blog one another

Groundhog Day

We just finished watching Groundhog Day with the kids, who managed to put up with a lot of kissing thanks to it being just plain funny. But it's been a while since I'd seen it, and I didn't remember it as such a profound spiritual movie. The wikipedia write-up says it better than I can:

Groundhog Day is a tale of self-improvement, to look inside oneself and realize that the only satisfaction in life comes from turning outward and concerning oneself with others rather than concentrating solely on one's own wants and desires. As such, the film has become a favorite of Buddhist, Christian and Jewish leaders alike because they see its themes of selflessness and rebirth as a reflection of their own spiritual messages. It has even been dubbed by some religious leaders as the "most spiritual film of our time."

Highly recommended. (Thanks, Chris, you can have it back now. You doing a February 2nd showing?)

New books

click to play

The Myths of Innovation

Just got back to my office from a presentation by Scott Berkun promoting his new book, The Myths of Innovation. This could be a good book for any church leaders who are trying to go somewhere new. Try before you buy; check out the sample chapter.

Explore: Fight Club

The second movie in my "spiritual movie series" was Fight Club, which I have enjoyed before. I learned (again) that this movie is not for everyone—but for me, it may be the most outstanding example of a spiritual movie in which the movie itself is not about a spiritual topic. Every time I watch it, it says something new to me.

I was recently asked to describe my vision of The Cult. I found that it's difficult to come up with the right words and metaphors when you are trying to do off-road spirituality. My first description was, "I want to start a new monastic order." The second was, "I want to start a fight club."

Rather than simply write out what I got out of this last viewing, I want to know what you got out of it. The question I pose for the spiritual movie series is: What is the God-story in this movie? And I want to open this to everyone, not just those who came over last Monday. (Don't feel slighted if you weren't invited; I just don't have that much room.)

Explore: Whale Rider

I've wanted to host a "spiritual movie series" for some time, and last night with the help of the whole family we finally got it off the ground. What makes a movie spiritual? Anything can be spiritual if we open our hearts and interact with it honestly. My invitation to those who came was, "Look for the God story."

I decided to start the series with a film that is close to my heart: Whale Rider. Each time I've seen this movie, it has touched me with important questions. This was my third viewing, and this time I was particularly struck by Paikea's speech, with its lessons on Church 2.0:

But I was not the leader my grandfather was expecting, and by being born, I broke the line back to the ancient ones. It wasn't anybody's fault. It just happened.
But we can learn. And if the knowledge is given to everyone, we can have lots of leaders. And soon, everyone will be strong, not just the ones that have been chosen.

What about the rest of you? What touched you or spoke to you?

What I'm reading

If you scroll down a bit, I've added a couple of sections in the right column showing books I am currently reading, and books I recently finished.

Over the Hedge

What to do with the kids over a long weekend? Take them to see the latest CG movie, I guess. Dreamworks animation movies are a mixed bag, so I was expecting to either be mostly bored, or somewhat amused but annoyed at a plethora of jokes intended just for adults.

And so I was surprised to find Over the Hedge to be that rare kids' movie that I recommend to friends without kids. Heck, I'd even go see it in the theater again!

(This was also my first time to see a movie with digital projection. Nice—especially the sound.)

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Kay & I finished watching Stand Alone Complex, the first season of the "Ghost in the Shell" TV series. Awesome, we both enjoyed it thoroughly. Its questions are spiritual and relevant: As technology and humanity continue to merge, what becomes of humanity? If body parts, and entire bodies, can be swapped, what is a person's soul or "ghost"?

Besides, it has girls with guns: Major Kusanagi kicks some serious butt.

End of the Spear

Someone has turned the famous martyrdom of missionary Nate Saint and his 4 buddies into a movie. Will it rise above the usual "Christian crap" level? We'll see. But it's plain that deep pockets are funding it, since it it slated to open in lots of theaters on Jan. 20. In the meantime, here is the trailer and stuff.

For those of you who don't know, it is a gripping story that was big news in its day. Nate Saint was one of the people who inspired me to become a missionary. He and the other four risked their lives to take the message of Jesus to a violent tribe. They were all killed. But that wasn't the end of the story.

Technorati Tags: film

Getting Things Done

Cutting Edge may be my favorite magazine -- not bad for free! (You can also read them online.) Every issue lists the books people refer to in the interviews. But the latest issue featured an interview with the author of a book, followed by the testimonials of a couple of pastors raving about how it changed their lives.

I am hungry to get beyond thinking and talking about the emerging church to concrete action, while also dealing with "stuff" I'm not as excited about but still have to do. So I could not wait to order the book online; I went to a local bookstore and got a copy of Getting Things Done.

Technorati Tags: getting things done, gtd