The Gospel Coalition

I love reading, books especially, but magazines too. So I’m always looking forward to going to the mailbox to receive my weekly edition of World, my bi-monthly edition of Modern Reformation or my monthly Christianity Today. But last week, my happiness over receiving a magazine sunk to a simmering anger over Christianity Today’s semi-cover-story of the new movie Evan Almighty.

OK… I will admit that when I got inside the house, I turned past the cover to see that Donald Miller was actually on the front cover. What looked like it was the front and back cover was actually a cleverly-designed marketing piece from the Willow Creek guys for the upcoming sequel to Bruce Almighty. Sorry, Don… but Hollywood’s newest way to garner evangelical dollars squeezed Blue Like Jazz off the front cover.

So now, I’m mad. Mad at evangelicalism’s rampant worldliness that goes under the cover of “engaging the culture.” Mad at evangelicalism’s premiere magazine that just threw away 50 years of classiness for a cheap nickle. Mad at Hollywood for looking at evangelicals as just another segment of the population that can fill their pockets. And mad at evangelicals for being naive enough to not see ourselves being fleeced.

I take my copy of CT into the office to show my pastor, and he shows me a website called “Sermon Spice” that is offering him free clips from popular, current movies to use in his sermons. Umm… which one should we show the church? The one with Spiderman fighting with an enemy until he kills him by holding his head against a moving train? That’ll be more exciting than sending the kids to Children’s Church!

Oh, and then to top it off, Hollywood has the sermon ideas to back up the film clip. Let’s preach on revenge. OK – that’s it. Enough of Romans. Let’s do a series on Revenge and show a Spiderman clip each week! How convenient that Spiderman 3 had film clips for pastors to coincide with the release on its opening weekend! And clips from Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek were right there too!

I never use this blog to rant about anything. Frequent readers know that I am usually very respectful and patient, even when I firmly disagree with someone. But I can’t be quiet about this. This whole situation is trashy. And I am flabbergasted that pastors and leaders would be so quick to jump on the bandwagon and allow a money-obsessed, culture-making machine bastardize the Christian church for profit.

Hollywood woke up after The Passion of the Christ, when Mel Gibson made milions by going to pastors to plug his film. Not missing a beat, Hollywood now markets anything remotely ”Family-Friendly” to the Church.

But Hollywood is in for a rude awakening, and this realization should embarrass us as Christians.  Evangelicals are watching the same movies as everyone else. Forget the “family-friendly” stuff. Evangelicals will go to Evan Almighty and laugh at God getting mocked just like their unchurched neighbors will. We are the ones going to church on Sunday mornings and watching Desperate Housewives Sunday nights. We are the ones who are so desperate for Hollywood’s approval and attention that we will let the movie-making industry take up minutes of precious pulpit time on a Sunday morning, when we should be declaring “Thus says the Lord…”

It’s taken twenty years for evangelicals to begin realizing how the Republican Party has sought evangelical approval for political gain. Will it take twenty years before we see how Hollywood is now doing the same thing for monetary benefit? Or by that time, will we have just abandoned preaching altogether and decided to show movies instead?

written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog