Author: Jonathan Dodson

No doubt you’ve heard of Little Miss Sunshine, but have you seen it? Should you see it? Well, if dysfunctional families who love each other and are trying to make sense and purpose out of life frighten you, then probably not.

On the other hand, if you appreciate real, earthy characters, and stories pulled from everyday life (well, almost), and road trips, then you’ll want to brighten your day by renting this DVD. Ironically, Little Miss Sunshine is anything but sunny. It’s imperfect characters are shaped by addiction to one thing or another, as are we all. Each character captures an “ism” or philosphy of life: Grandpa is addicted to heroin and sex (hedonism), Uncle Frank academia and a lost love/boyfriend (intellectualism), Dwyane silence and Neitszche (nihilism), Richard/dad motivational speaking (self-helpism), Sheryl/mom cigarettes and being all things to all members of the family (postmodernism), and finally Olive who is a composite character, part niave and part beauty queen (materialism). This motley crew of characters screams the question: Who is the glue or the solution to all these problems? [Feel free to comment]

Through the course of the film everyone’s solution to happiness is exposed for what it is–infinitely short of success. Grandpa’s hedonism leads to an lethal overdose, Richard’s therapeutic, you’re-a-winner-if-you-don’t-quit prospect of publishing crashes, Dwayne’s nihilsm and silence is broken by aviation school hopes dashed, Sheryl can’t keep the family afloat and has a melt down, Frank’s intellectualism and homosexual love is trounced by the second best Proust scholar, and Olive doesn’t win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Every philosophy fails.

At a turning point in the film, Frank calls upon his vast Proustian knowledge to cast light and hope onto Dwayne’s situation–“without the suffering years, the happy times mean nothing.” Suffering makes us better people if we embrace it. Is this the best we can hope for? That the loss of loved ones is really about us becoming better people? That our crushed hopes are really clandestine character builders? Character for what?! If life is just a mix of suffering and the mundane, making life shine a little more brightly I’m not too encouraged!

And what of Olive’s question? Where does Grandpa go when he dies? Is there a heaven? Does just believing in it qualify you for it? No doubt the film raises earthy and perennial questions in a moving and well-acted way. But what of the solutions, the saviors, the desires for happiness everyone is searching for? Are we to throw our hands in the air and just “count our blessings” or is there something more satisfying, more definitive, more lasting that will solve our crushed hopes and self-destroying addictions? Tell me, where can we find a little sunshine that will never stop shining?

In recent months I have been doing some writing (accountability, marriage) for Boundless–a webzine whose aim is to foster “living intentionally with purpose by bringing your gifts, talents and Christian worldview to bear on your whole life.”

Boundless has a blog and a searchable and topical archive of articles that address a host of issues from the Christian worldview such as Abortion, Evolution, War, Politics and Faith, Manliness, Womanhood, Mentoring, and Entertainment. Check it out.

[How do we teach children to handle these times? Saying “I’m sorry” is a reflection of an emotion that one feels inside. If a child truly feels sorrow for doing wrong then saying “I’m sorry” is certainly appropriate. But sometimes children don’t believe they have done anything wrong. Or they believe that the person offended was also wrong and maybe even the instigator.

Of course, even when children believe that they have been treated unfairly, they are still responsible for their part of the problem. A sarcastic answer or a returned punch can’t be excused because the other person started it. To avoid having children say one thing (I’m sorry) while not feeling it in their heart, we encourage children to say, “I was wrong for… Will you forgive me?” This statement doesn’t require an emotion but is an act of the will. A child should take responsibility for an offense whether it was provoked or not.] (This is adapted from a weekly email from Biblical Parenting.)

Is this “biblical parenting”?

When our children don’t “feel” sorry should we just brush it aside because they said they were sorry? Certainly, when emotion isn’t present in repentance and reconcilliation, we should lead with the will. However, this doesn’t make the absence of a penitent heart right. True reconciliation is multi-faceted and includes words, emotions, actions and prayers.

Whenever I have hurt my wife through some stupid, thoughtless act or word, I am often quick to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Husbands should be lead repenters. However, my emotions don’t always follow my will. My wife can tell. I can tell that she doesn’t feel my feelings in the request for forgiveness. Whenever she apologizes to me without a truly penitent heart, I too can sense it and it doesn’t “feel” right. I don’t feel vindicated or thoroughly reconciled with her. What to do?

Perhaps part of the reason this reconciliation is incomplete is because we get the repentance cart before the horse. We seek immediate forgiveness from the offended party (often for the veneer of peace to soothe a troubled conscience) before seeking genuine repentance with God. Commenting on the sin of adultery, Joseph was quick to point out that sin is first and foremost against God (not Potiphar): “He (Potiphar) is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Gen 39.9).

