In 1992, when the series started, I was just starting to really get into comics. They opened a brand new comic book shop just blocks from our high school and I couldn’t have been more excited. I even remember the very first comic I bought with my own money, rather than one that I begged my mom to buy for me at the grocery store. (It was Wonder Man #15, but I digress.)

As much as I would love to talk about Wonder Man, I want to focus on a different Marvel character: an X-Man I discovered by watching season two of the cartoon series: Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler.

If you know the comics or have even seen the 2003 X-Men film sequel X2: X-Men United, then you have a general idea of not only who but what Nightcrawler is: a furry, blue-skinned man with deformed hands and feet and a prehensile forked tail. Based on appearances alone, it would very easy for anyone to label him a “demon” or at the very least a bad guy. But there’s trait that Kurt has that sets him apart from most of his fellow mutants: he is a devout Christian.

Now, many superheroes in both the Marvel and DC universes could easily be looked at or labeled as Christian. While one could make assumptions about many of them, and while others profess a belief in some form of Christianity, it’s often pretty inconsistent or vague.

Kurt Wagner is special in that he leaves no doubt. He is a strong Christian who has a strong faith.

I could try to go into explicit detail on how Nightcrawler has been a beacon of light in the darkest times of the Marvel Universe, but the guy’s been around for over thirty-five years. Plus, aside from the shear volume of material, I simply don’t know the comics well enough to do that.

I do, however, want to return to my first point: the animated series. The episode was simply titled “Nightcrawler” and was a standalone story that didn’t tie into any previous plot lines (as many episodes in the series often did).  In fact, the premise was very simple: Gambit and Rogue decide to go skiing in Germany, chaperoned by a grumpy-as-usual Wolverine. When Logan hears rumors about a demon in a nearby town, he jumps at the opportunity for adventure and drags along his fellow X-Men.

It’s at a local monastery where they meet Kurt, or Nightcrawler, as he was known to the traveling circus performers who raised him. The rest of Kurt’s backstory plays out in a very Frankenstein-ian fashion as we see torch-wielding mobs comprised of frightened townspeople chasing him and persecuting him. Throughout all of it, though, Kurt harbors no bitterness or anger toward them. In fact, he loves them — a sentiment the skeptical X-Men don’t understand. Despite their doubt, Nightcrawler continues to boldly proclaim his faith throughout the episode, especially to Wolverine.

An inevitable confrontation with this mob (stoked by a particularly hard-hearted member of Nightcrawler’s monastic order) and a fire in the monastery creates the climax of this episode. In the end, though, peace and reconciliation descend upon the town and Nightcrawler is accepted among the townspeople. Even so, Wolverine can’t shake his usual pessimism. He fumes about how the monastery has been burnt down despite their efforts to protect it.

Kurt’s response is astonishing: “[I]t was only stone and mortar. The foundation God has built in our hearts can never be destroyed.”

Sounds like something out of VeggieTales, doesn’t it? And Wolverine’s reply: “Man…I don’t get you.” How true a response to such unswerving faith; it’s something the world has a hard time understanding.

Nightcrawler remains persistent. He gives Logan a Bible with pre-marked passages personally for him. While that could have been the end of the story, we soon see an epilogue: Rogue has been touched by the faith of the monks and, following an argument with Gambit, begins to wander the streets. She stumbles into a church and discovers Wolverine kneeling at an altar.

It’s here that we discover one of the verses Kurt picked out for Wolverine. He reads aloud: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord. For though you were angry with me, your anger turned away and you comforted me. I will trust and will not be afraid.”

After reading these verses from Isaiah 12, Wolverine bows his head in prayer, and Rogue leaves the church with a tear running down her face.

Nightcrawler’s mutant ability may be teleportation, but his true power is his faith — a faith in Jesus Christ, lived boldly and without compromise or apology, visible for all to see.

The movie is based on the book The Borrowers by English author Mary Norton, and revolves around a small species of people who stand little more than four inches tall and their encounters with their larger human counterparts. And because this is a British-based book, the United Kingdom will be getting their own version with their own dubbing. Here’s their trailer:

Two separate dubs in the same language isn’t unheard of in film: Quebec and France occasionally get different French dubs, as do Portugal and Brazil for Portuguese. But with this story’s distinct British origins (enough so that a live action film is coming out on British television this Christmas), it’s rather expected that they’d want to hear this story with their own take on the dialogue.

This is the first time in the director’s chair for Hiromasa Yonebayashi, a young man who has worked with Ghibli projects that include animation on Spirited Away and Ponyo. Getting some young blood into the world of Ghibli is something of an important move for the company: co-founder (and face of the company) Hayao Miyazaki is now in his 70s, and the less active Isao Takahata is 76. The two of them are responsible for fifteen of the studio’s twenty-one feature films.

