STAINED GLASS RAINBOWS... CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION

It's time to start plugging our next film Stained Glass Rainbows.

For those who don't know, Stained Glass Rainbows is an exploration of the bed wrestle between homosexuality and faith. We've interviewed the left, the right, conservatives, liberals, & moderates. We've filmed at Gay Pride Parades as well as Gay Protests. We've talked with folks that believe people are born gay along with people who were once in gay relationships that through their faith have left it behind... so to speak.

Why this topic???

I believe this is the most controversial subject facing the modern church. The majority of conservatives tend to want to keep their heads in the sand and pretend this issue will go away. Meanwhile, progressive denominations are not only embracing homosexuals, but they are also ordaining them. The recent controversies surrounding Gay Marriage and Proposition 8 are only proof of the volatility and timeliness for Stained Glass Rainbows.

This issue is tearing churches apart. It's tearing denominations apart. And it's tearing families apart. Is there an answer? And if there is, what is it? Is homosexuality a great sin or merely a lifestyle? What does a book written 2,000 years ago have to say about it and should that have any relevance on us today?

Stained Glass Rainbows explores the controversy, dives into the heart of the issue, and gets inside the hearts and minds of people of faith across the country.

Keep an eye out for Stained Glass Rainbows... coming soon!

REBELLION OF THOUGHT ON THE RADIO

Kent recently was interviewed about Rebellion of Thought by Joe Thomas on WCHV 1260 AM. Listen to the interview here...

REBELLION OF THOUGHT... GIDEON FILM FESTIVAL

Rebellion of Thought will be screening at the Gideon Media Arts Conference & Film Festival in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.

DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
TIME: 1:15pm

The film will be followed by Q&A (if the crowd is civil) or Tar & Feathering (if it gets out of hand). If you know anyone in the Asheville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Knoxville, or Atlanta areas, tell them to head to Ashville for the screening. In the mean time, start planning your trip... it matters not where you live, cause like Steven Wright would say... "Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."

FYI, a portion (if not all) of the Brothers Williamson will be on the receiving end of the "Pitching to Producers" event on Tuesday the 15th, where a select group of published authors pitch their latest ideas.

Also, keep your eye out for two new Rebellion of Thought trailers to be released soon...

DEVOTION... WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Please bare with me... I feel another rant coming on. Recently, I started chewing on the word "devotion". What does it mean? Where did it come from? etc., when the thought hit me, is this another word the Church has hi-jacked and stripped of it's original meaning and intent?

Growing up in the Church I was continually bombarded with phrases like... have you had your devotions today? How are your devotions going? Are you having a consistent "quiet time"? Did you get your copy of the devotional? Kent, sit still while Mr. S0-and-s0 leads us in a devotion.

Devotion was a word that carried with it much guilt. It was a word with good intentions, designed to encourage me to read the Bible (or a supplement) more, but I remember as a teenager hearing the word and realizing I was a failure. I could never read the Bible more than some of the other kids in the youth group. I could never spend an hour a day reading and praying or even a half hour for that matter or even 15 minutes, because for some reason I would miss Thursday or Saturday or Monday which left me feeling guilty, unworthy, outside of God's perfect will, a loser that couldn't consistently have his devotions.

On days when I might be successful I remember being able to check it off my spiritual to-do list. "Boy, God must be proud of me now!"

Now that I'm officially "getting older" things haven't changed much. Today you can click your way to Amazon and find pages of devotional books and resources to improve and enhance your "quiet time". Now, don't get me wrong, some of these resources may be valuable, but doesn't the mass marketing of "devotion" seem to be a little... tacky?

What does "devotion" mean anyway? Dictionary.com offers these in it's list of definitions...

"profound dedication"

"feelings of ardent love"

"earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc."

True "devotion" is not a noun. It's not something I do but it is something I have... or do I? Am I truly devoted to Christ? Am I truly devoted to seeking Him? Am I truly devoted to picking up the cross daily? Am I truly devoted to the concept of crucifying myself so that He may live through me?

How about you? Are you devoted?

MY ADDICTION TO TRADITIONAL CHURCH

My struggle (prior to converting to the house church) was that I was (like most of us) a creature of habit. I had a Sunday morning habit/addiction that looked like this...

- wake up
- race around the house getting myself and my kids ready for "church"
- drive 20+ miles (as fast as possible) to a good sized church-building of my liking
- drop kids off at various Sunday School rooms (all the while hoping they'll learn something and simultaneously releasing myself from the responsibility of teaching them)
- teach an Adult Sunday School class (which I often viewed as baby-sitting the grown-ups who wanted their kids to be in a Sunday School class and had nothing better to do for the hour)... did that come across as cynical? Sorry!
- cut my lesson short due to time-restraints.
- race down the hall to the "sanctuary" for "worship" and to fulfill my obligations as a deacon (which mostly consisted of serving the "found" instead of those truly in need of Christ)
- drop a check in the plate (and wonder what really happens to the money besides keeping the machine running)
- wave goodbye to people I didn't really know on any deep and meaningful level, but found myself with week after week

I was addicted to the traditional church. God had to take me all the way to China to get a glimpse of the underground house church to break me of my addiction. I had a habit that at that particular church had lasted for 9 years, but the Holy Spirit broke me of it.

There is hope... He is moving still in the hearts of people. Hopefully he'll keep nudging people toward true community, toward deep and meaningful relationships with other believers, toward the image of Christ without all the trappings of modern day Churchianity.

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This was a response I gave to an article called "Something Different" my good friend Keith Giles wrote over on his [Subversive Underground] Blog.