I'm in Russia, and a Meteor has hit this place.

I arrived on Friday for our annual External Board of Elders meeting in Chelyabinsk, Russia.  3W Teammate Kelley Philips was already here and Pastor Jim Lyon arrived shortly after I did.  After I arrived, I met my buddies Alexei and Kelley at the airport and they told me a meteor had exploded over Chelyabinsk with damage hitting all around.  The airport had cracked windows.  Sure enough it made global news and there is quite a bit of damage and even deaths. Luckily the new church building here sustained very little damage.  The building actually looks fantastic, and our first day of meetings was wonderful.  Kelley Philips passed on to me this video:  Jim and our good friend Andrei were interviewed by a local news station.

 

13 WTHR Indianapolis

Why Excalibur Remains My Favorite Movie After 32 Years

In 1981, I went to the movie theatre with my sister to see a movie my older cousin had raved about.  It was the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable--but a hardcore Rated R version with violence, sex, and adult themes.  It’s hard to remember, but back in the early 1980’s, R rated movies were far more violent and sexual than they are now.  In fact, before PG-13 was created in the mid-1980’s, even PG movies often had things in them that we would find completely inappropriate today for PG-13 movies. How I got into that movie theatre, I don’t know.  And how I managed to see it three more times within the span of two weeks in 1981 at the age of 10 is also a mystery.  I would never let my own son see a movie as graphic as Excalibur at that age, yet this movie, which my parents allowed me to watch, became probably the greatest artistic treasure of my life.  For more than 30 years, Excalibur is a film I watch every two years.  It is one of the few movies that makes me forget I’m on Planet Earth.  When I watch it, I become completely enveloped in this film set in the Middle Ages.

Based on Malory’s “Le Morte D’Arthur," Excalibur tells the story of King Arthur, the rise of Camelot, the chivalrous knighthood of Lancelot, and the power of the sword Excalibur brought forth by the Lady of the Lake and the necromancer ways of Merlin the Magician.  But this is no children’s tale.  Instead it is an intense 2 1/2 hour drama that resembles Shakespeare more than a Disney cartoon or Lerner and Loewe's Camelot musical.

Throughout different decades of my life, "Excalibur" has meant different things to me.  As a child, I could not get over the shining, gleaming Knights and those fantastic battlescenes.  How cool to have been a knight like that!  I rode an imaginary horse and played in the woods against imaginary foes trying to mimic scenes from Excalibur.

Directed by John Boorman, the film is set in early medieval England but was in fact filmed in Kerry, Tipperrary, and Wicklow, Ireland.  I didn’t learn the word cinematography until I saw "Excalibur" as a 10 year old.  The scenes in the film are so lush and pristine, that Ireland’s green forrests take on an unearthly quality.  To this day, it is still considered one of the most beautifully shot films ever made.  I spent years fascinated with the battles and the scenery.  The movie which starred many people who went on to become famous:  Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart just to name a few, was also exciting to me as a child because of their intensity and their memorable dialogue.  The classically trained actors chose a style of acting that makes every line poetic and highly dramatic.

In my 20’s, my interest in "Excalibur" began to change. I began to become fascinated by "Excalibur’s" many parallels to the Bible.  There is the story of King Luther who like Saul in Ancient Israel is a gifted, chosen leader who does not have the character to usher in a righteous kingdom.  There is the sword itself, Excalibur, which in the movie serves as the annointing of God.  When Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, he is granted God’s favor and a Kingdom to rule.  And much like King David, Arthur holds a lowly position and is elevated to king because of his heart, not his brawn or his seniority.  There is also the clear impact of sin which brings curses to that which was blessed.  Snakes slither around in the background and one particular key scene very much looks like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden—at first naked without shame before committing an act that has far reaching consequences.  As with Ancient Israel, “the land and the king are one,” and only when King Arthur is acting righteously and the Kingdom is focused does Camelot prosper.  The parallels with the Bible as well as the theme of man needing some form of link to divinity was one that kept me coming back to "Excalibur" in my 20’s.

