Sing along with me: "Dumb-Dumb-Dumb-Dumb-Dumb-Dumb-Dumb!"

(edit: the title of this post was meant to be sung along with the Indiana Jones theme song music - not the other 12 songs my family has been harassing me with.)

Everyone who knows me, knows I am a huge Indiana Jones movie fan! I was so excited to learn that they were making a new movie and kicking off the summer with it's release. It was definitely a "must see" movie for me this summer. So, yesterday afternoon, my entire family went to the matinee showing.

Maybe my expectations were too high - how could Lucas, Spielberg, and Harrison Ford miss. But miss they did! I was very disappointed to say the least. They should have left well enough alone. The story line and character development was worse than the second movie. The action was mediocre at best. The crystal skull itself looked like a plastic prop from Party City. But the worst part of all - the ending!

SPOILER ALERT! For the last 10 minutes of the movie my entire family would turn and look at each other with mouths open and a dumbfounded look of, "That's not what this movie is all about, is it? That didn't just happen did it?" Aliens!?!? For a while I thought we were watching, "Close Encounters of the Worst Kind." END SPOILER ALERT!

Our culture definitely has a love affair with the movies. In fact, I will go as far to say that our culture gets its theology - what it believes about God, spirituality, and life - from the movies they watch and the music they listen to. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying they get it right. But through movies and music they are asking questions and raising issues. (I will be reading Tim Stevens' book, "Pop Goes the Culture.")

The good news is we've got answers. So instead of imitating, condemning, or ignoring culture, why not seek to engage and redeem the culture. That's what Jesus did. John 3:17, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." That's also what the Apostle Paul did in Acts 17. He used their culture - an altar to an unknown God - to preach about Christ.

That's why we're going to renew our message series, "Reel to Real" later this Summer. For several weeks we will take an uncut, uncensored look at real life truth from popular movies. Now don't mistake or confuse what we're going to do. The different movies are just a way to create a buzz, to get our church talking with friends, co-workers, and neighbors. So don't worry when we put up new props or play a few current songs - we're not going soft. We won't be watering down the message. Actually, if you were here last summer, you know just the opposite will be true. These will be some of our hardest hitting messages. We will open up God's word and boldly proclaim the truth.

(Just for fun: go here and play a game of "Indiana Jones or the Bible?")