Doing Church in a Movie Theatre

I’ve always loved going to the movies. If you know my husband Matt and me, you know that if there is a halfway decent movie out, that’s where we’ll be on a Friday night. The BEST date night for me would include a Lime-Cilantro Chicken salad from Nordstrom Café, a little time to walk it off in the mall (to work up an appetite), a movie (a British chick-flick is the ultimate), popcorn, Diet Coke, Jr. Mints & Peanut M&M’s.

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to go to the movies (the exceptions were Sound of Music and Chariots of Fire because of their spiritual content—I love you mom!). I mean, what if Jesus were to return and we were in a theatre—would I make the rapture?! But times change . . .

I married a man who loves a good story. So, even when we were practically living on minimum wage, we always budgeted for a trip to the movies on date nights. Over the years, my Regal Crown club card has earned its share of free drinks, popcorns, and movies! Now, the cinema, aka “my happy place,” is giving back in an even bigger way! How ironic that we would start a church that meets in a Regal theatre? How amazing that almost 200 churches nationwide now meet in theatres!

I’m thrilled to be part of a theatre church! If you are thinking about going to church in a theatre or starting a church in a theatre, here are the positives:

· Cup holders! We let our people bring in coffee/drinks, and this is comforting to an “unchurched” person. Seriously, when we’re clapping or raising our hands during worship, visitors can hold their cup and not experience that awkward “what-do-I-do-with-my-hands” moment.

· Huge, clean bathrooms!

· Big screens—we have 2 projectors and use the entire screen. People are so used to looking at the screen now and even prefer it. We’re betting that we can simulcast into another theatre and our congregation will still have a similar “my pastor is in the room” experience. Which leads to. . .

· Room to grow—there are multiple theatres still available. Right now, we use 3 theatres—one for adults, one for teens, and one for children. As the main service grows, we hope to have a second worship team in a 4^th theatre, and we will simulcast the message.

· Non-threatening environment to unchurched people—Some people might be intimidated to go into a church building but are very comfortable walking into a local theatre.

· Unifying—Every week our set up team works hard to transform the lobby, hallways, theatres, and 3 storage rooms (nursery, tots, & pre-k’s) into a church! Some might see having to set up/tear down your church every Sunday as a negative, but I’ve found it to be incredibly unifying. These volunteers become like family. One young man came to set up after spending the evening in the ER, and he was clearly in pain. I said, “Allen, what are you doing? You should be home in bed!” He said with a smile, “I’m here for the service, the church service. That’s what we call it, right?” I was blown away.

· Forces you outside the church walls, because you don’t have any! We focus on small groups inside people’s homes; we use Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, or Panera for staff or counseling meetings; we go TO the community for outreach and don’t wait for them to come to us.

· Your people learn that the church is NOT A BUILDING—it’s the body of Christ. Where does God live? In my heart, NOT in a building. I am the sanctuary of God.

· Personally, I look forward to the set-up time each week. On Sunday mornings, my teenage daughter Skye and I drop Dad off at the theatre at 7 am and head over to Starbucks for 30 minutes of latte’s and girl time. Then, my daughter sets up all the classrooms for the little ones. This time is very special to me, and I’m so proud of my daughter really “owning” this ministry.

Want to hear the negatives?

· I miss having a larger, deeper stage area for the performing arts (I’m a sucker for cool lighting & funky background décor). On the plus side, we put our efforts into making videos since we have such BIG screens!

· I leave church craving popcorn REALLY BAD! They make a fresh batch just as we leave, and it smells sooooooooo good.

Fighting Words

Words are so powerful. I’ve recently gotten on a bandwagon about how carelessly we describe our difficult situations in life. For instance, I’ve told you about my struggle with anxiety in a previous post, “The Ugly.” Once I decided to openly admit this, I wrestled with the question--how do you admit you struggle with something without admitting defeat or sounding like you’ve already given up? The answer--you adapt “fight” language.

For example, I don’t say, “I have anxiety.” I now say, “I battle anxiety.” This enemy of anxiety proves to be a formidable foe, but God is on my side and overwhelming victory will be mine one day. Earlier this year God gave me a scripture for 2011, Jeremiah 20:11.

It says, “The Lord is with me as a violent warrior.” I love that scripture and the picture it puts in my mind! It shows me that in the Spirit, God is fighting my enemy of anxiety like a half-crazed, sword wielding, God-version of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart. Other translations describe God here as a “mighty warrior, great warrior, dread warrior, dread champion, mighty terrible one,” etc. In other words, be afraid devil! Be very, very afraid!!

Do you believe that God will fight for you? David did. David knew how to use “fight” language because he knew he had a violent warrior God who would back up his trash talking* to Goliath! I keep a rock on my desk that I picked up from the stream where David found his 5 smooth stones before fighting Goliath. On the rock I wrote, “The battle is the Lord’s.” When I feel overwhelmed by things out of my control, I stop and look at the rock. The words remind me that God is on my side, He will fight my battles, and my speech needs to sound like I believe that!

