I’ve heard of people watching movies with the express intent of trying not to be persuaded by anything communicated in them. That kind of thinking is not Reformed. Now we shouldn’t be oysters and watch or suck in everything without thought. But if you’re only on the defensive, you’ll miss a lot of really good stuff.

I was flipping through the channels Saturday night and came across American Beauty, a movie I had already seen. Now the movie is quite disturbing, somewhat graphic, and I don’t recommend it. However in the few minutes I watched, I heard something quite profound. The teenage daughter’s friend said, “Don’t leave, and you should listen to me because I’m your friend!” The daughter’s boyfriend responded, “You’re not a friend. She’s just someone you use to feel good about yourself.”

How many “friendships” are just relationships where one party is using the other to feel good about him/herself through physical attraction, pleasure, social status, etc….? More than half, way more than half. Like the lad in the movie, I would not call such relationship a real “friendship.”

Another movie Amy and I just finished was Into the Wild. We really enjoyed this one (though we could have done without a few scenes). Throughout the movie the main character ran from material possession and relationships, finally realizing nature alone was insufficient for real joy. He wrote, “Happiness is only real when shared.”

How true is that! I see so many people retreating from relationships, and they are miserable! Happiness doesn’t come in isolation but in community. Throughout the movie the main character (it is a true story so that make it even cooler, or sadder I guess) has so many experiences with random people, not to mention with Alaskan scenery, flora and fauna. I kept thinking, “How miserable it would be to not share these experiences with others?“

By the end, he comes to the same conclusion as the writer of Ecclesiastes: “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (4:10)

Biblical truth can and will be expressed through people made in the image of God. We shouldn’t be surprised to see or hear it expressed.

While putting together my Keynote (Powerpoint for Mac) presentation for Christian Ed this Sunday, I listened to the new U2 album for the first time a few weeks. One of the lyrics in a song called “Stand-up Comedy,” holds this thoughtful insight: “Stop helping God cross the street like a little old lady…” First of all, I think that’s a hilarious image, whatever it means.

But I do think I see what Bono’s getting at. There is much mystery in God, and we don’t always “get” His ways. In fact we shouldn’t expect to always “get” His ways, since He does remind us that His ways and thoughts are often not the same as ours; they are higher (Isaiah 55:8-9). While Bono isn’t divinely inspired like the writer of Isaiah, I think he provides some helpful insight for we who are too quick to defend God’s actions to others-as though we know the purpose behind them.

Sometimes we need to just say, “I don’t know why He did it that way; it doesn’t SEEM to make sense.” Often times it is better not to defend God’s actions to others (especially those suffering) as though He were a little old lady needing help some help to cross the street. We can believe He’s fair and just, and at the same time say to the person questioning God, “I don’t get it either.” He’s not a little old lady.

Kip from Napoleon Dynamite sang at his wedding, “Yes, I love technology, not as much as you, you see. But I still love technology…” For Kip, the internet allowed him to meet and marry his soul mate Lafawndah.

For our Wed night discussion at Thinktank (a group of folks from Hope and those outside the church who gather at Starbucks to discuss a variety of issues), we spent time addressing the pros and cons of technology and its effects on relationships and community. Different people had differing opinions on the benefits and detriments of the internet, but we didn’t see any sort of generational consensus.

Certainly angry blog commenter guy who lives boldly behind a computer screen or anonymity is a negative. Other negatives expressed by a wide variety of ages included the potential breakdown of close intimate friendships. However, most of us did recognize that the internet actually helped to sustain relationships otherwise unsustainable due to conflicting schedules, physical disabilities, or geographic separation.

One of the most positive examples I can give on how technology and the internet has helped relationships and community is my kayak fishing forum. The online forum community does not serve as a replacement community. Instead it is only a starting place to begin and sustain relationships. Because of the forum, 50-60 men desiring relationships and community get together for fishing tournaments 4 times a year. And numbers of people build friendships through “meeting” and setting up fishing trips via the forum. I think that’s a huge positive otherwise impossible without the internet.

Feel free to comment on how you see a negative/positive relationship between technology and the formation of community and deep relationships.

After fishing Friday evening with a buddy of mine (Amy was supposed to be out of town-that’s not how I spend most Friday nights!) we shared some good pizza and beer. During dinner I had the opportunity to further cordially share the gospel with him.

One thing really stuck with me: since I listened to him, he told me that he was glad to listen to me. He said something to the effect of “I can talk with you about this kind of stuff.”

He contrasted me with the angry fundamentalist friend, with whom he DOES NOT and CANNOT enter into dialog. Now there are some serious hang-ups with science and faith, so I suggested The Reason For God. He said he would be up for reading some of that, so we’ll see. If I learned anything, listening and love (fishing=love to both of us) opens doors for pleasant and reasonable gospel conversation. Even when you bring it up without the smooth gospel transitions like I placed on the church resource table this past Sunday!

A line in The Godfather reminds us to “Never go against the family.” I learned that one the hard way, well of course not as hard as if I were actually in the mafia. I lost the bet. I should never have bet against my son. I should have known that this incredibly persistent child would soon be walking. But I also kind of figured betting against him was like betting against my favorite team. Either way, you win. For my punishment of “going against the family,” I will now have to bake a pie. Never done that before. Still better than the original bet, which was nixed by the wife. Fortunately. Here’s the video.

A few nights ago Amy and I were watching re-runs of The Office on TBS. Funny how watching them on TBS is easy and quite enjoyable; but rarely will I ever actually put in a DVD featuring the same episode. Anyhow, Michael was interviewing for a position which appeared the obvious next step up. As I’ve learned in interviews, the one conducting the interview always asks you to share personal strengths and weaknesses. Micheal said, “Why don’t I just tell you my weaknesses: I care too much about the company, and I work too hard. My weaknesses are my strengths.”

