Blue Like Jazz Review
Well, it may be too late to see Blue Like Jazz in theaters, but when it comes out on DVD I would definitely recommend it. I would especially recommend you watch it with your high school student and leave time for discussion about faith.
While the first part of the film is cheesy, and maybe purposefully so. It makes one ready for the engaging saga that unfolds in the rest of the movie. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is something your fourth or fifth grader should see. The PG-13 rating is legit. At the same time the willingness of the film makers to crash into the culture (both West Coast and Bible Belt) is refreshing. You will be confronted with how poor of a reflection of Jesus we can be, and that following Jesus without repentance is really not following at all. You may even be tempted to be offended by the fact that Trojan, the condom manufacturer, is a corporate sponsor of the film. Christians use condoms too, right?
The surprising science of motivation
While I am not real keen on Daniel Pink’s former life as a speech writer for the inventor of the internet, Al Gore. I do find his case to be an interesting one.
In the Church our motivation for our work should be Christ born out of a continual recognition of the work of salvation, the hope of the resurrection, and the presence of the Holy Spirit during our life of sanctification. I find the case that Daniel makes here translates really well to those of us who follow Jesus because when we find ourselves adrift it may only take a quick look as to what our motivators have been in order to make a course correction.