So, I'm preaching this week on what Jesus taught about our finances...and I run across this sweet custom pool table made from a VW bus on the web for seriously eight grand! And you know what? Even though I have been reading scriptures about "being content with what you have" for weeks...I still wanted it! Not gonna buy it...can't afford it...but still wanted it.
So what did Jesus teach about finances and "stuff"? Are we supposed to deny ourselves all material pleasures and live in a "van down by the river"? Or, does God want us to be "rich" as some TV "preachers" say...(if only we'll send a large donation to them.) Is it somewhere "in between"? I'll give you a hint, I don't think I'm supposed to buy an $8000.00 pool table no matter how sweet it is! Other than that, the answers might surprise you!
"The Game of Life" starts Sunday...good luck getting that "wacka-wacka" Pac-man sound out of your head.
One of our core values from the very beginning of actionchurchis that whenever we enter into a relationship with a business (whether it be the club we rent, bands,suppliers, vendors, whatever) we always wanted to be generous instead of stingy- givers instead of takers...
It's certainly not "why" we do it but we are certainly seeing the benefits of that now... Within the last week I have seen two instances where the club owners have generously gone way above what is "expected" to help actionchurch! I wish I could be more specific, but let me just say they "have our back"!
What are some ways that you could be a "giver and not a taker" in your business or job?...I have found again and again in business and ministry that in the long run it will pay off. "Doing good is good for business..."
I'm going to be kicking off the "Game of Life" series on Sunday talking about what Jesus taught about dealing with finances. Think money doesn't "matter"? Check out this clip (link for email subscribers) ...sometimes even five dollars can completely change a situation...
Oooh sorry, I didn't say five dollars would change the situation for the "better"... enjoy!
It doesn't get much better than this...recapping a great Sunday while watching Talledega... Here's the highlights in no particular order...
Gretchen File gave an awesome interview today about her experience surviving cancer and using her experience to co-chair the local relay...awesome.
Think one person can't make a difference? Gretchen "evangelized" Michele and I about Relay through her experience while cutting our hair...last year our first event as a "pre-church" group was to do relay (5 people)....today, in addition to the hundreds of other people that she has affected we signed up 27!!! people who want to walk and serve others at relay. I am blown away! It looks like actionchurch will be fielding two teams at Relay! Unbelievable.
Jerry and the "House Band" ("Jerry's Kids"?) were awesome today! Jerry "gets" the mission of actionchurch..so I can always depend on them to bring it!
Lynn (vocalist) did a very brave and inspirational talk about her recent experience with losing her husband to cancer... I don't think I could have done it...truly an amazing woman.
Upstairs in actionkidz they "met" the Compassion international "kidz" they are sponsoring...it's never too early to think of others.
We announced today that not only would we be fielding a team(s) to raise money for Relay for life...we will be serving participants of the event. We will be providing "foot spa" tent, (Practical Biblical "foot washing"???) to serve walkers and also providing and staffing a giant "bounce house" slide to serve the kids at the event. Stay tuned for updates.
It's cool to see how God seems to send the people we need just at the right time. Today someone there for the first time asked how they could get involved in set-up on Sunday mornings...just this morning we had been discussing needing more set-up people to cover vacations this summer....too cool.
Attendance was good, offering was low. I could have predicted that...whenever we make a major effort to give to things outside of the church we are "tested" by things being tight financially for the church. There is always a "good" excuse not to be generous...the same thing happened at Easter when we gave away one weeks budget ($1100.00) God provided then and he will now...that's just "how we roll."
I had several people say they went out to the track to cheer on Bob and the actionchurch car. Unfortunately he finished the heat race (4th) but the main event was rained out. Way to go Bob!
Baptisms are coming!!! We will be having a baptismal service with a real "actionchurch flavor" in June. If you would like to go public with your decision to be a follower of Jesus this is your opportunity! I cannot wait.
We are such a "upside down" church... I know there are people who might think that our participation in Relay is a "gimmick" to get people to come on Sunday...actually the opposite is true...we do Sunday mornings so that we can gather more people to put the "kingdom plan" Jesus taught in action at events like relay!
The Visuals looked awesome today-thanx Josiah. We tested the "pac-man" set up for next weeks service...it is going to be too much fun.
Lot's more stuff that were very cool today...but this is too long... and Junior (#88) is leading at 'dega...YEE HAW!
Tonight is the first run of the year at Susquahanna Speedway Park (link) for the "actionchurch car". It's a "school night" for us since we get to the club on Sunday's before 8am to set up, but we will definitely catch some races that don't fall on Saturday night... Good luck Bob!
