Cultural Questions

The Friday 5 at RevGalBlogPals -- they do ask some interesting questions:

Name a book, piece of music, work of art, film, unusual engagement with popular culture that have helped/ challenged you on your spiritual journey.

1. Book: Pick one? Just one? I think the small book The Will of God by Leslie D. Weatherhead really clarified some ideas for me. As I read the book, I kept saying to myself, "Yes! Exactly!"
2. Piece of Music -- That one is easy. The piece of music that has helped me the most on my spiritual journey is The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns. Without going into lost of details, I can tell you that this is the song that reminds me that God is close and is involved in my life.
3. Work of Art -- I used to sing with the high school choir at our church. We would sing from the altar steps, and looking out toward the crowd, the very large stained glass window over the balcony very much inspired me. A few months ago, our youth hung paperdolls in the sanctuary to symbolize the number of children who die in an hour from preventable diseases. We called them faceless, because the dolls have no faces, and sometimes the children seem to have no faces to us. I took a picture of the stained glass that day, and the way the light hit the window, Christ was faceless.
4. Film -- I just can't think of a spiritual movie that I have seen, and I'm falling asleep at the lap top. I've always wanted to teach a lesson based on the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. I think it has a great lesson about legalism and where we store our treasures.
5. Unusual Engagement in popular culture -- I'm not sure if this will answer the question, but there have been, over the past year or two, a few times when popular culture has lead me closer to God. Several concerts -- Mercy Me, Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin -- have reminded me that worship doesn't just happen in a sanctuary.