If you want to go to a unique conference, this is the one to check out. My friend J.R. Briggs got this idea a year and a half ago as he was checking out the humorous Epic Fail site. They had the first Epic Fail conference last year and it was quite meaningful for each of the participants.

He thought: “What if we offered a space that is gutsy, hopeful, courageously vulnerable for pastors to let go of the burden to be a Super Pastor? What if we could hold an event that was free from the thrills and frills of other pastors conferences? What if we came together as epic failures and sought not successful models or how-do’s but instead celebrated faithfulness in ministry because of the reality of Jesus? What if we were reminded that we’re not responsible for being ‘successful’ in ministry, but we are responsible for being faithful to the calling that God has laid out for us – regardless of the outcome? What if we had a conference that was led not by famous pastors who are household names, but by scandalously ordinary ministers and leaders who are faithfully attempting to join with God – even in the midst of glaring obscurity and anonymity?”

After such an amazing conference last year, Brigg’s and team are organizing another conference this year. Here is some helpful information for you.

When: March 22nd – 24th
Where: True Worship Experience – 374 East Willow Dr, Mansfield, OH 44906
Cost: $89

For more details and to register, go to the Epic Fail Conference website or go to J.R. Briggs site where J.R. talks about the conference more in depth.

I got back from Park City on Sunday night. I thought I would have some time to post about the different films I saw at Sundance and the unique people I meet last week, but each day was so full, I just didn’t have the time. I hope to share about the films I saw and the people I had the chance to meet in the next couple of weeks. In short, it was a powerful week. I was provoked, disturbed and enlightened.

For now, I thought I would just share with you the list of films that I saw and later take the time to review some of them.

Monday Night
After arriving in Park City, we gathered with the Windrider Forum to get oriented for the week as well as watch a couple of short films. We saw Deacons Monday and Love Hacking.

Tuesday
Tuesday I had the chance to share for a half an hour at the Windrider Forum in an exercise that people could engage in so that they might be more present to themselves, God, the filmmakers and the films they would watch during the week. I saw The Middle of Nowhere and Love Free or Die.

Wednesday
Wednesday I connected with some filmmakers, and saw Five Broken Cameras. In the evening I saw two short films, Raju from a German filmmaker, which happened to be nominated for an Oscar last week and Teamwork, directed by a Korean filmmaker.

Thursday
I met some filmmakers, hung out with many different people and saw a documentary and a film in the Next category. The documentary was Finding North about hunger in America, and probably my favorite film of the week: I am NOT a Hipster.

Friday
Friday was a full day of film watching as I saw four films. China Heavyweight (Chinese), Wish You Were Here (Australian), 1/2 Revolution (Egyptian) and About the Pink Sky (Japanese).

Saturday
Saturday I saw three full lengths films and three shorts. I saw We’re Not Broke, The House I Live In, and Chasing Ice. In addition at the Windrider Forum I saw Thief, Raju and Teamwork. I finished the night enjoying the Sundance Awards Party.

Sunday
Sunday I went to the local Vineyard church and flew back home in the evening. I look forward to sharing some reviews of some of these films in the near future. Let me know if you want to hear about any of the films I watched.

“Joy is what makes life worth living, but for many joy seems hard to find. They complain that their lives are sorrowful and depressing. What then brings the joy we so much desire? Are some people just lucky, while others have run out of luck? Strange as it may sound, we can choose joy. Two people can be part of the same event, but one may choose to live it quite differently than the other. One may choose to trust that what happened, painful as it may be, holds a promise. The other may choose despair and be destroyed by it.

What makes us human is precisely this freedom of choice.” - Henri Nouwen

“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Proverbs 17:22a

“Community is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another “seventy-seven times” (see Matthew 18:22). Forgiveness is the cement of community life. Forgiveness holds us together through good and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love.

But what is there to forgive or to ask forgiveness for? As people who have hearts that long for perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or receive that perfect love in our everyday lives. Our many needs constantly interfere with our desire to be there for the other unconditionally. Our love is always limited by spoken or unspoken conditions. What needs to be forgiven? We need to forgive one another for not being God!” - Henri Nouwen

“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Proverbs 17:22a

My roommate showed me this video. Thought it was funny.

Creation Falls

Originally uploaded by Jason Haley

Lord, I want to decipher your presence
through the events and objects
that make up my life
to express the impact
that they have on me.

In this I am an interpreter of your creation.
I make use of images, signs, and comparisons,
and I try to interpret your revelation
in the daily events that surround me.

