Daredevil and Manifest Listen

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Listening to God is a subject that is difficult for modern minds to handle. It has come up in the new season of "Daredevil" (specifically Ep. 2 of season 3) and has come up a lot in the show "Manifest".

In a flashback to a conversation with Father Lantom when he was a kid he gets warned that his anger will destroy him if he doesn't handel it well. After suggesting that this might be God's plan, they have this conversation:

Father Lantom: "Maybe you don't understand original sin after all. God gave us free will, Mathew.                                 Adam and Eve were not puppets; neither are we. We make our own choices. It's one                             reason we pray. For help making good ones. You should try it sometime."

Mathew:           "I do pray. I pray all the time, I've been praying for years. God doesn't talk to me."

Father Lantom: "So that's what this is about? You feel God is neglecting you? Matthew, the burning                               bush business doesn't happen very often, even in the Bible. Usually more subtle                                   than that. You want to hear God, Mathew, you have to listen more carefully. He                                     speaks in whispers."

In "Manifest" we are seeing a different conversation. Many members are hearing something they call "The Calling" and sometimes seeing things. These promptings are very insistent and they just come back again if ignored. They don't have any trouble hearing it, but they don't know where it is coming from. In the most recent episode a question is brought up as to whether or not this Calling can be trusted. These promptings have led to several developments including the rescue of two young girls who were kidnapped. Yet there is still a question, can we trust this voice? What is the real agenda behind it?

In the Old Testament listening to God was something that seemed to be reserved for prophets. Only those that God called to a special purpose could meet with Him. Now for Moses this was such a deep relationship that it had a certain "face to spirit" aspect. He regularly met with God and regularly heard from Him. While at Mount Sinai he spent some 40 days alone with God and that resulted both in the 10 commandments and the first few books of the Bible. Exodus 33 records that he had a "Tent of Meeting" outside the camp where he was meet with God and seek wisdom from Him. Other prophets that sought God a lot include Joseph, Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and many more.

But a prophet named Joel prophesied that one day many would have the Holy Spirit. That many would prophesy and have dreams from God. Then, Jesus came. As "Emmanuel" (God Among Us) He taught publicly and mentored 12 men. Then, He was crucified and rose again. 10 days after He ascended to the Throne, the Holy Spirit brought on an event we call Pentecost. In this event the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit and then began their ministry of spreading the Word of Jesus. Now, we all have access to it.

Listening to God is not meant to be rare for us. Originally Adam and Even had plenty of access to God. Then sin came and corrupted them. God is fully available to us, but are we listening? Are we seeking Him? Do we pray to get things for ourselves or to hear from Him? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Ask. The book of James tells us to ask for wisdom. Jesus told us to knock and the door would be opened. Have you asked God for wisdom? Have you asked Him to speak to you?

2. Sit. Yes, I do think that God might bring thoughts to your mind as you sit and wait. But you need to put your attention to Him. That means a place that is quiet.

3. Compare what you hear with scripture. God will never ask you to do something against His own teachings.

4. Sometimes you need to set the thought "on a shelf" and wait to see if God brings it back in another way.

5. Look. Sometimes I hear form him in music; other times something meaningful will be in a book I'm reading or a show I'm watching. Other times I've been out in nature and God has met me when I was not expecting it.

If you want a full sermon, you should check this link. Pastor Peter Yoshonis spoke about this just this past Sunday at All Shores Wesleyan Church. Well worth a listen.  

Manifest 828

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Earlier this week I sat down with my Mom to watch the pilot episode of "Manifest." A new drama with a time travel intro and very little else to catch my attention, aside from Josh Dallas of Once Upon a Time as a lead actor. What I found was more mystery than the trailers let on and a show much more focused on spiritual development than I expected. Sit down ladies and gentlemen it is time for some geek theology!

