"The Blind Side"

"The Blind Side" : NOT a Thanksgiving turkey, but a Thanksgiving gift for the movie-going public.
What a warm, rich, challenging film for movie-goers this season -- and NO vampires!
I did not have great expectations of the film, but was deeply impressed by a tear-jerker film, which dealt with Southern racism, football frenzy, drug culture and its threat on poor families and young persons. What about those lost children that are "raised" in the middle of addicted parents and their pushers? How do they survive? Well, here is one story. Although a white family ultimately rescues the young man, he has independently developed skills that allow him to escape, to embrace the opportunity provided. One could only wish that situation for all children in such poverty and potential hopelessness.
Another noteworthy aspect of this film was the Christian faith that was just included as an obvious aspect of the family's life. No apologies; no creepiness; just a real faith lived out in the interaction with others. One hopes that good Christian folks would open the table of thanksgiving for even more unlikely characters -- not just in films but in everyday life.

Social Networking and the Church

Social Networking is what the church is all about -- from the time of Jesus calling the 12 Apostles as well as the numerous men, women, and children to his side during his earthly ministry, to the Pentecost celebration, to the work of Paul calling scattered races to believe. The church is in the social networking business. The challenge is how to make that happen in this time when so many other options abound. Sunday church, well done, is a great place to start.