from my blog to you, with love

17 06 2011

Blog guilt: (noun) the guilt a blogger feels from infrequent posting. A feeling of letting readers down and the fear that only your mom & best friend will continue to read your thoughts. Includes a perpetual backlog of blog ideas, bursting from ones brain but without sufficient time and or energy to post said blog ideas.

So friends, if any one is still reading, here are my excuses reasons for my infrequent posts as of late.

1. I have been a crazy paintbrush wielding mama in the past week. Expecting baby #2 in a few weeks has motivated me to catch up on all the house projects I haven’t gotten around to completing. Now thanks to Sherwin Williams & my friend Kristin, my dining room is a lovely shade of eggplant and Reuben’s room is blue! We’re planning on stenciling this cool pattern on the walls in the next few weeks.

the shade of purple is pretty similar to what we painted the end walls of the dining room. the other walls will be a lighter shade in the same color swatch & with the darker purple stenciled on top.

2. Preaching. I preached at my church, Velocity a few weeks ago on the topic “temptations Christians face” which was about the temptation to keep our faith in Jesus to ourselves.  It was so much fun to be invited and encouraged to use the gifts God has given me in preaching in our church!  If you’ve got 20 minutes to spare & you’d like to hear the sermon you can click here. Being 8 months pregnant when I delivered the sermon made for one sweaty challenge but it also felt great to trust God with the limitations of my body right now & still do what he’s called me to do. One of the blog posts that’s been rolling around in my mind is some other thoughts I’ve had on why Christians don’t share their faith- I swear, I will get around to it soon.

3. Research paper. I’ve been taking a research methods class to finish my M.A. in evangelism and leadership through Wheaton Graduate school. It’s been fun and engaging to work on a project I care a lot about that I think will have positive implications for the future of evangelism in InterVarsity. But this paper has been weighing on my mind, my time and the other work I’ve needed to get done. Thankfully, this week I turned it in & am in the home stretch of writing some final reflections.

4. Crazily tired from pregnancy. I have been so, so tired lately. Today marks 4 weeks away from my due date. I had a freak-out moment last night where I was feeling some pain & though “holy crap, this baby could come tonight or tomorrow!” freak out resulted in going to Target to buy diapers, wipes, and a few other remaining baby items that we needed. At least baby boy # 2 will have a clean butt even if there is nothing else done in preparation for his arrival.

5. Eclipse. I started the Twilight series a month ago. I am on book three. Enough said.

bella is a tool. why would she not pick Jacob?

So blog friends, you have been in my thoughts along with the posts I have yet to write. Thanks for continuing to check back even when Sidewalk Theologian still has the same post as when you checked last time. :) I know I don’t have any obligation to post, I don’t get paid to do this, but I really do enjoy interacting with all of you, reading your insightful comments and being able to share about our experiences in the spectacular and ordinary places of life & following Jesus.


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the church of my imagination

21 10 2010

Choirs of unicorns singing gospel hymns, humorous sermons by Stephen Colbert and joyful potlucks with BBQ ribs afterwards comprise the church of my imagingation. Well, not actually, but it’s fun to picture right? Unicorns, Colbert, ribs- sounds like a divine trifecta to me.

dude, just how many hallelujahs are there in the hallelujah chorus?

Dave and I have been looking for a church here in Cleveland and I’ve been reflecting on what we value in a church, how we go about evaluating those values, the dissonance that occurs between what I picture as an ideal church and what we experience in reality.  Recently I took a class with Rick Richardson (aka Slick Rick) at Wheaton Graduate School on various models of evangelism and church. I was easily inspired and going to places like Lawndale Community church where the church has helped to provide health services, a low cost fitness center, a dental clinic and arts cafe in Lawndale, a struggling community just outside of Chicago.

my friend Francie and I outside of Lawndale Community Church's "Firehouse Arts Center" where they have a hip hop church!

Especially exciting is that they look to the leadership of people who are in the community for the answers to the problems that they face rather than coming in with their own ideas of cleaning up trash from the streets or painting houses to make superficial changes. Churches like Lawndale are truly bringing the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.

The phrase “church shopping” has come into the vocabulary of evangelicals in recent years, I believe in large part because so many churches have structured their services around a consumer Christian experience- “do I like the worship? What kinds of programs does the church offer for me? Did I “get fed” from the sermon?” When did Christians become so lazy that they need someone to spoon-feed them spirituality instead of experiencing growth as a daily part of life? In the last year I’ve had a growing discontent with various models of church and have felt like moving to Cleveland offers a great fresh start for finding and investing in a community that we can be part of to live life and serve Jesus together.

