A little Coco with your Cookie?

Posted on February 28, 2009 by donrecord

In the spirit of helping others “no strings attached” I thought I’d try to harness the power of the actionchurch blog for a little “dog rescue”.

Coco and Cookie are two labs…good with children…healthy and well cared for. They have been raised together. Unfortunately their owner must move out of their home in less than two weeks and is looking for a home that can accept both dogs…so that they will not have to be seperated. Here’s a little more about the dogs.

Cookie turned 3 December 10th and Coco will be 3 April 1st. Cookie is my mellow-yellow, and just loves her tummy rubbed. Coco is adorably funny and lives for her “ball”. She also loves the water….. Cookie loves lots of attention. Both doggies are loyal and love to walk. They have been raised with my 3 kids running around all over the place, and have survived Sammy’s constant hugging and love of ‘dress-up’, so they are fantastic family dogs. This is by far one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, but under the circumstances I have no choice.

These are difficult times…but if you know anyone who could adopt both dogs you would be making a very difficult situation much easier for a family in a tough situation. Need more info? info@actionchurch.com.

the "action underground"

Posted on February 27, 2009 by donrecord

We’ve been talking a lot lately about “small groups”. About building community at actionchurch. Josiah mentioned it yesterday…if you missed the discussion you can also read about it here or here.

I have no doubt that God’s plan for us as a church in the coming years is to grow “deeper”. Not “deeper” in the sense of necessarily “more” knowledge (becoming bible trivia masters is not our primary goal). Not “deeper” in the sense of becoming humorless and “churchy”. (If you hate the fact that we used a Step Brothers clip in the service on Sunday…keep hatin’…laughing at dumb stuff is part of our DNA…and just wait ’til you see the dumb stuff we do this week.) I think God wants us to go and grow “deeper” as a church in relationships…in building a community that serves those “inside” and “outside” of the church…in living out the teachings of Jesus-Together. Deeper in the sense of playing the game of life (as I will talk about Sunday) in “multi-player” mode. I think the coming small groups will be a big part of “going deeper”.

If Sunday morning is the “tip” of the iceberg…then the community we will develop will the the “part below the surface”…the much larger part. If you think of actionchurch as a growing tree, the community created in small groups will be the “roots”… the “underground”, but so necessary part of the tree that provides nourishment, connection, and keeps it standing.

It struck me yesterday that maybe we should call small groups at actionchurch- the”action underground“. The “movement” behind the “revolution”…the roots beneath the surface…the “wind beneath my wings”. Ok, maybe not the last part…

Let me know what you think. I appreciate all the input that you all are giving about groups. Thank you all so much. Keep it coming…I definitely see leaders rising up to lead this ”underground” movement. What a novel idea…community forming out of …and being lead by…the community.

Rebranding

Posted on February 26, 2009 by josiahkatz

Pepsi recently did a rebrand for their soda line. I personally love the redesign, and I have found myself on multiple occasions buying the cola because I think it looks “cooler” than Coke. (I know… very lame)

I believe that actionchurch is currently rebranding. The Church (body of believers) has in the past mistaken rebranding as changing its product, or trying to be more hip. Coca-Cola tried changing it’s recipe a few years ago and look where that got them. Pepsi instead has refocused and reinforced their image. actionchurch started in a bar, the “watering hole” of our generation. We branded ourselves as a “church for people who don’t like church”. That is our brand, what we are known for. We want to live as Jesus lived, not just practice the “Christian religion”.

This coming year one of our big focuses will be on community. We want to create a place where people can depend on each other, and share in life’s drama. You don’t need to watch One Tree Hill to be entertained. Come share some time with me and watch the drama unfold between MY girlfriend and I. In reality, Pepsi didn’t change much. The tweaked some of their colors, spun their logo around, and changed some typefaces. This was enough to help refocus and grow stronger. The best way for actionchurch’s brand to continue to grow stronger is for there to be a community engrossed with Jesus and his teachings behind it.

Hang out with your friends. Let people merge in front of you. Pay poor college kids tuition (just kidding). Think about somebody else, and actually do something unexpectedly nice for them. Get to know somebody at actionchurch, or finally introduce yourself to that next door neighbor who you have lived next to for 5 years. I am personally sooo pumped to start/join a Halo 3 actiongroup. Let’s refocus, and spend some time in community this year. If you need some help or inspiration, go read some of Don’s old blog entries, or check out actionchurch’s History for more direction.