Media Monday - "The Line" Trailer

Each Monday, this blog will feature a song, video, piece of art, or other type of media that tells part of a story. Sometimes the message will be light and funny, other times it will be deeper and more somber. I may not even fully agree with what is posted. My aim is to present narratives that are worth experiencing, knowing, and discussing.

This week's media comes in the form of a trailer for a documentary on poverty. I'm hoping that once it premiers in October, I will be able to be a part of a public screening. From what I have heard about the film and from the trailer, I get the idea that it will illuminate a lot of truth that gets distorted about poverty and those living below the line.

Media Monday - A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Each Monday, this blog will feature a song, video, piece of art, or other type of media that tells part of a story. Sometimes the message will be light and funny, other times it will be deeper and more somber. I may not even fully agree with what is posted. My aim is to present narratives that are worth experiencing, knowing, and discussing.

For today, our media is a little less intense, since last week we got all heavy and deep with thoughts on war and violence. The painting below is "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat in 1884. It's one of my favorite paintings, not because I'm such a connoisseur of art, but because it helps flesh out one of my favorite stories ever put to film. 

If you haven't seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I'm deeply disappointed in your life choices to this point. This clip won't spoil the movie for you, but do yourself a favor and check it out soon. If you are familiar with the film, you'll probably remember this scene, where our three heroes take in the sights at the Art Institute of Chicago. Cameron Fry, the tall one sporting the Red Wings jersey, becomes entranced by a girl in the painting.



Maybe it's because Cameron is such a conflicted character, often lonely and unloved. Maybe it's because I wish I stood and drank in good things more often like these three do. Maybe it's just because this scene precedes a great impromptu song and dance number. For whatever reason, this painting and this part of the movie always struck me, and I can't help but feel emotions when I remember either.

Media Monday - One Day

Each Monday, this blog will feature a song, video, piece of art, or other type of media that tells part of a story. Sometimes the message will be light and funny, other times it will be deeper and more somber. I may not even fully agree with what is posted. My aim is to present narratives that are worth experiencing, knowing, and discussing.

For today, our media is one of my favorite songs of all-time. It's by Matisyahu, called "One Day," and because I think I finally figured out how to embed youtube videos directly into my posts, all you have to do to watch it is click below...




If you clicked on the links from Sunday, you might notice a continuation of the same theme from Dr. Beck's post. Matisyahu sings about a future without war, free from violence and hate. As you might realize if you've met me, these posts aren't popping up on the blog for no reason. They are a big part of who I am and who I hope to be.

Before someone attempts to gently burst my overly-optimistic bubble, I don't think the "one day" he sings about is coming anytime soon. Though I would love to live in a world without war, I hold no grand illusions of seeing such a place. But as a Christian, I feel like I am called to not only hope for a better world, but work for a better world.

For a better explanation of the story behind some of my thoughts on war, check back Wednesday, when I'll be writing about an interesting debate I was assigned to in an Ethics class, and some of the precursors to that debate. I'm certain that many won't agree with the conclusions I have reached, but I've found that I can respect those I disagree with more easily once I better know the road they traveled to come to their conclusions. Whether you agree with where I stand, think I'm a fool, or something else, as of Wednesday at least you'll know how I got here.

Media Monday - Take Me As I Am

Each Monday, this blog will feature a song, video, piece of art, or other type of media that tells part of a story. Sometimes the message will be light and funny, other times it will be deeper and more somber. I may not even fully agree with what is posted. My aim is to present narratives that are worth experiencing, knowing, and discussing.

For today, our media is a song written and performed by musical artist named Lecrae. He brings a Christian message wrapped in a Hip-Hop sound. Check it out below, then I'll explain why I chose it. 

Take Me As I Am - Lecrae

My great love for Christian Hip Hop began years ago at Camp of the Hills. Someone brought Lecrae's debut album, "Real Talk," to camp, and it was an immediate hit with our campers. Maybe that's partially because the summer before, we listened almost exclusively to "The Collection" by Acappella. Nothing against the album, but it wasn't exactly the style of music most of our campers enjoyed best. So when the beat dropped at Camp of the hills, the kids were thrilled.

