The Scaremare Video is Stupid!!!

Tweet

This isn't going to be my main post for the week, but I thought I'd give my interpretation of a recent video we made for Oceanside's annual scare house called Scaremare. Watch the video and then read my interpretation of my video.

Many have criticized of the video, and that's cool. I welcome it. But I also think some people have misunderstood the video.

Some Say It's Not Scary:
Well that isn't the point. It's supposed invoke feelings of fear, but I don't think most people's hearts will start beating quicker while watch the video. I think for the most part people will just be creeped out. And that IS the point. It's supposed to peek their interest in coming to Scaremare. Where, by the way, they will be thoroughly scared.

What Does It All Mean?:
In the beginning you see the young girl lying on the ground in a puddle of blood. Then we fade to her running. My intention was to portray that you are jumping inside her mind at the moments of death. At that point she is trying to out run death. Many have said that the, "Zombies" are not very zombie like... Well, that because they aren't zombies. They are a physical representation of death chasing a person. The idea is that no matter how hard she runs she cannot outrun death. It finally catches up with her. And I want to get the point across that death doesn't play favorites. The girl in the video is young, healthy, and shouldn't be dead, but she is. That's how life is. It could end at any moment. Death doesn't care how old you are. It doesn't even care if you're a good person. It does its job. You die.

The smile at the end could be interpreted many ways. My interpretation is that she is relieved that the chase is over... my hope is that though her death may have been tragic her life is now complete in Heaven.

Thanks Guys:
Finally I would like to thank everyone who participated in making the video. Some sacrificed school grades and others sacrificed their well being. Thank God we only came out with two injuries. It was hot, and those death chasers ran and ran and ran and ran. Everyone was very tired by the end. I think everyone had a great time. You guys are incredible. I'm looking forward to working with you at Scaremare.

Oceanside Is Having a Christian Scare House. Is That Even Possible?

Tweet

Make this image your cover photo on Facebook, THANKS!

Halloween is definitely the holiday of broom riding witches and black cats. There are seriously some evil things that still happen on October 31st. My wife tells me that in years past, before we were married, they would have to hide their cats because they would get stolen and sacrificed. Seriously!

7 Ways To Keep Oceanside's Momentum

Tweet

The problem with momentum is the more of it you need the harder it is to get going. A 4 ton rock might have a huge amount of momentum while rolling down hill, but getting that rock rolling is very difficult. A 5 pound stone would be much easier to push down a hill, but it would also be far easier to stop.

Oceanside has struggled with momentum throughout our 9 year history. Buildings, health, finances, and confusion of Oceanside's vision and mission have all built huge walls that many times have taken years to breakthrough and overcome.

Once again Oceanside has a little momentum on our side. We've picked up some steam! People are getting their lives changed and we've seen real growth in our worship services. Events like Scaremare have given us little nudges to get us rolling. The question is, how do we keep this momentum? Here are 7 ways that I thought of today.

1. Provide The Finances Needed For Growth.
I wish everything was free, but few things are. If we're going to continue to grow and keep this momentum we're going to have to trust God and do some sacrificial giving. One of Oceanside's biggest barriers is money. Matthew 6:19-21


2. Stay On Board With The Mission.
Far too often people get confused about the mission of Oceanside. We're not left here on Earth to just build cool buildings and hang out together. We're here to build relationships and make disciples. Oceanside needs to be out there making friends and making disciples. That's our mission. Matthew 28:19

3. Love Each Other.
Dissension in the church can ruin momentum faster than you can blink. The sad part is, most of the time church arguments aren't about things that matter. Stay on task, love each other, and take care of each other. Hebrews 10:24-25

4. It's Not About You (Or me).
We often get way too caught up in ourselves. We think the church needs to meet our needs. But if Oceanside is going to continue to grow you're going to have to stop worrying about your comfort and start thinking about the greater mission of Christ's church. Sometimes we forget that we're not people who work and go to church on the weekends. We're the church and we work. Church isn't something we do it's something that we are. Colossians 1:16

I saw this tweet and had to share it with you.