In my late 30’s, however, Excalibur took on yet another new meaning.  I could see much more clearly that the film is broken into three Acts:  1) the introduction of Excalibur and the rise of Arthur  2) The spectacular rise and tragic fall of Camelot and 3) The search for forgiveness, redemption, and restoration.  As an older adult, I noticed that the movie—which is quite fast paced, is enveloped in a dark cloud over the final 50 minutes or so.  There is a tangible heaviness that covers those final scenes.  One could chalk it up to editing or inconsistency from the director, but instead, I see it as a very realistic story arc.  Much like life, or the Bible, there is no complete restoration or resolution in this life.  Instead, the darkness that settles in can be overcome, but only to a certain extent.  There are consequences and there is death.  Yet the movie does not end without hope. That heaviness that settles in fascinates me.

A further theme in Excalibur is the passing from one age to another.  “This is a time for men” Merlin responds when asked by King Arthur why he is no longer around.  The medieval era is ending and magic and faith will soon be relegated to quaint ideas as science and technology engulf the world.  The Renaissance and the Enlightenment are not far away.  This is the last great drama in a world of spirits, magic, and faith.

"Excalibur" has become a cult classic.  Many movies attempted to copy it in the early 80’s and all of them failed spectacularly.  Boorman never made a better movie.  The movie introduced people to Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana" which has since been used in many other movies and car commercials.  And the use of Wagner’s “Siegried’s Funeral March” from "Götterdämmerung" makes it impossible to use that music for any other movie.  I’m not sure anyone has ever tried.  And the particular recording that was made of Wagner’s classic specifically for the movie is unmatched.  I’ver never found a better recording, including George Solti’s direction of "Götterdämmerung"

This piece of secular art which my parents let me watch, ended up being one of the most spiritually inspiring events in my life.  One that has had spiritual meaning for me in multiple ways over decades.  Early on, I learned the power of secular art and still prefer it to this day over Christian art which often avoids nuance and ambiguousness.  I hope that in my effort to be a good parent that monitors what my son watches and does, I don't prevent him from finding unexpected treasures of his own from the secular world.  There are not neat and tidy endings in life.  There aren’t too many in the Bible either for that matter.  As I watched "Excalibur" yet again a few days ago I marveled at the power of myth to know us more deeply than we often know ourselves.

Note: The movie may not be for all.  If you do see it, I highly recommend watching it on a big screen with a good sound system.  This movie was made for cinema, NOT for small TV screens or laptops.  

For a review of Excalibur. See my friend Greg Dorr's excellent review for the DVD Journal here.

 

Time To Laugh

As you read this, I will have already taken a lovely 747-400 British Airways across the pond to the Pacific Northwest and to Wyoming.  I will be in the US for about 2 weeks.  I'll be speaking in a number of places including Mt. Scott Church of God on Thursday January 31st at 7PM about "Europe's Past, America's Future?" as well as giving a talk at Hoodview Church of God in Woodburn, Oregon  Saturday February 2nd  from 10AM to 2PM on "Missions for the 21st Century."  See the diary below for more details. In light of my post on What Churches and MTV have in common, there is the other side of the equation which is when churches try hard to be so relevant that they lose focus and become no different than MTV at its worst.  This is always the danger and the tension.  So here's a funny video sent to me by 3W Ken Oldham that captures that dynamic.  Have a good laugh:

 

 

What MTV and Churches Have in Common

For those of us who grew up in the 1980's, MTV became our lodestar giving us the latest music, telling us what is cool, and connecting our generation.  The VJ's were like big brothers and sisters that you felt you knew well.  And of course, the music was awesome.  It started in 1981 and very few people had the cable system to get it.  It was always a special treat to go to someone's house who actually had cable (and MTV).  In 1985, I begged my mother for MTV.  She was against it and said "no."  But in the end, she caved and gave in in 1985---and I'm glad she did.  The music of the 1980's has been one of the great joys of my life. I loved my bands: the Police, The Cure, U2, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and more obscure groups like Kids in the Kitchen or Big Country.  It was a short-run though.  By 1989 MTV completely changed its programming.  Gone were the constant videos and video shows, and all of a sudden there were game shows, lifestyle shows, and a new thing called Reality TV exemplified by the ground-breaking series "the Real World" whose editing style is still imitated on every reality show today--down to the exact kind of camera shots.  MTV became a regular channel--not a music channel.