SPOILERS AHEAD

The show begins with a family getting on a plane. The family consists of 2 older parents, a son named Ben Stone (played by Josh Dallas) with his wife Grace (Athena Karkanis) and their twin children. Also along is Ben's sister, Michaela Stone, played by Melissa Roxburgh. As the family talks we soon see that the matriarch of the family is a believer, especially when she quotes Romans 8:28 while talking to Michaela about the guy who wants to marry her and other life stuff.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."          Romans 8:28

With the plane overbooked the family splits up with the older siblings and the brothers son staying behind for another flight. What we then find out is that the son, 8 years old or so, has cancer. Soon they are on the plane and someone else is working on a research paper.

With some interesting symmetry and connection, the flight they take is labeled as Flight 828. There was a major shift of turbulence on the flight but nothing else was unusual. Everyone on the flight is confused when they are held back upon landing. This state of confusion continues as they try to come back to life, family and friends. Although they left the vacation spot and went straight to New York, the flight has arrived late by about 5 and a half years. I have had late flights before, but that takes the cake.

We find out that Michaela is a member of the police force, as is her boyfriend who is now married. The twin sister is now five years older. The woman with the research work comes to find her work in a clinical trial for cancer treatment. That is not where the 828 issue stops. Through the show Michaela and then Ben each start hearing very clear instructions to do different things. Michaela helps a bus driver stop right before a kid runs into the road. They let 2 dogs loose after this constant push to "set them free" but later on, when going to apologize for the gate breaking with her Detective ex-boyfriend, Michaela finds two missing girls being held captive by the guy who owned the dogs. Finally, all the passengers find themselves drawn back to the plane only to watch it explode.

This show works on one single issue: can bad things happen for good reasons? As a Christian, I trust God to use all things, good and bad, for His purposes. But in life that that belief is consistently challenged. It often feels like just another platitude being pushed out to try and make me feel alright when so many things are so wrong. Here we find a mainstream show that is daring to ask that question. Is this just a platitude? They just happen to be using a thin line of fantasy in their questioning.

This is not surprising to many of us. Just like all fiction, fantasy and science fiction are all about the human experience. Why do we think this way? How would that change us? The show is not titled "Manifest" because of a list of passengers. It is titled "Manifest" because something is manifesting in the lives of the passengers to bring about change in a world that is hurting. What happened to the flight? Why did it happen? What will the result be?

I firmly trust that God is working for our good. I don't think He wants bad to happen, but when it does He makes better people out of us through them. I can tell you that when I was rejected by a girl in college it probably kept me from experiencing a bad relationship. Think about the crucifixion. It was the worst thing ever. The Son of God killed by His own people. Yet through that we find Jesus taking our sin on Himself so we can have a healthy relationship with God. He took a horrible thing and used it for good. Then He did the best come-back ever by resurrecting from the dead.

In this show, a time travel experience and a new power of knowledge are being used to ask if bad really can be used for good. Along with that, other questions seem to be getting explored about family, faith and destiny. While I don't expect a perfect Biblical lesson in each episode, I plan to keep watching and see where it goes. Will you be watching?

GrandCon 2018

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

GrandCon 2018 was a success. Over the 3 days I connected with several faces I don't see very often who have been following Nerd Chapel for some time. I also met new people and some people I see a bit more often. This show has a special place in my heart. I consider it to be the flagship show for Nerd Chapel. For the first time I had buttons for sale and stickers to hand out.

All the games I hosted went over very well (Pandemic, Unauthorized, Commissioned). I also played 2 rounds of Coup and got to play Scream of Die, a new game just about to come out where you play as monsters that have become little kids and are trying to get candy.

Photo Credit: Katelyn Campbell

Photo Credit: Katelyn Campbell

For the Sunday morning service we had about 40 people, which is even more than last year. Definitely our highest attended event yet. Portal Dragon team members Jon and Liz Meitling led worship. They did a fantastic job. My buddy Darrin Ball led us in communion and brought us a devotional based on LotR. I spoke about Truth by using "Legend of the Seeker" and jumping around the book of John quite a bit to find different pieces of our discussion.

