Jesus and the Dark Knight

Though completely and appropriately dark, The Dark Knight is one of the best examples of the message of Christianity. For those who have not seen it be warned that there are some spoilers in here.

The story picks up one year after Batman Begins concludes. The cops are still unable to do much but with Batman's assistance the criminals are generally too scared to do much of anything. The mobs have, out of desperation, taken a new criminal named the Joker up on his offer to kill Batman, played by Christian Bail. The Joker, played brilliantly by Heath Ledger, is not just a criminal but evil without limit. The limitless boundaries are displayed throughout the movie and are exaggerated one by the restraint and limitations that Batman holds to. While interrogating the Joker, Batman states that he only has one rule which the Joker tells him will have to be broken in order to find the truth. Apart from Batman, the Joker has been able to turn everyone that he talks with - including the new DA Harvey Dent.

Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart, has taken a public stand for what Batman has done in the shadows. Though this makes the two of them allies they never seem to become friends. This lacking friendship is seen when Dent's fiancee, Rachel, is killed by the Joker and used as a means to bring Dent over to the side of chaos. Dents lust for revenge, which he calls justice and chance, turns him into a killer and criminal same as the Joker. As Dent tries to kill Gordon's son Batman and him fall to an apparent death for Dent (I say apparent because you should not kill off Two-Face after only forty minutes of screen time - look for him to come back in a future movie).

To see where the message of Jesus fits in this story we have to see how the movie concludes. Gordon explains that what Dent has done cannot be ignored and that his reputation with the public is lost and any good he may have done will be undone. Batman tells Gordon that he will take the blame for the bad so that Dent will be remembered for the good that he accomplished and will not have a damaged reputation. Then the police start to chase Batman because he has taken the blame and not deserves the punishment. As the city's guardian to be what it needs, he has become the Dark Knight.

This is where the explanation of Christianity comes in. Mankind, through the prompting of Satan, started to seek equality only to find that he took his life out of God's hands. In doing so he became the same as Satan, equal in punishment and guilt. Jesus came to the earth not to judge the world but that we might be saved through it (John 3:17). Though we deserve to be seen guilty before God, Jesus took our wrong when He was innocent and died on the cross for our sins. Now, for those who believe in Christ as their savior, God will look at us through the lens of Jesus to only see the good rather than our faults. The funeral at the end of the movie showed Dent for all his good and never mentions the things which Batman took upon himself.

Invite your friends over and watch this movie. Afterwards,if they do not know Christ, then ask them what they think about someone who would be willing to take the punishment for someone else's mistakes. As crazy and Hollywood as that sounds, that is exactly what Jesus did for you and for me. Through that act of selflessness we can stand before God, but only if we believe and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come! And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-18, NET Bible)

Keeping Old Notes

My wife, Terra, and I go a few rounds about once a year about what stuff do we keep and what do we give (or throw) away. This is always hard for me since I was raised by parents who were pack rats - though of different varieties. My mom keeps everything regardless of importance or size, I'm sure she has every birthday card ever sent her! I still love her but the smaller her house the more noticeable it is. My dad, on the other hand, is a pack rat but of things that have potential monetary value to someone in the future. He keeps old advertising, furniture, and whatever catches his eye. The difference is that he owns and lives in a three-story warehouse so you never notice how much he has until you start to actually wonder what will happen when he thinks about downsizing to a normal house, say something under 5,000 sq/ft.

All these thoughts came over me today as I was doing some research on spiritual gifts. When I was in college the at the time new pastor, Al Areheart, at my church, 12th Avenue Baptist Church, gave a several week sermon series on spiritual gifts with a test at the end to determine where your gifts may lie. The small group I teach at my current church is interested in spiritual gifts so as I was preparing for this new assignment I found that we had a folder labeled, "Spiritual Gifts" in our file cabinet. Inside was one thing, my test and some notes from February 1995! This brought back many memories of what I learned, the questions I had since I had been a Christian for less than 2 years, and how much I enjoyed the direction that this gave me in how to be a better part of the church.

Taking notes at church, conferences, and even Bible studies can really make a difference. We may not be tested like we are in college over the material that is covered but reminding yourself of why you took a position, what your thoughts or questions you had at that time, and then reviewing to see where you have grown since this can be a great encouragement. These and many other notes have meant more to me than so many things that I could have kept through college, a couple of moves, grad school, marriage, selling a house, and finally moving to Colorado.