The Secret World of Arrietty is coming out in North America is February 17, although it’s been out in the UK (who incidentally have a far more interesting website for the movie than Disney does for the US) since July 29 and will be out on disc there in early January.

Hilarity prevails as Kevin enjoys being the man of the house and has fun planning surprises for the burglars as well as the pizza delivery boy.

Though there are a number of characters in the story, we really only see development in a few of them. The one that makes for the best connection to faith is Old Man Marley. While Kevin’s older brother Buzz instills a rumor into Kevin’s head about Old Man Marley (that he’s a murderer and turns his victims into mummies), Kevin eventually meets Old Man Marley face to face in what seems at the time to be a rather unlikely place: church. Kevin comes to understand Mr. Marley a bit better as he assures him saying, “You can say hello when you see me, you don’t have to be afraid.”

After a brief conversation about Kevin being a good boy or not, Marley observes, “This is the place to be if you’re feeling bad about yourself.” This commentary on church is rather wise in my opinion. Where else could possibly be a better place to go when you are feeling bad about yourself? Attending a church service, surrounded by fellow believers, hearing the word and promises of God is certainly a place where one can go from feeling bad to encountering joy. Church is certainly a place where we can hear of God’s forgiveness and love. Hearing those things can remove guilt and instill joy like nothing else.

But that is not Marley’s only worthwhile observation about church in his conversation with Kevin. He also says, “You’re always welcome at church.” I think the real question is if you are always welcome at church, who are you welcomed by? If Mr. Marley means you are always welcome at church by God, then I think he is, of course, correct.

If Mr. Marley means you are always welcome at church by the congregation, well, if only it were true in every church throughout the world. After living abroad for a few years, I’ve come to observe that Americans, in general, simply aren’t that good at hospitality. Many of us don’t know how to properly welcome strangers and make them feel comfortable in our homes, at work, or in our places of worship.

But I think churches can do better. How? Strategies can be made and critiqued, but I don’t think anybody will figure out how to properly welcome anybody until they truly desire to build deep relationships with new people. Until that truth is a part of a person’s life, they cannot properly welcome anyone in any way.

An interesting reality is that Mr. Marley doesn’t stop in his observation about church. The fuller quote is, “You’re always welcome at church. I’m not welcome with my son.”

After years of not speaking with his son, Mr. Marley is feeling some serious guilt and regret. Not only that, he knows he is not welcome, even with his own son. Families are complicated. I hope your family doesn’t have anybody who is estranged from anyone else. I pray any brokenness your family is experiencing can be reconciled soon. How applicable is it that while Mr. Marley is estranged from his son, the only way our estrangement from God can be reconciled is through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the infant born in Bethlehem. God accepts separation from His beloved Son, so that through Him, we might be no longer separated from Him.

That’s what Christmas is about: God intersecting this world with compassion for our sakes.

Kevin does a pretty great job of encouraging Mr. Marley to overcome his fears and to try to speak with his son and mend the brokenness that continues to exist.

Kevin is clearly a smart kid in more ways than just home security.

The other character in whom we see some development is Kevin’s mother. Whenever I watch Home Alone, I can’t help but think that she really is a terrible parent. She encourages Kevin to wish for a new family, she forgets him (as does everybody else), she fails to properly communicate with the police about the situation. She doesn’t think to rent a car herself and instead rides in a van with a crazy polka band. I’m just not a giant fan of Kevin’s mom.

Her one redeeming line is when she yells at the ticket agent in Scranton, “This is Christmas! The season of perpetual hope!” Kevin’s mom does find hope. She finds her way back home and finds Kevin largely unharmed. But she’s right; Christmas is the season of perpetual hope. For many kids, the hope is that they’ll get the toys they want. For many adults…it’s the same hope, actually. But I think the true hope of the Christmas season is that no matter what goes wrong, no matter how crazy the family gatherings are, Jesus Christ still comes to us on Christmas. The angels still sing. The shepherds still worship. The wise men still come and bring gifts. And the earthly life of our Savior begins.

A lot can go wrong at Christmas, but one thing went right in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago that reminds us that we have a loving God in whom we can place our hope and our joy!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Faith & Geekery!

A Christmas Carol, of course, focuses on the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly man who spent too much of his adulthood being lonely and selfish. Over the years, his cruelty towards his family and neighbors had only gotten worse.

While perhaps you know his journey, I’d first like to focus on how Scrooge came to be so unkind and stingy. I think the answer lies in his isolation. As he removes himself from the community, having only colleagues and employees, but never more, Ebenezer Scrooge is devoid of something that gives joy to us all: friendship. His loneliness started early; as a boy, he liked solitude. He reveled in it. And eventually, it warped him.

Scrooge’s plight can be a reminder to us just how important it is to treasure our friendships, our family, and the time we spend with them. While spending time alone can be helpful to many of us, it is not a wise lifestyle choice. God gives us friends and family and we should feel no guilt in taking full advantage of the time we have with them.

