Reel to Real

I love the movies! I grew up with cable in my bedroom (which I now know is not a good thing - don't get any ideas Lydia & Christopher). On date night, Janet and I love going to the movies. But it's not just me, our culture has a love affair with movies. In fact, I will go as far to say that our culture gets its theology - what it believes about God, spirituality, and life - from the movies they watch and the music they listen to. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying they get it right. But through movies and music they are asking questions and raising issues. The good news is we've got answers. So instead of imitating, condemning, or ignoring culture, why not seek to engage and redeem the culture. That's what Jesus did. John 3:17, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." That's also what the Apostle Paul did in Acts 17. He used their culture - an altar to an unknown God - to preach about Christ.

That's what we're going to do in our new message series, "Reel to Real." For five weeks we will take an uncut, uncensored look at real life truth from popular movies. On June 24th our first message will use "Spider-man 3." Now don't mistake or confuse what we're going to do. I'm not going to be preaching from the Spider-man comics. "Spider-man 3" is just a hook, a spiritual touch point to look at deeper issues raised in our culture. If you've seen the movie you know there are many issues raised. On that Sunday we'll take a no holds barred look at bitterness and unforgiveness and what it does in our lives. We will open up God's word and boldly proclaim the truth.

The different movies are just a way to create a buzz, to get our church talking with friends, co-workers, and neighbors. So don't worry when we put up new props or play a few current songs - we're not going soft. We won't be watering down the message. Actually, just the opposite will be true. I have a feeling these will be some of our hardest hitting messages.

So we're going to challenge you to pray and invite like never before. For so many churches, the summer is a down time - attendance and giving goes down. Let's turn that trend around this summer at Coastal. To kick-off this series we're going to have a fun, creative community event on Saturday, June 23rd. Many of you might not know this, but our property used to be a drive-in movie theater. You can still see the rolling hills in the field where the cars parked. So on that Saturday, we're going to have a "Movie on the Lawn" night! Around 7PM we'll begin with hot dogs, live music, a jump castle, an obstacle course, and other fun activities for the whole family. Around 8:30PM we'll lay out our blankets and chairs and watch a family movie on a 16'X21' screen. It's all free and it's going be awesome! Start making plans and inviting now! We'll also need a group of volunteers.

At the end of each Sunday morning service during this series we'll draw a Connect Card and give away free movie passes and a few other exciting "movie related gifts." On Friday night, June 6th at 7PM we're going to host a "Chick Flick" movie night for the ladies. On Friday night, June 13th at 7PM we're going to show the movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness," and take up an offering that will go directly to the Crisis Ministry Homeless Shelter. We're going to see about getting a representative from Crisis Ministry to come and speak for a few minutes about what they do. All of these events are free and designed to reach out and engage our community. If you have any creative ideas for this series, be sure to pass them along. Help make this a Blockbuster Summer Series!