Take Tags:  Thank you everyone who took an “I want to provide a coat” tag on Sunday.  This Sunday we will have coat racks with more tags on them for those of you who were unable to get some.  Also, consider taking some tags to “share” with others at friends, families, and co-workers.  This ain’t selling girl scout cookies    (although I REALLY love girl scout cookies).  This is NOT a fundraising event for actionchurch.  This is simply folks putting their faith in action and providing coats for those who do not have them.  I’m the worst “salesman” in the world but I can even feel comfortable asking others to help with that…

Bring Coats:  If you took a tag.  Bring back a new or like new coat. (Thanks SO MUCH for the folks who started bringing coats even before the tags were distributed!)   Walmart currently has great children’s coats for around $13.  Other stores have sales going on with prices that may be even lower.  Consider buying a coat per week…or a coat per pay til christmas. Your generosity could make a big difference in a child of York’s winter this year.   Collect used coats in great condition that may be just taking up closet space after being out grown.  (Just make sure the coat is clean, not torn or damaged, and generally looks great.  We never want to give something to others that we would want to give to our own kidz to wear to school.)

 Business Drop off points:   Right now we have two great business partners with more to come.   Can’t make it to actionchurch on Sunday?  You or your friends can drop off coats at the following locations:

Brooks Huff Tire

95 Sunset Dr
Manchester, PA 17345
717-266-5200

The Styling Room

2446 Eastern Blvd
York, PA 17402-2901
(717) 650-2406

Are you part of a business and would like to become a drop off point?  Contact us here-  info@actionchurch.com

Spread the word:  In order to reach our Goal of 500 coat we need to spread the word.  It may be as simple as taking cards to work or emailing the link to this website.  We will also have opportunities for folks to go into our community and spread the word in some creative ways.  We need your help…your ideas.

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?

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!

What if as churches we did the opposite?  No hype.  No over blown promises.   What if we just told our stories,”stains and all”,and invited folks to come along.   Someone sent me this commercial  (check it out, it’s only a little over a minute).   Maybe as followers of Jesus we should be a little more like Robert Lee.   And maybe it’s just my “inner white trash” speaking…but I would definitely buy a mobile home from this crew.  What do you think?

This Sunday was week three of the 7>1 (seven is greater than one) series. When it comes to hearing God speak…seven truly is greater than one. Jesus discribed his relationship to his followers declaring that he is the shepherd…and we are the sheep. Cows are self sufficient. They need fences to keep them out of danger but they can care for themselves. They are driven. yelled at, and prodded by the farmer when they need to be moved. Cattle only “moo” for help when they are in trouble. Sheep need a shepherd. They are defenseless. They aren’t fenced in and driven. They follow. They know the voice of the shepherd and follow him. Their safety comes not being fenced in…but by staying close to the shepherd. Religion treats us like cattle…fences us in with rules to “keep us safe”…teaches us to “moo” when we’re in trouble or we need to be fed…teaches us that God will drive us back if we get outside of the fences. Following Jesus is about…you guessed it…Following Jesus. Like sheep follow a shepherd. Together.

So…Sunday we tackled part two of the Really God!?! series.  We talked about all sorts of “comfortable” stuff like Faith healing, being angry with God, and of course the similarity between “adult Sunday school” and bowling leagues.  The Story of Naaman (2 Kings 5)is an interesting look at what can happen when what God says to do doesn’t make sense (at least to us).  Naaman nearly missed out on being healed of leprosy because he thought it was ridiculous that the prophet asked him to go dip seven times in the Jordan river.  He was prepared to give millions of dollars…but a little dip in the river seemed insulting and “beneath him”.  Many times we still react the same way today. God doesn’t need our stuff, our talents, or our position…he want’s our humble obedience.   The difference between “walking away in anger” and KNOWING beyond a any doubt that there is a God is usually a small obedience…a small “leap of faith”.

Yeah…I know you want to watch the “healing video” from the service.  It’s here.  If you’re a good religious person you will NOT find it amusing.  You have been warned  

Thru Me on stage today. Pictured above in Garrett’s most “metal” picture ever taken.  We hired bands originally because we didn’t have enough musicians in the church to make up a band…It’s amazing how many bands now call actionchurch home.  I really liked their original “Crazy”.  It pretty much sums up how I feel about following Jesus.  

I will not back down,    I may stumble- won’t retreat,  

 Take the cross he carried.    

No I’m not ashamed.   No I’m not ashamed.   You can call me Crazy.

For more of Garrett’s “action” shots check out his actionchurch Flickr Site.  You can follow along each week …even make Josiahyour computer wallpaper if you’d like.

Speaking of Josiah…how great do the cards for the coat drive look?  This is one event where you can feel good about asking your friends who don’t attend actionchurch to Get involved.  Our young neighbors in York City need coats…and we can all do something about it.  I’ll post later this week some ways that we can get even more people involved….BUT…

On Kick-0ff weekend…after just mentioning the need last week…you all brought in 25 coats!  We’re dropping it off this week so 25 kids will have new coats THIS WEEK!  Keep it up.  We also purchase 100 pairs of Gloves for teachers to hand out to students.  Thank you all so much…this is what BEING the church is all about.

Great to have our “master of chair-imony” Dave, back from Texas.  The tables and chairs never looked so straight

Thanks to everyone who invites their friends, get involved, and invest their cash in all of the “reindeer games” of actionchurch!  You make it happen each week.

 

I’m glad I read these words first:

²⁵ Look straight ahead,
      and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
²⁶ Mark out a straight path for your feet;
      stay on the safe path.
 ²⁷ Don’t get sidetracked;
      keep your feet from following evil.

