less than two months until we walk. The Relay takes place June 14-15.

Two reasons "Relay" is a great first event for actionchurch...
1) We want to take actionchurch to our community instead of just expecting our community to come to church. Sorry, that means no lame fall festivals, VBS, etc. Instead our vision is to generously participate and support community events, parades, etc.
2) We want to consistently and significantly invest our time and money in agencies that do good in our community! To say we "Love York county" and not help provide for it's neediest members is as inconsistent as saying someone loves their family, "but doesn't financially care for them or spend time with them." Nuff said...
Bonus Reason: I just found out yesterday that I will have the opportunity at the rally to "tell about our actionchurch team and why we are walking". Sweet!

Two ways you could help us make Relay a success.
1) Walk with us! Hang with us. Have some fun! Wear the actionchurch "colors".
2) Financially Sponsor our Relay team. We want to give a generous donation to the American Cancer Society. You can help us do that!

Please contact me for more information info@actionchurch.com about walking or sponsoring "team actionchurch". Thanks!

Gettin' Spanked at Candyland

Reagan, our 3 year has gotten hard core addicted to the game of Candyland. (She calls it "Candy Canes") We've been playing it for the last couple of nights and I am 0-5! I don't understand how I can't ever win. I love Candy! I dream of a land made of candy! (Mmmmm-sorry, Homer Simpson moment.) You would think I would rule at this game...

I wish I could say we were letting her win.

Steeple Stuff

I read a great post this week in Mark Batterson's Blog. (Evotional.com- listed in my blog links.)

Here's a quote:
There was a time, just a few centuries ago, when nautical maps of Europe had legends that included the location of churches on land and church steeples doubled as navigational tools for ship captains. Churches were typically built on choice real estate in the center of town or atop the highest hill. And in some places, there were ordinances against building anything taller than the church steeple so it would occupy the place closest to heaven. Nothing was more visible on the pre-modern skyline than church steeples. And in a sense, church steeples symbolized the place of the church in culture. There was a day, in the not too distant past, when church was the center of culture. Church was the place to go. Church was the thing to do. Nothing was more visible than the church steeple. Nothing was more audible than the church bells. And it might be a slight exaggeration, but all the pre-modern church had to do was raise a steeple and ring a bell.Is it safe to say that things have changed? (Read the whole post-link here)

It strikes me that the very thing that once stood for the supremacy of church in culture (the steeple) has become a monument to the out-dated and tired. I'm far from being a church methodology Luddite, but I have to think that a lot of things we think of as being "cutting edge" will soon also look very old and tired. (Have you heard -or seen- anything that looks like a "contemporary" church worship band on any "contemporary" music video channel such as VH1 or MTV2???)

I believe as Mark states in his post, that "Irrelevance is Irreverence". I think we should use whatever language is necessary to communicate with our culture, popular music, video, technology-whatever. I also believe the church should keep the "main thing the main thing" instead of identifying ourselves by our latest methods! (Steeples, Video screens, cool bands, or tent revivals.) Imagine for a moment that churches, from the first century until today , were simply "known by our love", demonstrated by our actions!

Maybe then the steeple would still "mean" something...

Pep talk over.
Seacrest out!

Don't mow your lawn!

I'm not going to mow my lawn this year. (I didn't last year either!) I used to mow it regularly, dutifully, faithfully. I used to mow it even on the hottest day of summer, but I hated every minute of it. It seemed like my lawn could sense my disdain, because it always seemed to produce more weeds than grass. No matter how hard I worked, it was the worst looking lawn on the block. I continued mowing because it was the "right thing to do". The "manly" thing to do. It was expected.

My next door neighbor Pete owns a landscaping company. He rocks at mowing! One of his mowers is probably worth more than my car. He makes his lawn look like the outfield at Camden Yards. He begged me to let him take over. He even offered me a great price. I resisted at first, but finally I gave in. It felt a little weird at first, watching him zoom around my lawn. After a while though I got used to the idea that "I have a lawn guy". My grass has NEVER looked better, and Pete even managed to get rid of the weeds. (Maybe that's why he wanted to mow my lawn in the first place.)