I can't tell you how disillusioning this was for me.  No longer could I see my regular bands on a regular basis.  The videos weren't very good either.  And soul and rock were getting completely replaced by gangster rap and its monotonous tones and uninspired lyrics.  I was vexed!

But it got even worse.  The bands I loved where breaking up!  The Police broke up in 1985, Duran Duran lost 2 of its members and never made a great album again.  One of my favorite bands only made 2 albums and called it quits.  And other bands that I liked started to make really bad music.  What happened?

I was not prepared at all for the fact that things change.  I thought music and my bands would stay exactly the same forever.  But that's not true.  The average life-cycle of a band is 7 years.  That's how long the Beatles lasted with their famous line-up.  Furthermore, it's hard to keep producing great music year after year, and people's tastes and interest change.

For MTV, they reached a point in 1989 where they realized the younger generation behind me, was not interested in watching videos 24 hours a day.  The novelty had worn off.  They would rather watch real people even if that meant less music.  And they did not want old fogies like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan on their channel.  So those guys were sent packing to VH-1, which eventually abandoned videos as well.

The same thing happens to us in churches.  We are absolutely convinced we will sing songs the same way.  We will hear sermons the same way.  And how people understand and hear the Gospel will stay the same way.  But it doesn't and it never has in the history of Christianity.  Throughout Christian history the church has had to change and embrace diversity to survive.  This is certainly the case as it's been transported to cultures far beyond the Near East.  Yet for many of us, it's an absolute shock when our favorite pastor moves on, or new musicians lead the church, or a new generation doesn't find our favorite programs interesting or challenging.

One of the things we remind people of in our 3W Seminars is the wise words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  "The church you were born in, is not the one you will die in."  How true.  My own home church has changed so much demographically and in other ways.  Never did I think it would change, and truth be told, I didn't want it to change.  But it did and it will.

One of the most important things for churches to internalize is that change is a natural part of life and we need to embrace it.  It doesn't need to mean that our core message and core identity needs to change, but it does mean that how it all looks and is presented may have to be up for discussion.  And this is normal and healthy.

The following video from the show Portlandia captures so very well how 80's kids like me feel about MTV.  If we could, we would stage a revolution and kick these young people out of our MTV and bring back the good old days (really I wish we could).  But it's not right.  Life moves on, yet the Gospel message stays unchanged.  We need not live in fear.

 

 

 

 

Twenty Years Ago Today...(Reposted)

A post from 2010 in honor of my Mother Jene Nachtigall (1937-1991): It's been 20 years ago today that I lost my Mom, Jene, to cancer.  The 24th of January is always a day that I remember, mourn, celebrate, and reflect on her life and her impact on mine.

In most ways, it seems like it happened only yesterday.  In our 20 years together she so permeated every part of me that there is little of me that doesn't have a whole lot of her in it.  She was my friend, my hero, my mentor, and everything I aspired to be.  Sometimes people are idealized in death, but she really was a one-in-a-million person.  All who knew her felt that way.

She was born in Parksville, Kentucky in 1937 and grew up on a farm.  At a young age, her mother walked out on the family and as the oldest daughter, she became the elder of the family.  A mother to her sisters, a companion to her heart-broken father, and the one responsible to make sure things got done.  She had to mature early.

They moved to Cincinnati and it must have been in that multi-cultural environment that she became the urbane woman she was.  She was great at crossing cultures, she was well-educated, and she became a very intellectually curious person.  I remember being four or five and looking through her books on Karl Marx, Mao Zedong, and other Communist figures.  She hated communism, but wasn't a reactionary spewing talking points and sound-bites.  She did her homework.  She read thousand page books.  She debated real Marxists.  Most of all, she was not intimidated by foreign ideas or different ways of doing things. I still have her big books on my bookshelf:  "Marx", "the Haj," Shogun" and many more.  "You're a big reader" she always said to me...long before I was.  I became what she said I was.

