STRANGE

It's interesting being here with Wally the weekend he resigned from the church he has seen grow remarkably over the past five years, rather than accept an ultimatum to take it back to the 80's.

Twenty three years ago I came to a similar place while pastoring in the north east of Scotland. The church was the strongest it had ever been. We put extra seats down the aisles and had to use an overflow room too on Sundays - the place was packed.

But the board didn't like the way things were being done and after a couple of contentious years, I felt the time had come to pull out.

It was strange how the timing worked out, because the Sunday I announced my resignation we had a scheduled guest preacher with us, all the way from the USA.

His name? Here's the irony ...

Wally Odum!

GO LONG!

I got a Borders gift card for Christmas and was in no doubt what I wanted to buy with it - the autobiography of the greatest wide receiver and some say, greatest player in the history of football - former San Francisco Forty-Niner Jerry Rice.

The store in Stony Brook surprisingly did not have it in stock, but undertook to order it, promising that Go Long would be there for me within a week to ten days. Three months later and they still don't have it, so you can imagine my surprise when I went into the small Borders bookshop in Baltimore airport yesterday and found several copies on the shelves.

Having the gift card with me, I swept up the book while I could.

Here's a great quote from what I have read so far -

Our potentials are limited by comfort zones that we all find ourselves in.

Most of us long to get into a comfort zone and then to stay there. But achievers take risks, are ready to be stretched and to stretch themselves.

Over the past several years I have been surrounded by the most wonderful yet insane group of people who have opted to live outside the realm of what they have known, so that together we can see God do things we have never seen before.

We have a great team of winners in our church.

Pity the Forty-Niners didn't have a whole load of Jerry Rices!

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Twenty three years ago, in April 1984, I made my first ever visit to the United States of America. After a layover in JFK, I took a connecting Piedmont flight (anyone remember Piedmont?) down to Norfolk, VA where I was met off the plane by a man I had never met before, but who would become a dear friend, Wally Odum who was then pastoring the thriving First Assembly of God in Virginia Beach. I was there at his invitation to speak at a pastors' conference he was hosting.

For the past five years Wally has been pastoring on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, doing an outstanding job there - or maybe I should say here, because that's where I am right now.

Early this year I contacted Wally to see when he could come up and do some treaching for us at Church At The Movies. We set some tentative dates, but he told me if he was coming up to us, I needed to do some ministry for him too. We settled on the last weekend of April.

Neither of us knew then that the situation here would be radically different by the time I got here. Different because today Wally resigned as pastor of the church he had grown from 30 in attendance to 330 (See my blog for Tuesday of last week). Different because the small group of "elders" had given Wally an ultimatum he could not accept, that they wanted church done the way it used to be thirty years ago or he was done.

So I didn't preach there today. We didn't go to the church - we enjoyed a great service with another friend, Rick Lawrenson who pastors the thriving Nags Head Church nearby.

We talked to Wally and Gwen before their final service there today and sat with them for quite a while as soon as it was over. We'll be spending some time with them again tomorrow.

I guess God knew they'd appreciate having friends around this weekend and I'm proud to be a support to one of the most outstanding pastors I have ever known.

WAY TO GO!

This series is proving to be one of the most significant we have done in a while - which is quite something since Just Walk Across The Room and A.S.Q. were tremendously succesful in the opening months of this year.

I guess people appreciate the fact we're talking about stuff that is in their face every day, is a part of all our lives and actually is addressed very clearly in the Bible.

When we started to lay out some of our plans for this year way back in January, I had no idea that this series would get the rave reviews it has done. I knew it would probably tick a few folks off - but that's okay, I've never been averse to taking risks. Yet I did not realize how much hope, help and healing would be ministered into the lives of hurting people. I love it!

At the start of the year we mapped out our teaching schedule into late October and there really are some good things ahead. I love the fact that the Holy Spirit can guide you nine months ahead, which is quite different from the way I was taught many years ago - then it was more of a case of praying for divine inspiration late on a Saturday evening. Thankfully those days are gone, so we can put a lot more into planning and preparation so we are as effective as possible.

Sunday is a major part of our Desperate Sex Lives series as we look at the subject of porn. We'll be taking it a whole lot further than simply stating you shouldn't look at it, because we figure most people are totally aware of that already and if that was all we had to offer, you may as well stay in bed on Sunday.

But as it is, you'd better not miss where we're headed with this.

Hope, help and healing - man, that sounds good.

GO FISH!

Quite a number of friends of mine are hanging out at the National New Churches Conference in Orlando this week and of course part of me wishes I was there too. It's always good to spend time with likeminded people, chat about what's happening, what's new, what's working, what's not, etc.

So I'm attending the conference vicariously by reading several of their blogs and to be honest, it sounds like there's a substantial degree of repetition with the same speakers saying pretty much the same things that I heard at the Church Planters Conference in GA in February. So from the teaching perspective, maybe there's not a lot new going on down in the sunshine.

However I did take note of this quote from Wayne Cordeiro from Hawaii -

People will come from miles for fresh bread, but teach them to feed themselves.

There's one smart cookie. Switching the metaphor from bread to something else, what Wayne is doing is underlining the old saying - Give a man a fish and he eats for a day - teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

Jesus said that those who followed him would learn to fish (become fishers of men is the phrase in the dear old King Jimmy translation). We do people a total disservice when, as pastors, we fail to help them reach their potential. Feeding themselves, fishing to meet their own needs, is the way God intended it to be.

