At The Movies at Lifechurch.tv

[SoonerQueen]

http://www.facebook.com/lifechurchtv...27041167318550

I would like to invite you to Lifechurch.tv this week-end. We are having a new series called "At the Movies" and it ought to be a lot of fun. Please watch the video and find a location close to you and visit us this week-end.We'd love to have you.

[MikeOKC]

http://www.facebook.com/lifechurchtv...27041167318550

I would like to invite you to Lifechurch.tv this week-end. We are having a new series called "At the Movies" and it ought to be a lot of fun. Please watch the video and find a location close to you and visit us this week-end.We'd love to have you.

Wow. Sermons have trailers now?

[SoonerQueen]

Wow. Sermons have trailers now?

Just this particular series. They do this every year and it is suppose to be a great way to reach people that don't normally go to church. I am new there, so this will be my first "At the Movies." I'm looking forward to seeing what it's all about.

[venture]

Wow. Sermons have trailers now?

LOL gotta love these big box "churches".

I still do wonder...why do they use the ".tv" domain. I've never made the connection between religious operations and the country of Tuvalu. LOL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tv

Oh the days when "non-profits" just used ".org" and were done with it.

[rcjunkie]

LOL gotta love these big box "churches".

I still do wonder...why do they use the ".tv" domain. I've never made the connection between religious operations and the country of Tuvalu. LOL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tv

Oh the days when "non-profits" just used ".org" and were done with it.

LOL, gotta love the "religious haters". If it's not your cup of tea that's fine, but why the need to be-little a church that's trying to reach out and help the community. How Sad.

[UncleCyrus]

Thanks for the heads-up, SoonerQueen. I attend somewhere else, but I really enjoyed the movie series last year.

Also, to those with only a passing familiarity or pre-conceived notion of what Lifechurch and Pastor Craig are all about, or doubt the sincerity of their message, you should take the opportunity to listen one or two times. All of the sermons are available online, so you don't have to visit at first if you don't want to. Watch a couple sermons over a couple of weeks and then form your opinion.

[HewenttoJared]

LOL, gotta love the "religious haters". If it's not your cup of tea that's fine, but why the need to be-little a church that's trying to reach out and help the community. How Sad.

He didn't say he had a problem with churches, only with "churches".

[Bostonfan]

Don't kid yourself, it's all about the money.

How ironic..........Soonerqueen posts an anti healthcare rally message, and a few days later posts about going to church. Wonder what pastor craig has to say about healthcare for all. What about Jesus? Wonder if he's for letting the poor die because they don't have the money to see a doctor? Do you think Jesus damns everything with the name Obama in it like the conservatives do?

WWJD???

[venture]

He didn't say he had a problem with churches, only with "churches".

I'm glad someone caught it. RC has been in a mood for the last few months it seems. Someone needs a vacation or something to reduce the level of hate/stress in their life.

I am far from a religious hater. I do find these big box "churches" interesting based on the assets they tend to purchase and spend donations on. Granted a lot of religious organization have millions of dollars in assets (like this one and at least 7 properties in OK County worth millions of dollars), and in reality most should be taxed.

[Roadhawg]

LOL, gotta love the "religious haters". If it's not your cup of tea that's fine, but why the need to be-little a church that's trying to reach out and help the community. How Sad.

You do a lot of 'belittling' yourself on another forum and I agree, how sad. Personally I don't know much about lifechurch so I'll hold my opinion. I also agree about the irony of posting against people getting health care and then post about Church and Jesus. What do you think Jesus would do for the poor and the sick? Deny them help because they can't afford it? Attack those who are trying to help the disadvantage?

[rcjunkie]

I'm glad someone caught it. RC has been in a mood for the last few months it seems. Someone needs a vacation or something to reduce the level of hate/stress in their life.

I am far from a religious hater. I do find these big box "churches" interesting based on the assets they tend to purchase and spend donations on. Granted a lot of religious organization have millions of dollars in assets (like this one and at least 7 properties in OK County worth millions of dollars), and in reality most should be taxed.

I've been retired since 2006 so I don't think a vacation is needed.

[Double Edge]

LOL gotta love these big box "churches".

