Sunday 17 February 2013

Blue Like Jazz - The Movie

(UPDATE: Blue Like Jazz is now available for churches to screen.)

Based on the best-selling book, Blue Like Jazz opens in selected Australian cinemas next weekend. I caught an advance screening, and thoroughly recommend it - with 2 exceptions.
1. If you're under 13, it's probably not for you yet. It's rated PG-13 for a reason. (M in Australia)

2. This is not your standard Christian movie. If you're looking for a basic plot of 'person has (G-rated) sinful life, person is evangelised, person's life becomes a bed of roses' - this is not that movie.

However, if you like a movie that's both edgy and realistic, do check this out.

It's the story of Donald, the Texas Baptist-boy who faces a whole new world when he enters college and has to figure out what life and faith are all about. What does he really believe - and what's just the baggage of the 'sub-culture' he came from?

Donald meets some diverse characters and makes a mistake or two along the way - but it's a compelling journey. The trailer is interesting, but the synopsis gave me a better idea of what the movie is about.


It's the kind of movie that a non-Christian can see, but if you choose to see it with your church group, there's a bible study and various discussions guides to help you reflect on the deeper aspects of the movie.

As an added bonus, the website has a $5 coupon - for a discount on the cinema price.

PS. This is the movie that almost didn't get made. For reasons like those i mentioned at the beginning, traditional Christian movie companies turned their back on it. The only reason it became a movie was because thousands of fans of the book chipped in to get the movie made.

Sunday 10 February 2013

Holy Tweets

Unless the Good News is made known also in the digital world, it may be absent in the experience of many people
-Pope Benedict

Pope using an ipad

The Pope practices what he preaches. He made this comment as he launched his own smartphone app. Describing online communication as "increasingly becoming part of the very fabric of society", he is also on twitter in several languanges - one account alone has 1.5 million followers.