Radical

I am often troubled by the question of whether the things I believe and desire are actually based on the Bible and what God wants for me or just on my American upbringing. Sure, there’s some overlap between the two, but there are definitely some things passed down to me culturally that aren’t Biblically-based, and may even be contrary to what the Bible teaches. The problem is that it’s sometimes tough to tell what’s what, and everyone has a different opinion on the matter.

In his book Radical, David Platt attempts to free Christians from the American Dream and the unbiblical goals and teachings that come along with it. Based in part on his experiences with Christians outside the U.S. and their deep desire to know God, the book offers an alternative to the watered down American version of Christianity than many of us have grown up in and instead offers an authentic, Bible-based approach to living for God.

There’s a reason this book has become so popular in Christian circles. It’s good. Really good. It offers a refreshing take on the American dream that so many people have become fed up with, and it offers an alternative that has the potential to change your life. It’s honest, unapologetic, and exactly the wake-up call that the American church needs.

Radical puts Christianity into a global perspective and encourages its readers to do the same. We are so caught up in our comfortable American way of life that we sometimes forget that there is a whole world of people out there hurting and hungering for Jesus. As affluent Christians, it is our responsibility to help these people with their physical and spiritual needs. And David Platt urges us to do just that in Radical. He tries to site up a passion within his readers to see the nations reached for Christ and to find a way to help make that happen.

As I was reading Radical, I found myself nodding my head and agreeing a lot. But I was worried that my reaction would end at that: agreement, and not real change. So as I read, I prayed that God would help me find a way not only to agree with the principles the book puts forth on an intellectual level, but to live them out on a day-to-day basis. And when I got the end of the book, I found just that. The final chapter sets out a simple, concrete plan of how a person can live radically for Christ.

And that’s probably my favorite thing about the book. It’s practical. It isn’t content to just give you a few thinking points and then leave you unchanged. The book challenges your heart and then gives you a direct plan of how to act on what you’ve learned throughout your experience of reading it. Radical is a book that’s going to make a difference in your life if you honestly, humbly pick it up in hopes of seeing what God can teach you through it. I know Radical changed my perspective and actions, and I know it can change yours too if you’ll read it. So check out David Platt’s Radical and see what a difference God can make in our life through it.

Why I Hate Christian War Imagery (and Why We May Need It Anyway)

A lot of people love war movies. They really enjoy watching recreations of battles that took place in history or grand fictional battles staged for entertainment. There’s something about the excitement, the valor, the intensity, that really appeals to certain people. I am not one of those people.

A couple of years ago, I took a class at school called History and Film. I needed a history credit, and it seemed like something I would enjoy, so I went for it without really reading the course description. It turned out that the “film” portion of the class was almost entirely comprised of watching war films. From The Last of the Mohicans to The Patriot and on and on, we watched film after film that documented wars taking place in our country’s history. And I hated every second of it.

The thing that stuck out to me most when I was watching these films was the absurdity of it all. I watched time after time as two groups of men marched toward one another, stopped at a respectable distance, and then began firing at each other until one group was forced to retreat. I watched so many fictional characters die, and for what? To solve some political issue? Surely there must be a better way to resolve international conflict than to see which country can kill more of the other country’s men in a shoot-out. Honestly, how does firing at one another until one side is wiped out or forced to give up accomplish anything?

Here’s what I’m not trying to do. I’m not trying to disrespect our troops or the people who have fought for our country in the past. I respect the men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom, and I understand that in our day and age, it is sometimes necessary to use military violence in order to defend the freedom and security of one’s people. But even though I acknowledge that it’s sometimes necessary, that doesn’t mean I believe it to be morally acceptable. Surely there must be a better way for us to coexist than to have sporadic mass killings to decide who’s in power. And if we’re ever going to get to a point where we can solve conflicts another way, without countless people losing their lives and countless families losing their loved ones, we need to stop promoting and glorifying the idea of war. We need to see it for what it is—a necessary evil—and speak of it as such if we’re ever going to move past it.

