A Sociospiritual Oddity

Just got back from seeing The Dark Knight as part of the traditional Friday evening off from the conference. As a side note, TDK absolutely rocks. Not relying on the momentum of its predecessor (which it easily could), it's truly a great piece of movie-making. It's scarier than The Happening. It's more riveting than Iron Man. It's the best movie so far this year. Once it's been out a while and everyone's had a chance to see it, I think I will blog about some more of its deeper elements (of which there are plenty).

But wasn't this about the Conference? Oh yeah.

On Wednesday, Anne Graham Lotz shared an awesome message about the Holy Spirit. That was when something just clicked for me. The whole issue of the Holy Spirit has been a tough one for me for the past few years. Straying from my more conservative Baptist roots and exploring the Charistmatic realm made me question a lot of things, and I came away from Anne's presentation finally feeling personal with God again.

Looking back, the message was really simple. The Holy Spirit is God; the Holy Spirit is Holy; the Holy Spirit is our power source; He's a He, not an It; He's the essence of Jesus in our lives; He loves us like Jesus does. I also liked her assertion that what we need is not more of the Holy Spirit--He doesn't come in pieces, after all. Rather, what we ought to consider is whether we have given the Holy Spirit all of ourselves.

I'm still not sure exactly where it made the connection for me. Somewhere in there, I guess I just felt God reminding me that He's there and He likes talking with me. What a simple and immense thing to receive.

Last night, Michelle McKinney Hammond spoke to the general session. She was hilarious, not to mention pretty deep. Her message culminated in a call to forgiveness, of laying down some person or event at the foot of the cross and trading that burden for Christ's freedom.

Appropriately, we celebrated afterwards by singing "Trading My Sorrows," which I've always thought would be the perfect song for an Exodus Conference, but which we haven't to my recollection ever sung in the past eight years. Anyways, the rejoicing in the auditorium was exuberant.

I didn't feel God urging me to participate in the forgiveness exercise myself; no memory came to mind, no struggle, no "chains" fell off. But what I did see was that He was doing His healing, freeing work all around me. It wasn't my turn for revelation or healing, but I could still see the evidence of His healing power all around me, so I still had much to celebrate. And that we did.

It also occurred to me how misunderstood people are about this journey, willfully or otherwise. Depressed, repressed people don't sing like that. People leading fruitless, loveless lives aren't likely to have it in them to shout, dance and cheer their gratitude. It was something I wish so many more friends could have been a part of.

 

 

The hourglass of preparation has run out. The delegates are beginning to arrive. The anticipation in the air is kind of electric--it excites most, unnerves others. Regardless of whether they take it as a mostly positive or questionable thing, each person has that just-plunged no-turning-back feeling because the Conference is beginning. That's usually how Exodus Conferences begin. Or, that's how it seems to me, at least.

Me? I'm coming down with a cold. Isn't that special? And convenient too. My more Charismatic friends take it as the Devil pulling out all the stops to get in the way of God moving this week. I think that's true--I just don't know if my sickness is part of that. I wouldn't put it past him.

How can I stop, though? I've watched my colleagues and leaders continue on in the face of much worse obstacles. And then the Conference turns out to be a huge outpouring. Maybe it won't be for me or because of me, but it doesn't have to. I think I'm just supposed to do my best no matter what's thrown at me, and have faith that it makes a difference.

Plus, I'd rather be sick this week than next week when I'm on vacation with the fam (which is what happened last year).

I've got some Airborne, some Benadryl and Aleve, and I've got friends praying for me. It's good.

Part of me wants to say "I'm finally in Asheville," but most of me feels like this year's Freedom Conference snuck up out of nowhere like a cheap shot, and I've only just pulled my face out of the dirt. I won't write much about conference preparation specifically--it would be boring for you to read and arduous for me to dwell on. Suffice to say fate has already expressed a strong desire to complicate this year's event--evident in lost documents, procrastinated returned calls, magically disappearing reservations and GPS navigators that lie like politicians.

