Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are interesting. The new year always seems like a great opportunity to turn over new leaves, try new things, give things up, start things over. That's what resolutions are, right? I resolve to do this, or I resolve to stop that. But even though we fully intend to keep them, most of us who actually make resolutions fail to ride them all the way to the end. Regardless of our best intentions, life intervenes.

And as disappointed as we might be in ourselves when we break our resolution, I don’t think God is disappointed in us. Sure, God wants us to change, to grow, to improve, but mostly God wants us to think. This is why Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) And you’ve heard the words of Socrates - “An unexamined life is not worth living” - both Paul and Socrates are calling for us to examine our lives, examine our direction. 

They’re not necessarily suggesting that we beat every bad habit and overcome every obstacle, but they are suggesting that we should be thinking about it. When we miss the mark, we should at least notice. But how much of our life is on autopilot? How often are we just running along and rolling with whatever comes?

James says blaming the devil is a cop out. He says it’s our own evil desires that drag us into temptation. So maybe recognizing that fact is half the battle. Maybe living the Christian life is mostly just paying attention. Don't go off half-cocked. Live an examined life. Think and go. Pray and go.

Join us on January 3, 3:30 P.M., at 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse, 13 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” and learn more about what we pray about when we pray for direction and deliverance.

See you then!

Pastor Ed

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POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

• When have you been really successful with a resolution? Not so successful?
• What’s the difference between temptation and sin?
• What are some tools that help you steer away from particular temptations?

MAIN PASSAGES:

Matthew 6:13, James 1:13-15, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Romans 8:31b

Forget About It

Have you seen those bumperstickers that say, “Not perfect, just forgiven.” 

I’m assuming that anyone who sticks one of these on their car is wanting people to know they’re a Jesus follower. Which is fine. And I guess that’s a pretty good description of personal redemption, because it’s true, we’re not perfect, and we’ve been forgiven much.

But if you have one of these on your car, I have a question for you. Did you really think anyone was mistaking you for perfect? Because they probably weren’t. But this bumpersticker brings to mind a bigger question. 

Do people think Jesus expects his followers to be perfect? Because if people think this, it’s probably our fault. We must be giving that impression. Or we’re not doing enough to dispel that impression. And I think it all begins with our concept of forgiveness. 

The other day, I was at the dentist with my wife, and the only parking spot anywhere near the dentist’s office had a two-hour time limit. She ended up getting a root canal, and it took way more than two hours. 

Now, it wasn’t like I didn’t see the sign. I knew I only had two hours, and I knew it’d been longer than that. So, I knew I deserved a ticket. But when we left the office, and I saw the citation on the windshield, I was still ticked. How dare they? Didn’t they know I was caring for my dear sickly wife? The nerve.

Of course, this is ridiculous. What was I expecting? 

When I went in to pay the ticket at Village Hall, I told the whole sad story to the cashier. She seemed very sympathetic. But I still had to pay. She had no authority to forgive my debt. In order to balance the books, I either had to pay the debt or find someone who DID have authority to forgive my debt and convince them to pretend it never happened. 

Notice how neither of these choices had anything to do with being perfect?  

Pastor Ed

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POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

• What do you personally need to do to be forgiven?

• If forgiveness depended on a scale with your bad stuff on one side and your good stuff on the other side, how would you be doing?

• What does it mean to “forgive and forget?” Is that even a good thing? Why or why not?

Stuff

“What do you want for Christmas?”

Is it just me, or does everyone have trouble answering this question? I’m always tempted to say something like, “World peace,” or, “An anonymous benefactor who’ll pay off my son’s student loans.” But I know that’s not really what they’re asking. What they really want to know is what I want them to buy me for Christmas.

On one hand, I don’t really want anyone to buy me anything. I’m good. But, on the other hand, if someone’s going to buy me something, I’d rather it be something I want or need. It’s not that I’m unappreciative; it’s just that I know money’s tight, and I’d hate for anyone to waste money buying me something I know I won’t use. 

For that reason, if people ask, I try to think of something I actually need that’s not too expensive. That way, I don’t end up with a kitchen appliance that I’ll never use or a bottle of alcohol that I’ll never drink or an article of clothing that I’ll never wear or a Blu-Ray that I’ll never watch. The last thing I need is more things I don’t need.

