Selflessness, Joy, and Integrity

As I found out on Sunday night once I was halfway through my lesson, there's a whole lot to discuss in Acts 16. At the same time, all the bits and pieces of stories give you something to get the conversation started, but not enough to draw very many conclusions.

But perhaps the most striking part of the chapter is the picture of Paul and Silas in jail. They end up sharing the gospel with the prison guard when he so keenly asks, "What must I do to be saved?" But I would venture to say one of the only reasons the guard is interested in asking them a question like this is because of what they do to set the stage beforehand.

Going completely against Roman law, Paul and Silas are denied a fair trial, severely beaten, and thrown in jail for completely unfounded reasons. As far as we know, this happened with little protest from them. They chose not to speak up, letting go of any sense of self-entitlement to which we are typically accustomed. It's likely the guard was watching this selflessness.

How did they respond to this hardship and suffering? They sought God and focused on him in prayer and singing. They rejoiced in bleakest of circumstances. This joy really must have been on Paul's mind while he was in Philippi, as it later becomes the theme of his letter to the believers there: "Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: Rejoice!" It's likely the guard overheard their joy.

But what strikes me most is how they respond to an earthquake that throws the prison doors open. Instead of bolting for the door and making an easy escape, they stay put. They act rightly, and in doing so, they save the guard's life who otherwise would have been held accountable. (He was about to commit suicide to speed up the process.) This was an act of integrity, where even though they were treated unjustly in the first place, they chose not to retaliate or take the easy way out. The guard was eternally grateful for their integrity.

These three acts set the stage for an incredible encounter between the guard and the apostles. A simple question with a simple answer:

"What must I do to be saved?"

"Believe on the Lord Jesus."

And discipleship, service, obedience, fellowship, and joy all follow this authentic conversion. This shows both that God had a plan in mind in this crazy turn of events, and it reminds me, yet again, of how Paul and his missionary friends acted upon every single set of circumstances as another opportunity to share the gospel.

But, the question keeps ringing in my mind, what kept Paul and Silas from running out of the prison when they had the chance?

As my brother-in-law shared, we often tend to think we know our situations better than God does and we can handle them better than He can. Short on money? We'll find shortcuts in our taxes or write more on our timecard instead of waiting on God to provide. In need of a job? We'll embellish our resume and tell small untruths in an interview instead of trusting God for the right job. Single and sexually frustrated? We'll compromise our standards in a variety of creative ways instead of having faith that his plan and design have our best interests in mind.

Stuck in prison for no reason while there's a job to be done? We'll bolt for the door instead of trusting God has us there for a reason and making the most of the opportunity at hand.

Oh God! May we learn to be people of deeper trust and consistent integrity!

More good movies...

So, I guess the way the film industry goes these days, you wait a whole year for some good movies, and then once December and January roll around, you get your fill. Then, you have to spend the rest of the year trying to catch up on the ones you missed during those months.

We saw the Savages on Friday night, which was very excellent. We also watched The Lives of Others--last year's best foreign film at the Oscars--which was also very excellent. Read my brief reviews over here. I would venture to say The Savages would find their way onto my top 10 list if I were to revise it.

We're showing the King of Kong at our place on Friday night, and There Will Be Blood finally comes to the area this weekend.

Lastly, I was happy to find that now when I approach the elders about showing Lars and the Real Girl to our church, I'll be able to back it up by saying it's Christianity Today's second 'Most Redeeming Film of 2007.'

together we're better

This is a little project my class completed in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Each student got a small square from a portrait of MLK, and they had to copy their image onto a large white square using a black pen. I told them from the start that we would put them together, creating a portrait of Martin Luther King. They had some serious doubts about how it would work, but it was a wonderful moment when I unveiled the final project to gasps of excitement. They were quite surprised and pleased with the final outcome. The portrait is 2'x2' and hanging on a bulletin board in the back of the room.

It's Martin Luther King Day

Depending on how long you've kept up with this silly blog of mine, you know that just about every January I tend to write a rant in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The fact of the matter is this: God has placed a burden in my heart for the less privileged people in our world that was further cultivated and focused through various studies in college.

So, this year, while I was reluctant about taking on the responsibility, I ended up being honored and excited about being appointed as the chair of the diversity committee at school this year. On one hand, I laugh, thinking of Michael Scott and all of his fumbled attempts to embrace diversity. On another hand, I get frustrated with what could very well be just another trend and festival of buzzwords. On another hand, I don't know how to achieve certain outcomes that I believe are only possible with Christ as a mediator. And on a final hand, I get excited about putting my years of thinking to work, passing on these thoughts to young minds.

And so, this past Wednesday consisted of an assembly with some beautiful moments, including the students reciting excerpts of the "I Have a Dream" speech and culminating in a peace march outside complete with signs and singing.

