I watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Bob Ford yesterday. It is based on a novel, so I have no clue how much truth might be mixed in with the fiction. So, I’ll treat it all as fiction.
This movie is about the relationship between Jesse James and a younger man who idealized and idolized him, Bob Ford. Bob’s brother Charlie is in the James Gang. Bob has built a library and museum to Jesse, tucked under his bunk. Looking like a rag-tag waif in a ridiculous top hat, he seeks to meet the brothers James on a job and become something of a sidekick. He gives Frank James the creeps. And he seems creepy (played well by Casey Affleck who is finally making a name for himself, emerging from his brother’s shadow). Jesse, being the more impetuous brother takes advantage of the young man’s interest after what turns out to be the Gang’s final job. Frank heads east leaving Jesse to make sure none of their associates betrays them.
The portrait that emerges is one of James (a fine performance by Brad Pitt) as both charismatic and crazy. He is a paranoid psychopath who begins to kill members of the gang he suspects are going to turn him in. Rejection begins to turn Bob’s heart and a series of incidents continue the turning. After he has killed Jesse’s cousin, he knows that eventually Jesse will come for him. But during this time Bob has grown more confident, self-assured. He has also turned state’s evidence in an attempt to hedge his bets. The Governor is played by James Carvel (yes, the Democrat attack dog- both sides have them) and Ted Levine (Monk, Silence of the Lambs) has a role as the Marshall. The movie runs along these 2 lines, Jesse and Bob Ford.
The day comes when Jesse discovers Dick Liddle has turned state’s evidence, 3 weeks ago (after Bob arranged his capture). Bob knows that soon he will be discovered. The movie is a bit ambiguous- did Jesse want Bob to kill him?
You do see something of James, the family man. But what struck me was the incredible price his family played for his unlawful choices. The children do not know their real last name. They don’t know what their father does. The move often, usually in the middle of the night. Their father is missing for long stretches of time, leaving his wife to hold down the fort.
The last 20 minutes of the movie focus on Bob Ford’s life after the killing. He has become a villian for killing an American folkhero the same way that folkhero killed so many others. James was a hero, he was a coward. In a rare vulnerable moment he tells his woman “I thought they would applaud.” He set everyone free from terror at the hand of James, and he was the bad guy. He is the one person who stood up to him, and he was the coward. The cruel ironies of life. The oddities of popular culture, to idolize evil men and despise those who try to do what is right (Ford clearly had mixed motives here, so he’s no hero). We have an undiscerning tendency to admire those who “stick it to the man”, overlooking their own greed, vainglory, hubris and selfish motives. This movie says alot about us, implicitly, by who we think is the hero and the villain.
The movie is an interesting one, but a very long one (2:40) and slow of pace. The soundtrack builds a very sad and desperate mood. Though this is a good movie with some very good performances, it is not a movie for everyone. There is, obviously, some bloodshed, and some sexual banter between the thieves. So, this movie is not appropriate for everyone. But you receive a more realistic glimpse into the lives of western outlaws- the loneliness, fear and disconnection.
Sidenote: One scene makes extensive use of the word “misremembered”. Makes you wonder if Clemens watched this just prior to the Congressional hearings.
It has been nearly one month since CavSon had his surgery. He is doing well except for eating dirt this afternoon. The stitches in his mouth are coming out so that makes things interesting. We have a difficult time figuring out what is food and what is a clump of stitches. This picture is a few weeks old but you can tell how much better his lip looks after the revision.
We have lots of visits from the local wildlife lately. CavWife discovered a turtle in the garden recently. The kids were fascinated by the turtle. I’m not sure they have seen one so up close and personal. When I first bought the house in 2000, there were plenty of rabbits hopping around. With the growing population, including stray cats, the rabbits disappeared. I had not seen one for a few years- until this last week. He came hopping across our front lawn, and the kids got a quick look before he scampered off. A few days later he appeared between the bushes in our backyard. I think he might live in the yard behind us. Their motion sensor light will go on at night.
The heat has returned with a vengeance here in central Florida. And it has been dry. There has been no appreciable rainfall in the last month or two. The grass is crunchy beneath your feet. CavSon won’t go on it without shoes. With water restrictions we can only water once a week. I abide by them, but apparently not everyone does. Plenty of green lawns around.
To escape the heat we went over a friend’s home today to go swimming. I’m not sure CavSon had been in such a big pool. He was not liking it too much. He wouldn’t let go of us. CavDaughter enjoyed herself, splashing around.
Here is CavDaughter riding our neighbor’s bike. She took to it quite well. The only hang up has been getting started if the peddles are in the 12-6 positions. Yes, she usually wears her (oversized) helmet. This bike may be hers shortly. The little girl who owns it has outgrown it and will get a new one for her birthday in June. She wants CavDaughter to have this one.
