DownshoreDrift

The Only People Reading My Blog Right Now Are . . .

. . . people interested in Heath Ledger and the role of the Joker.  That post I wrote in January is in Google's top ten when you type in just about anything that reads like, "Did playing the Joker role lead to Heath Ledger's Death?", or "How did the Joker role affect Heath Ledger?"  I have an invisible statcounter on my blog that gives me search engine type information and it is telling me that there are a lot of people who are wondering if Heath Legder got in touch with some type of evil that ended up leading him to his death. You cannot watch the role that he played as the Joker without thinking that it must have affected him. He spent hours and hours meditating on the evil of the Joker until it consumed him and destroyed him. It is not far from accurate to say, "You are what you think."

The Bible tells us to think on things above, not on things of this earth (Colossians 3:2). How much time do we spend worrying about things? How often do we wonder what is going to happen to us? How much do we think about material things, evil things, deadly things? Are we envious? Do we covet? Are we lustful? Are we unforgiving, or do we hold grudges? Are we full of pride? Hate? Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) turns everything upside-down and tells us that it is not enough to just be outwardly righteous - we must be inwardly righteous as well. What we thought about internally was just as important, if not more so, than what we did externally, because out of the heart flows all types of evil things. Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us to put off the old self that is corrupting us, to be made new in the attitude of our minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We need to think on things above.

The only way that we can really change is through Jesus. We have to admit to Him that we cannot change on our own and we have to ask Him to change us. The other day, I saw a brief moment of a show on MTV called "From G's to Gents." It takes a bunch of 20 something guys who are hoodlums and it is trying to show them how to be gentlemen. If they make the transition from thug to gentelmen, they win $100,000. I thought that it was pretty interesting because they were dealing with guys that had no hope for change and they were trying to help them change and become better people. What caught my attention was the guy who was on the phone with someone from back home crying saying, "I can't change." He was hopeless. Even when $100,000 was on the line, he could not give up the thug-life. It had become who he was because he had spent a lifetime devoted to it. Interesting.

We are all in that boat, though. Whatever we think about is what we become. Because we are born sinful, we are prone to think about sinful things. The only way that true transformation can really happen is if we are born from above and are given a new heart and mind by God. Jesus has to save us. We must look to Him in faith and ask Him to change our lives. When we do this, He cleanses us and gives us a new start. Then, we continue to think about Him and His ways and our minds are changed. Instead of dwelling on the sin and selfishness that destroys us, we dwell on Christ, our source of righteousness. We start thinking about how we can bless people instead of use people. We think about others instead of ourselves. By the power of God that aids us in this, our lives change.

Heath Ledger spent his time dwelling on the dark side. He played an amazing role in an amazing movie, but he took it too far. He could not control it and it consumed him. But, lest we throw stones, how many of us are consumed by money, by greed, by selfishness, pride, anger, lust, anxiety, our appearance, our popularity, our security, or our place in life? How many of us get consumed by religion thinking that we can in some way merit the merit of Christ? We are consumed by a million different things and all of them lead to death apart from Jesus. He is our Source of Life. The sooner that we realize that, the sooner that we find the reason that we were created.

The Dark Knight Review

I went to see The Dark Knight on Friday night and was not disappointed at all. Actually, this movie has to make my list as one of the best I've seen, and I do not throw around those types of compliments lightly. For a summer blockbuster, this movie is exceptional in every way (USA Today has a review that I wholeheartedly agree with). Here are a few thoughts and then I give an overall perspective:

• Heath Ledger stole the show as The Joker. He will go down as an acting legend. If he does not win an Academy Award for Best Actor, then they should discontinue the award (they probably should anyway, actually).  As I stated in my previous post, on January 24 I asked a question about Heath Ledger: "Did playing the Joker role lead to his death?" Some speculated that the role of the Joker affected Heath deeply and led to depression and insomnia. After watching his performance, I would not be surprised if he opened himself up to a darkness that ended up consuming him.
• All of the acting was superb. The directing, cinematography - everything was amazing. It was a very well made movie.
• I had no idea what was going to happen next. The movie was full of surprises and plot twists. While intense, it was not exhausting. It gave you room to breathe, but every scene was important.
• Overall, The Dark Knight was much better than Batman Begins (a movie that I loved). I would hardly even call it a sequel as it stands on its own quite nicely. 

