Anger

I watched a video yesterday of Jimmy Kimmel crying over a lion. I read articles about how universally loved this lion was. I listened to rants from radio personalities about how annoying Americans are.

And then I watched a leaked video in which people who worked for Planned Parenthood discussed the dissection of children and the subsequent sale of their body parts.

Why do we care more about a dead lion than a dead human being?

At what point do people realize the horror of 50 million murdered children?

How do you justify such an act? How do you perform such an act?

I have half a mind to take up hunting and start shooting every single endangered species until there's nothing left.

Of course, I won't. Do you know why? Because I value life. All life.

This is not one of those cases where we can sigh and shake our heads and wonder why we're surprised that non-believers are sinning.

Children are being murdered. We should be shocked and horrified by that, whether we are believers or not.

So am I sad that the lion is dead? Sure.

But that lion could never have discovered the cure for cancer. Found a way to get to Mars. Raised a family. Taught Math at an underprivileged school. Become a professional athlete. Saved someone from a fire.

Or the fifty million other things those children could have done if they hadn't been murdered and sold as spare parts. 

Ant-Man Review

Thing 1: SPOILERS!! Duh

Thing 2: I was supremely ambivalent about this movie when I heard they were making it. I believe my exact words were "Seriously? They're making a movie about Ant-Man? Before Hawkeye or Black Widow get theirs?" I was not pleased. But it's part of the Marvel universe. I have to watch it. But I wasn't expecting much.

So. Here goes.

I actually really liked this movie.

Two reasons. First, the humor. Second, the plot.

The humor is what saved this movie. I think Marvel knew that no one was going to take this movie seriously. So they couldn't either. I won't say it was especially sophisticated humor, but it wasn't low-brow either. There were some legitimately funny moments, and more than just what the trailer showed. And especially some that were completely unexpected. I've seen enough movies that I can usually predict certain beats, especially the end. And yeah, I predicted much of the ending. But there were also moments that went against type.

More importantly, though, this is not an origin story. There isn't a long explanation of how Ant-Man came to be. He just is. And while there's a bit of the redemption, zero to hero stuff, it's not heavy handed. Ultimately, this is a heist movie. This is what I've been wanting replicated from the comics. A mostly regular guy just living his life, and occasionally being a hero. This is what happens when you stop something before it gets to the planet-saving stage.

There really weren't many superfluous characters. A few got lost in the shuffle. I recently saw Jurassic World, and the resemblance between Bryce Dallas Howard and Evangeline Lilly was unsettling. Fortunately there was some difference in personality. They didn't waste time on non-plot points, but it didn't feel systematic, either. Not much "We have to do A so we can get to B." It was very organic.

Moments I loved:

• Breaking into Hank Pym's house. 
• The initial Ant-Man test run. 
• Breaking into Avengers HQ.
• Falcon.
• The heist itself. 
• The train battle.

Annoying factor: the ants! Having spent the better part of early and late summer for the past five years killing the numerous carpenter ants that make their way into my apartment, I have no desire to feel sorry for the little buggers. But darn it if this movie didn't make me feel sad about a freaking ant!

Anyway. Was it my favorite Marvel universe stand-alone movie? Probably not. But I did enjoy it as a one off. 

And that's where its greatest strength becomes its greatest weakness. This character is not made for sequels. Bit parts in other films to solve specific problems and then disappear? Sure. But honestly, Hank Pym is more useful for his brain than Scott Lang is for his suit. Now, having The Wasp around makes it a little more interesting. But this was always the comics' greatest struggle. What needs can these characters meet that aren't already accounted for?

As far as I know, there aren't any specific plans for a sequel, though they set it up in the mid-credits scene. I just don't know if they can come up with a compelling storyline that maintains the needed separation from all the other superhero movies. 

So let's turn our attention to the post-credits scene. 

I squealed. Audibly. I really don't want to spoil it. You can probably find it online somewhere already. But I think I'm going to be more excited for Civil War than I was for Age of Ultron. I just have to wait until 2016 for it. 

