The Dangers of Blogging

I have been at this blogging thing for a little while now. I don't work at it every day, but I do take it somewhat seriously. I share personal thoughts and reflections, some silly things and a lot of my heart. That is, I regularly share what I think is crucially important to me, to my family and to the world.

A good deal of that sharing has to do with my faith. It is important to me that my faith is communicated clearly and in a compelling way. I try to talk about faith issues as they relate to music, movies, popular culture and life in general. Faith should not be separate from normal life, but faith should be normal life.

Then it hit me last weekend: Blogging is dangerous. I have identified some serious dangers with blogging, at least in the way I do it.

• My opinions change over time. When I share my opinion, I am giving you what I believe with all my heart. The problem with this is that as I grow- emotionally, mentally, and in faith- my opinions change. I change. In fact, I am not the same person I was 10 years ago. I have grown a lot. And that is exactly the problem. My opinions get posted online and they are out there forever. Know that I am being honest with you, but that my thoughts might be different than they used to be, and they might change in the future. I hope that doesn't make me dishonest.
• There is a great danger of being misunderstood. I am absolutely clear about what I write when I am writing. I know what I mean to say, and I try my best to say it. The problem is that I may not always be able to effectively communicate my thoughts. Furthermore, it could be that you may not have the same context that I do, and therefore are unable to understand what I am saying. All of this can potentially lead to problems.
• Sometimes I may be too emotional in my entries. I try to avoid strong feelings. If I am especially passionate about a subject, I give it a couple of days to settle in my heart and brain. Then I write about it- while it is still important, but not so emotional. Everyone knows the feeling of writing an angry email only to think better of it after it is sent. Blogging makes that a possibility every day. And the possibility is that the whole world will be offended by it.
• There is a loss of privacy. If you read these entries, even the generic ones, you learn things about me. I am less private because this information is available. At any moment of any day someone can find out things about me. I know that I do this by choice, but it is a little disconcerting nonetheless.

I do not plan to stop blogging. I am not even sure that I will change how I do it. But, now I am aware of some dangers. I will be paying attention to my own writing.

More Points to Ponder

Have no fear, almost.

Be bold. Carpe diem. Live the adventure.

Have fun all the time.

Do not worry about what other people

say,

think,

gossip,

or do where you are concerned.

Live to be happy and for no other human.

The bottom line:
Fear God and nothing else!

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It is very clear that the world is in bad shape in a lot of ways. The problem is that all the issues on the planet earth seem overwhelming. What can one person do?

I believe that I cannot do everything that is why I too often get frustrated and quit. I can't do everything. There is too much.

I can't do everything. You can't do everything. But, together we can do something. What would happen if everyone would do one thing?

Are There Christian Movies?

When I was still in high school, my church, Union Chapel in Bryant, Indiana, hosted a series of "Christian" films. It was a great outreach event. On a series of Sunday evenings we watched "A Thief in the Night," "A Distant Thunder," "Image of the Beast" and "The Prodigal Planet." The movies were all about prophecy and the end times. It was an interpretive look at what will happen just before Jesus returns to earth.

I remember the intentions of my church family being noble. I also remember inviting some friends from school. A couple of my friends came at least once. Chris, who never went to church anywhere, came with a large, paper grocery sack filled with popcorn. Not everyone was glad to see his snacks in the sanctuary of our pretty little church.

The problem was that the movies were terrible. The acting stunk. The productions values were poor. The print that was shown in my church was awful. Although our hearts were in the right place and our congregation was doing a good thing, the movies failed to produce a positive result. In fact, I was embarrassed by them and my visiting friends spent a lot of energy making fun of the movies, and maybe even the church people who supported them.

There are a couple of excuses available for producers of Christian films. First of, because the market for Christian films is so small, the budgets of these productions is necessarily small in comparison to the typical movie coming out of Hollywood. Although some may argue (myself included) that the best films are not big-budget Hollywood productions, we are still at a disadvantage.

Since there is not as much money available for Christian films, that means that those who would like to make them are at a disadvantage. They do not have the resources or the experience to make Hollywood-quality films. Someone with deep convictions about making wholesome and uplifting movies may never get the opportunity to learn how to do that very thing.

Some things have changed through the years, however. Recent Christian films seem to be making some headway in the production values department. For example, although they are not up to par with Hollywood standards, the Left Behind movies (http://www.cloudtenpictures.com/) deal with the same subject matter as the earlier mentioned films and have come a long way in terms of quality.

