Todd, I got to see Evan Almighty on Tuesday night at the first public screening. It was awesome! A great message and not the typically cheese you see when the church is targeted by hollywood. This movie has a number of teachable moments but is not preachy. And it is very funny but yet remains clean. You can take your kids, grandma and even a date to this movie - maybe not all together but you get the point. One of the best parts is all the “unspoken” jokes and references - one quick example, Evan’s wife is Joan.

One of our staff signed us up on this (without asking, as is his manner) and this week we have had a call from another state; seems this out -of-stater’s relative is near us and has some beds to get rid of. We had a family with no furniture. We are hooked up now. I was planning on seeing the movie anyway, and I know it’s primarily a marketing thingie (ARK=Acts of Random Kindness), but our God being Who He is, He just may choose to use a little of this anyway for His glory.

On the question of healing.... This is one of the mysteries of God that I do not think we are meant to fully understand. Having experienced physical healing for myself.... while I am most thankful.... I would not trade one moment of having been ill. My dad rec’d a completely different sort of healing.... he passed on. I am thankful my dad is gone.

When my dad was in the hospital.... I met a man who was a double amputee. We would go up and down the corridor together talking. While he had lost both legs and had to use a wheelchair, he would not trade having lost them for what he had gained in his relationship with God since. Another man had lost only one leg..... his compassion for the other man was beyond words. It made him thankful to know him and for his physical condition. We had fun racing down the hallway..... Funny… I always seemed to have heels on when they challenged me..... Electric wheelchairs can beat heels…

Nothing can beat the power of God..... Even if we don’t understand all the ways He uses it.

Wes,

I need a little more… um… confirmation for that story… Sorry, I have a lot of faith, but…

how can you sue a business for not having a “product” that suits you? That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve heard all week…

I plan on seeing Evan Almighty, especially if it comes to my small town because tickets are only $3 for new movies. I think it is slick marketing for the church. I don’t think they care whether or not they help the church or not. They want to make money. But i think it is GRRRR-EAT that Hollywood is making movies that have references to God/truth/etc. Always an open door for the church.

On the subject of healing, I have never seen God heal an amputee although I think it is possible. I did visit and pray with an amputee in the hospital once. While visiting with her she went into a bout of extreme pain. I was a young champlain and it was an awesome expereince for me to put Nouwen’s “Living Reminder” in practice. I couldn’t do anything but BE THERE for her. Comfort her and pray.

I think it is good for us to answer the “Why doesn’t God always heal when we pray?” question with the reality of the resurrection. There is coming a time when we wil all have resurrected and glorified bodies. That will be the ULTIMATE healing. Sometimes God chooses to heal now and sometimes he chooses to heal at the resurrection of the dead. This is the mystery.

Not much preaching on the resurrection of the dead these days, especially in Pentecostal/charismatic church that place an emphasis on healing.

AND my number one way to balance my time is to READ MMI EVERYDAY! (No sarcasim Todd...your site does save me time....)

g&p

Derek

I plan on seeing Evan Almighty.  I’m a Steve Carrel fan and either the director of this film or the writer is a Christian, if I’ve done my research correctly.  I just wish that somehow, someway we could get a really funny Christian film made.  I’m glad Hollywood has bankrolled a movie like this, but I’d love to see someone who specializes in Christian filmmaking make a truly funny movie.  I’m convinced it can be done.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  Of course he heals amputees.
This is only a problem for us if 1. we assume he’ll do it all the time (like a great big cosmic vending machine), or 2. we don’t really believe that Jesus has conquered the world.
The comments so far have been spot on.  God is in the process of redeeming all of Creation.  Sometimes when we cooperate with him, he gives us a sign (though these signs are meant to point beyond themselves, of course), other times he doesn’t--and I’m sure many of us are upset with him about that.  But life goes on. 
Thing is, God doesn’t want a bunch of wealthy, healthy disciples.  No, he wants a bunch of faithful disciples.  Most of the time, this will actually involve more suffering than most people.  But sometimes God’s extravagant nature bursts through (as a manifestation of his Reign, his Kingdom, and his sovereignty).  He can’t be contained.  To him be the glory.
My two cents.
-Daniel-

I have been involved in the planning, production and execution of the ArkAlmighty.com site and the kit that has been made available to all churches who are interested in being a part of the kindness campaign connected with Evan Almighty.  If any nay sayers watch the video that has been put together (at great expense - the cost of this site is far beyond any chritian site on the internet - take my word on that - all paid for by Universal) - makes it very clear - what is being promoted is the power of kindness.  As Romans 2:4 puts it “God’s kindness.”
It is amazing that some not only see the glass half empty but believe there is a conspiracy afoot among glass manufacturers - “They are drilling tiny holes in the glasses but only the glasses of Christians so only our glasses leak...” Here’s an idea - what if God actually gave us favor (that’s a biblical word) in the eyes of Universal Pictures and they saw that the Church could use a leg up in the eyes of the public in general - instead of being famous for being mean we could use a redemptive jumpstart.  Wow, what a thought.

Just my two cents worth..... e-harmony… They provide a specific service.... that’s their business.  If you’re a buddhist and you go to a Baptist church to examine them you don’t say they’re discriminating against you on religious means.  If you are lactose intolerant and you go to an ice cream parlor you don’t claim discrimination for dietary restrictions.  Specific service is not discrimination.  Plus.... if we examine the word discrimination.... it’s not bad… only certain types are bad..... to discriminate means to differntiate.... we do this every day.  Is it right or wrong?, good or bad, correct or incorrect, right or left, effective or not.....  Specific service gives us good service when done in the love of Christ and it keeps us from sinning (bad discrimination). 
“Walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the sinful nature” -Apostle Paul (ephesians)