Here are the names that will be displayed Sunday. It's amazing to think that in our 12 week old church there are so many people who have felt the affect of cancer in our lives. These names are our family, our friends, our neighbors...
In Memory of:
Don Eaton
Ervin Eaton
Thomas Eaton
Romain Eaton
Wendy Gangwer
Susan Gladfelter
Rev. Keith Grams
Jay Hermans
Nedra Imerst
Mel Kindred
Marvin Kindred
Judy Kraft Lori Klinedinst
John Landis
Emily McCleary
Richard Searl
In Support of:
Cora Beyer
Merlyn Caites
Donna Eakins
Jim Hulin
Elrose Hunt
Cheyne Main
Ester Yost
Donna Waters
In Honor of:
Steve Eaton
Gloria Ensminger
Fred Klinedinst
Lisa Moore
Marc Pypaert
Sunday we will pray for those families who have lost those they love, celebrate survivors, and pray for strength for those who fight on . We will hear great stories. We will laugh. Most importantly we will learn how everyone can put their compassion into action and actually make a difference in our community. ...and of course, because we are actionchurch, we will have a lot of fun doing it...that's how we "roll".
In case you missed it Carly Smithson got voted off Idol last night. (recap) Brook White had to stop her song and start again when, as she admitted ,"completely lost the lyrics". That means that "America voted" and chose someone who clearly messed up their performance, was genuinely humble, admitted her mistake and "started again"-over someone with a "slick" "smooth" and "perfect" performance that the judges raved about.
...just something to think about when we are tempted to fake our way through a "perfect Christian" "performance" of life in front of our friends and family...maybe they would rather see "genuine" and "real", even "flawed" if we would be willing to apologize and "start over"...
When we first began planning "Hope Sunday" I viewed it as an "outward focused" event. ...a chance to remind everyone that there are so many people fighting cancer in our community...a "call to action" to help them fight by serving at, and participating in the York Relay for Life event in June.
As usual I think I was wrong... As the names of people affected by cancer that are connected to actionchurch keep rolling in, and as I think about the two very brave and inspirational people willing to share their story on Sunday... I think Sunday is going to have a powerful affect both outside of actionchurchand "inside". I had no idea how many of us were affected by this disease... I am looking forward to Sunday as we Remember those we have lost, Celebrate Survivors, and (in true actionchurch fashion) Support those who fight on by putting our concern and empathy into action! I think even though Sunday will be a very "different" kind of gathering...it will exemplify exactly what actionchurch is all about!
Note: I will be posting the names on Friday so there is still time to get them in.
I ran across this story today of a dude getting sued for calling his new "christian" youth baseball league "Christian Little League" (link).
It seems that even though "God told him to name his league that" Little League kinda owns that trademark... (I'm pretty sure you would get the same reaction from "Christian Wal-Mart" "Christian Starbucks" or "Christian Budweiser")
I think it's a good and noble idea to try to teach kids about Jesus. I think little League Baseball is probably a great avenue to accomplish that. My question is this: Why not coach a "real" authorized "Little League" team and live out Christian values in front of your players...serve them...build relationships with their parents...love and serve them in anyway possible and appropriate...use your "influence" as a coach to further God's kingdom plan on earth.
Or, you could start "christian little league" (probably with the best of intentions), get sued, come off looking like a jerk, and probably end up creating a baseball club that excludes anyone but children of fellow christians... which makes your stated mission of "reaching kids for Jesus" pretty difficult since they don't want to come to your club. This story reminds me of something...it's right on the tip of my tongue...
I'm looking forward to the sermon series coming up this summer and fall. "The game of Life" is going to start in two weeks... (After Hope Sunday 4.27.08) We are going to discuss subjects such as money, parenting, motherhood etc...in one an extremely fun and creative way... and that's just the beginning of our summer lineup!
The reason why I am certain that the best is yet to come on Sunday mornings is because of the creative team we are developing to plan Sunday mornings. "In the beginning"...it was just me planning the service. Now the process includes Michele (who has given me some of the very best ideas and examples) Josiah (who is younger, cooler, and smarter than me so he is continually working to make actionchurchon Sunday mornings look and sound better...if it was up to me we might play all "hair metal" and show only clips of movies that are only available on VHS :-) Also the bands play a big part in the creative process on Sunday morning...It is so exciting to give them a direction and a "big idea" we are going to be expressing in a particular service and see how they express it musically! The process is just starting to "gel"... I can't wait to see what we can come up with as we actually start to "know what we are doing"...