5. Stay In Church.
It is most important that you are THE Church at your job, in your classroom, with your friends, and at home. But don't quit coming to church and small group. Sometimes that means getting up on Sunday is going to be really tough, and staying out late on Saturday might be a little too much. But the fact is your spirit needs the energy is received when Christ's Church meets together. Hebrews 10:25

6. Stay in God's Word and Take Care of Your Spiritual Health.
The temptation is going to be to let that time alone with God slip. DON'T YOU DO IT! In this time of momentum if you're going to participate and get involved where God's at work you'll have to stay in the Bible. You'll have to have deep prayer times with God. You'll have to be on your spiritual guard against Satan. Otherwise this whole thing will fall apart. Proverbs 4:23

7. Forget About Normal.
God doesn't need our normal. There was nothing normal about Jesus. If you're about a church being normal then you are at the wrong church. We're about changing our world, and a lot of times that means we're going to do some strange things. You might have to get on board with some weird things. Like what if we started meeting in a tent for church. Yeah, that would be weird, but it might just be exactly what we need to do. Learn to accept WEIRD and reject NORMAL. Matthew 7:13

There you have it! That's what I came up with. Are there any other ways you can think of to keep our momentum?

Scaremare 2011 by the Numbers (A Postmortem, If You Will)

Tweet

Only a few of the volunteer group

What a week! Scaremare was amazing. Just take a look at the numbers.

• 2 Workers Made Life Changing Decisions
• 2 Baptisms Scheduled for November
• 3 Nights
• 6.5 Was the Average Group Size (WHO IS THAT HALF PERSON!?)
• 6 Hours Touring
• 8 Salvations
• 15 Tours
• 35 Volunteers
• 91 Non-Oceansiders Toured Through Scaremare
• 500 Man-hours in Preparation

Numbers matter because people matter. Numbers are individuals. By the numbers this is one of the most successful events Oceanside Church has ever done. We were able to share the Gospel with more lost people in those three nights than we have probably been able to do for the rest of the year. Of those 91 people toured MANY of them did not know Christ.

Painting the Checkerboard Hallway

One of the most powerful parts of the whole experience was the camaraderie between all the volunteers. From set up to tear down everyone spent well over a week together. New friendships were sparked, inside jokes were made, and Christ was spoken into the lives of many workers who had abandoned Him long ago.

Emmie Gluing Newspaper to the Wall For Our Goose Bump Inducing Serial Killer Room

Truly, some of the greatest life change happened in the lives of those who worked in Scaremare. Every night we shared the gospel with ever person who volunteered. They listened and participated. Some made huge decisions, and all left closer to Christ than they came through our doors. That is success.

All these things can happen because of your support of time, prayer, and money. It would not be possible without your audacious vision for this little church in the middle of Mount Pleasant.

Halloween, isn't that the Devil's Holiday?

Tweet

Maybe the question has come up, why Halloween? You may think that it's the devil's holiday. And it you'd be pretty close to right. That is exactly why we're using it. We'll kick him right in the face on his own day!

Truth be told, Oceanside hasn't always been successful when having events. Halloween, on the other hand, has been very effective for Oceanside. That is the one day where people actually come out of their homes and talk to us! I wanted to strongly encourage you to get involved. It's going to be unbelievable and I'd hate for you to miss out. Make the sacrifices needed to work October 28, 29, 30, and 31.

People Come out for food and candy...

Trunk 'r Treat: in the past Trunk 'r Treat has been great for us. People in our community have come to recognize Oceanside as a safe, fun, and friendly Halloween destination. Where else can you get piles of candy by walking a total of 50 yards? Last year we had over 100 people visit. Every year it has grown, and hopefully it will be bigger this year. The more people the more come the influence we have.

We need:

• People to sign up to man decorated trunks.
• Have some small game and some candy.
• Workers to walk around, talk, and council people.

"Funeral In My Brain" by Emily Dickinson for the Scaremare preview by Gradearawk

This is a preview of some of the creepy audio that will be in the intro video for Scaremare

Scaremare: because of our yearly success on Halloween we're expanding our influence through our scare house. You can read all about it here. Check out our website for more in-depth information about why and how we'll do it. Also, go like our Facebook page.

We need: 

• Actors
• Builders
• Make-up Artists
• Costumers
• Decorators
• Counselors (for people who accept Christ)
• Crowd control

I really think these two things put together could be huge. Don't miss this opportunity to make a massive and meaningful impact on our community.