The first supernatural visit Scrooge receives is from his old business partner – partners in the Muppet version – the Marleys. Their appearing serves as a warning to Scrooge. He sees them in chains and shackles and they make it very clear that the same chains await Scrooge after his death.

Wishing to hear any other possibility, Scrooge pleads, “Speak comfort to me, friends.” It’s interesting to me how Scrooge, after so little of a warning, is looking for comfort. To me it speaks to how truly deep his desire was for something different than the lonely life he had chosen.

In some Christian circles, this is called the Law and the Gospel. As Scrooge hears the warning of chains and shackles from the Marley brothers, he hears the Law, the reality of how sin has infected his life. The Law tells him that he has fallen short of what he ought to do and his response is only natural. He wants comfort.

We don’t see much of Scrooge’s faith in this Muppetized telling. He prays on Christmas morning and speaks of having a grateful heart, but we don’t get many details. I think he is overcome by seeing the effects of his cruelty and is in desperate desire of forgiveness. I believe he yearns for the Gospel, the good news that there is forgiveness in Jesus.

The Ghost of Christmas Past comes soon after the Marley Brothers, showing Scrooge how he pushed away friends, how he fell in love, and how he lost that love interest. More Law. It brings Scrooge to regret and a desire to see no more. But the Ghost of Christmas Past has no good news for Scrooge.

He then meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, whose jovial attitude is fantastic. He asks Scrooge, “Have you ever noticed that everything seems wonderful at Christmas?”

Scrooge answers with the truth: “In all honesty, Spirit, no. Perhaps I’ve never understood about Christmas.” It’s amazing how Scrooge is already showing signs of change. He’s open to the possibility that he has spent more than fifty years refusing to see the good of Christmas. After fifty years of believing something, most of us wouldn’t be too open-minded about changing our viewpoint. But that’s where Scrooge is, showing his desire for a different life.

The Ghost of Christmas Present, especially in the Muppet version, exemplifies how Christmas joy is simply infectious. In his song, the Ghost of Christmas Present’s singing even makes Scrooge himself dance in the street with joy. Scrooge is finally starting to get the wonder of Christmas.

Scrooge then sees people, including his own family, who are not pleased with him, having a laugh at his expense. He sees the Cratchit family enjoying a meager feast and while some decry Scrooge for his stingy ways, Bob and Tiny Tim still find joy in Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast.

Scrooge’s changed heart is apparent as he worries about the health of Tiny Tim, wondering if he will live. The Ghost of Christmas Present wanes and the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come appears. His news is perhaps worst of all. He shows Scrooge people who are rejoicing in Scrooge’s own death. He shows him that Tiny Tim will die. And Scrooge begs to know if things can be changed or not, if what he is seeing is what will be or what may be.

As Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning, he is changed. The opportunity given to move forward and change what may be rejuvenates him to be generous and charitable. He approaches two men who had asked him for a donation to charity the day before (Bunsen and Beaker) and offers an undisclosed amount for their charity.

Then, a really interesting thing happens, Beaker gives Scrooge the scarf from around his neck. And Scrooge takes the gift from Beaker. He doesn’t refuse it. He accepts it. I think this is an important lesson for us. Refusing gifts is looked at as polite in some cultures (and looked at as extremely rude in other cultures).

However, I think as followers of Jesus, we should be in the practice of always accepting gifts. I am not exactly sure why I feel that way, but I think in part it is because Jesus himself accepted gifts. Not only as a baby (not that infants can refuse gifts), but many years later Jesus also accepts the gift from the prostitute who pours perfume and her own tears on his feet, then dries him with her hair.

When Jesus gave the gift of washing the disciples’ feet, Peter tried to refuse and Jesus rebuked him, making sure he understood the importance of accepting what Jesus was giving.

Jesus gives us far more than a foot washing. At Christmas, Jesus gives us himself in the form of an infant. Throughout his ministry, Jesus gives us God’s word and many miracles. At Easter, Jesus gives us himself in the form of sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. We receive this grace and forgiveness as a gift and to not accept is foolish.

Scrooge eventually continues on his way, surrounded by loved ones that he has refused to love for far too long. He provides them with a feast and his generosity continues to abound. While he never hears the specific word of the Gospel, Scrooge is changed; he is a new creation.

As followers of Jesus, I think we can learn a lot from Scrooge’s journey. Are you lonely, isolated, or feel rather like saying “humbug”? Are you regretting the past, afraid to face the wrongs you’ve done or failed to do? Are you desiring happiness, but finding it difficult to love neighbors who think poorly of you? Are you rejoicing with exceeding great joy at the reality of Christmas?

Wherever you are on the journey, know that Jesus is with you and joy awaits at the end. Joy comes as Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Joy comes as Jesus rises from the tomb Easter Sunday. Joy is here.

