All posts in Video

Kirk is Climbing a Mountain, American Idol and Other Misperceptions

This is funny.  Like, watch it 8 times and laugh a little too loudly in Starbucks funny.  I watched this several times myself.  Then I started to wonder how William Shatner could ever think this was normal, cool, or interesting when he filmed it.  Certainly, the editing makes it more funny but it’s obvious that the original would have been bazaar on its own.  He’s such an over-actor that ANYTHING he says sounds a little loopy.

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.

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The Bride of Christ: Ready or Not

Church, we are more than we have been told.  We are more than brick and mortar, more than saccharine lyrics to re-run melodies.  We are more than religious self-help, whose greatest hope is to survive.  We are more than dreamers in pursuit of dreams that are bound to our small imaginations.  We are more than an institution that has lost its relevancy and is struggling to rebuild its tower of Babel.

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.

“Please Be My Strength” by Gungor

A great, and encouraging, song from one of my new favorite bands “Gungor”.  You can check them out here.

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.

Speak With Conviction

You may have seen this before, but it’s worth watching again.  Poetry – spoken word – and great typography in motion.

Alan Hirsch – The Forgotten Ways

These are some seriously challenging and compelling thoughts on church life and cultural engagement.  You may disagree with some of what he says, but you have to at least grapple with the concepts.  This is all worth watching.

 

What did you think?

Let’s discuss in the comments.

Lose Your Plastic Jesus

I found this video compelling (and clever).  It also brings up a subject that I think about a lot: the oversimplification of the gospel.  I wonder if the Church, in an effort to reach more people, have presented a “plastic Jesus” to potential converts.  A Jesus that is a caricature of the real thing.  Jesus get misrepresented as either unconcerned about sin, hell and rebellion or as loveless, angry and breathing fire out of his nostrils at all sinners of the world.

By the way I hear some preachers talk, you’d think Jesus is disinterested completely in the fate of the world that He came to save as though He’s a petulant child.    Still others make Him seem powerless and worried.  All of them 2-dimensional.

How many times have we reduced Him to a sound-bite at the end of a meeting or only displayed a 2-dimensional version of Him to our friends?  Perhaps that’s, at least in part, the reason why so many people simply fizzle out into mediocrity.  And maybe that’s why we so often find it impossible to trust Him.

Toss your plastic Jesus in the trash can and seek out the real one.  See Him healing the sick, touching the leaper, calling the Pharisees dogs, displaying His glory at the Mount of Transfiguration, dying in humility and victory at the cross.  Imagine Him returning for His spotless Bride at the end of days.  See Him as the hero of this great story of the gospel.

Is Social Media a Fad?

If you know me at all, you know I don’t think so.  But why take my word for it?  Check out these stats.