The Best Christian Film of 2014 is....

Comment sections are the best. Honestly, sometimes the comments on a website or news story are better than the original content itself. I was browsing on a movie website recently, and I saw a reader mention how he thought Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a better Christian film than Heaven is for Real, which was released around the same time. Being an avid Marvel fan myself, this set the wheels turning in my head.

I'm an advocate of looking for spiritual truth in unusual places. Too often, Christians view the world through lenses that parse everything into neat "Christian" and "Secular" categories. Movie studios and record labels leverage this in their financial favor by making films that fit into the highly marketable Christian niche. This year, we've seen a high number of faith-based films released in particular, but I believe we can mine out so much value from everything we view and hear.

The fact is, a movie can't be Christian -- only people can claim beliefs. Many so-called secular films contain elements of spiritual truth, if only you have the eyes to see them. With all that being said, I believe that Captain America: The Winter Soldier displays outstanding representations of the Christian faith through its main protagonist, the star-spangled warrior himself. Sounds crazy, I know, but hear me out. Here's three reasons why ol' Cap can teach us a lot about the faith.

1) Steve Rodgers (Cap) embodies Christ-like virtues.

Without a doubt, the hero of this film is a noble man. He fights for the innocent, never abuses his physical superiority and maintains a humble attitude despite his accomplishments. I don't have a man-crush on Steve Rodgers, I promise, but if you really examine the character, you will see much of what any Christian man wants to be. He was brave before he was strong. He's selfless enough to sacrifice himself for others. He believes that good can triumph over evil. Curiously enough, his weapon itself speaks volumes. Strategically speaking, why carry a shield? Why not a gun or sword or something else? Because he is a defender of the weak and innocent, not an aggressor.

2) He sees morality in absolute terms.

Rodgers was frozen in the 40's and thawed out in modern times. He awakes to find a cynical and jaded world, far from the moral clarity he knew from his past life. He is surrounded by people that see life in shades of grey, although he views justice in terms of black and white. Wrong is wrong, it is not relative to the situation at hand.  We see this juxtaposition clearly as he hangs alongside Black Widow (played by Scarlet Johannson), who seems to view her work in amoral, relative terms. Absolute truth has fallen out of style in our society, but Cap embraces it regardless.

3) He embraces the saving power of grace.

Okay, if you haven't seen the film, you might want to stop here. SPOILER ALERT, big time. In CA:TWS, we find our protagonists pursued by a deadly assassin called The Winter Soldier. We soon discover that this is Rodgers' old friend Bucky, who was captured, brainwashed, and experimented on to turn him into a rabid killing machine. When faced with the task of fighting his old friend, Cap questions his ability to kill Bucky. In the final battle of this film, Rodgers actually allows his old friend to defeat him, refusing to destroy Bucky for his own self-preservation. This display of grace actually breaks the fever of Bucky's brainwashing, and he saves Cap's life in return before wandering off to re-discover his identity. Cap defeats evil through grace, not violence.

CA:TWS is scheduled for release on DVD as of September 8th. Watch it, and more importantly, open your eyes to the lasting values you can find. Search for a revelation of Christ and you will discover it. Heroes come and go, but this film in particular shows us a character worth emulating in such a simple and universally palatable way.

Defying Your Biology

Awhile back, the relentless Matt Walsh wrote a blog post in response to a reader who emailed him, insisting that marriage was primitive, outdated, and unnatural. Matt proceeded to outline that, yes, monogamy is against a man's nature, and that is part of its beauty. This struck a chord with me, because our culture has recently found solace in what's natural, while losing all bearings of sound logic in the process.

If I had to explain the themes of Christianity (and countless other faiths, for that matter), one of the key components would be this: defying your biology. So often, we hear opponents of the faith proclaim that something shouldn't be considered immoral because, after all, it's natural. I was born this way, as Lady Gaga would say. Well here's a tip -- if you're looking at the female version of Marilyn Manson as your moral compass, you are in deep trouble.

Now that's what I call a poker face.

Whether something appeals to our flesh has no bearing on whether it is morally acceptable. Men are naturally aggressive, but that does not make reckless violence palatable. Many people desire promiscuity naturally, but this primal urge does not justify indulgence. If anything, your flesh should be considered one of the least trustworthy sources of divine and ethical truth. Defying your biology is a crucial part of rising above the beasts that roam the untamed wild.  It is what separates us from the rest of the natural world.