And all of this is impacting me personally. As I reflect on my teaching in Acts 14, how anyone living a godly life will face hardships, I can't help but think of Martin Luther King telling his wife he knew he wouldn't live to see 40. As much as we'd like to think persecution doesn't happen in the USA, we only need to look back to 1968 to see it's not as unlikely as we might think.

And as I study Acts elsewhere, I can't help but marvel at how God cares about our unity, and how he went to great lengths to preserve the unity of the early believers.

In Acts chapter 8, Philip takes the gospel into Samaria--what could basically be considered enemy territory--for the first time. And after they receive the gospel message, Peter and John travel down to see what's going on and end up instilling the Holy Spirit in these new believers in an unusual experience.

Now, if you're a Pentacostal, you'd read this and say it's a typical experience, the way the Holy Spirit is usually received. If you run in more conservative theological circles, you might say these Samaritans were never Christians in the first place. If you take a look at things more carefully, you might agree that the Holy Spirit typically comes at the point of conversion, but in this case, it's clear that these Samaritans were believers but didn't yet have the Holy Spirit. So why did God choose to do things so differently here?

It could be that God cared deeply about the unity of his believers at this important turning point in the history of the early church. Jews and Samaritans were heated enemies, and so, when they first believed the gospel and received the Holy Spirit, it was utterly important that the leaders of the church first see the evidence of their conversion and also make this important connection with them. A gap was being bridged in these moments. Peter and John placed their hands on their enemies, and they were no longer Jews and Samaritans but children of God and brothers in Christ.

How humbling this must have been to a man like John, who at one point in his life suggested destroying an entire Samaritan village with fire from heaven. He was learning an important lesson in these moments.

God bent his own rules in this turning point to make sure everyone knew that, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." He cares about our unity.

no need to prolong it any further................. my top 10 of 2007

There's a long list of movies from 2007 I'm still waiting to see that could very likely affect this list (ie: THERE WILL BE BLOOD, AWAY FROM HER, KING OF KONG, SUNSHINE, THIS IS ENGLAND, THE SAVAGES, DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, GREAT WORLD OF SOUND, PERSEPOLIS...to name just a few) but it could very well be June by the time all of them arrive from Netflix. No need to leave all of you anxiously awaiting that long.

I typically only do a top five, mostly due to the fact that I'm only able to see about 20 movies in a year, but for some reason I'm feeling a top 10 fits this year. At the same time, slots 6-10 are the ones likely to change as more of these movies are seen. Regardless, here we go:

10. Dan in Real Life
I loved how it presented an interesting perspective of family dynamics: warmth, love and support with simultaneous feelings of isolation and loneliness.

9. God Grew Tired of Us
A remarkable story that left me close to tears for the remainder of the day, thankful for a home and a wife and the many other provisions so easily accessible.

8. American Gangster
Who's good and who's bad? A compelling character study and riveting story.

7. No Country for Old Men
Left me depressed for a few days, but an amazingly well-done film with heart-pounding cinematography.

6. The Darjeeling Limited
Putting Darjeeling Limited at number 6 tells you this is "my favorite" of 2007 rather than the "best of" 2007. I really enjoyed this in a year when not many people did. Although I do wonder, if this were Wes Anderson's only film, and critics had nothing else to judge him against, what would the reaction be then? And that being said, is it fair to judge a film by comparing it to its close relatives? I don't know if it is or not...just thinking out loud here.

5. Paris Je T'aime
Of course this one holds a special place in our lives, as it was released while we were living in Paris. But this is a wonderful celebration of a fantastic city. To find so many creative minds working in one place is a true, rare gem, and really the most fitting way to pay tribute to a place like Paris. But even if Paris Je T'aime was only made up of Alexander Payne's closing film, I have a feeling it would still be at #5.

4. Juno
The more I think about it and discuss it, the less I like it. (That is to say, had I made my list right after I saw it, it probably would have been at #1.) But it's still a wonderful little triumph of a movie.

3. Lars and the Real Girl
The opposite of Juno, the more I think about it and discuss it, the more I like it. The first viewing caught me off guard, I think, so I can't wait to see it again. It's brilliant in so many ways, perhaps mostly in the way it puts you exactly in the shoes of the characters in the film. You are just as skeptical as they are about this visitor who has arrived in town, and by the end of it, you love her just as much as they do, and are just as much attached as they are, and you walk away from the movie feeling just as weird and embarrassed because of it. And if there was one thing I could change about my church today, it would be that we'd show this movie to our congregation instead of Facing the Giants.

2. Into the Wild
A wonderful accomplishment of a film that reinforced so many feelings that have been on the forefront of my mind in the past year.

