EPIC

I'm beginning the process of redecorating my office. It's nothing major. I just want the space to reflect more of my personality and my heart. I have always loved stories. Especially the great stories, the epic stories. In each one I find something profound about the human spirit and more importantly I discover God more deeply.

When I speak, here at my home church and around the country, I use movies a lot--they are our best vehicles for stories. Some people like it and some people don't. Oftentimes the movies I use are rated "R" which suggest to some people that they should not be used in a Christian setting. I always suspect that the people who object were some of the first people in line when some of these movies came out. Can you imagine how little money a movie would make if no Christians saw it? Plus, they always seem to know exactly what happens in the movies I reference.

So I am redecorating my office with posters of the epic movies I love. Not only do I love them, but each of them tells, or rather re-tells, a part of God's story with humanity.

Here are the first five posters to go up and how I see them re-telling God's awesome adventure with His people.

1. Braveheart. One man dies so that others may go free. Sound familiar? It's also a great story about recovering your heart and fighting for freedom. Check out this line from the poster: "Every man dies, but not every man really lives
2. Gladiator. Simply put: A general becomes a slave who becomes a gladiator, and defies a kingdom. Have you ever heard of anyone else that descended in order to defy evil and set people free? In the background the poster reads: "A Hero Will Rise."
3. Saving Private Ryan. This one is easy. Who leaves the ninety-nine to rescue the one? Under the title on the poster it reads: "The Mission is a Man."
4. The Last Samurai. Someone once said, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." Samurai fought for their people (sheep) to their own detriment, prepared to die to protect them.
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kings. This movie is chock full of spiritual significance, but you don't have to be Plato to understand these five words: "The Return of the King!"

These stories always remind me that God is telling a story and that I have a place in it. A place to be valiant, fearless and dangerous--for good!