Apple is sponsoring a filmmaking contest in which, at a certain time, specific requirements are posted (the film must show a park bench, use an edit known as a match cut, etc.). Entrants then have 24 hours to make a 3-minute movie. They submit it online, then the world watches it and rates it. Those that rate the best get a laptop and a viewing from Hollywood professionals.

Some of my students did an entry and you’ve got to see it. I’ve posted it below. Get a load of the camera work and the editing. The story is gently satirical about the “sticking it to the Man” and “the Man’s sticking it to me” mentality. It would help them if you would go to the site and give it a rating.

about the contest

the criteria they had to follow

this tells about the students

go here to vote (register with your iTunes or Apple account, if you have one).

On the old site, we blogged about a church growth guru who came to admit that contemporary worship is NOT an effective evangelism tool. Now, the church growth pioneer, Bill Hybel of Willow Creek, is admitting that his techniques for building megachurches do NOT make for mature Christians. That confession is in a new book by Willow Creek staff members Greg L. Hawkins and Cally Parkinson entitled Reveal Where Are You?“>Reveal Where Are You?. Says Hybels:

Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for. . . .

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

The book apparently offers yet more suggestions to re-invent church. But untold numbers of congregations have adopted the Willow Creek methodology, which apparently gets people in the door, but doesn’t do much for them spiritually. Read this commentary.

HT: Paul McCain at Cyberbrethren.