1. Ratatouille
Well, well, well. All of you thought Nate Shorb couldn't like a movie that was not only popular but animated on top of it. You thought wrong. When a popular movie is good, I'll like it, and boy do I like this one. I saw it a few weeks ago and it hasn't left my mind since. I picked up my own copy yesterday and can't wait to watch it again. It's a perfectly told, creative story, and whenever stories are perfectly told and creative, there are layers and layers of meaning. There is more than meets the eye in this little animated flick. Madeleine L'Engle always insisted she never intended to write children's books, but rather, children were the only ones with big enough imaginations to embrace her stories that were otherwise intended for audiences of all ages. I'd say the same thing to anyone labeling Ratatouille as a children's movie.
Honorable Mentions:
* Knocked Up for its intelligent albeit raunchy comedy, thoughtful social commentary, and surprisingly redemptive storyline
* Once for its simplistic and heartfelt beauty

eagle vs. shark

Thirty minutes in, I was ready to write off this little-known 2007 release from New Zealand as a terribly misguided Napoleon Dynamite rip-off gone horribly awry. It was simply too dry, awkward, and scattered for its own good.

But as I continued to watch, something seemed quite right about it. I realized it was Lily's persistent grace that (at least, almost) redeemed the film and made it worth watching. Among a family full of dysfunction and bitterness, she stands out in her selfless and relentless love, and in the fact that she "never complains about anything."

After a quaint stop-motion sequence of Lily and her sleeping bag chasing Jarrod and his, Jarrod asks in a moment of self-revelation, "I'm a loser, aren't I?" Beautifully, Lily simply responds, "Doesn't matter."

And that made the 90 otherwise-mostly-dull minutes worth it.

life isn't hard enough

Acts 14.

After healing a man and insisting on giving God his due glory, Paul gets beat up, stoned, and left for dead in the city of Lystra.

Now, it should be no surprise that Paul would live a life of hardship and suffering. It's the first thing we heard after his conversion when God tells Ananias, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." But we soon find out this idea--choosing a life of sacrifice, loss, hardship, suffering--is not limited to Paul alone.

When he gets up from his stoning, he and Barnabas take a trip to strengthen and encourage the new believers in the towns they had already visited. Out of all the discipleship that took place, the many conversations, and all the the words exchanged, one quote is recorded:

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."

And as we explore a little further, we see this theme scattered throughout the messages of Christ, Paul, Peter, and others. It's a rare message nowadays, one we may tend to avoid.

Perhaps the most startling is when Paul, speaking to Timothy, says: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Rules of logic state that this also means if you are not being persecuted, you are not living a godly life.

Here, two illegitimate responses typically follow from American Christians:
1. "This is America, a Christian nation full of all sorts of freedom, and that's why we don't face hardships or suffering or persecution."
2. "I face all sorts of hardships! Last week I missed the football game because I was at church. And when I told my coworker that the next day, he called me a Jesus Freak! I felt so persecuted!"

The second response is simply preposterous. The first, though, has some amount of validity. It's obvious we do not experience the same amount or degree of persecution and hardship here in comparison with many other countries. (But NOT because we're a "Christian nation.") Despite this, I don't think it means hardship and suffering will be eliminated.

So all this begs the question, why aren't we facing hardship or suffering? How can we live more "godly lives" that might bring about hardship and suffering?

I've arrived at a few conclusions:
1. Start with an attitude of humility and selflessness, thinking of others before myself.
2. Continue with being a bit less obsessed with my own comfort.
3. Open my mouth more, sharing the sometimes-unsettling-truth of the gospel with those around me.
4. Serve others.
5. Let every decision I make be driven by an eternal perspective rather than typical American ideals. For example, choose a job not because of the money and security but for the opportunities to interact with and serve a variety of people. Or, choose a place to live not for convenience and safety but for the needs in a community that could be fulfilled by my presence.

Starting with these ideas, a little more suffering might come my way.

Of course, all this is completely at odds with the typical American way of living. It's yet another area where we Christians need to take a good hard look at which ideas are American and which are Christian, realizing the two are not always (and perhaps very rarely) as compatible as we're told.

listening

Today's reading from A Year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer was convicting...

"Just as our love for God begins with listening to God's Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. God's love for us is shown by the fact that God not only gives us God's Word, but also lends us God's ear. We do God's work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to 'offer' something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening. But Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God. The death of spiritual life starts here, and in the end there is nothing left but empty spiritual chatter and clerical condescension which chokes on pious words. Those who cannot listen long and patiently will always be talking past others, and finally no longer will even notice it. Those who think their time is too pecious to spend listening will never really have time for God and others, but only themselves and for their own words and plans."

