But I doubt the "church" would have any effect on the operations of the movie theater. They're going to be out of there by 11AM on Sunday, before any scheduled movies would begin. Basically, it's the "Church of What's Happenin' Now" renting out the theater space on Sunday mornings. There's really nothing wrong with it, as long as it doesn't start dictating what kind of movies the theater can show. It's also a private venture so church-state issues don't arise.

Where I used to live there was a church that rented out a movie theatre on Sunday mornings until they could get enough money for a building of their own. If you think about it, the idea is good one because the movie theatre is usually empty on Sunday mornings. If I remember, the church did some weird little thing where they handed out popcorn to newcomers/visitors.

And no, it didn't dictate anything about the movies that were shown. The church was a tenant for a specific time period and had not control over anything other than their space at that time.

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

In this area it's quite common for startup churches to rent weekend space in school buildings. There is also a church that meets in the convention center.

As I mentioned to some folks the other day, with an occasional exception or two, church membership is a prerequisite when running for an elected office in Knox County; yet recently, public officals seem to be spending a lot of time talking about ethics.

despite my knee-jerk hostility to religion.

But this, from the church's website, really ticks me off:

They know what if feels like to be bored, disinterested and turned off by religion.

"Disinterested" does not mean "uninterested," it means unbiased. Sheesh.

In my church, these people would go to hell for that.

Would Jesus have cared about capitalization?

where the typist for the website has a brain that thinks thoughts faster than his/her fingers can type and so they dispense with capitalization in favor of coherence.

Least that's the way I type...I figure other folks do it too. Thank God for spellcheckers.

_________________________________________________
"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali

Holding services in movie theaters is far more common in areas that do not permit public schools to be rented out as places of worship. Frankly, it bothers me that our local school has a very large banner on the school fence advertising Sunday worship at the school.

I vote in a church in Alcoa.

This is a new group moving here because "they were called by God to Knoxville". Hey, way cool! God is bringing new people here now. A kind of heavenly chamber of commerce letting everyone know what a great city we are?

The free Starbucks should be a big attraction, too.

It will be interesting to see exactly what this church's philosophy is. I get the impression they are very sincere and hope to be entertaining as well as promoting the Scriptures.

There will be recruitment ads on the big screen between every show, but they look short and simple.

I wonder how much the cinema rents for? Is it by the hour? Who decides who gets to rent it? Can people have birthday parties there maybe? Can non-profit organizations rent the space?

I'm always fascinated by the ins and outs of innovative ideas.

I wonder how much the cinema rents for? Is it by the hour? Who decides who gets to rent it? Can people have birthday parties there maybe? Can non-profit organizations rent the space?

I assume the church has a use agreement which specifies the times it can use the facility each week.

Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.

I vote in a church in Alcoa.

A few years ago I had to vote in the local Baptist bigot factory instead of the usual polling place at the middle school.

I hadn't been in that church since my teen years. What a difference a few decades and a seven million dollar expansion program can make!

Wearybottom Associates

Getting back to the capitalization, I didn't think anything of it at the time, but I did notice the lower case "C" but what really stood out to me was it was used in the phrase, "us christians" which should have been "we Christians."

ya know, fwiw

I imagine Regal's lease gives it the right to do whatever it dang well pleases, so long as it's not illegal. This is Regal's theater, not the City's. Plus, I hope the church is paying some rent money. That will add more revenue to Regal's venture. Seems to me it's a great use of space and probably a 'progressive' (y'all like that word, right?) church which may meet a need in the downtown community.

BTW, I have a friend who attends the 'church' which holds services in the Convention Center. I believe it is affiliated with Fellowship Church out on Middlebrook. I've accused him of going there just to meet young girls from UT (kidding, of course). But, hey, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Hello There,

My name is Sean Alsobrooks, I am the pastor at Knoxville Life Church.

We moved to Knoxville about 5 months ago from California. We really love it here and we are excited to be downtown. We have already met so many amazing people. I have two small daughters who absolutely love it down here (especially the fountains!).

No, we do not own part of the theater (I wish!), we are simply leasing the theater on Sunday mornings. According to Regal rules, we have to wait at least a full month after the theater opens until we can have our first service...so I think that will be sometime in October.

Anyway, thanks so much for your interest and if you want to know more, I would love for you to come check us out at the theater!

Thanks,

Sean

Thanks for the insider destination tips...I will definitely check out a few of those places. I can't wait for UT football...I have had so many people tell me to prepare myself for football Saturday! Sounds awesome!

As far as Knoxville Life Church, we are a non-denominational church. Our style is to do church in a different (NOT better) way that really caters to those who "aren't into church". We simply want to show God's love and help serve the people of Knoxville.

Thanks again for your kind welcome!

side note: I am addicted to the potato skins at the Downtown Brewery!

Thanks for jumping in here to introduce yourself, Sean. You sound like an earnest young fellow (at this stage of my life everyone without 50 candles on their cake is a young fellow). It will be interesting to see how your novel idea evolves. I'm looking forward to attending some Sunday morning. I've only been here 4 years, but Knoxville is one of the friendliest cities this nomad has ever had the pleasure to call home.

Sean,

Welcome to Knoxville. If you find yourself downtown with no lunch plans, drop me a line. I know some good places, just out of downtown. My office is right across the street from the new theater. I'm 43, a local lawyer, lived in Knoxville all my life, active in the community and my church.

You'll see me post on this site regarding mostly local political issues. I'm a token Republican on this blog, tolertated by some, less by others. I wish your ministry tremendous success.

I'm sure the experience of allowing the church to use the theater on Sundays will work out fine, but I know of one instance where it didn't. It wasn't a theater, but more of a recreation building at a private camping facility. The building was divided into two sections, one section was used as a store and snack bar but it also had a few games such as pool tables and other pinball type games. The main section, which was larger was used as a church on Sundays. After a while, the church attendance had grown rather large and a few of the more outspoken members of the congregation felt that the games in the other section, although locked during their services, desecrated their church. Well, after a period of complaining, the manager folded and the games were eventually removed. This caused a downward spiral of the store and snack bar because the games were really the focal point of the revenue.

Personally I didn't see what the hoopla was all about. The games were nothing more than a way of easing tension between the genders by being a kind of focal point making it easier for kids to meet. Of course now these games tend to have an opposite affect on our children. The games are now in our homes so the kids tendency is to never leave home.

Will the church DT eventually complain about the movies shown in the theater? Time will tell! Of course with Regal being a large corp, we know who will win that argument.

Adrift in the Sea of Humility

Well done, Sean

There has been a church meeting in the convention center for quite some time, run by Doug Bannister- former mega-church pastor and a Cedar Springs guy, both Ragsdale and Haslam friends.

Or are they given a special deal because they are churches, and with so many church's living in storefronts how someone gets to be lucky enough to have such a nice downtown site. No one has ever mentioned if they pay rent or not...though I assume they must.