JOSS WHEDON: a summary of thought

This is Joss Whedon. He is a screenwriter, producer, director, and on occasion, a composer.

He works in Film, TV, Comic Books, and Online Media.

His work is mainly followed by small, radically dedicated groups, also known as cult fans.

His most famous works are: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity, Angel, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse.

His popularity among Christian youth is skyrocketing.

He is an atheist.


Let's talk about his stuff. First, let me give you a few examples that you WILL be familiar with if you are not one of his--- cult followers.

Toy Story

One of the funniest kids movies of our time, voices by Tim Allen and Tom Hanks, with two very successful sequels. Woody and Buzz, two very different toys both vying for the affection of their owner Andy. Who doesn't like this movie?
"You-- are a child's plaything!"
"You are a sad, strange little man."
Whedon was one of the writers for this script.


The Lion King: Simba's Pride

The "not-as-famous" sequel to The Lion King. Simba's daughter Kiara falls in love with Scar's nephew Kovu who is being manipulated by the evil Zira who wants to kill Simba for what he did to Scar. The lullaby she sings to Kovu as a baby...
"Sleep, my little Kovu, let your dreams take wing. One day when you're big and strong, you will be a king. But I dream a dream so pretty that I don't feel so depressed 'Cause it soothes my inner kitty and it helps me get some rest."
Whedon wrote this song.

Now as for his stuff that's gained the most popularity and following, let's take a look.

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog (watch)

Written for the Internet during the writer's strike, this 45 minute short film spread across the world like fire, consuming as many eager fans as possible. The witty lyrics, catchy melodies, and hilarious performances by Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion pleased Whedon fans and non-Whedon fans alike. The story follows a wanna-be super villain who's in love with the girl of his dreams, who in turn is being swept off her feet by Captain Hammer, Dr. Horrible's arch nemesis. To get a taste of Joss Whedon before reading the rest of this blog, go ahead and watch this. Twice. Otherwise you might hate it.

Firefly / Serenity

Firefly: the show. Serenity: the movie that was made to wrap up the show once it was canceled after the first season. Just imagine the wild west in space in the future. War happened, the universe was united into the Alliance, and there were those who resisted and who still resist. Malclom Reynolds was one of those "Browncoats" who resisted in the war. His side lost. Now he captains a ship and together with his crew the do "odd jobs"/crime to stay alive and away from the Alliance. His crew consists of a young girl mechanic, an untrustworthy, not so bright muscle man, a married couple, the man being the best pilot around and the woman being his second in command, and a registered "companion" who rents out one of the side shuttles for her "business" (prostitute). They eventually pick up a "shepherd" and a brother and sister who are running from the law because the sister is a mind genius and the government was experimenting on her. They fly around, steal and smuggle stuff and somehow help people in the process. The universal trade language is Chinese. Interesting, huh?

Dollhouse

This was one of Whedon's less popular creations. A futuristic sci-fi world that revolved around underground "dollhouses" that were centers for "Actives", a line of robots who could be rented and programmed for any type of situation. Sort of a "robot-for-hire-temporarily" kind of deal.
Eliza Dushku played the main character, an "active" doing her job as she was on the path of self-realization and enlightenment.






Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy, a 16-yr old girl, suddenly finds out that she has been chosen to be the new Slayer. One is chosen every generation, and when she dies, another takes her place. She moves to a new town, Sunnydale, California's very own "hellmouth" (one of the places where hell itself can open). She meets Rupert Giles, the school librarian, who is also her "Watcher", sent from England to be her guide and trainer. She makes two best friends, Willow Rosenburg, a Jewish nerd, and Xander Harris, an outgoing loser. Together the three of them slay vampires and kill demons and have drama in high school. These are the four main characters throughout the series. Xander goes through a girlfriend or two after getting over his love for Buffy and eventually ends up dating an ex-vengeance demon (who became human) named Anya. Willow falls in love with a werewolf named Oz (played by Seth Green) but he eventually leaves her for fear of hurting her. She becomes a powerful "Wicca" and eventually decides she is a Lesbian. Buffy falls in love with Angel, a vampire with a soul who lurks around and helps her defeat the powers of darkness. Angel used to be Angelus, the worst vampire of them all, until gypsies cursed him and gave him back his soul so he could regret all the atrocities he'd done. He then brooded for years until he saw Buffy and wanted to help her. Buffy and Angel are terribly in love, until the curse on Angel is broken. They sleep together, Angel has a moment of true happiness, and he loses his soul. He then goes on a rampage to try and kill everyone, including Buffy, who eventually has to kill him herself and send him to hell. Buffy goes through teen angst, fights more evil, dies once and comes back to life, but a new slayer rose. Now there's two. And the new slayer, Faith, has an evil streak. Buffy and Faith eventually become enemies, Angel returns from hell all broken and tortured (he'd been there for hundreds of years because time down there is apparently different than in the world). Faith is defeated, Angel leaves as to not become Angelus again (and also so he can go start his own show) Buffy dates a few guys, including a vampire who had been hers and Angel's worst enemy (named Spike) after she grows fond of him. (he had a chip embedded in his brain that made him unable to kill humans.) A military presence appeared in Sunnydale to fight demons, Buffy dated Riley, a military guy, but her commitment issues drove him away. A mystical force turned into a human being becomes Buffy's little sister Dawn, Buffy's mom dies of medical reasons, Buffy herself dies, Willow brings her back from heaven (where she was) with magic, sending Willow on a downward spiral and becoming addicted to dark dark magic. She almost kicks the habit when her girlfriend Tara gets shot and killed and Willow goes crazy with magics and murders a bunch of people.
The last season's main plot is the fight against "The First". This evil, as they describe it in the show, is the creator of all evil; the original evil-- evil itself. This idea is the basis for my thoughts on Joss Whedon's worldview-- the worldview that we are now eating up like candy.

First of all, a disclaimer: I really love Joss Whedon's stuff! (Except for Dollhouse. It's too weird.) The world's that he creates, as in Firefly or Buffy, are fascinating. His characters are lovable, funny, heroic and attractive. His stories have something for everyone to appreciate. But I want to point out a few things that I think we as Whedon fans need to realize so we don't let him influence our own worldview.

Whedon is somewhat inconsistent with his stance of if there is a "God" or not. In Firefly, the "Shepherd Book" character is never quite explained but is presented as a Bible Preacher. Whedon doesn't make fun of him or make him out to be a fool, but instead presents him in a good light. here's a portion of one of the shows where the genius sister (River) gets a hold of Shepherd's Bible.

Book: What are we up to, sweetheart?

River: Fixing your Bible.

Book: I, um... What?

River: Bible's broken. Contradictions, false logistics... doesn't make sense.

Book: No, no. You—you can't...

River: So we'll integrate non-progressional evolution theory with God's creation of Eden. Eleven inherent metaphoric parallels already there. Eleven. Important number. Prime number. One goes into the house of eleven eleven times, but always comes out one. Noah's ark is a problem.

Book: Really?

River: We'll have to call it "early quantum state phenomenon". Only way to fit 5,000 species of mammals on the same boat.

Book: River, you don't... fix the Bible.

River: It's broken. It doesn't make sense.

Book: It's not about... making sense. It's about believing in something. And letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It's about faith. You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you.

Whedon obviously presents this scene as "see, this whole Bible/God thing isn't scientific at all and it makes no sense if you're smart." Almost as if the only people who believe in that stuff are folks who don't think it out or reason it out. But at the same time, without even knowing it, Whedon presents the Gospel message in a small way. Think about how. In the movie Serenity, Malcolm holds onto the Shepherd Book as he dies from wounds. Mal says "I don't believe in God!" Book responds, "It doesn't matter. Just believe in something."

Let's take a look at an example from Buffy. The "First" is about to destroy the entire world with an army of ancient vampire monster things and Buffy is having a hard time defeating them. Once she gets beaten down a few times she resolves to win. this is what she says:
"There's only one thing on earth that is more powerful than evil. That's us."
A strong sense of human ability, no need for a higher power to fight for them. Earlier on, another character said this about evil.
"Once you see true evil there's some serious afterburn. You can't unsee what you saw."
This shows me that Whedon is willing to admit (and definitly believes in) there is a pure source of evil that has been around forever, that was not a created but a creator. Interesting. But he refuses to acknowledge the existance of a pure good, a counterpart to evil, God.
So how does Buffy defeat the "First"? Well, with her friends, by her own strength, they just had to figure it out. The idea at the end is that the "First" is everywhere, in everyone, and it is a natural part of life. Are there parallels to a sin nature here? Or possibly the fact that maybe we are all god or part of god?
Whedon tries so hard to explain his way around God. I know that he knows God exists. He has to. His stories revolve around him whether he wants them to or not.