Not every bulliten needs to be kept but the notes that really struck home should be. Which notes will those be? Take notes all the time and eventually you'll know and throw the rest out.

Discipline without direction is drudgery

This is the opening sentence in Don Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life. This phrase has got to be one of my most favorite because is it so applicable. So many times we give up a discipline because we lack direction or we give up a direction because we lack discipline. Rarely do we see the two stride together.

Watching the Olympics puts me in awe of what the human body and mind can do when it works together. The mind knows what it wants and the body is conditioned to achieve no matter the cost. The men's swimming relay the other night was won with the final American in the home stretch behind the French who thought to himself that this may be his last Olympic so it's either now or never - the Americans won. These athletes from all countries did not start with boarding the plane, they started over 10 years ago preparing. When the time came it came regardless of injury, finances, training schedule, or personal life.

Life comes at the same pace and with the same apparent ignorance of our schedule or preparation. God knows this and has a way for us to be prepared if only we would set our direction on Him. That is where the necessity of the spiritual disciplines come from. That is why they are crucial to instill daily into our lives.

Many times our mind wants to know, worship, follow God. Many times we are held back because our body wants to stay up late, enjoy more sleep, be with friends, make money, and countless other little distractions. Conversely there are times that we make the physical sacrifice and go to church, Challenge, Bible study, or other activities but our mind is elsewhere. Our mind wants more sleep, be with friends, make money, and many other little distractions. The goal should be to merge the two where the mind and body have a similar fixed point that it desires to achieve.

A challenge from one of the New Testament authors, Paul, puts it this way, "I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it. Do you not know that all runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:23-27 NET Bible)

Cavities and Gingivitis

Like many people, going to the dentist is neither here nor there. It is not that I do not like the dentist but the question is why should I go every six months to hear the same thing over and over. "Your teeth look good.", "How often do you floss?", "How much coffee do you drink?", or the dreaded "You should look into braces."

After we moved to Pueblo, though Terra had dental insurance, I was without. I brush regularly, floss after a meal that requires it, drink coffee (hot coffee kills bacteria between teeth), and use mouth wash if I want a kiss from my wife. All this to say that nothing has changed for years except the additional use of mouth wash.

Last month Terra made me an appointment for the dentist since I finally got dental insurance and it has been over three years since my last appointment. When I got in the chair it was the same questions: floss, brush too hard, coffee, etc. Then things started to go a little different from previous times. The lady said that I have gingivitis and three cavities. How can you do the same thing everyday and have stuff like this happen?

The more that one avoids the dentist the more problems one will have in their mouth. The dentist can see things that we cannot. They know what to look for, how to reverse the problem, and how to educate you to keep your teeth for life.

The same principles can apply spiritually. When was the last time you went to church? I am part of that crowd that questions the church from time to time. You probably have heard all the stories from the Bible already and can fill out the pastor's outline before he can. Podcast allows you to hear from your favorites (Mars Hill's Mark Driscoll is one of my favorites- www.marshillchurch.org). You can put in a worship CD, listen to Driscoll, and check off your box for the week. This is not the reason for church any more than going to the dentist is just to hear the same old story.

Church is where a community of people who care about you personally should be allowed close enough access to look into parts of your life that you cannot see. They give encouragement, advice, and direction if necessary. It is not a weird fascination to mess with other people that draw most of us to the ministry but we know that sin ignored is worse than a cavity ignored. What once was a sensitive spot can become a breeding ground for disease which will affect beyond your teeth.

The next time you think you can skip church remember what happens when you skip a dentist appointment. You may be okay a time or two but the more distance between trips the greater the problems will be. Between appointments do not forget the daily upkeep of brushing and flossing spiritually with reading the Bible and prayer. Do this and you will get more than a free toothbrush.


You Are What You Read (or Watch)

Recently Terra and I were watching The Jane Austen Book Club. It is a chick-flick but had some interesting notes about relationships and male-female communication - more pointedly about our mis-communication.

Of the women in this movie, each one connects with one or another of the Austen heroines. This is to be expected but it was fascinating to see how their life situations dictated how they read the book and how reading the book dictated some of their life situations.