I've learned something from not mowing my lawn. I'm not going to pretend to be be good at things I suck at. I'm not going to pretend to be passionate about things I'm not. Like my neighbor Pete next door, I have learned that there are people who are passionate and better equipped to handle areas I struggle with if I will only let them. At actionchurch I want to surround myself with a leadership team made up of people who are better equipped, more talented, and overall "better" than me. I want to allow them to passionately do things I would do just because it was expected!

How about you? Are you doing "what is expected", or what you are passionate about? There will always be things we must do that we do not enjoy, some of them are good for us. However; wouldn't life be better if we played to our strengths and "outsourced" our weaknesses? Who knows, the grass just might be greener...

New on my Tivo: Drive

Michele and I had the chance to check out Fox's new soap-opera-on -wheels Drive last night. Thanks to Tivo the two hour premiere was a manageable 90 minutes. We're gonna give it another shot tonight as it is taking the place of Prison Break before "24". If I can "suspend disbelief" each Monday night to watch Jack Bauer single-handedly take on international terrorism, I can easily believe a new mother in a mini van can participate in an illegal cross country road race.

Drive "recipe": Melrose Place+Nascar+Prison Break= Creamy Drive goodness.

Programming note

Thanks to everyone checking into the actionchurch blog! I've added a couple of new options to make reading even easier. If you would like to keep up with the vision and happenings of actionchurch by RSS reader (my favorite method!) there is a link just below our logo on the sidebar. If you would like to receive these posts delivered daily to your email address-you can now subscribe via email. (Subscription box just below our logo on the sidebar.)

One side benefit of using either of these features is you will no longer have to see my picture every time you check into the blog. Need I say more...

...Louder than Words!

If actions speak louder than words-

• a generous tip and a thank you are more effective than (shudder) leaving a "gospel tract".
• letting someone in front of you in heavy traffic speaks louder than a "Jesus fish" on your car.
• helping someone with their bags at Wal-mart is better than walking past them wearing a tacky Christian T-shirt.
• being a great employee (or boss) will speak to your co- workers louder than peppering your conversations with "praise the lord" and "glory hallelujah"...
• it's better to mow your neighbor's lawn while they are on vacation, than put a super-sized "old rugged cross" in your own.
• being a loving husband (or wife), will tell your spouse you love Jesus more effectively than reciting the Book of Romans at the dinner table. (I better stop, this is starting to affect me personally.)

One of my greatest goals (and prayers) for actionchurch is that our "message" never becomes just the words spoken on Sunday Morning!

How we "roll"...

Imagine for a moment that Church is like a Bus Route. The Bus owner (God) gives a destination (vision ) to the Bus Driver (Church leadership). In theory anyway, a competent bus driver would post his destination on the front of the bus, choose the best "route" they could find to the destination, and try to "pick up" as many travelers as possible each day.

actionchurch has been given a clear destination. Our vision is to "pick up" people who are far away from God and take them to a place where their actions demonstrate they are truly a life changed by Jesus Christ.

Let me to tell you a little about our new bus...
We are not the only bus in town who belongs to "the owner". Everyone is welcome on our bus, but not everyone will want to ride with us. (Some people might even throw rocks at us.) There are plenty of travelers who will come aboard if we invite and welcome them. We did not chose our destination and we will not change it. In order to serve people who do not normally get on a bus, we will have to go on a route where buses don't normally go! We will help those in need along the way, even if they never ride our bus. We will not take pointless traditional "side trips" to try to get more people on our bus. We will not ask the riders to vote on our destination or route. We will be clear about our destination-even if it means some people choose not to get on our bus. We will not settle for driving around in circles with a few dozen of our closest friends because "everybody knows everyone, and we have such great fellowship." We will not stop the bus so we can spend time "going deep" into map and bus route study. . . Some people will want off the bus- we will graciously open the door. (We're not the only bus in town, remember?) We will also politely "point to the door" to those who want to ride our bus yet try to change our destination or "make us more like the bus they used to ride"- we will need their seats. We will remember that driving this amazing bus does not make us more important, just more responsible.

