Set Your clocks for Sunday…

Posted on October 30, 2009 by donrecord

Coming this Sunday…

1. Set your clocks BACK one hour Saturday night. Yes, this week you can trick or treat as long as you like and still get one more blessed hour of sleep before actionchurch!

2. Failure to Excel on Stage. If you’ve seen them…I’ve already said enough. If not, like I said before, set your hello kitty alarm clocks for Sunday morning.

3. Really God, Really!?! Sunday kicks off the new series about trusting God…even when it seems dangerous, insane, or fattening. Have you ever questioned whether following the God of the Bible “makes sense”? You are not alone…

4. Take action! This Sunday we will be unveiling our Holiday project to meet an overwhelming need in our city. Last year we worked together to change the lives of one family forever. This year we continue our “long standing tradition” of giving the gifts to OTHERS during the holidays at actionchurch.

Moving update:

Posted on October 27, 2009 by donrecord

Here’s an update of all the new developments in the “actionchurch is moving but we don’t know where” Saga…

Two months ago if you would have told me we would be looking for a new venue for actionchurch I would have laughed at you. Club 19 where we currently meet is with a few exceptions perfectly suited for our church. It’s clean. It’s well-built and looks cool. Except for being sort of crowded some Sunday mornings and desperately needing more space for little kids it couldn’t be better. It’s even painted all the colors of our logo. If I could build an actionchurch venue it would simply be a larger version of club 19.

As I announced 4 weeks ago Club 19 is going through changes. They are planning on expanding and remodeling the club into a lounge/bar. Because of those changes we were unable to renew our lease. Our lease ran out on 10/11/09 but we were fortunately given the opportunity to rent week to week with originally an eight week limit. We were later told the eight weeks were not “set in stone” but our schedule to find a new actionchurch venue was still very tight!

Sometimes the worst news turns out to be the best news in the long run. As we began to search for a new venue, a couple of things became clear. It was going to be difficult to find the “perfect” fit for our Sunday mornings… BUT due to the economic downturn, there is commercial and retail real estate available now at prices that would have been IMPOSSIBLE to find this time last year. Jerry (our rock-n-roll czar and a/c representative) has already brought two amazing deals to the table to own or lease space that I would have never even have had the guts to ask for. I believe with all my heart that the next venue for actionchurch is going to be better than we could ever “ask for or think of” if we don’t “settle” for something less in the meantime. The problem was that we were running out of time… We needed time to find the right building…even more time to renovate it and furnish it.

I got an email last week that changed all of that. We’ve been given a great gift. Several great gifts…but the biggest one is the gift of time. I met with Steve the owner of the club on Saturday and was offered:

1. To meet at Club 19 on an ongoing basis while we continue to look for our next venue and they remodel for the lounge/bar. Thank you Steve…thank you God! We don’t have to sign a lease and “miss” the great deal I believe we can find on our next venue…but we also don’t have to wonder where we are going to meet in the mean time.

2. There is a perfect spot downstairs from the club (who knew there was a downstairs) where we can set up a nursery/ little ones room. We went down there during the music Sunday and it suitably quiet for kidz! Unbelievable.

3. Lower rent. Yeah..you read that right. Our rent had gone up significantly because we were renting week to week. It is now lower than before. Even with the addition of the new childrens space it will not be much higher than our previous lease. Wow.

We did not ASK for these things. They were all generously offered. I believe in the power of God and the generosity of people. It’s real.

So stay tuned as we keep you updated on any developments as we continue to look for a new venue…quite probably one that will be “ours” seven days a week instead of just on Sunday mornings. We plan to begin searching in earnest again after the holidays as many seasonal closings happen then… Thanks to the great gift we have been given we will turn our attention between now and the Christmas break to blessing others in the community…just as we have been blessed. See ya Sunday at club 19…I can’t wait to tell you whats coming next!

Sunday Recap: 7>1 finale

Posted on October 26, 2009 by donrecord

This Sunday at actionchurch was jam packed with creamy goodness. Great Band…talk about the end of the world…a big announcement that I totally bungled, plus so much more.

This week we ended the 7>1 series by discussing how most people come to church at some level to be “ready to meet Jesus”. Whether Jesus comes back to “rapture” us next Tuesday or in 10,000 years we will still ALL meet him so we need to be ready. The big question of the day was “is going to church enough to “impress” God”. This scripture from the prophet Amos (who turns out not be THE Famous Amos) seems to say God IS NOT impressed by religious ceremony,gathering, giving, or singing. So why should we still gather together on Sunday morning?

²⁴ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

The reason we meet together as a church is not to somehow “impress God”. We meet together to help motivate and encourage each other to lives filled with acts of love and Good works…not one day a week…everyday. Seven is greater than one!

Wow…so Photoside Cafe turned out to be the “real deal”. Really talented guys with really great attitudes. I genuinely hope we see these guys again as they tour. Loved having a violin on stage at actionchurch…the sound was incredible.

Garret has lots ore pics here if you want to check out the day.

I got long winded (talking about the “end of the world” takes time) and didn’t fully lay out what has transpired with our deal with Club 19. . I forgot to mention one of the most amazing parts. I’m going to give details in a separate blog post so I don’t make that mistake again.

Where can one purchase an “end times helmet”?

Thanks Steve Grow for the amazing cog-o-lantern art. You can check it out on the flickr site…and I’ll be putting it up on the blog later this week.

Yes, I used the words “drunk cheerleader, keg party, and Bong” in the same sentence while talking about the rapture…

We are 2-3 weeks away from solving our problem of not having a quiet place for little ones and moms…yep…Thank you God!

It’s hard to describe…hard to recap in words but the energy and “vibe” was just great this week. Great Crowd. I think we are just beginning to see what our little “church for misfit toys” can become. God is on the case.

The kidz area was PACKED with lots of kids in costumes. The actionkidz crew do so much with so little. I am so pumped as I imaging what they can do as we give them even more space and resources. You guys are the best part of actionchurch. My daughter wakes up on SATURDAY morning saying “I can’t wait til it’s Sunday”. Thank you all.

Thanks to all of the great actionchurch crew. Dave, because you were traveling we moved the chairs and tables at least 32 times until Garrett finally took over Everyone has their specialty!

BIG announcement next week about something that we are going to do to meet a need in our community as a church. It’s WAY bigger than I thought…but I can’t imagine turning our back on such a basic and heartbreaking reality in our city.