Feel free to infect others with it.

Elf is a heartwarming story with good, old-fashioned, clean (yet ridiculous) humor. Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) is a human living with elves at the North Pole and despite the fact that he is 6-foot-3 and has had a beard since he was fifteen, Buddy doesn’t know that he is human. He thinks he is an elf.

Buddy has some difficulties being a human in an elf’s world. He can’t make toys nearly as fast as the real elves and feels like he doesn’t belong. After eavesdropping on a conversation, he overhears that he is a human. His adoptive father (Papa Elf) explains how he came to be at the North Pole and shares with him information about his real father.

Buddy is all ready to set off on a journey to New York City when he learns some stunning information about his father: he’s on the naughty list.

Hilarity ensues as Buddy meets his father, deals with the difficulty of New York City, and eventually saves Christmas.

The movie connects to points of faith in a number of different ways and the “Code of the Elves” is a good place to start. Knowing the true meaning of Christmas makes this code even more valuable.

1. Treat every day like Christmas

Jesus coming to earth as a human changed everything about the world. God’s action of sending Jesus showcases the fact that God loves us and has not abandoned us. We can rejoice that we have such a God and we can treat every day like Christmas because nothing can take away the reality that Jesus came to save us.

2. There’s room for everyone on the nice list.

A lot of people have trouble with the concept of the naughty and nice list as they relate to faith, and I get that. Let me be clear: the Book of Life and Santa’s Nice List are not the same. For starters, one is real…one is not. Also having one’s name written in the Book of Life is not a matter of how nice you are.

I think what is important to remember is that when it comes to heaven, there are not a limited number of reservations. It is not as though having faith is a competition and we must be more faithful than others or do more good things than others in order to get to heaven. Jesus didn’t say that heaven was only for the worthiest billion people. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” That’s how the second saying in the Code of the Elves connects to faith, in my opinion.

3. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

Real Christmas cheer, the cheer that exists at the very thought of Jesus coming to earth, is infectious and should be spread. While some may argue as to whether singing is the best way, singing is certainly a good way to spread Christmas cheer as Christmas songs about Jesus and His birth are not hard to find. Of course speaking, writing, and other forms of sharing Christmas cheer work pretty well too. The point is that spreading Christmas cheer is important.

Buddy also shares this piece of the code with Jovie, his love interest. She informs him, “I don’t sing.” And “I can sing, but I just choose not to sing. Especially in front of other people.”

Choosing not to spread Christmas cheer is a bad choice. But Jovie overcomes her fears and uses Buddy’s advice to help spread Christmas cheer when it is most needed.

And the Code of the Elves is not the only place where we see a connection to faith and life. We see it in the journey Buddy takes. Before he learns his isn’t actually an elf, he feels as though he is not a very gifted toy maker. (He is only able to hand-make 85 Etch-a-Sketches in one day while all the other elves can make 1000 in one day.) He feels like he doesn’t belong at the North Pole. After learning his history and setting out to find his biological father, Buddy realizes he doesn’t fit in very well in New York City either. Elves think he is too human; humans think he is too elvish.

But after Santa’s sleigh crashes in Central Park, he needs an elf’s help and he shares with Buddy a great affirmation: “Buddy you’re more of an elf than anyone I ever met.”

With the help of Buddy and his family and friends spreading Christmas cheer, Santa’s sleigh regains flight and Christmas is saved.

Buddy’s journey is actually similar to George Bailey’s from It’s a Wonderful Life. Buddy is able to bring joy into people’s lives simply by being who he is. And the joy he gives overwhelms their hearts so that they seek to spread the joy as well. The biggest difference between George Bailey and Buddy the Elf is that Buddy is able to spread his joy even with the most miserly character — his own father — while  George Bailey fails to spread joy to Mr. Potter.

Buddy’s biological father, Walter, has an interesting journey as well. At first glance we see Walter, who works at a children’s publishing company, informing a nun that she has missed her payments and will be losing the books she hasn’t paid for. He shows no remorse whatsoever. Walter’s younger son Michael sums up Walter’s philosophy well when he says to Buddy, “All he cares about is money.”

Initially, Buddy being in Walter’s life causes nothing but stress and awkwardness. After Buddy ruins a potential book deal, Walter yells at him and tells him to get out of his life. After that encounter, we see Walter with perhaps the slightest bit of guilt. But Buddy runs away and Michael confronts Walter with the bald truth, saying, “Figure what out? Buddy cares about everybody. All you care about is yourself.”  This convicts Walter to finally do the right thing and start caring about the right things. He abandons a meeting (getting fired in the process) to help his family. Walter’s journey from the Naughty List to the Nice is completed with confession and an apology to Buddy, and a hug of absolution. And Christmas joy reigns supreme as Walter even joins in spreading Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear.