All along I am faced, Lord,
with the mysterious signs of your passing by,
Permit me to see your footprints in my life,
and to experience the joy of your presence.

Lord, events and objects sometimes pose questions
and I have no answers.
Grant me some of your infinite capacity
of seeing and proclaiming
the truth and beauty
of the beings you have created.

I want to absorb their message, Lord,
in order to return them transformed
into a conscious gift to your love,
and thus proclaim your praise.
Amen.

- Author Unknown

I’m really excited about Sundance this year (heading there Monday), which is one of the reasons I am doing this series on Theology at the Theater. The average American watches over 40 films a year, so it is important that we develop a solid theology at the theater. If you are just joining this series, check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

Conclusion
Good filmmakers are the poets and prophets of our day, for they freshly awaken our imaginations through life shaping stories. The tens of thousands of hours that are invested in creating films have the potential to touch people’s lives in ways that reshape their desires and enable them to be fully human. Films are powerful. But if we are going to capture the full power of films, we need to finds ways in which film watching becomes a communal spiritual discipline. One such way is through cinematographeum divina. But there are other ways to do this as well. The Windrider Forum that takes place during the Sundance festival is another way to get the maximum benefit from Sundance. Through group discussions, interviews and many conversations, all are encouraged to be fully present at each of the films. This increases awareness allows us to pay attention to both the details and the big picture. The group discussions each morning allow us to process what God is showing each of us, making the encounter with the films even richer.

I hope that this series encourages you to watch film as a communal spiritual discipline. For we are all theologians, and we can do theology everywhere, including the theater.

I’m leaving for the Sundance Film Festival this coming Monday. I’m excited to watch over a dozen movies next week. In light of that, I have been doing this series on Theology at the Theater. If you need to catch up with the series, you can check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Experiencing the Sacred at Sundance
Now for an example of cinematographeum divina from one of the films I saw last year at Sundance.

Abraxas

Step One: Silencio (Preparation) I had time to center myself before the film started.

Step Two: Specto (Watch) We meet Jonen the punk-rocker slashing his guitar and rolling around on the ground.  Then we see him in quiet meditation as a monk.  Which is his true calling?  Can he do both?  The overwhelming theme that popped out to me in this film directed by Naoki Kato was how important it is for us to discover and live out our calling in life.  This theme was most evident in our main character Jonen, who finally discovers a way to intertwine his calling as a monk and heavy punk-rocker, despite the issues it created in the lives of those around him.  This idea of calling was also seen in the character of another man in town who took on his dad’s business out of a sense of duty instead of calling.  In a strange turn of events, he commits suicide.  It seems life was not worth living, if one could not live out their calling.

Step Three: Meditatio (Reflect) As person who lives to help people discover and live out their calling in life, I found this film amazing.  It reminded me that finding our voice and understanding our sense of calling is what life is about.  If we miss our calling, we end our life early even if we don’t take our life.

Yet to discover and live out our calling in life has a cost.  For Jonen it involved a couple of things.  First, Jonen practiced moments of silence regularly in his life, which is probably one of the reasons he hears his calling.  For when we sit in silence we no longer get lost in the noise of the various voices calling us; we are able to find our true calling and live it out.  The other cost is that often living out our calling costs those around us. For example, Genshu, the resident temple priest made some decisions on behalf of Jonen, which didn’t stand well for him.  Many questioned his ability to live out his calling as a priest because of his support for Jonen.  In addition, Jonen’s wife seemed to have major issues with him being a heavy punk-rocker.  This was something Jonen had to work out on a daily basis.  In time she came around. Additionally, many people in the town had certain expectations of how a Buddhist monk ought to live his life, and being a heavy metal punk rocker didn’t quite fit their expectations.  Yet in spite of all these social pressures, Jonen decided to live out his calling, and became a hero for me.

Step Four: Oratio (Respond) My initial response to this film was one of great joy.  One of my biggest passions in life is that people would have the courage and wisdom to discover and live out their calling, whatever the cost might be.  For the cost of not discovering and living out our calling is undoubtedly greater, as shown in the man who committed suicide years before he took his life.  Also, as a pastor for the last twenty years, I like most pastors recognize that the people I serve have certain expectations for me, some which are healthy, some that are not. Often different people have contradictory expectations, which means that it is impossible to please everyone.  Thus I have found it best to live for an audience of One in a humble way.  Another reason I identified with Jonen was because I’m at a cross roads in my own life as it relates to my calling.  I’m seeking discernment and I’ve realized the important practice of silence in this time.  Yet I often find it a struggle to slow down with deadlines crushing in all around me.

