Monday, June 23, 2008

Austin Powers II: The Spy Who Preached!

Pittsburgh, PA May 25th 10:11 p.m.

I sat down at the edge of my brother’s bed with a round glass of Sangria in one hand and a Direct TV remote in the other. By this time our homemade pizzas were baking in the oven and my brother and I were watching some TV. That night was the second time I tasted Sangria, the first time was a homemade version back in D.C. at Jonathan’s spot. This time around the beverage was chilled with frozen mixed berries with a dash of cinnamon. My brother is very ecclectic in the kitchen, but without question a very gifted cook. To my surprise one of my favorite movies was on, Austin Powers II: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The cool thing about it is was that so much time has passed since I seen it last that I could hardly remember the difference between the first movie and the second one (the third movie I didn’t bother seeing at all.)I must have seen the film half a dozen times because I worked at a movie theater when it first came out, hmm my very first job come to think of it. Watching the movie again made me appreciate it all the more, and I was surprised because a lot of films from my high school era are worse in retrospect. It was funny to see Will Ferrell still playing secondary roles, and to see Mike Myers doing his thing. However, the most striking thing about the film was the central conflict - Dr. Evil stole Austin’s mojo!

Austin’s mojo, sexual prowess, was essentially what made Austin, Austin. Think back to when Austin is asked to mark off his sex (gender) and he replies ‘Sex? Yes please!’ He is always asking women “Do I make you randy baby? Do I make you horny?’ His whole identity was tied up in being a shagging swinger, so when he loses his mojo he has really lost his identity & purpose. As I watched the movie I could relate to the character because I too have lost my mojo. However, my mojo is not my sex drive, but my spiritual voraciousness. I’ve been running on E spiritually and this year it has really caught up with me. Several months ago I posed these questions to a piece of paper:

Where’s my passion for life & where is my passion for the Christ? At times I feel lifeless, but I’m the righteous, so how in the world can I be having an identity crisis?

My writing, broadcasting and goal setting have all been put aside. In general, I have felt a loss of motivation, conviction and passion. Which for me is really weird, because my energy, zeal for life and outgoing personality are distinguishing qualities. So I have felt somewhat removed from life, like I’m passively going through life rather than being an active participant. More like I’ve been letting life happen to me, instead of living my life. That’s a sad way to live. My spiritual appetite has been waning, and my prayer life has fell off. My heart for evangelism and intercession has grown cold. So I’ve decided to be like Austin Powers and fight back against the Fat Bastard that stole my mojo.


In the movie Myers played both the role of the protagonist and the antagonists (Fat Bastard & Dr. Evil), and I too have been playing my own worst enemy. But thanks be unto God who gives us the victory and always causes us to triumph in Christ (Cor 15:57 & II Cor 2:14). But we cannot have the victory unless we fight, and I do intend to fight! (II Cor 10: 4-6).

3 comments:

katherine said...

I don't know many others who can pull off a comparison between Austin Power's mojo and their spiritually..amazing. Way to fight back!

Anonymous said...

Unk u did ur thang on this one....and ur right we all become our worst enemy and fight among our self

Elliott Ashby said...

I almost wrote the whole thing about Ivana Humpalot, but I couldn't draw even comparisons! Thanks.