I think Dietrich has a point with the listening part; that's what's convicting. But he makes too broad of an assumption by saying if you're not listening it's because you're talking too much.

I've made the same assumption until now. Before I read this and thought about it, I've always assumed since I'm a pretty slow to speak, that means I'm quick to listen. The two go hand-in-hand, don't they?

Not necessarily. I do a pathetic job of listening long and patiently, to both brother and Father.

it's an exciting day!

Why? Because the artists whose work is featured on several of our walls are mentioned and linked over at Pitchfork!

Wowzers!! This is the bigtime!!

Congrats Zack and Gala!

Now the question is...some people like Pitchfork and some people hate Pitchfork...is this a source of pride or shame??

So I'm sitting here watching Sketches of Frank Gehry, astonished at seeing this artist/architect's work for what I think is the first time, and then I see the image of his huge fish sculpture in Barcelona. After doing a bit of googling, I realize I walked right past it this summer without knowing who or what it was. Hmm. Wish I could do that one again.

I've started putting together my top 5-or-10 movie list for 2007. I'm going to hold out a little longer to see if I can head down to Philly to see There Will Be Blood, The Savages, and Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, as I feel all three will have some competition to offer.

I'm challenging Erica to name her #1 movie of 2007. She tends to never have favorites, and is never very quick to critique or criticize when it comes to movies or music. I got her to narrow it down to three...we'll see if she can put them in order.

I finally watched Ratatouille yesterday and absolutely loved it. Is it just me or are there some pretty significant and meaningful themes running throughout this one, particularly in regards to the meaning and purpose found in the exercise of creativity? I would delve into it here, but I'm afraid I'll sound like a freak who is taking a "children's movie" far too seriously.

As soon as they all come out on DVD, I think it's time for another film series at the Shorbs, featuring some of the best and most meaningful movies of 2007 that few people had the chance to see. I know right now that Paris Je T'aime, Into the Wild, and Lars and the Real Girl will be shown.

I'm feeling creative today. Most of my attention in Sunday school and the church service this morning went into arranging my next collection of hymns. Looks like that's going to be my creative release I was looking for in this year's resolutions.

Speaking of hosting people and feeling creative, I appreciate Overstreet's lament of a post found here. Lately I've lost energy and interest (and hope?) in trying to get fellow Christians to appreciate art and creativity. There's a nagging voice in my head constantly asking, "Is it really that important?" Sadly, I'm no longer sure what the answer is to that question, but Overstreet's thoughts make me want to keep trying. What do you think?

Here's John Stackhouse talking about peace...

Since I've kept you abreast with all the other updates, HERE is some news with the recipient of Sufjan's Xmas Xchange award, and HERE is the somewhat interesting official statement from the winner and his production company.

While you're surfing, check out this wonderful video that Jamin showed me.

What's that noise outside? What? It looks like the city of Bethlehem is finally coming around to pick up the leaves that fell several months ago. Let's hope they clean up this mess right.

It's January 2nd, the last day of my break, and my thoughts are very similar to last year's. It's been one of the laziest breaks ever with late bedtimes and late wakeup times and not doing much of anything. Which, in some ways is wonderful, and in other ways regretful.

Watched a lot of movies, let's see if I can remember them all: Bits and pieces of Waitress (seemed decent), the first few minutes of the Painted Veil (felt laborious), Sweeney Todd (interesting), Sicko (if only it were that easy...), The Simpsons Movie (giggly fun), Juno (wonderful), Enchanted (entertaining enough). We also watched the first eight episodes of Project Runway season 3. Eagerly eagerly awaiting a local release of There Will Be Blood.

We threw a party for my mom and dad and their 60th birthdays and I was glad we did. I played my saxophone for them for the first time in a long time. We also sang "Like a River Glorious," which is one of my dad's favorite hymns. It's becoming one of my favorites too, as it goes along nicely with my recent thoughts on peace: "Stayed upon Jehovah hearts are fully blessed, finding as he promised perfect peace and rest."

Flickr has been updated, in case you haven't noticed, where you can see some of our holiday season.

I'm about to go into school to get a head start on things. Actually, instead of starting things ahead, I'm finishing some things much too late in order to get set for a fresh start. But that's the way it goes. I'm looking forward to some things coming up here in January and beyond. One thing's for sure: it's absolutely wonderful to say that it's January 2nd and I am not experiencing an ounce of dread. I'm ready.

And so, with these random thoughts expressed, may you find promised peace and rest in 2008.

Resolutions for the new year:
-Grow in Biblical literacy.
-Read at least one of the books that has been sitting on my shelf unopened for far too long.
-Conquer social anxiety.
-Be a tad more active.
-Find some sort of consistent artistic and creative release.
-Pursue seminary and France.
-Explore the possibilities of becoming a published writer.