That’s why I cringe every time I hear a preacher use war imagery in a sermon. When I hear someone talk about creating a “Christian army” to “wage war” against evil and the corruption in our world today, I feel conflicted. Because I don’t think we need to be promoting war between men, especially not from the pulpit. I believe that when Jesus told us to love our enemies, He probably meant that we shouldn’t kill them. I’ve never been in war, so I can’t say this for sure, but I imagine that it’s fairly difficult to love someone as much as you love yourself while simultaneously taking his or her life. We need to be working to find another way to resolve conflict, and I’m not sure that these uses of war imagery in a Christian context are helpful toward that goal.

But there’s another side of the story, too. The truth is that, as Christians, we are in a sort of war all the time. We are engaged in spiritual battle on a daily basis. We fight against the devil, his minions, and the principalities and powers of this world that seek to destroy our faith. There is a spiritual war for our hearts going on constantly that we can’t afford to ignore or sugar-coat. It’s a war; there’s no way around it. And we need to acknowledge it in order to equip Christians for fighting it.

So I’m all for preaching on the armor of God. And if you really think “Christian army” is the best way to describe the Church that we’re trying to be, then I guess you have a basis for it, even if I disagree with the terminology. I just think we need to be careful not to downplay the spiritual warfare we’re in while also not promoting violence and killing in the world we live. As Christians, we are called to be spiritual warriors, but also peacemakers in this world. Let’s not get those things confused, or sacrifice one for the other. Let us go out and fight the good fight, even when that means laying our weapons down and working toward peace.

Girl Meets World

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in my generation who doesn’t have at least some sort of connection with the 90’s sitcom Boy Meets World. Many people my age (myself included) consider it to be the greatest television show of all time. But even if they don’t feel that strongly about the show, most people have at least seen it and enjoyed the simplicity, optimism, and wit that the show was known for back in the day. Even though Boy Meets World has been off the air for nearly fifteen years, it still lives on in reruns and DVD sales, and it still has a pretty strong influence over its fans. Boy Meets World is still relevant today.

Don’t believe me? Just ask Disney. Last year, it was announced that Disney Channel planned to create a spin-off/sequel series to Boy Meets World entitled Girl Meets World. And despite criticism, doubt, and the oh-so-predictable cries of, “You’re ruining my childhood!” every time anyone creates anything remotely related to something someone my age enjoyed in the past, Girls Meets World is now a reality. After seeing the pilot, Disney Channel executives ordered a full first season. It premiered on June 27, 2014, before settling into its regular timeslot of Fridays at 8:30. (On an unrelated note, I will be busy on Friday nights at 8:30 for the foreseeable future.)

Girl Meets World is set approximately fifteen years after the end of its predecessor. Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel return as Cory and Topanga Matthews, the main characters of Boy Meets World, who now live in New York City where Topanga works as a lawyer and Cory (ironically) teaches middle school. But the series doesn’t revolve as much around them as it does around their 12-year-old daughter Riley, played fabulously by Rowan Blanchard. Along with her best friend Maya Hart (Sabrina Carpenter), Riley tries to navigate the seventh grade. Along the way, she learns about family, friendship, and growing up.

There are a lot of things I love about this show, and there’s no way I could go into all of them here. But I would like to cover a few of them. The first one, and probably the most important, is the involvement of the original cast and crew. I was excited when I heard that Disney Channel was making Girl Meets World, but when I found out that Cory and Topanga had both signed on to return, I was ecstatic. Seeing my favorite characters from my childhood come back to life is really fun. And the fact that the whole thing is run by Michael Jacobs, the man responsible for Boy Meets World, just makes the series that much more trustworthy. Girl Meets World has the same heart and tone that Boy Meets World had, thanks to the original cast and crew agreeing to come back.