If you’ve ever been to a wedding or any variety, it’s likely that you may have heard 1 Corinthians 13 read by someone’s cousin, friend or uncle- “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” The earlier part of this passage talks about how there can be many impressive things present in a church; generosity to the poor, speaking eloquently about God, faith that can move mountains- yet without love it amounts to nothing. Nothing.

This has become the main factor for me in determining whether I want to join a church community or not: does it seem like a place where the love of Jesus is present? Are there people there who through the love that Jesus are seeing to always trust, persevere, hope and rejoice together? Are they the type of people who will judge me when I inevitably hurt, offend or slight someone? Or will they forgive? Do people seem proud of themselves because of what they’ve accomplished? For how big the church is or how edgy they can be? I’ve realized I can listen to great sermons online, buy a worship cd for world-class praise music or even call up friends who live far away that I can pray with.

dear God, let church be more than a building!

The thing I can’t replace is people. And that’s what church is all about- the mess, glory and joy of being with people who are in the process of being transformed into the divine creatures that are agents or peace, love and hope because of Jesus. It’s hard, there are hurt feelings, horrible conflicts. Yet in my imagination I see a community that is overflowing with the love of Jesus- where they’re able to have ridiculous amounts of fun together, pray like God is really listening, cry with one another in the midst of suffering and serve the needs around them without needing a church program to tell them that’s a good thing. That even when the hard, horrible things happen, they’re able to look to Jesus as their source of forgiveness and hope to heal the wounds we inflict and that are inflicted upon us. I hope that the church in my imagination can become more and more of a reality here in my neighborhood and community as we become involved in the lives of people seeking to follow Jesus here in Cleveland.


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Categories : church, grad school, inner world, jesus, spirituality

what gets in the way of your happiness?

22 02 2010

When I was in college, my roommate Marla stressed about finding a major exclaimed in frustration; “I wish we were back in the old days of women just having to choose if they wanted to be a nurse or a teacher! There are just too many options!”  At the time, I chided her for not embracing the myriad of options women have available now more than any other point in history.  Yet, as I read the chapter in Find Your Strongest Life entitled “Of Choice and Men” Marla’s comment came to mind.  In his research to learn what helps women to feel strong and successful, Buckingham learned the following- I’m quoting from a few of the highlights on page 45 if you have a copy of the book:

1. Over the last forty years women have gained more opportunities and more responsibilities. Very few if any, have been relinquished. Consequently, your greatest challenge in life is to make wise choices.
2. More choice doesn’t correlate to more happiness. More choice can in fact, add to your levels of stress and make your life harder.

hilarious "super-mom" action figure available at: http://www.happyworker.com/catalog/item/supermom-action-figure

3. In developed countries, women and men work the same number of hours. (Women’s increasing levels of stress seem to be caused less by the actual number of hours worked, than by the sheer variety of what needs to happen within those hours)

To these observations I say, “preach it Marcus!” When I was at Wheaton taking a class this past December, I had lunch with some classmates and the department chair of the Intercultural studies, a woman named Evvy Campbell. I asked her what it was like as a woman leading in a high capacity role like department head. I immediately felt embarrassed I had called attention to her gender (do you ever feel like it’s taboo to point out gender? Especially for women?) She talked about how God had called her to the role & that Wheaton had been a great place to develop as a leader. Then with a wink and a nod she said, “I do my work here as department head & then go home to vacuum the floors & do the dishes too! That’s what it’s like being a female department head.”

oh Angelina, you make it look so easy and glamorous!

This is exactly the kind of thing Marcus is writing about- though we may have more responsibilities and opportunities, all of the same ones (like vacuuming the floors, and helping to assemble the school project, and exercising, and cooking healthy meals) remain. His premise is that women feel stressed because during the course of one day we feel pressure to be “Martha Stewart, Michelle Obama, Katie Couric and Meg Whitman and Angelina Jolie and Danica Patrick, all rolled into one unattainable package.” It isn’t that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything, it’s that there are too many things going on to focus well on any one of them.

He’s got some great suggestions later in the book about how to deal with this, but it made me stop and reflect how I try to do this as well. It does feel great when you can fully give yourself to the attention of making dinner, reading your child a bedtime story, composing that difficult email, or cracking out a few hours of studying….without thinking about them all simultaneously. I am totally guilty of this!