GrandCon is a different experience for Nerd Chapel than other cons as a community has built up. Most cons I have a table as a visible connection point but here we have a combination of the table, games where people interact and the service on Sunday morning. This is happening naturally so nobody has to push it.

I also had the pleasure of  help from a new ally. One of the team members for A'Campbell Consultants joined me just for one day of the con. Katelyn Campbell was a great help and company. Glad to be able to serve with her.

This was a successful weekend indeed. Next I will be at Fantasticon in Fort Wayne, IN. This show will just be a table but it is always a good time. This is one of the shows I know Nathan Marchand will be able to hang out with me at.

DragonCon

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

A couple weeks ago I made a trip down to Georgia for DragonCon. I am trying to get out of the Great Lakes region once a year to network and explore and this year I felt this would be a good stop. I have been connected with the Bridge, a Christian nerd community that has been involved with this con for years) on FB for a while now but I had not met many of them face to face before so this was a chance to do that.

In short it was an amazing weekend. My time with the Bridge included helping with the table, walking with them in the parade, attending the Sunday service, and a few opportunities just to sit and talk. I also had the pleasure of hanging out with Hector Miray, who writes the Faith and Fandom series of books. I was surprised to find a panel on the Catholicism of Skully from The X-Files and I attended a panel on Christians in Dark Fantasy. This was an amazing time.

Along with all of this, I enjoyed panels for Warehouse 13, the Librarians, Doctor Who and a panel with Lou Daimond Philips and Mitch Pileggi.  I also got some photo-ops with a few actors. 

DragonCon is a lot to take in and figure out. It stretches across many city blocks with 5 hotels hosting a variety of events as well as 2 other buildings hosting gaming and the exhibit area. It felt very chaotic but it was a lot of fun and has way more opportunities than you will be able to take advantage of. I did not do any of the gaming at all but I did walk through and take a look at the gaming area.

This weekend, Sept. 14-16 I will be at GrandCon in Grand Rapids, MI and the next weekend, the 22-23 I'll be at Fantasticon in Fort Wayne, IN.

Here are some pictures from DragonCon but there are many more on Facebook if you find the Nerd Chapel page.

"Comic Con Christianity"

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Image provided by author.

I recently got to read a portion of a new book recently released. "Comic Con Christianity" is written by Jen Shlameuss-Perry. She looks at issues of the Christian life both from the perspective of a fan-girl and as a catholic. This caught my attention for a couple of reasons. Firstly is that I have not seen very many ministry resources for nerds and geeks coming out of the Catholic quadrant of the Church. Note, when I say Church with a capital "C," I mean all who follow Jesus as the Son of God, born of a virgin, liver of a sinless life and bringer of redemption through his death and resurrection. I have served in ministry alongside Catholics in a few occasions and have come to respect many of them, even if I disagree with their organization on a few things. Next, this is coming from a contributor to Geekdom House. A Christian/Nerd bridge building organization I have heard about and with which I might have had some small online interactions or perhaps some interactions with at Gen Con at some point.

The portion I got to read is all about villains. What drives them? Why do we sometimes feel for them even in their terrible choices? How are we similar to them? In this chapter she looks at familiar villains like the Joker, Darth Vader, Magneto, and even Loki but she also shares scripture with us. She helps us look at who we are and challenges us to be aware of our own likeliness to make depraved choices. Along with the villains she has us look at Jonah, Job, and even spends some time in Wisdom, a book the Catholics see as canonical but we Protestants do not. I enjoyed reading a portion of it in this chapter and getting a look at it through her eyes.

She explained in a FB message why she chose to send me this portion:

"I picked this one because it's my favorite chapter. My Master's thesis was on Religious Education as a Ministry of Reconciliation, and everything I do as a pastoral minister and a person stems from my belief that that's what I'm supposed to be about."

