One Minute Review: Robin Hood

Robin Hood was one of my Five Most Anticipated Films of the Summer!

Director Ridley Scott teamed up with actor Russel Crowe for the amazing Gladiator, as well as the solid but under-appreciated films American Gangster and Body of Lies.  Now he takes on the 12th century, as he did in his visually lovely but otherwise terrible Kingdom of Heaven.  Would Robin Hood be the next Gladiator, or Kingdom of Heaven II?  Watch the One Minute Review to find out! 

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One Minute Review: Robin Hood from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.

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A New Anglican Church in Franklin

Here is the letter I have written to my church about a new Anglican church that will begin in the coming months in Franklin, TN.  

Dear Church of the Redeemer,

We are approaching the sixth anniversary of the formation of our parish.  It has been a remarkable time.  The journey from our first conversations in the Moores’ living room to purchasing our home on Caldwell Lane to hosting over five hundred in worship on Easter Sunday this year to digging one another out after this flood has been amazing.  By the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ, we have been built up together as one body in the Lord. 

The time has come for us to send part of our body out to start the journey again.  The Elders of Church of the Redeemer have committed to blessing and supporting St John’s Anglican Church in Franklin under the pastoral leadership of Fr. Kenny Benge.  The Anglican Mission in the Americas, our Bishop, and our Network, along with Redeemer and the group that is gathering around Fr. Kenny, join together in celebrating the coming birth of this new church.

One might ask why it is that Redeemer is helping to start a new church.  After all, we are relatively small by Nashville standards.  Don’t we seek to become a mega-church, or perhaps a church with numerous satellite campuses?  The answer to that is ‘no, we don’t.’  While we don’t at all condemn those who are called to such ministries, that is not our calling. 

On February 26th, 2006, Redeemer had our first Annual Meeting.  At that meeting, I wrote and said “I know that we are called to plant another church.  Crazy, huh?  But I’m just going to say it: I think Franklin needs a joyous Anglican church.”  In the fall of 2005, I revised our vision statement to read in part, “in the spirit of the New Testament Church, and of Iona, we choose to plant daughter congregations rather than grow to a very large size.  It is our belief that the Kingdom of God advances through the planting of new churches.” 

From practically the beginning of Redeemer we have desired to plant new congregations.  It is part of who we are.  It is also part of the Anglican way.  I was honored to be in attendance last October when Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh was made Primate of the Anglican Church in North America.  In his sermon at that event, he challenged the Anglican Church to plant 1000 churches over the next 5 years.  A bold commission to an organization that only numbered 700 congregations at the time!  “But with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

It is important for you to know that we believe that St. John’s comes from God, and that we are all simply participants in his work.  Your Elders, Fr. Kenny, Bishop Johnston, our Network leaders, and I are all in agreement that this is the Lord’s doing.  For those who need to hear it, this is in no way a church split.  There is no underlying tension or problem.  This is a joyful moment that we have prayed about and talked about for years. 

I fully expect that people will join St. John’s because they are led by the Spirit.  It is said that 80% of adults who come to know Christ do so through new church plants.  Many of those early members will be folks who are not presently involved in churches, while others will come from churches in the Franklin area.  Some will even come from Church of the Redeemer.  If you are a member of Redeemer and feel called to join St. John’s, you will be sorely missed; but you go with our blessing.  We are different parishes, but we are one in Christ and in the Anglican Church.  We will always be part of one another. 

As St. John’s begins, Redeemer will do everything we can to encourage and bless her.  We will pray for St. John’s.  We will officially send them out.  We will provide money, as well as material gifts.  We intend to share ministry as we can.  We hope to help train and equip their members in everything from Altar Guild to Sunday School to administrative issues. 

St. John’s intends to initially meet on Sunday nights.  I hope that members of Redeemer will be in attendance at these worship services.  Even if you do not feel called to join St. John’s, attending worship as you are able will be an encouragement to the new congregation.  I am hoping Fr. Kenny will invite me to minister with him in his new calling, as I will invite him to return and minister with us. 

My dear Church of the Redeemer, this is an exciting time.  There will be sadness as well.  In this time, it is crucial to keep our eyes on Jesus and His Kingdom.  We must recognize that St. John’s is being planted not just for the people who currently live in Franklin, but for future generations as well.  We plant for the sake of the Gospel, for evangelism and mission, and for the health and growth of the Anglican Church in Middle Tennessee.  Over the coming years, I pray that God will give us the opportunity to plant many more churches in our area.  St. John’s is the first, but certainly not the last.  May it start well, and may it endure until Christ comes again to call us all home. 

With deep affection, I am always

Yours truly,

Fr. Thomas McKenzie
Pastor, Church of the Redeemer
Priest of the Anglican Province of Rwanda


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Irony So Thick You Can't Even Breathe

A friend of mine just sent me this video.  It is made by media folks at North Point, which I believe is North Point Community Church.  Essentially, it is a downright mockery of their own liturgy.  And it would be funny, if it weren't so sickly, sadly true.  They seem to be saying that the form of worship they engage in is manipulative, consumerist, slick, and trite.  My question is, who's going to get fired for this?  And, what are they going to do about it?

Have a look:


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.


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One Minute Review: Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 marks the official beginning of the Summer Movie Season.  Finally!  I thoroughly enjoyed the first Iron Man and have eagerly awaited this one.  Given that this is my longest OMR ever, and includes my most extensive gush on an actor of all time, you might suspect I loved me the Iron Man 2.  Better find out. 

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One Minute Review: Iron Man 2 from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo.



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Where Your Treasure Is

Yesterday morning, I was doing something very unusual.  I was giving the morning devotion at the annual Executive Leadership Summit of the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association).  I led a large room full of the leaders in the Christian publishing industry in Anglican Morning Prayer. As part of that prayer time, I gave a short homily in which I talked about the Gospel reading from yesterday’s Daily Office. 

Jesus said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

This week I have been in many homes that have been damaged or devastated.  But I haven’t been with a single person in our church community who is hopeless.  Their earthly treasures have been destroyed, but their heavenly treasures endure.  I got a chance to tell these publishers that.  I praised the Lord for all the hard work and faithfulness that I am seeing in our community.  Essentially, I got to brag about Christ in them. 

So many people in our church have been out helping others  They’ve not only been serving those in our church, but they're also helping their coworkers,  neighbors, family members, and even perfect strangers.  I’ve had several reports of people in our church who are working on one home that belongs to a church member, but then going  next door to help a neighbor who has no one to help. 

Over the next days and weeks, we will continue to help those in our church.  But my vision is that we won’t stop there.  As we finish up at a Redeemer home, I believe God will call us to the neighbor next door or across the street.  We are a relatively small church.  But the Holy Spirit is giving us grace and using us in mighty ways.  I was just speaking to someone today who told me that just last week they were saying that they just didn’t see the universal Church in action.  This week, they see the local church stepping into their lives and loving them like Christ. 

There are at least a dozen families in our congregation who have had very serious flood damage.  Some of them have lost almost everything they own.  We have faithful elderly people who live in condos in Bellevue who have seen their entire material lives washed away. These are people who had no flood insurance because they don't live in a flood plain! 

We now have a designated fund set up at Redeemer.  Every dollar given to the Flood Relief fund will go to help people in our congregation. If you would like to give, you can write a check to "Church of the Redeemer," MEMO it to "Flood Relief," and either drop it off or mail it to 920 Caldwell Lane, Nashville TN, 37204.

Thanks and blessings. 

A Giant Carp in Nashville Floodwaters

Video taken by yours truly, today at Blackman and Edmonson Pike. 



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