Dave and I have tried to make some rules to help us stay focused on being present to what we’re currently doing- we don’t check our computers/email/facebook before breakfast. I know that might seem silly, but when you’re focused on everything at once, it’s tempting to crack some eggs, check an email while the toast is toasting and reply to the email while you’re waiting for coffee to brew.  In the mean time, you’re missing out with time to connect with others, settle into the day and be present to nourishing your body and relationships.  Even making this one rule for our family has helped me to realize- whatever is in my inbox can wait! My family is more important than my iPhone! Eggs are delicious! And I have felt less stressed because we’re not letting technology invade that time as a family. It helps me remember that the people I’m with at that moment are more important for the 30 minutes of breakfast than the people who are waiting for my replies to emails.

What are some thing that you feel like is getting in the way of your happiness? Any ways that you’ve simplified your life to stop unhealthy multi-tasking? How has it affected you? What do you agree/disagree with about Marcus’ findings?


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Categories : grad school, mom blogs, parenting, work, working moms

sabbatical dreams

24 12 2009

It’s hard to believe that in eight days I’ll begin a year long sabbatical from my regular job with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship! After seven years IVCF grants up to a year for academic sabbaticals, an amazing gift! I’m actually in my ninth year of ministry and during this year, I plan to  finish my M.A. through Wheaton Grad school.  I was talking with my friend Gracee the other day about helpful things to consider before beginning a sabbatical- I’d love some advice from any other people that have done/are doing one!

Since my degree is modular and my first class doesn’t start until March, I’ll actually have a decent amount of time for other things besides writing papers and reading for class. I’ve been mentally compiling a list of things I’d like to do, so I thought I’d just blog it out and stop driving myself batty with all my dreams for the next year.

Here is what I actually plan to do:

  1. Finish my M.A. through Wheaton. Read like crazy. Learn some rad stuff about evangelism and leadership. Write a lot of papers.
  2. Begin writing a book on “women in witness” based on the seminar I’m leading at Urbana- I’m so stoked about this and still can’t believe I have a meeting with an editor in a few days to discuss it!
  3. Invest awesome mom time with Reuben and wife time with Dave. I’m hoping to take a mom/toddler swim class with Reuben and a dance class with Dave.
  4. Spend time with girlfriends. I always have ideas for parties but often am gone so much or am so tired that I don’t have energy to follow through on my ideas. My latest party idea: “souper saturday”; have a couple girlfriends over with ingredients for soup that we’ll chop, cook and then each take a portion home to eat/freeze having multiple soups already prepared! I’d also just love to be able to do more normal mom stuff- playdates with kids, library reading hours, things I normally don’t get to do on a regular basis because of my travel schedule.
  5. Spend some awesome time with Jesus. I’m looking forward to taking a silent retreat in January or February at my favorite place, The Hermitage. I’m also hoping to be more involved with the moms group at my church and to possibly plan a women’s retreat!

    the hermitage is beautiful year round- even now when it's covered in snow.

Here is what I’d do if there were no limits to my sabbatical (time, $, family committments, etc.) in addition to what I’m already planning:

  1. Take the “fantasy bake-cation” through Zingerman’s bakery in Ann Arbor. A full weekend of learning how to bake world-famous bread or pastries. I would so LOVE to do this! Perhaps I will be able to swing taking one of the classes. I’d love to learn how to make english muffins at home. I’m a glutton for breakfast breads.
  2. Travel: to Kenya- to visit my brother and sister-in-law while they take sabbatical/work there for six months. To Ireland to visit one of my college girlfriends Katie and her husband Rob. Anywhere warm with Dave during the months of January and February when I get cabin fever living in Michigan.
  3. Create and sell artwork, like the peacock prints I made awhile ago. I’ve had a lot more ideas for those types of things but alas- it takes a lot of time to do that sort of thing! I’ve always found I both think and feel better when I have an outlet for creativity.
  4. Do a triathlon this summer. I wanted to do the Reed’s Lake run here in Grand Rapids this past summer, but again, that takes time and money- not to mention a lot of discipline! I think I probably will end up doing a 5K this spring with Dave, but a triathlon would be pretty cool too.
  5. Reorganize my kitchen pantry. This is the kind of stuff I tell myself that I’d like to do because it makes me feel like a better person but when it comes down to it, I really don’t enjoy it.

    help. me.