So many people have been so generous to us the last few years. I am amazed at God’s goodness through both Christans and non-Christians. I’m not some mega-church pastor and we live quite modestly. One way we have gotten by is through the generosity of others- clothes, swingsets, bikes etc.
We did get to Toys ‘R Us yesterday. No luck finding a gender neutral beginners scooter. So we bit the bullet and bought one with butterflies and lots of pink. We’ll buy another one, in a more masculine style, for the boy soon. But after I put it together, he was the first one to hop on and ride. He has not figured out the tricycle yet, but pretty much gets the scooter.
My daughter pulled my copy of the 77’sSticks and Stones out this morning and asked to listen to it. My heart skipped a beat in joy. But I’m not sure she really understands the greatness that is this album.
I had listened to Ping Pong Over the Abyss as a new Christian back in ‘86 or ‘87. I didn’t like it. I wrote them off. Then, on my initial visit to RTS Orlando, a guy named Andy Graham gave me a tape of Sticks and Stones. I was converted. It was alternative enough to be ‘cool’ and ‘pop’ enough to be accessible. Sticks and Stones is a compilation of sorts featuring 14 hits, cast offs and unreleased takes. There is plenty of great music here.
The album starts off with 3 alt-pop-rock numbers featuring some good guitar work. Make that very good. The focus of MT, Nowhere Else and This is the Way Love Is seems to be a relationship with Christ.
The sound and subject matter shift with Perfect Blues. It is a more blues oriented number about how none of us meets the standards of others in relationships. It is about the struggle of relationships and expectations. Once again Mike Roe provides some nice guitar work.
I had this album for years before I realized what Don’t, This Way was about. I had thought it was about a failed relationship. I was cranking the album in my apartment when the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. It is, as the liner notes say, the saddest song ever. It is about a lover looking over the dead body of their beloved. It is a return to a more alt-pop-rock sound, but the music matches the lyrics to create a nearly perfect song. There is plenty of mournful guitar to set the mood. It nearly brings me to tears when I listen. Some might find the length of song (7:22) excessive, but I don’t. I love some of the extended jams on this disc.
A friend considering resuming her Masters in Counseling asked me the main theory taught at RTS Orlando under Gary Rupp. Gary didn’t push any particular theory on us; he wanted us to weigh them from Scripture. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a favorite theory. He preferred Object Relations Theory, and most of us read Sheldon Cashdan’s Object Relations Therapy: Using the Relationship. This is also the theory that lies behind much of the work of John Townsend and Henry Cloud (Boundaries, The Mom Factor and others).
I will confess ORT intrigued me, and I find aspects of it helpful (when I remember) in counseling.
Object Relations Theory has its origins in the work of Melanie Klein who was a contemporary of Freud. The basic tenet is ” that the core of selfhood is inextricably tied to the infant’s first and most fundamental object relationship.” This idea was developed studying attachment among ducks and other animals. So, from my perspective the “science” would be flawed since people are uniquely made in the image of God and therefore qualitatively different from the animal kingdom. It is based on a materialistic view of the world.
But where the theory (inadvertently?) gets it right is that many people’s psychological problems have their root in relationships. The damage is done there, and must be repaired there. “The core fear centers about the loss of contact, and the individual does all he or she can to avoid the pain of abandonment.” This is what we as sinners do- we live in the fear of abandonment (among others) and find ways to remain in relationship with others even if it is an incredibly unhealthy or sinful way.
What separates object relations therapy from traditional psychoanalysis is that countertransference is seen as a good thing. Traditionally countertransference was viewed as bringing your own baggage into the counseling room.
“Countertransference is “the therapist’s experiential response to the patient’s pathology and is a valuable part of the treatment procedure. Not only does it perform a diagnostic function but it also guides many of the therapist’s interventions.”
This means 2 things. First, the pull you experience from the client (and your response) are an indication of what is wrong with the client. Second, you should use that as part of the intervention by expressing the pull and how you want to respond. “I experience you as a very needy person, as if you cling to me so I will take care of you. But this makes me want to turn and run.”
Since I don’t buy new music very often, I thought I’d bring up some of my favorite old albums when I listen to them. The recent commercial for cashews caused me to pull Songs of the Heart sung by Daniel Amos out. The cover art is reminiscent of old gospel albums- quite tongue-in-cheek considering the music found therein. Daniel Amos is one of my favorite bands. They are the fathers of Christian alternative music. I once described their Fearful Symmetry album to one of my bosses as David Bowie on acid. They were too far out there for most Christians. One of my great regrets was never seeing them in concert. They played just around the corner from my college dorm a few months before I learned who they were.
The album starts on with the song from the cashew commercial- Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You. This makes sense when you remember that they album is meant to chronicle Bud and Irma Akendorf’s spiritual journey (fictional folks). It is a “musical film”, and this reflects their initial romance. This is a great version of a classic song with plenty of distortion. I was supposed to sing this song at the rehearsal dinner for my wedding. Thankfully for everyone else there, it never happened. CavWife and I share this joke together from time to time.
