Be Prepared

The weather in Texas has changed drastically as of late. It seems like the second November came, someone flipped a switch that turned the weather from summer to some sort of weird half-winter hybrid. In the mornings when I leave for school or work, it is very chilly outside, usually in the 40’s. So I put on my jacket and brace myself for the cold as I bike to campus. But when I go outside around lunchtime, the temperature is now in the mid–70’s, and my jacket is not only unnecessary but extremely uncomfortable. So I’m forced to take it off and carry it with me. But by around 5:30 or 6:00 when the sun is setting, it cools off again, and I’m glad to have my jacket with me. As you can imagine, this mix of warm and cold weather is frustrating when I’m considering what to wear.

While pondering this strange situation I’ve found myself in (and realizing that Texas weather isn’t always perfect as I had hoped it would be), I got to thinking about preparation. How difficult it can be. How much effort it takes. How annoyed I can get sometimes when I’m trying to be prepared. But also how necessary, useful, and wonderful preparedness can be. Because as much as I hate carrying that jacket around, I am always grateful to have it when the temperature drops and I find myself in need of it.

As Christians, we are called to “be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). This was Paul’s command to Timothy when Paul knew he was near death, but it applies to all of us. One of the marks of spiritual maturity is being prepared to do the Lord’s work, even when we think we’re “out of season” or on a break. Often, the opportunities to connect with others and share God’s love with them come when we least expect them, and that’s why we have to be ready.

Just like with my jacket and this Texas weather, being prepared can sometimes be a pain. It requires quite a bit of effort, and it often feels useless. What happens when you spend a good deal of time and energy preparing, but nothing ever comes of it? You may be tempted to get discouraged, but take heart. Opportunities to serve God are everywhere. There’s always one right around the corner, even if you can’t see it. So be prepared. You never know what God may be planning to do through you today.

But how does a Christian get prepared? How are we to be ready at all times, even in the “off season?” What does that even mean? To me, the preparation begins with our personal relationship with Christ. If you’re being intentional about your prayer life and spending time with God and his word every day, you’re a lot more likely to be ready to follow the Holy Spirit when he calls on you. How can you do what God is calling you to do if you’re not making time to listen to him?

Another aspect of being prepared is looking for opportunities to serve God, often in the most unlikely places. We live in a world that desperately needs God’s love. We come into contact with people everyday who are living without the saving grace and amazing love that we enjoy. You can share God’s love with someone through small things, like a simple smile to a stranger on the street or just asking someone how they’re doing and actually listening. Or it may be something a little bigger like a co-worker asking you a question about God or your church asking you to help serve the poor. Opportunities to serve God and love others come in all shapes and sizes. But we have to be prepared for them.

So I’m going to try to stop complaining about carrying my jacket around so much. The truth is that I should appreciate it whether I need it or not, and when I do need it, I’m always glad to have it with me. In the same way, let us all make an effort to be ready to serve God always and make a difference in our world. Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you have a blessed week!

Gotham

There’s no denying that our culture is going through a Batman phase. Ever since The Dark Knight hit theaters and took the world by storm, our culture has been obsessed with Batman. He’s the kind of anti-hero that people in contemporary society can relate to, a morally ambivalent underdog battling corruption and oppression in a world that seems so dark and brooding. Our society today doesn’t want happy do-gooders like Superman. We want the edginess of the Dark Knight and the twisted villains who come along with him.

All of this sets the stage perfectly for the new Batman-inspired Fox show Gotham. But instead of focusing on Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego, the show has chosen instead to center around Jim Gordon, whom we know as Commissioner Gordon, the police officer who helps Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy. The show takes place over a decade before Batman begins taking on the criminals of Gotham. Gordon is a new detective on the Gotham City Police Force, and he has to figure out how to be a good cop in a city that is so corrupt.

Although the show doesn’t center around Bruce Wayne, it does open with the Wayne murders, which are portrayed in a very dark, dramatic way. Bruce’s scream after witnessing his parents’ deaths is haunting. The detective on the case is none other than our friend Jim Gordon. We get to see him meet Bruce Wayne for the first time and make the commitment to find the person responsible for his parents’ deaths. This is the overarching mystery for the show, or at least for the first season.

Another basic element of Gotham is that the city is quite obviously being run by gangsters. Carmine Falcone is the mob boss, and he has control of every aspect of the city from street thugs to police officers to politicians. A couple of his most powerful underlings, Don Maroni and Fish Mooney (an original character created for the show), have formed their own factions within the crime world and are starting to enact plans to take over. All of this is somehow tied in with Arkham, a new housing development in Gotham that is being supported by both the crime bosses and Wayne Inc. What exactly this all means and how it will play out is a mystery to both the viewer and to Gordon, which makes for an interesting tension.

