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This is my first book from Relevant Media Group. I’ve been reading their magazine for the past year and chose this title to review for personal reasons. Prayer is something, though I believe in to my core, find myself unsettled about. I needed to hear a new take on the subject and thought this title to be an excellent entry point:

“[RE]Understanding Prayer” – Kyle Lake, Relevant, © 2005

Just weeks before his tragic and unusual death, Kyle Lake’s “[RE]Understanding Prayer” (Relevant, ©2005) hit shelves promising a fresh take on our world’s oldest “conversation.”

Lake reminds us prayer is hardly scientific and was never intended to be anything but an organic and on-going conversational exchange between The Creator and His Creation. The reader will see Lake’s life-long process of shifting from inaccurate interpretations, arriving at a loosely-Eastern, very God-centric perspective on prayer.

“Previously, prayer was defined in terms of quantity and duration. Now, prayer has become more fluid and open-ended, lacking compartments or parameters.” — p. 96

He debunks formulaic prayers, along with prayers for God to act as our butler. He deconstructs the list of cliché words that have made honest prayer irrelevant and unattainable. Lake puts prayer in a bright and clear light, making it accessible to those who previously thought it wasn’t:

“It is not a monologue but a dialogue of intimate, heightened sensitivity and receptivity to God’s presence, input, and perspective.” — p.119

Replete with supporting quotes from Scripture, classic and contemporary Christian authors alike, Lake makes further study of prayer easy. But aside additional reading, Lake’s desire from the reader is that they live a prayerful life:

“For all that God is and all that God offers, we must respond likewise–not just from the shoulders up, but with our whole lives.” — p. 88

Though “[re]Understanding Prayer” starts slow, I was well-encouraged by the later chapters. This book is not the definitive word on the subject. But it points the reader in the right direction. Kyle Lake “got it” when it came to prayer (among many other subjects, no doubt) and we can be thankful for the printed word that his insights will be preserved for years to come.

I’m going to experiment a bit with the notion of doing “Book Reviews” periodically at EricNentrup.com. A good chunk of these are books that either one of my readers, peers, or mentors has recommended to me or I’ve come across by way of the other blogs I read. The actual task itself helps me to glean more from the book and the commitment to posting my findings as a “book review” on my site is the accountability I need in order to follow through. Plus, I’d like to think I might be able to offer some insight towards your next reading choice!

So, without further ado…

BOOK REVIEW “Revolution” by George Barna – Tyndale, 2005 Reviewed by Eric Nentrup (eric@ericnentrup.com)

THE FACTS.

In “Revolution” (Tyndale, 2005), George Barna brings his statistician’s expertise to the topic most are calling “The Emerging Church.” But to Barna, “emerging church” is too small a descriptor to capture what he claims is an historic movement. He prefers to call it a “Revolution,” and sets out to define what type of Christ-followers are playing active roles as “Revolutionaries,” reshaping the institution of church and doing so in a grass-roots fashion: > “…the Revolution is about recognizing that we are not called to go to church. We are called to be the church.” Barna reminds us: > “…the Bible neither describes nor promotes the local church as we know it today.” And that conventional church as we know it, “is neither Biblical nor unbiblical. It is abiblical–that is, such an organization is not addressed in the Bible…We made it up. It may be healthy or helpful, but it is not sacrosanct.” Barna spends most of the book describing this Revolution subjectively, not focusing on the data of his research, but rather on the data’s implications. And Barna’s interpretation is that people seeking to follow Christ in the present are eschewing modern methods in favor of returning to a first-century lifestyle. The result, eventually, will be a DECREASE of emphasis upon the established local church for filling the need of spiritual community and growth. Later, Barna substantiates the Revolution with benchmarks that align with Jesus’ teaching and example, quoted chapter and verse. Barna is both convinced and convincing in this quick read, posing a credible forecast that the landscape of the church is undergoing considerable, if not monumental change.

THE OPINION.

