Sell it!

In the interest of not joining the "American Consumer" club, churches would do well to heed the advice of Jesus in John 2:16 "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade". Are we selling Jesus? Are we making Christianity and the redeemed life a commodity? How tempting it is to sell the most precious gift we've ever been given in the name of evangelism. To package it neatly, to make it pallatable, to make it fashionable. But Jesus isn't a quick fix. Jesus calls us to transformation. And frankly, not many people are interested in a complete overhaul. It simply costs too much!
The truth is the truth. We should not attempt to sell it, to water it down, to restructure it, to make it fit someone's life (or lifestyle).
The truth is the word. The word is life. Unfiltered, unhindered, unmarketable, it is the most powerful thing we'll ever encounter. Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life.
Now, dont' get the idea that I'm against Christians entering the marketplace with products that promote truth and glorify God. I'm just saying we'd better be careful that our motives are right in doing so. And as far as evangelism goes, well, the same goes for that. Jesus isn't something we sell to our neighbors as insurance against a life that could go south.
God, give us pure hearts out of which are born pure motives. Let us never attempt to reduce the power of redemption into a 5 step program to a better life that can be sold on infomercials the world over. Amen!

Shrek the Third

Ah, what an adorable movie! Of course, watching it with my 7 year old daughter made it all the more adorable, but truly, it was an enjoyable film and did not disappoint.

All our favorite characters are back, of course, and Donkey stole the show again. No one, and I mean no one, could have done Donkey better than Eddie Murphy. Shrek's character has mellowed somewhat from the grumpy friendless ogre in the original, but he still has a slew of great one-liners, many of which he saves for the climax of the plot. Fiona was a little less of a player, although she does manage to galvanize the princesses of Far Far Away into a force to be reckoned with. Sleeping Beauty was so well animated and well played...a narcoleptic Princess in the face of eminent danger is always going to be funny.

Favorite scenes...the "croaking" scene (one of the best death scenes EVER), Shrek's nightmare, Pinnochio's verbal adeptness, and the whole bit where Donkey and Puss do a "Freaky Friday" sort of body exchange midway through the movie.

The only critcisms I have are that the pacing was a little off...the film started off with a ton of great humorous moments, one right after the other, but then flagged a little when it was necessary to build the plot. This happened a few times throughout the film, but overall, there weren't too many flat moments. I also was a little disappointed that Shrek's uncouth characteristics were capitalized on instead of his trademark grumpiness.

Pluses were the animation, the addition of new characters (Merlin is outstanding), numerous references to pop-culture (see you can pick up references to Mary Poppins, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and the Six Million Dollar man),and an outstanding soundtrack. Oh, and slapstick humor in animation form is always a winner...how else can a half a ballroom burn down due to a chain of events that begins when Shrek's royal clothing begins to come undone?

The moral was well communicated as well...we live up to who we are, not who others say we are. I loved it. It fits with the theme of my life lately...seek out why God has created you and who He's created you to be and live up to it, regardless of the nay-sayers in your life.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars...or some such rating that puts it in the higher than average category. It's definitely worth paying to see in the theater AND owning on DVD.

AWAKENING!