Overall Analysis

This movie was an intense morality play of good versus evil. Heath Ledger, playing The Joker, emulated Satan better than any movie character that I have ever seen. Yes, he was creepy and strange. The make up and his voice gave you the chills. But, what I mean by emulating Satan is that he acted the way that the Devil acts. He was deceptive and evil only for the sake of being evil. There was no motive. He was evil just because he was, well, evil. The rest of the criminals and residents of Gotham were shown in a more human light. Their evil was always because of self interest, greed, or self preservation. Not The Joker. Like Satan, he delighted in evil for the sake of evil. His desire was to throw the whole system of society out of whack so that anarchy would rule for no other reason than to enjoy the anarchy and to show people that they were not in control like they thought they were. He hurt people just because he could. The only way for this type of evil to be truly combatted was through self sacrifice, and you find that occuring from unlikely sources as well as Batman.

As I drove home, I naturally thought about the ultimate cosmic battle of good versus evil. The human sin that we see around us, while wrong, is still human - it normally works according to self interest and self preservation. There is a much darker, more sinister source that lies behind it all and seeks to manipulate, deceive, and destroy, however. Yes, Satan entices us according to our own sinful desires and he exploits the corruption that lies within us. But, the most rank evil is not flesh and blood - it exists in the powers and principalities; the demonic forces around us that seek to destroy just for the sake of destruction. If there is any reason at all, it is to mar God's creation and attempt to diminish His glory. Jesus conquered the sin that lies within us as well as the evil of Satan through laying down His life in self-sacrifice, which is the only way that evil can ever be truly conquered. Faith in Him provides freedom from our own inner corruption as well as freedom from the evil of Satan. The Dark Knight tells portions of that story in a very surprising way and because of that, it points to something bigger than itself.

This movie is not for children, but at the same time, it was relatively clean by Hollywood's standards. The subject matter was gruesome but real. It dealt with issues of good and evil, morality, sacrifice, perception, courage, and what lies in the hearts of men. If you like movies that deal with these types of issues, then you will enjoy The Dark Knight. But, it is not for the faint of heart.

Marty Duren wrote an excellent review HERE.   

Who Plans to See "The Dark Knight" This Weekend?

I do, if not this weekend, then soon. I am not a huge fan of comic book or super hero movies, but a couple of years ago Erika and I rented Batman Begins.  I thought it would be a tired, boring restart of a tired, boring franchise that had run out of steam years ago. It was one of those nights that we were just looking for a movie and I popped it in expecting little. I was blown away. Christian Bale was amazing. The story was profound and fairly realistic (as realistic as Batman could be - not as cartoonish like the earlier movies). I loved the movie, and when I heard that a sequel with Heath Ledger as the Joker was coming out, I wanted to see it.

Then, in January, Heath Ledger dies. I asked the question, "Did the Joker Role Lead to Heath Ledger's Death?"  Some say that the darkness of the role affected him and led him into a depression. Reportedly, Jack Nicholson (who played the Joker back in the 80's) warned Ledger not to play the role. Apparently, people are very interested in that possibility because that post has become one of the most popular pieces that I have ever written. Daily, people from all over the world go to Google in search of the effect that the role of the Joker had on Ledger and they end up at my post. It has been interesting to observe.

From what I understand, the movie is a classic exploration of the battle of good versus evil, with Batman taking on the sacrificial role to protect Gotham City. There are lots of moral implications to stories like this and I think that is why people are drawn to them. At any rate, this is one of the most anticipated movies in the past several years. Do you plan on seeing it? If you have seen it, what did you think of it? Try not to spoil the plot. I normally only see a few movies a year in the theatre and I think this will be one of them.  Lifeway has a review HERE but, I didn't read the whole thing because it had spoilers to reveal part of the plot in it and I really would rather be surprised.

I'm Back

We had a great time on vacation. Lots of sitting, playing, resting, and reflecting. God is good and has blessed me so much. It was good to spend time with the family and just be together.