We are not intended to be the guardians of the good stuff, keeping those around us hungry, poor and totally dependant upon us. That's what the Catholic church did for generations, suggesting that no one but the priest could even read the Bible.

God intends his people to read the Bible, study the Bible, find food for themselves and then go out and feed others.

The feed me mentality is a slave mentality that is directly opposed to the freedom Christ has given us.

TOGETHER

Having spun off Easter with considerably increased momentum, I really felt last Sunday was a special day as I mentioned a few posts below this one. But I am the first to acknowledge that all that God is enabling us to achieve is not due to me, it's because of the amazing team of people who make things happen.

So since we'd had such a great service, I decided to handwrite notes to everyone who leads an area of ministry on a Sunday and let them know I appreciate all they do and am glad they're part of the team.

So I started writing ... and kept on writing ... and kept on writing.

In the end I mailed seventeen cards.

I could hardly believe it. These are not all our volunteers, these are the folks who lead volunteer teams - imagine how many individuals they must represent.

How many people does it take to pull off a Sunday? I really don't know but it must be one heck of a lot, spearheaded by these great ministry leaders.

They're the secret behind our growing church.

PLEEZE

Just got in from a meeting of the Conservative Party Executive - very interesting. Good time.

So I switch on my laptop and check the TV to see who's getting thrown off American Idol tonight, just in time to hear Annie Lennox murdering Bridge Over Troubled Water.

That is, without exception, my favorite song. I think it's Simon and Garfunkel's best work, so it should be preserved like an historic building, or some ancient landmark. It's one of the wonders of the world and a sad Scottish has-been should never be permitted to slaughter it in public.

That's sacrilege and FOX should apologize!!!

LEADERS MUST LEAD

Warning - rant coming ...


Over the past couple of days I have spent some time talking to a pastor who will be resigning from his position very soon now. The "elders' of the church have made it clear they are not happy with his performance and by mutual consent he will be bowing out and moving on. They are extremely disappointed with the five years of his tenure and hope the congregation can recover.

I can see their point -

+ In those five years the average Sunday attendance has gone from 30 to 330

+ There has been one Sunday in the past two years when no one committed their lives to Christ

+ The church had been doing nothing for missions but is now supporting and sponsoring missions programs in several countries

+ A significant extension has been added to their building to accommodate the crowds

+ The extension was built deb-free

+ There is an impressive balance in the church's bank account

Let's face it, the guy has done a crap job!

I'm surprised it took them that long to get rid of him!

This collection of retirees and lay people from all kinds of backgrounds are clearly the people God intends to call the shots. They obviously know all there is to know about growing a church.

This pastor is finally getting what he deserves ...

Freedom from this small-minded group of unqualified individuals, full of their own importance and the opportunity to go start a church where the pastors are the elders, which is what the New Testament actually teaches.

Pity a few more people don't read it!

Leaders must lead.

Until then, may the church in question rest in peace.

WHAT'S GOOD CHURCH WEATHER?

It looks like you just can't win is you're pastoring a Long Island Church. Last weekend was the best Sunday so far this year - sunshine, 70's - so people stayed away.

The weekend before was the nor-easter that drowned half of New Jersey and dumped record-breaking amounts of rain in Central park. It was a lot more merciful to the Island for a change, but that didn't help church attendances - they were way down.

It's pretty well established that on any given Sunday in North America, you get around two thirds of your members actually in church, but in all honesty, I haven't worked out yet what's the best weather to encourage the faithful to be there. I guess it's somewhere between sunshine and rain - whatever that is.

However ...

An interesting phenomenon for us at Church At The Movies this past two weeks has been that the turnout has not really been adversely affected by the climatic extremes we have experienced.

How can I explain that? Well, I've come to one simple conclusion, that may be over-simplistic for some - if what's going on excites people, they'll be there come hell or highwater.

Getting the subject of sex addressed in church certainly seems to have got folks attention. This morning I learned that there is a group of university students in Taiwan waiting for the messages in this series to be on our website so they can download them.

So maybe it isn't about weather or any other external factor. Maybe the answer's to be found within a church's programming.

At this rate, maybe we should talk about sex all year!
Just kidding!

GREAT!

I noticed soon after we set up home here in 1991 that in some areas, the American culture is one of superlatives - if not of downright exaggeration. Like when the commercial for the DVD of Night In The Museum refers to it as the greatest comedy in history, or when the Superbowl winners are described as the world champions (last time I checked, only U.S. teams were in the competition!).

So, not wanting to fall into that same trap, I am looking back at this morning and nonetheless saying it has been a great day.

There are Sundays, good Sundays and great Sundays - this one has been great.

It would be hard to define what qualified this morning as one of our better services. It wasn't just that things went so smoothly, every element of the service went well and we had our biggest attendance ever outside of Easter or Christmas.

I guess it all comes down to something I was sensing within while I was teaching. It was a feeling that God was at work in a significant way in a lot of people's lives. I felt that failure, guilt and condemnation were giving way to forgiveness, faith and hope. I believe that for a number of folks God brought our way today, this was the start of a whole new chapter in their lives.

That's what made it great!

ONE THING ON MY MIND

As we approach the second weekend of our Desperate Sex Lives series, I decided to watch the news at the gym this morning instead of listening to someone teaching on my iPod, which is what I generally do.

It seems like for weeks now all I have been listening to, researching and studying is in some way connected to sex and I figured I'd take a breather for an hour or so today and watch the Fox News Channel instead.

Having said that, I'm pumped about Sunday.