All in all, I’ve found another log to toss on the fire that started with McLaren and Miller’s core texts for the church that is emerging. Another reviewer of “Revolution” in the latest issue of Christianity Today panned Revolution, citing Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together” as not only more edifying but more relevant (and even more revolutionary). My thoughts are still more towards the “fix what needs broken” regarding local church, as I believe there’s TONS broken. And thereby, I don’t feel the need to be “glass half-full” with comments towards denominational church. That’s just too much like sticking your fingers in your ears and la-la-la-ing our way through the things we don’t want to hear. So, like McLaren’s books, I think Revolution is an essential missive in understanding just WHAT it is that we’re currently experiencing and soon to experience. That said, I’m working HARD on not being “anti-institutional.” I’ve taken to heart the truth (which I THINK I got from McLaren’s “Generous Orthodoxy, but I’m too lazy to fact check this tonight) that it “takes an individual to start a movement, but an institution to sustain it.” That helps me spend less time curling my lip towards institutions, corporations, denominations, and the like. I’m more intrigued with “new growth” in the midst of so much dead wood, and Revolution doesn’t disagree with that thought. So…Rudy lent me Rob Bell’s “Velvet Elvis” and I think I might weigh in on it next. So, if you get an Amazon.com gift certificate for Christmas, and are curious enough about Revolution, McLaren’s books, or “Velvet Elvis,” do me a favor and click through the link above to snag a copy for yourself. Merry Christmas, everyone….Christ is born!

Hoodwinked The Movie.
Originally uploaded by Eric Nentrup.

My good friends at Blue Yonder Films have hit it big with their 3D-animated retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in “Hoodwinked”. It’s got an ALL-STAR cast and looks HILARIOUS.

You can watch the trailer at Apple’s QuickTime Theater.

They are TRULY dedicated artists, and have been duking it out in L.A. for over 5 years now. If you have a Hollywood Video nearby, you can find their previous live-action comedy, “Chillicothe” available exclusively there. Kim even has a credit in the film as “Girl on Bench”! Melanie (who frequents this site) is also another one of the girls on the bench. We had such a good time helping out on that film, which DID go to Sundance in 1999.

It opens this Christmas, and could be a joyous occasion for you and your family. Yes, I said joyous.

So, Congrats to Cory, Todd, Preston, Tony, Peter, and Katie at Blue Yonder. You guys ROCK, and we’re SO very proud of your commitment to the craft and the great fun you’re creating for the rest of us! I hope it breaks the box office!

Jake’s reply to yesterday’s rant spurred me. I griped but offered no alternative to my media criticism. And he was right, technology (and motivation) is the answer to the crummy stuff we see from the Network News. And I didn’t even make the connection that I and many others involved with reading and writing blogs are already adopting it!

As I’ve mentioned in a recent email to the ENdC mailing list, conventional blogs (more formally known as Content Management Systems) use a neat form of code called RSS. It’s related to a bigger standard, XML. Well, folks have realized that the consistency of the STRUCTURE of these frequently updated blogs makes it easy to AGGREGATE the stories from the pretty looking website into a program that looks a lot like your email app. This “News Reader” is the MOST EFFICIENT WAY for one to sift through MORE content whether it’s sports, general blogging, headline news, finances, geek stuff, etc. TONS of conventional sites out there are offering links to their RSS Feed that you can plug into your News Reader and get new articles/posts/scores/updates in much the same way you get new email. It’s fantastic and you’re all going to be doing it by the end of the year anyway. Might as well take a few minutes, go to the appropriate download site for your OS and get a News Reader! Most come with some feeds already to get you started. And BTW, my link to my feed is at the bottom of this page!

Geek Speak over.

Man. I’m watching CNBC’s “The Big Idea” with Donny Deutsch for the first time tonight, and turn up the volume as I see he’s interviewing Robert Redford via satellite from Park City, Utah as the Sundance Film Festival ramps up this week.

Donny reviews Redford’s success and I tune in particularly when I see a great clip from “All The President’s Men.” I love that film. Donny follows the clip with a question quite similar to this:

“Robert, do you think that the filmmakers passing through your festival these days understand the importance of the that film, understand the significance to the Watergate scandal. do they understand the role of film in telling the stories of our time?”

Redford collects his thoughts and says something to the effect of:

“Good question. Technology is changing so fast–it’s moving at the speed of a freight train through our culture, and I don’t know how much time you want to spend on discussing the relevance of even THIS on our culture–”

CUT to Donny INTERRUPTING: “Robert, before we’re out of time, any thoughts or comments about Johnny Carson?”

That’s when I quit listening. You may need to read the exchange again, but simply, what happened is they took the interview at length, (along with the OTHER interviews they deemed worthwhile) and pared it down to the significant core of the conversation. But the producer seemingly didn’t know what he was doing when he signed off on the editing that cut Redford off at a natural pause, but a HIGHLY unnatural point in his reply. Redford was ABOUT to expound and pontificate (and in my opinion 67 year old masters of the craft like R-Squared get that privilege). And if you opt NOT to let them, DO NOT cut them off in the middle of the setup to their thought. Read it again. Redford didn’t say ANYTHING worth keeping in his reply. But I’d bet he said SOMETHING worth listening to and it was cut for time’s sake.