A few other things to notice. The push of feminism, and how relationships only seem to "work out" or sail along smoothly if they are same-sex. Willow and Tara from Buffy seemed to be true to each other even through hard times. Buffy's relationships never worked, Xander and Anya ended up breaking up at the wedding altar, Giles was always unlucky or he went for shallow one nighters as did Mal in Firefly, but he always seemed to cold to date anyways. The Companion/Prostitute on Mal's ship had shifty clients until she had a woman client, and then it was all graceful and glamorous. Interesting to think about, that his view of a healthy relationship is the exact opposite of what it should be.

So why do we like his stuff? Why are so many people obsessed? Perhaps because it's funny, creative, and very realistic. People are tired of being fooled and conned while they watch shows, they don't like saying "yeah, like that could ever happen" anymore. Whedon grabs you where you're at, deals with issues that you have, and lives out your fantasies for you. But how much effect does his worldview have on yours? None? Or have you stopped to notice?

So check out his stuff. Or don't. Or re-evaluate your obsession with him. But realize that he is out there and he is gaining a following. He's writing and directing the new "Avenger's" movie and people are ecstatic. I think he's got great talent and I can't wait to see it. I want to see how he tries to hide God in this one. It's great when Atheists can't hold their own, isn't it?

Halloween: What it is and what we've made it

Halloween: The " Hallowed Eve" of All Saint's Day. What is All Saint's day? This is the day where all Saints, known and unknown, who have obtained the beatific vision in heaven are celebrated/commemorated. What's the beatific vision? A visual perception of God. So, where do we get whatever it is we do on October 31st? Check out this line of history:

The Celtic holiday "Samhain" was celebrated October 31st - November 1st and it was a symbol to mark the end of the harvest. The people believed that the border between this world and the spiritual world became thin on Samhain; because some animals and plants were dying, it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living. The Gaelic custom of wearing costumes and masks was an attempt to copy the spirits or placate them. Turnips were hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns and were also used to ward off harmful spirits. This holiday eventually became associated with the Christian holiday of All Saints Day.

So here we are. LOOK HOW CUTE! The little ghosties and pumkins and crossy in the graveyard! Don't forget the little bunny with the skull on his ear.

The world has taken this spirit-placating ritual and turned it into something scary. I mean, fun. We carve pumpkins because it's easier than carving turnips. We dress up as characters, ghosts, witches, and whatever else society has told us we need to fear or placate, such as murderers with chainsaws.

TRICK OR TREAT! Hey mister, you gimme candy or I throw eggs at your car!
Good times, eh?

The first time I experienced western, commercialized Halloween was in 6th grade. I was in Canada going to public school and my Mom called up another girl's mom and asked if I could go trick o' treating with them. (Yep. That's how popular I was) I dressed up like a Renaissance princess and threw on my winter coat and got out there! It was great. I got candy in my pillowcase from little old ladies that smelled like prunes. I was enjoying myself, until we went to the haunted house. I can still feel the fear clutching my insides to this day. We descended a long, dark staircase into a red lit room. There were body parts all over the floor. (I was eleven, guys, gimme a break.) The mom I was with started to clutch my arms harder as we shuffled through the disgusting mess. My heart raced and pounded in my ears as things moved and jumped all around us, but everything stopped when we got to a large room with nothing but a chair in the middle. A chair with a dark, hooded figure slumped over. You couldn't see it's face. We could see the exit just outside the room and we were headed straight for it, inching around the thing in the chair, when I lost my breath. It disappeared. You know that scream that isn't really a scream? It happened. The thing in the chair raised only it's head. A skeletal, flesh-stretched, empty head with wide bulging eyes and a grimace ready to devour. "I am the evil one," it whispered, moving only it's mouth. At that moment the mom who was digging her claws into my arms gave a guttural cry and harshly shoved me towards the door. I scampered as fast as I could to get out but I could feel it watching me, chasing me even. I knew it was right behind me I could feel it! Closer and closer it almost had me! Then I was outside. And it wasn't behind me. I was eleven. Canadian Halloween wasn't fun anymore.