With such a great turnout in the rain last week, I'm expecting a far bigger crowd in 60+ degrees and sunshine this time around. It's good to know we're scratching an itch, preaching where it matters to people.

I did have one conversation this week with someone who decided not to bring a friend last Sunday as we were talking about sex! Time for a reality check there I think - unless you're dead or a eunuch, it's part of your life and learning how to deal with your sexuality in a God-honoring, freeing kind of way is valuable to all of us.

See you there Sunday, unless ....

GOTCHA!

Okay, the joke's on me!

Re-thinking my previous post, I took a more detailed look at the website that carried the story and it turns out it's a satyrical site.

The whole point they're making I guess is that while pastors call all kinds of things sin, the majority of them are overweight and seem to think that's okay.

Good point - had me fuming!!!

FAT PREACHER WHO'S A DISGRACE

Pulled this over from my other blog - http://www.wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com - couldn't get it out of my mind!!!

A friend sent me this link today. If you need my help to explain why this guy is off the wall, something's up. If you're in his church - leave. This is one leader you don't want to follow!

Pastor Makes 1 Timothy 4:8a His "Theme Verse"

YOUNGSTON, GEORGIA

Rev. Charles "Chuck" Dewease, pastor of the First Pentecostal Church of Youngston, is not ashamed to tell anyone his weight."I'm a little over 415 pounds and proud of it."He says.About ten years ago while reading the book of 1 Timothy, Dewease came under "intense conviction" when he read 1 Timothy 4:8a which says, "For bodily exercise profiteth little."

Since that day Dewease has made it a point to avoid any and all manner of exercise, intentionally gaining a tremendous amount of weight to show his "conviction.""I've never been what you might call a 'small man.'" Said Dewease. "But ten years ago my life changed. It was a liberating and freeing experience when I read that verse in 1 Timothy. I never much cared for diet and exercise, but when I read those words my heart just leaped for joy! I knew that I didn't have to worry about it anymore."

Now, Dewease no longer concerns himself about what he eats. His breakfast often consists of a large six-egg omelet with cheese, ham and sausage, four or five biscuits with gravy, a large serving of grits, and 8 strips of bacon. During the day he usually keeps a large stash of snack foods and soft drinks in his office.For lunch he normally eats out."I love fried chicken." He said. "There's a local place just down the road called "Claire's Cafe" that makes the best you'll ever eat, and I go there just about every day. They all know me. I just walk in and say 'I'll have the usual' and they bring me my ten-piece family meal with baked beans and potato salad."

Dewease does not concern himself with how people might look at him but rather refers to his obesity as his "testimony to godliness," claiming that the larger he gets, the more he displays himself as one who is not concerned with bodily exercise."What I'm doing is found right there on the pages of the Bible." He said. "This is how we are all supposed to be living our lives, not spending time at the gym. I don't have time for that. With so much sinning going on in this world, with so much alcohol and tobacco use in my own community, I've got my work cut out for me. This is a holy pursuit."

Despite Dewease's passion for "holy pursuits" some members of his own congregation are concerned about his weight."I just think he needs to slow down a bit." Said one member who wished to remain anonymous. "He's going to keel over with a heart attack one day."

But despite the criticism Dewease is unwaivering."I don't care what anybody says." Said Dewease. "They can mock me, ridicule me, and scoff, but it is better to obey the Bible rather than men."

REGAL REVISITED

Took another look at The Regal in Ronkonkoma this afternoon, together with the whole pastoral team. I must say, overall we reckon it looks really good and would be a very definite upgrade. That's not to say there won't be a substantial number of challenges, because there will. However it looks like it will make an excellent next stage for the exciting journey that is our church.

We still don't know yet when the transition will be made, but I'm hoping for August, which will give us time to settle in ready for the Sunday after Labor Day, which is the ideal launch date for the all-new Church At The Movies.

I was commended this week for staying so calm in the face of this kind of challenge. That's not hard at all when you fully realize that God is totally in control, Jesus is building this church and that if he wants us out of the Patchogue theater, it must be because he has bigger things in store for us at our next location.

I'm actually excited about all this.

Have to wrestle with the challenges for a while now, find ways around them and then see how we move forward.

God is with us - that's all that really matters!

NO WAY TO PLAY BASEBALL

I just switched on to the end of the Mets game in Philadelphia. It's the top of the 9th and they're up 8-1. I think it's fair to assume this one's in the bag - it's a pity the weather got the better of the first two games in this series, because it looks like Willie Randolph's team would have had a 3-0 series sweep instead of a 1-0 sweep!

Listening to the TV commentary, the scoreline not only reflects how well the Mets have done this evening, but also how badly the Phillies have performed. To quote one of them -

They're playing like they don't want to be here.

That's weird, it's what kids dream of as they leap out of bed early on Saturday mornings to play little league. The majors! So few get there, but the guys in the red helmets tonight apparently give the impression they'd rather be fishing.

I've met a distressing amount of pastors who are in the sad condition too. Good men who once dreamed of doing something significant for God, but now confess, If I could do anything else, I would.

I know how some of them got that way. They have been betrayed, beat up and disappointed so many times that the last ounce of faith drained away from their spirits many years ago. Church folks can be brutal and a guy can only take so much.

When I sit down with leaders in this condition, I urge them to do one of two things -

1. Be honest and quit.

2. Acknowledge your problem and seek professional help.

Pastors who don't want to be there themselves will take a church nowhere. Like the Phillies tonight, they not only won't win, they'll embarass themselves as they go down.