If you want to be natural, embrace your animal nature. Deny yourself nothing, do as you please, and live as a mindless and clueless beast. As humans, we are at a strange crossroads between the divine and the earthly. We are somewhere between angels and animals (Thanks, Oh Sleeper.) This is the tug we feel, and this is the source of our great moral battle within. We face a war between our biology and a higher calling, a desire for enlightened thinking and living.

So yes, I agree with Matt Walsh. Monogamy may be against the nature of man, but the nature of a man's instinctual desires is nothing worth honoring. We must rise above our own genetic make up. We must defy our biology.

Worship music isn't a big deal.

I can already hear the lighting of torches and the rustling of pitchforks as the Jesus Culture crowd prepares to hunt me down. Just hold on a second and hear me out. I don't think worship music is that big of a deal...

...and I'm a worship leader.

When you look into the worship guides and bulletins of many churches, what do they call that awkward time of singalong music that many people feel uncomfortable about? Worship. To the church at large, that's worship. Donald Miller recently posted a blog entry where he mentions that he "doesn't connect with God by singing. Not at all."  At first, the worship leader in me recoiled in horror. How dare he rebel against the institution of sacred music! Then, the idea he was putting forth slowly started to make sense.

I'm re-examining my long-held assumptions about what worship is and isn't. Honestly, I think the church presumes too much about worship music and neglects the greater concept of worship at large. I'm a believer in whole-life worship -- worship is a heart posture, not a segment of time where we do creative things. It involves both action and intentions. That whole creativity angle works for me, because I'm a creative individual, but I can tell as I peer into the squirming masses during worship that many people just don't get it. I see it in their faces.

Worship music is a cultural and economic force to be reckoned with. There's ministries designed around it, every church defaults to it on Sunday morning, and it causes a lot of money to change hands. It's an institution of its own, and I think we ought to re-examine it in detail.

Now, just because you don't prefer expressive, creative worship doesn't mean you shouldn't stretch yourself to try it and grow in it. I have to stretch myself too, for the benefit of corporate worship. I mostly can't stand the style of worship music. What is that, anyway? I would describe it as arena rock with U-2's guitarist in a v-neck and lots of melodrama. No thanks. So, by all means, don't think that this argument is a reason for you to suddenly disengage even further from creativity.  Everyone can benefit from creativity in some respect.

I wonder what it would be like if churches didn't presume that the music and teaching format was divine. What if we did other things on Sunday mornings instead? Like I said, I'm basically dismantling all of my assumptions about worship music, because I realize I've only held onto them because of my preferences. I prefer creative worship, so I do it. That doesn't give me the latitude to force it on everyone at the exclusion of other worshipful acts.

I'm going to keep exploring this, so bear with me as I unravel these ideas. And, for the love of Thor, don't tell Chris Tomlin I wrote this.

(If you enjoyed this post, check out my other blog here!)

Finding Christ Through The Hunger Games

    In case you didn't know, Hannah and I love movies. Seriously. The artistry that's poured into television and film is truly amazing to me.  It seems like these visual mediums are the artistic form of choice for our generation.  It speaks to us. Film is the native language of our culture, creatively speaking.  When I watch movies or television shows, I like to try and identify Christian concepts embedded within the so-called secular world.  The Hunger Games series is certainly filled with subtle tenets of our faith, and I want to show you all a little bit of what I see when I watch these movies.

   A few days ago, we bought The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on DVD, and despite the fact that we already saw it multiple times in theaters, the film moved us emotionally once again. After finishing the book series and watching it on DVD, I've realized that the same elements that move me in the story of Katniss are the most powerful elements of the gospel story.  In fact, I think that most powerful films have a representation of grace and redemption in them that reminds us of Jesus, because these concepts are some of the most universally touching experiences we can imagine.

   In The Hunger Games, we find that there are so many characters willing to die for the benefit of others.  They seem almost ready to die.  This is Christlike love, and it has a cost. We learn through this film that love is not simply the forlorn glances of affection and desired exchanged between young people. It requires sacrifice. If that doesn't have Jesus written all over it, I don't know what does.

    (Spoiler alert!) One of the primary conflicts in Catching Fire is actually centered around which combatant will die to let the other one survive.  Early in the film, Peeta insists that Katniss must prevail, and Katniss makes a deal with Haymitch to protect Peeta.  Then, Peeta wears a locket around his neck in the arena that reminds him to protect Katniss at all costs.  They're literally fighting to die for one another. That's love.