The one women who stuck me the most was the high school French teacher who is contemplating an adulterous relationship with one of her students. Her husband is absolutely nothing like her and it seems that part of the marriage was based on young adult passion and an idea that he will grow-up once they are in the real world. When the passion leaves and the husband does not show signs of growing up she finds budding passion in this student.

As the teacher plans to rendezvous with the student at a local hotel she waits for him across the street. When he shows up and she starts to cross the street sign, instead of saying walk/don't walk, says "What Would Jane Do". Knowing that Jane always defaulted to sensibilities over sensuality the idea of what she was about to do became real and she instead runs home to have a heart to heart with her husband. What she was reading impacted her rational for some of the larger decisions in her life.

What are you reading? If it is sensual do you find yourself always heading in that direction - at least mentally? Is it intellectual, comical, spiritual, informational? You can see how these books have a real impact. My challenge is to add the Bible to part of your reading diet. See how it impacts the way you think of world affairs or how you make some of the smaller decisions in life.

Economics & Ministry

No, this is not about money; this is about the economic law of supply and demand in its application to ministry. People teach and run their ministries on this principle. Find out the needs of their people group and then seek to fulfill those needs. Jesus, the good Samaritan, Peter, Paul, and other New Testament leaders used this form of ministry outreach at some point in their ministry.

This has been true for our ministry and has been successful to draw students. At the end of fall semester we had 25 students show up for a pre-finals week chili feed. This semester we have averaged 15-20 for monthly dinners we host at our house. The photo is from our National Tartan Day dinner in April which featured everything from haggis and scones to ribs and smashed potatoes for 20 students. We have sought to be of value to the campus through handing out hot chocolate, participating in campus preview days, and some students in Challenge are also in student government.

One problem of this type of involvement is that we can loose focus on why we are involved. We so are busy being all things to all people that we forget why we are different. Sharing our faith and the purpose for being on campus can be lost in these simple acts of kindness.

As part of our Kansas City spring break trip we stopped off to see what Christian Challenge looks like at Washburn University. It was a pleasure to re-connect with Craig Freerksen and this maturing ministry. The most important thing I took from our time with Craig was the necessity for intentionality. Regardless of what we do, say, where we live, or how we chose to spend our time, if we are not intentional then we will miss out.

We will still work to meet the needs of the students, but we must remember the very reason we exist. Pray that as we look at whatever this next year brings that this message of intentionality will move beyond a theory and become a law of our ministry!

Are You Batman?

Of all the superheros, Batman is my favorite! He's 6'2", good looking, and had to develop his skill instead being born or made into a freak - this is where our similarities end. Unlike me, Bruce Wayne is rich, cultured, and always gets the girl.

We all share similarities with our favorite superheros. The desire to see wrongs righted, defend the defenseless, and so on. The aspect that we probably have most in common is the fact that we all have secret lives. Bruce Wayne is a playboy billionaire during the day and a crime fighter at night. This secret life is only known by a few - which is why it is a secret. Now the question stands, which is your secret life?

I love bbq, Scotland, and philosophy - these are not secrets. I love Terra (my wife), Cora (my daughter), and Biscotti (my dog) - these are not secrets. Rugby, coffee, on-and-on the list could go of the various things that I fill my life with that everyone knows about. So what is my secret life? In high school I didn't act too smart because none of my friends wanted to go to college. At the end of college and afterwards I worked in an office and was moving up the career ladder so no one knew I was thinking about the ministry. Before Terra, I would only confess to like the things that the girl I was interested in liked because I wanted her to like me - only that wasn't me.

The secret lives that we live are not always lies, they can just be a part of ourselves that we don't want the world to know about. If the world knew they would the laugh at us or, worst, walk away?

College students live multiple lives as student, child, employee, friend, etc. For a lot of students the faith they brought to college is not their own but something that was handed to them by their family like a poster to hang on their wall. Students move in with Bible in hand until the family leaves and then they put it down - only to take it up when they go home or mom comes for a visit. For students who have a personal faith they may not do much more because of the pressures or the stereo-types that others believe.

Jesus never was secret about his intentions, his mission, or with his friendships. The world was more hostel to Jesus than it will be with us so why do we think we need to have a different approach? If Jesus and later his followers were willing to be direct with their faith, intent on impacting culture, then why do we feel we need to be secret Christians?

Matthew 10:32-33 “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven." (NET Bible)