Middle schoolers at Rolling Hills have frequented many a matinee this summer. We’ve enjoyed seeing the Sunday morning comic strip Marmaduke via some fairly decent CGI (incidentally…not one of the middle schoolers I took had ever heard of Marmaduke and only a few knew of Sunday morning comics). Last week, Daniel-son was reborn as a kid named Dre in the new Karate Kid installment and today, we donned our 3D glasses for the highly anticipated summer event, Toy Story 3. We have two more flicks to go before summer ends.

Today, those of us who first encountered Woody, Buzz, and their owner Andy in 1995 watched as the grown up version, now age 17, prepared for college. Warning: No spoilers included so feel to read on even without having seen the film. Something dawned on me as the story unfolded. Seated next to one of our recent Rolling Hills grads (who crashed the middle school only event), I realized that this guy was Andy from the film. I started to ask myself questions about the movie timeline and courtesy of Wikipedia made the following discoveries:

  • Toy Story (the original) released in November of 1995. I was a mere high school senior myself that year! The high school grads of 2010 were 3/4 years old when Toy Story 1 made history as one of Pixar’s first breakout hits.
  • When the sequel debuted in November of 1999, I was preparing for finals in my last semester of college before graduating that December. I was also engaged to be married to the delightful Susan Coffer (soon to be Susan Allen). This year’s seniors were 7/8.

Although the real Andy (if there were such a kid) would be about 20 years old having celebrated his 6th birthday in the first film, this year’s grads have grown up with him nonetheless. The class of 2010 has grown up with Pixar. They’ve grown up with 3D movies. They’ve grown up with Jon Ratzenberger being the recognizable voice of a talking piggy bank not Cliff Clavin, the postman on Cheers. They’ve grown up with cell phones, online social networks, and iMacs. Theirs may not require special glasses but it is certainly a different dimension.  As I make a mental list of all the things that are different for them as they pack their cars for college 14 years after I did the same, I wonder what might be different 14 years from now when my girls fly the nest?

Bottom line: times change. Technologies change. Styles change. People and culture and issues all change. But as believers we know that some things stay the same. Jesus is the same. Salvation is the same. The purpose of the church as a relevant and constant part of a constantly spinning world is the same. Today, as many differences as were noted by the newest Toy Story narrative…including some great new toys, some things were still very much the same.  Woody and Buzz led the charge on adventure where loving Andy was the prize worth fighting for. Everything in this world fades but the Bible says some stuff remains. Faith, Hope, and Love to name a few (a la 1 Corinthians 13). And then scripture says identifies the greatest of those, love. When my girls graduate high school, iPhones may be a thing of the past. The Toy Story trilogy will be a distant childhood memory colored over by dozens of more recent animated phenoms. They’ll leave My Little Pony and Little People behind. Lots will be different.

This year’s class may not pack their Transformers, Barbies, or Littlest Pet Shop pets when they head off to school. But along with linens and laptops, we hope they take their faith. They definitely need to take some hope. And above all else, they need to take love. Andy did. That was the message of Toy Story 3 and it’s a valuable one to take with you when the credits roll and you head out to wherever life takes you.

Posted in dock@1810, Student Pastor - Nic Allen, Summer 2010 Tags: , , | by Nic Allen No Comments