On the other hand, there are those who can't wait for every new day and to hear the announcement - Play ball!

I've been where the Phillies players appear to be tonight, but thankfully I'm pastoring with a Mets team member's approach nowadays!

EXTEND

Over the past few years we have had a total focus on missions for five or six Sundays throughout May. Missions is such a part of our DNA as a church that I often joke with people that the only thing they need to join us is a passport.

Whatever way you cut it, there's no way you can misunderstand what Jesus said he intended us to be about in one of the last statements he made before leaving this earth -

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone.

This May we're doing things a bit different and cioncentrating everything into a very full eight day period, starting Sunday 20th when our friend Basil D'Souza from Mumbai, India will be sharing.

We're calling this short series eXtend and I love the graphic Jonathan has come up with. I guess the dictionary definition of the word that he found says a whole lot about what we're doing with our support of ministries in the Dominican Republic, South Africa, India and Guatemala.

I'm especially looking forward to our first ever Missions Banquet on Wednesday May 23rd at Mill Pond Country Club. You can check it out here - http://golfatmillpond.com/index.html

Tickets will be available starting this coming Sunday.

I LIKE LOWES

Don't get me wrong, since I don't resemble a handyman in any shape or form, it's not the place I'd choose to spend any more time than I need to, nor would I thank anyone for giving me a gift certificate to the store for Christmas (well, I would coz I'm polite and coz it would have been very nice of them, but give me Borders or Outback any day!).

Here's why I would choose Lowes over Hell's Depot any time I need to get some stuff, as I did this afternoon.

There are people there who offer to help you.

Last time I was in Hell's Depot I walked all round the store - literally - and did not see one staff member that I could ask for assistance. Not one. I went to the Customer Service desk and they paged the person who was meant to be an expert in the field I was interested in, sending me back to wait for him in his area - blinds. Twenty minutes later, having read the labels on every type of blind they stock, I went back to Customer Service. They apologized profusely and guaranteed the blind man was on his way.

Fifteen minutes later he arrived.

How do you run a business without staff? It's insane.

Meanwhile over at Lowes today, I was in the relevant aisle for no more than sixty seconds before not one, but two sales people asked if they could help me. They could - and they did. Gill went off to look for something else and almost died from shock when a staff member immediatley appeared and offered to help her find what she was looking for. We later needed to go to customer service where again two people served us.

Note to self and to everyone involved in ministries at Church At The Movies -

Never forget that people matter.

It really is all about them!

SCRATCHING AN ITCH

When New York's Newsday asked for my take on what faith groups can do to help marriages, I suggested that church's might start by taking the main time they have people's attention (Sunday mornings) to talk about things that really matter. (You can read the full quote in yesterday's Section Two of the paper).

Starting our Desperate Sex Lives series this morning, I realized we are doing just that. To use one of my favorite phrases, we're scratching people where they're itching.

Or to quote an old Bill Gaither song -
Don't want to spend my life writing songs that answer questions that
Nobody's even asking anyhow.

What makes me think we're hitting the mark?

I could not believe the crowd we had out today - especially given that we are experiencing a severe nor' easter, which means it was pouring with rain and we had seriously strong winds all morning. In that kind of weather we're usually on the thin side to say the least.

But not today. A lot of people obviously didn't want to miss the introductory teaching - The Best Sex Ever.

My prayer is that God will always help us to stay relevant and address the issues that folks need to hear about.

COUNTDOWN TO SUNDAY

There's a lot of buzz around about our new series that starts on Sunday. No wonder, I doubt if there's anyone in our church who has ever spent five Sunday mornings in a row looking at what the Bible teaches about sex.

I've never done it either. This will be a first for me too!

Most of my talks on sex have been addressed to teens in church youth groups or at youth camp, but even then we're looking at more than 20 years ago.

In gthe early 80's I was one of the guest speakers at a sresidential summer camp for teens that had elective teaching classes every morning. I had been given the task of focusing on Love, Sex & Marriage. I was packed out every day, with one exception.

When the boys in his dorm asked my 10 yeard old whether he would be taking in my teaching, he looked at them in disbelief and suggested, "What does he know about sex? He'll have nothing to say after ten minutes!"

Guess I've learned a lot because I'm going to take the next five Sundays to share some forthright stuff on this hot topic.

EASTER STATS

Okay, I have the final detailed attendance figures from last Sunday -

Smallstars Nursery 28
Li'l K 16
KIDMO 69
Altered (Teens) 50
Big Screen Cafe 62
Worship Central 298

That makes for a total of 523 people in our Easter services, which as I've said before, is a record for us and a clear indication of the ongoing momentum we have been enjoying.

Some people wonder why numbers are important, so let me take a moment to explain.

Numbers represent people. There were 523 people with us last Sunday.

Someone prayed sometime for every one of those people - me included. My being in a place of worship on a Sunday morning is an answer to the prayers of a number of people. People like little old Miss Dyton in Exeter Assembly of God where I came to know the Lord. She told me that from the very first time she saw me come into that church, she prayed for me every day and that went on right through my being at Bible School, starting pastoring and until she went to see the Lord.

Jesus died for every one of those people - each of them individually is of incredible value to God. There were parents, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends of folks who are part of our church family already. They matter to those who invited them and they matter even more to the Lord. Jesus talked one day about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and discovered that one was lost. How did he know there was a stray? He counted them I guess, because he wanted them all to be in the fold. We want everyone we can to be in God's fold and to know that he really loves them. How do we know if we're on track - we count the sheep!

