Stacy and I are avid movie watchers. Our small group used to find it humorous how often we would relate a thought from real life to a movie scene. Something inside me can illustrate any sermon point from a good wholesome movie. I’ve even got them catagorized in my head–

On Leadership and Teamwork: Down Periscope, Armageddon, King Arthur and The Star Trek Originals.
On Marriage: Cinderella Man, the Incredibles, Fun with Dick and Jane, the Family Man, and Rocky III.
On History: Schindler’s List, Good Night and Good Luck, Cinderella Man, Rambo, and Hotel Rwanda.
And on God at work in life: A Walk to Remember, A Nativity Story, The Prince of Egypt, Evan Almighty, Chronicles of Narnia. (there are many more, but this list is already too long)

After this past Friday, we’ve added another movies to our definitive favorites list: Fireproof.

What’s funny, is that Stacy and I don’t have much taste for Christian produced movies. We’ve seen the Jesus film, watched numerous local and crusade productions, and reluctantly added the Passion to our collection…but don’t typically find these pictures true enough to life. Fireproof is a HUGE exception, however. We are still thinking of the rich humor, cinematography, and true-to-life depictions in the movie. We’ll be quoting the lines from it back and forth for years to come, and highly recommend that you pick it up on your next opportunity for a seriously rich movie. I’ve included a short clip here, in case you’d like to witness a bit of movie magic. The trailer is also available, and can be viewed by clicking this link, here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bObRgPJ6vXg[/youtube]

Took this and a few other pictures at the Dallas Tea Party, and wanted to share:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90499&id=651400543&l=33d901ac73
Get involved!
http://taxdayteaparty.com/

There are so many audio files available to us today, that I am reluctant to recommend or use any. However, I have found few good audio resources on small group strategy and leadership, until now.

North Point Community Church has posted the audio from their group leaders training event, Re:Group online for download and use. I practically downloaded every talk (I listen to them on my way to and from work 3 days a week).

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have. Small groups are amazing when they are done well, but when they are done poorly, I almost wish the group strategy had never been tried.

Regroup Audio

According to long-standing commissions and reports, the true nuclear problem that faces the industrialized United States, China, and India is the possibility of a single nuclear warhead being detonated centrally over the country. According to present reports, a single unchecked warhead would potentially kill the electronics of the nation, rendering current communications and military defense systems useless and potentially disabling our defenses against additional warheads aimed at physical locations.

Can you imagine a world without computers, phones, and internet access? One act could literally lead to the lack of power, lack of transportation, and lack of financial means. The United States is quickly becoming a nation where mechanical systems for providing those things are almost non-existent due to our dependence upon computer systems. Think for a moment about all the things that have computers running them today…I will interact with a watch, a laptop, wireless internet access, lighted classrooms with projectors, a cell phone, a car, a microwave…and countless other technological devices.

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I am always curious to see what technology has in store for us. As this lengthy web video shows, there is room for the online world to contribute to our lives in EVERY setting. We can interact with a single device to learn about everything we see, to record our lives, and to control our transactions. It can effect our relationships, our purchases, and our travel plans.

The key questions I have begun asking myself is: “where is this information coming from? & Are these sources trustworthy and unbiased?” My fear is that a device will come along that is extremely helpful, but extremely biased, and that it’s bias will lead us to act maliciously toward a group of people, a specific country, or against the church.