He’s a Christian, too? I didn’t know that.
May 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment
A couple of weeks ago I pointed you to an article in Relevant Magazine about Chuck star Zac Levi and his faith. The cover article of the latest issue is about Bear Grylls, the star of Man vs. Wild. It’s a great article, in which he talks about his faith and his life. You can click here to read it. Be warned, Relevant uses a digital format for their current issue that isn’t very user friendly. They do it so you can read the entire magazine as it appears in print. If you want to read the Grylls article, you can just click on his name on the cover. It will take you directly there.
Here some of the quotes I just loved:
What does [faith] mean? It’s about being strengthened. It’s about having a backbone run through you from the Person who made you. It’s about being able to climb the biggest mountains in the world with the Person who made them.
I remember having one moment when some really good friends turned their back on me in a really nasty way…And I remember praying a simple prayer up a tree one evening and saying, “God, if you’re like I knew you as a kid, would you be that friend again?” And it was no more complicated than that.
Jesus never said, “I’ve come so you can feel smart and proper and smiley and religious…[Faith] is about finding life and joy and peace, I am not at church a lot because I’m away a lot, so I kind of cling to the simple things, like, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
It’s worth trying to read the whole article. He talks about the parachuting accident he had when he was a member of the British SAS that left him with a broken back. He talks about rehab and his quest to become the youngest Briton to climb Mt. Everest. He also talks about his family and their domicile of choice (a houseboat on the Thames). I love the section about how his wife came to faith in Christ.
It makes sense the guy’s a Christian. You’d have to have some crazy faith to eat some of the stuff he eats. But what do I know? Is it really that much worse than what they serve at 7-eleven?
He’s a Christian? I didn’t know that.
April 30, 2010 | 2 Comments
I’m a subscriber to Relevant Magazine, even though you can read a lot of their stuff online. Sometimes I feel a little too old for it. The same way I feel when I go to a rock show at the Norva. I realize I’ve become that old guy who stands in the back and just kind of nods his head to the music.
Anyway. Thought you might be interested in this article about Zac Levi, star of the the NBC comedy Chuck. Click here to read it. I don’t watch this show regularly but I’m told by a lot friends that I should. Check out this description of Levi’s house:
“Zac’s home is like a fraternity house,” explains Jeremy Boreing, Levi’s business partner, “home church” pastor and close friend. “You can’t walk in without meeting someone you don’t know. Two of the bedrooms are always used by someone who needs a place to stay while they’re struggling financially. Saturdays are open for barbecues and Sundays are for home church.”
Sounds like someone is living out their faith. The article goes on to describe the church that gathers in Levi’s house and how it provides a helpful anchor as he seeks to live as a Christian in Hollywood. I hope you’re taking the Good News about Jesus wherever you’re going today.
People Get Ready
April 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment
12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing…(Matthew 11)
Sometimes American pop culture is able to transcend itself. Last night’s episode of American Idol is an excellent example. The evening’s theme was “Inspirational Songs.” Crystal Bowersox, held by most to be the frontrunner for season 9, put down her guitar and served up this cover of “People Get Ready.” More after the jump:
I never stopped to listen to this song or consider how it will preach. Had Jesus preached in a modern setting, it wouldn’t have been surprising to hear him use this train metaphor for the Kingdom of God. Check out some of the lyrics:
People get ready, there’s a train a comin’
You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’
Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
How many of us are still struggling to understand that last sentence? Still trying to buy a ticket, and all we have to do is jump on with a thankful heart.
But be warned. This message does have a bit of a sharp edge:
There ain’t no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there’s no hiding place against the Kingdom’s throne
I think the key word here is hopeless. Hopeless, not because God refuses to help, but hopeless because we refuse to be comforted. That’s what’s behind Jesus’ invitation: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is near.” It’s also behind his exasperation: “37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23).”
Today, let’s be willing. Let’s stop searching our pockets for a ticket we can’t buy anyway and just jump on…
I would be remiss if I didn’t throw in a link to Curtis Mayfield singing this one, too. After all, it was his song first. A more qualified historian could speak to this song’s importance to the Civil Rights Movement. Since Mayfield, dozens of artists have done their own versions. (I’ll spare you the Bob Dylan cover. You’re welcome.)
The Biggest Loser
October 1, 2009 | 1 Comment
Rachel finally had a chance to watch this week’s episode of The Biggest Loser last night. I acted like I wasn’t watching it, but I was. If you are inclined to watch it and you haven’t yet, go do so and then come back, because there are some big-time spoilers ahead.
