Saved!

Well, I guess it's been a little while now, but recently we turned TAB into TABAM! (Theology And Beer And a Movie!) for the second time. We watched the movie Saved! and I was blown away at how many huge concepts surfaced during the course of the movie. We'll try to make the absence of "spoilers" common practice on this blog, but I wanted to bring up a couple of the concepts that seemed to pop out so that we could have some more discussion about them.

#1: Who were the "good guys" in the movie? Who displays the most Christ-like response to other people? The non Christians. Ooo. Jab. Do Christians even believe that it's possible to be built up, educated, and admonished by non-believers? I think sometimes we forget that God uses everyone to do some pretty sweet stuff. Jesus talks about seeing him in those in need. I just thought that was an interesting element throughout the movie.

#2: Being real--this may have been one of the most emphatic themes in the movie. It's pretty clear that everyone has their problems--the ones that don't look like they do are just good at hiding them. I think that's a scary thing to think about. It's true in my own life. I've definitely gotten better at hiding stuff. Thankfully, a lot has been able to come out in the open as well. I think that as it's all "in the light" for God, the more open we can be about some of our problems, the more we can deal with them and help and encourage each other. I've heard singer-songwriter, Derek Webb talks about this several times. On a live album he says that one of the best things that could possibly happen for you is to have your deepest, darkest sin put on the 5:00 news. He's also gone on to talk about how, paired with our hiding game we do so much to try to look like Jesus, when we need to look like we need Jesus. Martin Luther is often quoted as saying "sin boldy." A bit more of that quote is as follows, "God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly,  but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world." Similarly, Charles Spurgeon fleshed it out by saying, “If your sin is small, then your savior will be small also, but if your sin is great, then your savior will be great also.”

For our only other TABAM! so far we watched a documentary called Jesus Camp. I think that most of us agreed that Saved! was, sadly, a little more realistic after seeing Jesus Camp too. We definitely though that both were worth our time. Check 'em out if you have a chance.

I hope you're all prepared for Christmas. It's almost upon us.
God's Peace,
Chris

Why Did Jesus Come?

Here's an interesting video from Brian McLaren. Several of you know that the Kingdom has been a starting point for some long reflection on my part. This is our planned topic for TAB this week. Any initial thoughts?
Chris

Every Great Journey Begins With One Small Step

Well, here it is. The glorious or somewhat questionable embark on a weblog of growing into who we are at a time when we don't know what to expect or what to plan for. All this while reevaluating who we need to lean on and how much, and struggling with things spiritual, political, personal, and communal. It's hard to know what to make of it. One thing I know for sure is that we're called into community to help each other with these strivings. So what is it that we need? What do we want? How general and mysterious can I be?

In all reality, I'm pretty convinced about the community thing. That's really the reason we're starting this blog--giving us more opportunity to connect about the things that we struggle with, the things we love, and the things that amaze us. And to open up the conversation. Each of us have a voice and a unique perspective. Each new perspective brings a depth and richness that is completely invaluable.

Thanks in advance for sharing yourself and blessing us all.
Chris