The other line that I love in this movie is from Buddy to Jovie, “But Santa’s coming, there’s so much to do.” Preparations for Christmas have become a very big deal and the focus of what we are preparing for and why don’t always retain integrity. When Buddy hears that Santa is coming, he shouts, “Santa!”  and “I know him! I know him!”

If Buddy can get that excited about Santa coming, surely the celebration of the coming of Jesus deserves even more excitement from us. Preparing in joy for Jesus coming is something we all can do.

In the end, Elf is not a movie about Jesus, but it is a movie about love, joy, family, community, and spreading Christmas cheer — all things that Jesus cared deeply about. As we approach the celebration of Christmas, let us bask in the joy that comes with knowing Jesus.

I think It’s a Wonderful Life highlights three really solid concepts that relate to our daily walk of faith.

1. Life is precious.
2. God’s plans are good.
3. Relationships are important (especially in ministry).

The story of It’s a Wonderful Life focuses on a man named George Bailey (played by James Stewart) who has led a self-sacrificial life serving others, constantly letting his own dreams and ambitions take a back seat.

Despite a good life in which George helps a lot of people, marries a great wife, has four kids and a good job at his father’s old place of business, George despairs for his life after his uncle misplaces a large sum of their business’s money. Fearing ruin, shame, and prison, George contemplates suicide and a guardian angel named Clarence is sent to convince him otherwise, which brings us to our first point.

1. Life is precious.

While this movie has some ideas about angels that I don’t agree with, it presents a concept about life that truly makes one think about the value of every person’s life. As George despairs and wishes he had never been born, Clarence obliges him and shows him a world where George Bailey had never been born.

As George becomes overwhelmed by the terribleness of what would have been, Clarence says this line, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

I think that is a great reminder of how precious life is, of how important your own life is and how important the lives of others are as well.  God knows what He is doing and the life he gives us is a gift that we should not despair of. This brings us to our second point.

2. God’s plans are good.

As George Bailey’s history unfolds, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. From a very young age we can see that he’s a big dreamer, but he’s also a selfless person that can’t help but put others before himself. He saves his brother’s life as a kid, rendering him deaf in one ear. He stops his boss at the drug store from poisoning a patient. Right when his dreams are about to come true and he’s about to go to Europe and then college, getting out of Bedford Falls (what George calls a crummy old town), his father dies of a stroke.

Then George stands up to the town miser, Mr. Potter, when Potter tries to dissolve George’s father’s business. The result of his heroics lands him in his father’s position, running a business he doesn’t want to in a town he hates. Despite saving his money for college, George stays and gives his college money to his brother.

George waits four years for his brother to finish college and take over the business so George can finally get away and what happens? His brother comes back married and with a different job lined up. George remained stuck.

George seemed to have everything figured out and time and time again, what he had planned didn’t work. It continued as he ended up getting married, despite saying he never wanted to. I’ve often heard it said that if you want to make God laugh tell him your plans. Well, George Bailey certainly made God laugh with some frequency if that’s the case because God always had a different plan.

Even after getting married, George is ready to go on his honeymoon when disaster strikes as there is a run on the banks, meaning panicky people want their money and they want it now. George is faced with giving up his honeymoon and all the money he had saved for it or losing his business. He gives up the honeymoon and his dream of escape seems all but gone.

Until one day, the dreaded Mr. Potter himself comes forward and offers George a job at nearly ten times his current salary.

I believe it is in this moment that we see George Bailey’s true character. He has always been an ambitious dreamer and a selfless, caring individual and as he refuses Potter’s offer, the selfless man defeats the dreamer and life goes on for George as it had before, until disaster strikes and his uncle misplaces $8,000.

The way George acts after that money has been lost is dreadful. It is the way we are tempted to act sometimes as well. George certainly knows that he has sacrificed much for others and here, after all his sacrifice, he may very well be thrown in jail anyway, despite not doing anything wrong.

But in the end, after Clarence the Angel Second-Class succeeds, George Bailey is met with a shocking kindness from his friends and neighbors as they rally to make sure George doesn’t go to jail. In a way, George is paid back for all his kindness. Which leads us to our final point.

3. Relationships are important (especially in ministry).

George doesn’t build the relationships he does because he wants to cash in favors some day. He provides the people of Bedford Falls with a service that they need, loans for houses and the houses themselves. He saves the town from crawling to Mr. Potter and they repay him when he is in need. George gives to them out of selflessness and they give back to him out of selflessness as well. There is no coercion or guilt. It’s simply grace.

My favorite line from this movie occurs at the very beginning. Before Clarence is sent to help George, he is given the following advice: “If you’re going to help a man, you want know something about him, don’t you?”

