Super Imposing

This was last weeks installment of our morning announcements, Derek and Derek in the Morning. If you check out previous posts you will find the Derek and Derek Debate which was one of my favorite installments we have produced thus far. Well here is probably my second favorite. Our Youth Minister (Derek) was away at camp this past week. We normally just have a guest host fill in for the missing Derek when this type of thing happens. This week we had an idea that we wanted to try but weren't sure if it would work. Superimpose our Connecting Pastor (Derek) interacting with himself.

In theory this would be easy - in reality we were not set up to really make this happen. All I ended up doing was setting the camera on a tripod for a steady shot and marking lines that Derek couldn't cross. I stood on his marks and ran through lines with him so he would know where to look so it looked as natural as possible. During the takes I read the opposite lines for timing.

After importing the footage, all I did was use half of one shot and half of another and did a little color correction and touch up work to make it look smooth and natural. Honestly I think I found it funnier than most others but if we can't make ourselves laugh then what's the point.

Schools out for Summer

Well for me, school is out forever; or until i am led to go on for further education. It is safe to say however, that it won't be for a while. Four years as a full time student who decided to double major while effectively working a full time job or two to three part time jobs at one time, getting married and building a house all at the same time has left me pretty burnt out and weary (to say the least). But i graduated with honors from Belmont University and am beyond excited and thrilled with my experience. I took four years after graduating High School to decide to pursue higher education. I have always believed that education without direction is wasted just the same as direction without education. So i found my direction and had one foot in the academic world and one foot in the working world. I wouldn't trade that specific experience for anything as idealistic nathan and practical nathan often fought. Well graduation passed and now (after a few weeks of effectively doing nothing but relax) i find myself with both feet in the working world recalling the academic. It's the meshing of the two that has become the challenge now.

Musing on a Glass of Water

The optimist sees a glass half full.

The pessimist sees a glass half empty.

The cynic sees a glass with dirty water.

The realist wonders if you poured into the glass or out of the glass.

The philosopher would ponder if there really is a glass with anything in it.

The scientist sees a 500ml glass with 250ml of liquid.

The physicist would say that the volume of this cylinder is divided into two equal parts; one a colorless, odorless liquid, the other a colorless, odorless gas. Thus the cylinder is neither full nor empty. Rather, each half of the cylinder is full, one with a gas, one with a liquid.

The seasoned drinker would say that the glass doesn't have enough ice in it.

The plumber checks for a leak.

The engineer sees a glass that is twice as big as it needs to be.

The banker would say that the glass has just under 50% of its net worth in liquid assets.

The agnostic doesn’t seem to care either way.

The Christian sees a lack of joy.

People only see what they are prepared to see. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Film and Worship

There has been a lack of activity recently, i know. I have been spending much time as of late working on my thesis for school. This has led to a number of sleepless nights and piles of books strewn across my home office floor. So here is a quick look into my world as of the past few months. My thesis is exploring the idea of "Short Film as a New Medium for Worship." There has been a recent trend of short films/videos being created and produced specifically for the Church. These films act within the worship service as part of the worship in the same way that visual art has done through history. Broadly worship encompasses any number of actions, services, sacrifices, or more so i had to specifically focus on the worship/liturgy of the church. More specifically I focused on the happenings between the beginning of and end of service. This includes - but is not limited to - music, sermon, offering, greeting, prayer, and doxology.

This emerging phenomenon works in conjunction with and in place of certain elements of the worship service. Rob Bell's Nooma series acts within the Short Film as Teaching category i have devised for the purposes of my thesis. Other categories i have created to help develop a working framework are Short Film as Testimony or Story (i.e. Erwin McManus' "Crave" and "Wide Awake") and Short Film as Illustration (more colloquially sermon support - see SermonSpice.com, wiredchurches.com, and others). The other side of my thesis work will be creating three short films to help illustrate my thesis' theological critique and reflection of this emerging discipline. Those i will share later as i finish them over time.

One interesting insight that, along with my thesis committee, i have come across is this idea of Film working in a similar fashion to the storied stained glass windows. Historically, stained glass windows have been more than just decoration, telling biblical stories, carrying theological ideas through a series, and creating a sacred space. What is film other than colored frames that tell a story as light passes through them. The story and theology is dependent on the creator. And as part of the modern advent of this trend, film has helped shaped our new sacred spaces. In a sense film in the church is acting as the new stained glass windows for a new generation.

Let me know what you think.

2 & 4

"Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise! (Ps. 47:1 NLT)"

My Grandfather loved praise and worship music. At the age of 81 he stood in the back of our little church and would clap his hands to every song that was played. Of course my grandfather had no rhythm and managed to clap completely off beat at all times. As hard as it may have been to be standing next to him, his intention was understood. In the Bible we find clapping mentioned 9 times (all old-testament). all of these occurrences are are some combination of the four hebrew verbs used to express the "striking" of something (macha, naka, saphak, taqa) and the Hebrew word for "hand" (kaf). Essesntially it means the striking of hands, or clapping. 5 of the 9 times we see these combinations, clapping has a negative connotation. These five places use the clapping of hands to show anger, scorn, and disgust (Job 27:23; 34:37, Lam. 2:15; Ezek. 25:6; Nahum 3:19). We still see this today when we make a bad choice or do something we might consider stupid, we clap our hands in disgust. The other four uses however, are meant to show joy, celebration, and praise (2 Kings 11:12; Ps. 47:1; 98:8; Isaiah 55:12). Two of these passages speak of nature giving praise by clapping it's hands through rivers and trees. How majestic is our God that "all the trees of the field will clap their hands" along with the rivers? If we remember in Luke, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees complaining about the disciples displaying joyful and loud behavior as Jesus cam into town. He said that if these people become silent then surely the stones will cry out in praise. The simple act of placing two hands together repeatedly has such a wide range of meaning. It is one of the first things we learn to do as babies and symbolically is the last moment before life's curtain call. Let our challenge this month be to realize that if we don't praise our Creator and Savior that the trees, rivers, mountains, and rocks will. So clap your hands; applaud God's majesty and greatness, even if it is out of rhythm like my grandfather, as long as it is from your heart.