When I was a kid, more was better, but now, not so much. What do I really need? A roof? Clothes? Something to eat? Someone to love? If we’re supposed to pray that God would provide our “daily bread,” what is that exactly? What do we need? What sustains us?

Join us on December 20, 3:30 p.m., at 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, IL, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 11 “Give us today our daily bread.”

See you then!  

Pastor Ed

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POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- What was the best Christmas you ever got?

- What’s the most precious thing you ever lost?

- If you were stranded on a desert island with with only a backpack containing three things (so no helicopters or motorboats), what would those three items be? What could you get by with? What could you not get by without?

- If you suddenly lost everything, what would you miss most?

SCRIPTURES TO CONSIDER:

Matthew 6:25-34, 11:28-30, Exodus 16

Whose will?

A pastor I used to work with would often suggest that life would be much easier if God just had a big projection screen, and whenever he had something to tell us, he’d just project it all right there on the screen, in all its beautiful, 70mm, technicolor glory. No guesswork required.

Maybe God would just project something like, “Hey, knucklehead, stop floundering around, and do this…” followed by clear, step-by-step instructions on how to make it happen, and possibly some entertaining YouTube-type videos that would walk you through the whole thing. 

Or maybe it would be more like a cosmic google maps.

Anyway, I used to agree. I used to think it would be cool to have a clear path set before me; but recently, I’ve been less sure about that. I’m not sure I like the implications that come with that level of certainty.

First of all, I like to think that what I do matters. I like to think that, if I feel God leading me in a certain direction, my response to that leading actually has real impact. And I think Scripture backs that up. 

Also, I like to think that God is not directly responsible for everything (for example, mass shootings and genocide and that sort of thing), and those things might muck up our plans without notice.

Finally, I believe that God actually desires that we be discerning and responsive and make good decisions based on our relationship with him and our understanding of his Son, not based on visions and dreams. 

What should I do? What difference will it make? Will God’s will be done in my life regardless of whether I choose to align with it? What if I'm trying to do God's will but I don't?

While I’m not sure I will actually answer all of those questions for you next Sunday, I definitely want to invite you into the conversation. 

Join us on December 13, 3:30 pm, St. Peter Life Center, 111 W. Olive St., Arlington Heights, as we continue our study of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-13) with the verse 10b “…Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

See you then! 

Pastor Ed 

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POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP or PERSONAL STUDY:

(feel free to chime in on these questions in the comments!)

- Does God make everything happen or does he just know what will happen (or is it neither of these)?

- Is it possible to know, with certainty, what God’s will is for my life? Is it okay to just be pretty sure?

- Does God still do the whole fleece thing (Judges 6)? Is that cool today?

Your Kingdom Come...

Everybody loves a good spy thriller. 

That's why James Bond is the longest running film series in history. We love secret agents. We love to live vicariously through their exploits, because they are like real-life superheroes. Whether they are defined by coolness, like Bond, or resourcefulness, like MacGiver, or leadership, like Ethan Hunt, or sheer animal determination, like Jason Bourne, secret agents capture our imaginations.

I think it is partly because we wish we were as cool or resourceful or charismatic or determined as them; but I think it is also because they are willing to put everything on the line for a mission. We especially see this with Hunt and his Impossible Mission Force, who receives this secret message about a mission, has to memorize the whole thing, then has to come up with a plan and throw together a team to make it all happen - usually within the next 48 hours or so. Crazy. Of course this is exciting.

An impossible mission comes down from on high, and our faithful agents have to accomplish the mission or die trying. And whoever ends up working with Bond or Hunt or Bourne knows that their leader will stop at nothing to accomplish the mission.

But do you know what’s even crazier? This is exactly what God asks US to do. We have a leader who gave his life for the mission of reconciling God with his creation, and we are God’s agents in that mission. We are his Impossible Mission Force. 

So maybe we’re not as qualified as a secret agent, but we’re teaming up with the guy who is, and he will absolutely stop at nothing to accomplish this mission. Will you join him? 

This Sunday, we'll be discussing how we talk to God about this very topic. So, join us December 6, 3:30 pm, to see what Jesus has to say about our mission.

