Save the Keytar, Save the World

This weekend at Believe we got to meet a junior high student whose name is Evan. Evan is passionate about a very specific issue in the world today, and it is one he has been advocating for a long time.

Evan is passionate about the near-extinct species known as the Key tar. His fire and his desire to see this species saved knows no boundaries. He has rescued a key tar himself, and he gives it the love that it deserves.

If you have some spare time, or are curious as to what kind of silly things they do at CIY's Believe conference, then you will want to check out his website: Save the Key Tar. There are some videos where Evan talks about the Key Tar and his urge to see it as a redeemed, non en-dangered and honorable species. There are other videos on the site as well, including the "Mas Tortillas" video, which I believe will become the summer smash hit of CIY's Move conference.

Believe was a great conference. If you've never heard of it let me tell you a little about it. Believe is the only conference I know of that tailors all its material exclusively for junior high students. This year they did a phenomenal job. The worship was great, Steve Carter from Mars Hill spoke with some powerful messages, and their other entertainment was impressive. From Brent the Stunt Guy to Evan the Key Tar advocate, they had a lot to keep the junior high students engaged. Several of our students were fired up about God and at their age it is incredible to see them get excited about God and realize they can do something to further his Kingdom.

Save the Key Tar.

Dolphins can Blog?

Several years ago I had the privilege of meeting a unique dolphin. He was very intelligent for a dolphin, and even keeps his own blog. He had to stop writing it for awhile and entrusted it to me for about a year or two, but I am pleased to see he is updating again.

I have added a new link to the dolphin's blog in my links on the right side, and if you have some spare time (and enjoy satire) feel free to check it out! The blog is comfortable and cool, much like a nice pool, and the insights that a dolphin has on life are certainly not to be overlooked! That is all I have for today, have a good one!

Adventures in an abandoned theater...

Today my small group from GLCC decided to head over to the new Zap Zone location. Zap Zone is a laser tag company who originally started their business in what I believe is the Elmwood plaza across from Best Buy and the Lansing Mall. Unbeknown to me Zap Zone recently purchased the old Lansing 8 Mall and relocated their amazing arena there.

The arena is as challenging and intense as it ever was. Black lights illuminate the room and strobe lights flash while pounding music increases your adrenaline. The corridors wind and twist and the battle field is truly a labyrinth of confusion and chaos. My trusty team-mate Adam Robinson stuck with me and together we forged our story through the maze. When all was said and done, we had claimed victory in the Laser Tag Battle for the Green team which we humbly represented.

After you finish playing your round you go back to the main lobby where the staff prints out stat sheets so you can know how well you did. I don't want to get too prideful, but yours truly represented an uncanny knack for strategy and solid shooting, finish first out of the 10 registered contestants. My green team cohort Adam finished 3rd, with a high schooler from the blue team taking second place.

It was a fun outing and a great time with some of the members from my small group. There is a true bond in the group that prays, eats and plays together!

Which fire are we burning?

A few weeks ago, the Olympic torch was lit in Greece to begin the ceremonial "run" towards China, where the 2008 summer games will commence. This year's trip towards Beijing is anything but ordinary, however. Instead of running straight from Greece to China, the torch is going around the world in the longest torch run in Olympic history.

However, the run is not going as planned. Several protests in London and Paris have caused chaos on the torch's path. In fact, the torch has been extinguished by authorities in Paris 5 times! The demonstrators have gotten so close that for the safety of the torch and the runner, the flame is put out and the torch is put on a bus for short periods of time.

According to the yahoo news story linked in the previous paragraph, similar protests are expected when the Torch passes through America, especially in San Francisco.

The Olympics are truly a special event. The summer and winter games are something that I look forward to every 2 years. The world comes together and competes in all sorts of events. We see the top athletes from every country. Most importantly though, the world is united as we all watch these games. As a Christian aspiring to see this type of community happen every day it is truly an amazing time in my eye. This is how we should live with everyone every day.

Well that's the attempted idea. I've grown uneasy with how American coverage of the Olympics only watches athletes from America, Canada, England and Australia. We keep a medal count and try to make sure that America takes home the most medals. We don't watch other nations unless their athlete is breaking the world record in their sport.

This "selfish" coverage of the Olympics is more upsetting to me than the "social injustices" that are being cited by the protesters when they gather. In Philippians Paul instructs us to "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." (Chapter 2, verse 3, NASB)

Don't get me wrong. I do need to factor in the fact that I don't understand why these protesters are gathering, and I have not looked into the reasons they are upset with China. There may indeed be some terrible social injustices happening there. Perhaps if I knew more about this story I would have a different opinion.

However, in my mind's eye right now, protesting China through the Olympic games just doesn't seem like the proper avenue. It seems to me there are other ways to do this. If this is such a big issue, why wait until the Olympics to bring it up?

If we aspire to live as Christ did, then we must formulate our response to issues like this with that in mind. Jesus didn't speak up against social injustices or protest the way some people were treated. Instead he went to the downtrodden and loved them. In fact he instructed us to do likewise. He said "whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)

"You should have left retribution to the law..."

I am a fan of the old martial arts movies, many of which are produced in China. They are filled with action, the dialog is dubbed to the point of hilarity, and they all have a "cheese factor," that is to say they all have things happen in them that could never happen in real life.

So last night I decide to watch a movie entitled "Awaken Fist." It is a 1973 film directed by Yuen Wo Ping, who in America is famous for choreographing fights in The Matrix, Kill Bill 1 & 2, and several others.

In "Awaken Fist," a young brash fighter swears to his dying father that he will never fight again. After the father dies, a greedy gang tries to buy the family's land. They try to intimidate and bully the young son, who is now the head of the household and owner of the land. The young man refuses, so the gang tries all sorts of things to force him to sell the land. Eventually they burn the man's house down, killing his mother, his sister, and the man courting his sister during the incident.

Naturally, this sets our hero off. He snaps and goes on a path of vengeance. He hunts down each member of the gang and kills them one by one. The fights get more intense as each opponent is better. In fact, the gang leader appears to be much more skilled than the protagonist, but his thirst for vengeance gives him the strength to overcome this dark villain.

Sounds like a pretty good movie right? The movie ends with the hero being arrested! He is taken to the court where he has 9 charges brought up against him, 7 of those charges being murder. The movie ends with the provincial official telling our hero "You should have left retribution to the law!" The movie fades with the last 3 words being repeated.

How is that a happy ending? This guy does the right thing in our eyes, yet he is arrested for being a vigilante and not going to the police! He has to say farewell to the only person he still has , and face punishment for wronging those who wronged him.

It seems familiar to me. Romans 12:18-20: "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD."

What we think needs to happen and what God tells us to do can sometimes be very different. Two wrongs do not make a right. You go through this whole movie, cheering on the hero, wanting him to avenge his family and make things right, only to learn at the end he is just as much at fault as the evil greedy gang who killed his family. "You should have left retribution to the law..."

Don't try to do God's work for him. Vengeance is his. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Scripture shows us that God's way is better, even if it is harder. This movie turns out to unintentionally be a great example of that.