Old Fashioned: Not Your Typical Christian Film

I took my lovely fiancee' to go see Old Fashioned at its opening last night. We'd seen the preview months ago and put it on our list. In what was going to be a blatantly Christian movie, we didn't have incredibly high hopes, but were hoping for at least a good story line. As it turns out, we know several people involved in the making of the film, so that added to our desire to see it.

What we saw in the trailers wasn't that encouraging though. A cute female lead (Elizabeth Roberts) seemed to be able to act, but the male lead (Rik Swartzwelder, also the director and writer) seemed pretty awkward on camera. What we were going to experience in the next 2 hours was completely unexpected.


First of all, the characters are a lot more complex than the movie title would have you believe. This isn't a sappy love story about some perfect guy and perfect girl who saved themselves for each other over years while waiting for "the one that God had prepared for them". These characters are real and their lives are messy. Their friend's lives are messy. My favorite part of the characters is that all seem very real, and I can pick out people in my life to easily identify with each of them, myself included.

Make no mistake though, this is a Christian movie. There are a lot of references to the Christian lifestyle and ideas out there that you'll only find in Christian circles. You're going to get some doses of Scripture sprinkled throughout the film as well.

The film gets a PG-13 rating due to some scenes that are adult in nature, but don't go overboard in what is shown. The script was well written to indicate clearly what was going on without forcing you to actually witness some of it. This is not a movie that I would be comfortable with my teenagers seeing with their friends. With me, yes, but only with some intentionally planned time to unpack what happens immediately.


SPOILER ALERT.... SPOILER ALERT.... SPOILER ALERT

Okay, let me tell you some of the specific things that I LOVE about this movie.

First, Rik's acting isn't bad, it's the role and persona of the character he's playing. In my opinion, he nailed it. Clay has some serious **** in his past that he is chained to and it limits him severely. He's been saved and redeemed, but the guilt of what is there is overwhelming for him. So much so that he feels like perfection is what he has to maintain to prove that he's past it. Unintentionally, he projects that expectation on to Amber as well.

Amber is running away from her past and is more of a free spirit that is initially attracted to the unusual personality of Clay. The way that there relationship develops is really sweet and I (who does not like sappy romance movies at all) really enjoyed it. She's got a mess in her past, too. She doesn't really get the who Christianity thing, but she sees there's something different about Clay and that helps her start to dig in to it more. A little more on that in a moment.

These two very different personalities have to battle their inner demons and their friend's views. There is a scene that I am so glad that they included where the day is virtually ruined by "the conversation". If you've got skeleton's in your closet, you know the one I mean. The conversation that is the hardest you'll ever have when you lay out just how messy your past is and hope and pray that the other person doesn't reject you for it.

Both characters are put into situations where temptations from their past are right back in their face. You really don't know what they are going to choose and again, the script writing here is excellent in the way the drama leaves you on the edge of your seat. I won't tell you what happens, but I fought feeling of fear and anger during these scenes... because it was so easy to see myself back there.

Their friends are somewhere between lost and just messed up. You've got a couple with a kid that's been living together for 8 years unmarried. The former frat brother and alleged friend that never really matured from that place in his life. The lady trying to give advice that's been married three times. Even a Miley Cyrus-esque party girl that seems to embody the current societal mindset. All of these are trying to influence Clay and Amber along the way. The only thing they really seemed to stay away from was a homosexual relationship.

Most people that watch this are going to fall in love with Aunt Zella. She's this sweet old lady who's husband died some time ago. She's the only one in the movie that really seems to have her head squarely on her shoulders and she acts as a moral compass for Clay. She also provides some outstanding comic relief. There are several laugh out loud moments throughout the movie.

There is only one very small point of contention that I have with the film. That would be the fact that Clay is, in essence, Evangedating. Dating someone and thinking that they will come to Christ because of your efforts or their love for you typically doesn't work. In fact, the "conversion" that they may come through in not likely to result in a real relationship with Christ. It's much more likely that it's a Pharisaical response. For more on that, please see my former life. In spite of that, the intentionality in which Clay and Amber take the time to actually get to know each other makes the situation more believable, even though it's improbable.

So, the bottom line...

The openly conservative Christian ideas to dating in this movie are going to turn a lot of people off in the first 45 minutes. BUT, the complexity of the characters takes almost the entire film to develop and is completely worth the time investment. This is not the traditional "Christian" film with characters that are too perfect and situations that work out in an unbelievable manner. My future bride and I drove 40 minutes to see Old Fashioned, and it is worth driving twice that far to see it. It's very likely that we'll see it the theater again, and we'll be one of the first in line to buy the DVD when it's released.

Identity Crisis

I was at a get together once with some friends and family. I just kind of stayed on the periphery of the group and tried to make myself useful. Even though I was around people that I know and genuinely like, there was a feeling that I just didn't belong there. It wasn't that there was something morally wrong going on, I just didn't fit in.

I've had the same feeling at church. I sit there at times wondering if I'm really on board with the church's mission or having a desire to engage in the community that we are supposed to serve. Again, that feeling of "maybe I don't belong here" creeps in.

Maybe a lot of that has to do with my past. It's ugly and it's scary. Hearing about it doesn't exactly endear me to many folks. The fear of rejection and a lack of acceptance in the places that you're supposed to be accepted because everyone is can certainly contribute to that.