She married my Dad in 1959 and they moved to Africa.  There was a lot of suffering and sickness that she endured in those years.  Bouts of malaria, painful accidents, miscarriages, and many other trials.  But through it all she remained strong and was widely known for her very funny and irreverent sense of humor.  In Africa, she delivered over 200 babies.

They had a daughter that they took to Africa, Marcel, and later, while serving as missionaries in Costa Rica, they picked me up---a malnourished, abandoned infant dying in an orphanage.  Jene, who had once been abandoned herself, now raised another abandoned one.  And our life in Costa Rica was a happy life.

Both Mom and I were news junkies.  Each morning would start out with the news instead of devotions.  And we both loved Time magazine.  When Ronald Reagan was elected, she let me stay home from school to watch the inauguration.  It wasn't a Reagan thing---she thought these things were important.  I took it very seriously and parked myself in front of the television for the all-morning and afternoon coverage of the event.   And that was the day that my love of politics began.

We used to fight sometimes.  We were both highly opinionated about trivial things.  One of our most famous knock-down, drag-down debates was regarding whether the TV Show MASH was funnier in the McLean Stevenson years or in the "Colonel Potter" years.  There was a clear break we both recognized.  I argued that MASH's early years were far more funny because the show had a slapstick vibe.  She argued that the more serious, politically-pointed MASH years were just as funny if not better.  We never resolved that one.

She also hated the Bee Gees "and their fake teeth and falsettos."  She couldn't stand Rod Stewart's "Do you think I'm sexy?", but she had an inexplicable soft-spot for that slime ball Tom Jones.  We both loved media.  We both loved Terence Trent D'arby.

She loved nature, and would force me to go out with her at times to visit animals on a farm or take a long drive.  I usually had something else I wanted to do, but when the goat nipped at my leg, or we petted a cow--I would finally get why she made us do those trips.  There was a beautiful world out there--one we can easily isolate ourselves from.

Practical Jokes were big with her.  Throwing water on people from our balcony, making fun of my acne in front of my friends (don't worry, I'd get her back), and putting a Playboy magazine in the luggage of an Evangelist (which he opened on the plane with his wife)! She loved life.  Unlike a lot of Christians, she didn't take herself that seriously.  Uber-piety didn't impress her.  That rubbed off.

But she was a serious woman.  Constantly doing charity work out of people's eyesight.  Always looking for someone's life to invest in, and always championing some cause whether it was protecting the forests long before that was fashionable, or fighting for someone's right to have health insurance in a church.  She started a seniors home in Oakland, California that was named after her, and she was a nurse in the violent ward of the state institution.  Sometimes I would pick her up late from work....after her late night shift.  Totally oblivious to how tired a person might be at the end of a shift like that.  Not knowing or getting the toll it took on her.

Regrets...I have many.  None more than the fact that I was a college drop-out when she died--convinced by a Pentecostal sect that college would only damage the mind.  Idiotic, but I fell for it.  "One day, you'll grow out of it," she said.  And she was right.  I did eventually go back to college and flourished, but she never got to see that.  Some say she knew that I would end up okay.  But I was not okay when she died and that has always stuck with me.  She valued education more than anything and I broke her heart when I walked away from it.

I told her I loved her often. I told her she was my hero.  I told her she was my trusted friend.  Thankfully, I told her a lot.  But there is much I never got to say:  that I saw the sacrifice, that I saw how she had overcome her circumstances, that I saw how she engaged the world, and I knew I had to follow.

Over the years, the pain of missing the daily engagement with her decreased as it does with time.  But new pains arose.  That she never got to know Jamie.  She would have absolutely adored my wife.  They would have been best friends.  Or that she never got to see my son---a far healthier, more obedient version of me and her.  These are pains that don't diminish over time.  There is a vacuum and a hole that does not get filled in this life.

