Park Alumni: Veggietales Creators January 10, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentThis weekend, the Veggietales “Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” opens nationwide. The creators of Veggie Tales, Phil Vischer, Kurt Heinecke and Mike Nawrocki attended Park in the early 1990’s and many of the early character voices are played by Park people, including Kristin Blegen, Dan Anderson, Mike Sage, and Jim Poole, who is a co-founder of Steep Theater in Chicago. Park has had a long history of excellence in the arts and we are glad to see our alumni creating such excellent work! Get out there and check this movie out this weekend.
Besides its spiritual content, Nawrocki believes the Pirates film has a great deal to offer audiences. It’s based on some of the most popular VeggieTales characters — three wannabe pirates who are finally forced to become heroes. He described the film as part Pirates of the Caribbean, part Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and part Three Amigos.
Unlike many VeggieTales stories, the Pirates film isn’t based on a Bible story, Nawrocki said. There’s not an altar call at the end, and little mention of God. Instead, there is an Aslan-like king, who helps the pirates along their way.
The film is more of a parable. And while viewers will get a lesson about what it means to be a hero, Nawrocki says they’ll also have a good time along the way.”I love this story,” he said. “It’s well paced, and it’s a really funny piece of entertainment.”
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Many of you know that VeggieTales has had a roller-coaster history, one full of ups and downs and enveloped in God’s grace as the company had a big movie, yet succumbed to bankruptcy after selling more than 40 million kid’s videos. Vischer told that Big Idea’s past struggles were a lesson in faith. He, Heineke and Nawrocki made the first VeggieTales episode, Where is God When I Am S-Scared?, for about $60,000, working out of an unheated storefront in Chicago in the early 1990s. By 2003, Big Idea had sold more than 25 million videos and had more than 200 employees. The company had experienced one miracle after another, Vischer said.
Then everything crashed.
Sales flattened out, causing the company to struggle to make payroll. Instead of cutting staff, Vischer held out hope that God would save the company. If the Jonah film, released in 2002, had been a blockbuster success, all the company’s worries would have been over. While Jonah did well, grossing more than $26 million despite being made on a shoestring budget for a computer-generated imagery film, it didn’t save Big Idea. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was bought by Classic Media LLC.
Vischer, who had been Big Idea’s sole owner, lost everything in the company’s struggles. Yet he seems remarkably content. He told a writer “Back then, my whole identity was wrapped up in 80 minutes of celluloid,” he said. “You don’t want to be in a place where a single project can destroy your identity.” If the Pirates film is a success, Vischer said, he’ll be glad for it. If not, “then I’ll move on to what God has in store next.”
Gingerbread Train Day December 9, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentWhile I am still knocked pout by the flu, today was pencilled in as the day to build our annual gingerbread creation. So this year, it was a gingerbread train. This is one of our Christmas traditions that we love as we enjoy “Christmas in the City”. How do you think the kids did? (They all got lots of icing and candy so it was a big hit with them!).
Leave a comment as to what your favorite family traditions are.
Sunday: “Hello My Name is God” June 9, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentWhat’s in a Name?
Does it really matter what someone calls you? Think about some of the names you’ve been given throughout your life – your birth name, a nickname, or maybe even a bit more creative and far more hurtful name. Names matter to God.Maybe the only thing you know about God’s name is that you shouldn’t use it in vain. But there’s so much more to know – including the fact that God has many different names. In the culture of the Bible, God’s names defined His character and power. His name meant everything to those who were desperate to understand Him.
Starting this week, Park Community Church begins a 9 week series looking at the names of God. Each name explaining, unfolding, and revealing something about the nature of God that is crucial for us in our 21st century world. Don’t miss this great opportunity to get to know God up close and personal. Grab some friends and check it out! Coming Up At Park:
| June 10 | Jackson Crum | Yahweh: Is God Enough? |
| June 17 | Jackson Crum | Abba Father: A Father who is Always There |
| June 24 | Guest Speaker: Marc Lucenius | The Lord our Provider and Shepherd |
| July 01 | Jackson Crum | The God of all Grace |
| July 08 | Joe Riccardi | El’Shaddai: The God of Might |
| July 22 | Jackson Crum | Our Redeemer & Kinsman |
| July 29 | Guest Speaker: Erwin Lutzer | Jehovah Jireh: Our Provider |
| August 05 | Jackson Crum | The Holy & Righteous One |
Family Nights Rock Out! June 7, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Family, Games, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies , add a commentWe had more than 65 adults and kids out for our first family fun night! It was a great time of community, games, pizaa and friends. Big thanks to Jeff and Angela Koch, who ran the games and to Sarah Chambers, our in-house resident AWANA games expert….Next week on Wednesday, we are plannnig to separate out the 1-4 year olds from the larger kids which should make it a better experience for all kids……It is GOOD to be a family in this world-class city. IF you have any comments or suggestions, please email me here.