Bert dropped me a line about some events in our county that are apparently making some big news around the country. I was clueless, but I’m not anymore. The coverage is interesting.
I’ve driven by the Ignited Church, and wondered what it was like. I didn’t know it was pastored by Stephen Strader, son of Karl Strader the former pastor of Carpenter’s Home Church. A few years ago, Carpenter’s Home Church was the site of Rodney Howard-Browne’s “holy laughter”. You could watch that on TV, it was interesting but hardly edifying since the Word of God was not preached, just subjective experience run amuck.
The younger Strader scheduled Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley for a 5-day revival beginning April 2nd. The terminology has shifted from revival as a sovereign work of God to an event you can schedule and expect/demand that God show up. And they are claiming He has shown up in powerful ways as Bentley preached “intimacy with God” and extended his stay into May.
For those involved, this is an obvious no-brainer: God is there. For those within that theological tradition, the assumption is that God is involved. It certainly sounds spectacular, and what Christian doesn’t want God to do great things? But are great things happening? Here’s what we know:
Jesus’ miracles were undeniable, clear and everyone in the community knew they really had happened. The guy born blind saw! People crippled for years walked away boldly, not just a step or two. What we read about here is hardly compelling evidence to people like me. But to people who watch it on Christian TV it apparently is. They are flocking to Lakeland just as they previously flocked to Brownsville and Toronto to experience miracles- supposedly hundreds of them. But this “notable miracle” (as Brentley calls them) doesn’t seem notable. No reports from doctors. Just claims of …. well … something. But they are not deterred!
“We opened a special room where people can bring the sick early so they don’t have to stand out in the heat. We’ve had people line up as early as 2 p.m. for the evening services,” Strader said. “Last night we had an incredible rush of miracles over cell phones.”
This is one problem as well. Jesus is not the focus- healing is. Our culture, our human nature, prefers the spectacular to the mundane. A guy living out his faith at home and work … not interesting. Healings, substantiated or not, draw big crowds. I suspect God is more concerned with the former. Then the reality that you can’t substantiate a miracle over a cell phone. Why spread what could be a false report and potentially dishonor God? Before announcing miracles, substantiate them. We’ll wait. We’ll praise God.
There have been so many people the church’s facility could not hold them. So off a larger sister church (pastored by Strader’s brother-in-law), the Lakeland Center and then to Joker Marchant Stadium, the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers (perhaps this may miraculously turn around their season). 4-7,00 people are showing up, and the security measures necessary are alleged to be putting a strain on the church. Supposedly no one is making money on this. In revivals found in the Bible, people’s giving increases greatly as they are freed from greed. If I were healed, I’d be grateful enough to dump in much of what I’d save in doctor bills. But that is just me.
Some of Bentley’s teachings are considered controversial in Pentecostal circles, such as his claim of being visited by angels. Asked whether Bentley’s theology was a concern, Simmons paused and said, “I think what we’re all about is seeing families put back together and people come to know Jesus. At the revival, I’m seeing people come to know Jesus, and I’m OK with that.”
One little mention of people coming to faith. Is it to have their sins wiped away? I don’t know, but there seems little to no mention of that message characterizing the preaching of God’s Word. I don’t see the biblical pattern of revival here. I don’t see the historical pattern of revival here (just do a search on this blog for revival and read to your heart’s content). I believe God can and does send revival. This just doesn’t seem like one of those times. But may one come.
I was waiting for these photos to arrive via e-mail. Last Friday we celebrated CavSon’s 2nd birthday. It was the estimated birthdate, but it works for us.
Yes, it was a bit subdued as a result of his recent surgery. But we did go out for frozen custard. The kids loved it, and the stars hanging from the ceiling. As you can tell in the 2nd photo, he really doesn’t like having things on his head.
He is now 3 weeks out from his surgery, and doing quite well. We have stopped using the arm restraints in the last few days. He is happy that now he can drink from his cup on his own. The stitches are beginning to fall out so we will not have to irrigate his mouth much longer. We’ve transitioned him from a liquid diet to a soft food diet. We even enjoyed some Chinese take-out the other night. Nothing exciting for them- steamed veggies and steamed rice.
I moved the seat of the tricycle lower to see if he can learn how to peddle it. He’s been getting on the trike and pulling a Fred Flinstone, using his feet to walk himself around. CavDaughter has been experimenting with a neighbor’s bike with training wheels. She looks great in her new pink helmet slowly moving down the street.
We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with some friends. One of them grew up in northern California. Each May his father had a conference in southern California that inevitably fell on Cinco de Mayo. So he grew up celebrating it though he is a gringo. It was a great excuse to gather our families, enjoy some tasty food including enchiladas and fried ice cream, and some, ah, traditional Mexican beverages.
