Hollywood's Take On Faith

Two recent Hollywood films touch on the role of faith in everyday life.

Regrettably, the story lines in both movies miss the point when it comes to authentic biblical Christianity.

In "Henry Poole Is Here" Luke Wilson stars as a handsome young man who has a terminal illness. He buys a modest home in his old neighborhood in Los Angeles and prepares to live out his final days in isolation and binge drinking. He soon discovers that some of his neighbors think that they see the face of Jesus on an outside wall of his house. Crowds start gathering in his backyard to view the spectacle and before long rumors of miracles happening to some of those touching the intriguing impression begin to spread.

Mr. Poole, the homeowner, remains incredulous. Bothered, too, by the invasion of his privacy. Because of his sickness and his memories of an unhappy childhood, he's a little cynical, anyway. As events unfold, his perspective changes, however, and the motion picture ends on an upbeat note.

It's a positive, refreshing, feel-good-kind-of-movie. I suppose we should be glad for a wholesome, clean, life-affirming film like this.

But the message portrayed here about faith is anything but accurate and is actually quite deceptive.

This is another in a long line of literary and celluloid works coming out of a breezy, amorphous, New Age culture that seeks to loose spirituality from scriptural moorings. The idea seems to be that it's important to just believe in something, regardless of the content of that allegiance. The view is that if you possess some generic faith and are passionate about it that's all that matters since there are no absolutes anyway and truth is relative to each person's understanding and every individual is free to create his own reality. Trouble with that is that once you jettison biblical teaching and reject the distinctive, concrete person and work of Jesus Christ through whom you can know personally the God who created you in his image, you start floundering. You remain in a spiritual void with a God-shaped vacuum in your soul that cries out for fulfilment and presses for satisfaction. Some people will try anything and believe anything just to calm that empty feeling.

Colossians 2 in the New Testament would be a good place to read about all of this. It stresses that having a life-altering relationship with Christ as revealed in scripture is sufficient for our greatest inner needs. It implies that individuals who somehow find it impossible to just accept the simple revelation of God's marvelous plan for salvation often will embrace mysticism or attempted conversations with angels or cultish teachings or fascination with statues and images and strange shapes in the clouds or excessive ascetic practices. It's the literal Jesus of the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb that can transform us, not some shadowy, mysterious apparition.

The other summertime film with religious themes is "Brideshead Revisited" which stars Emma Thompson. Based on the 1945 novel by Evelyn Waugh it is set in England in the years between the two world wars and tells the story of a young, middle class, aspiring artist, Charles Ryder, who becomes friends with an upper class fellow student, Sebastian, at Oxford, and ultimately gets inextricably bound up in the wealth and dysfunction of his family at their lavish country estate. There the matriarch, Lady Marchmain, lives out her faith in a heavy-handed way that creates pain and division--her husband is driven to an affair and moves to Venice, and her 4 adult children take divergent paths in their relating to her and to God.

This cinematic piece graphically illustrates the differing approaches that people take with God.

Some in the story try to relate to God in a legalistic way--keeping all the rules and observing all the rituals and forms and ceremonies of religion, hoping to appease and please and earn God's favor. This path inevitably produces coldness and harshness. It looks with scorn on those who don't measure up. There's no joy or peace. It's all working and striving. The Bible is quite clear in texts like Titus 3:4-7 and Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 3 that trying to merit our position with God is a dead-end. God dispenses grace. He can do so because of the death of his sinless Son on our behalf. Instead of lifeless religion, it's possible to have a relationship with the living God by trust in Christ's completed work.

Others in this movie seem to feel that Christians can live any way they want to just as long as they check in with God occasionally and confess and repent. In other words, it's okay to live with reckless abandon if you just throw in some penitent prayers every now and then. Again, seriously flawed thinking. Christ-followers are called to a whole new way of conduct in speech and habits and behavior. They are to honor God and model a transformed mode of existence by their lifestyle. Check Romans 12:1-2 on that, or Colossians 3:1-10. To claim to be a Christian and yet live a self-centered, "I'll do as I please" kind of life is fooling oneself. It indicates that one doesn't understand God's holiness or mercy and probably never really established a connection with him. No Christian is perfect but he is to be different.

Of course Charles Ryder himself suggests one other response to God--that of leaving him out completely. Of trying to live independently of him as if he wasn't even there. Of seeking to build one's own life by pushing the Creator aside as if to say, "Mind your own business. I want to do things my way." Psalm 14 discusses the sheer folly of that. It was encouraging at film's end to see some small evidence that Mr. Ryder had yielded on this critical issue of the soul.

