The Deepest Theological Movies - Ever!

Are you having problems understanding the Bible? Need help getting your head around multifaceted theology and complex concepts?

Well, your problem is that you’re trying to think for yourself. BIG MISTAKE.
All you ever need to know about faith, religion and God can be easily explained by a little visit to our friends in the B Movie industry.

Our first stop is the movie Ultrachrist. Here we learn the answer to the burning question: What would Jesus do if he returned to Earth and discovered he could no longer relate to the youth of today? Apparently, he would become a super-hero.

Synopsis: Jesus returns to Earth in present-day NYC, sent by his Father to usher in 2000 years of Godly peace. Unfortunately, modern young people respond poorly to this bearded weirdo. Taking the advice of a market research guru, Jesus has a Spandex costume made and declares himself "Ultrachrist", an urban sin-fighter. Unfortunately, his Father doesn't approve of these unorthodox techniques, while the Antichrist (the NYC Parks Commissioner) resurrects an army of famous sinners to make sure Ultrachrist's mission fails.

Our other stop in this journey is a quaint little period piece called Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter. Here we learn that, uh, well just read the synopsis from the back of the DVD case.

Synopsis: The first testament says "an eye for an eye." The second testament says "love thy neighbor." The third testament KICKS ASS! The filmmaking team that brought you Harry Knuckles and won the "Spirit of Slamdance" prize with Harry Knuckles and the Treasure of the Aztec Mummy ups the ante with this tale of the ultimate action hero: Jesus Christ. The second coming is upon us, and Jesus has returned to earth. But before he can get down to the serious business of judging the living and the dead, he has to contend with an army of vampires that can walk in the daylight. Combining kung-fu action with biblical prophecy and a liberal dose of humor, the film teams the Savior with Mexican wrestling hero El Santos against mythological horrors and science gone mad, and also manages to address contemporary sexual politics. And did we mention that it's a musical? This sure ain't Sunday School.

So, there you go boys and girls – the next time you’re having a hard time preparing for a bible study, preparing a message, or studying your Bible; pop one of these theological gems into your DVD player and enjoy the ride.

There's a Reason We Put Breaks Between Words

It must have been a slow news day on the other side of the pond.

One of London's newspapers reminds us that there's a reason we put breaks between words: Check out whorepresents.com, expertsexchange.com, penisland.net, therapistfinder.com, and molestationnursery.com.

Wow.

Discover Petra Just in Time to Say Goodbye

From the thinklings I learned that Petra has released their farewell album.

Petra was still recording?

Dealing with Death and Car Dismemberment

Rachael's in a Christmas play called "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." It's based on the book to the right. If you're familiar with the story, Rachael is playing the role of the mom who has to step in and run the pageant when the normal director breaks her leg. It's the first staring role Rachael has had since appearing in multiple theatre productions at Truman State University.

The show will run Dec 2, 3, & 4 in Kansas City.

The play is a fundraiser for the non-profit Rachael works for, Giant Step. Giant Step is a special needs daycare for mentally and physically disabled children and young adults. It's a great organization and if you're going to be in the Kansas City area next weekend you should come to support the organization and Rachael.

I'll post exact location, times, how to get tickets and more later this week.


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It's been a hard month. My grandmother passed away at the end of October and because I'm the "pastor in the family" things were much more draining than they would have been.

The visitation and funeral were in Sikeston, MO (where my grandparents lived for a long time until we moved them to Texas this summer to live with my Aunt Diann and Uncle Buster - yes, I said Buster - and cousins Texas and Trinity).

It's weird. Just a few months ago I drove their car from Sikeston to Texas and I as I left town I thought, "This'll probably be the last time I see Sikeston for a long time," and just a short time later we were all back down there.

My family asked me to perform the graveside service in St. Louis. Still being new to the whole pastor thing, I was worried that I wouldn't do something right. Rachael's uncle Richard (himself a pastor just over the river in Illinois) came and was very encouraging. Grandma had wanted people to donate to our church plant in lieu of flowers, which was a wonderful blessing.

Throughout the visitation, funeral, and graveside service people didn't know how to talk to me. Was I the pastor, there to comfort them, the grandson they should comfort, the grandson whose ministry donations were being made to in Louise's name who they should congratulate and encourage?

Most talked to me in a quickly changing mixture of the three, asking me for reassurance, telling me she was in a better place and was from Tucson all in the same breath. It's just tough.

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Last week Rachael was invited to speak at Literacy on the Lake, a Missouri state conference on literacy and reading instruction. She spoke on the crucial role of Speech Language Pathologists in developing reading and literacy skills at a young age. It was very nice. We stayed at the Lodge of the Four Seasons and it was all paid for by her work. I took these pictures the first night we were there.

The one weird downside is that someone stole our license plate. The entire license plate holder assembly was torn off of the front and three of the four screws holding the back plate were removed. Our theory is that they got scared off before they could finish with the back plate. We were parked against a retaining wall and the front of the car was in shadow, while the rear was under a street light.

So, I have to go to the DMV this afternoon to get new plates. I don't know if the police report will let us get a new set without having to pay for them. I guess I'll find out.

Our car is in shambles right now anyway. Last night when we pulled up to an ATM, I rolled the window down and it wouldn't go back up. When we got home ( a very chilly ride) Paul (my father-in-law) and I tore the door apart to fix it and came to the conclusion that the motor was frozen up and would need to be replaced.

When I got in the car this morning to take it in to the shop, the window rolled right up. I don't know what changed from last night, but maybe we just won't roll that window down again any time soon.

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Also, please pray for me as I am going through a very trying time with the substitute teaching thing. It's rough and I could use prayer.
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If you're reading this, post a comment. I'd be nice to get some comments to know that people are actually out there.