I grew up in Ukraine. You know what their decorations are for Halloween? No pumpkins with happy faces, colored leaves, cute little ghosties and funny dancing skeletons. They had decapitated dolls with blood smeared on their faces. Satanic symbols. Statues of demonic creatures. Posters of possessed children with white eyes. You know why? Because they wanted to be like North America and celebrate this awesome time of fright and bite, but they missed the memo that everything was supposed to be fake.

Halloween therefore became a celebration of all that is dead and/or evil. Does that sound like something Christians should be associated with? And you wondered why your church always threw a "fall/festival/party" thingie in their gym on October 31st.

What people don't realize is that while they're eating candy corn and telling spooky stories about hooks being left on car doors is that in other parts of the world girls are being abducted and sacrificed to Satan by witches and warlocks because they know it's their night to shine. Oh yes, it happens. Shocked? Halloween is not all fun and games. It's real. Just like ghosts are not just happy whispy sheet things, they are otherwise known as demons and they have real power. And you know what's even scarier than that? It here. In your America. It's infiltrating the happy holiday you've created and turning it into something else and you don't even see it. But those of us who know what it could be see it behind every corner. Be on guard.

What's wrong with candy? Everyone eats candy. - Nothing.
What's wrong with costumes? It's just dressing up! - Nothing.
What's wrong with pumpkins? They're just lit-up gourds! - Nothing.
What wrong with being spooked? Everyone likes a good scare! - Nothing.
What's wrong with pretending that it all means nothing? - Everything.

The meaning behind Halloween is huge. For some people it's a festival of orange and black. For others, it's a thing of great evil that they've seen. Don't forget that what you take delight in could be somebody else's nightmare.
Is it possible that it might not really be worth it?

REMEMBER WHAT WE ARE REALLY HERE ON EARTH TO CELEBRATE.

And who's celebration is Halloween? Do you think it matters to him how you've changed it? It's still his day. Isn't it? Think about that.

So go ahead. Have fun. Trick and treat, scare and scream, get decked out to your hearts delight, but don't forget what you're doing and what it could mean to the person next to you on the street; the person who you could be sharing Christ with.

Hey, here's a thought. If Jesus were to hang with you on Halloween night and go all trick 'o treatin', what would he dress up as?

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Phillippians 4:8

"The best laid plans of idiots and men often go astray."

A plan: a system for achieving objective, a method of doing something that is worked out in advance.

To plan: to intend to do something, to make arrangements to do something.

To change: to make something become different, to exchange/substitute/replace something.

Change of plans: when God smacks you upside the head for making your own plans.

Being at Moody Bible Institute is a privilege and an honour. It’s considered one of the best schools for preparing the future Christian leaders that the world needs. Wherever I go, people ask about my experience at Moody.

“Do you like it? How do you feel about living in downtown Chicago? What’s your major? What year are you in? What’s your favourite class?”

But my least favourite question is this: “What do you plan to do after you graduate?”

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? I want to shout...

But I don’t...

My freshman year I knew exactly what I wanted to be. A worship leader. Why? I don’t know. I just did. So I’m in the 5 year music program because it’s the best I can get out of Moody and things are going well. Then I realize I don’t want to spend 5 years in school. So I switch to the 4 year program. Then I get introduced to different aspects of classical music, and try my hand at singing on a more academic level. I try out for solos, I don’t get them. I look for a church to get involved on the worship team with. Can’t find one. Is there a group of students that want to form a chapel band? Yeah, but they don’t need me. Getting a little discouraged here...

2 years I search for a church to get involved with. The result? I was inundated with poor theology, self-praising worship bands, and cold-hearted church-goers who were only interested in the latest gossip. The decision? I don’t want to be involved in church ministry.

OOPS.

“um... cheri... you can’t say that... you’re at moody... this is where the church leaders of tomorrow are trained... you have to do church ministry. why else would you be here?”

So now I’m in my third year, which is also my senior year because I crammed everything, and I don’t want to do the job my degree is preparing me for. What if I want to be a behind-the-scenes person? What if I don’t want to be the leader? Or what if I’m just afraid to be because I’ve never done it before?