Reconciliation is indeed the focus of the last portion of the chapter. Forgiveness would also be a good section header for it. After all the disillusionment experienced by the nerd/gamer/geek culture with the Church, should we not be concerned about it? Even as humans, regardless of our hobby preferences, we need it.

I think this book will help some nerds, both Christian and non-Christian, look at who Jesus is and what we can do to follow Him. I think nerds who are not following Jesus will find her work thought provoking and perhaps even fascinating. If you have a follower of Jesus, esp. a catholic, who does not understand our fondness for these stories this book might help them to see how these stories point back to the redemption provided by Christ. Note this is based on one chapter of the book and not a read-through of the entire book.

To learn more about the book, click here.

Gen Con 2018

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

I just got back from Gen Con a few days ago. What did I see? I saw a lot, and that is putting it mildly. Over the four days of the con I played 13 games I had not played before. I also was privileged to be on the Christianity and Gaming Panel and still had some time to help author Nathan Marchand with his table in Author's Avenue.

Photo courtesy of A'Campbell Consultants

The panel was a great opportunity to join others in a discussion on how gaming interacts with the Christian life. This is held by the Christian Gamers Guild each year and I have been to the panel before but this was my first time on the panel. People asked questions about going deeper to share Christ with other gamers, about worldview issues and concerns over fictional deities in some games. Also on the panel was a cosplayer and literature expert named John Stanifer as well as Abigail A'Kessler and Katelyn Campbell from A'Campbell Consultants, a couple of ladies that love to help people, churches and other organizations use games for building community. You can see their website: https://www.acampbellconsultants.com/

Now to some games! I won't go over all of the games I played, but here are a few I wanted to tell you about.

Doctor Who: Time of the Daleks.

I did not even get a full demo of this coop, but I was still so intrigued and excited for a Doctor Who game that I bought it. Definitely excited to get it to the table! You must get all of the Tardis pieces to Galifrey before the Dalek ship gets there. Along the way you will fight various monsters from the show and gather companions from throughout the history of the show.

5 Minute Marvel

This was a very fun, cooperative game. If you have played 5 Minute Dungeon you know the basic idea of this game as it is a re-theme. That being said, I really enjoyed myself playing this at their demo booth. It was a very fun experience and I plan on purchasing it at some point.

Ghost Fighting Treasure Hunters

I loved the giant, light up board they had for demoing this game!

This was a neat surprise and also cooperative. The game itself has been out for a couple years but they showed a new expansion with this demo. I had not expected Mattel to put out a game I would enjoy so much or that could be so fun for gamers. The game is about kids fighting ghosts and collecting treasure but the new expansion adds a basement and some story for what is causing the ghosts to haunt the place.

The Kings Guild

This is a fun game still taking pre-orders. I like worker placement games but I don't own very many and this was a very fun time. You are building a guild by collecting resources, adding rooms to your guilds hall, and providing items and weapons for heroes in their quests all to get the attention of a council so your guild can the official guild of the kingdom. You win by having the most points.

Agents of Mayhem

Based on the video game of the same name, this is a light miniature based game that does feel like a lot to learn your first time playing. There are quite a few symbols to learn but it is doable and you get to make significant tactical decisions. I did lose, but my team did destroy a building and I kind of destroyed my own Golem trying to destroy another one. In my defense that building only had one hit point left. I think after another time or two playing I could get used to the symbols and enjoy it quite a bit.




Azul

I played this with some guys at the Love Thy Nerd meetup. It is a tile laying game based on laying decorative tiles for a building. You take turns pulling tiles from a supply and putting them on your board. At the end of each round if you have a full row of the same color you then place one of those tiles on your board, gaining points for that tile and tiles in the same row and/or column. Fun puzzle game and worth noting that it won the Spiel Des Jarhes this year. If you have not hung out with Love Thy Nerd yet, check them out.


