We ate dinner at a diner tonight – us being Gill and I, our daughter and grandson, plus Becki a lifelong (her young life that is) friend from Scotland who is visiting us for ten days. I like diners, they’re simple, reliable, reasonable and do a great job in two categories, burgers and breakfasts. They offer a multitude of foods, but their best offerings are from those sections and I don’t remember when last I had a burger – more than five years ago for sure.

I had shoveled snow for a couple of hours this morning and then did some necessary tasks in the office and out of the office, before accompanying the rest of the gang to see some interesting movie about a Thunder Bolt, with a title so long there’s not a dog’s chance I’ll remember it. It won’t win any Oscars, but it was a relaxing diversion for a Friday evening.

The diner was like a ghost town and I felt for the proprietors. The weather was clearly keeping most people by their own firesides, which is a wonderful place to be on a day like today.

Anyway, disappointed as I was for a guy who lost a ton of business on his busiest night of the week, I was silently very happy that this storm hit on a Friday and not on a Sunday.

Snowy Sundays are a pain. We are not heavily programmed as a church, so there is just one opportunity a week to see everyone and I do miss it when that doesn’t happen. There are always times when we are unable to be there, but I dislike being hindered by the weather.

A church family is a blessing from God and I love ours.

With less than six weeks to go to one of every church’s biggest Sundays of the year, we got a few things organized for the big day during our pastoral team meeting this morning.

Our invitations will look a bit different as we’re going for tickets, which is quite fitting for a church with campuses in movie theaters. I just got the design from my son, Jonathan and we’ll be placing the order with the printer tomorrow.

So what are we doing Easter Sunday? Pretty much the same as usual.

Apart from the fact that I always struggled with cheesey cantatas, it’s important for the many first-time visitors I anticipate in both locations that they see what our church is really like. So we’ll give them a full, undiluted  taste of  Church At The Movies.

We’ll have the actual invitations in our folks’ hands by Sunday March 7th, but it’s not too early to start talking the morning up right now.

We were laughing a bit today about what I plan to teach on and figured it might rate among the top ten things you’d dread me preaching about when you have guests there. We figured it might be interesting to compile a list of dreaded topics, so if you’ve got something you’d cringe at hearing me speak on for Easter, why not email me and let me know? roger@churchatthemovies.com

Last week I started writing some thoughts about different types of givers in churches, particularly in light of the fact that many churches have seen a dramatic drop in income over the past twelve months – generally way beyond the simple impact of the economic recession.

I talked about Overflow Givers who drop whatever they have to spare into the offering, which has no system to it apart from the fact that their own interest always take priority over the kingdom of God.

Then I wrote a few paragraphs about Obligation Givers, who can be a blessing to any church, but who may miss out themselves because their tithing stems from a sense of duty or guilt rather than being a heart issue.

So let me wrap this up with the third type of giver I’ve come across over the years and which with God’s help I have tried to be.

OPPORTUNITY GIVERS

Let me make it clear from the start that Opportunity Givers are definitely going to be regular tithers, much like their cousins, the Obligation Givers. When they are looking at their finances, giving back to God what is his is a no-brainer and that comes straight off the top line.

I’ve lived by that principle for over 45 years now, whether it was tithing on the few shillings a week I earned as a paper boy on the streets of St.Thomas, Exeter or on the real pay envelopes I got from my first summer job at Beech Brothers factory back in 1965.

We’re all prone to selfishness, but I’ve found that making sure that I give to God first keeps me remembering that all that I am and all that I have is by his grace. He could stop the flow of everything in a heartbeat, so I appreciate the 90% that he provides for me to live on and enjoy.

But Opportunity Givers are not just tithers, they go way beyond that. Because their giving is part of their worship more than a legalistic duty, they love to give. They are always happy to pick up a few words from a conversation that give them an idea of how they could help someone out. They readily respond and positively seek out ways in which they can relieve and support others through what God has given them.

Most Opportunity Givers I have met in life have not been rich people, but simple people with a big heart – don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some wealthy people who are generous too, but they started living that way way before their bank accounts were anything to take note of.

Generosity is Christ-likeness. He has freely given us more than we could ever have imagined – and thankfully none of what we truly deserve.

So real followers of Jesus will live by his principle – It is more blessed to give than to receive.

God doesn’t have full control of our hearts until we give him full control of our money. The two are inseparably linked – and that’s not something I dreamed up, Jesus said it!

+ Feeling more shot than normal this evening – probably because I preached longer than usual at both campuses!

+ It was 32 when I left home this morning and the sick thing is, I thought it was warm. Shows how bad this winter has been.

+ Baptism classes at both locations today. Looking forward to Celebration Sunday in Mastic and Ronkonkoma on March 7th.

+ Just discovered daylight savings starts on March 14th. That’s something to look forward to.

+ Thoroughly enjoyed the morning from start to finish.

+ Good crowd at both locations. Ronkonkoma looked bigger than last week but wasn’t quite. Met several new folks there – some good people.