Earlier this week I had a meeting with a post-college/career development person here at school and I told him I had no experiences or skills to put on my resume. Never led, never prepared, never planned or organized anything—unless you count in-class projects or book learning, which isn’t experience anyways. He looked at me like I was from another planet. (For some reason some people don’t get the fact that it's hard to find opportunities to lead something in a community of 1000+ leaders.) I then spent the rest of the week wallowing in the fact that I was a total loser, completely unprepared for anything, even the ministry God has called me for (whatever that may be). The other day one of my friends had, jokingly, said that’d I’d probably end up working at McDonald’s after I graduated. That prospect started to look a lot more plausible and it freaked me out! I started to think about my other skill sets such as organization and multi-tasking that might end up being the breadwinners in my life and a vision of myself in a suit and heels sitting behind a desk popped into my mind—with the occasional specialty-coffee-order-pickup-run.

HOLD IT! THIS ISN’T WHAT I’D HAD PLANNED!

Well... does it really matter what I want? Does it matter what I’d planned for myself? Not really. I just think it does. Sometimes I forget that. My best advice that I often give people is the one thing I just can’t seem to do: chill out. Calm down. It will work out. God’s in control. I promise you it won’t be easy, and it will suck BIG alot, but in the end God will accomplish exactly what he wants to, and if you’re in tune with him it will be what you want too. Easier said than done, friends.

Life is a rollercoaster operated by God. You go up and down and over and under and sometimes it gets so bad you even lose your cookies—but God will never let you derail. If he did you’d die. And that won’t happen because he’s already saved you. But hey, if you don’t get on in the first place, you’ll miss the ride.

Late this afternoon the church I’m doing my internship at called me and asked if I would lead worship tomorrow (Sunday). Well pin a tail on me and call me a donkey!

“So, Cheri... what will you do after you graduate?”

“No clue. I don’t make my own plans anymore. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Will Smith: Hot or Not?

"I AM LEGEND". Most of us saw the movie. Will Smith, only man left living in the world because he is somehow immune to a strange zombie virus that has... zombie-fied the human race. So he's got his dog and his guns and his will to find a cure and thats about it. It's a good movie, freaky freaky in some parts, and Will does a fine job.

SIDENOTE: I found the book "I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson and it is SO different and SO much better.

So who likes Will Smith? I do. He's a great actor and his movies are some of my favorite. Imagine for a second he's your bestest favoritist actor of all time. Imagining it? Okay... now imagine someone coming up to you and telling you Will Smith is a slime-ball, two-faced, no good sissy boy who's face should be limited to the radio? Would you get upset? Of course you would.

"Hey man, shut up! Will Smith is da bomb!"

"Nah, he's a loser!"

"You're a loser!"

Look familiar? It does to me, even if something like that never conspired out loud. So why do we get angry when people insult our favorite celebrities? It feels like a personal attack does it not? But guess what? It shouldn't feel that way. In fact, we'd better make sure we don't feel that way! Have you guys ever stopped to think about the person you're sticking up for? Do you know them at all? Their beliefs? How about what they contribute to society ESPECIALLY from a Christian standpoint? Just how instrumental are they in STOPPING the furthering of the kingdom?

Don't freak, i'm not anti-media or anti-having favorite actors, you know that, but here's an example:

A Will Smith "Rap" song: (yes, I put it in ""'s. you listen to some of his stuff and you'll see why.)

Ms. Holy Roller

This dedicated to an old friend of mine, Michelle
She a holy roller now, turned over a new leaf
Now e'rything old gon' burn

Ms. Holy Roller, new angel, got ya Bible out shoutin' and you're ringing a bell

mid-life, reborn, can't wait to tell, if I don't believe what you believe,

I'm going to hell...

I've been down with Jesus since Sunday school & Easter speeches

The Bible was survival, that's what my grandma would teach us

Since I was 5, I've been dying and trying to read it When I did I did, it redefined it

Now you was 34 when you found Jesus after your life fell to pieces

Wife two times, with two guys, now enlightened in speeches

Seemed to flow out your mouth with the hype of a preacher

Took your whole life to reach you, now I'm a trifling creature

Come on, if I die right this second, I reckon that God would simply check

into my life & times, dissecting my rhymes, he'll see how I've been leading his troops

You can't do dirt your whole life then say "oops'!

Now where was Jesus, when you life then you was cheatin', when you was deceiving me?

Where was Jesus when you greedy, your lawyers was bleeding me?

Where was Jesus when every weekend, a new man living with you?

Oh, wait he was with me, trying to keep me from killing you!

Now, where was Jesus when you was lying & you was betraying me?

