Men at the Movies Podcast

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney close out 2021 with the Christmas movie Lethal Weapon. We discover that we always need to be on the lookout to expand our family, even when it gets messy. We often feel unqualified when God pulls us into our purpose, but retirement isn’t an option. And the real goal of doing things together is to create family and community. Go ahead, draw yourself a bath, but this t...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney celebrate Christmas with George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life.  If you want to help a man, you’ll want to know something about him.  George is invited into his father’s purpose, but is offered permission to choose his path.  Thankfully, he had Mary as a partner to see the potential and live the adventure with him.  Grab your egg nog, and let’s d...

Paul McDonald, Britt Mooney, Patrick Creehan, and Ricky Furr Jr. continue the conversation on the Shawshank Redemption.  We watch how Andy was redeeming the prison the whole time.  Freedom doesn’t come freely, and transformation takes pressure and time. Andy invites Red into his story, and God is doing the same thing for us. But as we see how God is preparing our escape plan and our dest...

We celebrate our anniversary episode with the Shawshank Redemption. In part one, we look at Andy as a model of Jesus—an innocent man sent into prison to bring freedom and hope. And if Andy is Jesus, we are Red, in danger of becoming institutionalized by the struggles and systems of the world. But we find that, even in the middle of fresh bruises and testing, a taste of freedom is a powerful thing....

Paul McDonald and Allen Arnold tackle our first series with The Chosen.  What would it be like to rediscover the Bible as an invitation to the unknown?  God’s framework of story is woven throughout the world, both in the universe and in the Bible.  And we find that following the Bigger Story of following Jesus always feels impossible and risky, but leads to the discovery and revelat...

Paul McDonald and Rob Porter talk about The Last Samurai (2003) starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe.  We love these stories of transformation because they give us hope that we can be restored.  We desire having a robust and settled disposition, a sense of inner peace and becoming content in all circumstances.  The ancient and the modern are at war for our souls.  And the only...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney jump back into video games with Free Guy. We have the capacity for change and growth, but it’s only activated when we experience our creator. The truth of the gospel is that you could be more. Your life could be fuller. And we’ve been given our freedom for a reason—to become love letters from God to a world in need. Put on the sunglasses. Step out of the background a...

Paul McDonald and Matt Gleaves enter the virtual reality of Ready Player One.  Reality can be kind of a bummer—where do you go to escape?  In this fast-paced, pressurized life we live, what would it be like to unplug and slow down?  In spite of the discomfort, we tend to sit the fence and chase comfort and stability—what would it be like to go all-in?  Strap on your goggles, ge...

Paul McDonald and Morgan Snyder talk about the 2004 film Crash. This redemptively disturbing movie is a mirror that reflects our faulty vision.  Each character is at times a victim, and at other times a perpetrator—our choices determine which way we will go and which identity we will embrace.  Thankfully, the person I am today is not the end of the story. Join us as we discover God’s tru...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney talk about the classic slasher film Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Evil exists, and will always target horny teenagers. As followers of Jesus, we are targets of Satan’s fierce hatred, and doing God’s will puts us in the crosshairs. Our only hope is to stay close to God, humbly submitting to His plan, even when it looks all wrong. Don’t throw away your knife, an...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney go back to the 80’s and talk about Ghostbusters. We have a fascination with the unseen world that drives us. We get to choose how we use our hard times and our pain. Our gifts and talents are given to us so that we can serve others. Strap on your packs, but don’t cross the streams—unless you have to. Let’s discover God’s truth in this movie. Questions How do you cele...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney conclude the 3 week “Who am I?” series with Chariots of Fire.  We compare the source of identity between Abrahams, who sought greatness through running, and Little, who measured greatness through following God.  We must find our contentment outside ourselves and our circumstances so that, win or lose, we know who we are and experience God’s smile on our liv...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney enter week 2 of the “Who am I?” series by diving into the documentary The Weight of Gold (2020) with Michael Phelps, Apolo Ohno, Shaun White, Lolo Jones, Gracie Gold, Katie Uhlaender, Bode Miller, David Boudia, Jeremy Bloom, Sasha Cohen, and, posthumously, Steven Holcomb and Jeret "Speedy" Peterson.  We dig into the contrast between accomplishment and identity,...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney begin week one of our three part “Who am I?” series with Ford vs Ferrari. We discover we were rescued for a reason. What is your reason? There’s a vast difference between living a 6,000 RPM life of safety and security, and pushing your life to 7,000 RPM with risk and adventure. And we must go through our initiation so that, when life does push our limits, we don’t so...

Paul McDonald and Dan Horner take a deeper look at The Matrix (1999), starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Ann Moss. Last week we snorkeled, this week we’re going scuba diving.  We must go on a journey to claim our identity, and that road will lead us through our doubts.  We live with a conflict of dual identities—the old man (Thomas Anderson) and the new man (Neo).  And the only...

Paul McDonald and Dan Horner look at The Matrix (1999), starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Ann Moss, as a picture of the Gospel. You are asleep and need to wake up. Your choices matter: will you take the blue pill of ignorance or the red pill of truth? There is no purple. You have the power and authority to go into the world and do good, but it’s not going to be easy. There is a...

Paul McDonald and his son Brendan get into the ring with Creed, the 2015 movie starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, and Tessa Thompson. We talk about our struggle with the question of being worthy. We see identity bestowed with love and affirmation. As in all Rocky movies, we discover that our biggest fight is the one with the man inside of us. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney talk about We Bought a Zoo with Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. Some of our greatest adventures begin in our darkest trauma. We get to decide whether to follow the story of safety and security or the story of mystery and miracles. We discover that facing our worst trials takes courage. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie. Questions How do you define a...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney talk about The Suicide Squad (2021). Even though breaking patterns feels like death, if you want to live a different story, you’re going to have to make different decisions. But when you make that courageous choice, you inspire others to do the same. And we see that those things we hold too tightly can become our idols. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movi...

Paul McDonald and Pablo Ceron explore the epic movie Gladiator (2000) starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. We compare and contrast Maximus and Commodus as reflections of our own hearts. How can we move from Commodus, who chased love and validation from the crowd, depending on them for his identity? How can we become more like Maximus, who knew who he was, and had a home worth fighting for?...

Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney discuss Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Leah Thompson.  In this movie, every character is chasing some status that they hope will give them a sense of belonging.  The lie they believe is that status is where they have value.  But truth and trust go together, leading to the intimacy and belonging we are all...

Paul McDonald and Rob Porter we dive into the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, and Jeremy Irons.  We compare how our initiation mirrors Balion’s experience.  We discuss how investing 1% every day will yield a bountiful harvest down the road.  Our job is not to build a bigger kingdom, but to make the one we have burst with life. Join us as we discover...

Paul McDonald and Allen Arnold are expanding our palette with Somewhere in Time. We explore our core longing to be known. We look at our pursuit of beauty and the extreme lengths we will go to pursue it. And we also ask ourselves about the story we are living in: while we say we know that God can make the impossible possible, how much impossible do we really think he can make possible. Join us as...

This week on the Men at the Movies podcast, we conclude our summer blockbuster series with Saving Private Ryan. We live in a world at war, but our enemy isn’t who you think it is. Going through battle requires fluid leadership and reveals a bond of brotherhood. In the brutality of the fight, we must choose every day to pursue compassion, guard our hearts, and hold on to our humanity. Join us as we...

In week 3 of the summer blockbuster series, Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney tackle their first animated film, Shrek.  We look at how we often feel like Shrek, expecting people to run away if they really knew our true self.  Or maybe we relate to the Princess, getting frustrated because things don't look like we think they should.  In reality, our goal should be to emulate the hero of...