Thursday, August 28, 2014

God’s Not Dead: Movie Review

The other day at church a man told me, “You gotta watch this movie, I’ve already watched it 5 times!”

If I’m honest, I’m a bit skeptical when someone tells me ‘I have to watch something.’

It was a Sunday night and we had a long weekend so we decided to pull out the iPhone and see what Redbox was slinging that night. Right away there it was. It was like it stood out. It shouted to us in its quiet voice, “rent me, rent me!”

We reserved God’s Not Dead, made some popcorn and sat on the couch. While the movie began I realized it was going to be a slow starter. Slow starters aren’t too bad, except when you’re tired. Once the movie hit its stride it was obvious this movie was going to impact my heart. 

This movie tells an all true story of the many responses, attitudes and feelings toward Jesus Christ. This movie, in my opinion, is unapologetically Christian. The main character is a young man who runs into a dilemma his first semester of college: his professor hates God.

Throughout the movie you begin to see the pieces come together and hear the stories of where people are at with God. The young man takes a bold step when the professor challenges him to prove God is not dead.

Without wanting to give too much of the movie away I am going to recommend it to everyone to see. Instead of only recommending this movie to Christians I think its a good movie for everyone to watch. It addresses a pastor who is loosing his passion, a woman caught in an unbalanced relationship, a woman who finds out she is dying of cancer, a professor who hates God, an African missionary and a mother battling Alzheimer’s disease. 

If you don’t have plans tonight, or tomorrow night, go to Redbox and consider renting this movie. The worst cause is you will think about your faith! 

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Confessions of a Pastor: I watch “R” rated movies

I watch “R” rated movies

If I had shared this while I was in Bible college it might have gotten me kicked out, or a good talking to.

Now let me provide some clarity on why I’m sharing this. I’m sharing this because not all “R” rated movies are inappropriate. Take Saving Private Ryan for an example. Saving Private Ryan is a thought provoking movie reminding us of the fight that was fought for our country. The movie lays out what happened in history and shows the power of a group of men focused on one mission: heroism. What Captain Miller says to Private Ryan as he’s dying is powerful!

There are other great movies that carry a “R”rating with them. Many of these movies portray a difficult situation in history or a horrible circumstance. There is a movie on Netflix you can watch called Zodiac. Zodiac shares the story of the Zodiac killer from the San Francisco Bay Area. The movie contains no sexual nudity, but is violent and shows killing. Its extremely informative about gnarly circumstances that occurred in the Bay Area.

On the other hand there are “R” rated movies that, in my opinion, are invaluable for anyone to watch. There are certain movies that have more sexual nudity than any person needs to see. There are certain movies who use the “F” word more times in two hours than any person needs to hear all year long.

Unfortunately movies like this sell tickets. Think about “The Hangover” trilogy. This is a prime example of a movie that provides no benefit for anyone (in my opinion).

If you think about watching a movie carrying an “R” rating make sure to check the small writing about the reason for the rating. Another great resource to use is pluggedin.com. This website breaks down movies and let’s you know what you’re getting in to.