After the kids left for baths, the men settled into a game of Knights of Catan, one of the expansions of Settlers of Catan. I lost miserably this week. But we enjoyed one another’s company.
The defamation suit filed by Roger Clemens against Brian McNamee has resulted in some unintended consequences for the Rocket. Lots of allegations against him regarding his personal life (which his suit claimed pointed to his sterling character). You could see this coming, but it is still sad whether the allegations are true or not. Roger issued a Giambi-like apology while denying the allegations. My, that was helpful. Either he has the worst lawyer ever, or he is the worst client ever. This rivals the Seinfeld episodes with Kramer’s fast-talking lawyer to whom he never listened.
But another story caught my eye. It took place in Nashua, NH. This would be the small New England city in which I grew up. It involved fans of the Red Sox and a Yankees fan. And what unfolded was a pathetic testimony to how some people take this thing way too seriously.
I am an avid Red Sox fan. I’ll admit I’ve had a few lively dialogues while attending games in Tampa (actually the Rays play in St. Pete which is an additional 45 minutes away). Mostly that was challenging outrageous claims on omniscience on the part of Rays fans. I once asked a guy if he was God since he seemed to know so much about the motivation of a man he never met.
The Yankees are our “arch enemy”. I saw some ugly events as a child in Fenway sitting in the right field seats in the late 70’s. Reggie Jackson was verbally abused continuously. Yankees’ fans were also attacked verbally and with beverages. I do not condone any of those actions, but detest them. Some of my best friends are Yankees’ fans. We have a playful rivalry, not one that is life and death. I’ve even watched them play one another, in the playoffs, with some of my Yankee fan friends.
But, in Nashua things got ugly after a fist fight between 2 women (what are we coming to?). One stomped off to her car and the crowd noticed the Yankees’ bumper sticker. The taunts began. [for the record, you may not like the Yankees, but they certainly do not stink or any related term.] She responded by driving straight for the crowd. Admittedly she had been drinking and her decision-making process somewhat impaired. Theirs undoubtedly was too. For she thought they’d move; and they thought she’d stop. But she ran into the crowd killing a man.
Sports is no reason to kill a person. Yet this happens all over the world, not just in Nashua, NH. We will never be able to coexist as long as we gain our identity in someone or something other than Christ. We will protect our idols, even if we have to kill. This, folks, is who we are- all too often.
I finished part IV of Sinclair Ferguson’s In Christ Alonelast night. The last few chapters of that section had to do with faith and its connection to God’s promises. It is often a lack of understanding about the true nature of faith that leaves Christians immature and struggling.
Sinclair points us to Hebrews 11 to show us “how faith operates.” Faith is essentially an assurance that God will keep His promises (the things hoped for). “Faith, then, in its present activity, is always looking forward to the future.” Hebrews 11 then goes on to focus on how this shaped the decisions and actions of people in space and time. Faith is manifested here and now as we wait for the there and then.
“(t)o live by faith is not to live by what we can see, feel, and touch- our sense-experience- but on the basis of what God has said and promised. … (f)aith is simply a matter of knowing what God says, trusting His Word because of who He is, and living in light of it.”
Faith receives God’s promises, and seeks to walk in light of them to produce holiness, or obedience. Sinclair mentions 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 as tying God’s promises to holiness. But it is not automatic. We have a responsibility. Sinclair lists a three-fold responsibility:
“First of all, I must know what God’s promises are. …
Second, I must feed my mind on the promises of God. …
Third, I must let God’s promises govern my lifestyle.”
Part of how that happens is praying in faith. This is another greatly misunderstood idea. He brings us to James 5 and the example of Elijah. Elijah was not a special person, meaning far superior in his obedience than us. He had issues too.
“The reason Elijah is used as an example is not that he was an extraordinary man: James stresses that he was ‘a man with a nature like ours’ (James 5:17). It is his ordinariness that is in view.
Elijah’s praying is used as an example not because it produced miracle-like effects, but because it gives us one of the clearest of all illustrations of what it means for anyone to pray with faith: it is believing God’s revealed Word, taking hold of His covenant commitment to it, and asking Him to keep it.
Shutting up the heavens was not, after all, a novel idea that originated in the fertile mind of Elijah. (Ferguson discusses how this is tied to the covenant in Deuteronomy 28, though the time frame was revealed by God to Elijah) … Like very ‘righteousman’ (James 5:16), Elijah sought to align his life with God’s covenant promises and threats. … This, then is the prayer of faith: to ask God to accomplish what He has promised in His Word.
We have to keep those promises in context, both in terms of what the promise means, to whom it applies and when it is to be applied. Some promises will not be fulfilled until the great restoration of creation when Jesus returns. But we continue to pray to that end.
The struggle is not our wrestling to bring Him to give us what we desire, but our wrestling with His Word until we are illuminated and subdued by it, saying, ‘Not my will, but Your will be done.’