This week was Sean Algaier’s swan song. He and his partner, Antoine, fell prey to some truly “Survivor”-style game play by one of the other contestants. It would be easy to vilify her, but I think she’s got real issues. (At least that’s the way the show’s editing makes it look.) Some of you will remember that Sean and the rest of the worship group, “Watershed,” performed at NCOC some time ago, so I was rooting for him, and I was sorry to see him leave.
But if anyone had to go out like that, I’m glad it was him. He and Antoine basically sacrificed themselves and asked to be sent home rather than another contestant. The way it works is the show sends them home, but provides a personal trainer so that they can keep working and then come back for the live finale sometime around the holidays. S & A argued that they would stand a better chance than this other contestant, because they both had a good support network at home. It appears that they were right, because they both look great. If I remember right, Sean’s already lost over 100 lbs.
Sean acted like we would hope a Christian would act. After being thrown under the bus by this other contestant, he and his partner took care of someone else rather than look after their own interests. And THEN, Sean was able to treat this person who had essentially caused his elimination with decency and compassion.
You know me, and you know I’m not one to rail against the biases of “our liberal media.” But I can’t help but wonder if anyone will comment on the fact that a self-confessed Christian managed to go on a “reality” show and actually behave like a follower of Jesus. We sure hear about it when they’re jerks. And, unfortunately, they sometimes are.
But no matter. It was nice to see someone go on the Biggest Loser and act like “The Biggest Loser.”
Mad Men (and women)
September 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment
My new favorite show is Mad Men. It also gets my award for favorite opening sequence, but more on that in a minute. Set in the world of an early sixties Madison Avenue ad agency, the show follows the lives of Sterling & Cooper’s various employees.
The central characters are Don Draper, a junior partner in the agency, and his wife Betsy. Don has a lot of secrets. Raised somewhere in the Depression era Midwest by an abusive father and a mean stepmother, his real name is Dick. He has stolen the identity of his Lieutenant, Don Draper, after the latter was killed in Korea. Now “Don” is living multiple lives. He has a wife and two kids, but he is a notorious philanderer. Meanwhile, Betsy is suffering from depression or anxiety (I can’t tell for sure) and can only talk about it to her therapist.
Then there is Peggy Olson, the young woman who started as a secretary, but who has worked her way into the world of copywriting. Peggy has had a child out of wedlock that no one (except perhaps Don) knows about. The boy is being raised as her nephew.
Given just this description, the show sounds like a soap opera, and it sort of is, but it’s a very intelligent one. The characters couldn’t be more real. Each one is complex and flawed—capable of both kindness and cruelty. And the dialogue is wonderful.
The show makes good use of the era in which it is set. Taking place in the sixties, it has its feet in two different worlds. It holds on to the stiff propriety of the early 20th century. The characters work hard to keep up appearances. It is still a world where white men are in charge, at least on the face of it. Everyone smokes everywhere: at work, at the breakfast table, in the office, on planes, etc. And everyone drinks excessively. But we can see that the façade is wearing thin, and the modern era is approaching.
The prosperity and propriety of the fifties are about to give way to the chaos and upheaval of the sixties. This world that everyone has constructed for themselves is not going to hold together. The serenity of everyone’s outward demeanor cannot be maintained. Their inner lives are too tumultuous.
Nothing represents this dynamic as well as the credits. (You can watch them by clicking here.) A man appears to have “arrived,” and then the ground gives way beneath him. He falls past all these images–illusions of happiness and perfection created by the advertising industry. Then, just when his doom seems inevitable, he lands in an oversized chair, confidently smoking a cigarette and giving no indication of the turmoil that he is experiencing. It’s all about appearances—both in advertising and in real life.
So what does all this have to do with church stuff? I’ll let you think about it a little bit. And then I’ll come back and give you my two cents a little later. Here’s a hint though. There’s a brilliant little exchange between two of the characters that takes place. A young account executive named Peter is talking to Peggy. He’s bemoaning how dysfunctional his family is. When Peggy admits that she doesn’t understand what he’s talking about and suggests that he should just go home, Peter makes this very self-centered (and false) observation. Peggy’s response could not be more insightful:
Peter: Everything’s so easy for you.
Peggy: It’s not easy for anyone, Pete.
And that right there is a message that will preach. But it will have to preach later, because I’m done for the afternoon.
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