a story of community

DISCLAIMER: recommending movies is not my thing. However.

I watched a movie last night…the first of my summer vacation. My expectations were low but it was recommended by a friend so I figured – why not?  Lars And The Real Girl surprised me. I liked it a lot. Call me crazy but it is a film about community in the truest biblical sense. 

There is no way to explain the plot and have it not sound goofy, weird or mildly perverted but this film is anything but foul or foolish. I watched it twice simply to experience the humor and humanity of the story of an entire town that rallies around a friend in need.

If you’ve seen the trailers – don’t let them fool you. The film has depth both artistically and morally. An early scene shows Lars sitting in a Sunday worship service at his church while the pastor’s words are heard in the background, “In this world there is only one true law. The Lord told us what to do – to love one another.” Apparently Lars’ community understood what the Lord meant.

Not a lot of movies make me think about Scripture. This one did.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

in case you missed it

July 4th weekend culminated in PCC’s second annual Sunscreen Sunday outdoor worship service. The weather was incredibly nice and I think everyone enjoyed our time together.  I’ve loaded some pictures [Thanks Julie] of the event.

Sox vs Cubs

Now that the less than amiable Chicago baseball cross-town rivalry series is finally over, here’s the final analysis - Cubs - 3 wins, 3 losses. Sox -3 wins, 3 losses. It’s a tie! Both teams scored 31 runs. Both teams are good this year. Both teams lead their divisions. Both teams come from the very cool city of Chicago. Can’t we all just get along? How about a big collective HUG?  Where’s the love?

Carlin is gone

Maybe you heard. Comedian George Carlin died last Sunday at 71 years of age.  I had a great appreciation for Carlin.  He was a gifted guy who could be very funny by making clever observations about everyday life. One of my favorite shticks was his take on baseball vs. football.

I enjoy comparing baseball and football:
Baseball is a 19th century pastoral game.
Football is a 20th century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park. The baseball park!
Football is played on the gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial.
Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything is dying.
In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.
Baseball has no time limit: we don’t know when it’s gonna end – might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we’ve got to go to sudden death.
And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:
In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! – I hope I’ll be safe at home!

Sadly, the clever enjoyable side of Carlin’s humor had a caustic bitter and vulgar side often exposing his self-proclaimed religion hating atheism. Here are few of his printable comments:

“I’ve begun worshipping the Sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the Sun. It’s there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There’s no mystery, no one asks for money, I don’t have to dress up, and there’s no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to God are all answered at about the same 50-percent rate.”

“You are all diseased. I don’t have any beliefs or allegiances. I don’t believe in this country. I don’t believe in religion, or a god, and I don’t believe in all these man-made institutional ideas.”

“I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a guy nailed to two pieces of wood.”

I want you to know, when it comes to believing in god- I really really tried. I tried to believe that there is a god who created each one of us in his own image and likeness, loves us very much and keeps a close eye on things. I really tried to believe that, but I gotta tell you, the longer you live, the more you look around, the more you realize…something is ……..WRONG here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is NOT good work. If this is the best god can do, I am NOT impressed. Results like these do not belong on the resume of a supreme being. This is the kind of [stuff] you’d expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. And just between you and me, in any decently run universe, this guy would have been out on his all-powerful-keister a long time ago.

Carlin was correct in saying something is wrong here – ie. on earth. The word he refused to use is “sin.” Instead, he looked at other explanations and decried the idea of God.  Hearing about George Carlin’s death made me think how this famous and wealthy comedian tragically played the fool in more ways than one.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” –Psalm 53:1

Theism vs atheism

This week I’m speaking on theism vs atheism - not a particularly simple topic to cover in 30 minutes or so…but I’ll give it a shot. Dinesh D’souza’s book, What’s So Great About Christianity has helped inform some of my more recent thinking. Considering that 92% of Americans believe in God [according to the 2007 study by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life], D’Souza says this about atheists…”Throw a stone in the faculty parking lot of an elite American or European university and you have a good chance of hittting an atheist. But throw a stone anywhere else and you really have to aim.”