That’s not to say that the new characters—the kids—aren’t compelling, too. Riley is a great protagonist and reminds me a lot of Cory in the early seasons of Boy Meets World. She’s idealistic, naive, and a little awkward. But that’s what we’ve all come to expect from Boy Meets World, and Rowan Blanchard does a great job. But by far the best new actor they’ve brought onto the show is Sabrina Carpenter, who plays Riley’s best friend Maya. If Riley is the new Cory, Maya is the new Shawn. Maya comes from a broken family and has a tendency to get herself (and Riley) into trouble. The Riley-Maya relationship is unique enough to not be boring, but it still has a lot of elements the Cory-Shawn relationship had, and I love that.

Speaking of Shawn, Girl Meets World also plans to feature guest appearances by other Boys Meets World characters, including Shawn, Cory’s parents, Mr. Feeny, and Minkus, who turns out to be the father of one of Riley’s friends. Using the new show as a platform to give long-time fans a look at where their favorite characters ended up is a great idea, and I think it will be really fun to see where the writers go with it.

Like I said, there’s so much I could say about this show. It’s only six episodes in, and I’m already hooked on it. Girl Meets World manages to be relevant for a current audience while still staying true to the heart of Boy Meets World and giving long-time fans the references and throwbacks that make them happy. If you haven’t yet, give Girl Meets World a try, and let your inner kid bask in the nostalgia for just a little while.

Girl Meets World airs on Fridays at 8:30/7:30 Central on Disney Channel. The show was picked up for a second season earlier this week.

Nationals 2014

Last week, I wrote about my vacation to Pensacola, FL, with my college group from church. It was awesome, relaxing, and just what I needed to get ready for my next big trip: the annual convention of the National Association of Free Will Baptists. This year, it was in a Fort Worth, TX, and it was a blast. The week was hectic, efficient, and productive—basically the opposite of my Florida trip. But I loved every second it.

The conference always starts on Sunday, but because I work with the kids, I had to be there on Saturday to help set up the room. The problem? We weren’t supposed to get back from Florida until Saturday night. So at 5:00 on Saturday morning, a shuttle picked me up from the beach house and took me to the Pensacola airport to catch a plane.

Until that day, I hadn’t flown in a plane since I was in the seventh grade, and I had never flown alone before. So I was pretty nervous. But the employees were really nice, and before I knew it, I was headed to Atlanta. For those of you who have never been, the Atlanta airport is huge. It’s pretty much like several malls linked together that just happen to have planes flying in and out, too. So my layover there was actually enjoyable. By 2:00, I had made it to Fort Worth and was ready to work.

From the moment I got to the convention center, my week was non-stop. We got the room all set up Saturday night, did a little snack shopping, and went to bed. On Sunday morning, we had our first service. I got the privilege of teaching Sunday School and watching Mason preach during children’s service. It was an exciting morning, and we had a great turnout. Sunday night, we started our Glory Land series with Little Billie, and it all went flawlessly.

For the most part, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went about the same. We watched competition in the morning, worked crafts and children’s choir in the afternoon, and had service at night. Tuesday night, we got to see Shane and Shane in concert after service, which was really cool. They were very worshipful, and it turned out to be a great concert.

Wednesday night, instead of having children’s service, everyone at the conference came together for one huge, final service. It was very powerful worshipping and hearing God’s word preached with Free Will Baptists from all over who had come to the conference. After service, the children’s choir performed (wonderfully, of course), and then we had the awards ceremony. All the competitors from Cavanaugh did really well. It was great seeing their hard work pay off.

Thursday morning, I rode back with a kind couple from church who had offered me a ride. I had a great time at Nationals, but I was really glad to be home after traveling for two weeks. Now I’m enjoying my last couple of weeks at home, recuperating from Nationals, and getting ready for my big move to Waco. Thank you to everyone who had a part in making Nationals so special this year. It was great getting to see and work with so many friends this past week. And thank you guys for reading this little life update about my trip! I hope you all are doing well, and I’ll see you next week!

