One of the great joys of my life is writing, and while it seems I'm writing things every day, none of it is very permanent. So for 30 minutes each night, Monday through Friday, I'll be writing down a thought that I've had today.
Sounds amazing, doesn't it? How clever of you, Tim.
Oh yes, there will be self-deprecation! Don't you worry about that none.
Part of the reason I do this is that I seem to be wasting my time on Facebook. Don't get me wrong - I love Facebook, but if the only thing we do in our life is write down clever sentences that one or two people enjoy, what's the point?
So the subject of these nightly rantings will be various and sundry. I'm spit balling this, but maybe I can divide my nights into the variety of things going on in my life:
Monday Media I love movies, and am at the beginning of watching 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and boy do I have some doozies to talk about.
Tuesday Work My position is youth and young adult director/preacher/care minister at Our Savior Lutheran.
Wednesday Words If someone asks me at parties what I do, beyond what my job is, I'll say, "Failed novelist." It usually ends the conversation.
Thursday Sem I am attending George Fox Seminary, and each week, there's always something interesting to share that can't wait for a sermon.
Friday Weekly Examen. The week in review, Examen style.
So that's a little about me.
So this being Monday, we should probably talk about media, and this week's hot topic is Noah - what's a Christian to do.
If we've learned anything from the monastery system (which I'll be talking about at the Equip church history class this Saturday!) (plug!), it's that a Christian worth his weight in holy water should never be afraid to engage the world. It's absolutely fine to retreat from the world for a time, but the best ones didn't make it permanent.
We have an opportunity as a youth group to see three "religious" movies this week for our spring break all-nighter: Son of God, God is Not Dead and Noah. The first two are made by Christians, for the encouragement of Christians. I don't have to see Son of God, because I already saw a chunk of it during The Bible mini-series last year, financed by Mark Burnett and his wife/Virgin Mary, Roma Downey. I saw the trailer for God is Not Dead, and recognized immediately its source material, one of those chain emails that never go away about a lone Christian kid up against an Atheistic professor and the rest of the class. I don't think it actually ends with an egg falling on the professor's foot, like in the email, but it's probably not far off. (quick sidenote - the theme of Robert Altman's The Player is that you can take literally any stupid news story, News of the Weird, radio program and turn it into a hit movie. But a chain letter?) You know who made God is Not Dead? Someone obsessed/impressed with the buzzword of Christendom: Apologetics. If I were a teenaged Christian boy trying to impress a smart Christian girl, I would tell her I'm into Apologetics (and I would say it with a capital A). It means you're Christian - but smart. It means you're Christian - and can win an argument. It means you're Christian - and pretentious.
So we're going to see Noah, because if you want to write about sharks, it's better to do it in a shark-proof cage in the Pacific Ocean than from Iowa.
I would rather raise a jr/sr high student who can watch how Hollywood mangles a Bible story than to have his thoughts about his comfortable Christian life confirmed by fellow Pharisees.
And my 30 minutes are up. See you at the movies, 6 pm Wednesday.