My birthday was on Sunday. I turned 34. I'm in my mid thirties and it seems weird and it is causing me to think about a lot of things. I used to see guys who were in their 30's as being old. Now, they seem a lot younger. I guess that will keep happening as I get older. Funny how your perspective changes. I'm not as young as I used to be - Profound, I know.

My church called me on Sunday morning and sang "Happy Birthday" to me over the phone. That put a big smile on my face! Thank you guys!

On another note, Steve McCoy and Joe Thorn are blogging together at Subtext: The Gospel in the Suburban Context. They have some interesting insight. I've been looking for thoughts on this issue for some time and have found few. Thanks, guys!

The Glorious Beauty of a Fresh Perspective

I am taking a break for a week or so (also known as vacation).  I plan to sit and basically do nothing. Oh, I'll sit on the beach, float in the Gulf of Mexico, play with my kids, and try not to sunburn. I'll lounge around the pool, throw some meat on the grill, play putt-putt, and sleep - a lot. But, all of that will basically be put under the category of "doing nothing."  I call it that because it sounds so relaxing and non-stressful.

I love vacation. I love the beach because of the wind and the ocean. You stare at it and you can never see the end. It stretches beyond the horizon and its waves wash over you from far off. Are they from Cuba? The Domincan? Did this water come from Africa? As I feel the wind blowing over me, I remember days long gone with my family on these same beaches. The world was full of promise then and everything seemed new and possible.

The promise is being fulfilled as I watch my children play and hold my wife. I can see a bit more clearly now and I know that God is at work all around me. He is more limitless than the ocean and His blessings come from every direction, just like the waves and the wind. With Him, there is no lack - no promise unfulfilled. I come to this place to hear a bit more clearly what He has in store for us in the coming months. I come to have my soul renewed and to lay down all that I have held so tightly. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

I have begun to step into a new perspective, even before this week. Through prayer and surrender, I have seen God at work in new ways. I look forward to what is to come and I am embracing what He is doing in my life right now. God is good - all the time.

I just wanted to give Him praise. 

Russell Moore on Spiritual Warfare, the Family, and the Rule of Appetites

Either the prophetic cry regarding our lifestyle choices and pursuit of the American Dream is getting louder, or I am just paying closer attention. As our economy tanks and our culture declines, I think that more and more Christians will begin to consider how we are living. Russell Moore from Southern Seminary takes aim at Southern Baptists' acquiesance to a culture run amok in materialism and hedonism. He hits this topic much harder than I have over the past few weeks as he talks to Southern Baptists about some timely issues. He says, "both left and right in the American mainstream are captive to the ideology that the appetites are to be indulged; the heart wants what it wants, by whatever system will do it most efficiently."  Moore is at his best in this article when he exposes the spiritual warfare that is taking place in our midst and how we have been deceived as we fall in line with the materialistic pursuit of our culture. He aptly points out that our enemy is not flesh and blood.

Moore's only weakness is that he is writing from a middle-class perspective as he critiques families where both parents are working. This is the reality for many families and there is really nothing that can be done about it. Instead of making families who HAVE to do this to survive feel bad, we should help them and support them as they provide for their families. His focus, however, is rightly placed on those families who could easily make it on one income, but choose to put children in day care to pursue a lifestyle of affluence. That action does require some analysis and alternatives need to be considered.

Overall, however, his take on this subject is timely - especially his comments on spiritual warfare. 

If We Want to Follow Jesus . . .

Americans are clustering more and more into cultural, social, economic, religious, and political enclaves according to Bill Bishop in his new book, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart. Basically, our affluence has led us to the place that most Americans want to live, work, and play with people just like them. The Homogenous Unit Principle that I spoke of a few posts ago, seems to be alive and well in an increasingly multicultural America. But, instead of becoming a melting pot, we look more like a salad bowl of Balkanized special interests. Of course, we have seen this for years with white-flight and the rise of the suburb, but it is now apparently happening across other areas of life and it has profound social, political, and religious implicatoins.

Patriotism Question: What Does It Mean to REALLY Love America?