Final week of "wrecked"... I think I'm gonna miss preaching from behind a pile of crashed car parts... Here's the high lights:
I am so proud of what's happening at actionchurch right now...not because we had a great turnout today...not because people are giving generously and we had a great offering today..not because it was a great service...all those things were true today but...
I am so proud to see actionchurch becoming a true community! People are helping each other, becoming part of each others lives..."being" the church! I just love to see that happening!
I am so thankful for the people that are continuing each week to step up and volunteer! Thank you all so much! You are what makes actionchurch happen each week.
I saw Chrissie mopping the wall upstairs in the disco that becomes actionkidz...nothing says you are "doing the work of the Lord" like cleaning up vomit early on Sunday morning...did I mention I am proud of our people today?
We need to figure out how to do baptisms at a nightclub...what a great "problem" to have! (any ideas for what we could use out on the deck area for baptisms?) I love that people are wanting to "go public" with their faith...can you imagine an "I got baptized at Fat Daddy's nightclub T-shirt? YEAH!
Torn from Red on stage today...somewhere the Foo Fighters are jealous of their cover of "Best of You". Great Job!
I talked about some "hard" topics today... From porn to polygamy cult members who dress like "ma engalls" on Little House on the Prairie... In a world where the "best" that government and religion have to offer is Education and Legislation, I believe the only hope to truly change lives is "love your neighbor as much as you love yourself". Simple, revolutionary, and extremely difficult...
I ran into the Pastor that fired me from our last church at the restaurant after church...and had a really nice talk...I think it is cool that God can cause people who see things very differently to be part of the same effort...I look forward to spending some time in the future talking with him. As I told him "the amazing thing is not that I got fired...it's that I got hired". (I have a talent for making the "people who pay the bills" very uncomfortable...as if you didn't know that already)
I know she hates when I say this but...My wife Michele is the best partner a pastor could hope for...she is creative, organized, and has major managerial skilz...both actionchurch and I are lucky to have her!
I am really pumped about "Hope Sunday" next week...I think it is going to be a real demonstration of why we are called "action"church instead of "sit around and talk about it" church... Or "we'll pray for you but never consider actually lifting a finger to help"church. (I tried to get those church names but they were "already taken"...and they were hard to fit on the sign)
I think I am the "luckiest" guy in town to get to preach at Fat Daddy's on Sunday morning...I truly love our people and wouldn't "trade" with anyone.
Each week as I prepare the Sermon I struggle to find the best way to express the truth I find in the Bible... I want it to be interesting... I want it to be funny where appropriate... (OK, sometimes even where it is a little inappropriate) The Bible is a dynamic and exciting book...I think it's a sin to make it "boring" The thing is, I just have no idea who will be at actionchurch on Sunday Morning, what they are going through, or what their background is. If anything happens to "resonate" in their lives...I think that is the whole "spirit" part of the equation.
I've come to think of my "job" on Sunday morning like this: I am the "bingo caller" I have no idea who has "what" on the "card" of their life. I have no idea what "cards" are in the game. I have no idea who will shout "bingo" or who will walk away disappointed. My job is just to have the "balls" to call out the "numbers" clearly...the rest is up to God!
I think the Sunday (the last week of "wrecked") should be very interesting... you just might want to show up.
When Jesus was on the earth he didn't just teach people, but he also fed the hungry and healed the sick. Every year in York County over 1900 people are diagnosed with cancer. It affects us all...everyone is either directly affected or knows someone affected by cancer. Sunday, April 27th will be a very special Sunday at actionchurch as we kick off this years effort to help those fighting cancer. There will be a special guest interview, Jerry and the "house band" will be on stage, and we will be announcing how actionchurch will both raise money for the local American Cancer Society and serve people at their Relay for life on June 13th-14th. You will not want to miss seeing what the "action" in actionchurch is all about...
As part of the service we would like to recognize and pray for all those who are either dealing with cancer in their family, friends, or personally. Please Email names to info@actionchurch.com and indicate "in memory of", "in support of" or "in honor of". We will also have a sign up sheet at church on Sunday. We will be putting the names on luminaria (pictured at relay 2007) around the club on Sunday the 27th.
We are really excited to be sponsoring the Bob Lash #222 Legends car again this year. Bob and Joan Lash are always great to work with and we are fortunate to have them out on the track representing actionchurch. I will post pictures of the car as soon as we give it an actionkidz "makeover". Bob will be bringing the car to church for "kidz" of all ages to enjoy so stay tuned.