Recently, the center of Christian film making has seemed to center around a church in the south. Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia has made three respectable contributions to the Christian film genre. (http://www.sherwoodpictures.com/) Flywheel(http://revdeweysworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/flywheel.html), Facing the Giants, and Fireproof have each provided an emotional tug and each one is better than the one before.

I will mention two others that I have seen recently. The Visitation is based on a Frank Peretti novel and deals with spiritual warfare and the power of God. Three is from a Ted Dekker book. It is the story of a seminary student being stalked and targeted by a serial killer.

Do not expect to see huge special effects and Tinseltown glitter in any of these films, but know that they are getting better.

Harry Potter and the Christian's Dilemma

It was shocking to me that upon seeing the most recent Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I have not written anything about either the books, or the movies. It is time to fix that little oversight.

First of all, let me go on record as saying that I came late to the world of Hogwarts. I had to be convinced to start reading the books. However, I did, and I have read all seven installments. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was my favorite book. I felt that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the weakest book. I have also seen all of the movies. And naturally, some have been better than others.

JK Rowling as a good writer, but she is not great. Those who have compared the Harry Potter books to Narnia or other classic children's literature are mistaken. Harry Potter will live a long life because his stories are committed to film. Frank Baum wrote a series of books about Oz. We remember his stories because one of them was turned into a movie that we all have seen. JK Rowling and Harry Potter are in this category.

There are many people, usually Christians of a particularly narrow theological persuasion, who are against Harry Potter and everything about him and his Hogwarts world. Witchcraft, wizardry and the like are the works of evil is their belief. Good Christian people should avoid all association with anything however remotely related to witchcraft or the occult. At this point, I would like to point out that in these stories, Harry and his friends, Hermione and Ron, are the very personification of good. And although they often appear fallible and human, they are always struggling for virtue. They are "disciples" of Dumbledore, the benevolent headmaster and gracious teacher. It would not be stretching too far to talk about Dumbledore as a figure of God and Harry as a Christ-figure. I will not do that, however.

Suffice it to say that I do not believe the Harry Potter books or movies are bad, or detrimental for Christians (or anyone for that matter). They are fiction after all. Most Christians would protest if someone tried to take all stories with magic in them away. There would be no more fairy tales. (Cinderella, Snow White and Sleepy Beauty would all be gone.) Additionally, I am just obstinate enough that I want to know for myself what is good or bad for me. I am afraid if I take your word for what I should or should not see or do, I might miss out on something great. Consequently, I tried Harry Potter and I kind of liked him.

The most recent Harry Potter movie has very little in the way of action or violence. There are stories of teens growing up. There is good vs. evil (again). There are sad things and there are great victories. But the movie was good. The only shortcomings I came away with are:

• Even more than the book of the same name, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was nothing more than a lengthy set up for the final installment of the series. Stories are left unfinished. I would like more closure.
• I am a little upset that the last book will be turned into two films. Of course the books do get longer as you continue through the series. However, this seems to be nothing more than a money making scheme. I one movie can make you rich, two can make you filthy rich.
• The much ballyhooed opening sequence seemed to be tacked on with little relevance to the story or the rest of the film. The effects were good, but it was hard to make the connection.

I will, under protest, see the last two films. And I suppose that I believe the total cycle makes for good story-telling. In it we learn a lot about good and evil, growing up, and making good decisions. And that's not bad.

Road Trip/ Car Games #2

I did an entry last week about games that you can play in the car on a long road trip. There was one comment on that entry that you might want to check out, but some of today's games come from that comment. I hope you enjoy.


Again, all of the following are games that can easily be played in the car with very little equipment required. A notepad and pencil to make lists or keep score should be enough. Have fun!!

• License Plate Game #1. This game is much like the Billboard Alphabet game, except this time you are looking for numbers on license plates. Find a license plate where the first digit is "1". Then locate a "2", and so on. You must find the numbers in order. It gets tricky when you get to double digits, but that is also when it gets more fun. Set a time limit or a decide to conclude the game when you arrive at your destination. The person with the highest number wins.


• Headlight Game. This is a game that is best played at night. Set a time limit on the game and begin looking for cars with a light that does not work. Give yourself 5 points if you spot a missing headlight, 3 points for a missing fog light and 2 points for a tail light that does not work. The person with the most points wins. One extra rule: Once a car is claimed by one player, another player cannot use it. Likewise, you can only get points once for each car. For example, if the car has a burned out headlight and fog light, take the 5 points for the headlight, but you cannot count the fog light.