There isn’t a much better line out there for how to do ministry in today’s world. When you build a relationship with somebody, when you learn about them, you understand more about what they need to survive and to thrive. If they aren’t followers of Jesus, you may learn why not. You may learn about an experience that drove them away from God. You may learn enough to understand which stories of Jesus will best help them in their struggles.

Sure, people can be helped without a relational element, but relationships will always strengthen the power, effect, and reach of any help given.

Clarence’s final words to George are also an indicator of the importance of relationships as Clarence writes, “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”

While we may struggle with a variety of things in life, our relationships with friends seem mysteriously capable of softening the difficulties we face. And our friendship with Jesus does more than soften the difficulties. Through Jesus we look forward to a day when struggle, pain, and difficulty are completely removed and nothing gets in the way of our rejoicing.

This is a worthwhile reminder, but not if our attitude doesn’t change from anxious and overwhelmed to joyful and filled with awe at the reality that is Christmas.

Some people have grown to hate Christmas because they see it as materialistic and secularized. I’ve already seen dozens of pointed comments about “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays” and other related topics.

I understand those concerns and I sympathize with that plight, but my Christmas spirit will not be brought down by materialism, secularization, or Facebook updates bewailing the use of “Happy Holidays.”

I love Christmas and I will continue to light up with joy at the thought that Jesus came to earth as an infant. And I will smile when people wish me Happy Holidays because all that the word “holiday” truly means is “holy day” and if Christmas isn’t a holy day, well then what day is?

If you want people to understand the true meaning of Christmas, don’t bemoan what Christmas has become to so many; instead, rejoice in what Christmas is!

Christmas is awesome. It is a time for singing, gift-giving, gift-receiving, family, friends, music making, the Christmas story as told by Luke or Matthew, egg nog, Christmas trees, lights, tinsel, and my favorite Christmas tradition of all: Christmas movies.

When I lived in the United States, I had a more systematic approach to which movies to watch and when leading up to Christmas. I generally started with Planes, Trains and Automobiles since it’s more of a Thanksgiving/general winter movie. I also had Grumpy Old Men early in the rotation for the same reason.

When Christmas was two weeks away, I just gave up on the system and watched whatever I could. While every family has their own selection of classics, my family was big on the following…in no particular order: Elf, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone (1, 2, and 3, but not 4 — it’s not good). If we’re feeling sappy, It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas, but they don’t necessarily make the cut every year.  And generally our family gathering movie was the claymation Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. My wife and I also tend to find the days following Christmas to be a good time for a Lord of the Rings marathon. Feel free to cry “blasphemy!” at any omissions. Like I said, that’s just my family.

If you are the type of person who hates what Christmas has become, perhaps you also dislike the movies I mentioned. Perhaps you think them wishy-washy and full of secularized “it’s all about me being nice” nonsense.

Allow me to help brighten your Christmas season this year. Over the next few weeks, as we approach Christmas, I’d like to share the joy I find in Christmas movies — the connections I see to Jesus in these movies that are seemingly unconnected to faith. So please stay tuned for those.

Why? I guess in the end I just can’t stand the thought of people who understand Christmas being less happy about Christmas than those who really don’t get that it’s about Jesus and God’s awesomeness. If  you know the true meaning of Christmas, rejoicing is the only natural response. Think about the angels who tell the shepherds. A multitude of them break into song because they are overcome with joy at Christ’s entering our world in the form of a child.

If you want others to know the true meaning of Christmas, complaining isn’t going to help your cause. Rejoicing will. Rejoicing is infectious.

I am going to rejoice this Christmas season and I hope you’ll rejoice with me.

Now there have probably been people on earth who fit this description, but other than Jesus, people could make arguments for or against lots of people. I’m personally more interested in events that are “ta’veren”. Events that change the course of one’s life. We probably all notice big events such as the birth or death of a loved one, marriage, or moving to a new place, but I love looking at tiny events that at the time seemed largely insignificant that have since grown to be life-altering.

Such a “ta’veren” event occurred for me five years ago and Seinfeld was at the center of it, but I didn’t have a name for it until I started reading the Wheel of Time series.

I didn’t grow up watching Seinfeld, but I remember watching the final episode when I was in high school, knowing it was of some historic significance. I didn’t realize then the impact that Seinfeld would have on the rest of my life.

When I arrived at college, I became friends with a Seinfeld fanatic. This was before the DVDs had come out, and through his friendship I watched no fewer than four episodes a day in syndication for a few months.

I grew to love the show. I bought all of the seasons on DVD as soon as they were released and I watched every minute. After college, as I was working in campus ministry at a university while my friend remained a student, I had an idea that forever changed my life and my ministry. It was a “ta’veren” idea.

At the university, we had morning chapel five days a week and my idea was to bring Seinfeld to chapel. I had spoken in chapel a few times before I had this idea, but I had never been so nervous in my entire life as the time leading up to Seinfeld Chapel. I told a few people about it and the word spread like wildfire throughout the campus.