I didn't take much notice of it for the first few weeks. I had never cultivated the listening skills required to understand rap lyrics that were hurtling toward me at a hundred miles per hour, so I trusted my friends who said they were Christian, was excited for the kids who liked the music, and went on with my life. Until a fateful drive with Craig Maddux (of Turtle Watch 2004 fame) changed everything.

I don't remember the reason he and I were riding together or where we were going. I don't remember most of the topics of conversation. But I do remember that he slipped some Lecrae into his CD player, and I complained about hearing this music all the time at camp.

"You hear it all the time, but do you really listen to it?" he asked.

I admitted that I hadn't listened very well yet, and that the only part of the album I knew was the chorus of "Represent," in which Lecrae yells to represent and get krunk quite a few times. Having heard that story from multiple other people in the past, Craig knew just what to do. He switched tracks to the song linked to above, and took me through it line by line.

As a person who regularly works with people that the church deems "the least of these," songs like this hit home. I greatly appreciate songs that come from the perspective of someone who is struggling with faith God. This is the kind of song that I love to share with the kids at Camp of the Hills, so much so that I incorporated "Take Me As I Am" into my final devotional talk of the week during my first year as Camp Director.

My heart drifts back to this song today because I have the words written in a letter by a friend ringing in my ears today. He is an aspiring poet/song-writer from the Youth Group in Buffalo Gap. (I serve as Youth Intern there.) This young man was sent to jail over the summer for some bad stuff, and recently sent a letter to the Youth Minister, Josh Kirby. He read it to me last night, and I was moved by how much he had grown and matured in just a few short months. He wrote of studying the Bible with other inmates, teaching them a prayer we learned together, and looking forward to seing us again when he gets out in the future. He included a new poem that he found and has been helping him, which I've transcribed below:

More than a Night

Some people see the light and expect a change to happen overnight.
But the real truth is that it doesn't happen that fast, 'cause we first have to deal with our dark, hidden past.
The light only exposes our God-awful sins, and it shows us just how dirty we've been.
It shows all the cheating and hurting we've done, and dealing with our past just isn't fun.
There are so many habits that need to be changed, but God's got a plan that has been prearranged.
So he's sent us a light that shines through his words, and has given us ears so the truth can be heard.
With patience and love he works on us all, by slowing tearing down that sin-built wall.
For some of us it's a week and for others a life, but with God, there's a peace that's gonna end all strife.
So let us all pray that we see the true light, and realize that change will take more than a night.

Since my friend loves Hip Hop, and obviously has a soft spot for lyrics about redemption, I immediately thought of the song I linked to earlier. My hope is that I can find a way to send it to him, so that he can be encouraged by the message of the Kingdom of God being open to anybody, no matter their past. But beyond that, he seems to be connecting with other inmates in ways I could never dream to. Maybe I can get this music into his hands, and more like it, even more people believe that, "even if the world don't see us, we still mean the world to Jesus."

Media Monday - Hans Rosling on HIV

Each Monday, this blog will feature a song, video, piece of art, or other type of media that tells part of a story. Sometimes the message will be light and funny, other times it will be deeper and more somber. I may not even fully agree with what is posted. My aim is to present narratives that are worth experiencing, knowing, and discussing.

For today, our media is an informative and encouraging look at the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as told by one of my favorite people at TED.com. Check it out below.

Hans Rosling illuminates how the HIV/AIDS narrative is changing. 


First of all, I'm a big fan of TED Talks. Brilliant presenters speaking on what they're most knowledgable and most passionate. It's a remarkable website.

You may have already figured out that I'm an optimist by now, which explains why I'm so thrilled by this video. Rosling breaks down an astonishing amount of data, and makes it digestible for regular folks. I love that he's not just optimistic, but has data that substantiates his hopefulness.

