Lance Sterling is the world’s coolest spy. He also happens to be the world’s bestspy.

He fights crime in a tuxedo without sweating a drop. He escapes from a room of bad guys with a flip of the wrist. And his exploits are often accompanied by funky background music.

He’s a spy who (seemingly) can do no wrong. That is, until a villain named Killian gets involved.

Killian frames Sterling for a major crime. Even worse, he uses a cloning device so that Sterling’s face is seen on video at the scene.

Suddenly, Lance Sterling goes from the world’s best spy to a criminal on the run.

Sterling needs someone to help him. But who?

The animated children’s movie Spies in Disguise (PG) opened in theaters this week, telling the story of a debonair spy who befriends a quirky-but-brilliant young scientist named Walter Beckett, who was recently fired from his job and is looking for work. Unfortunately, though, Sterling accidentally drinks the wrong potion in Beckett’s home lab and is turned into a talking pigeon. While that might help him get away from law enforcement until he finds Killian, it also hampers his spying skills — not to mention his suave style.

It stars Will Smith (Men In Black series) as Sterling, Tom Holland (Spider-Man series) as Beckett, Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy series) as Eyes, and Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One) as Killian.

Spies In Disguiseis a funny and entertaining Mission Impossible-type film that has positive messages about being different and not fitting in, although it also has a couple of elements (including partial male nudity and violence) that might trouble some parents.

Warning: minor/moderate spoilers!

(Scale key: none, minimal, moderate, extreme)

Violence/Disturbing

Moderate. The movie, like most films in this genre, includes tons of punching, kicking and fighting, although much of it is just off-camera. Still, a few scenes may trouble children, including one in which Killian dangles a man over a cliff and drops him, presumably to his death. A character is tased. Killian is mostly a normal-looking guy, although at one point he changes his faces to reveal a past injury (half his face was burned).

The film also contains lines normally not heard in a film aimed at children. (“I’m going to show you pain”; “over my dead body.”)

We learn Walter’s mother, a police officer, previously was killed.

Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity

Minimal/moderate. One of the film’s bad guys is a muscular, overweight man named Kimura. In one scene, we see him fully naked from behind. (Tattoos cover his body, including his buttocks.) We see partial views of his posterior once or twice more.

We see a woman in a bikini near a beach.

The opening scene includes a song, Freak of Nature (by Mark Ronson), with suggestive lyrics. 

We hear jokes about a bird’s posterior.

Coarse Language

None/minimal. No coarse language, although we hear “suck,” “shut up”and an unfinished“I’m gonna kick some ….”

Life Lessons

Different can be good: Beckett’s mother tells him in the opening scene that the “world needs weird” — and that, someday, his ideas will make an impact.

Parenting is worth it: As a child, Beckett often makes messes and tests his mom’s patience. Yet he grows up to be a brilliant scientist. 

Don’t live life ‘solo’: Sterling tells everything he doesn’t need help. He flies solo. Eventually, though, he realizes he needs help. 

Worldview/Application

Is different and weird always good? No. But can it be good? Of course. Often, it’s the kids who are different that change the world for the better.

Beckett tells his mother that “school is boring and the kids think I’m weird,” but she encourages him and says his unique mind will make an impact on society.

Christian parents can apply this theme to the spiritual realm, too. The Bible says God’s people are to be set apart and holy. They are to be different. Sometimes, children (and adults) face enormous pressure to “fit in” to a sinful world. But God is the only audience that matters.   

Final Verdict

I watched Spies in Disguise with my 11-year-old son, who loved it. It contains elements that might trouble younger viewers — and one or two elements that should have been left out — but as an animated espionage film, it’s fun.

Discussion Questions

1. What should Sterling have done when he was faced with arrest?

2. Have you ever felt different from others, like Walter felt?

3. What does the Bible say about being different?

4. When is “weird” and “different” not OK? 

Entertainment rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Family-friendly rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Rated PG for action, violence, and rude humor.

I didn’t make it to the first Star Wars film in 1977—I was too young to go—but I was there in 1980 for The Empire Strikes Backand in 1983 for Return of the Jedi.