This week’s message: PRAYER - Kingdom: Speaking for God (Matthew 6:10).

See you Sunday.

Our Father in Heaven...

“Who wants to say grace?”

When my kids were growing up, that question was asked before every meal. Someone was going to pray, it was just a matter of who. Then whomever drew the short straw, so to speak, said grace. Kim or I always enforced this, not because “grace” magically made our food taste better or easier to digest or full of more nutrients, but because it meant that at least twice a day (dinner and bed time) our kids would either hear Mom and Dad praying, or they would be praying themselves.

Christians are supposed to pray, right? We pray for everything. We pray to “bless” our food. We pray for “traveling mercies.” We pray “hedges of protection” (whatever those are). We pray for healing and provision, but we also pray for our favorite football team to win. We pray for missionaries and victims of disasters, but we also pray for all the lights to be green on the way to work. But why? Why do we do that?

Does the stuff we say between the words “Dear Heavenly Father” and the words “In Jesus name, amen” have more power than the stuff we say when we’re swearing out the guy who just cut us off on the interstate?

Do our words move God? Can we get him to change his mind if we pray hard enough? And if not, is prayer just a waste of time? 

Why do we pray? What’s it for? What does it accomplish? What’s the point?

These are really good questions. And for the next five weeks, we’re going to take a serious stab at answering them.

Join us this coming Sunday, November 29, 3:30 p.m., to learn more about prayer as we go verse by verse through “The Lord’s Prayer.” (See Matthew 5:8-13)

This week’s message: HEAVEN.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Ed

Not working...

The dream is always the same.

I'm faced with some opponent who is intent on beating me to a pulp, but when I engage them in hand-to-hand combat, it's like I'm trying to swing my arms through molasses. I'm putting everything I can into the punch, but by the time I make contact with their face, my hand is barely moving at all. There's no molasses, just a complete inability to actually throw a punch.

This goes on for awhile until I give up and run. But then it's like I'm running in a vat of pudding. I can barely move my legs. There's no pudding, it just feels like there is. 

At this point, the guy starts brandishing a chainsaw or an axe, and I can barely move. Fortunately, just as he's about to take me out, I wake up. I'm always shaken and agitated, but worse than that, I'm furious. How could my body fail me so profoundly? Why can't I even defend myself?

I've heard that this dream is pretty common and that it means something. I don't actually remember what the psychologists think it means, but here's my guess. I think there must be some task on my plate for which I feel wholly inadequate. I must have taken something on, but I know in my heart of hearts that I don't really know what I'm doing. Then my min
d tortures me with images of me failing to even protect myself from an attacker. It's terrible.

But regardless of the root of my dream, I wake feeling utterly useless and totally betrayed by my own body. If I am fit and whole, my body should work. If I mean to run, my legs should allow me to run. But if my body doesn't even do what it's designed for, where does that leave me? If something is supposed to do something, it should do something, right? 

Our faith is actually like this. If my faith is useful and real, it should lead to something. It should work. It should change the way I do things. This idea is a major theme in James' letter, and it's what I'm preaching on at The Anchor this week. Come learn how this works this Sunday, 10am, at The Anchor!

On a Mission

I’m a veteran. Nine years with the U.S.Army. But I’m not telling you that so I can get a pat on the back. I’m telling you that, so I can tell you this: I know a little something about mission.

It’s really hard to do something like serve in the military without a mission. And let me be totally honest with you; I didn’t join the military with the goal of saving the world or making the world safe for democracy or crushing the spread of communism or anything noble like that. I did have a mission though. And without it, I wouldn’t have even made it through BASIC training. 

My mission? Money for college. Yep. That was it. Not proud of it, but there it is.

However, no one stays in the military for nine years for the college money. At some point, my mission changed. Somewhere along the line, my mission shifted; my mission started to conform to their mission. The mission of the Army started to become important to me. I can’t really say that I ever loved being in the military, but at some point, serving my country and preparing others to do the same became my mission.

My spiritual walk has followed a similar path. I’m not sure what my mission was when I first started going to church regularly, but at some point, God’s mission started to become important to me. And now, serving the church and preparing others to do the same has become my mission.