Here's the schedule:
Saturday , April 26th- Susquahanna Speedway Park (link) Friday, May 23rd- Big Diamond Raceway (link) Saturday, June 7th- Susquahanna Speedway Park Sunday, June 15th- Susquahanna Speedway Park Friday, June 27th- Big Diamond Raceway Thursday, July 3rd- Susquahanna Speedway Park Saturday, August 23rd- Susquahanna Speedway Park Thursday, October 9th- Dirt Nationals (Big Diamond Raceway) Friday, October 10th- Dirt Nationals (Big Diamond Raceway) Saturday, October 11th- Dirt Nationals (Big Diamond Raceway) Saturday, October 25th- "Candy Bowl" IV (Susquahanna Speedway Park)*
*actionchurch will be giving away candy, balloons, etc, at this event.
I said Sunday that Joshua was my favorite leader in the Bible and here's yet another reason why... I ran accross this in Joshua chapter 10 last night:
12 On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. 14 There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!
Now that's a "Super-size" prayer...a prayer that catches the attention of the Almighty. I know the word "audacity" get's thrown around alot right now but this is "it"! Can you imagine? "God, I'm praying to you in front of all your people...you've given us a battle to fight and I need a little help. Can you stop the earth from spinning so I have time to get this done while it's still daylight? Thanks bunches! Amen"
Suddenly I am embarrassed about the "small prayers" I have been praying lately. God has given actionchurch a county to "take" and I am going to start prayng "bigger" prayers... How about you?
I'm finally getting all our final tax junk done... (yeah I know, way to put it off 'til the last minute). I was just thinking though that at this point in the year I cheer every time I find another dollar given away...and I groan every time I find another dollar taken in as income. It's "upside down and backwards" from the rest of the year when it seems so difficult to part with money and so exciting to bring it in...
I wonder if this is the way we'll feel when we look back on our lives when we get to heaven? What if we regret all the selfish things that we find so pleasurable now, and cheer all the sacrificial things that seem so hard now?
I'm not sure if this is "deep thinking" or yet another mountain-dew-and-tax-form-induced hallucination...
I'm a little "late" today...I fell asleep watching the nascar race Tivo'd from last night...wow am I beat. Here's the recap in no particular order...
Unsettled on stage...they are so smooth! They started out with Counting Crows "A Long December...I love that song and I think they have done it better than the "Crows" themselves. Also played a couple of great originals "The Phoenix" and "Humility"...ended the day with "Came to my rescue" from Hillsong United. Great Band..great set.
I spoke about Rahab the prostitute today...I think everyone (including me) was nervous that I might say something "Horrible"... I did coin the word "whorticulture" to discribeRahab's "small business".
Attendance was down today...I know we had a lot of people sick... at this stage it's really difficult to predict attendance... Every week we have new people show up and "old" people return... That's probably better than we "deserve".
Speaking of people being sick... a lot of our normal "tear down" crew was out sick...the cool thing is that people stepped up and everything was put away as quickly as ever. I am really thankful for the way people stick around and help out! You guys Rock!
I used the story of Rahab to talk about God's plan for our rescue (salvation). 1. Choose Sides, 2. Go Public. 3. Be Rescued. Michele came up with the idea to give out pieces of red "rope" (pictured on my wrist above) to remind people that we have to "go public" like Rahab did when she left the rope hanging out her window... Very cool way to remember..
I apologized to people who had not yet "chosen sides" to be part of God's kingdom plan for earth. I told them that Rahabs main reason for "choosing sides" to go with the God of Israel is because she had heard about the great things their God had done... I don't think people are more selfish, more wicked, or God has "lost his power"...I just think "christians" have done a very poor job of showing God's Greatness...We want to change that in York County!
This was the first week of the new actionkidz volunteer plan... So far it looks like a success. We need one more person with teaching skilz but I am so happy to see new people volunteering once a month. I think the reorganization is really important long term so that a few people don't have to do everything and burn out... We're still figuring this "church thing" out..
This week we were blessed that our mysterious power problem from last week was "healed". Jeff did almost get stuck in the elevator though... It is so cool having an elevator to move our stuff up the three floors, but I think it is going to trap someone someday.
Offering was pretty good today...we are so blessed at how God provides... I had someone stop me at Walmart on Saturday and give me $100.00. They said that they went to church somewhere else but they had a friend who would never come with them...their friend has been coming to actionchurch...too cool.