This movie certainly reminds us that sometimes religion can be unhealthy. Not everything done in the name of Christ resembles his teachings or his ways. Churches can occasionally hurt people instead of helping people, as when they inordinately emphasize numbers or hammer persons who make mistakes or seek to control the lives of individuals. Hypocrisy or arrogance or pride in Bible knowledge or runaway emotionalism can harm people rather than pointing them to a grace-based walk with God. Christian parents especially have a responsibility to demonstrate before their children that following Christ is a delight, not a drudge or a duty. Religion should not make us sick but healthy and whole and progressively restored to God's wonderful original design for our lives.

These Hollywood offerings speak to us of great matters of the spirit. We need to listen.

There's Gonna Be A Meetin'

I'm already getting excited about the PBA Annual Meeting for this year.

It's set for October 20-21 at First Baptist, Newport News.

It'll be a 2-day gathering this time around because there's so much to be accomplished. We'll mix inspiration with information, devotional periods with significant decisionmaking, and hopefully you'll leave refreshed and renewed and ready to go back to your church motivated to work even harder in Kingdom business.

It looks like we've got a terrific thematic speaker coming. There should be a good amount of great music and abundant opportunity for worshipping the Lord. Encouraging reports from our various teams and work groups will be presented that will remind us all again that we are an association on mission.

Expect some crucial recommendations to be offered. We've been in an interim, transition stage this year and a lot of our folks have done some hard work in studying and coming up with options for some of the critical issues we face as a united collection of churches. The Admin Team and the Eastover Retreat Board and the Mission Center group have all labored intensely over many months to come up with ideas of solutions for some of our most pressing concerns so that we can soon move forward with new zest and zeal. Eddie Heath, Billy Hutchinson, Mark Reon, Dick Bailey, and Bill Cashman have been among those providing extraordinarily wise counsel and extremely helpful stability alongside these committees and our staff this year. Prepare to hear and act on some positive, future-oriented concepts on such things as the ultimate location for our PBA office and what path to take in our relationship to the Seaman's ministry and how best to position and utilize our staff in line with our stated mission statement and a possible track for our Eastover ministry. Get your full count of messengers to attend these sessions so that our understanding of these exciting proposals might be complete and so that we might progress in unity. Your interim leadership team was tasked with the responsibility of assisting in the formation of a dynamic, creative vision for the changing, challenging years ahead and we've earnestly tried to fulfil that assignment. We're not done yet, but hope by the Annual Meeting to have at least tentative recommendations for you to consider.

A word about Eastover: this may end up being one of our very best years over there. We could significantly enhance our effectiveness in that ministry, though, if we could quickly complete work on the new Activity Building. That facility would actually become the gateway and perhaps even the heart of the camp. We really need lots of volunteer labor to accomplish this task. We need people to do flooring work and painting and installation of restroom fixtures and siding and lighting and cabinets and shelves and some to help with landscaping. Aren't there some folks in your congregation who could step forward, give a little time and sweat, and knock out some of these jobs? Call George Arthur(294-3636) and set up a time for your work team to drive over and help.

Relevance

Jesus certainly knew how to be relevant in His presentation of the Gospel message.

Luke 13:1-5 is a perfect illustration of how our Lord effectively communicated the truth and connected with His listeners. We could learn a thing or two from His approach.

In that passage we discover that He has been teaching a little about His eventual second coming. In verse 1 He responds to a question about a recent happening in Jerusalem--Pilate's brutal killing of some Galilean Jewish worshippers. The popular thinking of the day would lead one to assume that those murdered surely must have been wicked sinners to suffer such a cruel fate. Jesus reacts to that false theology by asserting that the tragedy should not be viewed that way at all. Calamities and catastrophes and illnesses can come to anybody because we live in a fallen world. Indeed, all are sinners and deserve God's wrath and judgement and must repent to avoid dire consequences. The bad stuff that happens all around us and can strike at any time actually serves as a warning that evil will ultimately defeat and destroy us unless we turn to God.

But notice how Jesus takes an inquiry from His audience and uses it as a springboard to convey crucial spiritual insight. His mind was keen and sharp. He was aware of the nagging, critical issues swirling about and was ready in a moment to use them to offer helpful, transformative observations. He was able to not just spout off long doctrinal lectures but to speak persuasively about real events going on in the world around Him and how to view them with a divine perspective. I Peter 3:15 comes to mind here. We need to always be prepared to speak a word about our hopeful faith and how it can make a difference in everyday life. Friends and neighbors will occasionally question us about what the Bible says about some cultural trend or fad. They'll want to know what we believe about some philosophy or a particular recent world crisis. Like our Lord, we must be mentally and spiritually equipped to provide honest, gracious answers and show them how God's workings intersect with the affairs of day-to day living. It's almost like Jesus is doing a press conference here! He's really good on His feet. Focused, thoughtful, incisive.This is a way to take the old, old message of scripure and make it relevant to a contemporary generation.

