Redeeming Culture one Movie at a Time

Movies are cool. I can honestly say that I would rather watch a movie then read a book any day. I have been called lazy, uneducated, and down right uncultured. However, for the record, I have sat through the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice which was 4 VHS tapes in length and have seen all of the movies made about Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. I think I have memorized the Sound of Music, and I find myself whistling Fiddler on the Roof from time to time. I think I am quite educated and cultured on the classics that my critics grew up enjoying. But enough of that. I want to talk about man movies, 300 in particular. 

If you have not seen the movie 300, here is the summary:

Spartans= 300 go out to battle against the wishes of the gods

Persians= tens of thousands of warriors coming to take over Greece

King of Sparta= leads his men to battle and leaves his wife behind to rally the politicians

King Xerxes of Persia= really creepy man who is covered in piercings

Spartans kill tons of Persians but are betrayed by a creepy looking Spartan (I see a theme here)

Tons of battle gore and violence and everyone dies.

If you are not 18 then don't watch it. It is rated "R" for a reason. I have discretion in what I see but I do not like to judge a movie just by its rating or by online reviews. I always like to look at how the gospel story applies to any movie I watch. I can't do that by just looking up a review online from a Christian organization because when you watch a movie, it tugs at your emotions and grips at your fears. If I was to talk with a kid about a popular movie and how the gospel applies to it, he would immediately know that I did not watch the movie and I was just shooting back information. 

But back to 300. I was almost literally standing on the couch yelling "This is Sparta!" with the King and sniffling in the end when he was pierced with many sharp pointy things. Why? Because it painted a beautiful picture of courage, determination, dedication, discipline, leadership, and love. All of these things are aspects of the Christian Gospel. I am a leader in many different areas and am challenged to live as dedicated in those areas as the King of Sparta was with his 300 soldiers. If I was to be as disciplined and courageous in my faith as he was with a blade and shield then I would be able to trample the enemy. Christ did not retreat or compromise when facing the cross alone. He did what needed to be done out of dedication and love to the Father. Wow. 

Try it next time before you write off a movie as unholy, blasphemous, and from the devil. There are a lot of things we can understand about our culture so that we may be fully equipped to minister to the people living in it.

Sacrifice: Receiving it, Living it, Giving it

"Sacrifice is the ultimate expression of the Holy Spirit's love." ~ Oswald Chambers

Sacrifice is often well intended but commonly misplaced. Bruno Mars might catch a grenade for you and jump in front of a train for you but take a second look and he is his own time bomb and his life is already a train wreck.

Sacrifice without the Holy Spirit is an expression of a love that is shallow and that dissolves when trials come.  It misleads, deceives, and indirectly makes a joke of the sacrifice of Christ. Shallow love is often the cause for most relationships and equally the blame for the brokenness that quickly follows.
 Sacrifice with the Holy Spirit is an expression of a love that goes beyond emotion and words and perseveres through the darkest hours and deepest doubts.

 John 10:10, "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." Funny thing is Christ didn't have a Cadillac Escalade, He rode a donkey. He didn't have a yacht or season passes to Hershey Park, he borrowed fishing boats and washed people's feet. But Christ truly knew how to live, didn't he? He was "...regarded as poor but making many rich, as having nothing but possessing all things (II Cor. 6:10)."

He lived a life of complete sacrifice to the Father,  That whole idea of life abundantly meant complete submission and sacrifice to the Lord. Sounds backwards to those who haven't been on the receiving end of true Love.

"It is finished" ~ Jesus Christ

Life is Ministry

After an extended leave of absence from the world of blogging to partake in what I like to call "Kingdom Work", I have emerged psychologically disturbed, emotionally distraught, and physically exhausted. What I am ecstatic about is that despite my current state I have indeed made it to the end of another year of summer camp running solely on the power of the Holy Spirit. In our weakness Christ' power is made manifest in ways that to the eye seem humanly impossible. That, my friends, is ministry.

I am going to be a senior at Geneva College this semester which surfaces many future uncertainties that haunt any thoughts I may have of graduation. I know that I am being called to ministry but that is like picking a genre of book to read at the library and staring at the walls and walls of choices. What if I don't like the book? What if it is scary? What if it is something I won't understand? So I find myself in a state of weakness and vulnerability once again where I can do nothing but trust the Lord's guidance. Sound familiar?

Life is ministry.

I am not finished with ministry like I had thought. When the last camper stepped onto that bus to leave Promise Camp, I let myself think that I was finished with ministry for a while. I could do without the heartache week after week, the exhaustion, the frustration. But after thinking about it, if I ever find myself in a position where I am not living by faith in the Holy Spirit to sustain me then I am not a living testimony of the grace and faithfulness of God. Ministry.

I applaud those who have gone before me and lived faithful lives of ministry. They have shown that despite the trials and valleys in life, the Light of Christ has truly defeated the darkness that fills the earth. I am proud to serve that same God and be that Light to the youth of Pittsburgh. I am eager and willing to live wholeheartedly for the sake of the Cross because I know what is at stake.