Bridging cultural barriers with the gospel Courtenay McCormick explains how Alpha reaches Hispanics in Tennessee
Rocking for the gospel Steve Beard survived Ichthus and lived to tell about it
What can an ancient burial box tell us about Jesus? Ben WitheringtonIII unveils the significance of the James ossuary
Still knocking on heaven’s door
Scott M. Marshall explains the significance of the new Bob Dylan tribute album
COLUMNS
Editorial
The Risk of Renewal Groups
Renew Women’s NetworkNaming, Blaming, and Shaming
Mortals & the DivineThe Sweet Soul Music of Al Green
The Next Generation Privatism: An Unholy Fear of Influence
The Great Commission Ministry Beyond the “Nine-Day Wonder”
From the Heart The Sabbath Date Day
DEPARTMENTS
Letters
to the editor
News Analysis Political propaganda pervades Response
UM membership figures show growth outside the U.S.
Bishop Sprague blasts “Christo-centric exclusivism”
British theologian N.T. Wright comes to defense of the Resurrection
Liberal UM activists publish new book on "conservative renewal groups”
I discovered a new superhero at the movies. Up until this point, I was cheering for Gimli the Dwarf in the Lord of the Rings, Elektra in Daredevil, and Trinity in the Matrix. Now I have a new fictional character to root for in the fight against evil.
He goes by Nightcrawler (his proper name is Kurt Wagner) and as a “teleporter” he is able to morph into a puff of blue smoke and transports himself with the speed of sound. He is courageous, devout, and prayerful. Yep, that’s right, he is a Scripture-quoting Christian who talks openly about sin and the power of faith. Oh yeah, he is also blue—literally dark blue. He has that gargoyle look with a tail, pointy ears, three-fingered-hands, and funny teeth. Add to the mix a body covered in tattoos (ancient Enochian symbols considered to be an angelic alphabet) and you have Nightcrawler. Granted, he does not look like a Christian, but what are we supposed to look like anyway?
Nightcrawler is featured in the summer blockbuster X2: X-Men United and has been a Marvel Comics’ superhero since the 1970s. The X-Men series revolves around a cast of characters that have some form of genetic mutation that manifests itself through extraordinary abilities. Some of them can create storms or blow freezing cold wind, while others can walk through walls. As you would expect, they are treated as freaks and ostracized from society. The storyline revolves around the struggle between the humans and mutants and the need to fight prejudice, suspicion, and bigotry when dealing with people who may have different looks or talents.
We learn through the movie that Nightcrawler had experienced rejection for his odd looks early in his life and ended up working in a circus. He overcomes rejection and fear by praying and quoting Scripture. The screenwriters did not use subtle, read-between-the-lines type of allusions to his Christianity; they used full-metal devotion. He takes refuge in an abandoned cathedral in Boston, festooned with statues of Jesus. When he is nervous, he holds a crucifix and prays the rosary in German. When he needs to summon inner strength, he prays the Lord’s Prayer. When he is confronted with tragedy, he pastorally quotes Psalm 23 to his new friends.
Quite simply, Nightcrawler is the most intriguing, devout, and unique Christian character that has ever been portrayed on the big screen. I must confess that I cringe at most portrayals of Christians in the media. Too often, they end up being warped, Scripture-quoting loons.
With Nightcrawler, however, we are given a non-preachy, yet devout believer. He has experienced rejection, yet he seeks to help others. He has fears, but he acts with courage through the power of prayer. He quotes the Bible to find strength that his genetically mutated special powers cannot give him.
Nightcrawler may not have the kind of superhero costume that you want your child to wear at playtime, but his portrayal of faith, love, and action is well worth emulating.
By Steve Beard, editor of Good News.
We walked trouble’s brooding, windswept hills
And we loved and we laughed the pain away
At the end of the journey, when our last song is sung
Will you meet me in Heaven someday?
Johnny Cash wrote those lyrics many years ago for his wife June Carter. The song is entitled “Meet Me In Heaven” and it testifies to the irreplaceable bond of love, trust, and devotion that was shared by the couple throughout their 35-year marriage. “We’ve seen the secret things revealed by God / And we heard what the angels had to say / Should you go first, or if you follow me / Will you meet me in Heaven someday?”
On Thursday, May 15, June Carter Cash (1929-2003) died of complications from heart surgery. The country music world lost an icon. Johnny Cash lost his wife, lover, and best friend.
June was an offspring from the legendary Carter Family—musical pioneers of folk, country, and bluegrass music. When she met Johnny for the first time backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in the late 1950s, June was singing back-up for Elvis. A few years later, June and her family began touring with Cash. Those were days of thunder and lightening as Johnny battled with drugs. She stood right by him, loving him far too much to see him destroy his life with pills.
“What June did for me was post signs along the way, lift me up when I was weak, encourage me when I was discouraged, and love me when I felt alone and unlovable,” he writes in his autobiography Cash (HarperCollins). “She’s the greatest woman I have ever known. Nobody else, except my mother, comes close.”
June was frightened of his way of life, having seen first-hand the way that lifestyle killed country legend Hank Williams. She thought to herself, “I can’t fall in love with this man, but it’s just like a ring of fire.”
“Love is a burning thing,” Johnny would sing, “And it makes a fiery ring/ Bound by wild desire/ I fell into a ring of fire.” Although the song was a huge hit for Cash, it was written by June and her cousin Merle Kilgore. It also best typifies the relationship between Johnny and June.
“The ring of fire that I found myself in with June was the fire of redemption,” recalls Cash. “It cleansed. It made me believe everything was all right, because it felt so good.” Together, the two of them would also sing, “We got married in a fever/ Hotter than a pepper sprout” for their hit “Jackson” (they were married in 1968). Johnny embraced June’s Christian faith and it became the foundation for their new marriage. “Theologically, June and I are on even ground, but she’s a prayer warrior and I’m not,” Cash says. “She’s so good at it, in fact that sometimes I catch myself thinking that, well, maybe I don’t have to pray, because she’s praying for me. Which of course is not a healthy idea and demonstrates one of the reasons she needs to pray so hard for me.”
Although this was not a first marriage for either of them, they created a great dependence upon one another and a deep, impenetrable commitment. “I think all this free love is a passing plaything,” said Cash in a 1971 interview with Redbook magazine. “June and I found what we want in this world, and it’s beautiful, the love we have for each other.… I don’t think there’s anything in this world that could destroy my marriage to June.”
Nearly thirty years later, Cash would tell Rolling Stone that “unconditional love” was the glue of his marriage. “You hear that phrase a lot, but it’s real with me and her. She loves me in spite of everything, in spite of myself. She has saved my life more than once,” he said. “She’s always been there with her love, and it has certainly made me forget the pain for a long time, many times. When it gets dark, and everybody’s gone home and the lights are turned off, it’s just me and her.”
By Steve Beard, editor of Good News.
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