Proverbs 4:25-27

I announced Sunday that the “smart thing” to do right now as a church would be to get one of those cheesy thermometer graphics on the screens and start raising/saving money for a “Building Fund”. Sometimes the “smart thing” is not the “right thing” when it comes to living a life of faith.  Besides,  we’ve never done the “smart thing” as a church…and we’re not about to start now. 

Here’s what I think we should do instead.   First,  Keep praying and asking God about our next venue. (Not forgetting to thank him for our extended time at Club 19!)   Second,  Focus on OTHERS.

We’ve been asked as a church if we would consider gathering/ purchasing winter coats for kids who do not have them in the York City School district.  When we asked how many coats they could use the answer was 500!  Yeah seriously 500…   I never even imagined that many kids could not have proper winter coats…in York City alone.    It’s a big “ask”…a really big task.  A project that will really stretch us as a church.  Our plan is to take coats to schools each week instead of gathering them all for some sort of big “presentation”.  (It’s getting Cold now…)  This project will definitely be a decision to “do good…not just look good”.  It will be a “no strings attached” moment of generosity for all of us who make up actionchurch.

Here’s what we all can do:

1.   Purchase Children’s Coats when we go to the Big Box Store(s) for “supplies”.  Consider leaving an Item out that we would normally purchase and purchasing a coat instead.  (A child in York can be warm all year for the price of a DVD.)

2.  Check Your Closets we want to give 500 LIKE NEW coats…  Nothing ratty or worn out.  Kids grow fast…so lots of us have perfectly great coats that are just hanging in the closet…too small but “too good to throw away”.   Bring em!

3.  Tell your Friends at work…at school.  We will have tags to Give out for folks take to bring a coat.  Consider leaving them out at your place of business to invite your friends to be part of the action….

4.  Keep your Eyes open for Sales…Deals.   See a super sale on Childrens coats and can’t afford to buy the whole rack?   :-)   let us know… Send us an email.  info@actionchurch  or post it in the comments.  We’ll spread the word.

5.  ?????   There are ways to provide coats for our neighbors in York City that we have not thought of yet.   Speak up…we’d love to hear your ideas!

6.  Show up Sunday…bring coats…get tags…let’s get this thing kicked off.

I hated the way the sermon ended Sunday.  I like to tie things up with a pretty red bow.  My goal every week is to bring a new understanding from the scriptures about things that seem confusing. I like happy endings.   I would much rather say “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”…or “God wants to bless and heal you everyday of your life.”  than to say that sometimes God’s plan is beyond our understanding.  I hate to say that  sometimes God’s perfect plan for the world is to allow pain and suffering to happen to us.  That’s not something I like to talk about.

I would rather think of “Bible Characters” as two dimensional story book characters instead of “real people” like you and I.

I wish I still believed that just learning the stories of the Bible like some sort of history course in college was the “point”…instead of thinking that stories written about people in the Bible are there to prepare us for real-life difficulties that we will all experience in our lives.

I would like to be able to tell folks that following Jesus is as simple and easy as “saying a prayer” and attending a church service each week. 

I wish sometimes that God’s plan for his followers was more about getting  blessings TO us…and not as much about sending blessings THROUGH us.

The truth as I see it in scripture  is far more difficult…far more gritty…less Disney…more “Grand Torino”.   It may not be something I would chose to talk about…but it is never dull…and sometimes REALLY comical. 

What are the truths about God that you “don’t like to talk about”?

Sunday we started the discussion of trusting God and not “depending on your own understanding”…even when everything within you says “Really God!?! Seriously?  The Bible is filled with stories of people following God’s direction even when it seemed completely illogical, irresponsible, and even insane.  We kicked off the series (with some help from Jim Gaffigan-my favorite comedian) by talking about the story of God ”testing” Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only son.  Nothing could have made ”less sense” to someone who spent his entire life believing and waiting for God to bless him with a son.  God did provide a ram to sacrifice instead of his son…but the experience must have been one of the most horrible of his entire life.  It’s easy to look at Abraham as a “Bible Character”…to look at his story as a “good teaching illustration”…but to have lived through his experience would test any one’s faith and trust in God!  

Difficult week.   We had a last minute band change (congrats to Jordon from Failure 2xl on the birth of a new baby boy.)   We appreciate My heart to fear traveling in from Williamsport at the last minute for us. Doing church the way we do…in a rented club…with no paid staff…with hired bands…is one of the most rewarding things I have been a part of…but at times (like Sunday) it can feel like doing a tight-rope walk without a net.  It can definitely create some “Really God!?!” moments!

Let me just say that the next time Josiah has a “prophetic dream” that things are going to be seriously strange on Sunday…I’m gonna listen.     Some weeks we could film a reality show in the tech pit…

On a personal note a couple of folks presented Michele and I with a couple of really encouraging gifts/cards…sort of out of no where.  Let me just say thanks so much…It couldn’t have come on a better Sunday.

Although this series got off to (I think) a rough start…I am looking forward to telling some stories from the Bible over the next three weeks  that REALLY make you think differently about “Faith” and “Trust”…

I’m Gonna do a separate Post about our new 500 coat challenge…but this is the real deal folks.  “I know this sounds crazy”… but this is a way we can BE actionchurch to York City.

We’re thinking of calling it “Cold Kids Suck”…would that be wrong?  Or “more wrong” than anything else we come up with? 

Thanks as always to the UNSTOPPABLE actionchurch/actionkidz crew.  Thanks so much to Club 19 also…I am still so happy that we are going to be staying with them longer…what a great place to do church.

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.