'Sound Like the ride you've be looking for? Get in. Hold on. Lets Roll!

Spot light: Holy Cow Creative

I posted earlier about some great kingdom building companies who help make the dream of actionchurch possible.

I am spotlighting Holy Cow Creative today because Michael Buckingham's artistry is an integral part of our strategy to introduce the York area to actionchurch-a place we believe they will meet Jesus.

I first became aware of his work on one of my favorite blogs Church Marketing Sucks. He is a guest blogger there and shares his abilities with churches everywhere in their (FREE) church marketing lab. Michael is an award winning designer, but was kind enough to spend nearly two months of dialogue designing our Logos and corporate "identity". During that time I found him to be open minded enough to listen to the crazy dreams and vision of an absolute novice to marketing(ME!). I also found him strong enough to tell the same guy when he was absolutely full of crap... (my words not his.) I appreciate both qualities in a relationship.

I have seen concepts of our shirts, hats(coming soon) and window vinyls, and our logo ROCKS on all of them! I truly can't wait to see Michaels work on a racecar! (Here's the Link) The good new is -the best is yet to come. This summer we will be unleashing the "Holy Cow Crew" on our web design and signage... Stay tuned for details.

Wisdom and "Wiggles"

Here's a quote that has been stuck in my mind all week, even more firmly than that stupid song "Hot potato" from the Wiggles. ( I have a three year old-I can't escape them!)

"The opposite of greed is not poverty, but Generosity."

-From the Book "Uprising" by Erwin McManus

I think there is a lot of wisdom in those few words. It reminds me that God's perfect plan is not to empty our resources so that we "need to rely more on him"... Instead, God wants us to "think more like him", give generously to others, and trust him to refill our resources. Very cool.

For the record, my favorite Wiggle is "sleepy Jeff" he's in front with the purple shirt. Enjoy the photo!

York area by Numbers...

I found this in the Easter Sunday edition of the York Daily Record. It was a small graph showing that the York-Hanover Metropolitan area was one of the fastest growing areas in the northeast. I was so captivated by what it said, that I actually cut it out kept it. I know it is equally dangerous to believe what you read in the newspaper and to talk about statistics, but lets "live dangerously" for a moment.

• Number of people in York-Hanover Metropolitan area- 416,322 (as of July,2006)
• Percentage of people in northeast region who attend church- 41%(Barna Research)
• Number in York-Hanover Metropolitan area who do not attend church-245,630.
• Number of people who move to or are born in area each year-8140.

Just to "keep up" with area growth, local churches would need to add 8140 new members a year! I'm looking for the stats, but I certainly don't think that kind of growth is happening. What about reaching York with church planting? Here goes...

• Number of new small (200 attenders) churches needed to meet growth-40 every year!
• Number of new mega (4000 attenders) churches needed to meet growth-2 every year!
• Number of new small (200 attenders) churches needed provide church for all York residents-1228!
• Number of new Mega (4000 attenders) churches needed-61+

God send us more partners who see both the tragedy and the opportunity of these statistics!

These were his(Jesus) instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Luke 10:2 nlt

Perry Noble-"Unleashed"

In March Michele and I went to the UNLEASH conference at Newspring Church. (Perry Noble is their lead pastor, check his blog in my links.) Newspring just posted the main sessions of the conference for free! (Here is the link)

To give you some perspective: I drove the family (10 hours) to S. Carolina. Stayed 2 nights in a hotel. Drove home (12 hours) in a freakin snowstorm. Pumped gas in 4 inches of snow wearing flip-flops. (I'm dumb and didn't check the weather before we left S. Carolina.) And guess what, It was worth it! Unleash was like a shot of adrenalin straight to the heart.

Watching Unleash for FREE sitting in your bathrobe in front of your computer is a very sweet deal. Take advantage of it if you can. The only thing "missing" from the video feed is how Amazing the music was and how unflipping-believably loud and clear Newspring's sound is.