    If you had a year to pursue your dreams, what would you do? Help me reorganize my pantry? ;)


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Categories : baking, church, food, friendship, grad school, inner world

enter the chaos

5 12 2009

I stared at the painting for a full three minutes before I became self-conscious of the desk attendant wondering if I had entered into some sort of trance.  Even after moving on to look at some of the other paintings, capturing the essence of Jesus’ ministry in scripture I kept wandering back to snatch glimpses wondering if I had really seen what I experienced as I gazed at the image of Jesus surrounded by little children.

On a lunch break from a class in the M.A. program I’m in at Wheaton, I wandered into the Billy Graham Center Museum, curious to see which artist was featured this month.  I’ve always liked visiting the museum and have made a point to go every time I’m at Wheaton. Entering the dark gallery feels like a sacred space of beauty, creativity and the presence of the Holy Spirit waiting to speak to me through photographs, sculptures and paintings.  Currently, the exhibit of the Life of Christ, The Drawings of Robert Doares features an amazing scope of paintings depicting scenes from Jesus’ life. I wasn’t particularly interested in this group of paintings, but I always jump at the chance to see artwork.

Feeling tired from my week in class, I tried to quietly view the paintings, savoring the silence and the beauty.  However, there was a group of middle aged women wandering around viewing the paintings on some kind of tour.  My irritation with them grew as they loudly discussed their lunch plans, their blood-sugar levels dropping and whether they should come back to the museum after fueling up with an appropriate amount of carbohydrates. “shut up! I thought- can’t you just be quiet and enjoy the majesty of these paintings without wanting to move on to the next thing?” Clearly I was more tired from my week of class than I realized.  I prayed to be patient with these ladies and that they would indeed leave soon so I could be by myself in the gallery.

I continued to wander around, looking at the depiction of the disciples asking Jesus when the temple would be destroyed, of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness depicting him surrounded by all kinds of animals. Birds, cheetahs, antelopes- and I thought, sure why would the animals NOT want to be near Jesus, he created them! I was also jealous that Jesus got to pet a cheetah without being mauled to death. I guess those are one of the benefits of being the Lord of the universe.

Most of the paintings were in black and white and so when I came to the painting in full, brilliant color of Jesus blessing the little children from Matthew 19:13-15- I stopped in my tracks.  For the past four years I’ve been preaching about how the gospel intersects with the issue of human trafficking, the value God has for the life of all people, especially children.  In this portion of scripture Jesus’ kindness towards children is illustrated when babies were brought to him to be touched.  Jesus’ disciples would have been caught off guard by the screaming, lauging children that climbed up into Jesus’ lap or put their sticky hands in his beard. They tried to play bodyguards and divert the mothers hopeful that their bright-eyed son or daughter would receive a special blessing from Jesus. Rather than shooing them away, Jesus speaks directly to the children;

“let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Though I have spoken to college students, often prideful of their accomplishments or goodness about how there is something about the innocence and faith of children that God sees as necessary for us to receive the kingdom of God.  How his kingdom that is comprised of priorities, attitudes and actions that line up with God’s desires for our lives and the world and how Jesus tells us that it is those who receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will experience his blessing, forgiveness and mercy.

God had something entirely different for me as I gazed at the portrait of him surrounded by toddlers. My son Reuben is two and ½ years old, and in the past month has begun to enter the whiny, demanding, milk-dumping all over the coffee table stage of the terrible twos.  I love spending time with him, hearing his laugh when I tickle him, watching him talk to his trains as he plays with them, holding his little hand in mine as we pray before each meal.  But having a toddler guarantees a high-level of constant stress and demand every day.  It feels chaotic at times, wondering how I’m going to prepare a talk to give or a training session, clean up the puddle of pee that has appeared in our living room after he’s had an accident and somehow ensure he has a clean bathtub to bathe in.  I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed lately, angry and resentful at times and not sure where Jesus is in the chaos of raising a toddler.  And most times I think I should just be strong, muscle through and escape as I listen to Gwen Stefani on Pandora as I fill the dishwasher each night.

