Nate Fleming's Blog, page 42

Thimblerig wishes you a happy May the 4th!

 

Penang, Malaysia • Spring Break 2014

One of the big perks to being an international educator is that interesting places, formerly out of reach, are just a hop away. In our case, we were whisked from Sichuan province by Air Asia for a quick spring break trip to Penang Island, Malaysia.

According to visitpenang.gov.my, Penang Island has a long history intermingled with the west, and is an island full of stories of colonization, pirates, spices, opium, and invasions by all sorts.

Today, the island is mainly invaded by tourists, and good on the people of Penang for taking advantage of that by having a fantastic place to visit, with friendly people, tasty food, and beauty unsurpassed. I was also inspired by our trip there to begin work on a book series that I’ve been contemplating for quite a while, dealing with lost treasure, such as the story of the lost treasure of the Flor De La Mar.  More on that to come.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of our very relaxing time at the Golden Sands Resort, in Penang, Malaysia.

 

Dr. Jerry Umanos, American Aid Worker, Killed in Attack in Afghanistan

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — It was midmorning at Cure International Hospital in Kabul when Dr. Jerry Umanos took a phone call. He told co-workers he had to meet some guests at the front gate and would be right back

Minutes later, Umanos and two of his American guests were dead, gunned down by an Afghan police security guard. Another American was wounded.

Full story here.

Praying for the families of Dr. Jerry Umanos and the other victims in this attack, as well as the people of Afghanistan.

Real Steel – The Faith Based Film?

I just watched Real Steel with my son, and we absolutely loved it.  As the credits started to roll, I wondered – why can’t Christians make a film like this?  Is it because there’s no preachy message that we’re unable to do this sort of thing?  After all, it’s only a movie about a washed up boxer/father who desperately needs to really learn to care about something or someone, or he’ll continue his downward spiral until he dies alone.  He’s finally saved through the sheer stubbornness, determination, and resolute love of his son – a love that refuses to die.

Essentially, it’s a fun movie with heart.

Oh, yeah.  And big robots punching each other to an oily pulp.

As I was watching this movie I kept thinking – why can’t Christians make fun movies with heart?  We seem to want so badly to put The Message into everything we do, but the really funny part is that we really don’t have to do this!  If we could ever learn to just relax and tell good stories well, then we would actually give the opportunity to God to do what He does best: speak through the stories we tell despite us.  Even if we never explicitly mention God or the Gospel – God can still speak.

Yes, God could actually do that if we gave him the chance.

But back to tonight’s movie:  is Real Steel the Best Movie Ever Made©?

No.

Is Real Steel formulaic?

Sure.  Even the ending, which tries to be surprising, doesn’t shock us.

But, even with all of that being true – is Real Steel an entertaining and fun movie with heart?  Absolutely.  Without a doubt.  Undeniably.

Christians, while we’re also planning to produce our Sherwood Pictures, Rich Christiano, Rick Santorum Movies Meant To Evangelize That Really Only Reach The Churched©… let’s make well-told movies with heart, too!  Let’s break down the walls of the viewers by creating characters the audience actually cares about!  Let’s tell rousing stories that make the audience cheer!  Let’s get some giant robots who are fighting for something bigger!  Or maybe even aliens, or secret agents, or dinosaurs!

Let’s tell the stories well, and have fun while we do it, and then… let’s see what God might do.

Because – at the end of the day – they’re just movies, for heaven’s sake!   As the song says – here today and gone tomorrow.   Why do we forget that?

Anomaly Teaser

This film looks extremely promising.

‘ANOMALY’ is the story of broken relationships, and an astronomical event intertwining the various narrative threads – an abstract interpretation of the historical Christmas narrative.

Thanks to my friend Jay, for the share.

A Hard Ragamuffin Word from Rich

Rich stood up in chapel and said, “You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great.  We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus.  But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too… [And he paused in the awkward silence.]  But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest.” 

As told by Shane Claiborne in The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Thimblerig the Ragamuffin

“We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that He should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at His love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.” 

- Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

As an artist and a Christian, I have been heavily influenced by writer Brennan Manning and his book, “The Ragamuffin Gospel”, as introduced to me by the late singer Rich Mullins.  The thesis of Manning’s book is that we need to re-examine our concepts of God’s saving grace, and realize that when Paul writes in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned, he means that all have sinned.  Not just the ones who we stereotype as sinners, but all.

This is the Greek word πᾶς, which means: each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything.

Those of us who have been raised in the church often forget this – spending too much  time condemning others (in our innermost thoughts, if not in our words and actions) rather than engaging in the incredibly fruitful exercise of truthful self-examination.

Personally, when I look honestly in the mirror, I see an incredibly screwed up person who is loved by God because God has chosen to love the unlovable.   As Manning suggested in The Ragamuffin Gospel, we are like ragamuffins, dirty, unkempt kids living alone on the street, begging for bread.  And God saves us despite of who we are, not because of who we are.

Manning’s ideas are found at the heart of Thimblerig’s Ark, my middle grade novel.  Thimblerig, the groundhog protagonist of the story, is as unlikely and unlikable a hero as one could expect to find:  He’s greedy; he’s self-absorbed to the point of not caring a whit about others; he’s willing to lie or cheat or steal to get what he wants out of life…

…and he’s the one chosen by the unicorn to lead the other animals to the safety of the ark.

Sound familiar?

Like so many of us who come to recognize the depths of our wretchedness, Thimblerig can’t fathom that he would be saved from the coming destruction.

“You’ve made a big mistake,” Thimblerig said. “I should be at the bottom of your list, not leading anyone to safety. The choices I’ve made…”

“Such as?”

The way the unicorn was looking at him, Thimblerig felt shame. He hadn’t felt that emotion since the last time he’d seen his groundmother, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit. Maybe confessing his bad choices would help alleviate the emotion somehow. He took a deep breath, and then spoke.

“I’ve cheated and lied. I’ve taken advantage of animals who had nothing, stealing their last fig right out of their mouth and congratulating myself for my cleverness. I’ve spent my life looking out for nobody but myself, not giving a rip what happens to others. And you think I should be the one to lead these other animals? Well, you’re wrong. It’s as plain and simple as that. You’re wrong!”

Tannier Isa stepped up close to the groundhog so that their faces were inches apart. Thimblerig could see his worthless face reflected in the onyx pool of the unicorn’s eye.

“Let’s get something straight, Thimblerig,” Tannier Isa said forcefully. “When I say I chose you for the job it’s not because I see some redeeming quality in you that makes you worth choosing. Not at all. I say it’s you because you are the one that I choose.” The unicorn’s voice softened a bit as he pulled his head back. “Yes, you’ve made bad choices, Thimblerig, but don’t be defined by those choices. Be defined by my choice. And I choose you to lead.”

May that be true for all of us, that we will be defined by the fact that He chose us – not by the choices that we’ve made.  Because deep down, we’re all ragamuffins in need of the grace of the savior.

Please download a copy of Thimblerig’s Ark for your Kindle by visiting Amazon today.

 

 

Today’s Wisdom from Clive Staples

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” 

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

The Upper Room Monologues • Part 3

This is the third part of a three part monologue cycle I wrote and performed during the Chengdu International Fellowship’s 2013 Easter celebration. The monologues each take the perspective of a different unnamed witness to the events of the Passion of the Christ, and they all take place in the upper room, where Jesus and his disciples celebrated Passover on the night he was betrayed.

The third part is the from the point of view of one of the disciples who encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.

He is Risen!

“The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection” by Eugène Burnand

The Upper Room Monologues • Part 2

This is the second part of a three part monologue cycle I wrote and performed during the Chengdu International Fellowship’s 2013 Easter celebration. The monologues each take the perspective of a different unnamed witness to the events of the Passion of the Christ, and they all take place in the upper room, where Jesus and his disciples celebrated Passover on the night he was betrayed.

The second part is the from the point of view of one of the disciples returning from the crucifixion.