I still do wonder...why do they use the ".tv" domain. I've never made the connection between religious operations and the country of Tuvalu. LOL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tv

Oh the days when "non-profits" just used ".org" and were done with it.

funny!

They are big on the prerecorded message. The one up north has a good size theater or two in it (not to mention the amusement park style theme work for the kids.) Someone associated told me that was part of the deal, ability to get your sermons and such on your schedule but still in a place with some atmosphere of some sort and at a location near you.

[bluedogok]

They've had this series concept for a long time, I remember them having it for a few years before I moved to Austin 9 years ago. I went to Lifechurch for about 5 years before moving and was there during the merger with Metrochurch. My wife was already very involved in her church in Austin when I moved there but now that we have moved to Denver we are trying to find some place similar to what Lifechurch was when I went there, before it grew so much. They opened up the current sanctuary a few months after I moved. We have been there for Christmas Eve services and such when we are back in OKC, it just feels different than it did back then but part of that may be not knowing as many people or staff there after being gone so long. I did prefer the feeling of the church when it was the smaller sanctuary where the kids area is now, just my preference. My wife attended services with me when in OKC and liked the church, she grew up in a Hispanic Baptist church in West Texas where her grandfather was the pastor and was a member of a neighborhood Baptist church in Austin and ran her own ministry for that church. She has grown up in church and felt that most of the time the message was more pointed and challenging than at many churches she had been to, it was just packaged in a different way and I think that is what some people have trouble getting past. Just because something is in a well produced video package doesn't mean the message isn't in there. If it was strictly about the money the facilities would probably be more grander and they would also mine other revenue streams instead of providing most of their sermons/materials free of charge to other churches wishing to use them, I know that I have seen some of their packages at some smaller churches we have visited in the Denver area.

I will say that I have never liked the .tv branding but the move to it from .org was based on the goal of moving video heavy sites to the .tv domain back in the earlier days of the internet that was sold by some of the hosting sites, that never really panned out like the hosting sites seemed to think it would. I wish they would've kept it .org like it used to be, I have never used the .tv in reference to their name, it was Life Covenant Church when I started going there and still is for the most part to me.

Twenty years ago when I lived in Dallas two of the largest property owners in the Downtown and Oak Lawn areas were the First Baptist Church of Dallas (Downtown) and the Archdiocese of Dallas (Oak Lawn). They owned the land that many office buildings, retail and restaurants were built on and those facilities had nothing do with church operations. My wife works for the Archdiocese of Denver and they have extensive land/property holdings, most are related to church missions but not all. From my experience (back then) Lifechurch only owned property that was involved in their operations and mission. In fact many of the other campuses were in re-purposed facilities and were leased initially, I do know they have bought some since because the property owners at the time made them a good deal on the properties.

[Garin]

Whatever it takes to get people in the door."What makes the Covenant unique from other denominations is the fact that while it strongly affirms the clear teaching of the Word of God, it allows believers the personal freedom to have varying interpretations on theological issues that are not clearly presented in Scripture." So basically come to our church get saved , get baptized , then believe and interpt the word of GOD however you see fit ? How dangerous is this for a new convert , this is the reason you see folks out boozing it up then in Church sunday night thinking its ok cause thats the way I see it. Big churches are so sad these days they are completely failing our youth and living up to the bad name they give Christians. And i am in no way saying that everyone that goes to these churches doesn't love and know GOD. New converts and even old ones need a leader thats not catering to the masses.

[bluedogok]

Whatever it takes to get people in the door."What makes the Covenant unique from other denominations is the fact that while it strongly affirms the clear teaching of the Word of God, it allows believers the personal freedom to have varying interpretations on theological issues that are not clearly presented in Scripture." So basically come to our church get saved , get baptized , then believe and interpt the word of GOD however you see fit ? How dangerous is this for a new convert , this is the reason you see folks out boozing it up then in Church sunday night thinking its ok cause thats the way I see it. Big churches are so sad these days they are completely failing our youth and living up to the bad name they give Christians. And i am in no way saying that everyone that goes to these churches doesn't love and know GOD. New converts and even old ones need a leader thats not catering to the masses.

