Flipped on the TV last night, hoping to laugh for a few minutes as a was winding down. The past few nights I’ve enjoyed watching Travis Pastrana and crew on Nitro Circus over on MTV2. No dice on Nitro, and I made the mistake of stopping on a channel highlighting the Oscars. I doubt there’s anything on the entire year that I can’t stand more than our cultures lust over who we label as “famous”. Obivously I avoid award shows like the plague. Thanks to Twitter though, it’s clear that even the church today struggles with putting humans in a spotlight only God deserves?

The word inglorious (shameful / disgraceful) actually sums up Hollywood to me. I know it was used in the title of a film (I haven’t seen yet), but Hollywood has it all backwards. While spending just a minute watching the post-Oscars feed last night I saw a young woman refer to the night as “glorious”. Are you kidding me? Sure, humans are talented. Talented at acting, sports, creativity, and the list goes on. But glorious? Can humans get together in any room on the face of the earth (large or small) and do anything that can be defined as glorious? Maybe they should check out John 5:41-44?

Glory is only for God. Our culture is blind. Believing that what we create (moments of time or objects) deserves to be admired. Should be a bit obvious when one of the most popular teen words is “EPIC”. No wonder people struggle with just being themselves. And you and I still struggle with that after knowing the Christ is enough? Wasn’t the second level of the tower of Babel too high?

“Look at yourselves. Unplug from your chairs. Get up and look in the mirror. What you see is how God made you. We’re not meant to experience the world through a machine.” – Ving Rhames opening quote in Surrogates (now available on DVD / Blu-Ray).

A surrogate is defined as an arrangement for a woman to carry and give birth to a child who will be raised by others. Might seem like an odd start to a post on a blog that usually is focused on the relationship between a Christian faith in God and the use of technology, but I think it will make lots of sense in a few seconds!

Without ruining the movie for you, it basically illustrates how people will be able to stay in their homes in the future, sit in a chair, and control an artificial intelligent (AI) version of themselves. The “computer you” would look just like you. It would go to work, parties, drive, etc. Might sound a bit crazy, but who knows if it really will end up playing out in reality in the years to come.

My point? I believe, even though our surrogates aren’t out walking around today, that many of us are living our lives with that mentality already today. We get our thrills off of being known as someone out in cyberspace, possibly someone that is who we dream of being in person. A few points from the movie labeled this mentality / reality as an invasion of being human. Opening up the possibility of achieving all of your dreams, but not REALLY. A virtual Bucket List I guess?

Are there times when you pour too much effort into your online identity / relationships? Are real-life relationships less of a focus than they need to be? Do you find yourself struggling to focus on serving / listening to / growing with others (and closer to God as a result?

The film and Christian cultures are at a crossroads. Hollywood is struggling (like politics) these days by venturing so far left of the cross, and Christian films struggle by not moving from the far right. Denzel Washington, a devout Christian and very successful actor, produced the first movie that actually encompassed both sides of the cross (and stuck to the central point too). Many, including myself, probably weren’t aware that he is the son of Denzel Washington Sr., a preacher for over 60 years. So how was he able to co-produce a film like this in today’s culture? That’s the question that many in the Christian film industry have to be asking.

Most of those films don’t offer the expertise of Hollywood (with this movie being delivered by Alcon Entertainment / directed by The Hughes Brothers). More details on the film here. For some reason conservative Christians might think of that as “being of this world” (John 15:19)? This film contained a unique mix of intense violence, gore and profanity, while Eli (played by Denzel) kept a clean mouth and shared many direct Biblical truths throughout it. As a co-producer of the film, I would love to hear what Denzel’s thoughts are on creating a story that made the truths of God extremely clear to the eyes of a majority of our country that don’t call Him their Father. Something Christian films fall very short of.

And for Christians. What would conservative Christian institutions have to say to me if they knew I was a fan of this “R rated movie”? I know the high school I attended sure would have given me the boot. Is our faith not strong enough to be in community with violence or vulgarity? Does just being among that kind of a lifestyle mean that you will fall into it? I guess I would much rather our faith (like Denzel’s) actually be seen and heard by those who might have never given it much thought than to rest on the ears of those who have heard it thousands of times and whose lives aren’t changed by it.

To end the review, I’d strongly recommend you go see the movie. You won’t be the same. I’m really glad and shocked that I didn’t share much of the storyline – it’s incredible! Here is a link to the official movie website.

It’s probably a bit obvious, but when such a large group of people join in on a service project many barriers are broken. When 3,002 photographers serve 36,000 portraits in 511 locations around the world, you know that usual barriers are being crushed! Two barriers were crushed in this video below.

The first barrier? Distance. God planted the desire for the project in the hearts of a few Nashville, TN residents – but the pulse resounded throughout the world into places like Croatia (seen here) and Italy. It’s EXTREMELY awesome to watch God use technology to spread His love. And the other barrier crushed in this video? People without disabilities serving people who live with them every day. Disabilities might get in the way of doing a few things, but they cannot stop the love of God.

WARNING: This video is extremely powerful, and brings tears. Tears of a happiness in knowing that a piece of heaven fell to earth on 12/12/09.

It was a unique privilege to connect with the 14 other photographers here in Columbus that I had never met before and serve together on the Help Portrait team on Saturday. Susan (one of them) and I had actually been in the same graphic design program while in college over 10 years ago. Help Portrait was much more than just taking pictures, although that was the central service objective of the day.

Susan’s family (husband and daughters) helped out quite a bit. When you serve, it’s not about the focus being on you. No matter how great your photography skills are, that’s not what makes the difference. It’s the heart, and that’s why the day was such a success. Susan and the rest of our Help Portrait team approached the portrait models (those we were serving) extremely well. But outside of the photographers you saw facility coordinators, spouses, and even children getting excited to make sure these people were the spotlight of the day!

One memory that stood out to me was how Susan’s daughters brought light into the lives of the children who were getting their picture taken. Many of them felt special being the center of attention, but when these girls opened up their candy cane bags and handed them a special cane of their own even more smiles were created. Those are the things that should remind you and I that it’s not about what you bring to the table, it’s about what (and how) we’re willing to give or leave with someone else. And the smiles that I saw when the kids got a free candy cane sure showed me that giving anything from the heart is worth it all. A picture isn’t the only thing that is worth 1,000 words!