Last Sunday was a record-breaking gathering of people we've prayed for and Jesus died for. Great cause to celebrate!

PLANTING IN IOWA

Got a call today from a guy I have never talked to before who is getting set to plant a church in Iowa City, Iowa. Randy has been there since before Christmas and is getting ready to have his first preview service on Mothers Day and for some reason someone in Colorado told him he ought to start talking to me.

So we talked - probably around 75 minutes.

It was great. I've said before there is nothing like the buzz you get from starting a church. And since you don't launch one yourself regularly, the best way to get the buzz is to enjoy it vicariously through someone else who is planting.

I was pumped when I got off the phone.

Another theater church, a county with 70% of the population unchurched and a 46 year old guy with enough ministry experience and general savvy to make some impact on that area for God.

I talk to church planters all the time and I love it. These are wild men, shunning the comfortable and predictable in favor of the unknown and the uncertain. You don't learn what they're doing from books or through college courses. Every situation is unique, every town different, every new church a one-of-a-kind.

So since there's no real blueprint, you just stay tight with a few other insane planters and bounce things off them as you plot your own course.

Randy reckoned I could help him with that as he moves forward and I relish the thought of every step of the journey.

WHERE'S THE FAT GUY?

I decided to start another blog talking about my endeavors to remain healthy. I'll probably write about things like weight loss, what's good to eat, how to stay motivated, when I fall on my butt, how I get back up again, etc.

With so many people endeavoring to deal with weight issues, I felt that sharing some of my journey to maintain my 133lb weight loss might help someone.

I hope it does.

http://www.wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com

ANOTHER STOLEN BLOG

Check this out from http://www.tonymccollum.com today -

Raging Rivers

I was reading in Joshua this morning about the Israelites crossing the Jordan river. I was struck again by the fact that God asked them to cross the river while it was “overflowing it’s banks” because it was “harvest season.” It would have been so much easier to cross the Jordan if the river was at it’s low point or something but God wanted the Israelites to cross over during harvest season so they could enjoy the fruits of the land the minute they crossed.

The truth is that the rivers are always going to rage and flood when the time is right for us to move. The obstacles are always going to get bigger and taller when the time to move is upon is. It’s okay and it’s actually a sign that there’s fruit on the other side. The rivers rage during the harvest seasons but the Lord of the harvest is bigger than the raging rivers.

Another thing I noticed is that God told the Levites to walk into the water a few steps before He did anything miraculous. Sometimes, we have to take a few steps into the raging rivers before we see God’s hand move but the bottom line is that God will make a way when we follow Him.

Man, I have some smart friends!!!

GREAT THOUGHTS

I stole this from my friend Charley Miller's blog - http://charleysblog.wordpress.com/
But to be fair, he stole it from Seth Godin ...

Lately I’ve been keeping up with a new blog by Seth Godin, called The Dip. It’s based on a new book of his by the same title, due to be released next month. I’ve already preordered a copy from Amazon.
These are the Seven Reasons You Fail to Become the Best in the World
(”you” = you, me, a company, a church, or any organization)

Seven Reasons You Might Fail to Become the Best in the World

1. You run out of time (and quit).
2. You run out of money (and quit).
3. You get scared (and quit).
4. You’re not serious about it (and quit).
5. You lose interest or enthusiasm or settle for being mediocre (and quit).
6. You focus on the short term instead of the long (and quit when the short term gets too hard).
7. You pick the wrong thing at which to be the best in the world (because you don’t have the talent).

It is important to note that it is only the seventh on this list (not having the talent) that we can’t necessarily do something about. The rest of them are all within an organization’s capability to change.

For the rest of Seth’s thoughts, check out The Dip.

CRAZY PEOPLE

I've been exchanging emails and information today with a couple from Ohio who are going to Iraq next month as missionaries. They've only been married a few months and she is pregnant, but they'll be off working among the Kurds in the north of the country very shortly, at a time when no one in their right mind would be going anywhere near that part of the world.

They don't have all the support they'll need.

There are no guarantees of safety.

They will be missionaries under cover, acting as relief workers.

They're insane - and I think they're brilliant.

If you want a safe life, with everything cut and dried, if you want the future guaranteed and your personal comforts afforded you by right, you joined the wrong team when you volunteered to follow Jesus.

Thank God for a young couple ready to risk it all for Jesus.

As the book says - Who Dares Wins!

(I'm not sure what book!)

TALKING OF MOVIE THEATERS ...

Checked out the Regal Cinema on Portion Road in Ronkonkoma today - it rocks!

There's a cafe area that will be expanded over the next few weeks. The seats are way too comfortable and there's good lighting in all the theaters. It would be a major upgrade, meaning no disrespect to Patchogue UA which has provided a good home for us on Sundays over the past four years.

While I was over there today I got a call from National Amusements, the parent company of Island 16. Turns out they don't want to give up the amount of space we need and would not give us much use of foyer areas, hallways, etc where we set up some of our children's ministries, our guest services table, communication corner, etc.

So while it will be a few weeks before we know which way we'll go once our own theater closes some time this summer, Ronkonkoma is looking our likely destination. I'll keep you posted!

EASTER FOLLOW-UP

I wrote a load of thanks notes today to people whose contact details we have. I know that Long Islanders aren't big on completing our Communication Slips, but for those who did I wrote them thanking them for visiting us.