That’s the first time I’ve been sitting here, ready to RANT when I saw this pet peeve of mine poked. I HATE how the network personalities conduct interviews as A.D.D. digestible fare. Lauer and Couric are the WORST. Can’t producers friggin’ cut out the redundant text these “anchors” read on the teleprompters during the news pieces to spare more time for interviews? Can’t they ditch the umpteenth snippet from the Amber Frey testimony to give more time to the guy who shot himself in the head with a nailgun? Actually, I couldn’t watch that story. Gave me the willies.

Ultimately, when Jamie Oliver’s cooking up something like Gnocchi with Pesto, I want him to SCHOOL the talent instead of them driving the cooking lesson. It’s just that these news shows are so fragmented that we’re getting NUTTIN’ but splinters of stories. I mean, a bite of something’s okay as long as there’s substance later.

I don’t know. I obviously get pissed at the media for telling us what’s important and what’s not, then passing the buck to the public blaming them for the quality and the quantity of the content they deliver. I mean, man…I feel like I can’t even sit still long enough to read a novel anymore and I KNOW that my capacity’s being changed by these other trends.

Long live Charles Osgood, Garrison Keilor, NPR everywhere, and the BBC (I think…maybe I’d get used to their accents and realize they’re off their heads as much as the yanks.)

In this age of media piracy and other labels TRYING to compete with the runaway success of the iTunes Music Store for both mac AND window’s users, it’s easy to get excited about music again.

But if you’re a bit thirsty for content, spending $0.99 per song at the iTMS can get expensive quickly. Wil Wheaton mentioned Comfort Stand in a recent blog and I have to give it a nod as well. It’s CHOCK FULL of songs to download. Lots of dance/trance stuff, but I’ve learned that’s kind of nice when you’re just in need of something to drone to while doing housework or other busy stuff in your office.

I especially liked “Wakka Chikka” (devilish smile)

Music can be downloaded as individual tracks or as a HUGE album file. My mac readin’ buddies need to make sure they have the LATEST version of Stuffit Expander if they want to open these files.

And oh yeah….the music’s free.

Today, the Indianapolis Star had a letter FROM the editor, Dennis Ryerson explaining/apologizing for putting Peyton Manning’s record-breaking performance from Sunday in the Monday morning edition of the paper, overshadowing the MUCH BIGGER story of the disastrous Tsunami which claimed the lives of over 100K people in Asia that same day.

As I write this, I’m thinking back to cheering Peyton as he threw touchdown #49, breaking Dan Marino’s single season record of nearly 20 years. It truly was a great game and a momentous occasion in our professional sports culture.

And at that point, the news reports that I had heard were just generalizing the disaster, the full scope of the loss not yet apparent, I think, until the Monday Morning Network News shows started to give estimates of the death toll.

In fact, when I heard those reports on Monday, it broke my heart. I wasn’t up to the notion of playing any games with family or the like as we were going to do that morning. And I certainly wasn’t thinking about Peyton Manning. I just wanted to hear more and try to comprehend such a catastrophe.

But today, as I read that half-assed apology/explanation from Ryerson, I became enraged. He writes:

“The play of international stories long has been an issue for the American news media. Living in a country separated by vast oceans from so much of the rest of the world, Americans tend not to be as interested in international events as are people in some other countries. That lack of interest is reflected in news coverage.”

I mean, do you REALLY believe that the media are just reflecting the greater desires of the public? Come ON!!! Americans tend to NOT be as interested in international events because we’re TOLD NOT TO by the media. “The lack of interest is” NOT “reflected in news coverage.” Instead, our long-standing cultural belief that if it’s in the NEWS (TV or Print) it must be legit, and as important or unimportant as the anchor or editor leads us to believe. Ryerson has the cart so far in front of the horse on this one, the horse is thinking the cart isn’t worth catching up with–ESPECIALLY if the horse has to tow that worthless cart.

Ryerson’s apology is acceptable, but this paragraph rationalizing and pontificating WHY they went with the sports headline instead is absurd. It’s absurd because objectivity in journalism applies not just to the content of said topic but to the decision of which topics deserve priority over others in the delivery of their respective medium. And Ryerson admits he bit it on this, but then covers his divot with a pothole by patronizing us and passing the buck to the public’s “lack of interest” in international stories.

I mean, death toll alone, we’re talking about FIFTY September 11’s in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and other countries that took the brunt of the Tsunami. And though hearing of the destruction that an “Act of God” (which is another Pandora’s Box of a conversation to be had elsewhere) has had on a people group doesn’t impact one like the a severe mass injustice of one people group upon another people group, in the end, it’s all the same–senseless waste of life that can’t be explained or justified. Senseless waste.

