Church At The Local Bar?

What do you think about this one?

SIDNEY, Ohio — Another round and amen! Beer was on tap and a mechanical bull inspired the sermon as a new church held its inaugural service in a western Ohio bar.

The Country Rock Church drew about 100 people to Sunday night's meeting at the Pub Lounge in Sidney, 35 miles north of Dayton.

The barroom church is an offshoot of Sidney United First Methodist Church, whose head pastor says he's been looking for creative ways to reach people in unconventional places.

The church's Web site for its new branch advertises "Top regional bands, pizza, wings, rowdy fun & a short message."

The Rev. Chris Heckaman says people really seemed to enjoy themselves so he expects the Country Rock Church will meet weekly.

Heckaman's sermon compared staying on the bar's mechanical bull to learning how to get along in life. (Click Here for FoxNews.com article)

It seems like churches are sprouting up everywhere these days. It makes me think of 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul says he desires to find common ground with everyone so he can bring them to Christ...but he does it all within the laws of Christ.

I say the more we can do within the law of Christ to bring people to Christ then let's go! I don't see anything in the Bible against riding a mechanical bull!

In Touch With My "Artsy" Side

Every month or two, my small group comes up with a service project to work on. We started this after our Faith In Action series last fall which challenged us to "be the church" instead of just going to church.

Last Thursday we took our regular study time (we have been going through the book of Hebrews) and made cards for troops in Iraq. I have to say...I'm not the artsy type, but I had fun. Thanks to April and her bucket of cool scrapbooking "tools" I was able to create a card all by myself! Billy took a picture with his cellphone so I could have proof to show Carrie, who was home sick.

Serving has become an important part of our group's identity. I guess that comes as we...individually and corporately...grow to be more like Christ. How can one seek to have a heart like Jesus and not find ways to serve others?

I have to admit, however, that I sometimes struggle with the idea of Christians doing "service projects." We have to purposely remind ourselves that this scheduled act of sevice that fits perfectly into our life and usually doesn't cost us much money or effort does not replace a life of service. These projects often leave me with a sense that I have done something good...I have checked that box off and it lasts for a while.

With every mission trip I have been a part of...either going on the trip or having a group come to work with me...I have made a point to remind the participants that what you do on a mission trip is not as important as how it changes your life when you get back. I believe it is the same with service projects. They should change our perspective on how we live the rest of our life.

What do you think? Am I thinking too much on this? That is totally possible!

Catalyst Road Trip Team

Last night I enjoyed the NCAA basketball finals with a great group of guys at a local pizza joint. My friend Daniel Decker arranged for us to meet up with a couple of guys from Atlanta who are visiting local church leaders around the country in a VW vanagon. Jacksonville was the last stop on the tour.

LV (really...that's his name) and Micah, work for Injoy in Atlanta and are on the road marketing the Catalyst Conference and hearing stories from churches on the frontline making an impact in their community. Check out the blog about their adventure here.

The game was great, but I really enjoyed the conversation with these guys. It was a couple of guys from my church and Rich and Kevin from Access Church, a newer church in Jacksonville that is doing it right and making an impact. It isn't often I can sit for a couple of hours with another lead pastor watching a game talking about what God is doing at our churches and the struggles and victories we experience.

It isn't often churches take time to talk to each other. Too often we would rather talk about each other. This was an experience I certainly want to repeat.

Amazing Stat!

In a meeting with several top marketing, sales, and advertising experts from the Jacksonville area yesterday, I learned an amazing statistic.

On average, we are advertised to 3,000 times a day! That amazes me.

The meeting I was in when I heard this statistic was regarding branding the church and getting a focused message out regarding our church. This is not an easy task...especially with 2,999 other advertisements fighting for your attention.