I also sent out a churchwide email asking for help with contact information for family and friends who made up Sunday's crowd. Getting folks there once is huge, but getting them back a second time is huger!!!

While we do what we can, above all we need to be praying that seed that was sown during the Easter services will lead to a significant harvest.

This has been a great couple of weeks and now we're all ready to move into the new series that is already stirring up a lot of interest - Desperate Sex Lives.

MINDLESS MONDAY

If you're a regular reader, you know the drill. Monday is my day off, so it's pretty uneventful and its that way by design.

Gym, WW (gained 0.6 but still below goal weight), then vegging.

Gill suggested we go and see a movie about a couple from India who move to New York - you get the idea of what I thought about it from the fact I can't even remember the title. It sounded like a plot that would lend itself to a million laughs, so I sat down waiting to be amused. Turns out it was a drama, tragic in parts and while doubtless a good movie, not the swith-off -your-brain thing I was expecting.

Bought new sandals for the summer at Marshalls before we went to Loews to see whatever it was called. Can't wait for the start of three months living in shorts and sandals - though it seems a long, long way off today.

Made some chili tonight - tastes good - brought the Kashmiri chili powder from India. It's tomorrow's dinner, but quality control is an essential part of the cook's responsibility.

About to check to see what's on TV. I think I know the answer already - nothing.

BIGGEST CROWD EVER

Well, it's becoming clear we weren't the only ones!

Word I'm getting from friends in different parts of the country is that there was a pattern to what was happening all over the place today.

Biggest crowd ever, biggest crowd ever, biggest crowd ever ... that was the recurring story. This has been a significant day in so many places and I am tremendously encouraged that an eternal impact has been made this Easter.

America may be post-Christian, but the story isn't over.

WOW!

Man, that was some ride!

You would not believe how many people were at the theater way before 7.00 this morning to get everything up and running. Seeing the commitment level blessed me way before either of the services started.

I was wrong about the attendance - the second service topped the first by about 2-1. But let's face it, there was no great incentive to get up and out on an Easter Sunday when it was below freezing.

I met some great people and saw some folks that hadn't been around in a while - it was good to have them with us.

The band sounded amazing - with Ray giving us some awesome guitar.

This was the biggest crowd we have ever had - way over 500 people - excellent stuff.

And above all, we have already heard from four people who prayed and committed their lives to Jesus.

This was teamwork at its best, people with a shared vision pitching in to achieve a common goal.

Thanks to all who wished me this - I am having a Happy Easter!

IS IT TIME YET?

Primed and ready to go.

How many lives will be changed tomorrow?

How many people's prayers will be answered?

How many new connections will we make?

Which service will be the larger? (my bet is the 8.30)

These are some of the reasons I can't settle this evening. I think I'll revert to an old habit and take a couple of Tylenol PM to make sure my anticipation of the morning doesn't keep me awake all night.

I love this! Sadly, so many of the pastors I connect with are frustrated, bored and visionless. If they could do something else they would.

Do something else?

Are you kidding?

There's nowhere on earth I could have this much fun, experience this much satisfaction and actually get paid for doing it!

EASTER IN SPACE

That's the theme for KIDMO tomorrow where they're taking a break from the wild west theme to boldly go where no man has gone before. It's outrageous stuff and of course the kids will not only love it, they'll come away with a better understanding of Easter.

I reckon the whole morning will be out of this world. I'm reckoning on leaving home at 6.00am so that I can connect with the set-up guys at the theater at 6.30 and then it will be non-stop, getting the place looking its very best and ensuring everything is totally okay for the first of our two services.

As I've said before, the reason we're doing 8.30 and 10.00 tomorrow is not so much a space issue (we have around 1,000 seats in the theaters we use, plus the cafe, nursery and Lil'K areas), it's more about offering choices to make it as easy as possible for the unchurched to come.

This will be our last Easter in this location and it's going to rock. The band have put some great stuff together, we have some outstanding video work (you gotta be there to see the countdown video before service starts) and I'm all primed and ready with the message. The biggest challenge will be condensing everything into 60 minutes - for the uninitiated, we usually run 90.

In a few minutes I'm heading down to Grace House where we're bringing in all the homeless guys we generally serve on our Saturday afternoon outreach, so we can give them a first-rate, sit-down Easter dinner.

This is going to be one great weekend!

HOME FOR EASTER

I got an email from Lesaya today to say that she and her crew were temporarily stuck in Johannesburg Airport as the SAA flight to JFK had been cancelled. Turns out they're going to be put on a plane bound for London and then on to New York, arriving tomorrow just a couple of hours later than planned.

This evening I'm heading for JFK myself to help bring home the DR missions team, who will be freezing here after a week in the sun.

These teams represent two of the prongs of our missions program and I'm thrilled that we've had 20 people overseas recently to assist others in building God's kingdom. Next month we'll be saying farewell to an excellent group of people as they leave for two weeks in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

These folks are all raising their own support, using their vacation time, working like dogs, sweating like pigs so they can show God's love to people they've never even met.

I am proud to pastor this church!

GOOD FRIDAY

While no one would ever accuse me of being a rabid traditionalist, there's a conflict going on inside today. I hope it's not just another evidence of aging, as a sad old man contemplates the disappearing past, but I do wonder if we haven't lost out somewhere by allowing Good Friday to become just another day.

I remember (this is the bit I'm scared of, because my grandfather used a lot of sentences that started this way) thirty or forty years ago when this was a holiday. Not a holiday to go wait on line at Kohls early for outstanding bargains, but an old-fashioned holiday when the stores were all closed and a lot of people went to church.