+ Was on the 6th commandment – No murder – and had just made a few points about its obvious literal meaning when I instinctively killed a moth that flew in front of me. Hilarious moment you had to be there to really enjoy. Guess you shouldn’t tell people not to kill and then swat a bug.

+ I enjoy the  drive over to the Mastic campus as it gives me the chance to mentally adjust the teaching and fine tune it for the second round.

+ Theater continues to be in a pretty disgusting state, but it was a full service and a good one. Our folks do a great job of making the areas we use suitable for our purposes and a reflection of who we are.

+ Michelle Margiotta led worship over there – www.michellemargiotta.com – she does that so well and has been a real blessing to us over the past six months.

+ Drank a lot of coffee this morning. So glad we have it on hand. Preachers need the help of the Holy spiriit and moderate amounts of caffeine too.

+ A lot of people took up my recommendation to visit the Celebrate Recovery tables today and start to get help dealing wiith the hurts that have left them with anger issues.

+ I pulled away from the Mastic theater grateful to God for the privilege of doing what I get to do.

There’s no getting away from the fact that the quickest way to see whether your commitment to Jesus matches your talk is to take a look at your check book. The question Where does the money go? will give you an immediate answer about your real love for Christ.

Last night I started writing about various types of givers and this evening I want to pen a few lines about

OBLIGATION GIVERS

That’s what I call the folks who have got a very good grasp of f what the Bible teaches on tithing, which after all is very simple – the Scripture tells us The tithe belongs to the Lord.

You can’t disagree with that and you can’t misunderstand it either. Like all the essentials you’ll find in God’s word, he made it so straightforward it’s impossible not to comprehend what he is saying.

While a lot of professing Christians choos to ignore this principle and give God their spare change, there are others who are meticulous about ensuring that the 10% goes back to God. They tithe religiously, to the last fraction of a cent and are absolutely consistent.

This kind of giver keeps going through tough times, knowing that one tenth of a smaller income is still the tithe. Their consistency can be relied upon, which is a wonderful thing for the local church, but there is one major weakness with Obligation Givers.

There is a danger that their detailed tithing lacks passion and heart. They do what they have to do because they have to do it. They have lost track of what the New Testament says about cheerful giving and are motivated as much by duty as by faith or love.

While Obligatiion Givers are a blessing, there is a better way.

More tomorrow …

One very significant knock-on effect of the current economic recession has been that most churches have seen a drop in giving. While we have not been hit as hard as some of my friends, the past twelve months have been challenging and I feel for colleagues who have been compelled to lay off staff, pull back on ministries and deal with the mental pressure of working out what the heck is going on.

My friend Tony McCollum who pastors a thriving church in Shawnee, GA is a guy with a transparent love for Jesus and passion to reach those who don’t know Christ yet. In the new economic reality, Tony has already had to lay off staff and is now looking at some drastic measures that may need to be taken to keep the church afloat. Being a bit of a techno-geek, rather than use preaching time on Sunday to outline the church’s predicament, Tony recorded a video for his folks today and posted it on his blog.

I took half an hour this afternoon to watch it in its entirety. Tony handled the matter wiith clarity and class, but my heart went out to him.

I’ve been thinking about this whole issue of giving during a time of recession, ever since I watched that video and I’m thinking there are probably three kinds of givers in most churches. I’m going to write about them here today and for the next two days.

My experience shows me that in every congregation there are what I will call -

1. OVERFLOW GIVERS

2. OBLIGATION GIVERS

3. OPPORTUNITY GIVERS

1. OVERFLOW GIVERS

This is the phrase I’m using to describe people who give when they’ve got extra and that’s about it. On an occasional basis they may drop something significant into the offering, because it’s part of a surplus they have. However their customary method of contributing to the work of God is to look into their wallets during service on a Sunday morning, check what’s there, work out what they may need for themselves over the next few days and then drop what’s left – the overflow – into the offering bucket.

Of course when things get tight, there is no extra, the overflow does not exist and since their approach to money is that God is not really a priority, overflow givers’ minimal contributions dry up almost completely during a recession.

Most churches have way too many people who think they’re doing God a favor by tossing a $20 bill into the offering and feel sure he understands when their own comforts are taken care of, but his kingdom is not because times are tough.

Of course he understands – he understand that he comes dead last.

More tomorrow …

There is no gettiing away from the fact that we stumbled into being a theater church. Five years into our history, we were nudged out of Patchogue-Medford High School, that never really wanted us there in the first place. It had been a difficult nine months, with the school closing its doors to us whenever the students were on vacation, there was a school musical, fashion show, or the sun was yellow. We were in and out the whole time and if you didn’t pay careful attention you never knew where to find us the following Sunday.

But there was nowhere, repeat nowhere else for us to go. I checked every conceivable location and while a local-ish hotel let us use their banquet room for the summer, they made it clear that come September we were done.

That was the time we discovered that Regal Cinemas had adopted an aggressive policy of renting to churches and so we went back and visited a movie theater we had been refused use of some months earlier.