Step Five: Contemplatio (Rest) I took some time in the evening after the film to sit in silence and give my life freshly to God.

Step Six: Incarnatio (Resolve) This film reminded me of two quotes that I think about often.  This first one is by an unknown source. “You can’t make footprints in the sands of time with your butt, and who wants to make butt prints in the sands of time?”  The second one comes from the pen of Fredrick Buechner where he says, “Calling is where your deep hunger meets the world’s deepest needs.”  Through this film I’m reminded of the fact that every human being on this earth has a calling, and the moments where we are most fully alive are not when we are on vacation, but when we are striving and stretching to discover and live out our calling.

After watching this film, I was stirred freshly to take more moments of silence, especially in my current time of discernment.  I was also encouraged to strengthen my resolve to take the sabbatical that I took this past year.  The world is noisy and sometimes screaming with needs, but I realize that if I’m going to hear my calling, it requires paying attention to God, being fully present with who I am, and how God wants to uniquely use me to meet needs in the world.

Secondly, this film strengthened my resolve to continue to learn how to help others discover and live out their calling in life. I’m committed to continue to acquire tools that enable me to do this with passion and wisdom. Mark Twain said, “Most men die at 27, we just bury them at 72.”  I hope to change that. My mission in life is to awaken people to join God in the renewal of all things, according to how God has made them.  I will conclude this series tomorrow and have some live blogs from Sundance next week.

The Sundance Film Festival is just around the corner.  I’m excited to watch over a dozen movies next week.  In light of that, I have been doing this series on Theology at the Theater. If you need to catch up with the series, you can check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 first.

Cinematogrpheum Divina – Finding the Sacred in Film
Just as there are six basic movements with lectio divina, so it is with cinematographeum divina. Let me briefly walk you through the six steps then I will explore a couple films I saw at Sundance to demonstrate how to engage this spiritual discipline. While one could practice this spiritual discipline alone, the experience will be much richer if done with a group of people. As Moltmann has said, “Theology is like a network of rivers, with reciprocal influences and mutual challenges. It is certainly not a desert in which every individual is alone with himself or herself, and with his or her God. For me, theological access to the truth of the triune God is through dialogue. It is communitarian and co-operative (Moltmann 2000:xvii). So what are the six movements?

Step One: Silencio (Preparation)
Take a moment of silence in order to be fully present at the film, receiving the film on its own ground with a critical openness.

Step Two: Specto (Watch)
When watching the film it is important to pay attention to where you have meaningful connection with the film, be it with the plot, a particular character, a dialogue, a music score, a song or an image. What stands out to you?

Step Three: Meditatio (Reflect)
Now take some time to focus in on what struck you. If it was the plot, what was it about the plot that caught your attention? If a theme, what was it about the theme that resonated with you or that shocked you? If it was a character, in what way did you identify or not identify with the character? If it was a song or a symbol, what was it about the song that caused it to stand out to you?

Step Four: Oratio (Respond)
What is God saying to you through this? Perhaps you were touched in a place of pain, frustration or anger. This is a time to pour out these feelings to God. Perhaps there is a flash of self-knowledge and you were convicted of a sin. Take a moment to confess it. Maybe God is calling you to a new adventure. This is a time to respond to what God is doing.

Step Five: Contemplatio (Rest)
After giving your response its full expression, take a moment to release and return to a place of rest in God.

Step Six: Incarnatio (Resolve)
As you emerge from this place of encounter, take time to contemplate how God has used this film to touch you and ask him how he might want you to enflesh this word in the concrete spaces of your life. Resolve to take what God has shown you and live it out in the context of your daily life.

The way this would happen with a group, is you give each person a copy of these six movements prior to going to the theater or watching a DVD at your home. Then before watching the film, take some time to quiet yourself so that you might be fully present to the film. Then after watching the film, someone could lead people through the rest of the steps. After step three, depending on the size of the group (if it is large group, you may want to break it up into small groups for more vibrant discussion), you could have each person share what stood out to them. There could also be a time for discussion after steps four and six.

The beauty of art is that it has the power to reshape our desires and our imaginations. Films are stories, which shape us. As Detweiler says, the “most timely, relevant, and haunting films resonate with the shaping story of scripture: from beauty of creation, through the tragedy of self-destruction, to the wonder of restoration” (257), and both general and special revelation “are complementary gifts for navigating the complexities of life, for fueling our dreams, and for enduring our disappointments” (263). So what does this look like in practice? That is what the next post in the series is about.