Busy

Things at work and home have picked up so I will be out of commission for a little bit longer. Thanks to those of you who consistently visit!

The Passion

I was able to see a prescreening of the much talked about movie “The Passion of the Christ.” I went into the theater leaving any controversy swirling around this movie behind me to witness what I believed to be a powerful movie. I was not disappointed.

Jesus and his death have been depicted through art and literature for two thousand years and this movie is a great modern masterpiece. Mel Gibson used his abilities and expertise to paint a picture of unimaginable love and dedication framed in the horror and brutality of our Messiah’s death. It left a lasting impression on me.

While I was able to leave controversy at the theater door, I had to pick it back up on the way out of the theater. A friend gave me an article written by Jami Bernard, an award-winning film critic and columnist for The Daily News. I was interested in reading the opinion of this Jewish columnist who saw the movie. She said,

”Is it anti-Semitic? Yes. Jews are vilified, in ways both little and big, pretty much nonstop for two hours, seven minutes. Gibson cuts from the hook nose of one bad Jewish character to the hook nose of another in the ensuing scene.”

After watching the movie I was surprised by her comments. It is true that Mel Gibson made the actions of the Sanhedrin to look pretty bad but he didn’t vilify all of them. I won’t give away any specifics of the movie but when Jesus stood before the Chief Priest and the Sanhedrin, there were Jewish voices of reason heard. Make no mistake these Jewish leaders were made to look bad, but most of the Roman soldiers were also made to look pretty awful. Mel Gibson did not cast a kind eye on any individual or group that sent or helped send Jesus to his death, but among both the Jews and Gentiles in the movie there were many examples of kindness, compassion and love.

Jesus in both the gospel’s and the movie was able to see beyond the people who condemned, tortured and killed him. He said, “Father forgive them; they don’t understand what they are doing.” Any true Believer will not come away from this movie upset at the individuals who happened to be involved in Jesus’ death. You may ask why?

As I sat in the theater I was surprised that I also was included in the movie. I wish Mel Gibson would have at least told me so I could have told my family and friends to watch for me. I will at least tell you the scene,

At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Messiah?" …But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

In the movie as I was forced to stand next to Jesus, people gasped at my hideous and grotesque appearance. I acted both arrogant and stupid while struggling against the Roman guards trying to restrain me. While Jesus was yet chosen by the crowd to take my place, looking over I realized that he was willing to do it anyway. This gave me some pause knowing the crimes I had committed…

At the theater I realized that I was Barabbas and that he represented me. A savage man saved from a deserved and probably violent death. He looked and acted awful in the movie, yet I know in my life that I have done no less. Mel Gibson could have made this character less intense however the Barabbas on the screen that night taught me an important lesson. I am now more thankful then ever of what Jesus did for me.

Answered Prayer

One of the highlights of my week is teaching Sunday school. I have been heading up the Sunday morning program at church for a while now, but nothing is more fulfilling then teaching children about what it means to be a Believer.

I wanted to share a great story from this past Sunday. I was teaching the 1st and 2nd grade class for our second service. The lesson went very well and I was thankful that the children were responsive to the message. Afterwards we had a prayer time.

Now I will have to tell you that I have changed the format for how we pray in class. Rather then listing all the prayers ahead of time and assigning kids to pray for each one, I felt prompted to do something different. As each child makes their request known, I pray for them on the spot asking the other kids to join me. Each child gets individual attention and also has the praying support from the other kids in class. Every time we have done this God has shown up and the children do respond.

Anyway, this past Sunday one of the girls asked if I would pray that her mom would stay late after the service so that she could play with one of her friends. In my mind I was thinking is God really going to answer this prayer? It was simple request with the potential for an immediate response because class would be over 10 minutes! We prayed for her specific request and moved on to the others.

I happened to be standing right at the door when this girl’s mom showed up. The first words out of her mouth as she walked up were something like, “I am sorry dear but I just found out that I need to stay a little bit after church today because...” WOW! God is so good! As I stood their watching the faith grow within this little girl I myself felt a boost in faith.

While for some this story may lack the impact of other supernatural moves of God, this past Sunday I saw God attentive to the desires of one little girl and that counts as a miracle to me.

California Law "Appears" to be Violated

Foxnews.com: SAN FRANCISCO — A judge said San Francisco appears to be violating the law by issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, but he declined Tuesday to order an immediate halt to the weddings.

Can you believe this?! The City of San Francisco is thumbing its nose at California state law and all Judge James Warren can say is that the city “appears” to be violating the law. What action would he define as a clear violation of the law?

It is worth noting for some of you who may have forgotten that the United States is not a democracy, we are a Constitutional Republic. We were never intended to be ruled by the changing whims of public opinion but by the rule of law. And if congressmen, presidents and judges don’t feel obligated to obey or enforce the rule of law, then what is the point of having laws to begin with?

The judicial system in this country is way out of line and the general public ignores this grievance because they may tend to agree with individual decisions. However, in the long run, nothing good will come from judges legislating from the bench and not enforcing the laws they swore to protect.

A Thought Provoking Quote

"How odd of God to choose the Jew, But not as odd as those who choose The Jewish God and hate the Jew!"

I happened to find this great quote today, but I am not sure where it came from. This website says it came from Francis Schaeffer, but I can’t find any primary source to back that claim up. If anyone knows more about this quote let me know.