But as I gazed at this painting and the tender yet confident way Jesus looked at the baby he was cradling, I was struck that Jesus is present in the joyful and stressful children bring to life.  Not only that, he welcomes it! And consequently, he welcomes mothers letting them know- you are welcome to be with me.  You don’t have to get your kid cleaned up or be embarrassed that they throw a temper tantrum or pee their pants, theirs is the kingdom of God.  Thinking back to the culture of the Jews in Jesus time, this would have been so extraordinary- a spiritual leader like Jesus not excluding women and saying because of your gender and the children you have to go worship in this separate area.  He welcomes them into the presence of God at the place they’re at in life.

It’s an intriguing scene looking at the expressions on the faces of each person in the painting- the grateful ways the women look at Jesus as he interacts with the children, their delight in the gifts God has given them in their offspring, the quizzical, shocked and disturbed faces of some of the male and female onlookers to this scene. And the joy in the midst of the chaos of children picking flowers, running around, sucking their thumbs, being tossed in the air.  I was so struck how Jesus welcomes me and my son into his presence, that he loves us not because of what we can do, the awesome talk I might give or how many students I can train.  He loves me because I’m his daughter, and he delights in me and wants to bless me as I humbly choose to experience his kingdom daily.  This experience was so intimate that I almost hesitate to share it with people- in a culture that values the façade of strength, resilience, and power it feels so counter cultural to receive the kingdom of God like a little child.  Not because of what I can do, but because of who God is making me to become.  But that’s the kingdom of God- different than what we expect- it catches us off guard, opens our hearts to the reality of God’s love for us, just as we are and the ways he wants us to live out his kingdom on earth, in our neighborhoods, with our families and even how we value ourselves.

Jesus wants to enter our chaos, no matter where we are at in life.  In fact, I’m guessing perhaps even for you he’s already but you haven’t been aware of the ways he has been demonstrating his love to you. I want to invite you wherever you are at spiritually, to choose to be open to how Jesus might want to enter the chaos of your life with kids, with school, your spouse, your job. I believe that God wants to show you his love for you and to strengthen you and give you peace through the chaos because he is present.



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Categories : art, grad school, inner world, jesus, mom blogs, spirituality, working moms

the sweet escape

30 11 2009

Stopping to fuel up my jetta with diesel fuel on 1-96 and grabbing a ginormous box of good n’ plenty’s for the road, I drove through the darkened farmland of Michigan to Wheaton, IL where I’ll spend the week in class learning about the history of evangelicalism and the theology of the gospel for the M.A. I’m working on. I have so been waiting for this week.

When I arrived at my friend Annie’s apartment, I could see the glow of the Billy Graham center steeple in the background where I’ll spend all week in class. When I took my job as regional coordinator for

The Billy Graham Center & museum

evangelism two years ago, I negotiated that I could work on this degree (along with raising thousands of $ to do it) to help me best serve the students and staff I work with through InterVarsity and provide them with most cutting edge training and resources. Even though working on this degree has benefitted me professionally, I’ve enjoyed it for another reason. I get to escape into my brain. I get to spend a solid week just learning, and thinking and writing and reflecting without having to balance all the other aspects of my life.  And it feels like a vacation even though I’m working really hard. People have asked if it’s difficult being away from Dave and Reuben while I take these week-long intensive classes and it is. Once, I was staying in a guest home during one of my classes, I could hear a baby crying and his mother singing him to sleep. It was so gut-retching as a mom I had to put in my earbuds and turn on some Miles Davis to drown out the noise and mom guilt sprinkled with the sadness of not being at home to sing my own son to sleep.

But then I get over it and I get into class and start discussing theology, ideas, history and I feel like any sense of regret, sadness or guilt dissipates as I float to the cloud nine of learning. I’ve liked being able to fully immerse myself during the week without thinking about if I’ve thrown on a load of laundry since Reuben peed through all of his underpants, that I should do the dishes before Dave gets home so it’s one less thing for us to do, that I need to pick up more cat food for our two crazy cats Conan and Chester. I walk through the aisles of Trader Joe’s and pick out what I want to eat for the week (chocolate dunkers and edamame!). I sing along with Kanye, Mary J. Blige and Lady GaGa at full blast in the car as I speed along 1-94.  I talk walks alone at the end of a long day and if it’s still light out, I watch the cardinals flit through the grey leafless branches and reflect on what I’ve learned, the diverse people in my classes and how thankful I am for a husband who helps me pursue my dreams, the funds that have been generously provided for me to take classes and the space to do so.

sometimes we even hop in the wardrobe C.S. Lewis's uncle built him and escape to a dream world of magic!

