A Child of the 80s Comes Full Circle

I know it may be hard for you to believe by my apparant hip cultured up-to-dateness, but I am really a nerd from the 80s. That's right. I wore parachute pants and Batman Underoos. I listened to Def Leppard and Cyndi Lauper. I identified with The Breakfast Club and wished I were Ferris Bueller. I played with Transformers before Shia LeBeouf was born. And, yes, I cried when I saw E.T.

What is really interesting to me, though, is how trends seem to come full circle. All of the old toys from my childhood are suddenly popular again. They are making movies and TV shows based on my childhood heroes. It is really strange to see things cycle. So, as I was surfing the 'Net the other day, I was particularly intrigued to find this video.



How amazing the similarities between a favorite movie of mine from the 80's - The Goonies - and the current pop icon - The Pirates of the Caribbean! Why is that? Creative Theft? Coincidence? Greed overcoming art?

I believe it is deeper than that. I believe all things cycle. Whether its art and fashion or economy and careers or faith and spirituality. As a Youth Pastor and a follower of Christ, it is interesting to me particulary to see how the cycles of revival work. It seems like every couple hundred years, the world becomes a mess. People are living for themselves. Money has become god. A few people start saying it may be the end of the world and...suddenly there is this great revival.

In our world today, there is so much talk about selfishness and disconnectedness and the sad state of everything, but I am starting to see signs of things changing (or coming back around again). There are people out there like Shane Claiborne who has taken a vow of poverty and is working with underprivileged people in the ghettos of Philadelphia...and people are joining him left and right. There are people like Mike Foster who is founding organizations like The Junky Car Club because he doesn't think we need more, we need to realize we have enough. There are people like Andy Freeman and Pete Greig who have been used to start a 24/7 Prayer Movement that is spreading across the world, inviting people to slow their lives down and center themselves on prayer and study with God.

And these things make me feel like I'm coming around to myself as well. They speak to deep parts of my heart and soul that say, "Things aren't as they are supposed to be! I need to slow down! I need to live differently than the world's system!" This current cycle of coming revival is showing me it is possible to be in the world but not of the world, as Jesus prayed for His disciples. That it is possible to not live under this high-pressure, must produce more, must never have free-time mentality.

So, how to wrap this up? I guess I want us to be encouraged that there is a hope for things to be set right. The ultimate cycle is that Jesus is coming back eventually to set an end to all this suffering once and for all. The other challenge is to start that process in our own lives this week. So let yourself have some down time. Create some space to breath and listen to God. Maybe watch one of your favorite shows from your childhood and remember the joy that you had when you were little...and know that within that joy is the fingerprint of what God hopes for us now! God Bless, m.e.