I still remember the shock in Empire when Luke Skywalker learned he was the son of the evil Dark Vader and, in the next movie, a similar shock when Darth saved Luke from an imminent death.

Back then, I didn’t have to worry about blogs and tweets and text messages spoiling the plot. As long as I didn’t pick up the newspaper or read a copy of Time magazine I was in the clear.

Today, though it’s a near-miracle if you don’t know the plot of a major film before you see it. And that, of course, spoils the fun.

Still, it can be helpful for a parent to know the general direction of a film. A movie for a tween might not be appropriate for a kindergartner.

That’s where this review can be beneficial. I’ll warn you about the major content problems of the latest Star Warsfilm, The Rise of Skywalker (PG-13)—the violence, the language and that same-sex kiss—without spoiling the plot or revealing names of characters.   

And if you stick around to the end, I’ll also tell you if I liked it and where it ranks in my list of Star Warsfilms.

Ready? Let’s go.

Warning: minor/moderate spoilers!

(Scale key: none, minimal, moderate, extreme)

Violence/Disturbing

Moderate. Rise of Skywalker includes nearly (if not as much) violent and disturbing content as Revenge of the Sith. Two or three scenes are not only visually dark (read: spooky) but dark in tone, as well. The final scene is far darker than the final scene in Return of the Jedi.

One or two characters are particularly wicked-looking (and we see details in their faces during scary scenes). If you’re wanting context: I watched the film with my 11-year-old son but would not want my 4-year-old child to see it.     

Of course, it contains typical Star Wars violence: multiple light saber battles, laser gun fights and space explosions. We see lifeless bodies on the ground. We see light sabers puncture abdomens. We also see a bloodless alien head’s sitting on a table. Further, we see a flashback to a child being taken from his/her parents. 

Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity

Minimal. Rise of Skywalker breaks new ground by showing us a same-sex kiss, although it occurs between two nameless characters and is quick. Here are the details: The final third of the film includes a battle scene won by the Resistance. Pilots climb out of their fighter planes to celebrate (much like in A New Hope), and we see multiple scenes in quick succession. One of those scenes includes two women smiling and kissing. It lasts perhaps a full second and is in the middle of the screen, with other characters surrounding them. I noticed it easily, but I was looking for it. If you’re looking down at your popcorn or checking your text messages, you might miss it. Moments later, we see the two women holding hands on the edge of the screen. That, too, could be easily missed.

The film also contains a kiss between a man and a woman.

It’s also worth noting that Rey’s costumes throughout this latest trilogy stay in the family-friendly realm—and for that, Disney should be commended. (In the previous two trilogies, Princess Leia and then Padme wore costumes that showed too much skin.)

Coarse Language

Minimal. Here is what I counted: h– (3), d–n (2) and a– (1). Most of it is spoken by Poe.

Worldview/Application

The Star Wars universe, of course, includes elements of pantheism, the unbiblical belief that holds that everything and everyone is “god.” (Hinduism and some strands of Buddhism are pantheistic.) In Rise of Skywalker, we hear of “life” transferring from one character to another. We also, for the first time, see someone healed using the force.

There is no personal God in the Star Wars universe – something that might be worth discussing on the ride home.

Sponsors

McDonald’s, General Mills, Samsung Mobile, Dannon, Bose, GE appliances, Porsche and United Airlines.

Final Verdict

Rise of Skywalker is a great ending to a trilogy that has received plenty of criticism. But it’s a trilogy I enjoyed. I will tentatively place it at No. 4 on my list of favorite Star Wars films:

1a. The Empire Strikes Back, 1b. A New Hope, 3. The Force Awakens, 4. The Rise of Skywalker, 5. The Last Jedi, 6. Return of the Jedi, 7a. Rogue One, 7b. Solo, 9. Revenge of the Sith, 10. The Phantom Menace, 11. Attack of the Clones.

Entertainment rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. Family-friendly rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action.