Hopefully such sound, biblical thinking whets your appetite for this book.
Last night at Bible Study we moved into 1 Peter 3. It contains one of those passages that drives feminists and egalitarians mad. That isn’t what I want to focus on right now though. Peter brings up Sarah as an example of a godly woman of old whose hope in God resulted in the inner beauty of godly character.
5
For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear (NIV)
This is not really what I think of when Sarah comes to mind. I think of Sarah laughing when she hears God’s promise. I think of Sarah decided to try and fulfill God’s promise by giving her Egyptian maid Hagar to Abraham as a concubine. He, sadly, listens/obeys her. In what is written about her, Sarah seems less than godly and not someone I want CavWife to emulate.
But Peter does. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, his assessment is accurate and mine is off. Though her failures are plain for all to see, her life was more than her failures. It is the unspoken faithfulness, the trust in God’s promise to join her husband on what seems to be a fools’ errand.
I’m reading 1 & 2 Samuel right now. And I just can’t help thinking that David is something less than a godly man. His faults are there for all to see. He violates the commands given to kings in Deuteronomy 17 by accumulating wives and concubines. Worldly kings did this, but Israel’s kings were not supposed to. He violates the commands concerning divorce in Deuteronomy 24 by wanting Michal back even though Saul had given her to another man as his wife. David, as king, fears Joab and his brothers, refusing to bring them to justice for the murder of Abner. Maybe there were not enough witnesses, but David seems to just throw his hands up in the air, “what can I do, God deal with them.” He doesn’t bring Amnon to justice for raping Tamar, his own half-sister. Nor does he bring Absalom to justice for murdering Amnon.
But these events do not define David’s life. For some, they do. Like Balaam or Ahab- what you read is a microcosim of their lives. But for David, and Sarah, there was more. David, despite his many failings, was a man after God’s own heart. Sarah, despite her failings, was apparently a godly woman.
There is a great caution here: don’t measure anyone’s life, even your own, by an event (or 5). We must see their lives from the long term, and even then our estimation may be faulty. What really matters is God’s evaluation of a person’s life. People we may find as less than faithful God may consider faithful. God sees more than we do. Even more important, God sees His grace as greater than their sin. It really is about grace, not performance. God knows to whom He has been gracious- knowing what sins they didn’t commit because of His gracious work in them. If you are a Christian, God is not in denial about your failings. But He gazes upon you in grace, seeing Christ’s obedience and substitutionary death. You are a far worse sinner than you think you are, but He is a far greater Savior than we can ever imagine. So, when He looks at His people He seems something we often can’t: godliness.
I had to do some pre-marital counseling after church today, so I didn’t get home until after 2 pm. Well, the game was basically OVER. I came home to see Rondo lying on the court after having been thrown down by his good friend, Marvin Williams. With friends like that….
I feel almost as good as KG. Maybe the utter demolition of the Hawks will quiet some of the whiners and complainers, doubters and deniers. This is an excellent team. I didn’t see a bunch of heartless slackers in Atlanta, like some people claim. I saw guys who weren’t allowed to compete due to the constant refrain of the ref’s whistle.
Now it is Cleveland, and more whistle-blowing. But if they play this kind of stifling defense, they should prevail though it may take 7 games again.
I was not a big comic book fan. But I usually enjoy movies based on comic books. I suppose too much is lost emotionally with drawings rather in motion pictures. I’m thinking more of the shifting emotions. Or I am a snob.
I’m not a big Iron Man fan, nor was I anticipating the movie. Robert Downy Jr.? Not even remotely a draw for me. But Jon Faverau (Mikey from Swingers, director of Elf) is the director (as well as pulling a cameo as Tony Stark’s driver) and the trailers made it look interesting. The initial reviews have been pretty good. So I plunked down my $6.50 and enjoyed a matinee.
I’m glad I did. As the first in what the producers hope is a series, this movie introduced the character and set the stage for all that is to come. Robert Downy Jr. was a good casting move for this movie. You buy into him as Tony Stark- a womanizing, smart-mouthed man prone to the excesses that his incredible wealth affords him. His family has been in the defense industry since World War II. He is an engineering genius. His parents died while he was a teen. His father’s friend Obediah ran the business until Tony joined him when he turned 21.
You really don’t like Tony. He’s arrogant and a user of people. But all of that changes when he is captured by terrorists in Afghanistan. The religious aspects are complete ignored. What the movie focuses on is that they are using weapons manufactured by his company! Despite patriotic intentions, his weapons systems are being used by aggressors not just for defense. Stuck in the cave for 3 months he has an epiphany.
But he’s trapped in a cave. He is recovering from heart surgery after shrapenal from one of his weapons injures him in the attack. The also-imprisoned doctor uses a magnet to keep the remaining shrapenal from going into his heart. There he must build his latest weapons system for the warlord. Instead, Tony makes a technological discovery and also creates a metal suit with weapons to make his way to freedom.