Star Trek Fluxx

This one I played at another gathering; this time for the Tavern, the FB group for Innroads Ministries. I am in the group but had not met very many members face to face yet. So this was a great opportunity to connect. There were at least 3 tables with games going but I found myself playing a lot of Fluxx, most of it being Star Trek. There are actually 2 different Star Trek Fluxx games: one for the original series and one for TNG. There is also an expansion that lets you put the two together. We played one round with the original series and one round with both decks put together. I had a lot of fun with it, even as the rules changed continuously as we played different rules cards. If you are not familiar with them, visit the Innroads website here or the FB group here.

Kryptonians, Time Travel, and God's Supremacy

Greeetings Warriors and Scholars!

Found on IMDB.com

I finally saw the Season 3 finale of Supergirl. At the core of this episode is her heart to bring freedom and act mercifully. Spoilers ahead. While facing three Kryptonian women and a final form of Reign, things don't go as planned. 2 members of her team are killed and she immediately regrets how the fight went. Feeling compelled to press on, she does something a bit to Christopher Reeve. She goes back in time by using a Legionnaire ring and a disturbance in space. Christopher Reeve's Superman did it in his first movie by flying around the world in the opposite direction of rotation really, really fast. His goal was also to save a life, that of Lois Lane. I am not sure that would work!

Time travel is something of an enigma. We know we are moving in a direction in time but there is no evidence we can move back in time or hit a fast forward button to see what is ahead. There is a Psalm that says that 1,000 years to us is like 1 day to God and there are a couple times in the Old Testament when God does actions that would suggest moving in time or slowing it down. Or in the least that He is controlling the celestial bodies that we use to understand the passage of time.

In Joshua 10 we find a story with a battle that Israel fights against several armies at once. In verses 13 and 14 there is this song and a quote from another record of Joshua asking God to hold the sun still for the remainder of the battle. According to Joshua it stands still for a full day, making the daylight last twice as long. The other document is quoted as saying there has never been another day like it.

In 2 Kings there is a story about King Hezekiah. He is sick and at first God says "Put your things in order" but then later decides to heal him and add 15 years to his life. Then, as a confirmation, Isaiah asks if he would like the shadow on some steps to go forward 10 steps or backward 10 steps. King Hezekiah is not foolish and realizing that forward would be "simple" he asks for the sun to go back 10 steps and it happens.

What we have in these events is 2 pictures of God operating outside of our universe to affect it. He is essentially affecting the rotation of the Earth in front of human eyes. I remember being at an outdoor concert a few years ago in Muskegon, MI at Unity Fest. There was a moment during a worship song when the sun, which was setting, got brighter and then went back to normal. Say what you want, but it was a beautiful moment. There is also an old story about the band Degarmo and Key. They were short on money and could not pay the band members. Sitting at a house meeting together they prayed and as they ended there was a knock on the door. A church had felt called to take an offering for them and the pastor was hand delivering it to them. That money had to be collected and he had to get in the car and leave before they started praying.

God is the creator of all things. Colossians 1:16-17, speaking of Jesus, says:

"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Time travel is not a normal thing for us. We don't get to go back and redo our actions like Supergirl did in that episode or as Bill Murray does in "Groundhog Day". But God is so much bigger than our time or our sin. He has already paved the way for redemption in Jesus and from time to time He does like to play around with physics. We call that a miracle. 

Summer/Fall 2018

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Here is my schedule the next few months:

July 20-21: KoganCon in Grand Haven, MI

• Hosting the Boardgames area, 
• Nerd Chapel Panel

July 28-29: Get Geek'd Entertainment Expo in Lansing, MI

• Table

August 2-5: GenCon in Indianapolis, IN

• Christian Gamer's Guild events: Christianity and Gaming Panel on Friday afternoon and a Christian Worship Service on Sunday morning. I will be attending both of these.
• I will spend some time at Nathan Marchand's book table (hours yet to be determined).

August 11: True Believer's Fest in Kentwood, MI

• Table
• Nathan Marchand will also be there so come see his other books and get your copy of 42:Discovering Faith Through Fandom signed by him if you have not already done so.