But our Lord does another creative, mind-opening thing in verse 4. He brings up a current news event Himself.

It's only mentioned here in the New Testament. Had there been a Jerusalem Post in those days it definitely would have reported, in some recent edition, about the construction tragedy involving a collapsed tower in Siloam where 18 workers were killed.There were no newspapers, however. There was no CNN or MSNBC. News still got around, though, and Jesus seized upon this devastating happening to further amplify and highlight His teaching about human suffering, God's will, and the ongoing necessity for repentance. Remember how in school we'd have to cut news items out of the paper and bring them to class to discuss? Well, Jesus was aware of the events taking place in society around Him and used them as tools to get across significant principles. Part of our preparation to be fit, crisp, relevant communicators of the Word will be learning how to see and interpret what's taking place around us in politics and sports and entertainment and science and the arts. That may mean watching the nightly news alongside of studying Romans. That could mean subscribing to Newsweek as well as reading Luke or Galatians. Maybe taking in a movie or a college basketball game every now and then would add to our communicating skills in sharing an evangelistic witness. Being alert to what's going on in our world gives us a wide array of illustrations and pictures for presenting truth. The brand new Hollywood film, Wall-E, offers a terrific launching pad for discussing the perils of empty consumerism and neglectful environmental stewardship and the beauty of relationships, for example.

Never forget, however, that although Jesus was relevant in His presentation of the message He did not compromise in the content of it. In verses 3 and 5 He stresses repentance and talks about perishing. Some of our modern preachers are so concerned about being cutting edge and smooth and popular and successful that they don't talk about sin or the Cross or the blood of Jesus or Hell anymore. That's dangerous. God called us to speak His Word, not be Oprahs.

We'd do well to learn from the master communicator(the Master himself) how best to be relevant!

Tim Russert

I've been grieving a little bit this week.

I'm gonna miss Tim Russert.

I was stunned last Friday by the news that this political commentator and "Meet The Press" host had died suddenly at his work. I sat in front of my TV for a few hours, wiping some tears, as his colleagues at MSNBC paid tribute to this fallen giant of broadcast journalism.

Because his weekly show came on during Sunday morning church time I wasn't able to watch, on a regular basis, his keen interviewing of fascinating individuals in public life. But at other occasions during the weekdays when he'd be asked to provide some analysis and interpretation of unfolding events in politics, I'd perk up and pay careful attention when he was on camera. He knew his stuff. He did his homework. His remarks were always crisp and fresh and usually right on the mark. He was so interesting to listen to and seemed so passionate about what he was discussing at the moment.

It's hard to believe that he is gone and that his voice is stilled and that his sharp, creative mind will no longer inform and stretch ours with his well-crafted incisive insights. He seemed to be too young to be snatched away like that. He pulsated with energy and with enthusiasm for what he did. I agree with columnist and commentator Peggy Noonan who borrowed a line from a novel and said that Tim died "in his joy". At the top of his game. Immersed in something he loved. Busy and active right up until the moment that the unexpected divine summons came.

And he had other great loves, too. He cherished his family. He wrote so movingly about his close, warm relationship with his dad. He cared so much for his wife and son. He drew tremendous strength from his Christian faith. So many are telling of the encouragement that he gave to others. He will truly be missed.

Each of us will have a date with death. We don't get to pick the year, or the day, or the place, or the circumstances.

When the time for our appointment arrives, will we be found at our post? Will we be enjoying the life that God has given us or be whining and complaining? Are we blazing a trail for those coming after us? What will people say about us when we're gone? How many will show up for our funeral? How will we be remembered? Will others say that their lives are richer and better because we passed their way? Will others genuinely be sad when we breathe our last?

Something to think about. Thanks, Tim, for stimulating our thought processes all these years about candidates and elections and blue states and red states and exit polls and all that. But thanks, too, for getting our minds awakened and stirred now, at your departure, about the most important issues of life.

And thanks for being such a great human being.

Mission Readiness

We have our assignment. We know what we're supposed to do.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus gave us our mission. Just before His ascension, He charged us to be witnesses for Him in the power of the Holy Spirit until His return. The mandate is quite clear. The command given on that hilltop has not changed in all these intervening centuries even though the gospel message has penetrated throughout the world. There should be no confusion about what the basic activity and responsibility of the Church must be in these days. On the surface, the text, which is a good outline of the whole book of Acts, appears to suggest that there was to be a gradual, progressive outworking of the message of good news from where the disciples were in Jerusalem ultimately to the far reaches of the globe.