And after a year of high profile journalists making careless mistakes I’d like to see them learn that while they hold the megaphone, people ARE going to listen. They need to take that platform seriously and bring the necessary content for us to choose just what is and what is not important. Keep the opinions & digressions to yourself and do your job.

U2’s new album, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” will be released soon, and thanx to a friend with “connections,” I’ve managed to get a copy and it is quite pleasing. Not sure YET if I dig it like I dig the 2000 “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.” Which is just a phenomenal comprehensive collection of cuts.

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So far, I’m very intrigued with “Yahweh,” the final track on the album. I want to listen to it a few more times, but it’s just so refreshing to have songs about GOD in pop culture without it being from a “crossover” artist.

Other than that, I love how hard U2 works to make it look effortless. Sure there’s plenty of “studio magic” going on to produce the tracks, but they can sound so full with such simple layers of instruments and vocals. I think I’m also digging their sparse use of electronica to support traditional instruments.

My take overall is that it’s a very CLEAN album. Just pure and crisp, with a lot of presence. Not a lot of hiding behind effects or slick production.

Ultimately, I’m just happy to have ONE MORE “post Zooropa” album. I’m sure there’s a lot that’s about timing–with me, with the world, and with the band and where they’re at. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time for anything produced between Achtung and ATYCLB.

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They were guests on SNL tonight and rocked the house. You get the feeling that Bono loves to play SNL more than anything. Especially his antics with playing to the camera. It got me vibed to see the show next year. I’m looking forward to it.

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So I saw the Trailer for Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. The first half is footage culled from the previous FIVE films, and the second half of the trailer delivers the tease of new footage from the May 2005 release.

I have to say I like what I see. From what I’ve read online, folks are pretty much losing faith in George to deliver the goods. And I side with them on issue of writing and directing (what else is there?!?!?!). Well, the mogul-like stature of such Lucas offspring as Lucas Arts, Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound, and the biggest–Industrial Light & Magic, have paved the way for these films, as I’ll discuss below, and more so, occupied George’s creative side in a significant amount compared to his writing and directing. I wonder why he didn’t just STAY competitive with his colleagues (Spielberg, Scorcese, Coppola) instead of becoming a service provider to THEIR films.

I’ll take a moment to confess that NOT having cable, I missed the Comedy Central airing of “The Clone Wars” cartoon. But thanks to peer-to-peer networks and the client software available (unnamed here to not indict the innocent), I was able to snag a good many of the episodes and run them out of my PowerBook to my TV and Stereo, enjoying them just as I would’ve on TV. Sans the commercials.

Confession over.

This recent article on Box Office Mojo shows the disdain that true blue fans have for the versions of the film found in last month’s DVD box set of Ep’s 4,5, & 6. The author makes a good note that such fans are nearing fascism with demanding that Lucas REVERT to the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL versions of the film for DVD release. I give George a bit more grace than that.

It’s so funny. I can remember growing up, the occasional Entertainment Tonight story, or something similar, where George would pop back up in the headlines. Maybe for Indy Jones Chronicles or something. And they’d ask when they could expect MORE Star Wars movies. And George would always answer to the effect that he was waiting for technology to catch up with his ideas. And kudos to George for putting his money where his mouth was and building the de facto visual fx company two which all other VFX houses bow their greenscreens in unison curtsy. But I think that when that occured back in the late nineties as he “polished” the workflow for Ep. 1’s production, the technology arrived to find his ideas a dry pile of dust, instead of the more vibrant prequels we all would’ve savored had he just made the damn series in sequence. It’s pretty obvious to most that Ep’s 1 & II have eye candy filling chasms where story belonged.

The outrage of fans underscored in Holleran’s article reminds me of several recent and relevant encounters I have had with others (primarily from older generations) where I see a HUGE chasm between value of intelllectual property (a fairly new term) and the object or container of that property. Stay tuned for that delicious essay.

Nonetheless, my heartrate quickened when I saw the teaser trailer. We ALL want to see the transformation of Darth Vader. We all deserve another wookie moment, and there is no such thing as too many lightsaber fights, at least in my book. So, more power to George as he presses on towards next May’s release.

By the way…the title of this entry. It’s the TRUE dividing factor between men and women. I have YET to meet a fella who wouldn’t give his right android hand for an actual working lightsaber. Next time you’re with a few, just ask. In the meanwhile check out these fine replicas at a web retailer near you.