This morning I caught myself singing in the shower songs from "The Sound of Music." Though I'm not really a fan of musicals and saw that particular numerous times, I found myself wanting to watch it again.  That made me wonder what movies I enjoyed this past year and why. Here's what I came up with as the top 5:

#5 - "The Final Season" - I found this low budget baseball flick early in the year. Based on a true story of a small town high school baseball team beating a large school in the state championship, it emphasized the importance of playing the game the right way and with the right attitude. Jesus' words,  "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much..." resonated throughout.

#4 - "Iron Man" - There was something about this movie that moved beyond the summer popcorn CGI action. One man sacrificed his life to save another man leaving him with the final words,   "Don't waste two lives."  The survivor's redemption of character and motivation reminded me of another One who sacrificed his life so I should not waste mine.

#3 - "Ghost Town" - I just found this story of a man who can see the spirits of dead people both hilarious and inspiring. It's another one of those crises movies that alters the direction of a man's life and, more importantly, heart.

#2 - "Eagle Eye" - Okay, I admit, this one is merely for the thrill ride. Even with all its unbelievable plotlines and holes, it was just a downright fun time. Not to mention it took me most of the movie to figure out the mystery; cool. My son came up with some spiritual analogy, but honestly I just had fun.

#1 - "Prince Caspian" - There was so much in this big screen imagining of CS Lewis' book that spoke to my heart. I saw so much the Biblical theme of sanctification (i.e., what it means to become holy) - listening & looking for Aslan, not being arrogant and doing things in one's own strength, and doing it all for the glory of Aslan. Quotes abounded about pride, humility, listening, faith, hope, and courage - the scene with Lucy standing up against an entire army with her puny little knife was classic. I don't buy many movies, but this one was under the tree at Christmas!

I'm sure there are as many favorites as there are people, but these hit home with me in 2008.

I have always been a military history aficionado, but after I taught world history for a few years I expanded my interest. Even though we as humans have great memories, can store vast amounts of data, and fill huge libraries with volumes of historical works, we don’t learn from history. Moreover, if we don’t like what history teaches, we simply re-construct it to suit our current thinking, Now, I am not an expert on economy (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once!), but the recent economic issues remind me of observations I made from history.

The Roman Empire was one of the longest lasting empires in history. When the Visigoths finally stormed Rome’s gates they did not conquer the empire, they merely sealed the fate of an empire that was already dead. The Roman Empire was not felled by the sword, but by the internal problems of political & commercial corruption, deceit, greed, immorality, high taxes, oppression, indulgence, and sloth.

Well, I can’t help but observe the same signs in our nation. We can point fingers at the Republicans, blame the Democrats, accuse incompetent CEOs, ad infinitum, but the reality is we are all to blame. We have embraced and taught to our children a materialistic, self-indulgent, instant gratification lifestyle. We have been duped by the illusion of prosperity - a standard of living beyond our means that matches our expectations.  Consequently we have created (or at the least perpetrated) a system to get what we want.  Now, with all that threatened our leaders scramble to avoid responsibility and somehow restore what we had.  We so want to have our illusion back, to continue our lifestyle, and cover up our sin

… but it is built on sand.

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." – Jesus in Matthew 7:26-27

Is it a bad thing? Is it a good thing? Or is it an opportunity for us to change? Is it a chance for you to rebuild?

I was musing this summer...

I'm sure there are plenty other reasons people give for leaving one church and going to another. I have a feeling that many of them are merely products of our self-centered consumer culture. It made me consider what is a vaild reason for moving from one faith communtiy to another. Here's what I thought of: 

• Death
• Relocation
• Serious doctrinal disagreement
• A specific calling from God to serve somewhere or to some group 

Just my thoughts.

I went to the zoo recently. Amidst all the wonderful elephants, leopards, and cobras, I noticed two themes being propogated on signs, displays, and literature. First, were the references to evolution. Second, were the promotions to protect endangered animals. I was confused. Wasn't the concept of "survival of the fittest" inherent to evolution? Weren't those species not strong enough to survive (through evolution or adaptation) not worthy to survive? There appeared to be a contradiction in what I was reading. If I believe in the "survival of the fittest," then why protect animals from extinction?  It just doesn't make sense to me. On the contrary, if I embrace Biblical creationism, then I am compelled to care for all of God's creation. None are weak and worthless. The call God placed on mankind in Genesis 1 is to manage, lead, and care for God's creation. Therefore, it's not ours to abuse, but to cherish and use wisely for His glory. That to me, sounds like a valid reason to protect and care for the endangered and the weak.

I spent the week at EXPONENTIAL '08 The National New Church Conference in Orlando, FL (www.exponentialconference.org/). It certainly got my juices flowing about starting new churches and reinvigorated my vision to create a consortium of churches that work together to start new churches in South Jersey and into Philadelphia. There was, however, one nagging truth that hounded me all week; it was never really clearly laid out by any speaker, but I really felt that for this to happen I need to pray more. I was convicted that I don't nearly pray enough for the larger issues affecting God's kingdom in South Jersey or transforming this local region.

It is so easy to get consumed by my own life issues or those affecting my local church. I want to keep my eyes (and heart) looking forward into the future, to pave the way with prayer. I shouldn't be surprised as 16 years ago it was prayer that birthed Hope Chapel amidst resistance. Whether or not others join me, I will be praying for new churches to sprout up in our region, churches that will be used of God to transform both hearts and communities.