August 30-Sept. 3: DragonCon in Atlanta, GA

• The Bridge will have a table and a worship service as well as a gaming time and a group in the Cosplay parade. If you will be there see if we can connect.

Sept. 14-16: GrandCon in Grand Rapids, MI

• Table
• Chapel Service on Sunday Morning

Sept. 22-23: Fantasticon in Fort Wayne, IN

• Table

October 20: Newago County Comic Con in Fremont, MI

• Table

Synths and Meekness

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Found on IMDB.com

Have you been watching "Humans" on AMC this season? This show is about androids gaining free will and emotions of their own in our present world. I am 4 episodes in to season 3 and it is getting interesting. Spoilers ahead. If you remember from the season 2 finale, the code allowing Synths to gain their own feelings and will was released into the open. Now, hundreds or even thousands of Synths are trying to make it through life, of some sort, with distrust and anger around them from others. Some have turned violent while others are seeking peaceful initiatives to handle the situation.

At one point Max, played by Ivanno Jeremiah is talking with a small camp of Synths that he is leading. He tells them:

"To human eyes we are all guilty. We are all killers. That is how they will see us now so we must be beyond reproach. We must stay open. Show them mercy when they extend none. Forgiveness when they deserve none. And when they strike us down, we must reach out to them. Some will reach back, not many. But those that take our hand will not let go. Believe me."

"You mean to surrender."

 "No, to appeal to what is best in them."

Have you heard similar discussion before? Martin Luthor King said similar things when he was leading the peaceful protests of the civil rights movement. Gandhi had similar views for his movement to gain freedom for India.  Jesus also taught such ideals.

You have heard that it was said 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth,' but I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.                        Matthew 5:38-42

 Jesus goes on in the next few verses about loving our enemies. Not he does not say that we do not have enemies, but that we should treat them as anyone else. At one point he says. "If you only love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" (Matt. 5:46).

Keep in mind that meekness is not weakness. It is controlling your power and trusting God to handle it. Essentially, it means allowing God to decide when and how you use your power.

There is no scripture that says that vengeance is never earned, In fact Romans 3:23 tells us that "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But we are also told in Romans 12:19 to "...leave room for God's wrath..." It is not our job to dish out punishment. That job belongs to God alone. Instead, we are encouraged to offer friendship and peace. This is not always easy and is not always "cuddly" either. There will be disagreements and we must work together in spite of them rather than try to push on each other. You don't have to be a Carebear or a Pony, but you do need to treat others with respect. Sometimes the most powerful thing a warrior can do is to take a hit and not hit back.

In our social and political climate right now we need these skills more than ever. I am not perfect at all of this myself but fortunately for all of us there is grace and help from Jesus if we accept it.

Violent Ken and Help Sought

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Did you go out for free comic book day? I did! I went to my local shop, grabbed my 3, ran into some friends, and we went to a few hobby and gaming stores. Of my 3 comics, one of my choices was the Street Fighter Ultra issue. This story is a Ken-centric story written by Ken Sui-Chong, artwork by Hanson Steinbach, and lettering by Marshall Dillon. He has just gotten back from a battle in another realm against Lord Raptor, but is now faced with his own darkness. He often becomes Violent Ken with an insatiable appetite for maiming and killing others.

In Street fighter lore, the Satsui No Hado is essentially the Dark Side. It is the worst of the person given full energy and comes out with complete inhibition. This is discussed by my co-author, Nathan Marchand, in entry 17 of our book, 42:Discovering Faith through Fandom.

What I found interesting in this comic was Ken's interactions with 2 students at a Gouken's Dojo in Japan. Sakura and Dan both share what helped them come out if it.

For Sakura, it was friendship. Apparently that story can be found in the Super Street Fighter series. You have heard the phrase: "No man is an island," right? Exactly. We are communal creatures. Proverbs 27:17 tells us "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Do you have anyone who will speak honestly to you about your issues, be it sin or difficult life times?