I never really knew much about HIV/AIDS before watching this video, although I have read several articles and watched other videos after this TED Talk sparked my interest. Despite some sketchy scenes and a lot of coarse language, Rent did a good job of unveiling the life of people living with the virus. Rosling helped me expand my knowledge beyond the misconceptions that I had grown up hearing. Basically, my Sex Ed. class mentioned the disease, mainly saying that if you had premarital sex, you could get HIV/AIDS and die. Apparently, that was all we needed to know.

One of the things that struck me was that the bubbles that Rosling shows us represent so many people. If Rent helped remind me that people living with HIV/AIDS were more than statistics, this video reminds me that there are millions of individuals struggling to live their lives despite their condition.

A point that I love from Rosling's talk is that "...people say HIV is very high in Africa. I would say, 'HIV is very different in Africa!'" (Interesting note that may only interest me: This teaching technique is very old. Jesus is recorded as using the same "You have heard it said... but I say to you..." in the Gospels.) My friends who hail from Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa have passionately argued the same point that Rosling argues: we do African citizens and ourselves a disservice when we attempt to simplify an entire continent into one characterization. As Rosling puts it, "It's not very respectful, and it's not very clever."

It was also fascinating to see the differences between income groups in Tanzania, with those with larger incomes having a higher rate of HIV/AIDS. The same goes for Kenya's different provinces. It's baffling to see such stark contrasts in the amount of infected persons based on where they live. This data certainly makes treating the whole of Kenya for the disease in the same seem silly.

Rosling ends his talk with a hopeful sentiment. He encourages us to continue fighting AIDS with our heart, to continue fighting AIDS with our money, but to find ways to combine those with fighting AIDS with our minds. For me, this video was a great start in that direction.

Media Monday - Diversity's Symphony

Each Monday, this blog will feature a song, video, piece of art, or other type of media that tells part of a story. Sometimes the message will be light and funny, other times it will be deeper and more somber. I may not even fully agree with what is posted. My aim is to present narratives that are worth experiencing, knowing, and discussing.

For today, our media is a spoken word piece by David Bowden called "Diversity's Symphony." Check it out below.

Diversity's Symphony by David Bowden

One of the parts of this video that strikes me the most is David's wrestling with his church's lack of unity with other groups of Christians. His Southern Baptist congregation doesn't work with the Nazarenes, Catholics, or even other Baptists. He speaks to the need for unity among the Body.

I don't know about others, but I have heard more sermons on unity within the Body than I can count. But unfailingly, they all seem to center around the idea of one congregation being the Body, instead of the entire Church being the Body; "Don't act like our church doesn't need somebody just because they play a different role," instead of "Don't act like the Presbyterians aren't Christians just because they do things differently."

I come from a stream of Christianity that has a history of believing that only those who are a part of our faith community are real Christians. (And that many claiming to be in our group aren't really Christians either!) Though these beliefs are not nearly as widespread in the Churches of Christ today, they've been so ingrained, both in CoCs and in those who know of them, that I'm sometimes asked, "Is that the one that thinks they're the only ones going to Heaven?" This questions hurts, because it's so far from the truth for me.

Confession time: I have a huge thing for unity. If a person can have a crush on an idea, then I definitely have had it bad for unity for several years. When I think about what I consider the ideal future for the Church, I imagine something similar to what David Bowden described lyrically. I imagine congregations that are united by what they have in common, not divided by their differences. I picture churches that value people from diverse backgrounds, whether that diversity means races, ages, mental disabilities, languages, financial situations, or faith backgrounds.

Sure, it seems overly optimistic. But I have seen flashes of it in the past. Christian sisters and brothers from a wide variety of faith backgrounds coming together to serve a one Body for a season. A congregation that actively seeks to bring in and make welcome mentally handicapped, and serves them and their care-takers with love and dignity. Regular gatherings planned and led by a racially diverse mix of Christians, each mutually submitting to one another. These experiences have left me with hope that God can still unify us, even if it seems impossible at times.