There are some other characters on the show that Batman fans will recognize from elsewhere. Oswald Cobblepot (also known as Penguin) plays a major role in Gotham. I think Cobblepot is my favorite character because he’s so unpredictable, and you never quite know where his loyalties lie or what his goals are. Selina Kyle (Catwoman) is a young orphan on the streets of Gotham who witnesses the Wayne murders and will hopefully help Gordon solve them. We’ve met Edward Nygma (Riddler), who currently works with the police force as a forensics expert. A young Poison Ivy appears in the pilot, although she does not play a major role in the series. If you’re a fan of Alfred Pennyworth (and let’s be real, who isn’t?), he appears in most episodes. And the show’s creators have revealed that Harvey Dent and the Joker will also be showing up on the show soon.

But don’t think that Gotham is just a collection of Batman references. There are also some new characters on the show, including Fish Mooney (who is brilliantly played by Jada Pinkett Smith), a crime boss serving under Falcone; Harvey Bullock, Gordon’s corrupt, alcoholic detective partner; Barbara Kean, Gordon’s fiance; and two no-nonsense Major Crimes officers name Montoya and Allen who represent the uncorrupt side of the Gotham Police Force.

Some people worried that Gotham was trying to fit too much in from the start. As you can see, there are a lot of characters and a lot of references to the Batman universe. However, the plot isn’t overly complicated or difficult to follow. I don’t feel like the writers have had to make any big stretches in order to include certain characters. All of them make sense to the story, and I think it’s a very cool way of telling how Gotham City became so bad that it needed a vigilante like Batman to save it. If you’re into Batman and want to know more not only about his backstory, but about the world in which he exists, check out Gotham. It has a lot to offer both as a show set in the Batman universe and simply as a crime/political drama.

Gotham airs on Fox Monday nights at 7:00 central and was recently extended to a 22-episode first season, which indicates that Fox has confidence in the show. If you get a chance to watch it (or if you’re already watching it), I’d love to chat with you about the show. You can hit me up on social media or through the Contact page on my website. Thanks for reading, friends, and have a great weekend!

Something Spiritual

While contemplating what I would like to write about for this week’s blog post, I realized that I hadn’t written anything related specifically to my faith or the Christian life in a while. Being a devoted Christian and future pastor, I tend to think and talk about faith often. It comes up a lot in my writing on this website. So I decided that this week, I wanted to write about something “spiritual.”

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I got a bad feeling. “Something spiritual,” huh? What does that even mean? Do I have to force myself to write something directly about God, even if that’s not how I feel led this week? Are my other blog posts less meaningful because they’re not “spiritual?” These are the questions that came to mind.

I think these questions are the result of a false dichotomy that has taken root in American Christianity today. Christians often want to draw a line between what is “sacred” and what is “secular.” If a song is created by musicians who aren’t Christians, that song is “ secular” and not appropriate for certain contexts, even if it is a wholesome, challenging song. A blog post about an experience I had when I was 15 is considered “secular” because it doesn’t mention God. I admit that I’ve fallen prey to this mindset before, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to see that the world isn’t as black-and-white as some Christians would like it to be, and many of the things that we reject as “secular” can actually lead to real spiritual development if we let them.

The truth is that everything I do—whether it be writing a blog post, singing a song, or anything else—is rooted in and influenced by my faith, which is the central element of my identity. Yes, I’m spiritually awakened and challenged by worship music, but I can be equally drawn to God by a song by a non-Christian band about the need for social justice. Many (if not most) of the things we consider secular have spiritual value to them. The problem is that we try to strip them of this value, and therefore we don’t see it. But if we open ourselves up to seeing God everywhere, we’ll find him in places we never expected.

I would like to make something clear. I am not saying that every single thing in this world has spiritual value. There are certain things in this world that are evil and completely empty of the presence of God. These are things that should be avoided. I’m not suggesting we break down the barrier between good and evil, just the one between sacred and secular. I think there’s a huge difference between those two distinctions.

So yes, this week I did write “something spiritual,” even though I didn’t quote the Bible or offer any theological observations. If we truly believe that we can see God everywhere, we’ll find him wherever we look. So if my blog post about a life experience I had touches someone spiritually, I’m not going to complain. Even if some would call it “secular,” I believe it still has spiritual value. Everything we create has the potential to touch someone’s soul because we’re exercising our God-given gifts to reach out to others, and I think that’s pretty amazing.

