Transformation in Film (a seminary project)

For one of my classes this semester I was asked to do a project that helps lead people in transformation. I love movies, and I believe there are some incredibly transforming moments in film. So for my project I chose to write reflection questions for a few of the films that have been most influential in my life. I would like to invite you to participate with me in this project.

There are three movies involved in this reflection, Unbreakable, The Incredibles, and Braveheart. The intention is for them to work together. Ideally you would watch and engage in all three of the movies and reviews over the next couple weeks, but if you are crunched for time you could certainly engage in one or two of the films. You can do it alone or as a group, but however you do it engage with your whole heart. When you have finished, please leave a response on the blog. This will allow me to use your responses as a part of the project. If you are nervous about putting yourself out there, you can leave an anonymous response.

I pray that the Father will meet with you as you engage, and that you will experience his presence more and more as he transforms and fills your life with his love.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Good News!

I’ve got some good news for you! Excited? Maybe that doesn’t quite get your hopeful juices flowing. Maybe statements like these roll off your back because you’ve have been bombarded with “You may have already won ” emails/letters, and “Win a free Xbox 360!!” web-site banners. Maybe you’ve heard statements like these so much that they have lost all sense of meaning and excitement. Much like a lot of the language we use to describe the wonder of the Gospel. Words like personal relationship with Jesus, born-again, and even Christianity have taken on so much baggage you can hardly find the real meaning anymore. That or we’ve used the words on such a surface level so long that we use them without even knowing what they mean. Our language is in need of Ty PENnington and an Extreme Word Makeover. I apologize for the detour through Sesame Street.

I’ve got some good news for you! Did that do anything different for you this time? Dang. Let’s try something else. Imagine your best friend telling you he or she has good news for you. I imagine hearing that from my wife and I can almost feel the excitement as I write this. Do you feel a burst of excitement at the words “good news?” Do you feel that same burst of excitement when someone mentions the Gospel, church, or the mission of Jesus? I don’t think most people do. Honestly that makes me sad. Sad because something that should be as basic as what Jesus came to accomplish has taken on all sorts of baggage that we often can’t see through the murky waters to discern the right and true purpose of the event that time itself is defined by.

When Jesus spoke of his mission he chose to refer to it as the “gospel.” The Greek word used in the New Testament for “gospel” is literally translated as “good news.” So the people of Israel heard Jesus often say something akin to, “I have some good news for you!” I think if someone of Jesus’s ilk told me he had good news for me I would be pretty stoked. But for some reason when the church talks about the good news today the world doesn’t hear that and that makes me sad.

It’s sad to me that over time we have done so much damage to the message of Jesus that in general the world hears a message of bigotry and hypocrisy. It’s sad to me that the world hears the message of Jesus as a list of rules and “thou shall nots.” It’s sad to me that the world hears the message of Jesus as something it is not.

What do you hear when you think of the message of Jesus? Is it good news for you? Seriously. Don’t just answer the “right” answer and move on. Engage your heart in the question. When you think of the message of Jesus what does your heart hear? Freedom or shackles? Love or anger? Inclusiveness or exclusiveness? Authenticity or hypocrisy?

Honestly I think we have gotten the message of Jesus so mixed and mucked up that many in the church don’t even know what it is anymore.
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1 comment:

  1. c.huizengaMarch 13, 2007 at 12:36 PM

    “It’s sad to me that the world hears the message of Jesus as something it is not.” – Jason Feffer.

    Ever heard of Marshall McLuhan? He wrote a book entitled "The Medium is the Message". While by and large it is targeted to graphic designers and those in the advertising industry, he makes a very solid argument that HOW a message is sent speaks volumes about how it is received, processed and (most importantly) understood. The medium for communicating any message is a representation of the beliefs or promises made by the organization sending them out. Lately, as I hear Christians talk in and out of church, and as I see them outside their environment, I have to ask if we are truly living out the message Christ intended – myself included.

    For example (and even more appropriately,) I catch myself in the heat of an argument and I listen to the words I use, or catch the tone in my voice and I’m shocked that this is me. Is how I respond, how I engage with people truly representative of the message that Christ is speaking? I know full well it is not, that I am misrepresenting him, and I know I have work to do. I also know that I just wasted an opportunity.

    The real kick in the junk here is that Christ is forgiving and willing to give us new opportunities to renew ourselves. The public, however, is not. We get one shot with them - just one, to make the connection between Christ and a life lived out IN Christ.

    McLuhan might have just said that "WE are the message". How we act, how we engage with the needs of others, how we address issues in our community, how we talk about others, how we treat our friends and wives and strangers – all of that speaks to the public about how our life aligns with the one Christ wanted for all of us. If there is truly good news to be communicated, then we must make sure that our lives align with what it is we truly believe. We are the message… but what are we saying?

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