I'm past trying to "figure out" how things are supposed to "work"...I just know that God is doing something at actionchurch and I am so blessed to be a little part of the "action".
I don't want Thursday to become "rant about Idol day" but... If churches think it's "OK not to be visibly "giving back" to the community and world because "we provide a service by meeting every Sunday." Why does the most watched show in America dedicate an entire night to "giving back"? Is it for purely "charitable" reasons? Or do they also have research to show that "doing good is good for business"? If I had to guess I would say both reasons motivate them...
32 men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do...1 Chronicles 12:32
(I think we still need to "understand the times" in order to know "what to do"....)
I know a dude that sends me about 5000 "forwards" a week to my email account. (I don't think he reads this blog...but if he does maybe I will have less email this week). The truth is I hate "forwards"! Occasionally someone I love and trust will "forward" something on to me that they know I will want to see but most "forwards" are pure crap. I'm not interested in staring at a picture until I see Jesus, or reading my 27th forward of the week about angels...I'm certainly not interested in forwarding some "christenese" chain letter to everyone in my email account. Generally speaking, when I see a forward sent to me and a list of other addresses- I delete it!
As much as I hate getting "forwards" I don't want to send them out either, especially in the Sunday Sermon. Now don't get me wrong...I'm not "totally original". I'm constantly "borrowing" stuff I love from books, television, movies, music, etc. I just don't want to ever get up on Sunday morning and try to communicate something I haven'tpersonally struggled with, "learned", and become passionately convinced is true. I'm simply not a good enough communicator to "forward" someone else's sermon, something I read in a book, or something I downloaded off of sermoncentral.com. ...it would obviously be a "forward" and everyone would delete it from their memory immediately!
I am really looking forward to talking about Rahab the prostitute on Sunday. The story has "opened up" to me over the last few weeks in a completely different way than I have ever "seen". Rahab's vocation makes it very "delicate" to come up with subtitles for the sermon graffics... (I decided that "you can learn a lot from a prostitute" couldn't be used). ...but I am looking "forward" to telling her story of redemption!
So we're heading into our tenth Sunday at actionchurch. If you're keeping track at home that's approximately nine weeks longer than anyone predicted that a church in a nightclub with no larger organization "backing" it would survive... Even though it is always difficult, every week God provides for our financial needs through generous people, some who attend actionchurch, some who I have never even met. Every week new people attend our Sunday morning at Fat Daddy's...while others never miss a week. It seems like a nice time to be able to "relax" a bit...
Sorry, not gonna happen!... As I said Sunday...This is as "normal" as it gets! The focus of actionchurch was never to gather enough people to "pay the bills" at Fat Daddy's... not to start a little "club" on Sunday mornings to eat donuts and learn "Bible Trivia"... not to "enjoy our wonderful worship experience" as we "fly the bird" to all those hurting and in need in York County... The purpose of actionchurch is to gather people and then inspire and encourage them to put the teachings of Jesus into action... Easter Sunday was just a tiny "appetizer" to whet our appetite for helping others this summer. Stay tuned for details...
So how's it all gonna happen? I'm not completely sure...How are we going to "pay for it"? Also not completely sure. It's a little like starting again,again.. I do know that it wasn't even a year ago that I posted our launch date (2.10.08) with trembling fingers. (link) At that point "actionchurch" was just a cool logo, a dream, my wife and daughter, and a "congregation" of three cats! Seriously! So once again it's time to "do all we can do, and let God handle the rest". It's time to expect to see lots of discouraging reasons arise that will try to "prevent" us from serving others...But most of all, it's time to expect to see God step in and work through people and situations we cannot even imagine now...to accomplish his plan.
I can't believe I had pictures of Charlton Heston plastered all over my graphics for the sermon yesterday (talkin' about Moses) and I had no Idea that he actually died Saturday night... (link) Godspeed Charlton... You were "the Man"!
Some Sunday thoughts...as Forrest Gump would say " In no particular order-
Clean Slate on stage as a three piece . I have no idea how those guys can rock every time..no matter what the circumstance...They absolutely "owned" the new Alterbridge single "Watch over you". I'm gonna post a clip of it later. Also rocked Daughtry "What I want" and a couple of their originals. Outstanding.
What a tough day today on the "hardware" side of things. NOTHING SEEMED to want to work... Michele and Reagan even got stuck in the elevator that didn't want to work either...
