The only way that William Shatner could over-act so heavily is if in his own mind he thinks he is actually spot on.  In other words, his perception of what he is doing is completely different from everyone else’s.  He must have been thinking, “I’m really in my acting prime now.  All that Star Trek stuff was just a stepping stone to this ‘Climbing the Mountain” work.”  Well… maybe he wasn’t thinking that exactly, but you get the idea.

It’s like all those contestants on American Idol.  I’m talking about the contestants that come on at the start of the season that are so bad, you feel embarrassed for them.  The train wrecks everyone tunes in to watch.  They think they sing really well, while everyone else around the world is hearing a two rabid cats fighting over a screeching mouse.  If these people knew how they really sounded they wouldn’t do it on national television.  Most of them really believe they can win and are shocked, or indignant, when told that they didn’t make it through.

This is why we need friends.  True friends that will say, “Hey, Kirk, stop climbing the mountain, Buddy.  You sound completely Looney Toones and someone is gonna edit it and put that thing on YouTube.”

I think we are all prone to seeing ourselves the way we WANT to see ourselves instead of really looking with honesty.  If we don’t have people in our lives to tell us the truth, we will always end up some day playing the fool.

Hopefully not on YouTube.  Hopefully.

We are the Bride of Christ.  Loved beyond measure, with no borders to His patience, forgiveness, and grace.  We are never beyond repair. Never out of the reach of His transformation.

I believe the Church in America is being romanced by Jesus.  We are being redefined as His Bride, and only His Bride.  We are being ravished by Him – called by name.

This spoken word poem/skit reminds me of who I am as a friend of God.  I hope it does the same for you.

I keep finding myself carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, repeating “Work harder, just make it happen” like some kind of mantra of self-motivation and pride.  I appreciate this song not only for its musical qualities, but also for the gentle and sincere reminder that all of us need strength that is beyond what humanity can give.

It’s a fool that rushes in, tilting at windmills, when divine help is available to him.  God help me not to be that fool.

What initially drew me to his music is that I was fascinated that these are unfiltered Godward lyrics that the Christian music industry cannot find a place for, yet the non-religious world embraces it.  How is it that this musician (whom I had never even heard of) is touching these people?  The music is excellent, and certainly that is a big part of the attraction by his secular audience.  But I think it’s more than that.

I think the honesty and intensity of his belief, and sincere doubts, are deeply attractive to our culture.  His honesty gives him instant credibility. This is a man that has struggled with things like church, life, love and belief and you can see it as you look at the progression of his music over the years and the thoughts expressed in his writing.  His earlier music contains language that would get it censored on secular radio and banned on CCM.  This kind of transparency is a rare thing in the modern church world and I am grateful for it, warts an all.  As Paul instructed Timothy, “Let them see your progress…”  We can’t do this without some transparency.  Seeing this artist’s progress is as impacting as the music itself.

Check out this documentary.  Even if his music doesn’t suit you, I think this documentary will.  Enjoy.

Direct Link

What did you think?

Let’s discuss in the comments.

“Didn’t this movie come out a while ago?  Why are you talking about it now?”  Everyone that has asked me if I liked the movie has gotten some kind of awkward response like, “I thought it was pretty good.  I mean, it could have been a lot better but considering how this church gave up so much and all those volunteers worked so hard, it’s amazing.”

Sigh.  It’s taken me this long to get up the gumption to come out of the closet on this.

You see, the problem is that I watched the extras on the DVD.  You know, all the behind the scenes footage of regular church folk praying before each scene in the movie, volunteering their time, believing in the project, eating Chick-fil-A, doing morning devotionals, all while Third Day plays softly in the background.  It’s touching.  In fact, I was far more moved by the behind the scenes stuff than I was by anything in the movie itself.  But then I was confused.  The rules of criticism are different between a movie you pay for, and ministry you receive.  Is it ok for me to say that I really didn’t like a Christian movie?

Y E S !

If movies made by Christians are going to get better, they need to be held to the same critique as other films in the marketplace.  They need to be treated the same.  In my opinion, it’s patronizing to the good people that made the movie to pat the movie on the head and say, “For a Christian, you’re ok.  Bless your heart.”

Now, I know that many people really liked it.  They say that Kirk is a sexy-in-a-christian-kind-of-way male lead.  They found the plot riveting.  MANY MANY people say that it (and the accompanying devotional study) helped their marriages.  That’s awesome.  I’m not saying we should NOT like Christian movies.  That would be like someone saying that all Ninja movies are bad.  That would be crazy because any time throwing stars are involved, great entertainment is sure to follow.

Now THAT’s an idea.  A christian ninja movie.  Does James Caviezel know karate?  I bet he’s available.