He succeeds in escaping and decides to develop his original design. Back home people don’t understand the change in mindset that has overtaken him. It is a picture of repentance (without the religious component). His whole reason for living, and how he lives, changes. He is, essentially, a new man. He tries to right the wrongs of his past. Unfortunately for him, there is a betrayer who tries to destoy him.
There aren’t as many battle scenes as I’d like, but they fit the story line. The focus is on character development. Tony comes face-to-face with his personal emptiness, confessing to his personal assistant (played well by Gwyneth Paltrow): “You are all I have.” Due to her attentiveness to his compulsive nature, he is all she has too. A very different looking Jeff Bridges plays Obediah. He looks like he’s put on some muscle (thicker, but not fat), grew a goatee and shaved his head.
The ending was not as good as the rest of the movie. It was a letdown in some ways. But this was a good summer blockbuster. But it is not mindless. It has themes of repentance, redemption, betrayal, sacrifice etc. He can only survive because of a power outside of himself. Not quite a new heart, but pretty intriguing. The ‘new’ Tony Stark uses his wealth and genius to help the poor and oppressed, not for his own excess. These are things that a Christian can affirm, and should be doing. But the ‘old’ Tony will pose some uncomfortable moments for parents (no nudity, but some implied sexual immorality). In the context you see that his sin does not satisfy.
Overall, Jon Faverau did a good job with the pacing of the movie. There was enough humor to keep it from being too serious. Much of this takes place while he builds the high tech suit at his home workshop. The soundtrack also had lots of hard rock, but Black Sabbath’s Iron Man doesn’t show up until the credits. The soundtrack fit the movie, and that’s what you are looking for in a soundtrack.
This is the first good movie of the summer blockbuster season.
I’m very frustrated. I’m frustrated with the fact that the Celtics-Hawks series has gone to 7 games. It should have been done in 5. I’m frustrated that some guys on talk radio talk like the Hawks have dominated the Celtics at home. 2 of the 3 games have been down to the wire.
I feel like the 1992 election when Bill Clinton had to state the obvious. In watching the games it is obvious to me that it’s the free throws. Free points by the Hawks that have made a BIG difference in Atlanta. Horrible officiating is why Paul Pierce watched the end of Game 6 from the bench with a towel on his head. I’m not impatient with the Celtics. I think they have played well. But they’ve played with a disadvantage due to the disparity in fouls called. Whining, or facts? Look at the facts, folks.
During the course of the regular season, the Celtics averaged 26.5 FTA per game. So far in the playoffs, they are averaging 22.2.
During the regular season, the Hawks averaged 27.1 FTA per game. During the playoffs, they are averaging 34 FTA.
Contrary to what some nimble-minded announcers would think- over the course of an 82 game season the difference between free throw attempts for these 2 teams is .6 FT or less than one. Yet, in the playoffs, the Hawks are shooting 12 more per game than the Celtics.
It is not because the Celtics are a “jump shooting team”. Watch Pierce drive to the hoop. Watch Rondo drive to the hoop. Nearly every shot Powe and Perkins take is near the basket. Half of KG’s shot are close to the basket. Game 6 was just another example of the Celtics being whistled for minimal contact and the Hawks, well, not being whistled.
2 of the 3 games in Atlanta were essentially settled by free throws. The free throw disparity created the Atlanta victories. This is not the Celtics being passive, but the refs calling 2 different games. Should the Celtics win, and the same crew(s) officiate, LeBron himself will probably average 30 FTA/game. How can you compete against this unfair advantage?
Somehow I missed this episode of “Flip that Church”. I’ve got a post on what the Reveal survey revealed and that Willow Creek admitted they’d misjudged things. I missed the follow-up, what they were doing differently. It really sounds like a complete change of ministry philosophy. Sounds like they discovered the “traditional church” had the right ideas. Hmmmm.
Mature believers matter? How very interesting. This is a weakness of the “church plant craze.” I am pro-church plant; don’t get me wrong. But some planters completely dis’ established churches. They want to reach the unchurched, which is awesome, but they often begin to too few mature Christians in the core group. As a result they are like the parents on octuplets, over-burdened and wishing they could bail.
The vaunted Celtics’ defense showed up last night. And they once again put a major league hurtin’ on the Hawks. Whenever the Hawks made a good run the Celtics amped up the intensity and extended the lead.
The series is getting pretty chippy. Most of that chippiness seems to involve Horford. He could be the next Tree Rollins (who bit Danny Ainge, not the other way around as people erroneously recall it) or Bill Lambeir. That he didn’t understand the Flagrant Foul rule is amazing to me. He didn’t go for the ball, but a takedown. Don’t get angry about it. And there were plenty of angry Hawks near the end of that game. This could get ugly soon.