When I was trying to make it, you was hatin' delayin' me, huh?

Where was Jesus when the ice was thrilling you,

Oh, he was he with me trying to keep me from killing you!

If I ain't know Jesus, ain't no telling where I would be

It's been nights I felt like feces; I needed to fight to release it

I'm in the limelight, it's hot & the heat is ceaseless,

Holding my tongue while little bums cut me to pieces

The only reason's cause I studied the life of Jesus &

Venting with my pen, intending to write & release it

But when an ex-friend would slight me or slam me with venom

I hate it, I can't stand it, damned, I really resent it

I always strive to be righteous, my version of God

The reason why I never write verses with curses inside

The reason I never purposely hurt persons,

I've applied many teaching of God,

Searching the reaches of God

Pondered the mysteries of why you be dissing me,

I adore you all I hope for you is freedom from misery

You made mistakes & blunders, you breaking from under

But yo, If I'm going to hell, it's making me wonder

The greatest atrocities ever committed on this planet have been in the

name of God

This country was founded by Puritans, for the expressed purpose of

oppression-free worship

Your attitude is the same arrogant, fearful fundamentalism that fueled the

hatred of the Crusades

& the attacks on 9/11.

If we are not allowed to worship God as groups & individuals free from

persecution, in respectful

Tolerance, there's only one outcome...

What is Will talking about? Unfortunately, the truth. He had an experience with a holier-than-thou hell-fire and brimstone preaching Christian and now he's telling the whole world. HE'S TELLING THE WHOLE WORLD. This is what Will Smith has contributed and the saddest part about it is that it's not his fault.

Will's not a bad guy. He's not a devil-worshiper, not a murderer, not a sex-singing drug-bringing money-flinging hip-hop dude. He's got a head on his shoulders that includes both ears. And this is what he's heard from us. He's labelled us the cause of so many problems and now he's not afraid to tell everyone who will listen. And you know what? Simply because he's Will Smith means that people are all ears. Everyone loves their celebrities. Everyone has their heroes, their idols, their favorite actors.

This isn't about not sticking up for the skills an actor has that someone else bashes. This is about understanding and realizing what kinds of messages these celebrities are sending out. To stick up for someone means to defend them, to protect them, to support their position and to resist their opponent. I looked it up.

This kind of thing is not a big deal in itself but this is also one of the lesser examples. You want something harsher? check this out. don't ask me what this song means. I haven't the slightest idea. All I know is it's exactly what I'm talking about. The message that celebrities are sending out into their spongie fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdU3fKbbbu0&feature=related

It offends me. It'd better offend you too.

So... who's your favorite actor?

being me [or you]

Qualified. There's always someone telling you you're not qualified. It doesn't have to be words, mind you, it could be in the form of a rejection letter, a promotion gone to someone else, an "F" on a paper, or even a dirty look. I find myself sometimes looking at other people and saying,

"Sheesh... it's always someone else. It's never me. When's my shot? When can I [insert aspiration]?"

Then once you get over that bout of selfishness, another MEMEME giant rears it's ugly head.

"I could totally have done that. Hey! I could do that better! If only they had chosen me. If only that person wasn't constantly hogging the spotlight! Then maybe I'd get noticed."

I used to go through those two phases a lot, admit they were wrong to feel that way, and try and move on with my unnoticed, untapped life. But then I started to actually try and do the things I was convinced I could do better than [insert person] who had been hogging the spotlight-- and I fell flat on my face.

SHOCKER: I'm not as great as I thought I was.

So then you start to understand the rejection letter, the promotion that passed you by, the "F" you deserved, and why that person, once self-righteous now a "truth-seer", gave you a dirty look. A new bout starts to run through your head.

"Why am I here? What good will it do? There are so many more people qualified than me. Why would anyone want to hire me or work with me when they could have someone else?"

Man. A hard pill to swallow. Not qualified. Not good enough. And you know what hammers in a nice big nail? Can't get qualified unless you get experience which you won't get a chance to gain because you're not qualified.

If you think this is bad-- try this on for size. When you've got the call from God to go into full time ministry and you're not qualified for it, that means you're not good enough for God to use. BAM! Shot in the heart.