What would it look like to model and nuture God-centered repentance in our families? To pursue thorough reconciliation and true peace? I sometimes try to apply a 10 second repentance rule–before saying anything to my wife I consider how my sin belittled God. Then, after seeking forgiveness from him, I can turn to my wife with a heart of genuine repentance (emotion and will). Perhaps this will foster truly repentant fathers and, by teaching our kids the 10 second repentance rule, we will graciously nuture truly apologetic children.

It’s not infrequent that I get the question, “Why churchplant in Austin? After all, Texas is saturated with churches.” The last place on earth I ever thought I would consider planting a church would be in Texas. However, I have discerned at least six reasons why AUSTIN, texas is a compelling and strategic place to plant a new church: 1) Make Disciples ∙ 2) City Ministry ∙ 3) Strategic Value ∙ 4) Theological Distinctives ∙ 5) Missional Potential ∙ 6) Churchplanting Movement

Make Disciples. First, unlike most of Texas, Austin is predominately un and de-churched, with 80-85% not attending church at all. The percentage of unbelief in the gospel is, no doubt, even higher. Many of the urban churches are mainline denominations that have compromised the gospel of Christ (see below). Therefore, the sheer number of outsiders to the gospel of Christ are reason enough for numerous Christ-centered, missional churchplants. New disciples.

City Ministry. Second, to our knowledge there is not a city centre church to serve the needs of the city or to accommodate the rising population of Austin from an evangelical, church-planting perspective. Although there are many churches located downtown, many of these churches are not evangelical, but are mainline churches that have aggressively embraced pluralism. These churches, along with a couple of evangelical churches, however, have collaborated to meet the social needs of the city. Thus, there is a great need for an evangelical city centre church that seeks the eternal good of Austin. City Transformation.

Strategic Value. Third, the strategic kingdom value of planting in Austin cannot be overestimated. Richard Florida has ranked Austin as number two in the top U. S. cities of the Creative class. The Creative class is comprised of high-tech, bohemian-artists, and the educational elite. It is the strongest economic class in the U.S. in comparison to the working and service classes. Austin reflects this description well: high-tech (Motorola, Dell, AMD), bohemian (Austin City Limits, Blanton Museum, 6th Street), and educational elites (University of Texas, etc.) The contributions of this class are not purely economical, but also foster creativity, tolerance, and education wherever they arise. If this class can be reached with the gospel, their cultural and economical capital make them strategic people to redemptively engage the needs of the city, people who can be agents of ethnic, economical and spiritual reconciliation.

However, the societal contributions of the Creative class are not all positive. Although they possess a tolerant attitude, they are rather unconscious of their negative economic and social impact upon the working and service classes, which frequently affects minorities. In general, this class of people is not aware that they are an economic and social class. They are individualistic and merit-driven, which is what makes them succeed in their work. Moreover, their tolerance often only extends to the religious and ethnic elites, those with whom they work, not the minority poor. Due to their indifference and general lack of interest in contributing to social ills, the income gap arises around the booming creative centers, making them potential agents of social, ethnic and spiritual reconciliation. Redemption of Peoples and Cultures.

Missional Potential. The tolerance and economic potential of the creative class draw immigrants from around the world. From 1990-2000, Austin added 85,907 foreign born people to its population, increasing the previous population by 56%. In addition, there are approximately 115 countries represented at the University of Texas in the 4,500 international students who are enrolled. The nations are flooding this city. The population of Austin is divided between White (70%), Hispanic (30% of any race), Black (7%) and Other (13%) ethnic groups. The international population of Austin is on the rise, making the city a strategic center for missional activity and leadership development for the nations. World Missions Launchpad.

Theological Distinctives. Fourth, apart from the Austin Stone Community Church, I am not aware of a Reformed, Missional, Baptist church in Austin with a vision for the city and beyond. Some suburban churches are doing a fine job planting churches in the burbs, but do not have a significant presence in the city. Others are located close to the UT campus with a vision for reaching the student population, but we have not discovered a Reformed city centre church that seeks to promote a Kuyperian vision—the supremacy of Christ over every square inch of society, that seeks the redemption of peoples and cultures through Christ for the glory of God. Thus, the unique confluence of Reformed theology, Baptist sacrament, and Missional identity make another compelling case for this church plant. Reformed in doctrine. Baptist in sacrament. Missional in nature.

Churchplanting Movement. With the population of Austin doubling by 2025 to upwards of two million, there is a rising need for city centre churches that have a commitment to the supremacy of Christ and the good of the city. God willing, this churchplant will strategically produce a movement of churches planting churches in Texas and beyond, churchesdevoted to the supremacy of Christ and the transformation of communities, cities, peoples and cultures.