You may not be sure why you’re coming to church, but without a mission, it probably won’t stick. It doesn’t have to look exactly like my mission in the church, but it needs to look like something. 

You may not know it, but you’re on a mission from God.

The Long Game

In our culture, we want things now. We don’t like to wait. We will actually pay five to ten times as much to get it tomorrow rather than waiting seven to ten working days for standard delivery. Today’s kids probably do not even know what an encyclopedia is - not when you can google everything in the world and have an answer in thirty seconds. When we are done shopping at the big box store, we spend three minutes scanning all the open lanes to see which has the fewest customers with the fewest purchases, just so we can save three minutes in the check-out line. We hate waiting.

We even like our evangelism microwave-style. We want three points and a prayer - or a clever diagram we can draw on a napkin - but, even as impatient and time-crunched as today’s culture is, the canned, elevator-speech methods of yesteryear, while perhaps appealing to the evangelist, are becoming less and less effective. To today’s listener, questions like, “If you were to get hit by a car today, where do you think you’d spend eternity?” only bring to mind the telemarketer. And I don’t know about you, but I hate being hung up on, and I would rather not be on anyone’s “Do Not Call” list.

So, what is the answer?

Relationship.

But why is that? On the surface, it seems counter-intuitive. It seems like the less time people have, the more brevity they would appreciate. But here is what I think is happening. Our frenetic pace and information overload has pushed people toward two extremes - gullibility or skepticism. But I see this as an opportunity, because, now, the only style of evangelism that really works is the style Jesus taught.

What can move the gullible away from the conman? Relationship. What can move the skeptic away from suspicion? Relationship. The old saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” has never been more applicable than it is today. 

Perhaps now more than ever before, clever methods and persuasive words are failing to bring people into a real, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, because people are either drawn to the flashy and shallow or they are rejecting the whole thing outright. The only way to overcome this is to do what Jesus did. 

We need to eat with people. We need to build margin into our schedules so we can respond to needs. We need to be intentional about relationships, not so we can evangelize them, but because trust takes time and trust displaces both gullibility and skepticism. In order to truly follow Jesus’ command to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” we need to follow Jesus' example and commit to the long game. Because, when we build relationship for its own sake, we do not have to be clever or persuasive. We can leave that to Jesus.

A BIG move for Quest

This is a press release we sent out 9/10/15:

Quest Church of Arlington Heights is partnering with St. Peter Lutheran Church and, beginning September 13, will hold their worship gatherings in the St. Peter Life Center. In this new venue, Quest’s worship will begin at 3:30 pm every Sunday. Previously, Quest met Sunday mornings in the Campus Life Teen Center, downtown, but has outgrown that facility.

St. Peter learned of the need, and offered a solution that would benefit both, and extended a hand to Quest. They offered their “Life Center,” which would seat all of Quest Church’s current members comfortably, and make room for considerable growth. Pastor Micah Greiner, Lead Pastor of St. Peter explains, “We recently made a significant investment in our Life Center to make it fit for worship. We have all sorts of plans for how we are going to use it for worship, but we didn’t even anticipate that God was going to ask us to use the space to bless another church! When the opportunity was before us, it felt like Jesus was lifting a veil over our eyes that allowed us to see how what He had prepared far exceeded what we could have imagined. We actually feel blessed to be able to let our space bless others!”

From October 2013 through May 2014, Quest Church met at the Metropolis Performing Arts, then relocated to the Campus Life Teen Center. Although that venue has worked well up to now, Lead Pastor Ed Taylor explains that Quest’s attendance growth required a change. Knowing it would be a big change for Quest to meet in a more traditional church setting, and knowing that, if they did, they might have to move to a less traditional time for their gatherings, Taylor and his team weighed their options. Having been very active in the Arlington Heights Ministerial Association, they extended a plea for possible locations where they could share space. From that plea, they connected with Greiner, who says, “I first met Pastor Ed and the other pastors from Quest through the Arlington Heights Ministerial Association, and we struck up a quick friendship. When I saw the need for a new place of worship for Quest, I responded, not actually thinking it would work out. Our building is in use almost constantly.”