Dan has another story, found in Street Fighter Unlimited. He shares that foregivenss is what changed him. When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, something we call "The Lord's Prayer" or the "Our Father," there is one statement in there that He expounded on. "Forgive us, as we forgive each other." He goes on to tell us if we do not give foregiveness, God won't give it to us.

Ultimately, Jesus exemplified both of these qualities. He forgave the man who could not walk for his sin as well as the thief on the cross next to Him and Peter for betraying Him. He challenged our perceptions of how we should treat each other and protected the woman at the well from being stoned by men who had their own sin issues to deal with.

Heroes/Villains Chicago

Greetings Scholars and Warriors!

I apologize for not posting for a while. My computer frizzed out on me and I've been dealing with some personal issues.

This weekend I went to Heroes and Villains Fanfest in Chicago. I had a table there and met a lot of people. This con focuses on comic book TV adaptations and guests included stars from Arrow, Gotham, Black Lightning and more. This was also combined with Walker Stalker so you had about 10 guests from the Walking Dead as well.

I met many people, sold some books, and had a great time. Many people were surprised to find this and a few thought it was a joke. But many were excited and supportive. I think the most meaningful conversations happened in travel, though. Saturday night I was just off the train and looking for food when a guy was needing help. At first I thought he was just begging for money, but then I realized he was blind and just needed help finding his cane, which was easy for me to find for him. Sunday, on Amtrak coming home, the guy next to me noticed I was studying "Experiencing God" and asked me if I think God understands if we want to die. We discussed his situation and I tried to encourage him.

Here are some pics from the con. You can find more on the at www.facebook.com/nerdchapel.

Nobody to Jedi

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Spoilers!

found on IMDB.com

Last month I and many around the world went to see Star Wars Episode 8:The Last Jedi. So much goodness in this movie! They took a look at the heroes journey from a different perspective and deconstructed it to show the dangers of seeing yourself as the hero. They showed us how Leia uses her Force powers. The take on Luke is not what we expected, but the Jedi before him did both run away when the Sith took power so that is example he had to look at.

One thing we questioned was the family and lineage of Rey.  Some wanted her to be Kylo's sister or cousin. Some wanted her to be a Kenobi. I wanted a weird mix of both. I wanted Luke to have met a girl, perhaps before meeting Mara Jade, who was from his home planet of Tatooine. I could imagine her eventually telling Luke that she didn't know her father. He had been a hermit or a "wizard" that people thought was really weird. You catch my drift? I had wanted her to be the daughter of Luke and the granddaughter of Ben Kenobi. 

Now, if Kylo Ren's story he told her checks out, she had been from a much more normal lineage. Her parents were drunkards. They sold her into slavery for booze money. Talk about rejection. This would be painful if true. For us as fans it means all our wonder about her being from a big lineage is gone.

However, there is a new, exciting thought here. If her lineage is of drunkards, then that means anyone can be an amazing, Force wielding power for good. You don't need to come from a family that has a history with the Force. You just need to be willing.

Jesus lineage was filled with both promise and obscurity. King David certainly makes for a great lineage. So do Boaz and Ruth. But what about some of the others? There is a prostitute in there. Some people we really don't know much about. We only know Mary and Joseph because they raised Jesus. Even His birth itself was in an obscure place rather than a palace.

Rejection and the Gospel are highly connected. Jesus experienced rejection from the religious leaders and on the Cross he shouted "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). But in this rejection came the opportunity of salvation and healing. Isaiah 53:5 tells us as a prophecy about Jesus that "by his wounds we are healed." 

You might have come from a family that is dysfunctional. Maybe you feel abandoned by your family because you are in the foster system or adopted. Your life still can have amazing impact on the people around you. Rey saved the rebellion when they were trapped at the end of the film. That is fictional; imagine what you can do in real life. You can donate blood, serve in the armed forces, become a nurse or doctor. You can volunteer at your church or with a food bank. Make your life matter. Don't sit at home waiting for someone else to make your life matter.