Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Water



Do yourself a favor: rent Water and watch this film. I saw it at the recent City of Angels film festival and thought it was entirely good. Strong performances, potent visuals and an extremely compelling story make this one of the best movies I've seen in a while. It's a movie about the mistreatment of widows in India during Gandhi's peaceful movement for liberation. The film raises issues of universal import, including the nature of God and truth, the roles of women and the dangers of fundamentalist religious dogma. I realize the preceding description may lead you to believe the film is heavy-handed or esoteric, but it's really quite accessible.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Comment

Before I forget, I went to Pasadena Mennonite Church last Sunday. It's a close-knit church, not too big, not too small. They operate simply without any pretense of performance. There are dozens of Fuller students and faculty among the members. On Sunday, several people were baptized. Like a number of churches I've been to, the act of baptism is an intimate and important event in the life of the church. The people at PMC take baptism and fellowship in their community quite seriously. About ten people placed their membership and gave testimonies regarding their decisions. One of these new members, a middle-aged guy, made a classic comment. He began to explain why he and his wife had chosen PMC, paused for a moment, and confessed, "We liked PMC because we didn't get mad every time we came to church." A great, honest comment, I think. I can relate. Thank God there are real communities of faith out there exhibiting genuine commitment to the way of Jesus.