My beautiful fiancee' and I are in this very weird place where we have the support of our church in our marriage, but actually can't get married at the church due to policy. Hmmm... there's that feeling again. I just don't seem to be cut from the mold of the type of person that fits in.

So where do I go? Where do I sink down roots and really begin to feel like I'm a part of something meaningful?

The short answer: nowhere.

The fact is that I actually don't fit in anywhere. I'm not a triathlete anymore. It's hard to identify myself as a runner or a cyclist compared to where I used to be. I'm can't really identify myself with my job, by the people I hang out with, or even my church... and it's a great place to be!

Why? Because it reminds me that I'm not supposed to fit in here. I am not defined by the church I go to, the sport I enjoy, or the job title I carry. I am defined by the one title that has any real meaning: Child of the One True King.

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Paul gives us a reminder here that when we become Christians, we not only belong to Christ, but that Christ lives in us. How would you define Christ? By His job? His activities? Who He hangs out with? No, the only way He can be defined is as the Son of God. If He truly lives in us, then the title "Child of God" is the only one that now fits us.

Flip the coin and it's no wonder that as Christians we don't always feel like we fit in. An eternal title from our heavenly Father doesn't compare to earthly ones. The two just don't mix. So in the words of Building 429, "Take this world and give me Jesus. This is not where I belong." You and I belong with our Father, and that is the only place that we will finally feel like we fit in.

Relativism, Reflection, and Apologetics

I was in a bookstore just yesterday perusing for some new reading material and came across a most interesting text in the Christian section. It was a book that claimed to have spent years studying the Bible and coming up with Scriptural revelations that allowed for a Christian homosexual marriage to be viewed as a Godly marriage. I didn't actually read it, but as all things that I come across that seem to contradict what I believe, it caused me to ask some questions.

The pressing one at this moment was "Have we reached a place in our society that we are no longer interpreting the Scripture through the lens of the author's intention and context and replacing it with an interpretation that suits our own needs?"

The answer led me to a place that quite frankly, isn't anything even close to new. See, I was looking for something that was theologically sound. A text that I could trust wasn't tainted by the author's intention to sway me to see things his way; rather something that takes Scripture without an end in mind and leads down a logical path to a conclusion that wasn't necessarily forgone.

What I had actually encountered was the idea of relativism. As often as I had heard the term used, I realized that I didn't have the foggiest idea what it actually meant. Thanks to the knowledge and understanding of my beautiful fiancee', plus a little help from several internet sources, I'd like to pass on (briefly) a little bit of what it means when we talk about relativism as well as those that counter it called apologists.

Relativism basically takes the idea that a concept can be true for a single person, and that it's okay for different people to have different truths. In the case of relativism in the church, a lot of it boils down to the idea that what is in the Bible was true in those times, but our times and cultures have changed. Therefore, the truth needs to change to match the times. The inherent problem is that God is unchanging. What was true for His people then is still true for His people now.

Apologetics defend a position much like an attorney defends a client. Using (hopefully) facts, they follow a logical line of thought that comes to a conclusion. For the Christian apologetics, they use this to break apart the relativist's claims that are not Scriptural.

That leads me to, well, me. I questioned what I am actually doing through this blog. While I've been open that I am no theologian, only passing on thoughts and reflections that I have experienced, am I actually falling into the league of relativism? I hope not. I'd like to think that should I follow a line of thought to a conclusion that is in fact flawed, that I would take the Scriptural argument of someone more learned than me and use it to adjust my own perspective. At the very least, I hope that I can remain open minded enough to consider anyone's position and seek Biblical truth and wise counsel in breaking both ideas down.

At the end of the day, I think one of the ways that we become the most dangerous to our enemy is when we look at our beliefs from an open mind. Not one that is willing to entertain anyone's "truth" as fact without regard. But one that considers my own perspective may be (and often is) flawed, but that I am also willing to risk sharing it in an attempt to then look back on what and who God has given us as resources to really find what the truth is.

Chained to the Past

I hate the person I used to be. He stole years from my life and made decisions that have permanent consequences. When I think about the person I was and who I was involved with, it makes me mad. It makes me angry that I could have been that stupid. It infuriates me when I look at the entire situation and begin to think "what if...?" 

Then there's my beautiful fiancee'. She, too, had years stolen from her by sin. It makes me just as angry when I think about what she went through. The fact is, all of us that have been truly rescued have had to deal with the fact that we lost years that could have been spent praising our Lord and living for Him. Many of us carry regrets of things we lost, relationships that were permanently damaged, family that we should have been there for, and much more. 

It's easy to dwell on the past from time to time, or more frequently for that matter. But it's also a lie. Lies got us into the sin that we enjoyed for a time, and lies keep us chained to it once we've been set free. It's just a tool of Satan himself to keep us from sharing God's incredible love story for us. These are the verses that I fall back on time and time again to remind me that what Christ has done for me, for my lovely future bride, and for those that He has redeemed. 

Micah 7:19 - You will again have compassion on us; You will tread on our sins underfoot and hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea.  

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone. Behold, the new has come!

These two verses remind me so much of how Christ has pursued us, redeemed us, and separated us from our sin that I used them when I proposed. For both my Princess and me, they are a constant reminder that we are not who we once were and that we are both seen as righteous, holy, and pure by our Father. That applies for you as well. The next time that you're feeling chained by the sinful grip of your past or you are having trouble seeing past that of those that you love, remember these two promises from Scripture and ask God to help you see again from that perspective. He will be faithful to you in that as He has been in separating you from your sin to begin with.