Ten Questions

If you've ever watched Inside the Actor's Studio, you know that host James Lipton finishes each interview he conducts with the same 10 questions, a concept originated by a French TV host named Bernard Pivot. Pivot himself was inspired by the Proust Questionnaire.

Since this blog is in its infancy, I thought it might be interesting to post my answers to Lipton's "Ten Questions." Maybe, in turn, you could post your answers in the comments. Let's learn a bit about each other.

1. What is your favorite word? Balance
   
2. What is your least favorite word? Audacious
   
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Knocking things off my to-do list
   
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Listening to talk radio
   
5. What sound or noise do you love? Wind chimes
   
6. What sound or noise do you hate? An out-of-tune piano
   
7. What is your favorite curse word? "Smite" (am I taking this too literally?)
   
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Oscar-winning screenwriter
   
9. What profession would you not like to do? Pilot
   
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "There's someone here who wants to see you."

Again, you're invited to provide your answers in the comments section. Please keep in mind that some kids read this blog...abbreviations, asterisks, and other diversions are welcome for question #7. Thank you.

"Changing Happy" by Jadon Lavik

(listen to a clip here)

I’ve always found that happiness hides
Just around the corner just out of my reach
And the moment its found the next that it’s missing
And I need to change my own definition

Cause nothing’s ever quite all that it seems
And I am not convinced that anybody is ever living the dream
And expectations kill as reality plays this show of your life
It’s a whole different scene

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy, what it means
Yeah, back to the way I know that it should be,
Close to you is where I need to be

No matter how hard we push or how hard we pull
There’s just a little bit more ‘til we’re full
Cause we’ve all tried to cover sadness and sorrow
With temporary things that never seem to last

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy, what it means
Yeah, back to the way I know that it should be

So explain to me why we fill up empty with empty and at the end of the day
We’re confused by the longing

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy, what it means
Yeah, back to the way I know that it should be
The way that it should be

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy
What it means to be happy, to be happy, truly happy
Close to you is where I need to be mm mm….

Change it back
Change it back

Gross National Happiness

Where is the happiest place on Earth (apart from Columbus, Ohio around the third Saturday of November)? You might think that the United States, being the richest and most influential country in the world, is also the happiest. But that's not the case. At least not according to a "scientific" survey done by Leicester University in England. According to their research, America ranks as the 23rd happiest country in the world, just ahead of Australia and just behind the Netherlands (and tied with nine other countries). At the top of the list? The nation of Denmark, home to Hamlet (now there's a happy guy) and Hans Christian Andersen. In fact, Denmark has led the survey (and other similar research projects) for about 30 years.

The survey by Leicester is pretty thorough and altogether fascinating, and even produces a nice graphic representation of global happiness levels. Here it is:

(click image to enlarge)

Apprently, red=happiness (again...Columbus is a very happy place!).

One country that's hard to pinpoint on that map, however, is the tiny nation of Bhutan, or as its citizens call it, "Land of the Thunder Dragon." Bhutan currently comes into the survey at number eight with a bullet, but I'm sure they're doing everything they can to bash those Danish smiles to a pulp and take their rightful place as the happiest people on the planet. After all, Bhutan has made happiness their singular national goal.

When Jigme Singye Wangchuck became ruler in Bhutan in 1972, he instituted quite a few national reforms, not the least of which was completely redefining what success as a country would mean. Rather than measuring their place in the world by Gross National Product, they would now measure their national output in terms of Gross National Happiness. That's right--the central pursuit of Bhutan is not economic prosperity, but emotional well-being. Guided by their Buddhist values, the leaders and people of Bhutan make happiness the primary goal in every plan they execute, every decision they make, and every policy they adopt.

This week at church I'm preaching on the subject of happiness, and as I prepare I'm realizing that the evangelical church in America has a lot in common with the people of Bhutan. We seem to have made happiness our goal as well. Just look at the bestselling books in recent years, which seem obsessed with our emotional well-being, our success...our "best life." Flip through the channels, and there's a good chance that preacher on TV is telling you you are one "faith step," one "seed sowing," or one prayer away from having everything you want, from casting aside those troublesome circumstances which keep you from a life of true happiness, prosperity, and unfettered bliss.

