Review Time – Movies, Books, & Curriculum

Grab some popcorn, your milk duds, and a large coke (unless you live in New York City, then it would have to be a large water and add sugar later)…because it’s time for some reviews!

Let’s begin with book reviews, because if I started with movie reviews, you may stop reading this article:

Move – by Hawkins & Parkinson

An interesting concept – take a survey of churches across the country varying in size, denomination, and landscape…and see who is successful in developing Christ-followers and what is done to develop those Christ-followers.

The Good:  As I said in the summary of the book, it certainly is an interesting concept.  Church leaders should read this book to gain a better understanding of what works in developing Christ-followers.  The people at Willow Creek were humble enough to admit there were some parts of their model that failed or fell short.

The Bad:  Did not need to be as long as it was.  Could have been reduced, partly because the charts that were given told you the story and the verbiage explaining it seemed repetitive at times.

Recommendation:  Worth a look.  The research is valuable to any church.

Sacred Marriage

Could it be that personal holiness is a higher priority than happiness in marriage?  How can drawing closer to the Creator make me draw closer to my spouse?  This book has the answers.

The Good:  Let me put it this way, I can already see a difference in the way I treat my wife as a result of the principles in this book.  It is a great teaching tool to understand communication, how to treat your spouse, and most importantly, how your relationship with God will affect all the above.

The Bad:  That I didn’t read this sooner in my marriage.

Recommendation:  But it.  Read it.  Allow your marriage to enjoy the benefits.

Radical

What if the “American Dream” is ruining the “American Church”?  It is time for a radical faith that Jesus calls for in the gospels.

The Good:  What a challenge.  It takes you from feeling comfortable to feeling convicting.  This book provides some powerful illustrations and challenges that take you to task.

The bad:  Some of it seems a little out of reach, and could cause some confusion.  I hate to say anything bad about Dr. Platt and this wonderful book, but I could see some younger in the faith seeing poverty as righteousness, and you need to be careful in making that comparison.

Recommendation:  If you want to be challenged, then read it and let it change your heart.  If you don’t want to be challenged, keep reading Calvin & Hobbes.

 

Movie Reviews

Courageous

Sorry, I am a little late to the party here.  We just recently showed this movie at our church, and man was this a powerful movie.  I know I was the first to pick up my kids from the children’s ministry after this movie!  What a challenge to parents and grandparents.

The Good:  It got to the heart of the issue in our families, the need for the fathers to step up.  It was challenging, convicting, and heart-warming.

The Bad:  It doesn’t have a Hollywood budget, so I should cut it some slack, but the acting at times was a little robotic.  Getting better though!

Recommendation:  A must see for Fathers.  Christian films are getting better and this should help erase some of the stigma that has been created from some previous films.

The Avengers

All of the latest comic book heroes in one place, and in the same summer as the Spiderman and Batman movies…I might as well start riding my bike down the block, get my Super Nintendo out, and start wearing tube socks again…because I feel like a kid again.

The Good:  The action was non-stop, and the storyline was very well done.  Loved the humor that was built into many of the scenes.

The Bad:  Could always clean up the language, but overall was pretty clean.

Recommendation:  If the box office ratings tell you anything…

 

Curriculum

re:View -by Cedarville University

Students need to understand how to engage culture, while maintaining truth.  How do you accomplish this balance and what is culture teaching?  Some good questions and answers for this series to tackle.

The Good:  The clips are well-done and Dr. Brown’s teaching segments are dynamic and informative.  If you want your students to influence culture, instead of allowing culture to influence them…then this is for you.  This gives you a great tool to allow for some incredible discussions and helps prepare students for life outside the church.

The Bad:  You need creativity or it could become a routine.  With an DVD curriculum, you need to change up the routine so the students stay interested.  For example, don’t show both clips everytime or at the same time.

Recommendation:  This is a tool I have been looking for…something that allows students to engage their culture and promote quality discussions with their friends that lead to the gospel.  Walking out of this series, the students will be more prepared for the real world and their culture.

 

Hope this helps guys.  As always, love to hear your feedback from what you are reading/watching/using.

 

 

10 Teen Culture Thoughts – Found in a Survey I Gave To My Students

I recently gave a survey that included questions about teen culture, media, and worldview.  The questions are below, but I thought I would share what I found first.  Here are 10 thoughts and reflections from the survey:

1. Hunger Games is famous, but you probably already knew that.  I personally would much rather see Avengers 3 times. 

2. Movie likes are all over the place.  There’s a reason why that and video games can stay constant even in a depressed economy…teenagers love them!

3. Hanging with friends is a priority in many categories.

4. NCIS is the most popular TV show…but why?

5. Magazines apparently are on the way OUT! 90% said they don’t read them.

6. Very little mention of spiritual things.  There is some spiritual aspects such as:  Christian music (multiple times), salvation (once), and heaven (once), but it doesn’t seem to come to mind first.  That’s a concern.

7. Most teenagers do not like drama – they want to avoid getting yelled at, confrontation, and people making fun of them.

8. Reading – There are still readers out there.

9. Interesting to see the top career choices were:  teacher, ministry, engineer, and military.  Not too shabby.

10.Mission Trip made the list of favorite memories behind sports memories and family/friends memories.  Shows the impact these trips can have!

 

Here are the questions I used (from re:View series – produced by Cedarville University):

What are your favorite musical groups? Name a song that is popular at school.
What are some of your favorite movies? Favorite in the last month?
What are some of your favorite things to do in your free time?
What makes you the most angry?
What are the best memories of your life so far?
In a day in the life of of “you,” what would have to happen to make it a “10”?
In 20 years, where or what do you want to be?
What magazines do you subscribe to? Which ones do you occasionally buy?
What are some of your favorite books? Name a book that is popular today.
What are some of your favorite TV shows? Which show is the most popular at school?