From now on, before you say something like “I’m an alcoholic,” or “I’m lazy,” or “I’m fat,” or “I have cancer,” take a moment to choose your words carefully. Instead, try using fight language to show the enemy and yourself that you haven’t given up and you won’t give up. Why not say something like, “I’m fighting the urge to drink” or “I’m struggling with overeating, but I’m determined to win this battle!” Add some powerful scriptures on healing, freedom, and victory and you can say like Charlie Sheen, “Winning!” Only, you will actually be winning!

When Holly Wagner, co-pastor of Oasis Church, found out she had breast cancer, she was careful not to say, “I have cancer.” She realized (and I’m paraphrasing), “I’m not partnering with breast cancer, I’m not arm-in-arm going forward with breast cancer—instead I say that I have been diagnosed with cancer, but I won’t let it win.” That’s fight language! And, the good news is, she’s now cancer free!

I’m not saying you need to live in this imaginary place where you don’t face reality. Some people take this to a weird extreme. But the Word of God is clear on this subject, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”* I invite you to join me--choose to speak life, to fight on, and to ultimately win the battle with the help of our violent warrior God!

* Check out David’s bold fight language! “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” I Sam 17:45-47

*Proverbs 18:21

Count it all WHAT? Ya, right.

TRIALS ARE INEVITABLE & THE TIMING IS ALWAYS TERRIBLE

During my senior year of college at San Diego State University, I began getting headaches. It was summertime, and I was taking a 4-unit class known as the most difficult in the Psychology department—the notorious “Experimental Psychology.” The class was 4 hours a day for 6 weeks; needless to say, it wasn’t a good time for me to be in pain.

The first 3 days of class I was loaded on headache medicine, but by the fourth day I started throwing up. Soon after that, I experienced double vision and that’s when I went to see the doctor. Immediately, the doctor sent me to a neurologist who did a CAT scan, an MRI, and a spinal tap. The MRI revealed a swelling in my brain stem, but the doctor would need the spinal tap results before she could determine the cause. She mentioned it could be multiple sclerosis or encephalitis.

For the next 6 weeks I wore an eye patch to correct my double vision (one of my eyes looked permanently crossed), took the prescribed steroids to shrink the swelling in my brain, and waited for the test results. I continued attending class (w/ my one good eye!) and did my best to catch up and keep up. What if I had MS? I was a young married woman with my whole life in front of me. It was the very definition of a “trial.”

JOY TEST

“Count it all joy,” Paul says in , “when you face trials, for the .” Does anyone else hate that verse? Seriously? Joy?! But early in this trial, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Don’t let the enemy steal your joy.” Somehow I knew this was the purpose of the trial and

I needed to pass the test—with joy.

JESUS OFFERS COMPLETE JOY

Jesus says He came to give us joy. “I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. John 17:13 The Amplified version defines complete joy as experiencing Jesus’ “delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts.’ Jesus came so that joy and delight could fill my heart? Count me in!

CHOOSE JOY

Anyone can have joy during a happy time, but how rare to experience joy during a life crisis. No wonder the enemy wants to steal our joy. What a testimony to the world when we are unshaken by uncertainty, pain, turmoil, and loss. We must be aware of the thief of joy. Some of us just accept the unpleasant or even horrific circumstance we’re in and resign ourselves to worry, anxiety, and depression. Stop! When you give in, you have come into agreement with the thief of joy. Instead, break any agreements you’ve made with the enemy and choose to step back into joy.

ASK FOR JOY

During my “trial”, I obviously asked the Lord to heal my brain. But I also asked for joy, and I made a conscience decision NOT to worry about the outcome of my test results. A few things helped me when I was tempted to worry. I intentionally listened to praise and worship music, surrounded myself with positive people, laughed whenever possible—especially at my new eye-patch “fashion statement”, worked hard in school, and kept my mind on the word of God.

HEALING

I eventually discovered the swelling was caused by encephalitis. The doctor said I was lucky, because the type of virus I had is called “the sleeping sickness.” She said most patients go to sleep for six weeks. I would have failed my Psych class! Instead, I received an “A” in the class, regained my sight, and never lost my joy—glory to God!

Did you ever notice how this verse ends?

“Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24

The outcome for everything God wants to do in your life is always full, complete joy. It’s worth repeating—Jesus came to give you joy.

Lysa Terkeurst & I Discuss Our Body Image Issues

Lysa Terkeurst's book Made to Crave is a MUST-HAVE for any woman dealing with food, weight, or body image issues. I loved the story in the book she tells about her ankles or "tankles", so I asked her to share it. Before the interview, I said, "Lysa, do you think you would be okay with me filming your ankles?"

At first she said no. But very quickly she looked down at her feet and said, "I'm wearing boots. Would I need to go ahead and take them off?"

