ONE WAY OR THE OTHER

Yesterday was an interesting day. As I was relaxing, enjoying my Thanksgiving weekend with family - I received a voice mail. It was from a man in Chattanooga who had taken the ifyouhatechurch.com survey and wanted to let me know that "we are like every other traditional church out there." His message was 5 minutes long... at least. And full of explanation as to why we were no different and the problems with us because of it.

A few short hours later, I received an email. This time from a pastor in the area who wanted to let me know that "after looking at our marketing techniques, websites, and blog it was clear that we are following the emerging church model" (a model that is counter to the traditional church). His email took me more than 5 minutes to read and included explanation of our apparent heresies and doctrinal error.

That was my Saturday. In one day, I was being labeled as too traditional and too emerging. That's like being too fat and too skinny. Or too funny and too serious. Or too democrat and too republican. In truth, we probably fall somewhere in the middle - as most churches do.

I do find it interesting though that others seem to know me better than I know myself... despite having never met me, nor even talking with me. And they seem to think they have a clear understanding of The Net, even though we haven't held a service yet. My suggestion to everyone reading this: Come out on January 18th and draw your own conclusions. My guess is - it'll fall somewhere in the middle.

TAKING IT ALL IN...

My son usually gets up before me most mornings. This morning was no different. When I strolled out into the sun room, I found him there - catching up on yesterday's news about the church. Man, do I wish he could talk! I'd love to get his thoughts on the article...

PRESS RELEASE

This past week I was interviewed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The reporter had seen our billboard for ifyouhatechurch.com and wanted to cover the story. The article turned out well - although, I think the last line kinda makes me sound like Joel Osteen.

Below is a link to the online version of the article, as well as an audio excerpt of the interview:

Click here to read the article.

TWO MONTHS AND AN INTERVIEW

Two months.

In two months The Net officially opens its doors to the public. It's been a long time in the making and a wild ride so far. With the launch of the ifyouhatechurch.com website, we've seen great interest in what we are doing. Hopefully, come January 18th, that will translate into "souls in seats" at Rave Motion Pictures!

This should help - Today I did a phone interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. They are interested in covering our story and plan to run an article on us this coming Saturday. I'll post the link when it runs.

IF YOU HATE CHURCH UPDATE

The ifyouhatechurch.com site has been running for a few months now. The data is pouring in. Roughly 300 people have completely the survey. More astounding is the fact that since the survey's inception, our church site hits have grown by 600% and are quickly closing in on 1,000 per week! No idea how this will affect our Grand Opening on January 18th.

In addition, we are currently working on a message series that will be based on the data we are receiving. Today I actually met with a guy who took the survey and will be sitting down with me for a video interview that will be shown during one of the weekends. You do not want to miss this!

ZEKE

Have you ever read the book of Ezekiel? It's the writings of a prophet in the Old Testament - one of the strangest characters in the Bible. He was known for unbelievable visions and the use of odd illustrations to make his point.

Zeke, as I like to call him, is perhaps best known for his vision in Ezekiel, chapter 37 - The Valley of Dry Bones. During his lifetime Israel was not following after God as they should (hence the vision of dry bones), but then God gave Zeke a message of hope - "Oh my people... I will cause you to rise again!"

In the margin of my bible, beside this passage is a date: November 3rd, 2007.

It was on that date, when the vision to start The Net was still a mere concept, that God used these words to encourage me. They gave me hope that in the near future those in Chattanooga who knew him at one time - whether by choice or only at the point of being created by God - would know him again. The bible says that when Ezekiel spoke the words of God the valley of dry bones came to life and stood up on their feet.

These are crazy times... spiritually, people are confused and frustrated; economically, people are afraid and uncertain. But, I believe The Net will be among the many things God uses to bring life and certainty back to the people of Chattanooga. For those of you who have joined us on this journey - thank you. For those who are still considering it - great things are on the horizon and we look forward to having you with us!

UNDECIDED

I've often wondered how a voter can get all the way to election day before making their decision. And yet, here's my son deep in contemplation. To his credit, he did only get in on the last four months of the campaign!

A PERFECT DAY!

Yesterday it was sunny and in the 70's, the trees were turning every color imaginable, and I was thanking God He called me to Tennessee! To top it all off, The Net launch team gathered at Chickamauga Park for a cook out.

Thanks to Kristina and Judy for lining everything up and to Keith for the use of his boat!

Click on the image for a closer view...