I am often asked, “What is your vision for the future of the SBTC?” Or,“Where do you see yourself in five years?” My answer is usually disappointing because I don’t have something new. I do have goals. I do have expectations. There are milestones I want to reach. There are mountains I want to climb. It is not important that I have a “vision” for the future. It is the revelation of God’s Word that sets the priorities for the future.

Proverbs 29:18 in the King James Version says, “Where there is no vision the people perish…” This mistranslation has caused many misapplications. All the newer translations render the phrase much differently. Even the New King James Version gets it right, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.” What the wise writer of Proverbs was conveying is that when there is no clear word from God people will live rebelliously. It is not someone’s imaginative ideas that should drive us in the New Year. The Word of God will guide us.

Personally, you can never get away from Christianity 101. Private devotional time, witnessing, tithing and the basics of a believer areto be repeated year after year after year. Professionally, there are principles that guide an organization or church. The SBTC’s core values of being biblicallybased, kingdomfocused and missionallydriven (by the Cooperative Program) cannot change. If they do, the SBTC will no longer be the SBTC but something else. Can the SBTC improve in serving the churches? Yes! Are there methods that have to change in order to adjust to culture and demographics? Yes! Whatever is done to address the future has to be based on the unchanging Word of God. 

Twenty-twenty vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. If you have 20/100 vision, it means that you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 100 feet. Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision.  Having great goals or inpiring ideas will not necessarily give you a “Happy New Year”. Only the Word of God can give you a perfect path for the future. As we start a new year in 2020, get perfect vision for your path by staying with the Word of God.  

The most influential Southern Baptist woman in ministry gave her life in service to Christ. Lottie Moon was an affluent, highly-educated linguist from Virginia whose testimony reads like something from a novel. But in her case, the facts were far greater than fiction.

While Lottie Moon demonstrated little to no interest in Christianity during her early years, a revival sermon on her college campus, preached by Southern Baptist legend John Broadus (one of the founders of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), changed her life.

When she was still a college student, Moon met Crawford Toy, a brilliant young Baptist Hebrew teacher, and the two eventually planned to get married. Toy, however, had been influenced by Darwinism, and his theology grew more heavily informed by German liberalism, embroiling him in controversy while he taught at Southern Seminary. Eventually Professor Toy left Southern Baptist life, became a Unitarian, and taught at Harvard. Lottie Moon’s convictions about the trustworthiness of the Bible and her commitment to Christ wouldn’t allow her to go through with the wedding plans. She never married. Her heart, instead, was set on missions.

In spite of her marital status, in an unusual move, especially for the late 19th century, the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board commissioned Moon to go to China as a missionary. She would spend the rest of her life in ministry there.

Eventually, missionary funding and personnel support became slow in coming. Lottie Moon gave her last dollars and most of her food to the hungry Chinese people in her care, all the while pleading with the mission board and stateside churches for more missionaries and more support.

Lottie Moon was exhausted and starving, but she refused to go home. Finally, unable to care for herself, others put her aboard a ship headed for the States. She weighed fifty pounds. Two weeks after leaving China, while docked in a port in Japan, Lottie Moon died. It was Christmas Eve 1912. She had been in China for nearly four decades.

During her selfless life, Lottie Moon’s tireless efforts on the field and persistent letter-writing to the States appealing for more missionaries and more funding stirred greater interest in missions. The circumstances and timing of her death only fueled the missionary zeal of Baptist women eager to get the gospel to the world. As a result, for more than a century the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering has funneled $4.5 billion to world missions. Half of the International Mission Board’s budget for missions comes from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and every penny given goes directly to missions.

I urge our Southern Baptists of Texas churches to tell her story and give generously this year. In addition, we preachers should call out the next generation of missionaries to answer the call to missions. The men and women with the call to go will come from our churches. Some of them are now teenage boys and girls or younger, sitting in our services every Sunday. Is there another Lottie Moon in your youth group?

The sacrificial life of Lottie Moon is a biography worth repeating and a ministry worth emulating. As Southern Baptists of Texas, our churches can and should lead by example in giving generously and sacrificially to international missions. This year let’s send a strong signal of support that the SBTC wants to be a big part of sending the gospel, and more missionaries, to the nations.