As time goes on, things develop and grow. People are no different. As I look back on this site, I’m disappointed at some of the content that I’ve created that has been less than edifying. However, I see it as the fruit of an older season. As we say farewell to 2019, I have a new vision for this site. You could say it is 2020 Vision because that would be an amazing play on words and I’m definitely going to make that the title of this post.

I want to relate all of life back to my ultimate reality as a Christian. That reality is a kingdom mentality. As a believer, I am neither primarily an individual, nor my vocation, nor my relationship status, nor my nationality. My ultimate and deepest reality is as an ambassador for the kingdom of God. That is a big theological idea that I will need to flesh out elsewhere, but in simple terms, it is the idea that everything is deeply rooted in relationship to God’s everlasting reign and perfect rule. Our beliefs are part of that, but so is all the rest of our life.

Kingdom Ambassador

I see this site as a tool for that purpose. I have always loved films, not just for their entertainment value as they surprise and amaze, but for their ability to communicate a message and tell an engaging story. Those are precisely the things that Jesus did while he was here on earth. But I realized that I have been very inconsistent when I speak about film. I have spoken about it primarily in terms of its technical merit and entertainment value, and those things are important, but it misses out on the larger reality at play that sometimes even the creators of a film aren’t even aware.

This does not mean that I will only talk about “Christian” films. I don’t even like that terminology. That makes it seem like the only movies that we will have in God’s everlasting kingdom will be “Christian” movies and that does not sound like paradise to me. I think there are so many amazing films out there that do a wonderful job of entertaining with technical and professional excellence while they engage in brilliant storytelling and communicate profound messages. I want to highlight those films. But I also want to warn other kingdom citizens of films which spread false teachings and do nothing but glorify sin and lure people into false idol worship.

You might be thinking, so does that mean that you’re going to tell us how many curse words, violent images, and sexual innuendos are in a film? There are plenty of great resources out there (Plugged In, and IMDb parents guides) for this purpose, and they can be helpful to avoid much of the trash that is floating around out there. However, I want to look deeper at the underlying messages and themes of a film.

Example

Let me give you an example. A movie like The Shawshank Redemption could be seen as a prison film replete with foul language, violence, and disturbing images of rape and suicide. If viewing those things will cause you to sin then, by all means, abstain from the film. I won’t deny that they are present in the film, and I wouldn’t encourage you to show it to anyone who can’t grasp the deeper themes of the film. However, those deeper themes are rich with the imagery of justice, being salt and light, equality and acceptance, the value and purpose of life, and redemption.

So, moving forward, I want to explore the kingdom reality of life at the movies. As I look at an individual film, I will give equal weight to a film’s technical merit and its kingdom value and I want to give the exploration and discussion of those themes the bulk of my time. I imagine that I will also want to take some of these themes and work them out individually using bits and pieces from many different films to illustrate.

That being said, I don’t want to get rid of my old content, just know that going forward, things will look different, and prayerfully they will be a help to you as you explore what being a kingdom citizen means.