I think it’s where God wants us to launch…simple as that. Obedience is my number one priority as a leader.
Jesus would do it if he were here…Sorry, my hero Jesus didn’t get his reputation as a drunkard and friend of sinners hanging out at potlucks and “praise gatherings”…
It’s just a building…does meeting in a nightclub mean you endorse drunken behavior? No more than meeting in a hotel means you endorse adultery and promiscuous sex. Or, meeting in a theater means you endorse “bad” movies. Or, meet in a school means you endorse evolution…or meeting in a church means you endorse all the ridiculous crap people do in the name of “religion”.
It’s just a building (part 2)…since we believe that actionchurch is called to be a multi-site, multi-venue church…it’s important that participants realize that the “church” is not the building. Someday I believe we will meet in schools, nightclubs, theaters, multi-purpose buildings etc. all over this area and beyond.
Location, Location, Location… Fat Daddies is on one of the highest traffic count streets in east York, across from Lowes and Walmart, next to Perkins and Outback. (Of course if you live here you already know that…because almost everyone knows where it’s at!) It also doesn’t hurt that it was available on Sunday mornings!
It fits our values…“if we are going to be the church for people who don’t normally go to church, we must go where churches normally don’t go”!
Sound and Lighting Gear… Since Fat Daddies is a already a great rock venue it already is set up with the gear that actionchurch needs to “do business”. Cutting to the bottom line…it saves us over $50,000 in start up costs being able to use their sound and lighting rig…and their sound man will run it on Sunday mornings…God is good!
Storage… We are able to store all our church signage and gear on premises… that means no trucks, trailers, and storage spaces to purchase and rent. Once again, huge savings in start up cost.
It welcomes lost, letdown, and looking people…and makes “religious types” really uncomfortable.. Both aspects are good in my opinion. By meeting in a club we hope to attract two types of people: those who are curious about Jesus and are comfortable in a nightclub setting, and those who are extremely uncomfortable in a nightclub setting but love Jesus enough to put that aside to tell others about him!!!
It’s “buzz-worthy“… one of the biggest battles of a church plant is letting your community know you even exist. I think being the “crazy new church in the bar” is “something to talk about”. Will it bring criticism? Big time! Does it matter as long as we become “un-ignorable“! I don’t think so. If you love actionchurch, tell a friend! If you hate actionchurch and think we suck and are evil…tell everyone you know!
Disclaimer:This is a list of reasons why we choose to meet in a Nightclub. actionchurch does not believe all churches should meet in clubs. We are not “against” buildings with steeples, bells, or giant clown heads for that matter. We don’t have all the answers. YMMV. Do not attempt if you are pregnant or nursing. Professional driver in a closed course. May increase your risk of vomiting and skin irritation. Call your doctor if your annoyance with this disclaimer lasts for more than four hours.
No, I didn’t get discouraged by our difficulty in nailing down a location and decide to “tie one on”. My story is far stranger than that. I found myself sitting at the bar at Fat Daddys Nightclub at 4:30 in the afternoon yesterday, waiting to talk to a reluctant owner about renting the place on Sunday mornings for actionchurch.
Let me tell you how I “got there”. Last fall, in the very earliest part of “downloading” the vision for actionchurch I was struck with a frighteningly unique idea. As I began praying and processing possible locations, it struck me (like a brick dropped from an overpass) that perhaps a nightclub, particularly Fat Daddys, might be the ideal venue in which to launch our church. The more I thought about it and prayed about it, the more reasons I could think of that would make Fat Daddys an ideal venue. (I’ll post those reasons tomorrow.) As bizarre as the thought of starting a church in a bar was…I couldn’t shake the idea. I told my wife what I had been thinking and praying about…she was rightfully horrified. Michele is now the biggest supporter of launching out of a club…(maybe I can get her to share here change of heart here sometime.) As I became more and more convinced that this crazy idea was actually from God I even told my 67 year old Southern Baptist Minister Father the “news”. He was also appalled at first but now plans to attend our launch service. (I think that may be my parents first time “setting foot” in a nightclub…I’m not sure what that says about my “influence”.)
Four months ago I began approaching the owners of the club with the “opportunity” of renting their facility to us on Sunday mornings. To say they were less than excited with the possibility of renting to a church would be an understatement. In fact, the first response from their managing partner was “Do you have any idea how ridiculous this idea sounds to me”? I had to agree with him… I am not a “salesman”. I suck at “overcoming objections”. If you’ve ever watched the first half of Tommy Boy you’ve seen an example of how much I suck at sales! Somehow, I could not shake the belief that Fat Daddys was “our place”. I kept contacting the owners, trying to be persistent but hopefully not too annoying. I prayed that God would “release me” from this silly idea. I prayed that he would guide me to “normal venue” for a church…he never did. Finally I had a “break through”. I went by the club on Saturday afternoon, the lights were off but the door was unlocked so I wandered around until I came upon a woman in the kitchen. I told her my “story” and she introduced herself as the mother of the brothers who owned the club…and she liked the idea of actionchurch…a lot! As I left she asked me how I got in the building… she said she was sure the front door was still locked!
To make an already long story a little shorter… After God “opened the door” and “mom” got involved the attitude of the owners changed, big time. They actually listened to my “pitch”, as crazy as it sounded. They agreed to consider our offer. Later, they agreed in principle to rent to us. I got really excited! Then came three weeks of obstacles…of un-returned phone calls…of waiting…and as I posted yesterday, of knowing that if God didn’t move-this deal was not going to happen! I believe in the favor of God. I believe that if could work through foreign kings in the old testament he can work through nightclub owners today. Last night he did! We can now invite York County to:
Rethink “happy hour”
Sunday Mornings 11-12
Coming to Fat Daddys nightclub-2.10.08!
Stay tuned for a lot more to come about this announcement!
As “painful” as this video is to watch, I’m pretty sure this is what our Sunday morning sermons sound like to a lot of people that have wondered far away from God…
Here’ why:
People come to Church with questions about how God is relevant to their lives…we can talk all we want, but if we don’t answer “the question”…it sounds like jibberish.
You can use all the “right words” and all the “catch phrases” and still have nothing to say.
If you don’t have a point…talking longer won’t help.
If your message isn’t completely understood by you- no one else is going to understand it.
Sometimes “I don’t know” is the best answer…
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
I think it’s where God wants us to launch…simple as that. Obedience is my number one priority as a leader.