Speaking of universities — check out this interesting clip from a student, faculty forum that took place at a University of Michigan with guest presenter Dr. Ravi Zacharias [scholar, author, Christian apologist] addressing not only the issue of atheism but various other topics posed by the audience.

All I need

Last Sunday morning storms knocked out PCC’s power - no lights, no air, no media, no problem. We had services anyway. It was an interesting experience that made me think about how most of what we have are luxuries. It’s true in the church and it’s true in our lives. The event made me remember a video I saw a few weeks ago on a friend’s blog. I wanted to share it.
The band is Radiohead. The song is “All I need.” The message — well it’s self explanatory.

families and fathers

The text I’m studying this week from Galatians 3 has a lot of familial language in it – i.e. it’s loaded with terms like father, sons, children, heirs…etc. This, along with my daughter returning home from college and Father’s day coming Sunday, has me wondering a lot about how I’m doing as a dad?

Needless to say, the Apostle Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:21 keeps rattling around in my brain, “Fathers, vex not your children…” Ok, so that’s not a great translation – what does vex mean anyway? How about this one – “Dads don’t come down too hard on your kids or you’ll crush their spirits.” My guess is all parents understand this language.

Over the years my prayer has always been not just to be a good Dad but to be a godly one. Not a particularly easy task given my own imperfections. However, I’ve been giving it my best shot. Learning, growing, teaching, modeling, praying and demonstrating grace and authenticity seems to be what’s most important. Yeah, I know…it sounds like a recipe – which is something we all look for. Unfortunately, it’s all not as cut and dry as we’d like to pretend. Parenting is messy business.

Being a kid whose Dad left when I was six months old, the whole fathering thing has always been important to me. What I’ve come to realize is that good parenting starts with Dad and Mom having a healthy loving relationship. Health and love has a trickle down effect. So this weekend, celebrate family. Parents love each other well and loving your kids will follow. And kids, honor your parents – they have a tough job.

Oh yeah…musician and recording artist John Mayer writes a song which reflects some meaningful insight about how our kids learn important things from us parents – like how to love others. The song is entitled, Daughters.  It’s a good tune.

 

I know a girl

She puts the color inside of my world
But she’s just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change
And I’ve done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hand
Now I’m starting to see
Maybe it’s got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Oh, you see that skin?
It’s the same she’s been standing in
Since the day she saw him walking away
Now she’s left
Cleaning up the mess he made
So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Boys, you can break
You’ll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without warmth from
A woman’s good, good heart

On behalf of every man
Looking out for every girl
You are the god and the weight of her world

So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

no good samaritans

Did anyone else see this? In Hartford Connecticut last week, a 78 year old man was struck by a hit and run driver and left paralyzed in the street while passing cars and other pedestrians ignored him. No cars stopped. No one helped. Incredible.

The entire incident was captured on police video. Officers suggest the footage shows a city that has lost its moral compass. Police chief Daryl Roberts said, “At the end of the day we’ve got to look at ourselves and understand that our moral values have now changed. We have no regard for each other.”

The self-centeredness of human nature looks the same today as it did 2,000 years ago. This sad story reminded me of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan.

Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” An expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Whether in Hartford, Jerusalem or Jericho, how would you respond to an injured person left lying in the street? How would I?

FYI – the video is not for the faint of heart but if you want proof of this sad story it viewable on youtube.

Spelling is not my 4tay

We had a great meeting on Sunday night - but my lack of spelling ability was exposed for all to see on our two giant up-front screens. I won’t go into detail but - honestly, does anyone else have a spelling deficit? My favorite comedian Brian Reagan clearly understands my plight. From my [and his] early days in school….spelling was/is a challenge.

free pie revisited

Ok so this is only my opinion…but I think the free pie give-a-way went pretty well yesterday.  I really appreciated the good sportsmanship of those who were randomly chosen to participate [blindfolded, chained to piano, backpacked, bowlingball burdened] in front of large crowds of people. Seriously, what better way to illustrate grace than French Silk? Of course coconut cream is my favorite - but I’ve found the coconut to be a very polarizing seed.