Random Easter Thoughts

1. My wife makes great ham. She's a vegetarian. It must be one of her "spiritual gifts". It's kind of like a blind man painting great art.

2. This is the first time in at least six years I have attended an Easter Service. It was actually really enjoyable even though I am accustomed to planning and participating in the service. I like to think of it as a pitcher resting his "arm" for the next big game. (Only 364 days until Easter at actionchurch.)

3. I know I say this every week, but Church rocked today! I have heard way too many overly sentimental, historical, and funereal Easter sermons. Pastor David hit it out of the park today. When he ended by urging everyone not to just "celebrate" Easter for an hour on Sunday morning, but to "take Easter to the streets-starting in the parking lot" I wanted to stand up and cheer!

4. Today the band played a song by Mute Math, some David Crowder, Joel Houston, a four hundred year old hymn, and topped it off with a steaming slice of Nickelback-If everyone cared. Wow...

5. Ham makes me sleepy...

I hope everyone had a happy Easter. Enjoy the time with your family.

Pursuit of Happyness

We watched Pursuit of Happyness last night. Spell check hates the name but it was actually a pretty good movie. I am a sucker for movies about pursuing and achieving dreams (Another movie I dig) so I have been wanting to see it for a while.

Here's where things went wrong... The DVD "froze" at one hour and forty-four minutes into the film! No matter what I tried I couldn't go past that point on the disc. No matter what I tried I couldn't get past the "worst" point in the main charactors life to the obligatory "Happy ending". We finally went to the end of the disc and were able to rewind back to 1:44 and see the end of the movie. I was willing to try about anything to see the ending, because if we would have stopped at that point it would have been the most depressing movie I have ever watched.

The whole thing reminded me of points in our families life when we were SURE God had a "happy ending" for us, but we seemed to be "frozen" at the worst part of the struggle. It reminded me to keep trying until you get to the "end"- It's worth it!

Bringin' "saved" back...

Matthew 1:21
And she(Mary) will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

As Easter approaches, I can't get this verse off my mind and frankly, it makes me angry. I am ticked that something as heroic and life-changing as "saving his people from their sins" has become churchy, cheesy, even corny. Because "saved" has become cliche, I think we are left with telling people "lesser" good news. We say that Jesus died so : "We could have a personal relationship with him." or " you can spend eternity with God." or "to forgive our sins" or "because we could never live up to God's standards of perfection". I'm not saying that any of the previous statements are false-just incomplete. It's kind of like advising someone to get married so that they can enjoy the benefits of filing a joint tax return. It's not a false reason, It just highly undersells both the joys and responsibilities of marriage.

God is not a heavenly neat freak who is willing to forgive his earthly pets (us) for a few spots on the carpet (sin) so that we can be allowed into the house (heaven)! Instead, God is a Loving Father who hates Sin. Sin is the Crap we do that screws up our lives, and the lives of those around us! Ex. (God doesn't hate adultery because its "naughty" or because it offends his morals for us to "get it on" with more than one partner. God hates adultery because it hurts children, rips apart families, and ruins lives!) Jesus loved his creation so much, he died to rescue us from living lives broken down and torn apart by the repercussions of our own harmful behavior (sin). If you think about it, being "saved" from our sins involves being forgiven, having a relationship with God through his spirit, and being part of his kingdom plan for mankind even after we stop breathing (heaven). I'll take all of the above, please.

Final thought: Is it possible to be "saved (rescued) from your sins" and still go through life as a self-centered, sinful, jerk? Answer: Would we listen to "subway Jarod" tell us how eating subway sandwiches "saved" him from obesity if he was still a 400 pound fatty slamming down Big Macs? What do you think? Maybe if we bring "saved" back it will not only change how "Christians" think about Jesus, It may just change how everyone thinks about Jesus.

"Pep talk" over...Seacrest out.

Easter Bunny violence

The guys at Ridgestone Church have done it again. (Gary Lamb is their lead pastor-check out his blog in my links). This church rocks. They have been at it for less than four years and still meet in a movie theater. However, being portable has not stopped them from being very close to reaching one thousand people each week!