Marvel Phase Three

In case you haven’t heard, I’m a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios has been putting out some amazing superhero movies lately that have really made a splash. But the best thing about the Marvel movies is that they all share a connected, coherent universe, and despite the fact that they’re created by different people, they are all telling one big story.

The MCU started back in 2008 with Iron Man and ended its first phase with The Avengers in 2012. Now, we are nearly through Phase Two of the MCU with only Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man remaining, both of which will be released next year. With the MCU expanding into TV series (Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter) and five different Netflix shows, Marvel fans have started to wonder what the next phase of films is going to look like. But we don’t have to wonder any longer. This past week, Marvel announced the full slate of their Phase Three MCU films, and it looks amazing.

Phase Three will consist of nine films total, which is more than either Phase One or Phase Two, but the Phase Three movies will be released over only three years, from 2016 to 2019. This means that starting in 2017, we’ll be getting three MCU films every year. That just blows my mind, and I cannot wait for it.

Phase Three will start out with what will probably be the final installment in Chris Evans’ Captain America franchise. It will be called Captain America: Civil War and will feature Tony Stark (Iron Man) and a new superhero for the MCU films, Black Panther. Civil War will pit Captain America and Iron Man against one another in a political battle over superhero rights. It sounds like a pretty cool concept to me, and I’m excited to see how it plays out on the big screen. Captain America: Civil War is set to release May 16, 2016.

Next up is Dr. Strange. There has been a lot of speculation over who will play the Sorcerer Supreme, but Marvel did not confirm anything at their announcement. All we know for now is that the movie will be released November 4, 2016.

After that, we’ll be seeing the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy. If you haven’t seen the first Guardians, do yourself a favor and go see it. It is hilarious. It’s very different from any other MCU film, but it still somehow manages to move the overall plot along. I’m excited that this one is getting a sequel, because there are still a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the first film. I’m not sure exactly how they plan on tying in the Guardians with the superheroes on earth (or if they even will), but I enjoy the Guardians anyway. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (which will probably get a different title at some point) drops on May 5, 2017.

After that is the third Thor movie, this one called Thor: Ragnarok, on July 28, 2017. Since the word ragnarok is Norse for “the end of all things,” I think it’s safe to say that this will be the final Thor solo film. It looks to me like Marvel is creating a structure of solo trilogies within the MCU, and I think this structure works pretty well. Ragnarok will give Marvel an opportunity to wrap up Thor’s storyline, especially when it comes to his relationship with is brother Loki, before Chris Hemsworth’s contract runs out. I’m excited to see what direction they take that story in.

Then we’ll see Black Panther, whom we will have already met in Civil War, get his own film. Black Panther was the first African American superhero, so it makes sense that he would be the first African American superhero to get his own solo Marvel film. I don’t know a lot about this superhero, but I think it’s cool that Marvel is giving us an opportunity to get to know him in Civil War before his own movie comes out on November 3, 2017.

And now comes probably the biggest surprise from the Marvel Phase Three announcement. The third installment in the Avengers franchise will actually consist of two films. They will be called Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2, and they will release on May 4, 2018, and May 3, 2019, respectively. While I’m skeptical about the idea of splitting films into two parts, I do think this may have been the right move for Marvel. They’ve been building to the showdown between the Avengers and Thanos over the Infinity Gauntlet since day one, and that story is going to take more than a couple of hours to tell. Infinity War will be the end of the first stage in the MCU, and I think things will look very different for the Marvel films once Infinity War is over. This is an opportunity for Marvel to tie all of their characters together into one epic storyline, and I think it will be cool. Infinity War Part 2 will wrap up Phase Three and probably set the stage for a very, very different Phase Four.

But between the two Infinity War films, we’ll be meeting some new Marvel characters. Captain Marvel, the first female-led MCU film, will release on July 6, 2018, and Inhumans, a movie about genetic superhumans, comes out November 2, 2018. I don’t know much about these characters, but I know comic book fans are really pumped about seeing them on the big screen, and I’m looking forward to meeting them, as they’ll probably be big parts of the MCU after Phase Three is over.