Of course I don’t personally know any Believer who “hates” the Jews (I do know that such people exist), but I find it odd that many Believers today in thought and theology still remain stubbornly distant from the Jewish roots of their faith.

Very early in church history Gentile Believers became proud of their faith in Jesus. They saw that many Jews by that time had rejected Jesus as their Jewish Messiah and responded towards them with contempt and arrogance. We know this because the Apostle Paul addressed this attitude in his letter to the Romans (11:19-25). He said,

"You will say then, "Branches (Israel) were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in."

Paul’s warning to Gentiles is clear and urgent, yet this same arrogant attitude can still be found in many Christian denominations today!

Moral Film Critics

I read an article this morning in the OpinionJournal called, How They Rate: A church office reviews movies for moral content. It talks about to two Catholic film critics for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film & Broadcasting, Gerri Pare and David DiCerto. The article says,

”The film office, in the Manhattan headquarters of the New York archdiocese, churns out full-length reviews of nearly every major film, about 240 a year. The reviews are designed, in part, to help busy parents pick movies with positive moral messages for their children, Ms. Pare says. There are five ratings, from A-1, which is suitable for all audiences, to O, for ‘morally offensive.’”

I have not seen one of these reviews, but this could be a good source of information for parents who care what their children watch. That said it must be a tough job being a moral film critic. Here is how I imagine myself watching a movie as a film critic.

Me (pausing the movie): That last car chase seemed to be violent, over stimulating, destructive and unnecessary to the overall plot of this movie.

Co-critic (reaching for the remote): So, do you want to watch it again?

Me (drawing back in shock): Are you kidding me? I don’t even know why you asked… Of course we’ll watch it again! That was the coolest chase scene of all time!

Co-critic: Yeah! That was awesome!

Yikes, that would be a tough job.

Purpose Driven Model (Intro)

I will be starting a series on the Purpose Driven church/life model conceptualized by Rick Warren. You may have already heard about his two books “Purpose Driven Church” and “Purpose Driven Life.” I recommend both of them, although “Purpose Driven Church” is my favorite. My church (Cobb Vineyard Fellowship) just went through a program called 40 Days of Purpose this past fall and it was a great experience for the congregation. We cleared our calendar and spent almost six weeks learning about the five purposes for our lives (more on that to come in the next few days).

In this series I will be discussing the Purpose Driven model and what it means for both individuals and churches. I trust that God can use some of these principles to change your life. This model has several strong points:

1. Promotes unity among churches and Believers
This point is really seen during a 40 Days of Purpose campaign. While my church was going through the campaign, it was amazing to see how many other denominations were also involved. I remember a couple at my church had to travel during the campaign. They never missed a Sunday because they were able to find another church doing the same thing we were in a different State! The unifying point was realizing that many different people and churches were learning how to live out the five purposes for their lives just like we were. Suddenly, despite differing theology, the congregation next door or on the other side of the world can become a life long partner.

2. Helps Believers focus gifts and talents on the right goals
God has given people many amazing gifts and talents, but they may not use those talents for the right reasons (or even know how to). As churches organize around the goal of reaching out to the unsaved and providing a place for new believers to grow in maturity, people will be energized. Any task (great or small) has great importance when people are able to see and understand the bigger picture. The understanding of God’s ultimate plan for their lives will cause people to become more focused and to use their talents for God’s purposes.

3. Helps people understand God’s eternal purposes for their lives
What is it about the Purpose Driven model that gives people such clarity on God’s will? When I first studied this subject I was surprised at how biblically sound, basic and clear the Purpose Driven model really was. It is centered on the amazing revelation that God has a special and eternal plan each person’s life. As Believers, I expect that most people probably know this at some conscious level, but do they live it and share it with others?

4. Helps churches more fully understand the role they are supposed to play in peoples’ lives
Admittedly, in my life I have always been negative and a little suspicious of huge churches. Two things changed that for me. First, during college I went on an overseas mission trip to Romania sponsored by a larger Baptist church in the area. I was amazed at how much money and resources this church provided to entire families and churches throughout Romania. Big churches are able to do big things that small congregations can’t do.

The second thing that changed my attitude concerning huge churches was Rick Warren’s book titled, “Purpose Driven Church.” In it he made the point that churches should be focused on attendance. If you are in a community with unsaved people, and your church is not growing in size, then there is a problem. This doesn’t mean that all churches will need to grow into mega-churches, but it does mean that all churches are called to grow. The Purpose Driven model helps churches do this without compromising their core message.

I have typed enough for this post. I will continue next time by summarizing each of God’s five purposes for our lives!

Give Me a Break!

I know that I am not a famous conservative blogger like Glenn Reynolds or Donald Sensing, but I just wanted to admit that I missed the President's performance on Meet the Press (I was working and watching Sponge Bob on TV that night with my daughter).

Normally, I won’t be discussing topics like this on my blog, but I got an urgent and confidential fax from the Republican National Committee last night. It said,

Dear Fellow Conservative,
Due to President Bush’s clearly troublesome performance on Meet the Press, we feel it is necessary that you pretend you missed the show. Please remember that as you converse or write to include the following important details:

1. State that you missed the President’s performance on Meet the Press. (Check!)
2. Make it seemed like you were busy doing something else. (Check!)
3. Be sure your wording is casual and not to obvious! We wouldn’t want anyone to catch on to what we're doing. (Yikes, how do I delete this note!?!)

We at the RNC appreciate your dedication and willingness to act much like our liberal counterparts do every day...

If you want to know what I am talking about click here.