But, we've already had some good times. We took a little off-time to kayak down a short stretch of river. I didn't risk taking my camera on that trip, but I was able to get some neat shots over at the Biltmore Estate. They don't allow photography inside the mansion (very disappointing for me), but the grounds did provide plenty of potential for Flickr fun.

 

 

 

 

Finally, Batman Begins has been released on Blu-Ray. I've been waiting for this for a while. In my opinion, BB is the best superhero movie ever. I can't wait to see Dark Knight, and I can't wait to watch this one in hi-def!

In between bouts of box-moving, a good friend gave me a tutorial in some more advanced photo-editing techniques. Here are some pics I was never quite satisfied with that I've now been able to repair (originals included for comparison fun). Thanks, S! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boundless webzine has published the second article I've written for them, Bearing the Image. You can read it here.

Who knew I'd ever be posting a mass email I got from a friend, but this was actually worth the read:

By Thomas Sowell
  Tuesday, April 29, 2008

  Many years ago, a great hitter named Paul Waner was nearing the end
  of his long career. He entered a ballgame with 2,999 hits -- one hit
  away from the landmark total of 3,000, which so many hitters want to
  reach, but which relatively few actually do reach.

  Waner hit a ball that the fielder did not handle cleanly but the
  official scorer called it a hit, making it Waner's 3,000th. Paul
  Waner then sent word to the official scorer that he did not want
  that questionable hit to be the one that put him over the top.

  The official scorer reversed himself and called it an error. Later
  Paul Waner got a clean hit for number 3,000.

  What reminded me of this is the great fervor that many seem to feel
  over the prospect of the first black President of the  United States .

  No doubt it is only a matter of time before there is a black
  president, just as it was only a matter of time before Paul Waner
  got his 3,000th hit. The issue is whether we want to reach that
  landmark so badly that we are willing to overlook how questionably
  that landmark is reached.

  Paul Waner had too much pride to accept a scratch hit. Choosing a
  President of the  United States  is a lot more momentous than a
  baseball record. We the voters need to have far more concern about
  who we put in that office that holds the destiny of a nation and of
  generations yet unborn.

  There is no reason why someone as arrogant, foolishly clever and
  ultimately dangerous as Barack Obama should become president --
  especially not at a time when the threat of international terrorists
  with nuclear weapons looms over 300 million Americans.

  Many people seem to regard elections as occasions for venting
  emotions, like cheering for your favorite team or choosing a
  Homecoming Queen.

  The three leading candidates for their par ty's nomination are being
  discussed in terms of their demographics -- race, sex and age -- as
  if that is what the job is about.

  One of the painful aspects of studying great catastrophes of the
  past is discovering how many times people were preoccupied with
  trivialities when they were teetering on the edge of doom. The
  demographics of the presidency are far less important than the
  momentous weight of responsibility that office carries.

  Just the power to nominate federal judges to trial courts and
  appellate courts across the country, including the Supreme Court,
  can have an enormous impact for decades to come. There is no point
  feeling outraged by things done by federal judges, if you vote on
  the basis of emotion for those who appoint them.

  Barack Obama has already indicated that he wants judges who make
  social policy instead of just applying the law. He has already tried
  to stop young violent criminals from being tried as adults.

  Although Senator Obama ha s presented himself as the candidate of
  new things -- using the mantra of "change" endlessly -- the cold
  fact is that virtually everything he says about domestic policy is
  straight out of the 1960s and virtually everything he says about
  foreign policy is straight out of the 1930s.

  Protecting criminals, attacking business, increasing government
  spending, promoting a sense of envy and grievance, raising taxes on
  people who are productive and subsidizing those who are not -- all
  this is a re-run of the 1960s.

  We paid a terrible price for such 1960s notions in the years that
  followed, in the form of soaring crime rates, double-digit inflation
  and double-digit unemployment. During the 1960s, ghettoes across the
  countries were ravaged by riots from which many have not fully
  recovered to this day.

  The violence and destruction were concentrated not where there was
  the greatest poverty or injustice but where there were the most
  liberal politicians, promoting grievances and hamstringing the police.

  Internationally, the approach that Senator Obama proposes --
  including the media magic of meetings between heads of state -- was
  tried during the 1930s. That approach, in the name of peace, is what
  led to the most catastrophic war in human history.

