Amp'd Students in Baptist Magazine

Someone brought it to my attention that I was in the Florida Baptist Witness, a printed state wide magazine. The article was written on the Youth Evangelism Conference that went on the first weekend of August here at First Orlando. After finding this article on their website I saw that our students had also made the article (the very top of the page), which is super cool. Here's the link to that article.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Movie Review

Three months ago I was super pumped to see this movie.
I grew up on Star Wars. I had action figures. I dressed up as Darth Vader for Halloween (gasp!). It was series that had all the elements a kid with an over active imagination could want. Anything that I could turn into a light saber (or a light saver is what I called them) I would. Canes, poles, random sticks lying on the ground would transform me into a Jedi Knight. I loved it. Twenty two years after the first one came out George Lucas gave us the prequels to the original trilogies. I actually slept outside and waited with some buddies in line for my ticket to the 12 o'clock showing of Episode 1. I'm not a hater, but it didn't quite have the same magic as the originals. The rest were ok, with Episode 3 being the best of the prequels, but nothing captured the magic of the original trilogy.
So, what do you do with an animated Star Wars? In the prequels, Episode II ended with the Clone Wars beginning, and Episode III began with them ending. We never really were able to see Anakin, who later turns into Darth Vader, live up to what we have pictured in our heads for 25+ years. In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi Wan Kenobi says that Luke's father was "the best star fighter in the galaxy and a good friend". We never were able to see that in its fullness. In the prequels we never get to see Anakin as a hero. We see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in that light, but we never get to root for Anakin. This why I really liked Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
A week before this movie opened I read some early reviews that really chewed it up and spit it out as garbage. Those critics that I hold in high regard hated it. My eagerness to see this movie left quickly and so I waited 2 weeks before I actually took the time to watch it. That was a mistake.
For the same reasons the critics I read hated this movie, are the same reasons I think it works. From the beginning you realize this is a different take on Star Wars, and I'm ok with that. It needed some new blood.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka. Ahsoka is a new female character who is introduced as Anakin's padawan (student). She's a spunky young kid with a nickname for everyone and a quick remark for every situation. She adds a lot of fun and character to this series. I think that was the main thing that was missing from the prequels. I really enjoyed the brother-sister relationship that Anakin and Ahsoka begin to develop. But, the reason this movie works for me is because we FINALLY get to see Anakin as a hero before his fall to the dark side. You actually root for him. And you seriously begin to like the guy, which makes his turn to the dark side much more tragic.
This movie was a lot of fun, and the more I think about it the more I enjoy it. If this is the way the TV show goes, then we'll be in for a weekly treat. Final grade: B+

Rare Talents and the Olympics

I'll be honest. I didn't think this years Olympics was going to hold my attention very well. And, truth be told....it didn't. Except for, you guessed it, Michael Phelps. It was fun watching "history in the making". But, I'm calling your attention to a video that is connected to the Olympics, but in a different way. This is incredible in its own special way.

Tweens and the "R" Rated Movie

As a minister to tweens and teens I am constantly looking at the culture, trying to understand the M.O. behind ad campaigns and movies. It isn't a shock to hear that many tweens watch "R" rated movies....because I believe that is who they are marketing to. I know, shocking right? How do you market "R" rated movies to tweens? Very carefully. Take the new movie "Step Brothers" with Will Ferrel. The movie was advertised for the longest time in front of PG-13 movies. It was "not yet rated" and because of that many tweens were drawn in to the hilarity of Will Ferrel and John C. Riley. It's not difficult to wander into a movie while holding the ticket to a different movie. I did it as a teen, and I'm sure if I did it as a teen then it is still going on today. In case you were wanting some statistics on this, you can read it here at USA Today.

Here is the Plugged-In synopsis of "Step Brothers".

Youth Evagelism Conference

We hosted the Florida Youth Evangelism Conference this weekend. It was a fun weekend where an about 600 students attended the conference from all over Florida and even Georgia. David Nassar, one of the top youth communicators in America, spoke on the theme of Urgency. When it comes to communicating to students what it means to live out a life that is pleasing to Christ, there is none better. I was fortunate enough to be asked to lead a session titled "Cultural Youth Thoughts that Drive Actions and Attitudes of Youth Culture (Gothic, Hip Hop, etc)". Keith just called it "Facebook, Myspace and more", which was a little easier to swallow. But, it was basically a sprint through Youth Culture and the prevailing thought of today's teens and those we would consider "lost" or "un-churched". Keith taught a session on sharing your faith and Colby did the always great "Modest is Hottest" topic. All in all it was a fun weekend. Big Daddy Weave brought the worship and did a great job with that as well. Urgency was such a timely topic for what the students are facing now. The church, for reasons we won't go into, has a horrible name with the outside world, and the students need to bring the truth of God's word to them without compromising it, but couple that truth with love. It was a great weekend.

X-Games

I think I have gotten more into the Summer X-Games than the Olympics. This vid is of Kyle Loza who I found out later is a Christian. Pretty cool. There were a lot of great moments this weekend, and this is just one of them.