Who feels like this? Me. You. Everyone. Even the spotlight stealer and the dirty look giver. You know what else? You will probably have feelings like this forever. Some of us more than others. But guess what I've discovered? That's all they are! FEELINGS. Soft, fickle, and modifiable feelings. Since when does feeling dictate reality?

God would never create something not good enough for the purpose He created it for.

Our problem is is that when we're not in the very midst of that purpose we "feel" like it doesn't exist at all. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes, yes, we're not READY for that job/position/promotion, but that doesn't mean we're not good enough for it. Just because a plumber doesn't have his own tools yet doesn't mean he can't or won't ever fix pipes!

Our culture is saturated with NOW-HERE-MYWAY and we have no idea what not yet, not here, and not this way mean. It certainly took forever for it to sink into me and I still forget sometimes.

I guess all I have left to say is this: No one else is ever going to be qualified to be me and I'd better get on with it because I'm certainly never going to be qualified to be you.

Ray Bradbury's Epiphany

Who all read Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury in high school? You know, the story about the book burners? (A movie called "Equillibrium" was based roughly on it. I highly recommend watching it. It has Christian Bale in it...)But anyways, I loved this book when we were "requested" to read it. I've read it multiple times. I can't say much about it for fear of spoiling it for you, but I will say that human emotion is only fully appreciated and grasped when it is gone.

One day while I was strolling down the aisles of OPEN BOOKS-- a tiny little second hand book shop a block away from school-- I saw RAY BRADBURY in big gold letters on the front of a book with a haunted house plastered on it's cover. Cool, was my reaction. If you know me, you know that I like monster stories and such, so I snatched it off the shelf and read the back. It turns out, "From the Dust Returned" was in fact a connective story about the family that inspired the ADDAMS FAMILY, which was developed by him and his buddy Charles Addams. Crazy huh? Bet you didn't know that.

So as I push through the artistically frayed pages and the over-gushified prose, I learn about One Thousand Times Great Grandmere (a 3000BC year-old mummy lady), Timothy (a Human child born to "unliving" parents and abandonded at the house), and all kinds of relatives with wings or webs or relocatable souls -- and even Rameses' royal undead cat. Weird, right?

Then, on page 117, when the "Oldest Darkest Undeadest Leader" of the house is explaining why they as creatures are in danger from the rest of the world, he tells us of the impending war. What impending war? OUR WAR. It blew my mind that Ray, someone who has no particular views on God whatsoever, could capture the post-modern effect on Christianity.

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"War?" Timothy glanced up. "What war?" And then clapped his palm over his mouth and blushed. "Sorry."
"No need, boy. Listen, now, let me provide the history of the rising tide of disbelief. The Judeo-Christian world is a devastation. The burning bush of Moses will not fire. Christ, from the tomb, fears to come forth should he be unrecognized by doubting Thomas. The shadow of Allah melts at noon. So Christians and Muslims confront a world torn by many wars to finalize yet a larger. Moses did not walk down the mountain for he never walked up. Christ did not die for he was never born... Does the unholy or holy win? Ah, but look: the answer is neither none or what? Not only is Jesus lonely and Nazareth in ruins, but the populace at large believes in NOTHING. There is no room for either glorious or terrible. We are in danger too, trapped in the tomb with an uncrucified carpenter, blown away with the burning bush as the east's Black Cubicle cracks its mortar and falls. The world is at war."

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Ray's words astound me. The way he says things! Have you ever had that experience where someone says something to you and you reply, " I never thought of it like that" or "I've never heard it said like that"? That's what this is!

"Christ did not die for he was never born..." Does he mean he literally believes that Jesus was never born? I don't think so. I think he means to say the world has made up their minds that he was never born so therefore his death and ressurection mean nothing to them.

It doesn't take John Piper or Jerry Jenkins (ha) to enlighten us theologically. In this case, it's someone who has been around for a while, who keeps his eyes open, and likes to write fanciful words. Hey, obviously right? You're reading what I'm writing...

What are your thoughts?

Who Are You Worshipping?

Project: to create a list of BEST AND WORST worship music within the last 10 years.

How do you even begin?

At first, you're thinking, "Well that's easy, I can think of quite a few songs that I don't like." But why don't you like them? They don't sound right to you? The lyrics make no sense? Are the lyrics wrong even? How about chord progression? Do you even know what chord progression means? Who are you to say a song is WORST? Someone out there likes it. At least the person who wrote it.

