Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Watching Joel Osteen (from Reformation 21)

I told you Reformation 21 was a blog to watch.

Just had to make reference to a post made recently on Joel Osteen. I, too, had a chance to watch him, and I, too, found it very interesting.

I sat there and listened to him talk about how his wife told him that one day they were going to live in a big house, and he didn't believe her. Until one day, he let that seed take root, and after that, God just started blessing the socks off of him.

As he continued on like this, my six year old walked in, and asked me what I was watching. I said I was watching a man who wasn't telling the truth about God, and was saying that if you believe God, he'll give you what you want.

She replied, "That's not true. If you believe in God, he'll give you eternal life."

I followed up with "Will God give you what you want, or what you need?"

"Need," she replied. Then she said,"I don't want to watch him anymore. Let's turn him off."

That's my girl.

The Best R-Rated Movie You've Never Heard of...

(with apologies to Reformation 21).

After I add my two cents worth, jump over here to read the post on To End All Wars (which actually highlights another post--this one from Steven Hayward.

It's difficult to do justice to this movie in mere words, but let me give my brief but ringing endorsement. It isn't a "Christian" movie, in the sense of a sappy, feel-good flick. It is a gritty and realistic war movie, yet full of both message and meaning.

I heard of it because the producer is my Dad's best friend from high school and was best man at his wedding. You just wouldn't believe the effort that went into completing the movie and trying to get the word out.

Although not a commercial success, it is successful at telling a powerful story of sacrifice and redemption. Make no mistake--it earns its R rating in spades; this is not one for the kiddos. But for the discerning adult (and perhaps even some adolescents) looking for relief from meaningless summer fare, this is your movie.

I agree with Hayward when he says "You will not be disappointed." He goes on to say this,"You also won’t be able to stop thinking about it for a week." I'm still haunted by it, almost two years later.