Big Kang Theory

Schwarzenegger @ Liquid...

well sorta...

Liquid Church | Free Movie Ticket Terminator from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

Folks, the way I see it, only in the greatness that is America, can this:

 

become this:

 

And only in a place like Liquid (where FUN is something we take SERIOUSLY) does someone actually put his trust in Christ for the first time (like this past week!) because YOU invited him to church via a ridiculous video of 2 fools in love with JC & the Beastie Boys blaring in the background!

...I just gotta say this: I LOVE partnering with all of you in making Liquid a place where God's love, truth and sense of humor is all over the place!  Love you guys! 

FREE Movie Tickets!

Liquid Church | Free Movie Tickets from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

"Live long and prosper."

...for the record: I am NOT a Trekky!

But yes, as it slipped during yesterday's 11am and I acquiesced at the 5pm, my dad really did learn English (more accurately, "perfected" his conversational English) watching Star Trek.  (Give the ol'man a break...it was the 70s and he had just moved to a foreign land! ; )  Dad if you're reading...love ya!  =D

All that to say, this brand new series, At the Movies, has kicked off to a great start!  No less than 99 people came out to Liquid yesterday for the first time ever, over 200 free movie tickets were handed out, and one person invited Christ into his life for the first time!  How awesome is that?  Who would've thought that actively engaging the battle between faith and reason thru the lens of a summer blockbuster like Angels and Demons would lead to someone starting a new  relationship with Christ?  Who would've thought that people would actually be able to look past Tom Hank's hair in the movie?  (No seriously...what is that?!?)

To me this all goes to show that whether it's to perfect your conversational language skills, engage the cosmic and spiritual mysteries of the universe, or meet Jesus for the first time...the place to be this summer is At the Movies with Liquid Church!  ; D

Liquid Church | At The Movies from Liquid Church on Vimeo.

The FPU Friday Five

And they’re off!  Our first round of our Financial Peace University classes started out the gates as if someone infused an extra shot or two of espresso in everyone’s cup o’ Joe at Liquid.  Over 200 people are immersing themselves over the next 13 weeks in community to get rid of the burdens stuffed into our wallets and pocketbooks.  The excitement was definitely felt in the classroom.

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender."  Proverbs 22:7 (TNIV)

In order to break free of the bondage that quickly invades all parts of one’s life, Dave Ramsey prescribes the 1st Baby Step to establish a $1000 Emergency Fund…as quickly as possible.

Our Liquidites never cease to amaze as we heard some really creative suggestions on how to find the first $1000 in the next couple of WEEKS before we move onto the rest of the action plan toward Financial Peace.

Here’s this week’s FPU FRIDAY FIVE – a sampling of crowd-sourced tips to raise the money needed for a $1000 Emergency Fund:

1. "Fast" groceries – Most families spend hundreds of dollars a month on food alone.  But cutting the trips to the grocery store probably won’t be noticed a bit since most pantries, fridges and freezers are filled with food that could feed the whole gang for over a month at the very least.  

2. Walk the dog – With summer just about here and schools letting out, it means family road trips for many.  This is the perfect time to post some flyers or ask around if anyone needs dog/pet sitters for dog walking while they are out of town.  It’s the perfect P/T extra pocket money gig.

3. LIQUIDate – A $1000 Emergency Fund is probably not that hard to muster up if you just look around the house and realize that there’s tons of stuff that is just screaming to be shipped to their new owners…from eBay.  Sell! Sell! Sell!

4. Go GREEN – Yes, it’s true, you pay 16-22% MORE with plastic than with good ol’ greenbacks.  As simplistic as it is, paying cash will save you big time money.

5. Hit the bank – But instead of going to the ATM, go make a deposit!  Get into the routine of dropping off any money you accumulate each and every week  until you reach your goal.   Whether it’s $2 or it’s $200 any given week, get it into the bank vault.  It’s safer there!

What other tactics are YOU taking to get to your $1000 Emergency Fund goal?  Please share your tips – creative or mundane with us in the comment section below!

"What did you like best about our service?"

 

That's one of the questions we ask on a little survey that goes out to first time guests who have the choice to answer them anonymously.  ...Now check out what one person wrote this morning:

"I like the feeling of being accepted and welcomed no matter who I am, what I looked like, and what my past religious experiences were. I absolutely loved, and almost couldn't get over how genuinely nice and welcoming all the people and staff were and how they all seemed to really care about my being there. I definitely loved the music and singing, and how you put the words to the songs up on the screens so people like me who were new could follow along and join in. I loved that it was fun, I can't say I remember a time when people were laughing and smiling in church! Most of all, I loved how after I left, I felt uplifted and inspired in a way I'm not sure I've ever felt before...and that I feel like maybe I have found a place where I belong. Thank you!"  - Anonymous first time guest

Wow!  ...Now that's what I'm talkin about peoples!  =D  To all you MoTown vols, thanks so much for making Liquid a church where people can be themselves, look like themselves, dress like themselves and even laugh (sometimes at themselves... but usually just at photoshopped bald pastors ; )  YOU help people take steps closer to J.C. and you put skin on the Liquid core values of "Church is Fun" & "Grace Wins!"  I love luvin witchu all!

 

BALD, Beautiful...and Buddha...?

Alright folks!  Before we get into the nitty-gritty about hair loss.  Check this out...

NY Time best-seller and Fox Business Network host, Dave Ramsey, states that over the 13 weeks of the Financial Peace University class the average individual/family will reduce their debt by $8,000.  Click here to hear more about FPU!

And the reality is that Liquid Church, as a community, is carrying over $5 MILLION worth of (unsecured) credit card debt.  That's right folks...over $5 MILLION bucks!

Based upon personal experience (read: my own personal failures) and biblical principles (the borrower is servant to the lender - Proverbs 22:7) my prayer is that we could begin to break the chains of debt, together!

SO, as an added incentive for us to live a life of financial freedom, here's the challenge - if 200 individuals from the ENTIRE LIQUID COMMUNITY enroll and complete the Financial Peace University class AND the total amount of debt reduction totals 1 million New Brunswick Campus Pastor Mike Leahy and I will both completely SHAVE OUR HEADS!  (2 million will get us Tim's ; )

That's right folks!  As much as Mike loves using Sun-In for his long, golden locks (he's the "Beautiful" one in case you were wondering)...and the last time I shaved my head was back in college when I was considerably less...ahem...[portly]...(insert Buddha joke here)...we both have tasted the incredible freedom God promises on the other side of debt and we want that for each person here at Liquid.

Again, it's really simple: Y'all take the class, save lots of cash... We'll shave our heads!

SO are you in?  Click here to sign-up!  What do you have to lose...except for some sleepless nights, stress, anxiety, car payments, interest payments, the ability to give freely to God and others, etc.:)... you get the picture. Come on!  Let's go ahead and break the bonds of debt in our lives, together.


Praying that we'll be bald, beautiful (and that I lose enough weight in 13 wks so as to not look too much like like the guy below :) -- pastor tom

"...We Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers..."

My weekend readings led me to this little ditty from Kierkegaard: "The Bible is very easy to understand.  But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers.  We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly."

Ouch.
Thank you sir, may I have another!
(those were the first 2 thoughts that ran across my mind)

So I'm curious: what are yours?