Next question: Is Fantastic Four going to fit into the established Marvel 'verse? If so, how? Look, I like getting the whole band together. But spending even two minutes with each one makes for a very long montage of establishing shots. No wonder Infinity War needs two movies! The first one will probably have to be devoted to introducing everyone to each other. 

And what happens when Marvel's planned run is ended? Will we be super-heroed out? Or does Howard the Duck get his turn? Will that still be before Hawkeye and Black Widow?

... what?

Do you ever start a blog post, leave it for a few weeks, open your draft file, and not have any clue what you intended to write or where it was supposed to go?

Yeah, that's this post. Here's what I had written:


On Monday in our prayer meeting, we read through 2 Timothy 1:7-12.

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

We were focusing on verse 7, but my attention was drawn to 


And that's it. That's where I stopped. I probably got distracted by something. I remember the intent, sort of. I was going to relate this passage to WALL-E. Somehow.

I had just seen the movie, and something about these verses reminded me of the scene where the two pudgy humans got their vid screens knocked out and had to start actually interacting with the world around them. For the life of me, though, I can't figure out where I was going with that analogy or how it even popped into my head.

Anyway, that movie has some very compelling points to it. It also raises some horrifying questions. For example, were those babies cloned? Because clearly the adults were not cognizant enough of the world around them to be boinking. There is a whole line of questioning here that just really should not be explored. And yet I can't help it.

See, it's not always going to be gold. Sometimes you just have to shove the crap at the universe in order to make room for the good stuff. 

Rapids '15

Last week I attended the National Conference of the United Brethren in Christ denomination. It was an opportunity to connect with supporters, speak with pastors, and spend time with my parents.

There was a lot of worry going into it. Our Bishop resigned quite suddenly, so there was some question of what would happen. There were also a couple of resolutions that would directly affect the future of the denomination. I don't normally attend the business session, and to be honest, I didn't attend much of it this time, either. Part of that is because non-voting people were kicked out for an executive session to discuss the Bishop issue. But I have connections, so I knew what was going on anyway.

I was a little disappointed with the communication side of things. I didn't have a booth, so it was a little harder to make connections with people. I didn't set up as many meetings as I would have liked. I don't think I gained any new supporters. And I didn't really communicate the goals of Train & Multiply to anyone except the wife of another mission leader.

Let's face it. I'm not naturally gifted in the area of fund raising. I prefer to have a relationship with someone before I ask them for money, and that takes time and common ground. Time is always an issue because there is so much stuff going on. I think it's harder for stateside people because we're still expected to get our jobs done. Field missionaries take a year specifically for funding. Granted, stateside people have weekends to work on it.

Common ground is also hard for me. Sure, we all love Jesus. But there are a lot of areas in which to love Jesus. People are passionate about different things. I'm passionate about grammar. And history. And science fiction. And being alone. These are not always conducive to conversation.




I guess there isn't much of a point to this post after all. Just an update. 

Sanctuary

Some things have been happening here. Personal things, but the kind that affect work things. Things I can't really talk about. I'm okay physically, but my emotional and spiritual states have taken a beating. I was able to go home last weekend, and I'm going to Conference next week, and I think time away helps. But it also feels a little bit like running away. 

I like labels. This may seem like an odd segue, but it applies. If something has a label, it has an identity. I can define it and begin to understand it. 

I can't label this thing. Sure, there are labels that seem to apply, but only superficially and only for a time. I don't understand this thing. I don't want to be one of those people who ignores a thing because they don't understand it. That's ignorant. But at the same time, the emotional effort it would take to understand this thing makes me want to run even faster in the other direction. 

I usually find a lot of comfort in the Psalms. The writers are human, and they are totally on board with expressing their very human emotions, sometimes in extremely passionate ways. And they are pretty great at describing God, even in their limited ways. 

My comfort these last few weeks has come from Psalm 18:30. 

"As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him."

