A Few Thoughts about this Weekend...

It was a great weekend at PCC! Of course, Memorial Day Weekend is historically low attendance, and that was certainly the case this year! It was our lowest attendance since July and the first time we've seen attendance go below 1,000 since August. But it was predictable - the weather was mostly good and it's hard to resist a 3 & 1/2 day weekend! (And a good bit of folks were able to join us online from the river, beach, pool or lake.)

Those who were able to be at PCC today (either physically at one of our campuses or online) got to participate in some really great music, the pinnacle of which was an unbelievable song that closed the service, written by our own Lindsay Harris. That song is not just good...it's awesome! You'll hear it on the radio some day. Can't wait to get some great original music recorded for a PCC album!

We dealt with a difficult subject today in talking about hell. Plenty of churches take it on, but I think God has uniquely equipped PCC to handle topics like this in a way that feels less judgmental to someone who's not used to going to church. I'm not trying to make hell sound like a vacation spot. Rather, I am trying to create a forum where people are willing to approach these tough subjects with an open mind. This requires that they set aside their pre-conceived notions about the church, based on their previous observations and experiences. To get there, I usually lean into the conversation with that person by trying to ease the tension somehow. That's why I began with the Far Side cartoons and pushed the envelope a little towards the end with the...'expressions' about hell that are part of our vernacular.

I'll post most of the scripture references I used as well as some of the basic emphases of the message in my next post.

It was a good weekend at PCC. I think we may have helped some folks. Using both our best work and the work that fell short - God showed up. He always comes through!

Tomorrow's Ad May Raise Eyebrows!

"Hell No!"

Tomorrow, we run an ad in the Powhatan Today and the Midlothian Exchange to promote the series we start next Sunday (see the headline on this blog for a hint). It's a series about heaven and hell, what happens when we die, and how you get to either one. This is on a lot of people's minds, given the new best selling book written by a very popular pastor (Love Wins, by Rob Bell) who was on the cover of Time Magazine's April 25 issue. (By the way, the series is not based on his book, but the timing was influenced by it.)

The ad that runs tomorrow may seem a little...provocative. I'm sure that there is a person or two who will think it inappropriate. There is a method to this kind of advertising, though. The first goal is to grab the readers attention and have them read the rest of the ad. The second goal is to have them be intrigued enough by the rest of the information that they will come to the event, buy the product, or otherwise try out what you are advertising. For the record, I was part of the design team on this ad, and I approved it with great excitement.

Last Sunday's message is a good common ground for us. (You can see it by clicking here) Our mission is to reach people who do NOT go to church. Those folks are very interested in the topic we're addressing in this series, but they are NOT interested in the same ol' churchy hell-fire-and damnation sermons. We needed to communicate that this would be different. These ads will do that.

So, I just thought I'd get in front of the eyebrows on this one. At PCC, people are coming to know Jesus. We'll do whatever it takes to reach them.

See you Sunday.

Brian