RevScottie Rod Shop MG Replica

OK here’s our latest project. It’s a replica of a 1953 MG roadster. Didn’t need a lot of work just new fuel lines, buffing, and clean-up. It’s a FiberFab kit built on a VW platform and runs great. It’s a fun little car to drive and it gets lots of looks going down the road. And as always it can be yours if the price is right.

Cat’s Out of the Bag

Well Mark Love let the cat out of the bag this morning. Journey Chattanooga will be moving out of the theater soon. The theater has served us well but there have been limitations. Anyone that has ever rolled into the theater parking lot before daylight knows the first limit. The theater requires an intense amount of set-up on a weekly basis. Volunteers begin arriving shortly after 6am in order to make it all happen and stay till noon or later to tear it back down. You may have noticed our more simple lobby set-up of late. It is because of the theaters summer movie schedule. We would barely get set-up and would have to start tearing down almost immediately because the theater opens at 11:30 am. We are essentially renting space for a little over an hour each week.  The theater also limits our ability to be creative. Anybody remember the fog machine and the fire department visit?

We want to do more in the community and God has dropped a more permanent space into our laps and thats not just trying to be all churchy talking either. Even with its shortcomings we werent looking to move out of the theater anytime soon. This opportunity just came out of the blue. We believe its one of those God things.  I dont know how Journey would have started had the theater not been available. Mark and I both envisioned it as sort of a nuetral meeting space where those uncomfortable with traditional church would feel free to come check out God. I am excited about the new warehouse space and I cant wait to see what God has in mind for us next!

Hillsong United Concert Road Trip

Hey guys the Journey Chattanooga crew road trip Saturday night was a blast!  We had a great time and I actually enjoyed the concert except for some of the middle portion which was just too slow for me. I’m a rocker, what can I say?

Concert aside we partied hard  including a midnight stop at the Donut Den in Nash Vegas. (If you enjoyed this Sunday’s donuts this is where they came from) Thanks to Mike Donehey of 10th Avenue North for the awesome suggestion.

 Here’s a short video clip from the Hillsong United concert. I shot this clip with my Flip video camera and it was probably the most high energy song of the evening. Enjoy!

Vintage Gospel

 

Wow its been quite a while since I’ve blogged, let’s see if I remember how this thing works…Ah there we go it’s coming back to me now. This is where I post thoughts that are too long to tweet. Maybe that’s the problem, I haven’t been thinking enough lately.

This Vintage Gospel series has really made me think. I  had to pause and evaluate my understanding of the Gospel after reading this tweet from Chris Elrod: “Speaking at a homeless shelter tonight. They know the Gospel better than I do – they’ve had to hear it 3 times a day just to get a sandwich.” How many of us have reduced the Gospel down to a presentation instead of a way of life? I have been taught in church for my entire adult life how to present the Gospel. I have taken college level courses in evangelism and even taught them myself. The question is how do you boil down an earth shattering transformed way of life into a “presentation”? The answer is you can’t. If it were as simple as just memorizing some verses from the Bible and sharing them with others don’t you think God would have been smart enough to give us a “cliff notes” version (or in modern terms a Wikipedia entry) that we could simply recite? Instead of that God sent his Son as a living breathing example and teacher of what it means to be a Christian. The Bible is full of life lessons on how to handle our relationships with others, our relationship with God himself, examples of how to treat the poor and outcasts of society. The problem is that living the kind of life that Jesus led is a heck of a lot harder than memorizing some verses. I think I’ll just try that approach from now on though because I suck at memorizing stuff anyway

The Portable Church Challenge

     One of the biggest challenges to being a portable church are those elements that are totally beyond your control. This morning I walked into the theater and found Jason waiting to welcome me bloody knife and all. Although I certainly appreciate the creativity that went into this I could just imagine some of the younger set from Journey freaking out and not wanting to come back to the creepy movie church.  A quick application of some pipe and drape saves the day but in this type of environment you’ve always got to be ready for any challenge thrown your way. For those of you looking at planting a church in a movie theater here are some practical tips.

• Expect the unexpected. Our theater loves to put creative displays together promoting movies. Problem is these displays often alter our Sunday plans. Stop by the theater before Sunday and see what adjustments you might have to make.
• Be prepared. Pipe and drape are your friends. If there is something that will detract from your church’s atmosphere cover it up. Although a certain segment of your church may find a 10 foot tall display of a busty Angelina Jolie with guns blazing attractive not everyone will share in the enthusiasm.