    Though the citizens of Panem appear to live in an amoral, religion-free society, they demonstrate the gospel story of love through their actions. We can observe a lot about the reality of John 15:13 through this movie. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." It's beautiful, moving, tragic, and a little scary, but most of all.... it's true.

    I guess my point is this:  if you're looking for redemption, you will find it.  Grace and love are the most moving plot points that any creative person can weave into their own creations. You can find Christ in the most unlikely places, if you decide to look for Him. The gospel is everywhere you look, and I encourage you discover it and celebrate it wherever you possibly can. 

Barbie and the Culture of Aversion

Barbie. She's the icon of body image issues and the primary destroyer of self-esteem worldwide. Since 1959, Barbie has been spreading her agenda of unreasonable bodily proportions like a contagion to every innocent child that dares to own one. She's the problem, right?

Well, not exactly. Let me preface this article by saying that Hannah and I are still learning and growing with every passing year. We are constantly re-evaluating our own positions on cultural issues because we want to take nothing for granted. We feel like becoming entrenched in your own dogmatic opinions is bad for logical, sound, and healthy thinking. We used to be the kind of parents who poured out all of our parental angst on Barbie, neglecting to see the bigger picture of what's going on in society. We've had a change of heart, and here's why.

The war on Barbie is a bit of a strawman argument. That is, many parents channel their fury about cultural self-image problems through this little plastic figurine, neglecting everything else in TV, magazines, and even within their own family. Barbie is a scapegoat, an easy target for all of the ailments in our society regarding how women look. If we focus our efforts on advancing healthy body image into destroying the sales of one little doll, we're missing the forest for the trees.

Christians, in general, seem to enjoy hating stuff. You know this, because we see it everyday. We like to funnel our concerns into pet causes and campaigns instead of looking at the larger scope of the problem. Instead of hating the spirit of materialism, we refuse to participate in Christmas. Instead of discouraging irresponsible behavior, we rail against Halloween. We would rather superficially hate a cultural norm than take the time and effort to uproot the true problem beneath it. That's the Christian culture of aversion. That's lazy.

Instead of looking at the world as a minefield of things to avoid, perhaps we can use sound thinking and dialogue to embrace every moment as a teaching opportunity for our children.  If Hannah and I don't like the way a Barbie is dressed, we explain to Eisley that modesty is important and a more appropriate article of clothing would be a wiser choice. We approach the topic with a scalpel, not a hatchet. We want to use our best efforts to instruct our children on how to use discernment when dealing with cultural topics, because they're going to spend their lives facing issues in our society that require Godly wisdom.

We also want to teach our girls to think critically instead of approaching society with a sense of fear. By using a blanket argument to ban all Barbies, or anything else we don't like, we would lose out on many vital conversations with our children.  Talk to your children -- you can influence them in a much greater way than by merely avoiding certain toys.

Women's body image problems are a systemic issue in our society, and it starts in your own living room. The conversations that a wife has with her husband about her body (e.g. "I feel so fat!") having a much more profound impact than the curves of a Barbie. If we outsource our parental responsibilities into a diluted checklist that includes "Don't buy Barbies", we are doing a grave injustice to our own role as the formative force of our children's lives. I can do much more to shape my children than to simply avoid buying so-called evil toys.

I know what you're thinking. "Barbies have such unreasonable body types!" Well, the last time I looked through my four-year-old daughter's pile of toys, I didn't see a single anatomically correct design in them. Disney princesses have exaggerated eyes, Lalaloopsy dolls are sewn together and magically brought to life, and Veggie Tales characters are talking vegetables. That's witchcraft. But seriously, if our concern is scientific accuracy, let's be faithful to that concern. The real problem is how Barbie is different than other women, but I'd rather not sexualize my little girl's toy choices for her.  She has a lifetime of navigating through these issues ahead of her... I want to spare her for now.

When she holds a Barbie, she sees a plastic figurine that she can accessorize, dress up, and make believe with.  Children can discern the difference between make believe and reality, so Hannah and I choose to pour our efforts into a deeper and more substantial dialogue about body image issues. Our efforts don't revolve around Barbie, and that's why we're okay with them in our home.

Let's Make Disciples...

Sometimes it seems as if Christians overlook one of the greatest commandments Jesus ever gave. Lets look at Matthew 28:16-20, shall we?

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him - but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told His disciples, "I have been given all authority in Heaven and on Earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Pretty powerful command, right? Jesus has given each of us a lifelong mission. A purpose. A calling. Now in order to fully understand this command, the "Great Commission", we need to determine what exactly a "disciple" is. Especially if we intend on going out into the world to "make them", as Jesus commands.