Devotionally, there is more than one approach or application in trying to understand the geographical venues in this challenging verse.

Obviously the point is made that when it comes to evangelism, you begin where you find yourself. We have a lot of Baptists signing up for overseas mission trips who never share their faith in their own neighborhoods. That reminds me of that thought-provoking statement, "how can we expect God to use us as lighthouses somewhere else if we're not willing to be used as candles where we are?" Congregations should pay a lot of attention to the local communities right around their doors and prioritize and plan to have an impact on them.

Some have looked at this text's soulwinning destinations metaphorically. In that case, Jerusalem would represent the cities, the great urban areas or perhaps instead, evangelism among those already entrenched in religion or maybe talking up Christ among people in our own families. Judea would illustrate the hard, rocky, barren places--witnessing to the bitter, the argumentative, the resistant. Samaria could well picture testifying of Jesus to people of other races and ethnic groups. Then "to the end of the earth" would speak of not giving up and not getting apathetic but always pressing on and looking for fresh, creative methods of outreach.

Certainly you can view these place names as suggestive of concentric circles that lay out an unfolding track for our evangelistic efforts. You sow the seed in your hometown, your state or region, on the national level, and then around the world. It's interesting that in denominational life we're structured missionally that way with our local associations, state conventions, and the large umbrella SBC. Churches relate voluntarily but do so to cooperate in the massive enterprise to which God has called us. We can accomplish more together. Nate Adams develops all of this so well in his book The Acts 1:8 Challenge(Lifeway Press, 2004).

The bottom line is that we've got work to do! And it's on a global scale. But our strategy should be glocal.

Churches dare not say "well, we're gonna spend all our mission dollars here locally. There are plenty of unsaved individuals right here on the Peninsula. We don't need to send vast sums of money overseas somewhere. Besides, we want to be able to see how our funds are being utilized." What a short-sighted approach. By the same token, though, we must never assume that we're faithfully carrying out the Great Commission if we're throwing large monetary allotments to our missionaries across the oceans, and salving our consciences when we see poverty-stricken third world children on the nightly news if we're not purposely, actively reaching our nearby communities with the saving gospel and social help!

Read Acts 1:8 again. It's not either/or but rather both/and. By the way, we may not have much time left, either. It's time to rise to the challenge...in our generation.

Tutoring From Paul On Prayer

I'm impressed by the prayers of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:15-21 and 3:14-21.

We can learn from him how to pray more effectively when we intercede for others.

For instance, this man of God lets people know that he's praying for them. That's bound to bring encouragement in itself. But he takes it a step further and informs them as to just what he's asking the Lord to do on their behalf. That means that he's thought seriously about his petitions and is probably much more likely to follow through on his pledge to pray. It reveals his diligent care and gives those who are the recipients of his prayer support not only some insight into what their intercessor senses that they need but a way to measure the results of the praying.

In both prayers Paul is specific in his requests. No bland, generic, half-hearted petitions here. Sometimes I wonder if God gets weary of our lazy "Lord, bless all the missionaries" or "Father, heal all the sick" or "God, save the lost" prayers. We can get so comfortable just beseeching the Lord to "bless" somebody without visualizing what it would look like for that individual to be blessed. It's almost an easy, apathetic, lack of genuine concern. The Apostle is quite focused. He concentrates on nuanced needs, areas, and possibilities as he intercedes. He's gone to the trouble of trying to ascertain exactly where divine aid and intervention would be most beneficial in the lives of his readers. It takes more effort to pray like that but it is much more successful. Prayer is often work, anyway(Colossians 4:12). Approaching God's throne with trite, generalized phrases probably accomplishes very little.

It's interesting, too, that Paul prays about their souls and not their bodies. He prays for their spiritual condition. He petitions the Father for their inner growth and well-being. Usually we do just the opposite. Most of our prayer meetings are consumed by supplications for the physical needs of others, typically that the sick among us will be healed. There's absolutely nothing wrong with requesting that God restore those who are ill to health. In fact, we are commanded to do so(James 5:14). We should do more of that kind of intercession. However, if that is the bulk of our praying we are missing tremendous opportunities. Our brothers and sisters have great needs in their spirits as well as their physiques. Many are lonely and grieving and discouraged. Many are doubting and drifting. All of us are tempted daily, some heavily. We desperately need the prayer support of fellow believers that we will be "strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man"(Ephesians 3:16). Intense intercession should go up regularly for Christian friends, by name, that they will have God's guidance or comfort or nurturing or conviction or challenge. It wouldn't be a bad idea to pray more often for revival, too.

We could probably have no better tutor in our praying than the Apostle. He surely sets a good example.