We had a serious grounding "noise" problem that left us with the unfortunate choice between bad video or an unbelievably annoying hum... Josiah and Jake worked all morning and finally killed the "hum" but we had to shut down a couple of the flat screens that looked really bad. Not sure what that was all about...we've never had this problem before...just "one of those days". Great job under tough conditions!
Good crowd again today! Every Sunday about 10:30 I think "maybe this will be the Sunday that no one will show up"...It's very cool to keep seeing people come back and bring their friends...as I said today "this is not normal".
We had people sign up to help in actionkidz but we still need LOTS more help... growing pains can be tough...but it sure beats the alternative.
I am so happy to see so many people stay to help "tear down" that people end up actually "looking for work". I am so jazzed to see people who just started on the "crew" a few weeks ago actually directing "new" people on what needs to be done...that's what it is all about.
Today was the first time I have talked about my story of being fired from my previous church, (while teaching about how God used Moses "fall from grace" to not just get better conditions for slaves...but to actually FREE them!) It made me even more thankful for the freedom of actionchurch
Offering was great today...that along with some generous gifts this week really helped. Thanks!...just a few day's ago things looked pretty bleak fiscally....
I got the feeling talking to people today that many of us have had a "tough" problem filled week...I think actionchurch experienced that as well. In Spite of that there is nothing better than being part of God's kingdom plan here on earth...being part of HIStory...
"The church, at best, fell asleep. It might be fair to say that we lost the power to transform culture. We accommodated to a culture that was, for us, user-friendly...The church was no longer the shaper of modern culture, but, in fact, modern culture had become the shaper of the church. This should be our great awakening. The world changed, and we didn't. The world changed for the worse becuase we didn't change at all....the world waits for the church to once again become God's agent of change."Erwin McManus
Last night I (like everyone else in America) was watching the Idol results show. As usual they had a couple of artists perform to stretch five minutes of "results" into an hour long show. Did anyone else notice that everyone was singing about Jesus? The Clark Brothers (video above) did "This little light of mine" and Dolly Parton performed "Jesus and Gravity" (insert your Dolly Parton "gravity" joke here)
How is it that churches (as a whole) all over America are losing membership and "attendership" in relation to our growing population...and the producers of the most watched television show in America thought it would be perfectly acceptable for both of its performing acts last night to sing about Jesus? Is there any explanation other than that people still "like" Jesus just fine...they just don't want to come to church to hear songs about him? Isn't that kind of ironic in the sense that so many churches think that the way to attract a bigger crowd is to add "contemporary" worship music?
As a former "Worship Leader" I think "Worship" music (whether it is hymns or "contemporary worship") is partly to blame for the irrelevance of church in society. So many people have been convinced that singing a few songs on Sunday morning is how we "Worship" God... I don't think so! Here's a little experiment: Next time your boss at work asks you to do a project, happily accept...and then completely ignore the work he has given you. Instead, gather as many of your fellow workers into the break room each week and "worship" the boss... Sing songs with his name in them, memorize his memos, "preach" from the company handbook...be sincere, be reverent and "sober", feel great about your worship. Let me know how the boss feels about it when he comes back for the completed project... Happy Job Hunting! (monster.com)
So what kind of music will "bring" people...and Jesus...back to church? I don't think it matters. I'm looking forward to Clean Slate rocking the new Alterbridge single, a Daughtry tune, and a couple of their originals at actionchurch on Sunday. The Clark Brothers (link for email subscribers) proved last night on Idol that an old "Gospel" song done with great passion and musicianship can bring the house down... Whatever the "style", whatever the "genre" I think that the key to truly "worshipping" and being relevant in our nation are is the same- "A little less talk, and a lot more action"!
One of my first questions I ask people atactionchurch is "how did you hear about us?" I just took a look a my search engine stats and here is some of my favorite ways people got "here"...
Search for:
"strippers for Jesus"- not sure what they were lookin' for but they found this:" (link)
"religious protest Kid Rock"- I'm not sure if they were for religious people protesting Kid rock or not...they found this: (link)
"top ten reasons promiscuous sex is fun"- I'm pretty sure they were disappointed when they linked to this post: (link)
"my current church is too big"- I'm really sure whoever entered this search hated this post: (link)
"bash me in the head with a shovel"- Not sure if they were looking for someone to perform the "bashing" or just wanted more info...they linked to this (link)
Okay...so I'm 40 now and I'm far to busy to come up with an ironic profile statement...so this will just have to do. I've be been married for 18 years to Michele and have a beautiful five year old daughter Reagan who makes me feel really young...and really old.
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