  

• Safety first. If there is something that kids can play on they will. Just because it belongs to the theater don’t think it’s not your responsibility to make sure the environment is safe for everyone.  A portable drill and a few self tapping screws shored up this somewhat floppy display in the middle of the  lobby.
•   Form a good relationship with the manager of your theater. Remember you are sharing space and they are just as worried about you screwing up their work environment as you are about them screwing up your church environment. If you move something put it back where you found it and teach this to all your volunteers. Capture a “before” picture with your camera phone to help you remember where everything goes.
• Learn where light switches, thermostats, alarm panels, breaker boxes, etc, are in your theater. Trust me; one day you will need to know this information.
• Hide your empty carts, boxes, etc, behind the scenes. Your environment will look better without a lot of clutter reminding people that you are portable.
• Be flexible. Movie start times vary and there will be some days that you may have to start tearing down only minutes after setting up especially if you are using your theater’s lobby.
• Finally own the environment. Just because you are portable doesn’t mean you have to look it. Invest money in quality signs and banners. Like it or not some folks may not give you a second chance if you don’t look like you’ve got it all together. Make the best first impression that you can.  Here’s a shot of what you see entering our theater’s lobby.
• 

And Now a Word From Our Founder

Kely Woods

 

Well he’s not exactly the founder of Journey but he’s a great friend and I needed something to blog about since I haven’t updated in over a month. Through a bit of a mix up our local community paper listed Kely as the founder of Journey Chattanooga. Well after quite a bit of good natured joking at Kely’s expense I got to thinking that there is an element of truth in the article concerning the founding of Journey Chattanooga. You see Journey came about as a vision to reach people like Kely. I met Kely several years ago through my ministry to the car show circuit. Kely hadn’t been to church in years and wasn’t overly excited at the idea of giving it another try. The one thing that attracted Kely was that he saw guys who were Christians that liked many of the same things he did, primarily cars. We spoke a common language and used that as a way to introduce Kely to who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. Through my friendship with Kely I began to realize there needed to be a place where guys like him felt comfortable. A place where you could come and worship without being judged by your outward appearance, a place where you didn’t have to know all of the insider lingo and culture to fit in. That was the beginning of what became Journey for me. Along the way I met Mark Love and he shared the same vision for reaching our community and Journey Chattanooga was born out of that desire. So in a way Kely is one of our founders. Is there a Kely in your life? Why not reach out and invite them to Journey this Sunday? It might just change your life and theirs!

Cabin Fever?

Anyone else tired of the eating, napping , repeat cycle? Karen says I will never be able to retire because she will wind up killing me. I’m hard to live with when I’m bored. Even while on a vacation at the beach one day of sitting around with nothing to do will put me over the edge.  I think I may be getting the madness shown in the video below:

Karen is intently watching Matlock on TV as I right this. Our family received at least 10 new DVDs for Christmas and she is watching Matlock. I’m looking for bananas to place on my head to dance around in.

Merry Christmas from Dr Lewis

Our “friend” Dr Lewis has a new Christmas Eve video to share with all of his followers. Here’s a link to it:

Weekend Update 12/21/08

For the person who has everything, the gift of jerky

• Had a great weekend with Karen and the girls
• Free tickets to Dollywood thanks to J103
• Way too much shopping and eating
• Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are the perfect place to have a redneck Christmas
• Mossy Oak and Real Tree are “designer” labels to rednecks
• The civil war still rages in Gatlinburg were you can buy Rebel Flag T-shirts, umbrellas, and thongs
• Lots of little “Christian” gift stores
• I half expected to see a rebel flag with the image of Jesus on it
• Funny to watch this Indian dude try and sell a Mark Martin T-shirt to a redneck.
• Looked like an exchange between Homer and Apu on the Simpsons
• Who new there were over 200 varieties of  beef jerky avaiable under one roof
• Great morning at Journey
• The guys in the band went all out with a Christmas set list
• The band wrapped themselves in lights. (Note Journey does not endorse this type of behavior and is not repsonsible for any of the side effects including but not limited to sterility, senilty, and lack of sensibility.)
• Last message from the Christmas Stories series this week from the innkeeper’s perspective
• Remember we are taking off Sunday Dec 28th in order to give everyone a well deserved break
• Yes I know Satan doesn’t take a “day off” but I think  Jesus is quite capable of handling him for the day.
• Banana

Merry Christmas from Journey

Christmas Stories Continues

     Be sure and join us at Journey this week as we continue telling “Christmas Stories”  This week’s Christmas Story will be told from Herod’s very unique point of view. Herod was not happy with the birth of a baby named Jesus. Come check out Journey this Sunday and hear one of the most fantastic stories of greed, lust, power, murder, and scandal, all wrapped up with a Christmas bow on it. This won’t be your typical “Christmas Story”.