  Everything seems new to those too young to remember the old and too
  ignorant of history to have heard about it.

  /
  Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author
  of Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy.

What are your first thoughts upon waking?
Submitted by Cher Cabula.

Well, this morning it was, "Ugh..." as my alarm clock radio woke me up to the announcement that some poll showed that most Hillary supporters will allegedly back Obama. I think it was the president of Rollins College who was quoted as saying, "Why wouldn't you vote for him? He's great!"

Yeah. Snoozed that one right away

Or, Summer Movie ABC's, owing to their respective ratings.

For a while now, this summer has promised to be a big one at the Box Office, with a bucketful of highly anticipated titles scheduled for release throughout the hotter months. There are six major films I've been looking forward to, and now I've seen three of them. Here at the halfway point, I'm sharing my thoughts on how Hollywood's done so far.

Iron Man Grade: A

It was only a matter of time until they resurrected this hero from the annals of Marvel mythology to make another heap of cash. I'm glad to say this is one of the instances in which they've done the long-standing character justice with a truly good film.

Iron Man has everything you want from a summer blockbuster: larger-than-life action, likable characters, impressive and innovative special effects, and even some decent helpings of suspense. In my opinion, this movie has no overt weaknesses. The acting is solid overall, and the typical comic-flick propensity for unbelievability is deftly handled.

Sure, it might not be a stirring character drama or a timeless epic, but not every great film needs to be. Iron Man isn't just watchable; it's ownable. (even if that's not a word, you know what I mean).

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Grade: B

This will truly be a long-lived franchise if they really go for all seven films at their current rate of one every three years.

In any case, the experience of Caspian is, for Lewis-lovers, much like it was in the first film. Vast creative license was taken to transform the succinct children's tale into an epic 2-hour-plus adventure. I have to say though, that the plot and character elements added to this film came off as much more appropriate to the story than did the embellishments of Wardrobe.

Caspian includes long sequences which were never part of the tale in the book, and delves into some deeper character issues not even hinted at by Lewis--primarily with the older Pevensie children. The overall effect is that the impression of the story is much darker than what you get reading the novel. Which, to me, seems to fit. The whole premise of Narnia being subdued by an invading force headed by a murderous tyrant certainly warrants it.

What I didn't like were a few dramatic exchanges between characters that seemed to come out of nowhere and aren't followed up well. The film does, however, expand effectively on other elements of the original text, such as the summoning of the White Witch.

If you're a die-hard fan of the books, Caspian doesn't do them justice (it probably never could), but as a film it's well-made and enjoyable.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Grade: C

From the start I was skeptical about this movie. Forget that Harrison Ford is in his 60's. Forget that twenty years have passed, taking the characters out of their familiar era and settings. It just didn't seem to make sense. Mostly because The Last Crusade--a nearly flawless adventure film--rounded out the trilogy so darn well. It was the pinnacle of what we'd come to expect from Indy, and left you with a feeling of completeness about the franchise.

So, from the onset Crystal Skull had the weakness of appearing gratuitous. And that it was.

This is not your typical Indy adventure. As the film progresses, over-the-top plot elements and territory unfamiliar to Indiana Jones history make the story seem--well--alien. Other plot elements, such as a conflict of suspicion between Indy and the FBI, are introduced and never developed.

Karen Allen reprises her role as Indy's rascally one-time love interest. Her part is obviously for the sake of nostalgia, and the effect is somewhat successful, though the journey of rekindling their relationship seems complete almost as soon as it begins.

Several of the action gimmicks elicited groans of incredulity from the audience, including Shia LeBeouf swinging monkey-like from jungle vines, and an impossible tree-assisted cliff dive in an amphibious tank.

Overall it's not a terrible movie, it's just okay. The problem therein is that, if they were going to resurrect something as iconic as Indiana Jones, they really needed to hit it out of the park. They didn't.

--

Okay, I said that there were six movies I was especially looking forward to this summer. The remaning three are The Incredible Hulk (medium expectations), M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening (high expectations), and The Dark Knight (REALLY high expectations!). On with summer!