At the time, we didn’t have a projector or screen in the chapel, so I recruited three friends to help me in acting out the scene I had chosen, which involved the following clip.

While people loved the idea, what people couldn’t get over was that my friend Matt, who agreed to play George, volunteered to cut his hair into a horseshoe pattern and dye it. I can’t say he looked very much like George, but the laughs took forever to calm down once he walked onto the stage. Matt also voluntarily took two large bites of onion on stage, tapping into his inner Costanza.

To connect the message to Jesus, I contrasted George’s inconsistency with God’s never-changing constancy. We also sang the song Nothin’ in honor of Seinfeld – the show about nothing (though I don’t think very many people understood that was the entire reason we chose that song).

I was very nervous throughout the entire twenty minutes of chapel. It wasn’t until the president of the university shook my hand and said, “Well done,” that I realized it had truly gone well and I wouldn’t be labeled a heretic.

It was just one small idea that led to that chapel, which led to a few dozen others in the same vein. This led to a Bible study utilizing concepts from Firefly, which led to me beginning to write a book about that Bible study, which led me to write for Faith & Geekery.

And it doesn’t stop there. That one idea will continue to inform and influence my ideas on ministry, culture, and life. “Ta’veren” indeed.

What “ta’veren” moments have you had in your life? Are you watching for God to work through the small moments that might otherwise seem insignificant?

I grew up in the church, and my cousins and friends who did the same all went out as well. We dressed up for public school, where the Sunday School teachers and church elders taught and smiled at our silly costumes. (I went as Orko one year and Garfield another. There may or may not be photographic evidence.)

This was pretty much the way it went for years. Kids dressed up, ran around town, and sometimes got together afterward to play games. The only worry for us in the mid-80s was the scare of checking for razors or needles in our candy — we never thought about scary things like the occult or Satanism. Even our church (a fairly conservative one) let the kids sing a song about Halloween at one of the concerts; I believe it had to do with God seeing through our masks to love us as we were or something like that.

So the whole “should kids go out on Halloween?” question was never an issue in our house. When I was in junior high I discovered the now-discredited Mike Warnke and all of the anti-Halloween media that came along with him. It was really my first hint that people equated all of those silly costumes and kids yelling “Boo!” when you opened the door with evil. And I’m still there; I want kids to have a perfectly good reason to run around the neighborhood and ask for candy.

While this holiday is controversial, it wouldn’t hurt to get a good view of the history of Halloween. There are ways for the discerning believer to be involved and have fun — and even shine a light. For example, Jeffrey Overstreet has a very interesting — and balanced — perspective on the purpose of “horror” for us as Christian that you may want to check out.

Yes, some groups have co-opted Halloween for their own ends, and there is a lot that goes along with Halloween that you should want to avoid. But that’s not unique to Halloween; for example, Valentines Day has been taken over by those selling promiscuity and Christmas has been taken over by those selling consumerism, so there are aspects and excesses of every holiday that we here wouldn’t endorse, either.

With that in mind, here’s a list of what I think are some good dos and don’ts for Halloween. If you take the kids to the neighbors to trick-or-treat or take them up to the church to have a party — both are fine. But take heed nonetheless:

• Do Let your kids play dress up for one day. If you want to curb the blood and guts, that’s completely understandable. If you’re worried about skimpy outfits seemingly designed for little girls, I’m with you there. Still, there are thousands of other possibilities.
• Don’t make your kids dress up as their favorite church reformer for Reformation Day. In Protestant circles (specifically those in both the Lutheran and Calvinist backgrounds), it’s become fashionable to rebrand October 31st as a day to get all the family and kids together to commemorate the start of the Christian Reformation. While it might be a good church history lesson, that’s not exactly something that may translate as “fun” for children. The daughter probably doesn’t want to be “Martin Luther’s wife” again this year (female reformers are scarce), and your poor son can’t even pronounce Huldrych Zwingli. Besides, this could get a little gory: many reformers were burned at the stake, provided they weren’t beheaded first.
• Do have candy ready for the kids. If you’re sensitive to the diabetic kids or worried about all that sugar, find some alternatives like pretzels or Play-Dough.
• Don’t hand out tracts or answer the door just to tell kids you don’t celebrate Halloween. John Fischer has a great essay about being a light to the neighborhood by simply handing out candy and enjoying the festivities.
• Do watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. If you want something a little different and historical, listen to the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast, which aired the night before Halloween in 1938 and caused enough panic that Orson Welles famously went on the air at the end of the broadcast to chastise the audience.
• Don’t go out trick or treating if you are over 13. If you are in college or older, expect to say the line “I got a rock” more than once.
• Do take the kids to a church-sponsored event that has games, candy, and other little kids running around in costumes — if this event is incredibly fun and aimed at giving the kids a memorable night as opposed to keeping them away from “worldly” influences. Let them have fun for the sake of having fun, just like their friends at school or next door are.
• Don’t sponsor a “Hell House” or something similar. Total absence from God’s grace probably shouldn’t be considered a form of entertainment.
• Do dress your kids up, and do take a lot of pictures for future humiliation at graduation or weddings.
• Don’t dress up your dog for Halloween. Really. They don’t understand it, and cannot be blamed for leaving a “treat” on the couch later on.