The person who should have been angry was Paul Pierce. Kudos to Paul for maintaining composure despite a series of bad calls and non-calls. He couldn’t catch a break from the officials who seem determined to send the Hawks to the line 3-4 times as often as the Celtics. I’m not buying the line the Czar (btw- could they forcibly retire him?) is selling. “The Celtics are a jump shot team.” Okay, during the Chris Ford era that was true. But did you see how many times Pierce and Rondo penetrated? Did you see how many times KG, Powe and Perkins took shots in the paint (drawing contact)? There was no logical, sensible reason for the FT disparity.
In light of all that- what was KG doing on the floor with 3 minutes to go???? Is Rivers trying to get him hurt? With that kind of lead the bench should have played the last 8-10 minutes.
Pitching. I am amazed at this string of pitching performances by Buchholz, Beckett, Lester and Dice-K. The Red Sox offense has been on vacation, and squandered Clay and Josh’s stellar performances. Thankfully they provided just enough for Papelbon to get the wins with walk-off hits. Suddenly the Sox pitchers are going deep and holding teams to almost nothing. 5 runs in 4 games I think. This is the staff we expected heading into the season. Is this just a fluke, or the real deal? The latter I hope.
Yesterday I listened to an interview with Frank Viola and George Barna about their book Pagan Christianity?. I keep thinking of the former pitcher for the Red Sox. You have to really have your head in the sand to not notice all the books critical of the “institutional church”. This is a phrase that was used ad infintinum during the 70-minute interview. Never defined.
Here’s my beef with the beef against the institutional church. Actually I have a few beefs.
1. Overgeneralization. Yes, many of the criticisms are true of many churches. But none of the criticisms is true of all churches. So you end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Yes, for instance, many churches are all about buildings (I could tell you stories, baby). But not all are. And that includes some big, famous congregations. For instance, Redeemer PCA in NYC does not have a building. They continue to rent facilities.
But sometimes owning your facility is a good thing. Rent was one of the problems we ran into in our restart. If we had put our money into a new facility on a visible piece of land we might have done better. I don’t know, and never will. But buildings alone are not the issue- but the attitude about buildings.
2. Lack of Personal Responsibility. They blame the church, not themselves. Yes, there are some dysfunctional churches, and churches that enable spiritual slackers. But most churches I’ve been associated with want people to grow and be involved. Most people who are not engaged are not engaged because they don’t want to be engaged. Those people fail to take personal initiative to build relationships with others, allow others into their lives, go to small groups and the list goes on. It is easy to make the “institutional church” the scapegoat.
The larger the church the more effort you may have to put into getting to know people. But I’ve been in churches of over 1,000 and been able to make friends and build relationships that lasted longer than my time there. Am I special? No! I recognized my personal responsibility instead of expecting everyone to initiate contact with me. Most churches nearly beg people to be involved, they aren’t wanting to have a congregation of spectators.
As you can imagine, I’ve gotten plenty of rejection letters in the last few years. In fact I’ve gotten 3 this week. Some of them have really annoyed me because they made some faulty assumptions about me, some of which were refuted in my resume & data form.
This one, however, made me laugh. It was a nice way to deliver bad news.
re-miss ri’mis- adjective
negligent, careless, or slow in performing one’s duty, business, etc.: He’s terribly remiss in his work.
2. characterized by negligence or carelessness.
3. lacking force or energy; languid; sluggish [Origin: 1375-1425; late ME<L remissus (ptp. of remittere to send back, slacken, relax) see remit]
I am writing on behalf of our search committee and apologizing for my personal remiss behavior in not writing you sooner.
This really was a good way to communicate not so great news. They obviously hadn’t read my advice to search committees and failed to keep people up to date (beyond the initial recognition of my application). I’m glad they didn’t persist, but let me know their search is complete and God provided a godly pastor for them.
I came across The Gospel According to the Old Testament series some time ago. I’ve picked up new books when they have come out. I think I have most of the series, and hope to use them at some point for a sermon series or teaching series. But I haven’t read one in a few years as other matters distracted me. But yesterday I was showing them to a friend who hadn’t heard of them. So I decided now was the time to resume some of my reading.
I had read some of Living in the Gap Between Promise and Reality: The Gospel According to Abraham by Iain Duguid for some earlier sermons. I picked up where I left off. Let me say that I met Dr. Duguid last June. He left Westminster West to teach at Grove City College. In the process he transferred to the ARP with hopes of planting a church near the college. He seems like a stand up guy.
In the gap between promise and reality, we find Abraham failing in Egypt. I like what Duguid has to say about failure for Christians.
Now, in this chapter, we will see- not for the last time- faith dealing with that failure. That’s a very important lesson for us to learn, isn’t it? There seem to be plenty of books telling you how to be a success, but few write about what to do when you find that you aren’t. Yet what you do when you are at your lowest ebb, when everything has gone wrong and you have failed God and your neighbor utterly, says a great deal about the kind of person you are and the kind of faith you have.
