You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May, 2008.
the past few editions of the baptist standard have been pretty cool. there was the recent cover story of using video games to reach youth and the current cover story entitled “pass the popcorn”. this article is about christians engaging culture; specifically, movies.
there are many good quotes throughout this article. the authors are coming from the point of view saying that as christians we should not by any means neglect film. we should embrace it and look for the spiritual in the film. here are a few quotes from the article.
“…separation from culture wasn’t the model Christ set. ‘He was to be found at the corner pub, surrounded by messed-up people. He was there among them, but he was different. He was compassionate.’”
“‘The more I look at it, in order to have a meaningful influence on society, we need to live fully engaged lives. How do we do that without hearing the stories told? Without listening to the music played?’”
“If Christians aren’t engaged in culture, they will not change the world or impact society. We’re not going to do it. Period.”
“…Christians…tend to live in a bubble. ‘People isolate themselves, there is nothing wrong with isolating ourselves - Jesus did - but if we don’t know how to exist in the larger culture when we emerge, we have failed’”
“…people know when they are being marketed. ‘So much of Christian art is just advertising for Jesus. If we just keep shouting, we shouldn’t be surprised when people react like we are salesmen’”
lets please not get started on church marketing.
“Christians tend to believe that films have the power to single handedly disrupt or uproot a person’s spiritual development if they contain corrupting elements. I do think people should be discerning about what they watch, but throwing out the baby with the bathwater - and sometimes the bathtub - is a flawed method of encountering and dealing with media.”
at the end of the article one of the contributors told a story of a screening they did of Hotel Rwanda. here is his story from the article.
[Greg] Fiebig (associate professor of communication and theater at Indiana Wesleyan University and former theater director at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo.) helps lead a film festival at Indiana Weslyan University. Last year, the first year of the festival, they decided to screen Hotel Rwanda, a film depicting the true story of Paul Resesabagina, a hotel manager who helped house over a thousand Tutsi refugees during the Rwandan genocide.
A student from Uganda, who had lost family members during the struggle, attended the screening.
He began the discussion after the film by announcing he could not stay, due to the fresh emotions the film conjured, but he asked the other students to pray for Rwanda and Uganda.
‘It was an amazing moment,’ Fiebig said. ‘In a room of college students, you could hear a pin drop. A Hollywood film became a worship service.’
these are my thoughts. i cannot fathom being a Christ follower and not doing things they way he did. i want to make an impact on this generation. im convinced that i cannot do that unless i am in there with them. in the words of rob bell…”everything is spiritual”.
grace and peace.
please be in prayer for the family of stephen curtis chapman.
this tragic event has to be the hardest thing a family could ever go through.
please pray.
i got this link in an email.
you will love it.
turn up your speakers and click here.
you are welcome.
a few from hbu spring graduation ceremonies.
grace and peace.
it has been a busy couple of days. thursday night/friday morning at 12:01 my wife and i went to see prince caspian. it was great. i highly recommend it. yesterday in the afternoon we had a graduation party for my wife at her parents house and here i sit again. at her parents house.
at two my wife graduates from college. after four years at HBU she is done. she is taking the summer off and then in august she is starting grad school at texas womens university. it will be a good one.
needless to say, i am a little tired. a little worn out, but it has been a great past couple of days. alot of fun. alot of people. alot of good memories.
ill post pictures from graduation in the next couple of days. i hope everyone is well. later my friends!
grace and peace.
i would like to introduce all of you to lucy.
kimb and i got her 2 weeks ago and she has been great. so to all of you out there in the blogosphere, this is lucy.
pictures taken by my wife.
editing by me.
grace and peace.
here is another one from “Jesus for President” by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
“He [Jesus] didn’t pray for the world in order to make governments more religious; he called Israel to be the light of the world - to abandon the way of the world and cultivate an alternative society in the shell of the old, not merely to be a better version of the kingdom of this world.”
this book is changing the way i think…i think.
grace and peace
“The great paradox and humor of God’s audacious power: a stuttering prophet will be the voice of God, a barren old lady will become the mother of a nation, a shepherd boy will become their king, and a homeless baby will lead them home.” - Jesus for President
…Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw.
im barely 33 pages in and i am hooked.
i wish i just had a day that i could sit and read
please go buy this book and read it.
these are a few of the shots that ashley and her parents wanted me to do final edits on. from this final edit session she is going to choose one or two to print and mail out with her graduation invitations. these are the ones i hope she chooses but hey, its not really my choice. maybe i can have some influence ;).
grace and peace.
a few days ago i got an email from a friend with links to these two videos. they are amazing.
probably the best guitar player i’ve ever heard/seen on video.
and probably the most accurate drum cover i’ve seen/heard in a long while.
just some good tunes for the ears this morning.
grace and peace.
this has always puzzled me. im not sure why. granted i have been a member of one church all my life. as a child i was member at first baptist rosenberg. when i went to college, i attended other churches simply b/c i played drums in a worship band, but i was still a member at first rosenberg. now i serve as minister to students and young singles at first rosenberg. i am confident that God has called me to serve here and i am seeing the fruits that God is working in some of our students. it is truly an amazing sight.
but what causes people to church hop? i know it is the simple answer that the church isn’t offering what they want. the church isn’t offering enough programs. the church isn’t meeting my needs.
i know this is a generic post. a topic that has been discussed more than once, but it is on my mind.
do church members church hop b/c as church staff members (universally speaking) we have failed to teach them about the church? have we failed to teach them what the purpose of the church is? have we failed to teach them our relation, as believers, to the church? or have we been faithful to teach but church members just don’t listen? im sure it is both. i know i have probably not taught the youth their relationship to the church as good as i could have. but i will fall on the fact that we are selfish people. all of us.
yesterday our pastor preached on the tongue. one of the things that stuck out to me was james 3:8-10
With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessing out of the same mouth! - The Message
now because i am of selfish nature, im certain i have forgotten this at least once already today. my point exactly. we (believers) want church to be about us. im so guilty. we (believers) want the music to be louder or quieter. we (believers) want to sing from hymnals and not the screen. we (believers) want lights to be on not off, bright not dim.
i want jesus. whether its hymnals or screens. loud or quiet music. i want jesus.
jesus i want you more than anything in the world. far more than my silly human desires.
“you cannot care for me with no regard for her. if you love me you will love the church” - derek webb - the church
just my thoughts. my ramblings. thank you wordpress for listening.
here are a couple more of chris’ senior shots.
grace and peace.
