Heroes, Pirates and Talking Donkeys

Heroes, Pirates and Talking Donkeys

I usually try and sleep when I fly, but this last week I could not sleep for the life me on the flight to the west coast. I picked up a newspaper and read about three movies coming out this May, all of which are the third movie in their respective series.

The article really intrigued me as it talked about the amount of money each of the movies' preceding installments had made, and how much they expected the new ones to make. All three are to be released over a three week period, and they are expected to make over a billion dollars combined in US box office totals alone.

I guess when you combine the exhilaration of a half-man, half-spider superhero flying around New York with pirates and zombies terrorizing the high seas, and a sarcastic animated talking donkey, it should be quite an exciting month.

So, millions of people will start lining up in May to spend about $20 a person on a night at the movies. They hope to be taken away in the story and thrilled by the action. Two hours later they will probably leave wishing that there really was a great hero that could always be counted on to save the day. Kids will be begging their parents to buy hundreds of dollars of toys, just so they can reenact the story, until their parents have a headache.

Just another average weekend in America. Of course, they could have gotten even more action, adventure, and drama, even a hero that saves the day, for free if they wanted too. They could have gone to church. That's right, church. Where we learn from the ultimate adventure book with the most amazing stories. Where we learn of a hero that truly does save the day, and offers us eternal salvation.

So why do we spend so much money on movies to take us away when we have such an amazing resource at our hands already? Maybe it is because so many churches have replaced the Bible with light, fun, fluffy stories. Maybe it is because, at so many churches, you end up hearing more about the pastor's weekend than the Gospel of Christ.

I have heard reports that teach us if we truly want church growth then we need to follow certain formulas for success. We need to keep the sermons under 30 minutes or we will lose everyone. We need to keep the sermons light and mellow so we don't offend anyone. We need to make church modern and relevant or no one will want to come.

Since when do we need to make the Word of God relevant? Maybe if people were offended by hearing the Gospel, they might see that they need repentance. Maybe we need to think about the things that we are willing to sit for hours to see before we complain about the length of church (football, concerts, movies).

I am not saying that we should not go to movies, although I will probably get a dozen e-mails telling me that there is nothing wrong with movies and I need to chill out. What I am trying to say is that maybe if we brought the Word of God and the Gospel of Christ back to church then we would not need gimmicks or special books and reports on how to keep churches relevant. The fact is the Word of God is just as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.

So have fun this summer and go see a movie, I know I will. But, when you are calling all of your friends to ask them if they want to see a guy in tights fly around the city and save the day, ask yourself if you have invited them all to church to learn about a man who died to save us for eternity.

Bryan Kemper -
bryankemper@standtrue.com

Going to Africa!

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you know the past year has been a very interesting time for me, with everything going on in my life I am more than excited to let you all know of an exciting trip coming up in my life. I have always hoped and prayed for an opportunity to go to Africa. This summer I will travel with Georgian and Winne Banov’s ministry Global Celebrations to South Africa and Mozambique. This trip will be full of what I love to do best; love on others. I will be traveling from June 29th though July 14th. My trip will start off in Johannesburg, South Africa with two days of ministry. We will travel to Maputo, Mozambique for three days of ministry with Heidi and Rolland Baker’s ministry Iris ministries where will be have “bush crusades.” It’s a lot like all of my trips to Mexico, but in Africa. We will also be traveling to Nampula and Pemba, Mozambique for more ministry. The trip will end with a special visit to Kruger National Park in South Africa for a little Safari.
I am so overjoyed to be able to join this team of people to minister to the African people. I look forward to being able to love and share the joy of Jesus Christ with them. I would like to invite all of you to join with me in this amazing opportunity of the spread of God’s love. I would like to establish a team of people who will pray for me everyday while I am in Africa. Prayer has been one of the strongest and most important things in my life over the past year. As I have been pressing into the Lord, the times when the Lord has pressed back into me has been in prayer. Prayer has changed my life and I believe prayer is key for me while I am in Africa. The second way you can partner with me is to financially support me. I have to raise just under $4,000 by May 10th. This will cover the cost of my airfare to Washington Dulles airport where I will meet and fly out with my team. It will also cover all of my flights to and from Africa, as well other cost important to making this trip happen.
If you would like to support me though prayer or would like to receive email updates on the status of my trip please email me at chuchukatt@yahoo.com. I’m not sure yet if I will have internet access in Africa to email yet. If you would like to support me financially you can in two different ways. You can support me monthly, like a bill. Except this is a check that will allow a life changing experience not only for the African people, but for me. It will a joy for you to write it every month. You could also give a one time donation. To support me financially please make checks payable to Melanie Potts, as I have to send payments in one check. Please mail them to:
Melanie Potts
1701 Marshall Road
Apt 147
Vacaville, CA 95687
No matter how or if you choose to support me I want to thank you for investing in me, my life and every one else around you. I would not be the woman of god I am today with out you, not matter how small or big your influence in my life has been. I value the influence that every one of you have had in my life and pray that the Lord would bless you and fill you with his everlasting joy. Please feel free to call, write or email me any questions, words of encouragement, or would like to pray for me.
Melanie Potts