Thankfully the Bible is about real life, and how faith engages real life. God knows we all fail and made sure we hear about how other faithful followers have gotten up, dusted themselves off (by the blood of Christ) and kept going (by the grace of God). This is encouraging to me. I need to hear this.
Does failure drive you away from God, or does it drive you back to square one, back to where you started, back to the altar, the place of sacrifice, so that you can call on the name of the Lord? The builders of the Tower of Babel made no room for offering sacrifices to God and calling on the name of the Lord. Their motto was “In man we trust.” For that reason, when their building project fell apart, so did they. They had no means of dealing with failure. There was no room in their hearts for repentance, and consequently their religiousity could not survive the exposure of their own inadequacy.
Have you met those guys? I have. It is not pretty. By God’s grace I’m not one of them. I’m pretty inadequate. As Paul told the Corinthians, any competency I have comes from God. That’s true for all of us, but not all of us realize it. So, failure means you are a failure. I heard a great line about Isiah Thomas when he was FINALLY fired- “putting the ‘L’ in losing since 200_”. I joke with CavWife that I’ve put the ‘L’ in losing since 1965. I’m not a “super-apostle” or an uber-Christian. I’m an ordinary guy with an extra-ordinary calling. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be successful in all I put my hand to.
Good people, people of faith, fail just as others do. The difference is that when they fail, they do not fall, because they return to the Lord in repentance, calling on his name and seeking forgiveness.
So, what do you do when you fail? Do you give up or get back up? Don’t beat yourself up, but recognize that Jesus was beaten (and crucified) for all your sin and failure. Get up, and get going just as if God has made all things right (because, well, He has in Christ).
I watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Bob Ford yesterday. It is based on a novel, so I have no clue how much truth might be mixed in with the fiction. So, I’ll treat it all as fiction.
The portrait that emerges is one of James (a fine performance by Brad Pitt) as both charismatic and crazy. He is a paranoid psychopath who begins to kill members of the gang he suspects are going to turn him in. Rejection begins to turn Bob’s heart and a series of incidents continue the turning. After he has killed Jesse’s cousin, he knows that eventually Jesse will come for him. But during this time Bob has grown more confident, self-assured. He has also turned state’s evidence in an attempt to hedge his bets. The Governor is played by James Carvel (yes, the Democrat attack dog- both sides have them) and Ted Levine (Monk, Silence of the Lambs) has a role as the Marshall. The movie runs along these 2 lines, Jesse and Bob Ford.
My daughter pulled my copy of 
A friend considering resuming her Masters in Counseling asked me the main theory taught at 
Since I don’t buy new music very often, I thought I’d bring up some of my favorite old albums when I listen to them. The recent commercial for cashews caused me to pull Songs of the Heart sung by 
Bert dropped me a line about some events in our county that are apparently making some big news around the country. I was clueless, but I’m not anymore. The coverage is interesting.
I finished part IV of 
I had to do some pre-marital counseling after church today, so I didn’t get home until after 2 pm. Well, the game was basically OVER. I came home to see Rondo lying on the court after having been thrown down by his good friend, Marvin Williams. With friends like that….
I’m not a big Iron Man fan, nor was I anticipating the movie. Robert Downy Jr.? Not even remotely a draw for me. But Jon Faverau (Mikey from Swingers, director of Elf) is the director (as well as pulling a cameo as Tony Stark’s driver) and the trailers made it look interesting. The initial reviews have been pretty good. So I plunked down my $6.50 and enjoyed a matinee.
There aren’t as many battle scenes as I’d like, but they fit the story line. The focus is on character development. Tony comes face-to-face with his personal emptiness, confessing to his personal assistant (played well by Gwyneth Paltrow): “You are all I have.” Due to her attentiveness to his compulsive nature, he is all she has too. A very different looking Jeff Bridges plays Obediah. He looks like he’s put on some muscle (thicker, but not fat), grew a goatee and shaved his head.
I’m very frustrated. I’m frustrated with the fact that the Celtics-Hawks series has gone to 7 games. It should have been done in 5. I’m frustrated that some guys on talk radio talk like the Hawks have dominated the Celtics at home. 2 of the 3 games have been down to the wire. 
The vaunted Celtics’ defense showed up last night. And they once again put a major league hurtin’ on the Hawks. Whenever the Hawks made a good run the Celtics amped up the intensity and extended the lead.
Pitching. I am amazed at this string of pitching performances by Buchholz, Beckett, Lester and Dice-K. The Red Sox offense has been on vacation, and squandered Clay and Josh’s stellar performances. Thankfully they provided just enough for Papelbon to get the wins with walk-off hits. Suddenly the Sox pitchers are going deep and holding teams to almost nothing. 5 runs in 4 games I think. This is the staff we expected heading into the season. Is this just a fluke, or the real deal? The latter I hope.
Yesterday I listened to an 
I had read some of 
