What about Bob?
Last night I was quite surprised by the movie “What about Bob.” I am sure a lot more theological points can be grasped by this movie but one hit me right between the eyes.
I don’t intend to summarize the movie. A summary can be found
HereBasically Bob is portrayed as the deranged clingy man that harasses his psychiatrist to the point of finding him on vacation. His psychiatrist pushes him off while his psychiatrist’s family loves him and sorta lets him be part of the family. In the end Bob marries his psychiatrists sister and his psychiatrist is left crazy.
Okay…how many people have friends or so called friends they just want to go away because they are “that guy”. You know what I’m talking about, don’t pretend you don’t. If by some chance you havn’t been blessed by this situation please let you know I have some people I would like you to meet.
Anyway…
I have been challenged a lot in this over the past year. As a Christian I am called to love others but what if a person is just too hard to love? What if that person breaks all of the social norms I am used to and I don’t want to been seen in public with them.
There are people in everyone’s life that annoy the heck out of them. They have abrasive personalities. But why? Is it Fuel for the fire that they don’t have friends or people to interact with that don’t cut them short of condemn them?
I like in the movie how the family accepts Bob and kinda cures him. I’m just trying to raise the question of what if we did the same thing? Hung out with the akward people more often. Ya never know. Maybe they will end up married to our sisters…most likely it will be really challenging but rewarding. Anyway. That’s what I thought about when I saw What about Bob?.
Response to Remember the Titans
Remember the Titans is an awesome movie! It is not only a great football movie, it is an inspiring story. It is definitely one of my favorite films of all time. Not to mention it is a youth pastor’s (or any communicator for that matter) dream come true.
There are great scenes for almost any topic you can think of. Here are a few I thought of... anger, prejudice, discrimination, racism, fear, friendship, respect, mentors, leadership, hypocrisy, tolerance, forgiveness, honesty, teamwork, trust, self-control, hatred, character, attitude, humility, pride, learning from others mistakes, perseverance, going against the crowd, standing up for what you believe, tragedy, priorities, unity, courage, acceptance, facing adversity, making choices, winning & losing, and even music choices! I was considering having a clip from Titans for every message I did for an entire year.
And all the great lines...
“What an opportunity for me then, to learn from the best.”(Coach Boone)
“Who’s your daddy?” (Coach Boone)
“Attitude reflects leadership, captain.” (Julius Campbell)
“This is Gettysburg... take a lesson from the dead.” (Coach Boone)
“I don’t care if you like each other, but you will respect each other.” (Coach Boone)
“Are all white girls that crazy?” (Cheryl Yoast)
“I’m not playing, I’m accessorizing.” (Nikki Boone)
“Welcome to my life, Yoast.” (Coach Boone)
“Leave no doubt.” (Coach Yoast)
“Don’t you see the family resemblance? That’s my brother.” (Gary Bertier)
I think what I like best about Titans is the message of overcoming - overcoming mental, physical, social, and spiritual obstacles. We all face many tough times in life. And most of those tough times can’t be fixed with human effort and encouragement alone. Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Although I highly doubt that anyone would come to know Jesus just by watching Remember the Titans, there are so many ways this film can be used to introduce Jesus to others. Of course, simply watching it occasionally just to be inspired is not bad either.
John Wood
Pastor of Student Ministries
The Wesleyan Church of Hamburg