Ridgestone recently got national media attention for their "rapping Santa" Christmas video and now they are taking on Easter. Their new video promotes their Easter series titled "24- making the most of every day." I think they captured the style of "24" perfectly and I laughed-hard.

Watch them yourself:

(Warning: the following contains some scenes of gratuitous Easter bunny violence and is most suited for immature viewers)

"24" (part one)

"24" (part two)

Gentlemen, start your engines!

That's right. actionchurch is "going to the races!" Starting in June we will have our logo and web address displayed on the number 00 legends car at Susquehanna Speedway Park! This is a great opportunity because for less than the price of printing a postcard (even without graffic design and postage) we will be able to introduce thousands of new people to our website. We will also have opportunities to attend races, wear our "action gear", and even perhaps run a hospitality tent this summer. As an added bonus, the car owner has agreed to bring the "actionchurch car" to selected community events that we will have our tent at! As much as I believe God expects us to strategize and plan, this opportunity is something MUCH better than I could have imagined. More details and pictures to follow.

Perfect afternoon...

I spent yesterday afternoon with "my girls" flying kites in our back yard. It was sunny, 70 degrees, and just windy enough to keep my daughters Barbie Kite in the air. (Most of the time) Perfect afternoon.

I can't believe I wasted so many years working 7 days a week between church and contracting. It has made such a difference in our life over the last year since we made Monday a family day OFF. I guess God actually knew what he was talking about with that whole "day of rest thing." Even though it will be more difficult every week as we get closer to the public launch of actionchurch, one of my most important jobs will be to "jealously guard" our family's Monday off policy. Days like yesterday just remind me of what I will be fighting for!

Spot light: Unity Pro Audio and Video.

Last week i posted about some great kingdom building companies that make the vision of actionchurch possible.

One of these Companies is Unity Pro Audio and Video. Matt Schwartz is the owner and one of the few "AV guys" I have met who truly "gets" what it takes to produce a relevant church environment today. Steve Caldwell is his right hand man and is actually a "survivor" of a youth group Matt and I served in years ago! (Wow does that make me feel old!)

I'm Spot lighting Matt and Unity Pro today because he is working in Bombay, India with Lamar Boschman this week. Please pray for safety and success for him and his team! I'll try not to sound like I'm either eulogizing or dating Matt, but he is truly someone I have grown to trust and respect with all my heart. Through the years we have played in a band together, served in youth ministry together, spent countless hours in a fishing boat, and survived two church sound system purchase/installs. In addition, I think he's helped my family move at least four times, and still our friendship has grown! Matt truly models what it is to be a Godly father, husband, business leader and still be a real "dude" to hang out with.

In the months leading up to our first "Test Drive" service (11.11.07) Matt will be designing our complete Audio and Video worship experience. I've seen these guys in action and It will be incredible!
Next Spotlight: Like our Logo's/Graffics?

Sunday Traffic

I hate dealing with traffic, so Sunday mornings are my favorite time to drive. Hardly anyone else on the road. Every light is green. Just me and my family in our big honkin' SUV driving to church. Very convenient.

Sunday morning traffic is especially sweet since York County, PA. has grown so much over the last ten years. So many "outsiders" have moved in that when the farmer's market is open it completely snarls traffic on the east side. When local high schools have a Friday night football game, thousands show up and police are needed to direct traffic. With so many more people living here, it doesn't take much of an event to cause a traffic tie-up.

In the interest of full disclosure, the Church I attend has a bit of a traffic problem. (Over 1200 new attenders since Sept. 06) Fortunately, though, it's located in the middle of "Nowhere" in Lancaster county and there are only a couple of churches with "excessive traffic" in either county. Overall, Sunday morning traffic is virtually unaffected.

I pass dozens of churches every Sunday morning. I'm not great at math, but I think there may be more churches in our county than farmer's markets. Even more churches than high schools. Even more churches than convenience stores and banks. We better hope that "outsiders" never start showing up at all these churches. That would totally spoil my sweet Sunday morning drive...