Inception (part 2)

When Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released as a movie I decided that I would take the middle school portion of our youth group to see it on opening weekend. It had been scheduled in our youth group calendar for a few weeks, I didn’t think it would bring a large group, and it didn’t, we only had about six kids come out that Saturday morning. As we were about to leave, another car pulled into the parking lot, it was a visitor named Mary. She was a 16 year old who had visited us with a friend at the previous Wednesday Night Bible Study. When I saw her I told her that I was impressed that she wanted to watch a movie with six middle school boys. Without hesitation she said “I love Harry Potter, and you’re the only church in town that hasn’t made me feel like I’m evil because I’m a Harry Potter fan.” Mary was searching; she came from a Buddhist / New Age background, she had been visiting different youth groups in town, she was looking for a place that would be patient with her as she was searching for a spiritual identity. I told her that we as Christians do not practice witchcraft yet we can identify with qualities such as love and friendship that are found in the Harry Potter series. Mary liked being with our group and she kept coming. It took a year, but eventually she gave her life to Jesus, her mother made the same decision the following year.


Inception of an idea is a like a seed that is planted in the ground, eventually it grows up to be a fruit bearing tree. God used our willingness to find common ground in a Harry Potter movie to plant the seed in Mary’s mind that the love and acceptance she had been looking for was found in Jesus.

As Christians we are often known for what we are against rather than what we believe. We of course oppose witchcraft, but we can find a bond with unbelievers on the strongest elements of each Harry Potter book; elements such as love, friendship, and loyalty. The apostle Paul did the same thing in Athens when he complimented the Athenians for their desire to be religious; in doing so he was able to convert many to Jesus. What I am saying is that God’s people have an opportunity to bring people to Jesus, simply by finding common ground with them, showing them that maybe they already have Jesus working in their lives. When unbelievers witness Christians living with God’s love and righteousness, a seed is planted in their minds, it can grow into an idea, and possibly into the belief that life with Jesus is the best life there is.

Inception part 1

Inception was a great movie. I give it 4 Stars. It is not the best movie all time, it is not even in my top 20. (Hummm, That would be a great Blog.) Inception is a corporate espionage thriller that focuses on a team of tech thieves who are able to invade peoples dreams and steal their ideas. The hero (Dom Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is given one more job before he retires. However this job is not about stealing an idea, but planting one; thus the movie is called Inception. Inception of an idea begins with a seed (thought) that becomes an idea, that leads to a belief, which will eventually become a reality. No spoilers here, go see the movie.


Inception got me to thinking about the concept of planting ideas. We have seeds of ideas everyday planted in our minds. While watching a football game on TV I find myself wanting more pizza, hot wings, better car insurance, and something to drink. There are so many commercials during a game that plant ideas in my mind; I don’t drink beer, but the beer commercials make me thirsty.

Christian writers and preachers warn us of spiritual inception, of people planting false ideas in our minds in order to turn us the wrong direction. I’m not going there either, however this movie got me to thinking; how can I be more effective at planting ideas into the minds of the people around me? Think about it, if I could plant positive ideas into the minds of my kids, my life could be so much simpler. I could plant ideas in my wife’s mind; I could get her to think that I am the most amazing man ever. As a minister I could plant positive ideas into the minds of both believers and nonbelievers. In 1 Corinthians 3 the Apostle Paul was addressing the fighting and division within the church. His focus was on how the world plants selfish and sinful ideas into the minds of Godly people, to make the problem worse, Godly people allowed worldly ideas to become a reality in their lives. Paul went on to explain that godliness and faith originate from God and His fellow workers.

“5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NIV

As God’s people we have been given a simple job, which is to plant the idea of God into people’s minds. Let’s call it spiritual inception. Paul planted the idea through preaching, teaching, encouragement, and through his example. We will talk about Apollos and God’s role later this week. Idea planting doesn’t require great ability or experience, but it does require consistency. There will be people we come in contact with everyday, they will hear our words and they will see our actions. In those moments we plant ideas into their minds. The more we are around them the more influence we have over them. So what ideas are we planting upon the minds of our children, what ideas are beginning to take root in the minds of our friends and coworkers? Inception happens everyday; the world is filled with negative seed planters who help people grow worried, depressed, and self-centered. We are called to do the opposite, to plant ideas that are Holy Spirit led; ideas that help people discover faith, hope, and love.

To be continued …