Taylor and his team have been thrilled with the relationship that is growing between Quest and St. Peter, but Quest Church is no stranger to partnering with churches and other community organizations. In fact, one of Taylor’s earliest contacts after he arrived in Arlington Heights was Pastor Randy Thompson of Cross and Crown Lutheran, Arlington Heights. Now, through that connection, Quest partners with Cross and Crown and The Orchard to offer a laundry ministry for the homeless.

Also, all summer, Quest has partnered with Christian Church of Arlington Heights to provide a monthly supper for the homeless every second Sunday evening. And, during the fall and winter months, Quest Church also plans to continue its partnership with the Congregational United Church of Christ by providing a dinner meal once a month for their homeless ministry.

Quest has been active in the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, where Taylor holds a small leadership role, they have been “Red Shirt” volunteers at the annual Frontier Days celebration and part of the set-up and tear-down crews at the Taste of Arlington Heights, and they have, at different times, teamed up with Breakthrough Ministries, WINGS, Hands-on Suburban Chicago, Northwest Compass, and Community Threads. Also, Taylor is a member of the planning committee for the Mayor’s Annual Prayer Breakfast.

Taylor says of these partnerships, “From the beginning, it was never our intent to minister in a vacuum. We always intended to partner with other organizations, both secular and religious, knowing that we can accomplish things together that we could never dream of separately. We never intended to re-invent the wheel; we always planned to scan the horizon, see where God was already at work, and join in. That’s why this partnership with St. Peter feels completely natural to us.”

As a gift to their new neighborhood, Quest will hold a family event called Quest Fest, September 12, 3:00-6:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public. It will be held in the field behind St. Peter, at 111 W. Olive Street, Arlington Heights. There will be bounce houses, popcorn, sno-cones, cotton candy, outdoor games, music, and other fun activities. Come and get to know the Quest Church family.

In order to commemorate this new partnership, Quest Church will hold a ribbon-tying ceremony September 13, with the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce at the conclusion of their 3:30 pm service, at the St. Peter Life Center, 111 W. Olive Street, Arlington Heights. Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes and Chamber of Commerce Director Jon Ridler will be present for the ribbon tying. The public is encouraged to attend this event.

Says Taylor, “For the last three years, in all that we have done, it has always been our goal to become the church that Arlington Heights needs, and we pray that this partnership will be a great stepping stone to help us reach that goal.”

For questions about Quest Church, please contact Pastor Ed Taylor at 309-712-6495, or visit the website at www.Quest-Church.com.

What would Jesus do?

The other day, I was manning a booth for our church at a local "Taste of..." event when a middle-aged guy came up and asked me, "How can I get rid of my sins?"

Right then, I suddenly realized I didn't like any of my answers to that question. I had officially lost my elevator speech. I fumbled and danced around the issue, partly because he was clearly baiting me.

He was obviously a Christian guy who, for whatever reason fancied himself the Chicagoland doctrine police, and I felt like he'd thrown down the gauntlet, and here I was, with no shield and sword to protect myself.

So he was baiting me, but also I realized most of the pat answers that were rattling around in the darkest recesses of my brain were pretty dusty, and were no longer resonating with me.

After this guy left, feeling like he'd trumped me with his question, I found myself wrestling with shame that sprang from my apparent inability to put Peter's command to "always be prepared" into action, but more importantly thinking, "Wait a minute. What was that supposed to accomplish?"

Was he supposed to be representing the seeker to me? If so, he failed. Honestly, what's the likelihood that any modern seeker would EVER ask that question? I'd say it's about zero.

After he was long gone (of course) I came up with the perfect response. I thought, "When he asked, 'How can I get rid of my sins?' why didn't I just do what Jesus would have done, and say "Why do you ask?"

The envelope please...

So, I haven't seen everything yet, but I have seen all eight Best Picture nominees. So, I'm going to pretend like that gives me some authority to share my picks for the 87th Academy Awards. I'm just going with the biggies because, honestly, who can be expected to predict sound editing or documentary short feature. So here goes...

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
What should win? The Grand Budapest Hotel - SO clever
What will win? Birdman - brilliant

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
What should win? Inherent Vice - assuming this because PTA is awesome
What will win? Theory of Everything - think this is gonna be their biggest win

VISUAL EFFECTS
This is a toss-up - I have seen all five and all were amazing. I'm rooting for Interstellar because it was so unusual.

