In this post I want to offer three practical ways you can purpose beforehand to do the right thing so you can thrive in college rather than crash. Following are three specific issues you will soon face as you move into university life.

First, have you determined in your heart how you will respond to peer pressure to drink alcohol? Most of you have already faced this to some degree, but the stakes change when no parents are there to check on you at night or wake you up in the morning.

Chicago pizza, where you truly have the option of either an uncut sausage patty or more commonly seen, sausage pieces, covering your pie, is something I can eat most days of the week. I have fond memories of sitting in Uno’s downtown or at Gino’s East a couple streets over or at Giordano’s. In our world of health conscious, obesity fighting, fitness crazed professionals, why then do I like it?

The answer is simple: it tastes really good.  Think then how incredibly powerful our sense of taste is and how incredibly influential our appetites are. If you’ve traveled at all, you’ve tasted different things and some agreed with you, while others did not. Mind you, taste is something very important to us and I dare say, it feeds our subconscious (pun intended) in ways we haven’t thought.

I may be the perfect candidate to muse on the dismantling of culture primarily because I am so culturally compromised.

Ethnically I am 100% German with roots so close to the old country that my mother spoke German as her first language.

But as she came to age during the dawning of World War 2 she abandoned all vestiges of Teutonic culture she was raised with, including ever speaking her native tongue again, enlisted in the military and ended up in San Diego for the rest of her life.

On my father’s side I had a great uncle who fought with the American doughboys in the trenches of the First World War and was gassed. (I met him only once but still remember his odd warbled voice that came from ruined vocal chords due to mustard gas.) In addition I had another great uncle who fought on the German side and, from what I have been told, was shot off the deck of a primitive tank.

This Christmas season, you will watch the film “Elf” at least 37 times. Or, perhaps the opportunity to watch it will present itself as many times a day. As I write this, it’s playing in the background of my home. And why not? It’s charming, humorous, and a perfect showcase for Will Farrell’s comedy. Great stuff indeed. However, did you know that “Elf” is among the most brilliant depictions of cross-cultural issues available?

No really…and stop laughing at me.

The tension of cross-cultural interaction is this. Two people, from different cultural customs (be they familial, ethnic, or religious customs) live, work, and interact alongside one another. Their cultural norms appear bizarre, or uncomfortable to the other person.  Inevitably, people clash. When things appear “abnormal,” a common reaction is fear, stereotyping, joking, or otherwise harmful behavior. As much as Christianity is about inclusion thanks to the gospel message, we often struggle deeply in this area (our vast number of denominations serving as one of many proofs).

Recently, my son and I were driving home from my office (actually I was driving and he doesn't work with me; I forgot my phone charger) and we began a conversation about girls. No, not that kind of conversation, hopefully we're several years from THAT conversation, but on this day, my son actually started asking me about the girl he was listening to.

"Daddy, I really like this song, who is it?" 

The song was by Regina Spektor and so he asked if I knew her, to which I replied, no--she's a Russian born singer, who came to the U.S. when she was a little bit older than you. This fascinated him, so I continued. She took piano lessons for a long time and God gave her this amazing voice and now lots of people listen to her. Do you want to take piano lessons?

"No, but can I listen to another song like this one?"

Immediately, I am both excited that my son digs my cd collection, but a bit frazzled as I am playing a compilation and it's the only Regina Spektor song I have on this cd. I don't even pause to be dismayed at his absolute disinterest in music lessons, which upon further reflection stings a bit. So, I click the track over to Ingrid Michaelson. What do you think of this?

"Daddy, this lady can really sing too. I didn't know you liked all these girls.Does mommy know you like these girls?"

Yes, mommy knows, but mommy doesn't care. Mommy only listens to modern worship music and is a walking version of the Hallmark Channel. I have played mommy all these girls and they never seem to register. Finally, someone in our family gets it. Ingrid Michaelson and Regina Spektor have these haunting voices and outside of trying to make a construction site in Manhattan sound more peaceful, they can do little wrong in terms of getting a lyric stuck in your head. Does mommy know about these girls? Ha! You are talking about these girls, right buddy? You are referring to the women in the cd player, right? I am now insecure, so I ask what he means.

"Yes. They sound pretty and mommy might like them," he says in a way that comforts me and excites me again. But, mommy doesn't like them. And I tell my son, that mommy doesn't like them. He is silent. So, I click over to the Smiths on the cd. He says nothing during the whole song. This happens a lot when our whole family is in the car and I play the Smiths. I am still not sure why this happens.

But when Sarah McLachlan comes on, he once again reiterates his support.

"Mommy should listen to this woman too; I like this song."

But, mommy doesn't like this one either. She likes Darlene what's her face and Hillsong and K-Love radio and a host of others I don't really listen to. And in my mind, I am wondering why there is such a thing as listener supported K-Love when I can hardly find the Smiths or R.E.M. or the Editors or Franz Ferdinand on the radio anywhere on planet earth. Satellite radio can't even pick up what I listen to. So, I think Sarah McLachlan and Ingrid Michaelson is pretty mainstream and again, those haunting voices. Even my son hears the beauty in those haunting voices, how can my own wife miss it! And it's at this point in my mind that I will refrain from going any further, because to explain fully why mommy listens to K-Love and why daddy is belting out "all these buildings and mountains...." by the Republic Tigers, will be approaching the fringe of THAT conversation and he's too young for that now. Besides, this is our bonding moment and for this one ride home, we're both smiling while Beth Orton finishes her chorus. Maybe there is such a thing as world peace.