Imagine where geeks would be if this club had never been started: no Lord of the Rings, no Chronicles of Narnia.

The complaint of Lewis and Tolkien still exists in the geeks of today. We can’t always find the books we want to read.

Fellow geeks, meet brother in Christ and brother in geekery Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press.

Jeff started Marcher Lord Press after coming to a similar realization as that of Tolkien and Lewis. His solution was to publish the books he wanted to read — a more efficient system, in my opinion.

Marcher Lord Press publishes Christian speculative fiction. What’s that? Science fiction, fantasy, superhero, supernatural, dystopian and more. It’s geeky stuff all done from a Christian worldview, a natural ally of Faith & Geekery.

Jeff agreed to answer a few questions about Marcher Lord Press that will hopefully whet your appetite and lead you to some good books.

FG: What makes Marcher Lord Press unique or peculiar?

JG: We bill ourselves as the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction. I chose that phrasing intentionally to stake out my territory. MLP was pretty much the first kid on the block to do nothing but Christian SF, fantasy, and other speculative subgenres. So we were premier in the sense of first. Now we’re no longer the only game in town, as I anticipated. But if you look at our trophy case and the major awards we’ve won and continue to win in our category, I think we can still make the claim that we’re the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction in the other sense of the word, as well.

FG: What kind of readers enjoy your books?

JG: The most awesome kind of people, of course! I like to describe our readership as “Christians who shop at ThinkGeek.com” or “Christians who would love to go to Comic-CON.” That’s our core demographic: the Christian geek. The Christian fan of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Avengers, and Big Bang Theory.

But there is a larger demographic out there of people who would love our books and are only now discovering us. These are the Ted Dekker fans, the Christian readers who know they love Ted’s books but haven’t realized there are other books out there by other Christian authors that they would enjoy just as much.

Many novelists, myself included, began writing fiction because we said, “Shoot, no one is writing the kind of novel I want to read. I guess I’ll have to write it myself!” Marcher Lord Press started out in a similar way. I said, “Shoot, no one is publishing the kind of novels I want to read. I guess I’ll have to publish them myself.”

So I started out to publish Christian fiction for people like me: adult Christian geeks. Over the years, though, I’ve found that many of our readers are younger, in their teens. So we’ve decided to begin publishing YA novels as well. Our first launch into YA will be this coming April with the release of Failstate, a novel about a superhero reality TV show, by John Otte.

FG: What advice can you give for aspiring authors of Christian speculative fiction?

JG: Learn how to write great fiction. If you’re already writing in these genres, then I don’t have to tell you to go out and learn about them. The vast majority of Christian speculative fiction authors I’ve met are people who already love and know quite a bit about the genre. What they lack is the basic fiction craftsmanship that applies to any genre.

Whether you’re writing a bonnet and buggy romance about Jedidiah and Rachel in Pennsylvania or a vampire thriller on Mars, you still have to understand POV, show vs. tell, and how to write great dialogue.

I’ve written three books on how to write better fiction, so consider availing yourself of one or more of them. The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction, Plot Versus Character, and The First 50 Pages. I also have set up www.FictionAcademy.com and the writers helps links at www.WhereTheMapEnds.com to provide tips for novelists. And I teach at writers conferences across North America every year. I’m doing my bit to help novelists improve.

Also, know that traditional Christian publishing houses are not usually interested in speculative fiction. Some are trying some YA speculative, and I hope they succeed. But most will not want your fantasy or SF. So consider the small presses, the micro-presses, and the niche publishers. And don’t rule out self-publishing. It is very often the way to go in this publishing revolution in which we find ourselves.

FG: What is on the horizon for Marcher Lord Press?

JG: More of what we’ve seen now, I hope and pray: more great Christian speculative fiction, more awards, and a growing reader base. Word is getting out that there’s a serious player in the game now, and we’re enjoying all the benefits that come with word of mouth marketing.

We’ll be exploring new areas of publishing in this space: the YA books I mentioned (and many others that I didn’t mention), superhero fiction, and hopefully steampunk, urban fantasy/vampire, alternate history, and more, plus the core fantasy and SF books we love so much. And we’ll still be bringing the best bonus editions of the classics in our genre.

Because I still want to read this kind of fiction, so I guess I’ll need to keep publishing it!

Jeff and Marcher Lord Press have just published their October 2011 new releases and they are available.