I've got news for those preachers and authors--Jesus didn't die to make us happy. We in the church love to quote the verse from John 15 when Jesus tells the disciples his joy will be "in you" and will be "complete" (John 15:11). The problem is we've confused the joy that Jesus gives with worldly happiness. We fail to remember that moments later Jesus tells that very same crowd they are going to be hated and persecuted by the world (John 15:18-20). How can their joy be complete if they're going to know such hatred and persecution?

There's an important truth we in the church need to recapture--there is a big difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is momentary, fleeting...fickle. It's rooted in our circumstances, in what surrounds us at any given moment. But joy is something else entirely. It's not rooted in what's around us, it's rooted in what's in us--the very presence of God. The Comforter and Counselor Jesus himself promised in that same discourse to his disciples--the Holy Spirit--is the true source of our joy.

That's a real comfort to me in these difficult times, because it reminds me that my "best life" is not dependent on my circumstances--that the joy God would have me experience has less to do with what he does in my world, and more to do with what he does in my heart.

What is Peace?

My wife loves to tell the story of a wealthy businessman who once commissioned two artists to paint something which best depicted peace.

The first artist painted a beautiful landscape of the countryside on a warm spring day. A cloudless sky, a picturesque farm house, soft sunlight on rolling hills...A farmer walked behind strong plow horses making his field ready for planting, while the cattle grazed peacefully. Everyone who looked upon the painting agreed: it was a great depiction of peace.

The second artist painted a majestic, rugged cliff. Gnarled trees, twisted by years of violent winds, jutted from the craggy mountainside. Dark and threatening clouds hung low and fierce, while jagged streaks of lightning slashed across the angry sky. The painting was a picture of violence, chaos, and rage.

The businessman was confused. "This is peace?" he thought.

But as he continued to look at this unsettling painting, he noticed something. There, in one of the crevices of the rocky mountain, tucked back just out of reach of the wind and rain-- was a nest with two tiny birds. Undisturbed by the raging storm, the little birds looked peaceful and calm as they waited for the turbulence to pass.

The world defines peace as "absence of conflict." But that's not how the Bible describes peace. Jesus promised we would know tribulation in this life--Christians are not given a "Get Out of Difficulty Free" card. But he also promised us his peace:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."--John 14:27

The peace of Christ is not the peace of the world, it's not the absence of conflict. It's the peace of knowing that as hard as the winds blow, as loud as the thunder is, as turbulent as the storm may be...he gives us a "nesting place" in the midst of it all.

Top 10 Emergent Church Buzzwords or Terms Used to Diagnose Psychosis

10. Abductive
9. Dissociative
8. Borderline
7. Compulsive
6. Intersubjective
5. Deconstructive
4. Trialectic
3. Systemic
2. Disintegrative

and the number 1 Emergent Church Buzzword or Term Used to Diagnose Psychosis is...

1. Catharsis (tie)

Six Movies to Cure the Winter Blues

If you're at all like me, when the weather gets colder and the days get shorter...sometimes it's a real struggle to keep a smile on your face. Since this blog is called "The Film Pastor," devoted in equal parts to matters of the heart and celluloid, why not kick off this new incarnation with a list that addresses both? With that in mind, let me present for your consideration (and debate!)...my sure-fire list of movies to lift the spirits and beat the winter blues. Don't agree? Have another film that's your "go-to" flick for a good mood? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

1. Singin' in the Rain (1952)--Who can be down while Gene Kelley has a smile on his face? I dare you not to smile yourself. Sit back and soak it in.

2. Waking Ned Devine (1998)--Nothing beats the blahs like an 80-year-old man on a motorcycle...naked as a jaybird. Quirky Irish humor at its best.

3. Secondhand Lions (2003)--Joy and love are found in the most unlikely places, and with the most unlikely people. A great coming-of-age tale, with rousing tales within.

4. The Princess Bride (1987)--C'mon, you know you need to watch it again.

5. The Rocketeer (1991)--An underrated gem with an infectious spirit in the best "ordinary-guy-becomes-superhero" tradition. Timothy Dalton in villain mode!

6. Peter Pan (2003)--I'll never understand why this one wasn't more popular. A great version of J.M. Barrie's classic tale. Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook--need I say more?

Apologies to those who find naked old men on motorcycles offensive. And if you have small children, watch the language in "Secondhand Lions."