Not too long ago a blogger was criticizing contemporary evangelicalism's obsession with the term "biblical." This blogger suggested, if I remember correctly, that seminaries should come up with a degree in Biblical Biblicalness." There is, of course, something to be lauded in this emphasis. But I would suggest the opposite is actually taking place. Terms like "biblical" often lose their meaning rather quickly. Instead, they become storehouses for other kinds of things. When I hear people use the word "biblical" today, more often than not it is a placeholder for: "what I find comfortable in light of my background."

It is usually easy to point this out, in light of the fact that these people's claim to "be biblical in all things" is, itself, extra-biblical. The call to be biblical itself is based on theologizing. That is not to say that the inclination is somehow unbiblical, but that the content of what it means to be biblical is based on a theological development (the Bible never states, for instance, sola scriptura - Scripture alone). I say this because I find that the term biblical is usually used in an unbiblical manner. It is an elitist tendency to write off other people who stand under God's word and to, instead, apply God's sovereignty to themselves. Rather than standing under the judgment of Christ, they stand at his side, pointing out people they think deserve his wrath. They often mimic, in other terms, the Pharisees. 

I am a huge basketball fan, and like many people, I was wildly disappointed about how Lebron James left Cleveland over the Summer. For a while after "the event," there seemed to be an unanimous concensus that his behavior was nothing short of deplorable, and then Lebron played the race card. His argument was that if you look at demographics, the majority of people (we can assume people outside of Cleveland) who thought his actions were wrong were white. Rather than race, I think, it is better to understand this as a clash of cultures.

There is a culture whose motto is: You have to do what is best for yourself. This motto is frequently repeated by sports commentators: Well, he did what was best for him and his family, and you can't ask for more than that. Now, in a broad sense, this seems reasonable. But it is only reasonable when we are talking about putting food on the table, and not, as in the case of Lebron, when it comes to self-fulfillment. But there is a culture gaining steam in America and beyond where "the best for yourself" is simply the ability to self-fulfill (or, to follow Nietzsche, the will to power). "Can" has suddenly come to imply "ought." 

We're told in Scripture that we see dimly, but one day we will see clearly. This is true. Think of the clarity we lack as we look at the world in which we live.

Every so often, I pause and reflect on what films stay in my mind and linger in my imagination. As the cost of attending the cinema increases, I want to experience something and not simply view something. I want to participate, engage, be impacted, and have my imagination and memory impacted. These two things: my imagination and my memory are two of my most (and if you're honest, your memory and imagination are just as valuable) prized possessions. I remember people when songs come on the radio and I remember places when I smell and when I see. Faith should impact these two things and it's my belief that love, whatever it is, captures both the imagination and the memory or it isn't going to last. These two precious jewels, these rare elements that have no rival on the periodic table are like prime numbers that cannot be divided in any way. 

In recent months and years, films that have made me see the world a bit differently are few, but let me mention a couple of them both as recommendations and as recreation. The Soloist with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx is worth experiencing as Downey walks in and out of various comfort zones that remind us of our own fear of the homeless, fear of the unknown, and fear of our own shallowness and shame. It's worth your time because the characters are not unlike the people you will meet on your drive home or in your local grocer. People you must deal with in a tangible and loving way. A second film of note is Milk with Sean Penn as a human rights activist is San Francisco. Penn disappears and deserves whatever awards he received, but for me, I felt many other things that would normally be seen also disappeared and there was presented to me again, many human beings who had names, God given purpose, and God given dignity. Quite unexpectedly, I cried during the vigil scene where some actual footage interacted with the cinematic portrayal and my heart ached for what the Fall has done in this world. 

Yet, the film that most haunts me as of today is a French film entitled The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.While I hope you watch the other two films I have mentioned, I implore you to please give this film a shot. The dual themes of imagination and memory are obvious and play a central role in the film and if you walk away unmoved by the story, I am sad for you. I won't digress into being a film critic here that's not my point, rather I want to remind you that the world is a dangerous and delightful place. The thing this film will do will remind you of both the danger and the delight, but it will also encourage you (I hope) as it continues to do to me that part of growing in faith is growing fuller into a renewed humanity that is being restored daily by grace. You can't love me well if you don't know what hurts me, but I have not loved you well if you are not in my memory or imagination. For the world to see a vibrant Christ or for the world to see an authentic love or for the world to see more clearly grace rather than a dim version dripping with legalism and pride, the world will need to see something that captures the imagination and lingers in our memory. Without this dual engagement, we may be doomed to a lesser humanity.

This article originally appeared on the Mars Hill Church Creative blog.

USA Today announced recently they're significantly restructuring of their newsroom, starting with a big layoff. Underlying the physical effects are real changes in their business of journalism. As newspapers and magazines continue their sprint away from physical towards digitally distributed content, we gain some helpful visibility into how Americans consume news and, far more importantly, how and what news is reported on. Fundamental shifts in how Americans produce and consume news are happening quickly, and, rather subtly. We'll take a look at why this matters to you, but first, some brief background.