If you feel the need to have what is right or wrong told to you by someone else, then by all means go to another church, there are plenty around that would willingly tell you how to live your life. Craig used to give that message quite often when I went there, Lifechurch may only be a gateway along your path to Christ. If you feel like you need more structure or just are not feeling that it is the right place, then ask one of the staff and they could help you find some other church that might "feed you" more to your needs. I know several who did and the staff was more than happy to help them along their way. One thing that my wife noticed in going there was that many of Craig's sermons were much more pointed and Biblical based than what she had heard in her own traditional Baptist church, he said many things that she knew would've offended many in her congregation because he was challenging to the audience. Just like in any situation, some will take up the challenge, some will ignore and will be offended. I think a person is more inquisitive about their faith and makes decisions for themselves really makes a more informed Christian rather than someone who just eats what is fed to them by others. Some of the "hungriest" Christians that I knew there came to Lifechurch from older, more established churches in the OKC area because they felt more challenged there than at their previous places of worship because much of their faith was left up to them to explore instead of being told one way to think. Just because a church is big doesn't mean that it has a watered down message, in fact I have seen small churches that were plain vanilla because they were afraid to run anybody off.

Not everyone wants a dogmatic church, many of the people who do are the type that don't like to think for themselves and prefer someone to do the thinking for them. That was definitely the case for a few that I knew who went to more "structured" churches. Ultimately it is up to the individual and how they choose live and that is true no matter what type of church it is. I knew many from much stricter churches who would do the same thing that you talked about, I saw many people that I knew were heavily involved in their churches come into Skaggs on Saturdays then go get trashed and then show up for church on Sunday as if nothing happened. That type of behavior is nothing new nor is it limited to any particular faith or denomination.

To me I don't care if people prefer a more structured or looser format, I'm just glad there are plenty of options for all out there.

[Jon27]

Do they pass around credit card machines for donations, or have an ATM on site yet?

[BBatesokc]

Just this particular series. They do this every year and it is suppose to be a great way to reach people that don't normally go to church. I am new there, so this will be my first "At the Movies." I'm looking forward to seeing what it's all about.

That's exactly what it does. My wife went last year when a friend/member invited her. I forget which Hollywood mainstream movie was the focal point, but regardless, we are not church goers and she said she really liked it and it delivered the message intended without feeling all 'churchy.'

I'm not an organized religion fan for my own reasons, but I'm not about to belittle those who are. It serves its purpose well and as a mirror of society it also has its problems.

[rcjunkie]

Do they pass around credit card machines for donations, or have an ATM on site yet?

Not sure if this church does or not, but you would be surprised at how many do accept credit and/or debit cards. Which I see nothing wrong with.

[Bostonfan]

Not sure if this church does or not, but you would be surprised at how many do accept credit and/or debit cards. Which I see nothing wrong with.

Of course you and many others don't........................ it's all about the money.

[rcjunkie]

Of course you and many others don't........................ it's all about the money.

I, like a lot of people don't carry cash, so having the option to give by other means is nice. If you don't like or support a church, that's fine, but why bash those that do ?

A serious question: if people don't donate (tithe) to their place of worship, how would they keep the doors open ? And if you don't belong to a church, how do you know what the money they receive is used for ?

[BBatesokc]

Of course you and many others don't........................ it's all about the money.

That's pretty naive thinking and application of thought.

While I don't attend church, many within my circle do and I volunteer my services and materials on a regular basis - churches that literally range in congregation size from a few dozen to thousands. And besides spreading their message of faith the other thing all churches have in common is the reality it takes money to do everything from turing on the lights to participating in mission trips.

Tiny churches struggle with funding because of a limited pool of resources and mega churches struggle because with increased size, so increases overhead. Can you imagine what the overhead of a large church runs simply to provide electricity for the lights, AC and appliances?

There are plenty of things in life that take our money and we have little if any say about it. Church is not one of those things. You can attend as completely as anyone else, regardless if you give regularly or not at all.

[stick47]

Don't kid yourself, it's all about the money.

