• Movie
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• Evangelism
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• Outreach
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• Video
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• Review

Movies: hidden spiritual meanings, parables and parallels in film stories point up Christian truth
Writer Leslie Hand comments: “MovieGlimpse was the suggestion of several different people who were always asking me to ‘interpret’ the movies. Several years ago the Lord began giving me interpretations of different movies. I believe that He is using the ‘common language’ of today which is the language of film, as a vehicle for His message. Just as He gave the dreams to Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, I think He is using men such as Steven Spielberg in a similar way. I believe the church is missing it by not being an interpreter such as a Daniel or a Joseph. I have just finished writing about Chocolat. I must stress that I don’t sit and try and think these up. I can tell if the Lord is showing me something in a movie and I believe the insights come from Him.
http://internetevangelismday.com/glimpse.php

David Bruce - web evangelist with HollywoodJesus.com
In 1997 Billy Graham challenged Christians to use the Internet for good. I took the challenge seriously even though I had never been on the Internet. With a background in media (NBC), pastoring (M.Div), and being a missionary at heart, I went to the nearest Barnes & Noble bookshop, where I picked up some books on website graphics and design. Then, with cross-cultural missiologist Don Richardson’s Eternity in Their Hearts serving as inspiration, I set to work creating a vehicle whereby I could use the culture to win the culture. Thus, Hollywood Jesus was born.
http://internetevangelismday.com/evangelists7.php

Projecting videos in a church service - give viewers a time frame
Stewart Redwine writes in Christian Video Magazine about an issue with short films being projected in a church meeting. “The problem with short films shown in a Church service is simply this; no one knows when the video will end.” They know that TV ads last 30 seconds, music videos 3-6 minutes, and TV programs 30 minutes. They have no frame of reference for engaging with a video short, unless we give them help.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/799

Group dynamics and crowd behavior is often scary
The way that people behave differently in a group, and participate in a self-reinforcing bandwagon effect, is rather scary. The famous Stanford ‘prison simulation’ experiment in the 70s was aborted after six days when things got out of hand. Though it was only on the instigation of his then girlfriend, now his wife, that Professor Zimbardo canceled the exercise: A lesser-known experiment was conducted even earlier, in 1967 at Palo Alto, California; and a film The Wave has been made, based on this experience.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/158

Inception - spiritual parallels and meaning within this fascinating movie
Inception has been getting rave reviews. It’s certainly the sort of film you’d want to see a second time. In fact, this second viewing phenomenon is very widespread, as people return to work out the intricacies of the plot, not to mention looking for the many hidden visual and musical puns which have been deliberately embedded in the film. This is what the industry calls a ‘rehook’. (How can we make aspects of Christian and evangelistic ministry, offline or online, have this ‘rehook’, ’sticky’ attraction to return?)
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/2269

Using Bollywood films for an evangelistic bridging start point for outreach to India
The world’s most prolific film output comes from ‘Bollywood' – the complex of studios based mainly in the Bombay (Mumbai) area. Indians love films and Bollywood feeds the demand with some 800 new films each year. Streets and skylines are dominated by huge hoardings advertising the latest films, many of them painted by hand. If you only know Indian cinema from the wonderful sensitive black-and-white films of Satyajit Ray, Bollywood is a different genre: “bigger, funnier, more heart-rending, with more singing, more dancing, more lighting, more loving (apart from, of course, any kissing) than you have ever seen or will ever see again. And that’s just the trailer.”
http://internetevangelismday.com/bollywood.php

Book review: Hollwood Worldviews - Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment by Brian Godawa
Movies are the predominant form of story-telling in the modern world. So it is vital that we understand how engage with them, interpret them, and be thougthful rather than passive consumers. Godawa is both a successful screenwriter (To End All Wars) and a committed Christian, and he brings insider’s insights to help the rest of us. He guides us through the place of redemption in film, the tricks screenwriters use to communicate their message, and the mental and spiritual discipline required for watching movies.
http://internetevangelismday.com/bookreviews/hollywood-worldviews.php

Book review: Focus: The Art and Soul of Cinema, by Tony Watkins
Most people in most cultures spend a considerable part of their leisure time in the world of story – films (cinema and TV) and books. Using culture as a way in to the Gospel therefore seems almost essential. In this vital book, culture-watch guru Tony Watkins, of Damaris.org, writes about cinema with great insight and clarity. He divides his writing into three ‘reels’.
http://internetevangelismday.com/bookreviews/focus-art-and-soul-of-cinema.php

The Luke Partnership: A First Step in Evangelism, Church Planting, and Descipleship
The Luke Partnership includes: the translation of Luke’s Gospel (usually published in both print and audio form), the JESUS film (based on the Gospel of Luke), and further Old and New Testament selections.
http://lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/993/08-2008

LWP - Prepare the Way—Remove the Stones
The neglect of the imagination in life and faith has impoverished the Body of Christ. However, during the past few decades there has been a global renewal of interest in the arts and the imagination among believers.
http://lausanneworldpulse.com/perspectives.php/939