Her final years of suffering were mercifully short.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 1988 and she passed away in January of 1991.  We thought we had it beat for a while, but I think I always knew how it would end.

Others have lost in this world.  Death is a part of life, as the cliche says.  But I hold to the belief that death is not natural.  That we long to live.  We long for that kiss to last forever, that our child will stay in our arms forever, and that we will be with the people we love forever.  Eternity is written into our hearts.  Death is inevitable, but it is a violation of something divine within us.  Something that was made for eternal communion.

I don't think the mourning will stop in this life.  Each day there is loss.  But each day there is also gratefulness.  Grateful that what was once given to me, I can now give back to my son.  Grateful that we can marinate in people until the beauty of their souls impacts ours and changes us for the better.  Grateful that much about this person, can never be taken away from me.  We mourn, because this fallen world tries to convince us that love is not eternal.  But it is.  It really is.

Announcing: "The Budapest Lectures"

 

 

This month we are launching "The Budapest Lectures," part of an in-house seminary hosted by the Hungary Church of God.  Every season:  Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, we will have in-depth courses taught at our two churches in Budapest.  The speakers will be leaders from the Church of God and come from North America and Europe.  For four days, they will lead the classes into an examination of whatever subject covers their area of expertise.

The Budapest Lectures launch this month with Germany's Rainer Klinner from Fritzlar Bible teaching first.  In the Spring session, Greg Wiens--the State Director of Florida and of Healthy Growing Churches Network will speak.  In the Summer, 3W's Ken Oldham (Cairo) will be the featured teacher.  Also in line are Gary Kendall, Tom Planck and myself heading all the way into 2014.  And this is just the beginning.

Furthermore, The Church of God in Hungary and 3W are inviting leaders from the Europe/Middle East to join in these in-depth training sessions.  Budapest is very centrally located for our region (in Central Europe) and it is an inexpensive city compared to most in our region.  Three Worlds plans to offer scholarships from time to time, for regional leaders (especially young leaders) to attend these special courses.  All of this is part of the 3W Prism.  Our third top priority is to create healthy connectivity within the Church of God in Europe, the Middle East and beyond.  By starting this event in Budapest, it gives our region a regular place to meet up for training and fellowship. Many of the lectures will be aimed at helping churches and leaders navigate the challenges of Post-Christendom environments.

We are very excited to be partnering with the Church of God in Hungary which has shown a tremendous desire to learn, to be connected, and to give back to the whole region.  Keep an eye on the Budapest Lectures!

 

 

2 Talks in Oregon: January 31st and February 2nd.

 

Hello friends in the Pacific Northwest.  Next week I will be flying to the USA to visit Oregon and Wyoming before heading over to Russia to check on the newly completed church building.  While in Portland, I will be giving 2 talks that are open to the public.

THURSDAY JANUARY 31st

"Europe's Past...America's Future?:  Secularism & Christianity in the 21st Century"

We will look at the rise of secularization and the decline of religious belief in Europe.  We will ask the question whether the United States is following down the same path as Europe, or whether there are factors at play that can lead to religious re-vitalization in the coming decades.  Is there hope for Europe and what are we to make of the growth of Islam ?

At 7PM Mt. Scott CHOG 10603 Henderson, Portland OR 9226

Free and Open to the Public.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2nd

"The Challenge Facing 21st Century Missions"

From 10:30AM - to 2:30PM  (Lunch Included---Please RSVP)

Hoodview CHOG 1530 Mount Hood Avenue, Woodburn, OR 97071

The Christian landscape around the world has changed and it calls for a re-calibration by North American mission-efforts.  What is entailed in this re-calibration and how does Three Worlds offer a response to the challenges of the 21st Century.  This talk is divided into two parts:  The Challenge and the Solution.

Zach and Audrey Langford (3W-Liverpool) will be joining me at  both events.   We hope to see you there!