Someone breaks your heart. Or you lose your job and you need guidance into a better future. You survive a violent childhood and suffer from PTSD. Or you’re grieving the loss of a loved one. You know where to go. You seek out a therapist, a counselor, a spiritual director.
But where do you go to sort out your feelings about this new Disney live-action Beauty and the Beast?
If you’re like me, you seek out the company of wise and discerning counselors like Tara Owens (a moviegoer, a spiritual director, and the author of Embracing the Body) and Marcus Robinson (a songwriter and an associate pastor).
A few weeks ago, I found myself in their good company, in Owens’s Colorado Springs office, sinking into a comfortable chair as if I’d come seeking counsel. She closed her door and made sure that everybody knew: We were “IN SESSION” — “DO NOT DISTURB.” We were safe. We could share secrets, confess our moviegoing sins, and say what we really thought about summertime movies.
Let me explain: The Anselm Society — a community formed by a network of Colorado churches who are cultivating “a unique vision for the future of the Christian faith” — has a podcast called “Believe to See.” I was invited to join show hosts Robinson and Owens for a frank conversation about this summer’s big screen options. The result? We poured out our passion for, and our frustrations with, films like Wonder Woman, Baby Driver, Get Out, A Quiet Passion, The Fits, Timbuktu, and others. We laughed. A lot. We threw down challenges for moviegoers. We confessed our frustrations about “Christian movies.”
And we wrestled with a profound question: How shall we pronounce the name “Gal Gadot”?
I’m not just saying this: My time with Marcus and Tara was one of the best hours I’ve ever spent talking about movies. I was a grand time full of laughs, epiphanies, and insights. I’m grateful that they invited me into such a lively conversation.
And now you can listen to the whole thing: