Frozen, Freedom and the Gospel

If you (like me) have a pre-teen daughter, you have perhaps seen the Disney movie Frozen. Almost certainly you have heard your daughter sing the movie's hit song, Let It Go (performed above by Idina Menzel).

Trevin Wax offered some great thoughts on the movie and the song in a post today at his Kingdom People blog. He points out:

Thousands of little girls across the country are singing this song – a manifesto of sorts, a call to cast off restraint, rebel against unrealistic expectations and instead be true to whatever you feel most deeply inside. What’s ironic is that the movie’s storyline goes against the message of this song. When the princess decides to “let it go,” she brings terrible evil into the world. The fallout from her actions is devastating. “No right, no wrong, no rules for me” is the sin that isolates the princess and freezes her kingdom.

He goes on...

 A popular idea in our culture is that there are only two ways to live:

1. Through authenticity, expressed in rebellion against cultural constraints
2. Through an ordered life, expressed in rule-keeping

Neither of these paths are the way to true fulfillment though.Wax concludes,

Christianity teaches explicitly what Frozen only hints at: salvation comes not through self-discovery or self-restraint, but through self-sacrifice.

All across the country, little girls are singing about self-discovery. Let’s make sure that after they see the film, they are given songs about self-sacrifice.

 Read the whole post here.

See The Man Who Ate New Orleans

I've posted before about Ray Cannata, who is not only the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, but is also known as The Man Who Ate New Orleans. He is so called because of his successful quest to eat at every (non-chain) restaurant in New Orleans. That quest was part of a larger story though, a story told in Michael Dunaway's documentary film of the same name.

It's not just a story about food though. It's a story of one man's love for the city to which God had called him. Ray likes to say, "New Orleans is the best picture of Heaven that I know on earth.  It's also the best picture of Hell I know."  This balance, he says, provides both something to look forward to, as well as something to be a part of fixing. Ray and Redeemer have been a big part of that effort ever since Hurricane Katrina.

I've been excited to see the finished film ever since I met Ray a few years ago. Just yesterday I saw the following note on the film's Facebook page:

We're very very proud to announce that TMWANO will be premiering next Tuesday, August 28, for $2.99 streaming rental at Seed&Spark! Seed&Spark was started by some dear friends of ours (superstar founder Emily Best was chosen by Indiewire as one of 20 people changing the face of indie film), and it's a great, great concept. Check it out, for sure. We'll also be available for digital download and on DVD that same day (details to follow). And we're planning a big red carpet theatrical debut in Atlanta for the night of August 27th, so mark your calendars!!! 

A couple years ago I shared the trailer below. Check it out. Or even better, check out the film next Tuesday at Seed&Spark!

Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other

Happy Reformation Day! 495 years ago, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg.While there were certainly those "pre-reformers" who came before him, this act serves as the symbolic start of the Protestant Reformation.

A little over three years later, at the Diet of Worms, Luther would be called before Emperor Charles V and was asked to recant his teachings. His famous response has been oft-portrayed. Others will no doubt today share a similar clip from the 2003 film Luther starring Joseph Fiennes. I figured I'd stand out a little and go back an extra half-century and share this clip from the 1953 version of Martin Luther starring Niall MacGinnis.

The Hobbit

Don't get too excited; it's release is still a year away. But here is the trailer to The Hobbit.

The Man Who Ate New Orleans

When speaking of his adopted home town, my friend and fellow-pastor Ray Cannata is fond of saying, "New Orleans is the best picture of Heaven that I know on earth.  It's also the best picture of Hell I know."  This balance, he says, provides both something to look forward to, as well as something to be a part of fixing.

In 2005, on the heels of Hurricane Katrina, Ray moved to New Orleans to become the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church.  Though he could see that life there would be anything but easy, he immediately fell in love with the city and its culture.  Since then, Ray and the folks at Redeemer have been a part of rebuilding more than 500 houses.

Ray has not just helped rebuild New Orleans though.  He is also The Man Who Ate New Orleans.  In an effort to truly understand the culture of his new home, Ray committed himself to eating at all the various (non-chain) restaurants The Crescent City offered.  This quest will reach its culmination in a "Last Supper" on October 21, which will double as a benefit to raise money for the continued rebuilding effort.

Along the way, the project morphed into a documentary film by director Michael Dunaway, which focuses on the music, food and rebuilding of New Orleans, as experienced through Ray's visits to over 700 eateries. Check out the first video below to get a quick glimpse at the project.  If you'd like a little more in-depth look, including a discussion between Ray and Dunaway, check out the second video as well.


The Man Who Ate New Orleans Sizzle Reel HD from Michael Dunaway on Vimeo.

Friday Fun...The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is one of my all time movies. It tells a tale that occurred long ago in a far off land. Here's a take on what it might have looked like had it occurred not just in a far off land, but "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."



(HT: Matthew Robbins)

Eat Pray Love

I read an interesting blog post over the weekend from Justin Taylor. In it, he interacts with a review by Ross Douthat of the movie Eat Pray Love.

Many will recognize this movie starring Julia Roberts from the previews. Perhaps even more are familiar with it thanks to Oprah Winfrey's endorsement and enthusiastic support of the book.

Let me say this right off the bat: I have not seen the movie. I have not read the book. I haven't even read the original review.

Apparently though Douthat makes the statement that the main theme of the movie is, as stated by its main character, “God dwells with me, as me.” In response to this, Douthat offers this quote from G.K. Chesteron:

Of all horrible religions the most horrible is the worship of the god within. . . . That Jones shall worship the god within him turns out ultimately to mean that Jones shall worship Jones. Let Jones worship the sun or moon, anything rather than the Inner Light; let Jones worship cats or crocodiles, if he can find any in his street, but not the god within.

I'm curious to see if anyone else out there who has read the book or seen the movie has any thoughts to add to this discussion.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Movie Trailer)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third installment in the adaptation of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, is set to be released in theaters December 10. Here is the official trailer for the film:

Film & Theology

While I was in seminary I took a week-long class called “Film and Theology.” It was a fun and interesting class taught by Denis Haack of Ransom Fellowship, which encouraged me to do more than simply watch movies. Instead it was suggested that I would do better to interact with them in such a way that I might better discern what messages they are attempting to communicate.

If you, like me, enjoy watching movies and thinking about them theologically, then you might find this post from the Resurgence very interesting. It includes audio of lectures by Pastor James Harleman of Mars Hill Church in Seattle from his monthly classes on Film and Theology.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

2009's Most Redeeming Movies

Christianity Today recently came out with their list of 2009's most redeeming movies. I love best/worst lists, I love movies, and I love things which are redemptive in nature, so it's right up my alley.

In looking at the list, you might be wondering what exactly CT means when they say that a movie was "redeeming." They explain:

We mean movies that include stories of redemption—sometimes blatantly, sometimes less so. Several of our films have characters who are redeemers themselves; all of them have characters who experience redemption to some degree—some quite clearly, some more subtly. Some are "feel-good" movies that leave a smile on your face; some are a bit more uncomfortable to watch. But the redemptive element is there in all of these films.