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Showing posts from June, 2017

Keeping Faith

While in Atlanta for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, I did something that I had put off too long—a visit to the Carter Presidential Museum and Center.  President Jimmy Carter has long been a hero of mine, so I am not sure why it took me so long to do this. The Center is in a beautiful setting. The Museum is an attractive and informative survey of the Carter Presidency, and the complex is also  the headquarters for the work that the Carters continue to do around the world in addressing issues of peace, health, and poverty. Carter was something of a populist but he was, most of all, a progressive Christian, probably the President most formed and driven by the idea that all people have worth, deserve respect, and should be given a hand up when needed.  As recounted in Randall Balmer’s Redeemer, his activist Christian perspective was rejected by Christian fundamentalists, even those who had supported his election in 1976.  Carter not only talke...

Cars 3: A Review

The good news first:  Cars 3, the third Pixar movie about racing cars, is much more like the original film (2006) than the 2011 sequel that jumped the track.  The new animated film has the heart, fun, and action of the original film while allowing the hero to evolve and introducing interesting new characters. In the original, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) makes the transition from a brash, hot-shot racer who doesn’t need anyone to part of a supportive, loving community.  In Cars 3 , McQueen is starting to lose his edge and feeling not only old, but also realizing the vacuum left in his life by the departure of his mentor, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman). In the quest to reinvent himself, he is supported by his old friends but meets new characters such as perky trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), wise Smokey (Chris Cooper), and rival Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer).  The journey is unpredictable and, of course, amusing. Lightning’s breakthrough is learni...

The Vision Thing

President George H. W. Bush said that he did not really understand the “vision thing.” Whether this had anything to do with his failure to be elected to a second term is unclear, but we do know that vision continues to be a key word for churches, not-for-profits, and other organizations. Often these entities confuse strategic planning with vision.  The assumption is that if we can identify our vision, then our mission, objectives, and goals will fall in place is flawed. Danny E. Morris and Charles M. Olsen, the authors of  "Discerning God's Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for the Church,” would disagree, especially as vision relates to the church.  They write: "In visioning culture, the role of vision is vital for the community and its leaders. Vision goes beyond strategic planning, because it is rooted in God’s plan for humanity and the world. Vision is the big picture, God’s kingdom, offered by God as a gift.” True vision empowers, inspires, and transforms....

Wonder Woman: A Review

Wonder Woman is the real deal.  With the relatively unknown Gal Gadot in the title role and Patty Jenkins as director, DC has finally produced a superhero movie with both action and heart. If you are expecting a feminist polemic, you will be surprised.  This is a story about humanity, our virtues and sins, and the choices we make between the two. Diana (Gadot) is a young woman raised for a special purpose, one that is unwrapped throughout the film. Raised as the only child on an island of Amazons, the real world intrudes on her tranquil (although martial) environment when the plane of American Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes into the sea nearby.  This begins her journey into a larger world as she pursues the mission for which she was destined. The film has a strong cast both among the Amazon women and the rag-tag force that Trevor recruits to accompany them on their mission.  There is humor, social satire, romance, and certainly action (some of which m...