• I Spy. This is an all-time classic. One person begins the game with, "I spy with my little eye something that is..." and finished the line with a clue. The other players then try to guess what the first player sees.

Some Thoughts- You Decide if They are Worth Thinking...

If you can be happy with nothing...

If you can be satisfied with no one...

If you can find contentment nowhere,

You can experience joy with

Anything,

Anyone and

Any place.





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No matter what you do

(Even if you don't want to)

You should work hard to make sure

That you have some fun doing it.

And...

If it can't be fun,

And you don't have to do it,

Don't bother.

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Some people have more faith in their desperation than in God's ability to overcome their desperation.

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Dream big
Dream a little dream
Dream on
I like dreaming
When I grow too old to dream
All I have to do is dream.

Everybody dreams. And everyone should dream. But how big should your dreams be? Ask two questions to answer that:

1. How big is your God?
2. How much time will you give to your dream?

Pray it Forward

I don't often do this, but I just received an email from Bishop Mike Coyner. Bishop Mike is the leader of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church. He sends periodic "e-pistles" to churches, pastors and laity in Indiana. This one came today as I was thinking about what to write in this "Weekly Prayer Thought." I think that you will enjoy this, and it is certainly appropriate.

“Pray It Forward” – August 3, 2009

Several years ago there was a wonderful movie called “Pay It Forward” in which a young school boy conducts a class experiment to change the world by teaching people to “pay it forward” – to do acts of kindness and good deeds to others without asking for repayment, but rather by asking them to also pay it forward to someone else. It is a lovely idea, and most of us can tell wonderful examples of people whose acts of kindness have been given freely to others, thus inspiring a whole series of such acts.

I have been thinking how that same principle can apply to our prayers, and I have even noticed that the Lord’s Prayer makes that explicit. Allow me to explain.

Often our prayers are focused upon the past or the present. We pray for forgiveness of the past, and we pray for our immediate needs. Such prayers are always appropriate, and in fact the Lord’s Prayer of Jesus teaches us to pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” and “give us this day our daily bread.”

While praying for the past and the present are appropriate – and in fact Jesus teaches us to pray for both – it seems to me that we often neglect the other aspect of the prayer of Jesus: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This kind of praying for the future can sound distant and remote, or perhaps naïve and overly-optimistic. But what if Jesus is really asking us to “pray it forward”?

Jesus may be asking us to pray for the future, but also to help make that future a reality. Such “praying it forward” might lead us to actualize the very future for which we are praying. Do you want a future with peace? Then pray for peace but start making it a reality now by living in peace with the people in your lives. Do you want a future of righteousness? Then pray for righteousness, but start making that a reality now by living your own life of righteousness obedience to God’s truth. Do you want a future in which hunger and disease are eliminated? Then pray for that new reality, but start working right now by living a healthy life and providing for the good health of others. Do you desire a future in which all people know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Then pray for that future, but start living your own life right now as a witness to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

When I first entered ministry, we United Methodists celebrated this part of the Christian year as the season of Kingdomtide. That always seem a bit audacious to me, as if we could somehow build the Kingdom of God on our own – and indeed it often seemed as if the days of the “Social Gospel” and the activism of the 1960’s fell into that misguided effort. It was easy for us to become do-gooders who tried to change the world by our own efforts and our own agenda, rather than being faithful disciples of Jesus who relied upon the guidance and power of God.

However the deeper meaning of Kingdomtide might be “praying it forward.” We are called to make the reign of God a reality in our lives by praying for God’s powerful transformation and by living within that transformation already. Our own faithfulness helps to make the reign of God a present reality, even as we pray and anticipate a future fulfillment. Isn’t that why some people’s own lives seem “holy” or “saintly” – because we sense that they are already living within the reality and power of the reign of God? I have known many such people, and I am always amazed to stand in their presence and to sense that they are already a part of God’s future Kingdom. Always such persons are persons of prayer, but they go beyond prayer to do what I am calling “praying it forward.”

And so I am called to pray it forward, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” And I am called to live in that reality.

Prayer: Lord God, remind us to always pray. And as we pray, help us to pray for your Kingdom to come. May your Kingdom come into our lives, now and always. Amen.