When some of us admit our weaknesses, we may not do exactly what Michael does, but we don’t do too much better. For instance, one acceptable weakness to confess is pride. It’s acceptable to say, I struggle with pride. It admits nothing. But rarely do we admit how we struggle with pride. Someone asked me the other day, “How do you see pride show up in your life?” He assumed it was there, and just wanted to see how it popped its ugly head.

If an interviewer asks you a question about your weaknesses you are compelled to answer. You need to answer honestly, but there is always some fear in the back of your mind: “I need to be honest, but I don’t want to tell too much and hurt my chances of getting the job.”

We often look at relationships in a similar interviewing light. But when you find someone who will hear your weaknesses and not threaten you with any loss of relationship (like not being hired or being fired or looked at weirdly), it’s a totally different ball game. And that interviewer/interviewed connection vanishes like the ACC in recent NCAA tournaments.

It sure is refreshing when you have relationships where weaknesses are talked about and accepted. Then you will experience the freedom and joy of the gospel far more than holding your cards too close to the vest.

I like receiving missionary prayer updates because it is very hard for me to pray generic prayers. A missionary our church supports has had serious VISA issues for some time, and I’m not talking about her credit card. The country, which shall remain nameless for her protection, is not helping matters out.

How hard would this be for a missionary? Put yourself in her shoes. You are compelled to be in a specific locale and work to translate the scriptures into the vernacular (language of the people), and yet things are becoming harder and harder to do just that. She’s not praying for a Porsche or riches; she’s praying for the Visa so she can translate scriptures.

This is a “What is the deal God” type moment for me, I can’t imagine what its like for her! It really comes to me at an appropriate time as I’ve been personally wrestling with this question of “differently answered” prayers while preaching through Habakkuk (here’s a sermon I preached on Habakkuk this past Sunday which some folks said they’ve found helpful). How it might feel like God is not on her side! But I also began to think of something like this happening to an old school missionary a long time ago: Paul. Instead of God letting him go to all the crazy places he had anticipated going, he gets locked up in a prison, spends time in house arrest, and then gets beheaded.

And yet the gospel went forth to the nations. Not my plan, but God sure did and does know what He’s doing, even when it seems he doesn’t.

Have you ever found that sometimes the simplest things can be the most profound? I overheard my 9 and 1/2 month old son’s music playing today. He’s not yet into U2, but I have to give him some time. He’ll get there eventually.

Amy procured a CD filled with all kinds of kids’ bible songs, you know the kinds with the ultra-high pitched (and sometimes freaky sounding) voices. Today, track number 1 particularly struck me to the core. I’m not sure of the title, but these are the lyrics, “I’m so glad that Jesus loves me….Jesus loves even me.”

How often do we sit down and just let this sink in? Are we really so glad? That he loves even me? So glad that our circumstances don’t mean as much anymore? Or are we only so glad when life is going well? Today, by God’s grace, this truth just hit me. Today, right now as I write this, I’m gladder and more joyful than I have been in awhile simply because of this truth. Because God is loving, He will expose the idols in our lives so that we would run back to this truth.

If after a time, “I’m so glad that Jesus loves me, even me,” doesn’t have an affect on us, it may be that there are personal idols which have not been identified or repented from: comfort, and respect are some that I’ve been battling. We do battle by reflecting and delighting on this truth of the gospel. The gospel at some points is so profoundly deep and at the same time profoundly simple enough a child can get it. This child got it today.

Since today is St. Patrick’s day, what better time to give tribute to Ireland’s finest: U2? Like them or not, very few Christians have been able to live out their faith (well at least 2 of them profess Christ) and earn such a high level of respect from those outside the church. They truly have set an example for us all on how to redeem the culture: making quality music that expresses authentic truth. This song “Magnificent” performed on the Letterman show, is for all practical purposes a praise song.

There is no doubt they are the best thing to come out of Ireland. What would you say are the top 5? I’d have to go with celtic music, potatoes, red hair and peat. Where would we be without peat?

A few weeks ago, Jim Rome, my favorite sports talk host, interviewed former NBA player Rex Chapman. The following Monday and Tuesday he interviewed Rex Hudler and Rex Ryan. Then the “Rex streak” was born. Everyday there was a different Rex being interviewed and on and on until Rex #20. It was such a great interview that the streak was called. He wanted to end on a high note.

He departed from sports figures at times due to the fact that he was running out of Rex’s. Before closing with an astronaut named Rex Wilheim, he began to get more and more obscure.

He was interviewing golf coaches for Louisville, defensive line coaches in the CFL, bass players for Pantera, college wrestlers named Rex. There were so many people who would have never otherwise been interviewed. They weren’t famous. They weren’t icons. Some weren’t athletes. Some were really smart. But none were inherently worthy of a nationally broadcast interview. And some knew it.

All except for one gave great interviews. They calmed down, because Jim Rome (people either love him or hate him), made them feel welcome, important, and showed an interest in their stories.

He was treating normal people like celebrities. They said, “Jim, thank you for having me on.” And Jim would say, “No, thank YOU for keeping the Rex streak alive.” What started out as a simple and goofy thing ended up being quite profound. He legitimately enjoyed hearing their story and so did his listeners. He treated ordinary people as though they were more important than he.

What a concept! Of course its not new; it’s been done before. Treating people as more important than we are and listening to their story.

Phil 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

Now Jesus is the only who’s ever applied this perfectly, but I still think, because Jim Rome (made in the image of God and still bears His image), can teach us by example through this “Rex Streak.’