EXAMPLE:
Person #1 - "I'm don't like "Draw Me Close to You". It's too sappy! Too cheesy!"
Person #2 - "... but I like that song. It's pretty."

So how do you begin to define sucesses and failures withing the song writing community? Go to the root of the problem! WHAT IS WORSHIP MUSIC SUPPOSED TO BE AND DOES THIS SONG FIT THE BILL?

Worship music is from God, about God, and for God and his glory. That's it. Get all technical with me but that's what it boils down to. So why do we sing songs where every other word is the word "I"? Shouldn't it be "You"? I heard a song somewhere recently with this message: "My God is better than your god because my God does all these great things for ME in MY life." Those were not the exact words but you get the idea, don't you? What is that all about? One of my good friends described it as a "Neener Neener Neener" song. I couldn't agree more.

So if I don't like the words in songs these days, what should they be, you ask. Let me give you an example of BEST AND WORST, in my mind, now that I've thought it all out.

- Me Vs Him -

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ME

(Trading My Sorrows)

I'm Trading My Sorrows

I'm Trading My Shame

I'm Laying it Down for the Joy of the Lord

I'm Trading My Sickness

I'm Trading My Pain

I'm Laying it Down for the Joy of the Lord.

Yes Lord Yes Lord Yes Yes Lord

Yes Lord Yes Lord Yes Yes Lord

Yes Lord Yes Lord Yes Yes Lord

... amen?

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HIM

(Lord, You're Holy)

Wonderful, Glorious, Holy and Righteous.

Victorious, Conqueror, Triumphant and Mighty.

Healer, Deliverer, Shield and Defense,

Strong Tower and My Best Friend.

Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Soon Coming King,

Alpha, Omega, Lord of Everything...

Holy is Your Name.

I color coded it so you can see the difference. Red is me blue is GOD. Now which song do you thing pleases God more to hear? Or in other words, which song Praises God more? Now I'm sorry if you said "Trading My Sorrows" but I personally don't feel like worshipping myself instead of worshipping Him. Sound harsh? It should. This is IMPORTANT! We take this subject so lightly today!

"Oh, it doesn't matter... it's just a song! Stop being so picky/whiney/bossy/fussy..."

That's what I'll hear sometime. But hey, if someone took a verse of scripture and re-wrote it to the point of heresy would it bother you? (And just to take another quip at "Trading My Sorrows", what the WHAT is a chorus of YesLordYesLordYesYesLordYesYesLordLordYes supposed to mean?) >P

So the next time you're in chapel/church/worship night, and you're screaming the same four words (that have something to do with you) at the top of your lungs and the drums are getting louder and more and more exciting and your jumping and waving your hands and the band leader--sorry, worship leader, starts singing yet another octave higher, stop and take a look around. Who are you worshipping? Yourself? Your buddy up on stage wailing away on the guitar?

Once you understand what I mean, do something to change it.

Project: To not add to the worst worship music of the next 10 years.

But that's just my opinion...

Why Not?

So many people talk. They talk about this, they talk about that and who and what and why me-- but not many people listen. i don't listen. Do you listen? Can you think of a time where someone, friend or not, was telling you one of their opinions and you had to press your lips together from blurting out how stupid you thought they were? Dr. McDuffy, a teacher at Moody for those of you who don't know, says, "Stupid is being held hostage to your own opinion." Sure we all laugh and marvel at how profound he is but do we notice the countless times a day when we are held captive by our thoughts? "Nah, it doesn't happen to me..." we all say. Well it does. All the time. So much that we will take our favorite incarcerated word "stupid" and apply it to everything.

Has anyone else noticed that we've turned our entire world into a stupid, dirty place where stupid people do stupid things?

Has anyone noticed that living in a stupid world is upsetting?

What if we shut up for once and kept out stupid opinions to ourselves? After all, they are just opinions, and opinions are relative because we live in a post-modern world where everyone does what's right in their own eyes.

You know who's opinion isn't stupid? God's. What if we tried to have His opinion once and a while? How about all the time? Bet you can't do it. BET YOU CAN'T MAKE YOURSELF REMEMBER TO DO IT. You know why? Because you're stupid too, just like me.

You know what I'm going to do for the next three days? Try and withold the word STUPID. I'll try to never say it. THREE DAYS. Let's you and me do it. Let's give up ourselves and listen-- for once. Let me know how it goes.