The Hollywood Church

We went down to Hollywood today and met a guy named Chris who planted a church in Hollywood. It was a cool experience. I love hearing about guys who have sold out. He went to Master's Seminary and worked at Grace Community (John MacArthur's church) for years. After that he moved to Alabama and worked under Stephen Lawson. Apparently, while he was there God totally shattered his heart and gave him a passion for inner-city ministry. For those of you who don't know Hollywood is not a great place. Homosexuality, poverty,  drugs, and just sin in general runs rampant. It's a very sad and empty place. So God calls him here and God is doing some awesome through him. I just ask and pray that God would give me that faith. I say I would do it but would I? 

There Will Be Blood

If you have not seen the movie There Will Be Blood do yourself a favor and go buy it now. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview who is an oil man in the late 19th century. The movie is a snapshot of his life. The movie starts with Plainview in his search for oil. As the movie goes on he becomes a wealthier and more successful oilman. I am of the opinion (with many others) that Day-Lewis is the best actor in the world. He is apparently a freak when it comes to taking on roles. He's one of those guys that takes on the character he is playing. 

The excellence of this movie is not that it makes anybody feel good but is full of truth. The fact of the matter is the movie is a tragedy. But, I really believe there was more truth in this movie than much of what we call literature today (even Christian literature). Daniel Plainview is a somewhat likeable character in the beginning of the movie. I found myself cheering him on and wanting him to strike rich with oil.  He takes on a child under his care with a deep intense love. As the movie goes on Daniel gets overwhelmingly greedy. The climax of the movie is when Daniel strikes it rich or as he says, "there is a whole ocean of oil under our feet." When they finally get to the oil it is at great cost. His son becomes deaf in an accident and Daniel sends him off to a special school. With his riches comes more and more evil.  You can even see it in his physical appearance. By the end of the movie he is a disowns his son, is a drunk and murderer (killing the evil pentecostal pastor). The movie ends abruptly after the murder. 

This movie could be summed up with the truth of I Timothy 6:10. Loving money is a root of much evil. This is to me the poison of the health and wealth message that so many people have fallen into. These poor souls have been told that godliness means blessing (typically financially). There is no promise of this in Scripture. The promise we have is death, persecution, sickness, heart-ache. Who are we to think that Jesus in all his perfection had to face incredible pain but we wouldn't. Don't love money love God. Don't love prosperity. Love Jesus. Make him your treasure. Make your time to be used for Jesus and his glory. The more you love money and worldly materials the more evil will follow you.