We used to have a Good Friday morning service where we'd focus on the events being marked that day and celebrate communion together.

I think one of the most meaningful Good Fridays I ever had was when as a teenager I went with a friend to a Church where his father was the pastor and enjoyed a three hour service they had from noon until 3.00pm. The Bible says that darkness covered the earth during those hours of Jesus hanging on the cross. We spent that afternoon in a pattern of hymns, readings and meditation that was very meaningful.

Fast forward to Good Friday 2007 and there's still a to do list for Sunday - not much left on it, but a few things.

But later this afternoon I'm going to pull away from all that, read the Biblical accounts of the death of Jesus and pray for a while. It might not be a holiday, but I don't need official permission to remember what Jesus did for me on this special day.

I recommend you making some time for him today too.

GREAT QUOTES

I stole these from my friend Tony McCollum's blog this morning -

Do you even think that maybe if people aren’t laughing at your ideas, you aren’t dreaming big enough?
Steve Furtick

If, at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.
Albert Einstein

My kinda guys!

DREAMING OF A WHITE EASTER

Okay, it's probably not going to snow here on Long Island, but there's going to be plenty of the wintry white stuff around this weekend by all accounts.

So much for Al Gore and his global warming, maybe the scientists are right and his Oscar-winning documentary really is a work of pure fiction. If that turns out to be the case, he can always fall back on the fact that he invented the internet!

I do like warm Easters - hot is probably too much to ask. When the sun's shining, the spring clothes come out and there's blossom starting to appear on the trees, it adds something to the celebratory feeling of the holiday.

But lets be realistic, whatever the weather there's nothing as heart-warming as seeing a whole bunch of new faces coming into the theater, taking in everything that's going on and hearing a clear presentation of the good news.

So whatever the weather, it's going to be a great Easter!

DOWN IN THE DR

With Easter Sunday's temperatures forecast to be one degree lower than Christmas Day, our team in the Dominican Republic could be forgiven for thinking twice about leaving the 80+ degrees they've been enjoying there all week.

But from what I gathered in a call from Charlotte this evening, their mission has been accomplished and they have done remarkably well, so tomorrow they head back home Today saw the opening of the new medical clinic that our guys started work on last year and that was finally completed this trip in time for the Mayor to officially open it.

Great work by our team, a good investment by those who sponsored the project and a further achievement for our missionaries Rob and Kelli Nelson.

Island Impact has achieved a heck of a lot in just over three years. You can discover more about them here -

http://www.islandimpact.net

THE BISHOP

Went to hear T.D. Jakes last night - the guy is a preachers' preacher and it was a treat just to be able to sit and listen to him. Apparently there was a line forming outside Upper Room early in the afternoon and it was still threading around the building at 7.00pm.

That's why connections are a wonderful thing. Ray Pensivy and I wandered up to a side door, referred to as the V.I.P. entrance, and were ushered to prime seating front and center, just four rows back.

Apart from the fact that the huge guy in front of me occasionally obscured some of my view and that he seemed to have a serious gas problem, they were among the best seats in the house.

Jakes talked about the incident in John 21 after the resurrection when Peter decided to go back to his fishing. I've got a sermon on that - called Gone Fishin' - which I had always considered to be among one of my better offerings, but after last night my weak effort will probably never see the light of day again.

Here are a couple of the things the Bishop said that particularly struck a cord with me -

1. STOP LOOKING FOR NORMAL

He was saying that the events leading up to the death of Jesus, his actual crucifixion and even all the happenings surrounding the resurrection had gotten just too much for Peter and he had decided to go back to what he knew and was comfortable with. But it didn't work.

God has called us away from normal and demanding as it sometimes gets, we need to keep pursuing the path that he has called us to follow.

2. DON'T GET DISTRACTED

Peter had been called to follow Jesus and fish for men, but here he was back on Galilee casting his nets. Sidetracked.

That's a warning we all need to hear on a regular basis. It's so easy for our focus to slip. I've talked about this so much lately that I'm beginning to feel like an old record with the needle stuck, but I'll say it one more time, our focus is reaching men and women who don't know Jesus yet. The devil will do anything he can to shift our attention from that, but we must not be deterred.

3. REPOSITION YOURSELF FOR SOMETHING BIG

Peter's night of fishing yielded nothing - until Jesus showed up. Then he told the disciples to make a slight adjustment to what they were doing - throw the nets down on the other side of the boat. Or as Jakes put it, they needed to reposition themselves.

I thought that was relevant to us with the knowledge that we're going to be moving our Sunday location some time this summer and I just took the words as an encouragement to my faith. Our repositioning will lead to soemthing far bigger than we could imagine.

All in all a great night - nice to sit and listen to one remarkable preacher!

THANKS TONY!

Four years ago when I first met Tony McCollum, he was leading a new church, worshiping in the movie theater inside the Mall Of Georgia in Buford, GA. Knowing we were looking to move into a theater soon, he was good enough to pass on to me some samples of everything they had done that had a theater theme. (Tony's that kind of guy!)

He's still pastoring Millcreek Community Church and they're still in that movie theater, but they're a lot bigger now than they were then.

Anyway, I digress.

Tony used the phrase Church At The Movies on a lot of his advertising and I liked the sound of it. I checked with him whether he had that domain name and he said he didn't plan to use it. So within a few hours, I had bought it for our use.

