The Blog

MEETINGS: What are we accomplishing here???May 1st, 2012 by 

Today, I found the only instance of anyone calling a MEETING in the Gospels. And it was the PHARISEES! They wanted to plot to kill Jesus, SO THEY CALLED A MEETING (Luke 11). As they met one of them said, what I say after most of the meetings I attend: “WHAT ARE WE ACCOMPLISHING HERE?” As far as I’m aware, Jesus never called a meeting, He called people to ACTION… FOLLOW, GO, SERVE, SHOW COMPASSION, FEED the hungry, HEAL the sick, CLOTHE the poor. Truly, when all is said and done, much more is said than done!

Really Disney? Really?March 5th, 2012 by 

It never ceases to amaze me; the ignorance, bigotry, disrespect, offensiveness, unawareness and lack of appreciation a network can have towards its audience. Last night Disney/ABC premiered the very uncreative and unoriginal “GCB.” Every (and I mean every) Christian character is portrayed as spiteful, malicious, vengeful, self-obsessed, immoral and hypocritical. Each of the church sequences had no connection with the reality of any church I’ve ever attended. I realize that (sadly) this is the whole premise of the show, but come on Disney! Is this show so incredibly groundbreaking and creative that you’re willing to risk offending the huge Christian audience that buys your movies, watches your networks, outfits their kids at the Disney Store and makes an annual pilgrimage to your theme parks a family tradition? Really Disney? You may not agree with the beliefs of your core audience, but do you really have that little respect for them? Really? You stay classy Disney!

“God In Your Own Image”July 24th, 2011 by 

Ricky Gervais is playing God in a TV pilot entitled “AfterLife” about an atheist who dies and goes to Heaven. Gervais says that he is playing God as “an arrogant, wisecracking, S.O.B…”
Gervais is an extremely talented comedian, having created “Extras” and one of my all-time favs…”The Office.” But his militant atheism and hatred for God and people of faith is rapidly destroying his career…not to mention what it must be doing to his soul.
His stand-up specials are dominated by ridicule of Christians or any type of theistic ideology. One of his films, “The Invention of Lying” revolved around the “lie” that Christians buy in to, that there is a God and an afterlife.
I find it interesting how he describes the way in which he is playing God. When we reject the truth of the Living God, we usually create a new god in our own image.
Your thoughts?

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS!June 6th, 2011 by 

3 Parables for impacting our world
PARABLE of the MUSTARD SEED
I think the parable of the Mustard Seed (Mt 13) isn’t only about how much God can do with the smallest amount of faith, but that the Kingdom is about the littlest, seemingly insignificant acts of love and kindness. Sometimes our focus and energies are so invested the the BIG things, but little things have a greater return on investment!
PARABLE of the YEAST
This parable is only one sentence…a lady works yeast into the dough. But we know what happens. Even the smallest agent of change if it is worked into and permeates all parts of the bread, has a maximum impact.
PARABLE of the HIDDEN TREASURE and the PEARL
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl remind me that if you want to find purpose and happiness in life, find the work that God has called you to. This discovery will change your life. When you discover treasured fruit, pursuits of value, invest all you have in that endeavor. This is the field that God has called you to, so GO FOR IT.
DREAM & PRAY BIG, THEN DO THE LITTLE THINGS!

GOOD FridayApril 20th, 2011 by 

Google Calendar lists this Friday as Earth Day, not Good Friday. Earth Day originated 41 years ago.  Good Friday was ordained before the beginning of time, occurring over 2000 years ago and forever changed the course of human history.  Evidently, saving what God created as temporal is more important than saving human souls for all of eternity.   Attention Fire Fighters: If my house is ever on fire, get my family out before you worry about saving the building.

Media & Culture, Chicken or the EggMarch 11th, 2011 by 

Does media reflect society or does media lead culture? I’d like to look at this age old question in a different light. The question is usually posed in terms of content, but I’d like to explore the question by looking at the WAY we consume and engage with media content.

In years past, media (be it film, radio, TV or print) was a ONE-WAY communication model of ONE to MANY. One person or media company would broadcast to the masses. The masses would, for the most part, sit there in silence and, without the opportunity for participation or feedback, take in whatever was being presented. This model wasn’t merely utilized by the media, but most of our institutions: Education, Business, Sports, even the Church…maybe especially the Church.

Today, due in large part to the Internet, we are a highly interactive audience. Our model now is TWO-WAY interaction between ONE to ONE, ONE to MASSES, or even MASSES to MASSES….but the point is WE CHOOSE. We choose WHAT, HOW and WHEN we want to consume media. And we don’t receive it in silent approval. We can give instead feedback. In many ways we are more discerning and definitely more participatory.

Is media following a cultural phenomenon? Catering to character traits of a young generation? Or are people just adapting to the way media and new technologies are being presented? The interesting thing is that once again our institutions are following (or leading) media’s model. EDUCATION, with on-line learning and testing, is much more interactive. SPORTS, the highly interactive Fantasy Football leagues generate more revenue than the NFL itself. RETAIL, everything from on-line shopping to computer designed kitchens to “build your own” burritos.

Final question: Is the Church following suit? Are we stagnant in the ONE –(preacher) to MANY (congregation) model of no interactivity? Or will we see an increase in churches utilizing Twitter for real time questions and a shift in Bible Studies from a leader monologue to a group discussion format?

Prepare to be surprisedSeptember 15th, 2010 by 

Anyone who has been in the entertainment industry for any time at all, is continually asked by young aspiring media makers, “How do I get started in the biz?”  Good and complex question.  But to give them a short answer…afterall, time is comedy…I adapt the last line from the film “Dan In Real Life” (the film’s line is “Planned to be surprised).  I tell them, “PREPARE TO BE SURPRISED!”  PREPARE – develop your projects, learn your craft, hone your skills, utilize your talents, follow up any leads that come your way, and (!!! – that’s 3 exclamation points for emphasis) build your network.  BE SURPRISED – God will surprise you.  I have found this in my life and career so often I can hardly remember all of them.  If you are faithful to the work that God has called you to, then God is faithful to bring opportunity for you to fulfill that call.



Welcome to a new seasonSeptember 15th, 2010 by 

Welcome to Seriously Funny Entertainments new blog, new website AND, even though I’ve been in the business for over 35 years and SF has been developing content since 2003, it’s a new season for Seriously Funny Entertainment. You know sometimes when you start something in life, it takes a while to really focus in on exactly what you want and should be doing. It takes a while to discover what you are really good at, what you are passionate about doing and what you absolutely don’t ever want to do again. I think we’ve found that…WELCOME TO OUR NEW SEASON!