 

 

 


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top five thankful list

25 11 2009

In preparation for the inevitable “what are you thankful for this year?” question that most of us get asked on Thursday, I thought I would be a little more thoughtful than rattling off the standard, “family, friends, pumpkin pie” answers.  Since this is my last post for this month’s challenge to practice thankfulness, I thought I’d encourage all of us not just to be thankful, but to be specific in your thanksgiving. What do I mean by this?

Example A: I am thankful for clothes so I don’t have to be naked and cold.
Specific modification: I am thankful for this pair of jeans and this amazingly stylish sweater from Toddland that makes everyone jealous when I wear it because no one can look as cool as me, unless of course, they’re wearing this sweater too. Then we are hot and stylish together instead of naked and cold. O.K. So that was a shameless plug for my friend Todd’s clothing company. Get your boyfriend, dad, second cousin bud some fab gear from their online store for Christmas, Chanukah, or Christmukah. Back to the thankfulness.

What I mean by being specific is letting people know and reflecting for your self what you actually are thankful for. So here is my top five list to close out this month’s Thankful challenge.

1. My sister. In the past six months, my sister and I have grown a lot closer. I’m thankful because our relationship hasn’t always been easy. If I had to facebook status my relationship with my sister in the past it would have been “it’s complicated” now, the status would be “it’s the kind of friendship with my sister I’ve always hoped for.” awww. cue afterschool theme special music.

The sisters Leep. Can you guess who is the oldest?

2. Pie. With the holidays always come the traditional things I bake. Tonight I made the crust for the pecan pie & roasted the pumpkin for the pies I’ll be baking for thursday. I feel thankful for the rhythms of life that entail traditional holiday desserts! For Christmas I always make coconut macaroons and chocolate gingerbread from Nigella’s Feast Cookbook.

3. Quality time. This is the one time of year my brother and his wife come to spend a few days with our family. They’re both in PhD programs and lead busy lives, so I’m so happy to have the chance to catch up, drink some coffee together & play Settlers of Catan!

4. The opportunity to learn. Next week I’ll be taking a class for the M.A. I’m working on through Wheaton Graduate school. Everytime I take a class in this program I feel like I’m on cloud 9. I’ve loved interacting with peers from around the world, learning from insightful professors and having the space to learn more. Plus, the original wardrobe that was build by C.S. Lewis’ uncle is housed on Wheaton’s campus. When I get stressed out during class, I just hop in and find Mr. Tumnus the fawn to have a chat with.

mr. tumnus, the fawn

5. Yoga. Even though I thought this month’s pace would be slower, it really hasn’t been. I’ve started to do more Yoga, partly in preparation for next month’s 12 days of Yoga challenge! More on that in next Tuesday’s post! Even though it hasn’t been a lot, each time I do yoga I feel refreshed, energized and stronger. It has just felt so good to stretch and breathe at the end of a long day. I’m looking forward to doing more next month!

What are some of the things you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving?


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Categories : baking, books, friendship, Uncategorized

I love you, man! (the sermon)

10 09 2009

What do Peter Klaven from “I love you, man”  and Peter from scripture have in common? Take a listen to my blog post today & find out!

Paul Rudd & Jason Segal as Peter and Sydney. Best Bro Friends Forever.

Paul Rudd & Jason Segal as Peter and Sydney. Best Bro Friends Forever.

This is about a 15 minute long “sermonette” that I had to preach for a class I took this past spring at Wheaton Graduate School on the Gospel & pop culture.  This was by far one of my favorite classes, mostly because I love pop culture and watching movies.  Our professor Rick Richardson even gave us popcorn money for this class assignment- how sweet is that?! Our groups in class had to pick a movie & discuss the spiritual themes behind it.  This is the thing I love about pop culture- though it may be couched in peep & fart jokes the best movies connect with our deepest longings, like the longing for friendship in I love you, Man.

Though I really enjoyed this movie a lot, it’s not for everyone.  So, while I did preach about this movie I am not saying that everyone should go out and see it.  If you get offended by potty humor- rent Wall-E instead.  I just think people, and Christians should explore the things that really connect with a broad audience. I believe that filmmakers and musicians are more relevant modern-day prophets that speak of the truth inside all of us and in the world than most preachers do on a Sunday morning. So stop, listen and enjoy.  As the reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper said, There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” That includes bromance films and the wonderfully hilarious people who created them.


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Categories : friendship, inner world, movies, pop culture, Uncategorized


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