How ironic..........Soonerqueen posts an anti healthcare rally message, and a few days later posts about going to church. Wonder what pastor craig has to say about healthcare for all. What about Jesus? Wonder if he's for letting the poor die because they don't have the money to see a doctor? Do you think Jesus damns everything with the name Obama in it like the conservatives do?

WWJD???

I think what Jesus would do is to tell these congregations to sell off their holdings and use the money towards health care for those who cannot afford it. Nothing wrong with sermons being held in tents.

[WilliamTell]

That's pretty naive thinking and application of thought.

While I don't attend church, many within my circle do and I volunteer my services and materials on a regular basis - churches that literally range in congregation size from a few dozen to thousands. And besides spreading their message of faith the other thing all churches have in common is the reality it takes money to do everything from turing on the lights to participating in mission trips.

I agree. While I was growing up i was more active in the church but since i've became an adult i've pretty much completely separated myself. For a long time I used the tired 'money making machines' excuse for not attending, etc,etc. But that in itself is naive, as i got older and started paying my own bills its easy to realize how expensive it is to maintain a building that hundreds of people attend multiple times a week, salaries of all the support staff, weddings, funerals, events, outreaches, mission trips and so on. Do some preachers use it to live lavish lifestyles,yeah...but typically if you compare those leaders to ceo's,managers, or other people who lead and direct multimillion dollar companies that serve hundreds, thousands, or 10's of thousand of customers (people)...chances are they live less lavish lifestyles to their corporate equivalents.

thats my two cents - im sure there are preachers out there who blow my generalization out of the water by their own corruption but since the beggining of time there have been selfish and greedy people and there always will be.

[Garin]

If you feel the need to have what is right or wrong told to you by someone else, then by all means go to another church, there are plenty around that would willingly tell you how to live your life. Craig used to give that message quite often when I went there, Lifechurch may only be a gateway along your path to Christ. If you feel like you need more structure or just are not feeling that it is the right place, then ask one of the staff and they could help you find some other church that might "feed you" more to your needs. I know several who did and the staff was more than happy to help them along their way. One thing that my wife noticed in going there was that many of Craig's sermons were much more pointed and Biblical based than what she had heard in her own traditional Baptist church, he said many things that she knew would've offended many in her congregation because he was challenging to the audience. Just like in any situation, some will take up the challenge, some will ignore and will be offended. I think a person is more inquisitive about their faith and makes decisions for themselves really makes a more informed Christian rather than someone who just eats what is fed to them by others. Some of the "hungriest" Christians that I knew there came to Lifechurch from older, more established churches in the OKC area because they felt more challenged there than at their previous places of worship because much of their faith was left up to them to explore instead of being told one way to think. Just because a church is big doesn't mean that it has a watered down message, in fact I have seen small churches that were plain vanilla because they were afraid to run anybody off.

Not everyone wants a dogmatic church, many of the people who do are the type that don't like to think for themselves and prefer someone to do the thinking for them. That was definitely the case for a few that I knew who went to more "structured" churches. Ultimately it is up to the individual and how they choose live and that is true no matter what type of church it is. I knew many from much stricter churches who would do the same thing that you talked about, I saw many people that I knew were heavily involved in their churches come into Skaggs on Saturdays then go get trashed and then show up for church on Sunday as if nothing happened. That type of behavior is nothing new nor is it limited to any particular faith or denomination.

To me I don't care if people prefer a more structured or looser format, I'm just glad there are plenty of options for all out there.

When your standing in front of GOD answering questions , there will be no watered down judgement coming from his mouth. You won't be getting the life church version!

[BBatesokc]

When your standing in front of GOD answering questions , there will be no watered down judgement coming from his mouth. You won't be getting the life church version!

I find comfort (whether reality or not) that when I die, that's it - I'm dead. It will be the one time I won't have to answer to anybody, let alone God himself, which makes what you do with your life even more important. That said, faith and religion play a very important role in our society.

I always enjoy a good sermon when I have the rare opportunity to hear one. I've been to Life Church in the past and I've watched/listened to sermons by their church and others online. I find that regardless of one's faith, a well delivered sermon is a perfect way to reflect, realign and refocus and what we all truly know is the best way to live a life.

To call Life Church's take on faith 'watered down' is preposterous in my view.