Guardians of the Galaxy

It’s finally here: Guardians of the Galaxy. I’ve been waiting anxiously for this film to come out ever since I saw the first trailer and realized just how quirky, hilarious, and absolutely awesome it was going to be. And it didn’t disappoint. I got to see Guardians yesterday, and it was everything I had hoped for it to be and then some.

To be honest, I (like many others) originally thought a Guardians of the Galaxy film was a bad idea. They’re not a very well-known superhero team. Very few people have ever even heard of them. And I didn’t see how Marvel was going to manage to fit the Guardians into their greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, which already has the greatest superhero team of all time, the Avengers. So I wasn’t initially impressed by the idea. But when that first trailer dropped, I realized this wasn’t going to be your typical Marvel movie, and I began to get very excited.

The truth is that Guardians of the Galaxy is a very “off” movie, especially coming from a company owned by Disney. Guardians is gritty. It isn’t a straightforward good-guys-versus-bad-guys action film. It’s a space opera about a band of misfit criminals who are forced to band together and fight for the sake of the entire galaxy. And the whole thing is set to a soundtrack of popular music from the 70s and 80s. It’s extremely quirky, and that’s what makes it so compelling.

The main character of Guardians is Peter Quill also known as Star-Lord (played brilliantly by Chris Pratt), a young space bandit who makes a living traveling the galaxy and ripping people off. A good deal of the movie revolves around his journey to get a hold of a precious orb that he is attempting to sell for a profit. Along the way, he teams up with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an assassin who also happens to be the estranged adopted daughter of Thanos, a major Marvel villain; Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a genetically-mutated racoon with a love for firearms; Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a humanoid tree who serves as Rocket’s bodyguard; and Drax (Dave Bautista), a man with a grudge and a hilarious inability to detect sarcasm. Together, these five discover a plot by Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) to harness the power of the Infinity Stone hidden within the orb and wipe out billions of people with it. In order to stop Ronan, they must work together as a team and take their places as the Guardians of the Galaxy.

As I said before, this isn’t your typical Marvel movie. Guardians is rougher than any other MCU film to date. The Guardians aren’t the Avengers. They have rough histories. They make morally questionable decisions. They curse a lot. These aren’t heroes. These are misfits who are forced together and have to work as a team to save the galaxy. And this makes for a much different feel than a movie like The Avengers.

Probably my my fsvorite thing about Guardians is how aware it is of itself. This movie has some downright weird parts. For example, the opening sequence shows Quill searching a deserted planet for the orb. While he’s searching, he’s listening to music on his Walkman and dancing around. Not really what you’d expect of a world-renowned space bandit. Much of the film’s humor comes from its utter ridiculousness and the fact that the characters themselves recognize the insanity and point it out.

Not that Guardians is solely a comedy. There are some heartfelt moments, too. Each of the characters goes through some sort of growth during the film, and they all have true, raw emotions hidden behind their rough exteriors. For example, there’s a scene where Rocket touches briefly on how he came to be the way he is and laments his very existence. It’s powerful, and it gives you something to think about.

And with Guardians, as with every other Marvel film, the creators had to include some elements that set the series up for the future. I feel like Guardians did a good job of moving the Marvel Cinematic Universe along while also setting itself up for a great sequel. As far as the MCU goes, Guardians really serves as the introduction to Thanos, who appeared briefly in a mid-credits scene in The Avengers and will become a key villain for the series in Phase Three, and the Infinity Stones he is trying to collect. The movie also introduces some interesting questions about Peter Quill’s father, which will probably be answered in the already-announced Guardians of the Galaxy 2, coming July 2017.

Overall, I really liked this movie. If you’ve enjoyed the Marvel movies thus far, you should definitely check it out. Don’t ignore Guardians just because you don’t recognize the name. The movie is very fun, and it’s different enough from the other films to be interesting while still being accessible and moving the overall series forward. Be aware that there is more language in Guardians than in usual Marvel movies, but nothing so bad that I couldn’t recommend the film. Check out Guardians of the Galaxy, and let me know what you think of it. Thanks for reading, friends, and have a great weekend!