SONG
What should win? Everything is Awesome
What will win? Glory - this is a shoe-in. This is one of two noms for Selma, and it is definitely not going to win Best Picture. So this will win.

ORIGINAL SCORE
What should win? Interstellar
What will win? The Imitation Game

CINEMATOGRAPHY
This is a toughy - but I'm giving it to Birdman

ANIMATED FILM
I don't think there's a standout here - I would give it to The Lego Movie, but it got snubbed. So I'm leaning toward Big Hero 6

DIRECTOR
All five brilliant. 
Who should win? Alejandro Inarritu - Birdman - This film was a stunning achievement
Who will win? Richard Linklater - Boyhood - likewise stunning - but it was an actor's film

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Who should win? Emma Stone - Birdman - She blew me away in this role - amazing
Who will win? Patricia Arquette -  Boyhood - She was great, but Emma was awesome

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Who should win? J.K. Simmons - Whiplash - all great performances, I'm sure, but...
Who will win? J.K. Simmons - if Simmons doesn't win, I'm going to Hollywood and starting a riot.

BEST ACTRESS
Of the big categories, this is the one I feel least qualified to pick, as I have seen only one of the nominees. However...
Who do I wish would win? Reese Witherspoon - Wild - everything I've seen looks amazing
Who do I think will probably win? Julianne Moore - Still Alice - This looks like a nuanced and sensitive performance - she seems to be the favorite

BEST ACTOR
First, I want to say, I have seen four of the five performances and they were all amazing, but...
Who should win? Michael Keaton - Birdman - I will be SO happy if he gets it, but...
Who will win? Eddie Redmayne - Theory of Everything - this is the kind of role Oscar loves.

BEST PICTURE
All eight are statue-worthy, but...
What should win? Whiplash - I was continually thrilled and enthralled from the first second to the last. It won't win, but it was incredible.
What will win? There's a chance this could go to Birdman, but I think Boyhood will take it. This movie was amazing. But more importantly, it was an amazing achievement. I really think this will win.

"Lucy" is much ado about nothin'

So, I was really pumped to watch "Lucy" because I have always liked Luc Besson and have been a fan ever since stumbling on "La Femme Nikita" way back when it was still new. Plus, in my opinion, ScarJo's stock just keeps going up and up (especially in light of her interesting turns in "Her" and "Under the Skin"). So I was willing to offer Besson a lot of latitude with "Lucy," even considering the ridiculous premise (that humans only use 10% of their cerebral capacity). But unfortunately this movie, while full of really cool visuals and some interesting ideas (not to mention lots of Morgan Freeman's reassuring baritone), was just silly.

In reality, we use most of our brain most of the time, but we maybe fully understand what is going on up there about 10% of the time. But I was willing to pretend that was not true in an effort to enjoy Besson's picture. No such luck.

I think elements of an actual good movie might have been in there somewhere, but they were obscured by the frenetic pace, the faulty, pseudo-scientific premise, and the endless exposition. Almost felt more like a metaphysical manifesto - a Besson belief statement, if you will - than an actual story.

I don't want to give a bunch of spoilers, in case you decide you want to watch it anyway, but I do want to challenge one idea that Besson introduced. He said, through the Lucy character, that humans have the mistaken impression that they are the "basic unit of measure" necessary to understand the universe, but Lucy offers her newfound insight that there is only one unit of measure that even matters - time. She makes this point by suggesting that if we watch a film of a vehicle speeding past us, and then we speed it up infinitely, eventually the car disappears. Forget for a moment the fact that her example merely exposes our finite ability to perceive the existence of the vehicle, and instead accept her premise that it is only time that gives the vehicle existence at all - that is, when we observe it at a particular place in time, we give it existence.

If we accept that shaky argument (which brings to mind quantum mechanics, kinda), rather than rendering man irrelevant, I would argue that it makes mankind essential. Without us, who does the observing? In Besson's worldview, the sole value of the universe springs from the fact that we see it.

Anyway, there are some other interesting ideas in the movie, but it is, essentially 97 minutes of nonsense and not much fun, really. Watch at your own risk.