Here are a few different definitions I came across. Disciple:
• Someone who accepts and helps spread the teachings of a famous person.
• One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.

Old English, from Latin discipulus 'learner', from discere 'learn'; reinforced by Old French decibel.

None of those definitions or origins were shocking. However, John Starke's article Give Up Your Weak Definition of "Disciple" was thought provoking. (Read the article here.) *John Starke is an editor for The Gospel Coalition and lead pastor of All Souls Church in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.*


Starke's article explains what a disciple is called to be, according to God's word, better than I ever could. But I will attempt to share my thoughts in a cohesive manner.

In our modern-day church, being a "Christian" doesn't mean much. At least not nearly as much as it meant to be a Christ-follower in Bible times. Nowadays, being a "Christian" (especially in the "Bible Belt") simply means believing in God and attending a church service whenever it is convenient. The average Christian is nothing like the disciples (aka: Christ-followers) that we read about in the Bible. Myself included. 

We read our Bibles rarely, we pray only when we are desperate for a wish to be granted by our genie.. I mean God, and we "go and make disciples".. never. How did we get here? How did we get so far from what God intended us to be? There are a lot of Christians, and even Pastors, out there that want to convince you (and ultimately themselves) that the way we are living is just fine. But I can't reconcile that notion with the information I find in the Bible.

What I find in the Bible is a call to excellence. Not mediocrity. I find Jesus boldly telling his disciples what to do and not do. How to live and not live. I see Jesus setting the ultimate example and demanding His disciples do the same. I find commandments like the Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations". But what are we doing? Are we living according to the example that Jesus and His disciples set? Are we living according to the commandments that Jesus gave? I can answer that question honestly for myself and say.. No, I'm not. What about you?

My flesh wants to be comfortable. My flesh wants to be selfish. My flesh wants everything that Jesus taught against. And instead of fighting like hell to resist... so often I find myself succumbing to the world's standard. I find myself getting lazy and failing to fight for righteousness. I've spent far too many years chasing worldly desires and failing to fulfill my calling: to be a disciple and to make disciples.

So here is the challenge for me and you. Let's take a deeper look into God's word for our identity, our standards, and our callings. I want to look back a year from now and see a major shift in my life and in the lives of the people closest to me. Let's get uncomfortable. Look at your life today and find the things that are in contrast with God's word. Because I'm sure by the world's standards (and even by most church's standards) your life is just fine. I'm tired of my life being fine. Jesus demands righteousness. He demands so much more than any of us are willing to be.  I want each of us to seek holiness and righteousness like never before. Because, whether we like it or not, time is running out. 

To my daughters' future in-laws...

Today, I feel the need to pray for the parents of my daughters' future in-laws. As the mother of two daughters, I often contemplate what my future son-in-laws will be like. But today is the first time I have considered what my daughters' in-laws will be like.

They exist... right now. There are people in this world right now that do have, or will one day have, sons that will eventually marry my daughters. Ahh! That is terrifying to think about. 

I need to pray for these people! I need to pray that they will have the discipline, courage, and strength to raise righteous men of God. Men that will love my daughters. Men that will love Jesus MORE than they love my daughters. Men that will sacrifice and serve my daughters selflessly, like Christ does for His Church. Men that will lead my daughters into a deeper, more intimate walk with the Lord.

So to my daughters' future in-laws: I ask that you teach your sons to love the Lord. Teach them to fear God and to chase after Him relentlessly. Teach them to seek God's face. Teach them to desire God's will and God's voice above everything else!

Dads - Teach your sons to be humble and gentle. Teach them to be passionate about worship. Teach them that it IS ok to show emotion. Teach your sons that being pure is "being a man".  Teach your sons how to love Jesus MORE than sports, careers, and money. Be an example of how the Holy Spirit is to live inside of him and guide him. Teach them how to one day lead their wives (my daughters) into a life of serving the Lord whole-heartedly.

Moms - Show your sons what a REAL woman of God looks like. Show him what a Proverbs 31 woman is really like. Respect your husband so that your sons will expect this from their wives (my daughters) one day. Invest in your sons and teach them how to have a godly relationship with a woman. Help him become a man so that he can support a family of his own one day. Show him what a woman looks like that cares more about the condition of her heart than she does about the name on the label of her clothing.

I promise to pray for you and your sons. Will you pray for me and my daughters?