Missional Living as Leaders May 12, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Church, Inside Park, Methods & Strategies, Missional, Leader Zone , add a comment
Last night, we gathered 150 of our leaders and celebrated the incredible work that God is doing in and through Park Community Church. One of the highlights was the message given by our Lead Pastor, Jackson Crum, on the need for our leaders to live missionally in the city. Have a listen here.
Sunday Chicago Photo of the Week May 6, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Photos , add a commentI love Chicago…plain and simple. This is the best place to live, work, play and minister. As I roll through life, I often seek out photobloggers who capture the essence of what Chicago is and when I find those photos, I love to just take them in and see how they are able to see Chicago…and express the clarity of Chicago through the lense. Now I am going to periodically share their excellent work on my blog. The first photo to be featured comes from Araceli Arroyo of Chicago, who has captured the luminescence of the Merchandise Mart in a way I have never seen before. Wow — she is good! What do you think? Leave a comment below.
Will You Sing Along? April 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The Arts in the City, Music That Moves , add a commentI love the Blue Man group and just ended a long week of travel by listening to their Complex Rock Tour DVD. Here is my favorite song from that DVD, featuring Dave Matthews:
Chicago - Our Olympic Hope April 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Olympics , add a comment
On Saturday, Chicago was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as its candidate to bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, ahead of two-time host Los Angeles. This is a huge step forward for Chicago and now puts us on the international stage. We all think this is the greatest place to live, work and do ministry, but now we hope to be able to host the Olympics and show that to the world!
Chicago will likely compete with Madrid, Prague, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo to hold the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is to decide on a venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics in October 2009. Chicago will start from scratch in hosting the games, unlike Los Angeles that had almost every infrastructure in place to host the games. However, the local Olympic committee intends to build an Olympic stadium with a seating capacity of 80,000 at an estimated cost of $366 million. This would be supported by a lakefront village in the downtown area at a cost of $1.1 billion.
Future Design February 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Adaptive Reuse, Church Construction , add a commentIn the city of Chicago, it is very hard to own your own building but after 18 years, Park COmmunity Church is renovating a warehouse into the coolest church in the land. As we glean ideas from other architectural creations, I came across this Helios futuristic gas station in California and thought I would share it with you. Also check out photo2 and photo3. I call it “Exxon meets the Jetsons”.
City Changing Prayer August 15, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentJust finished a great read called “City Changing Prayer” by Debra and Frank Green. The subtitle for this book is “Insights From Manchester’s Impacting City Wide Prayer Movement”. Frank and Debra Green have written this book where they describe the journey of how they implemented radical prayer initiatives and joined forces with other ministries that wanted to transform the Manchester area.
This book tells the story of the Manchester Prayer Network from the start – with chapters by Debra and her husband Frank Green. This book stands as a testament that says “it can be done – in England!” Despite all the same problems that any of us would find in our own communities, Debra and Frank Green set up a huge network of prayer over Manchester that has been instrumental in bringing reductions in crime and a release of God’s Spirit. Ministries have come to life and are empowered as these Christian leaders fro mvarious denominations and backgrounds pray together.
Don’t look for a manual telling you three easy steps to bring revival to your City. The principles of united prayer are there, but you need to dig them out rather than reading a simple checklist. Many things that she discusses are things we all can use as we think about prayer in our cities. If you don’t have groups of Christian leaders in your town or city getting together regularly for real prayer sessions then you need to read this book. If you already have this – you should still read the book, because it will show you the potential of the doorway you have walked through.
Debra did an interview with a journalist and said this:
What would you say are five keys to establishing a prayer movement in a city that will make a big impact?
The five most important keys to city-changing prayer are:
- The prayer of agreement. Unity is a huge key. Get people and churches together to pray about community issues.
- Develop a positive attitude towards your city. Don’t sit in judgement, learn to love your city!
- Specific and targeted prayer ie towards crime reduction or other specific sectors of your community.
- Publish your answers to prayer!! People will pray more if you do.
- Hold interesting prayer meetings, which are creative, using a variety of prayer styles, and keep them fast moving. Go for excellence in terms of publicity, presentation and materials.
