Pierced to the Heart

is produced by author-speaker Randy Heffner. I do this because, by writing and teaching about film, I want to help us, as people of the heart, become who we need to be.

Love, mercy, justice, humility. Such are the traits of a beautiful world and of a life well lived. I long to see more of these traits in the world, so I like to study and talk about things that seem to make them increase — especially things that touch many people, things that are undervalued or treated as commonplace, and things that cause contention among people with differing viewpoints.

Certainly, film touches many people. Many see it as everyday, commonplace entertainment (and indeed some films are). For many within the Christian community, film creates great concern (as in some cases, it should) and is cause for contention. Yet, even though there are trite films and films of excess, I find that there are many, many films through which we can see the world more clearly, learn to love more fully, understand better why ugly things are ugly, and come away with deeper and richer hearts and lives.

If film is to play a role in forming our hearts, it requires foundation, perspective, openness, and clarity to understand, at a heart level, how Goodness, Truth, and Beauty (and their opposites) play out in each particular film and how to let the film’s Beauty have its impact inside us. Through and by teaching on faith and film in your community, I aim to open new pathways toward hearts of humility, justice, mercy, and love.

A bit more about me and my work

Avocationally, I teach a short series on faith and film for Christian groups including youth, adults, college groups, and parents. I also participate in a group at my church, Park Cities Presbyterian in Dallas, Texas, that aims to have film as a medium for building relationships with the community around us. In my professional work as a globally known author-speaker in the software industry (with Forrester Research), I integrate diverse bodies of thought to create new and powerful ways to design business software. The same integration of diverse thought infuses my work for , which integrates philosophy, psychology, art, culture, parenting, and Christian theology. I love deep dialog on topics like these, and I have for many years pursued learning through philosophy lectures, art conferences, film groups, reading, and personal study. My true work comes from these deep streams, and I love to pursue it together with others.