A Crazy Week Comes to an End

Holy Week was awesome, and yet draining.

We had our spiritual intensity week for college ministry, which led up to Easter weekend. Our church did a production called the "Ragman." The short story was written by Walter Wangerin, and adapted (original music, most of the script) by Jenni Sabino. It was a great modern way of communicating the gospel. 

I led worship at the end, and I think it's one of the more awkward settings to lead in. You might wonder, "Are you kidding me? Easter weekend should be the easiest to lead." There were around 3,000 people there between the 5 services, which means about 1,000 of those faces staring at us on stage had the deer in the headlights look. At the same time, it was so fun to see people that God had brought to hear the Story. 

So after it was all said and done, we decided to get some much needed family time in on Sunday afternoon. 

So we went bowling.

Even as one who enjoys my freedom in Christ, it seemed a little sacrilegious. Here's a picture of our scores after one frame (Leatha and I had our own lane, with the kids on the "bumper" lane). It was a barn burner after frame one. Any guesses on who won?

With an epic come back, I ended up leaving with a "W" (Me: 133 Ava: 94 Leatha: 86 Cameron: 57 Beck: 19 Makai: 1)

We ended the night by breaking a Lent movie fast with one most of you have probably seen: Slumdog Millionaire.

I loved, absolutely loved it. 

If you haven't seen it, just stop reading and watch it. Fair Warning: Movie spoilers ahead...

Here's what I loved:

1. Captivating story line.

2. I got a very cheap trip to the slums of India ($1.07 thanks to Redbox). My heart got wrecked for the oppressed children and injustice that is more common in this world than I'd like to think.

3. It told the Story that every good story must tell: 

Act 1 (15 min)

Assumption of balance- Inciting Incident- Foreshadowing

Act 2 (1 hr 40 min)

Progressive complications

Act 3 (15 min)

Crisis- Climax- Resolution

Think... 

Act 1: Gen 1-3

Act 2: Gen 4-Malachi

Act 3: New Testament

Slumdog pretty much followed the script. There was no stopping redemption- it was destiny.

4. There was little to no sensuality, nothing that caused me to stumble in any way.

5. The movie portrayed the world as it actually is. The protagonist was a true hero and the movie glorified the right things, while exposing evil for what it truly is. Notice that Jamal never cared about winning the money, he just wanted Latika back, while the corrupt Salim died in a pile of cash.

I'm not trying to over spiritualize this movie. I'm not thinking this is a Christian movie. I'm just saying I was moved by it and I think every great story points to God's Story. It was a great movie that's worth watching.

I loved it. It's fantastic. (Hear Jack Black's Nacho Libre voice...)