Congratulations to my friends with theater churches who have had the creativity to find something similar -

http://www.churchatmovies.com

http://www.churchinamovietheater.com

http://www.churchinthemovies.com

Congratulations above all on having the vision to do church in the location every thinking pastor loves!

ODDS AND SODS

I'm just unwinding now and watching the Mets beat the Cardinals. Those were long, lean years for fans of New York's real team, so it's sweet to see them doing well.

Some random thoughts at the end of the day -

+ Got word from Charlotte in the DR. She says our team down there are absolutely amazing. Working like dogs, showing great attitudes and getting a lot done. We'll have them share the Sunday after Easter.

+ Got an email from a newish family tonight saying they realize Sunday will be crazy with it being Easter and us doing two services, so if there's anything they can do to help out, they're available. Don't you love that attitude?

+ Sorry to harp on this, but the thought came to mind several times today - I am not overweight. Do you know how many times I have been able to say that in my life? None that I recall.

+ Word from our theater's parent company is they won't be shutting up shop until the end of summer.

+ Further word, we can lease the Regal Cinema in Ronkonkoma. We'll check it out when the pastors are all back next week.

+ I still fancy Island 16 - the newest, best, most central and universally known.

+ I have a reserved spot in the preferred seating section to hear T.D. Jakes at Upper Room tomorrow night. Wonder how much I'd get if I scalped it! Just kidding - looking forward to hearing him.

+ Going to finish up Sunday's message tomorrow. I guarantee that everyone who comes as a guest of one of our folks will hear a very clear, concise salvation message that will lead them towards making a response. Sunday's going to be huge and I'm expecting a significant harvest.

CR

Tonight I had my first experience of our Celebrate Recovery program and it rocks!

Gill and I went along to the open share meeting that started with dinner - an excellent dinner - and then moved into a worship time, which I gather usually includes someone sharing their recovery story.

Tonight I took that spot and talked about grace. It was great to be in a room of real people. Nobody pretending to be anything they're not, all acknowledging they're a work in progress and tremendously supportive of one another.

Driving home I was thinking about the title of a book I read last year - No Perfect People Allowed.

I think we should have signs made up with that on them and place them outside the theater on Sundays. Just thinking at the moment - but don't be surprised if you see them!!!

EASTER PROMO VIDEO

Why not go through your email address book and send this link to everyone there who has a sense of humor? -

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dgTN7OEuSxg

While you're at it, delete the party poopers - life's too short!!!

G - O - A - L!

Okay, that's it!

Dropped 3.2lb over the past week to finally bring me down under the goal that WW set for my height.

It has taken 110 weeks to lose 133lb, but to be honest I was thrilled when that scale registered 199lb this morning. I have not seen a scale go under 200lb since I was 14 years old and that as we all know, was a very, very long time ago!

Sincere thanks to all who have encouraged me along the way, put up with me declining their delicious baking and agreed to eat lunch at Applebees instead of somewhere interesting, as they have a WW section to their menu.

Now the real fun begins - maintaining. Last night I completed all the paperwork to teach a class for WW, which was an insane waste of several rain forests - you'd have thought I was applying to become CEO. Anyway, part of the agreement is that I will not go more than 2lb above my target weight, so being one of their leaders will keep me honest!

That's it - finally!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The Inn At Medford

The Radisson

The Crystal Swan

Mediterranean Manor

Patchogue-Medford High School

The Holiday Inn

Patchogue Theater For The Performing Arts

Island 16 Movie Theater

Shorefront Park

Patchogue UA Movie Theater

I think I missed one out, but those are the places we've done Sunday services over the past eight years. Of course most of that variation came about prior to the fall of 2003 when we moved into the UA.

Funny thing is it doesn't seem to phase anyone that we're going to be on the road again sometime soon. Announcing it to everyone this morning, it was like the big non-event of the day. No one's flipping out, in fact those who were with us during those earlier years have probably got itching feet after being in the one place for so long now.

I love the fact that we've got so many people for whom where we meet is really not all that important just so long as we have some place to do what we do.

MISSED THIS PARTY

Here are our other grandchildren, Benjamin and Emily at Emily's third birthday party at home in Little Elm, Texas yesterday.

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS

It's Sunday evening and I'm just looking back over a very good day. Random thoughts coming up -

I love Celebration Sundays. Seeing folks get baptized reminds me of what this is all about.

We were going to be short on our set-up team today for a variety of reasons, but with a few quick calls yesterday I think we had the biggest crew ever. Our folks are all-stars.

Because his dad works crazy hours, our grandson Jace is with us while his mom is leading the missions team in the DR. He's a brilliant kid. Yesterday while I was in the supermarket with him he was eyeing these plastic rifles, so I bought him one. (For the uninitiated, that's what grandparents do!) It cost a whole $1.50 and he has played with it all day today. Who needs X-Boxes???

BTW, I haven't fully grasped that it's Easter next Sunday. I guess that'll hit me some time soon. It had better!

Great news from Brandon Duff, the pastor up in Niagara falls I've been guiding a bit as he prepared to launch his new church today. There were 97 people in service and considering it was raining heavily, that's a great crowd for the first Sunday.

I'm wondering how I'll do when I weigh in tomorrow morning. I just need to have dropped 2.2lb this week to have finally reached my goal and a total weight loss of 132 lb. Time will tell, but I certainly won't be eating a steak dinner tonight.

This is a good day for many reasons. Last but not least, it's baseball's season opener for the Mets and they're on ESPN tonight, so I'm going to be watching the game with my grandson.

Let's Go Mets!