I said, "I think it would be more of a 'reveal' if you would take them off on camera." She did--as you will see in the video! How awesome for her to finally embrace the one thing about herself that used to bother her so much.

My hope is that you will listen to God's opinion about your body and truly take it to heart as Lysa did (and as I'm learning to do about my dented nose). Psalm 139 is a good place to start!

You Can't Lead if You Won't Follow

As a leader, I’ve learned that some people in the church understand spiritual authority, but many don’t. What a pleasure to lead those people that understand this concept! How difficult and energy-zapping it is to lead those who don’t! Let’s face it--most people have a problem with authority because nobody likes being told what to do. But this is the way God has organized His kingdom. Apostles, pastors, prophets, teachers, elders—God appoints and anoints people to lead and we are to follow.

David understood God’s delegated authority when he refused to kill Saul (even though Saul would have taken him out in a heartbeat!). He even repented for tearing off a piece of his robe. After doing so, he said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 1 Sam 24:6 David set the bar high for all of us. We must respect those in authority over us and never cause them harm by our words or actions.*

More importantly, we must NOT be like Saul—taking advantage of our position because of pride and insecurity. Several years ago I taught from Watchman Nee’s book Spiritual Authority and it had a profound effect on the way I view leadership in the church. As leaders, we must realize the importance of staying under God’s authority. Too often we’ve seen pastors fall when they come out from under the protective umbrella of God’s covering and arrogantly try to lead in their own strength and know-how.

As Nee puts it, “One is not fit to be God’s delegated authority unless he himself first knows how to be under authority.” Also, it is “obedience that qualifies us to be God’s delegated authority.” Along with obedience, we must “lose our cleverness and opinion,” and allow God to break us of self. The only way to live in this state of mind is to constantly stay in communion with God. It is in this place of intimacy that we “clearly see our own faults” and our need for Him.

As leaders, our followers will benefit from our leadership to the extent that we have surrendered to God and been changed by His activity in our lives. In Watchman Nee’s A Balanced Christian Life, he explains this point. “Unless we are delivered, we cannot expect other people to be delivered. If we do not have vision, how can we expect others to see God’s way? Except we walk in it, no one else will be able to follow. Today God wishes to deal with us first. And after He has gotten some of us, we can then expect to gain other people.”

Oh God, give me the grace to be led by you and to lead others well!

*I’m not saying there’s no occasion to remove someone from their position in the church. That’s why we have things like church by-laws. I’m just saying we must tread very cautiously when it comes to these delicate matters—with a heart and attitude like David.

My 2011 Challenge

Last year I distinctly remember starting the year with clear instructions from the Holy Spirit, “Pray for unity, wisdom, and favor.” Just the sound of those three words still makes me feel good.

What am I hearing from the Lord this year? “Give more.” This is not as pleasant to hear as last year’s word. At the same time, our personal goal is to get out of debt.* My prayer is, “Lord, how do I get out of debt (which requires spending less) while at the same time giving more?” TBD.

Last week I spent a good deal of time talking to the company handling my school loans. I’m thrilled to be done with school, but now it’s time to pay for my education. Not so thrilling. We’re trying to figure out where the extra money is going to come from to pay my school bills. The only answers seem to be “downsize,” “spend less,” and “Trust God!”

For a girl who likes to shop (and I’m an excellent bargain shopper thanks to my mom), I am sad to say good bye to my friends--the mall, Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls. You will be missed.

However, I confess that I’m excited to see how the Lord will help us navigate our way through this year. Spending less, giving more—what will that look like? I believe as we do our part, God will do His part. Miracles are going to happen. Extraordinary events are inevitable. The adventure of 2011 begins. . .

* After Matt & I set this goal, I attended our annual New Year’s Day prayer meeting with our CBN staff. Pat Robertson spends the week after Christmas at his home in the mountains praying and seeking God’s face. He delivered a prophetic word that he believed was from God and I took the following notes (as fast as I could!):

“Your country is in grave peril. In 2 years will come a time of reckoning. The president elected will have an impoverished nation.

Get out of debt. Restrict purchases.

My glory will shine . . .many will turn to me while many will curse and revile me.

Extraordinary miracles.

I will not permit mankind to destroy itself with nuclear weapons.

Great tragedy is coming . . .people will know I am God.

Seek wisdom, righteousness, and blessing.

Wise men’s solutions won’t work.”

For me, this confirmed the urgency we feel to get out of debt. Time will tell if this prophecy comes to pass, but I do believe Dr. Robertson is a man of God.

My unedited "In the Green Room" Interview with Andy Stanley

CLICK HERE to watch the interview on Vimeo.

Before Andy Stanley's live appearance on the 700 Club, I asked him some questions in the green room. Andy is the pastor of North Point Ministries in the Atlanta area. Each Sunday over 20,000 adults attend worship service at one of their 3 campuses. To watch the iPad band at his church (which he mentions in our conversation), click here.

If you want to see the interview that appeared on CBN's website, click here.