Tomorrow we celebrate the 4th of July and there will be expressions of patriotism everywhere, as it should be. But as Christians expressing love for our country, do we really love America, or just the idea of America?

I just returned from hanging out with some folks in inner city Montgomery. They are doing ministry in a really bad part of town and I am joining them.  We were talking about the neighborhood and they told me that within a few blocks, there are eight traditional, building-oriented churches, many of them Baptist and conservative theologically. In those few blocks there are also crack houses, gangs, prostitutions, other illegal drugs, family breakdown, school drop outs, joblessness, immorality, prostitution, etc. I asked them what the "churches" were doing and they said, "nothing." They just meet on Sundays and do not interact with the community. The people in bondage to sin think that they know what Christianity is about, but they do not know its power. They have been innoculated against it.

So, when does loving America mean that the Church will truly turn our hearts toward the cities and bring hope and deliverance? Do we think that our God is so anemic that He cannot change our cities and neighborhoods? Is He ineffective, or have we just lost our hope, our courage, and the power of God?  Isaiah 61:1-4 tells us that we will be restored by the Lord and will become oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. Then, it says that those who have been restored will "rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."  Exactly when are we going to take this seriously and be a part of what God wants to do in our land? When will we stop condemning and running away and start rebuilding and restoring? I know that many people are doing this and I praise God. The Church is awakening, I feel, to it's role as restorer of places long devastated.

True patriots are those who do more than dress up in red, white, and blue and wave the flag. They are those who love America as it is and actually love it enough to see her people in need and do something about it. This is happening in the floods in the Midwest and it happened after Katrina on the Gulf Coast. It happens everytime we give ourselves away for others. I cannot say that I love humanity if I do not love individuals. I cannot say that I love America if I do not weep over her sins and cry out to God to heal her brokenness and be a part of bringing that healing to those in need, whether rich or poor. Loving America does not mean that I love a make-believe version of our country rooted in an idyllic past. Loving America means that I take her as she is and re-introduce her to Jesus, one person, one home, one neighborhood, and one city at a time.  Loving America means that I love her as Jesus would love her - sacrificially, laying down my life for her and her people - not just loving what she provides me. 

Do we really love America?  If we love God then we will love people, and that's where it all starts.

Alexis de Tocqueville on America

Alexis de Tocqueville was a brilliant French historian and political thinker who travelled through America in the 1830's and made assessments of our democracy, our people, and our culture. His major work was Democracy in America (1835). His thoughts are very insightful and they show the original seeds of the state of America today that have now reached full bloom. I found a good number of quotes about American's individualism and pursuit of prosperity that I found very interesting as well - it is rare to see much early analysis on these factors in American life. Here are a few of the quotes:

America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.

The Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other.

The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.

Beyond the Homogenous Unit Principle (HUP) to a More Holistic Gospel Witness

When I started seminary at Golden Gate in 1997, I took a preaching class my first semester. One day, a representative from Lifeway came in and began sharing with us principles on church growth. One of those principles was the Homogenous Unit Principle, articulated by Donald McGavran.  I had never heard this before, but it explained a lot. The HUP basically says that people most naturally congregate with people who are like them, therefore, church growth should take place among these affinity groups. The boundaries to evangelism are often more sociological than they are theological.  Those boundaries can be removed if the gospel is contextualized to each sub-culture and if churches are formed that affirm those sub-cultures. For example, if I am a middle class white man, then under this way of thinking, I would prefer to congregate with other middle class whites. Therefore, the best way to engage me with the gospel is to tailor ministry toward me in a way that is attractive to a middle class white male.

I was only 22 years old when I heard this principle shared by the man from Lifeway. This made some sense among groups with language barriers in places like India, but it did not really seem to fit what should be happening in a country like America. It sounded strange to me then because I did not see where it was biblical. Even though I was just a young white man from Mississippi, I didn't understand why church was supposed to be all about me. I remember asking a question of the man from Lifeway and my concerns were quickly dismissed as being uninformed. The HUP was presented to us as just the way of things, but for me, it did not seem right.  Wouldn't this perspective actually reinforce negative issues like racism, consumerism, and selfishness?