That’s how it started. We went into a movie theater because there was no other place whatever for us to go. Or maybe the truth is that God allowed us to be backed into a corner until we ended up where he wanted us.

We now worship in a movie theater by choice and have totally embraced tghe identity of being Church At The Movies. Both of our campuses are in movie theaters and our plan is to add other locations across the county, all in a setting with the distinct aroma of popcorn.

So why theaters?

1. Movie theaters are very comfortable locations for unchurched people to enter.

2. Movie theaters are very comfortable – reclining seats and cupholders.

3. We have more square footage than any comparable sized church I know. Huge foyer cafe, multiple theaters and wide, wide hallways.

4. We are not over our heads in debt.

5. Plenty of parking.

6. Immediate name recognition – everyone knows where the theaters are.

7. As non-religious as you can get – we occasionally have to cover adverts for coming movies,

8. Religious people can’t adjust, so leave us alone.

9. We can focus on ministry and not facilities.

10. Great potential to link into cutting edge technology.

11. There are plenty of them around.

12. Very competitive pricing.

We’re no longer in a movie theater while we’re waiting for a real building, we are Church At The Movies, even if we did stumble into that backwards!

Sitting relaxing and enjoying the last few hours of my Sabbath while the forecasters try to work out how much snow we will or won’t see tomorrow. Glad Mondays are my day off because today was sunny and clear,  if somewhat chilly.

Started the day at the gym where I ran 10 miles on the treadmill. The old legs were definitely complaining from about 6 miles into it. Listened to a great message from Perry Noble on my iPod. There are people who actually preach longer than me!

Attended my weekly WW meeting as a member and got weighed in. Dropped 3.6lb in a week, but I think last Monday’s number was artificially high.

A trip to Home Depot to get a blind for the den and a quick flit around Stop And Shop ended the morning’s activities. It’s amazing how much you can eventually spend when you go into a supermarket for breakfast cereal and bread.

After lunch I talked on the phone with my sister and then  got onto the internet to book a flight to England for a weekend at the end of March. She is getting baptized and I sure wnat to be there.

Our Valentine’s Day date was purposely planned for today, since Sundays are already pretty full. It’s the 42nd Valentine’s Day we have spent together and I guess the only thing that points to the impact of all those years is that we opted for a matinee and an early dinner.

So that’s it. Sabbath is almost over. Tomorrow is Tuesday!

Ready, steady, run!

+ Trying to get into the Winter Olympics, but in all honesty couldn’t give a darn at this stage.

+ Has Al Michaels put on weight?

+ It was cold when I left home this morning – feel-like temperature of 13f accordiing to the Weather Channel.

+ Valentine’s Day – wickedly commercialized by money-grabbing opportunists, but still a good time to remind the love of my life how special she is.

+ We’ll go out for dinner and a movie tomorrow (have a coupon for a new Indian restaurant!)

+ Enjoyed church at both campuses. The heart of church is people of course and there’s no one else I’d rather be hanging out with. We have a load of great people.

+ Sarah made these cute little pink cakes for the cafe in Ronkonkoma. I knew she’d do something and was just waiting to see what.

+ Continued teaching through the Ten Commandments. It was #5 today – Honor your father and your mother. It was a tough one to preach because everyone’s experience with their parents is different and some have simply not been good. Hope I pitched it in a way that would be helpful to all.

+ I ditched the closing story when I taught in Mastic. Excellent story, but a bit of a downer. Not the best note to finish on.

+ Crowd was thin in Mastic. Maybe last week’s Celebrating Sunday teaching didn’t hit the mark!!!

+ Apparently there was a mouse running up a banner beside me when I was teaching. That’s quite the movie theater!

+ Must admit I do enjoy doing church in theaters. I wonder where #3 will be?

+ Hey, we had pink bagels today too – we really got into this Valentine’s Day thing.

+ Ran 5 miles at the gym this afternoon. Total for the year-to-date is 126 miles, which is behind the goal I have set myself for the year, but there’s still plenty of time to make that up.

+ Quiet evening ahead. Works for me.

Okay,  so it’s late Saturday afternoon and I’m dealing with the issue regular readers know I face this time every week – the excited anticipation of Sunday at Church At The Movies.

So what is it that makes me restless, gives me butterflies and means I need to take some mild over-the-counter sedative to make sure I can sleep?

It could be that I get to hang out with some of the best people I have met in the almost 60 years I have been on this earth.

It could be that I love to be able to worship in a crowd at least once a week.

It could be that I enjoy seeing families coming to spend time with God together.

It could be that I love the atmosphere and feel of both our campuses.

It could be that I am blessed by the commitment of scores of people who make church happen in a movie theater in two different towns.

It could be that I get to meet new people every Sunday.

But I reckon what really has me pumped is the “X-Factor” - it’s what I don’t know about tomorrow. I don’t know who will come, who will be visiting. I don’t know who will connect with God in a whole new way. I don’t know who will make a renewed commitment to their walk with God.

I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know that anywhere God is, anything can go down.

That’s enough to keep anybody awake at night!