I know that was a lot of information. I was pretty overwhelmed by it when I saw it, too. But it’s all really exciting stuff. To recap, here’s what Marvel has in store for us between now and 2019:

• Avengers: Age of Ultron - May 1, 2015
• Ant-Man - July 17, 2015
• Captain America: Civil War - May 6, 2016
• Doctor Strange - November 4, 2016
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - May 5, 2017
• Thor: Ragnarok - July 28, 2017
• Black Panther - November 3, 2017
• Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 - May 4, 2018
• Captain Marvel - July 6, 2018
• Inhumans - November 2, 2018
• Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 - May 3, 2019

And of course, Marvel is putting out some stuff for the small screen, too:

• Agents of SHIELD - current (ABC)
• Agent Carter - January 2015 (ABC)
• Dardevil - May 2015 (Netflix)
• Jessica Jones - indefinite date (Netflix)
• Iron Fist - indefinite date (Netflix)
• Luke Cage - indefinite date (Netflix)
• The Defenders - indefinite date (Netflix)

There is a whole lot of Marvel to love, and I’m loving every bit of it. If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too, I’d love to chat with you about it. I’m always happy to discuss this stuff because I find it so interesting and exciting. Thank you guys for reading my post this week. Get pumped for the future of the MCU, and let me know what you think of Marvel’s Phase Three announcement. Have a great weekend, friends!

Regret

The year was 2007, and I was 15 years old. Those were simpler times, back before I drove or had a job or really had any responsibilities at all. My life was basically carefree. I had just started high school, and I was about as nervous as a kid could be. But my best friend decided he wanted to join a club at school and asked if I’d like to join with him. I said yes, not so much because the club interested me but because I thought it would be a good way to get involved and make friends. And that it was.

Before the first meeting, my friend and I went to have breakfast with his sister and her friends, who were also a part of the club. Like I said before, I couldn’t drive at the time, so I rode with him to the diner. We had to park across the street because the restaraunt was busy and had very little parking. It was my first time to ride in the car with someone my age, it was my first time to meet these people, and it was basically my first real high school experience. The whole thing was new to me, and it was very exciting.

Now we’re at the moment of my biggest regret. If I could go back in time, re-live any one moment of my life, and do things differently, it would be this one. I remember it like it was yesterday. As I was getting out of the car, I saw a girl waiting outside the restaurant for us. I had never seen her before, and the moment I laid eyes on her, all I could think was, “Wow, that girl is really pretty. I’d like to get to know her” Not, “Wow, I’d like to date her.” Not, “Wow, she’s hot.” There was no agenda. There was no judgment or evaluation. Just a sense of awe. It was the most innocent, most genuine moment I can remember experiencing, and I think about it from time to time.

Obviously, that’s not the part I regret. I’m glad I had that feeling. The part I regret is what I decided to do about that feeling. Because I did nothing about it. Even though I genuinely cared for this girl, even though we came to be very close friends, even though we spent a lot of time together that year, I never told her how I felt. I was too young, too scared, and too insecure to do anything about my feelings. And that’s something I deeply regret.

The truth is that girl should have been my first girlfriend. She was wonderful. She was kind to me, she loved the Lord, and I would find out later that she actually felt the same way about me as I did about her. I had every opportunity to tell her how I felt, including the best New Year’s Eve party I’ve ever been to. But because I was passive and never worked up the courage to tell her, it became a missed connection—one that would bother me to this day.

Now, here’s what I’m not saying. I’m not saying this person was my soulmate. I don’t sit around missing her and wondering what our relationship would have been like. I’m happy with my life, and I’m pretty sure she’s happy with her life, too, and that’s great. It’s not so much that I regret that we didn’t date. I just regret the way things happened as a result of my passivity. I had an opportunity for my first dating relationship to be with a close friend who truly cared about me and to be based on that genuine, innocent feeling I had when I met her. I wish I had taken that opportunity. Instead, my first dating relationship was with a different girl who I hardly knew and who didn’t have a positive impact on my life. That relationship set some negative precedents for my future relationships that would take me a long time to correct, and I think all of that could have been avoided if I had just had a little faith in myself and been honest about my feelings when I had the chance.

I’ll never get that innocent, genuine moment back. It’s sad, but I’m not sure that I’ll ever be in a place again where I can look at a girl and appreciate her beauty without evaluating whether or not we would work as a couple. That was a unique, beautiful thing that I can never experience again. And when I think back on it, I kick myself for not doing anything about it. But at the same time, I’m so thankful for that moment. I’m thankful that even my regret can’t take away from how absolutely perfect that moment was. The truth is that I have so many more things to cherish than to regret, and that’s good enough for me.