“My work with teenagers has convinced me that one of the main reasons teenagers are not excited by the gospel is that they do not think they need it. Many parents have successfully raised self-righteous little Pharisees. When they look at themselves, they do not see a sinner in desperate need, so they are not grateful for a Savior. Sadly, the same is true of many of their parents.”
Ahhh, the Chri$tma$ $ea$on is in full swing and I’m so, so excited - because it’s all about Jesus, right?!?
I know we [Christians] are supposed to be mad because everyone is calling it the politically correct “Holiday Season,” but Jesus hasn’t been a part of Christmas in this country for a long, long time. Let’s embrace the trend and not call it Christmas. I vote that we rename it MEmas. That’s way more appropriate anyway. Did Jesus come to this earth for tree shaped cookies and Santa? We’ve lost the point.
With this dosage of holiday cheer, I bring you a new word that applies to this season (from Daniel Schultz).
Faithiness - (n) 1. Act or quality of valuing appearance of faith more than actual faith.
2. Massive oversimplification of religious belief, theology, etc., in order to create bland, inoffensive or superficial faith.
If you don’t already have iTunes you really should get it (and it’s free). There are so many speakers, pastors, and churches that podcast their services and are available for download weekly. It’s great for daily commutes or popping in your iPod. Just listen and go.
One I’m currently enjoying is Mars Hill Bible Church’s (Rob Bell) current series on God is Green. The thing I love about Rob Bell is that he’s not into himself. They’ve had so many different speakers come in and fill the pulpit week after week. His heart is getting the message out there, no matter who needs to speak it.
This series has really challenged my views on the environment. I had always prided myself on being pretty ecologically good, but I realize, we have a ways to go as a family.
I also love the fact that they’re emphasizing that as Christians we should be green. The Bible calls us to do that. It amazes me that this is one area we’ve sorely dropped the ball in. It’s gotten politicized so much that the environment has been left on party lines. I mean, Jesus is of course a Republican and Republicans could care less about the environment, so I should be like Jesus and not care about the environment either. Isn’t that the rationale?
You can either download them via iTunes directly or go to the Mars Hill website here. They’re free, they’re good and they’re worth your time.
For the first time since Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, a distributor will be courting the church-going audience with the release of Universal’s $200-million Evan Almighty — reportedly the most costly comedy ever made — this weekend. Today’s (Wednesday) Los Angeles Times observed that in recent years, studios have avoided making films with content aimed at the faithful. (Gibson’s Passion was self-financed; Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia played down the religious themes, although the studio heavily marketed the film to churchgoers.) However, the Times observed, “If Evan Almighty turns into a summer hit, as several competing studio executives predict, the movie could put Hollywood back in the business of making big-budget movies that intentionally embrace sacred subjects.” According to the newspaper, Universal has partnered with Grace Hill Media, the marketing firm that several studios are using to bring the film to the attention of the country’s estimated 200,000 churches. It has conservatively estimated that the movie will earn $40 million on opening weekend. IMDB
This whole thing just doesn’t settle well with me (yes, I’ve said it before). Hollywood marketing towards churches? I don’t think anything good can come from this. The only thing they want is money. They’re trying to find the best way to get the biggest audience. This is not a Christian film. This is a big budget Hollywood film. It’s made to make money. I just find it interesting that churches are so willing to be marketed to. What does this have to do with the Great Commission or the Gospel?So a big fat “thank you” is in order to Grace Hill Media. Thank you for caring so much about our money. Their slogan is “a window to the religous community.” We just let ourselves be suckered into this and the churches are more than willing to jump aboard.
“Here’s the funniest thing: In trying desperately to reconnect with religious Americans, Hollywood assumes religious Americans are so dumb they’ll laugh at anything,” Michael Booth observes in a review of Evan Almighty in the Denver Post.
The only way you’ll ever get bonafide movies that are good (sorry Bibleman, I’m not talking about you) and of merit are when you finance them yourself. We’ve seen that with Mel Gibson and The Passion. Like it or not, that was a movie with clear personal conviction and beliefs. That’s the only way you’ll get something with a remote amount of integrity. And the reason that Grace Hill Media exists is because there is no integrity left in the country’s “200,000 churches.”
For more on my views on Christian movies check out this post on:
I became aware of this through my friend Kevin Bussey. It’s a testimony from Tony Dungy, the coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
“Athletes in Action celebrated its 19th Annual Super Bowl Breakfast with Tony Dungy as the first-ever Super Bowl coach to appear in person a day before the most pivotal juncture in his coaching life.”
“Dungy was greeted by multiple standing ovations from the record crowd of 2,500 people clearly appreciative for his many expressions of his faith to the worldwide media in Miami this week in advance of Super Bowl XLI.
“I’m very proud to be the first African American head coach in the Super Bowl along with my friend Lovie Smith,” Dungy said, “but more than that the fact you have two Christian coaches who show you can do things a different way.” [BP News]
What an amazing testimony from a godly man. It really took the Super Bowl experience to a different level.
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