God understands the thing. He's known it was coming for always. He knows how it will turn out. And he's providing sanctuary for those who desperately need it. 

They're Running Out of Time

A few weeks ago, someone referenced a quote by Penn Jillette, a well-known atheist. I've said it before, I'll accept Truth from whoever says it. It has stuck with me, and it has added to the theme that seems to be developing in my life right now. I hunted down the exact quote because I think he captures the real urgency that believers should be feeling. 

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me along and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them the Truth? How selfish are you to keep the greatest thing man will ever experience a secret? I mean, we're talking basic stuff here, people. This is Great Commission stuff. "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" Jesus didn't say, 'I understand, it's hard to tell people about me. You're fine. Stay home. People will figure it out. Or not. Hell? Psshh. It's okay if a few people are left out.' 

No. Jesus told us to go, outside of our comfortable homes and lives, and talk to people. Tell them about Jesus, tell them what He has done for them. Tell them how to be like Jesus so that they can spend eternity with Him. Whatever awkwardness or fear you feel doesn't matter. Because Jesus is with you. 

We're not doing enough. I see the statistics every day, I watch the news, I hear the stories. Our world believes it doesn't need Jesus. God? He was a nice crutch for a while, but we're doing just fine without him. And Christians? We're letting people believe that. We're saying, "Fine. You believe what you want to believe. Just leave me alone in my church." We're shutting the door in their face. We're telling people that, because they aren't perfect, they don't belong with us. They have to change before we initiate them into our secret club. 

But it's not a secret! There were entire church councils addressing this issue of needing secret knowledge. There's no secret here! We should be telling everyone what we know! And if they were perfect already, what need have they of the church? (Newsflash: It's in people's nature to sin. Christians are counter-culture. I know! Crazy, isn't it?)

So this morning, I listened to Bob Fetherlin give a vision for the next ten years at OMS. Ten years. It's hard for me to imagine. I have to confess, I don't really want to be here in ten years. I'm afraid of what the world will look like then. I am desperately waiting for Christ's return. This world is extremely hard to live in. 

But I had to pause this morning, because let's really think about that. Let's realize just how selfish that actually is. If Christ were to return today, how many people would be left to eternal damnation? How many family members that we just sort of assumed would see our example and suddenly realize their need for Jesus? How many friends that we politely agree to disagree with? How many strangers who needed just a little bit of hope and we brushed them off because we were busy?

Christians are becoming turtles. We retreat into our shells when trouble comes, only peeking out to shake our heads at the evil world. We're sitting here quietly, praying for Jesus to come quickly so we don't have to deal with being uncomfortable when people challenge our faith. How selfish is that?

God, please give us more time. Give us more opportunities to share you with more people, and give us the urgency of spirit to realize we don't have forever. 

God is not willing that anyone should perish. And I'm not naive enough to believe that everyone we speak to will respond positively. It's a choice. And some people choose poorly. But if we're just not going to bother telling them at all, then why should Jesus even come back for us?

(He will, because he's awesome like that and told us he would and there are people who are doing everything they can to make sure everyone knows the Truth of Jesus Christ.)

Someone once asked me why I became a missionary when there are plenty of people in my own country who need Jesus. I have a new way to answer that now. Ian Bongers, director of OMS Australia, laid it out for us last week. Statistically speaking, one in four Americans is an evangelical Christian. (What do I mean by evangelical Christian? Someone who believes that belief in Jesus Christ is the only path to salvation, and shares that saving knowledge with others.) This is according to the Joshua Project. So, if every single person who identifies as an evangelical Christian found three people who didn't and told them about Jesus, everyone in the United States would have heard the Gospel and had an opportunity to respond. 

Three people. That's not exactly hard. Or at least it shouldn't be. 

But let's look at Japan. Statistically, one in 168 people in Japan is an evangelical Christian. That one person has to have that conversation with 167 people. 

He could use some help.

So by all means, you talk to your three people in your own backyard. But when you're done, maybe consider taking what you know to the rest of the world? 

Because how selfish would you have to be not to?