Grab Bag: Movie & Book & Lead Retreat Reviews

As penance for last week's long-ish posts, I'm going to do a bunch of quick-hit movie and book reviews for your reading pleasure...mazel tov!

Movies:

Avatar: an average and recycled story-line told brilliantly and exquisitely well. Worth the ticket price to see it in the theater.

Taken: rented it last weekend, 20 minutes of plot followed by 110 minutes of killing just about everyone in sight. I was riveted, Kelly repulsed. Choose for yourselves which one you think you'd be more like.

Pulp Fiction: finally watched this cult classic last Monday when I was sick in San Francisco at my brother's house. Maybe it was because I was sick, but I didn't get it. Long, painful scenes that didn't seem to have much point. Sorry, bro, I know you love Quentin, but the dude's weird.

Books:

"In the Beginning, God" by Marva Dawn. Dawn is a theologian/pastor/prophet (in the "truth-telling" sense, not the "future-telling" sense) and as such, is insightful, careful, and often grating.

I've read almost everything she's written because she's deeply rooted in viewing the world and ministry through the starting-point of God's character and 'being' in the trinity. This book would be a good and easy introduction for someone who's interested in getting to know her as she unpacks the creation story and its' implications for our relationship with God, with one another, and with the earth.

"Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace" by Miroslav Volf.

It is said that all the great preachers have only one sermon--that is, one core idea or principle that they run everything through. Perhaps the same thing is true for professors from Yale.

Volf made a huge mark a couple years ago in the evangelical thinking world with his book "Exclusion and Embrace" where he did some heavy-lifting work about the issue of forgiveness. His combination of brilliance (he's a prof at Yale, yo), commitment to Christ, and his authority having come from a war-ravaged country all combine for a powerful punch.

In this book, he attempts in the first half to apply the principles of forgiveness to giving. The results are moderately interesting: just read the first chapter and you'll get the basic idea.

But then skip to the interlude as he talks about his older brother's accidental death and his parents' working out of forgiveness. And then read the last half of the book in it's entirety, soaking in Volf's one great sermon/idea/concept, delivered with grace and excellence.

"The Household of God" by Lesslie Newbiggin. Long-time readers will recognize Newbiggin's name, I've read and loved just about every single thing he's written.

Here, however, we get a young-ish Newbiggin, written before he's found his one great sermon. Interesting, but not revolutionary as his later works are...particularly "The Gospel In A Pluralist Society," which I think every one who does full-time Christian ministry should read...twice.

InterVarsity Student Leadership Retreat: 70 or so tremendous students gathered together over-night on Saturday/Sunday to prepare and pray for the spring.

In my five years here, this is the healthiest, most dynamic, most vibrant group of student-leaders I've ever had. It is a joy to partner and work with them as we consider what it means for us to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in our own lives, in our chapter, and to have it bless the campus.

The dude who planned the thing (me) probably packed it with too much stuff to do, but it was a great 22 hours, full particularly of student's sharing from their own lives what it has meant for them to live out our vision of being a Christ-Centered Community: Authentic, Invitational, Missional.

It's going to be a great, great semester.

Staycation Grab Bag: Movie Reviews, Victories, and Lost Teeth

Staycation was great. If/when you get to be mid-30's with 2.5 kids, I'd highly recommend it: lots of sleep, a couple of bike rides, and plenty of bummin' around. Here's some movie reviews and other stuff from the long weekend:

Body of Lies: Leonardo DiCaprio manages to do a decent acting job and the story is excellent, if a bit gruesome at times: **** 1/2 (out of possible 5)

Slumdog Millionaire: yes, we were the last people in the world to see this movie, but it was spectacular and lived up to all the hype: *****

Changeling: If it wasn't a true story you'd turn it off half-way through thinking that this could never happen and that the writer has over-stepped in his request of you the viewer to engage in willing suspension of un-belief. Instead, it's a tremendously disturbing movie (all the more so because it's true) that Angelina Jolie pretty much pulls it off all by herself: ****1/2

Fireproof: We got this movie because my wife was moderately interested and because a friend who's opinion I used to trust said it was good. It's painfully acted and stiffly written. I'm already a lost cause, spare yourself: *1/2

In other news, great win for the Tar Heels Sunday, looking forward to a fun ACC tournament later this week.

And finally, the kids had a great time at Nanny's and Grampy's house. The big news: Davis lost his first tooth.

I'm not exactly sure, but I think that if your oldest son loses his first tooth while you're three and a half hours away playing hooky from church while sitting beside the lake getting your first sunburn of the year, that pretty much disqualifies you from any consideration for daddy of the year.

I'll have to shoot for 2010.

Briefly about Happyness and Superman

I've only got time for a short post today, but for my wonderful wife's 32nd birthday last night we went to go see "The Pursuit of Happyness." We give it two thumbs up, but be prepared for lots of hard and sad stuff before you get to the "happyness" part.

Rented "Superman Returns" the other night: solid, but not spectacular.