Imagine that it is Sunday morning. You arrive at church to find people lined up around the block waiting to get in. In fact, they have been waiting there for over two hours in hopes of getting a seat. Some of the people gush that they have been waiting for months for this moment; others have come dressed as their favorite Bible character. Most will be disappointed if the service lasts less than 90 minutes, but they are secretly hoping that it will last two hours or more. Are you bewildered? Let’s change the location.

You are at your neighborhood cinema -- one that has been chosen for a special preview of the latest blockbuster film. Are you surprised to learn that many folks made a special trip that afternoon to purchase tickets, and will return that evening at 10 PM to stand outside in the cold for a film that won’t begin for another 2 hours and will let out around 3 AM? Not at all, this happens all the time at American theaters. How do we account for the difference?

Some might say that you can’t really compare going to church to attending a movie. Church deals with serious matters, but the cinema is frivolous -- no wonder so many people seem to prefer it. “Besides,” some say, “Hollywood has an unfair advantage -- they can make their message so exciting.” Unfortunately, this way of thinking would be a mistake. What goes on in a movie theater is the same thing that goes on in church -- worldviews are being established, behaviors are condemned or condoned, even issues about transcendence are being resolved.

The issue is not location, it is engagement. The church and the world are in a life and death struggle for the souls of humankind. The world has found an engaging outlet to reach the world through popular culture. What strategy should the modern (or postmodern) Church adopt in order to make sure we reach as many people as possible?

When Paul addressed the Athenians on Mars Hill, his situation was markedly similar to our own. He faced a group of people skeptical about the Christian message. These folks were well educated, and were enamored with seeing and hearing the latest thing. They were inherently religious people as well, and surrounded themselves with objects and images of worship.

When Paul confronted that culture, did he complain that the Athenians had an unfair advantage? Was he disappointed by the comparative lack of glamour in his own message when contemplating the great temples and idols of Athens? Not at all.

It is important to know that Paul did not like the images and idols of the Athenian culture. The Scriptures tell us that his spirit was provoked because he saw the city full of idols. Instead of stomping away in disgust, Paul did what every foreign missionary since then has done -- he used the artifacts of the local culture and demonstrated how they pointed to Christ. And that is our goal as well.

J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both recognized the power of stories to stir the hearts of men. They believed that God sowed the seeds of the great stories of mankind even among the pagans, so that when the truly Great Story arrived, they would be able to recognize it. The purpose of this ongoing newsletter will be to equip you to understand the ways in which film impacts culture, and to show you how to harness Hollywood and turn its stories into a touch point to share the Gospel. As we engage our culture, be prepared to see Church become a lot more exciting -- and it might not hurt to add some seats.

My Thought On R-rated Movies

A Word About Discernment/Responsibility

Every once in a while someone asks a question about the use of video clips. "How can you justify showing a rated 'R' film?" or "Aren't you endorsing movies and what they stand for by their use?" I thought I'd address that right up front since I know those emails are coming.

I wouldn't show most movies to kids- and to be honest with you, 'R' isn't the line I use. I'm surprised how often Christians make the 'R' rating, a secular rating system based on secular morals, their line. There is more PG and PG-13 junk out there than ever before. Furthermore, almost every sit com on the 3 major networks today have more junk than 'R' movies 30 years ago, and to be totally honest with you . . . I would rather kids see some movies out there than most sit coms on TV today.  A movie like Saving Private Ryan is Captain Kangaroo compared to your average 5 minutes of television's FRIENDS, DAWSON'S CREEK, or BOSTON PUBLIC.

My movie suggestions take small clips from movies to promote discussion.  I recommend using discretion when choosing which movies to watch.

Now realize- my background is working with non-church kids in campus clubs.  Most the kids I work with are allowed to watch R-rated movies and are always talking about them.  Fact is, in my recent survey of junior high kids (age 12, 13, and 14) their favorite movie is an 'R' rated film.  A good example was last year: over 90% of the students had seen Matrix and were talking about it, so we did a Matrix discussion (see link on my video clip page, under the topic "Choices")  Finding clips from these films and discussing them can be advantageous. Precaution always has to be taken . . . and ramifications always need to be prayerfully considered. But I don't have a problem with showing clips from movies, especially from a war movie like Saving Private Ryan.

Personally, I love movies. Anyone who knows me knows that if they go see a movie with me I usually give the run-down on who directed it, the director's history and the history of all the actors.  I studied film in college and I have even dinked around filming a few shorts. However, I have 3 kids and they don't watch anything but a little public television and kids films (Milo & Otis, Tarzan, etc.)  Web sites like www.screenit.com have been a great help in discerning what is appropriate for viewing.

Just because I personally watch almost no TV but like movies, I'm not going to shove that on anyone else. I 'm hoping and praying that youth workers, Creative Arts Directors and pastors out there are going to stay connected to Christ and let their wisdom and decision making flow from Him.  Meanwhile, I'll try to keep providing good ideas and resources that might be useful to some, and maybe not to others.

Those who are against using movie clips from "R" rated movies make some good points.  The point I disagree is where they arbitrarily say R rated movies are evil and then state that we shouldn't have anything to do with evil.  While I agree that we shouldn't have anything to do with evil, where does Scripture say "Pvt Ryan" or R rated movies are evil?  The thing that we need to be careful of is adding to Scripture and giving our addition the same credence as Scripture.  Doing this only leads to trouble.  The classic example is Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

In Genesis 3:3, when the serpent was questioning Eve about God's instructions she added to God's Word.  Her reply seemed innocent, "God said that we must not eat from the tree in the middle of the Garden, and we must not touch it or we will die."  God simply said, "Don't eat from it."  He didn't say anything about touching it.   What had she done?  She ADDED to God's Word just to be safe; but what's wrong with adding a "bonus of goodness?"  By doing this she was implying that God's Word wasn't good enough to stand up to Satan's temptations.  She had to "help God out" and she made an extra rule just to be safe!  You know where that led. 

How does Eve's actions relate to your critic's stand on R rated movies?  Scripture is clear on many things we should avoid, but it is silent about movies.  I would say that it is a good policy to avoid R rated movies in the majority of cases, just as you said in your article, but be careful of saying it is a sin to attend R rated movies.  That's adding to God's Word and it can only lead to trouble.  Why not simply say we will evaluate each movie on its own merits in light of Philippians 4:8?  Doing this will eliminate 99 and 99/100% of R rated movies.  We are not condemning the movie; we are simply evaluating it in light of God's Word.  Be careful about making blanket statements and making conclusions Scripture doesn't.
 
I believe this would be an excellent time to teach people how to discern quality entertainment as a whole.  They typically don't know.  The problem isn't R rated movies, the problem is most kids don't know what is good.  Their pastor may say to avoid R rated movies, but they never taught them what is worthwhile.  Many PG and PG-13 movies are much worse than many R rated movies.  Often the person's  thought is, "it's not R rated, so it's okay."  Is it really?  Someone needs to teach people how to choose quality entertainment.  If most people are asked if a movie was good, their response is often, "It was funny!" Or "It was exciting!" Or "It was sexy!" Or "It had a lot of special effects!"  But they can't explain if it was good or not. 

If your people don't have the ability of discerning quality entertainment, they will forever be subject to the manipulation of the Hollywood marketing machine.  As parents and leaders we must see the vast majority of entertainment as "ammunition" aimed our families in the Spiritual war of life.  It is our responsibility to teach our loved ones how not to be causalities in this battle for their minds.  A way you can do this is to bring "their entertainment" into your small groups and services and help them filter it through the grid of God's Word just like you did with "Pvt Ryan." 

Finally, as a caution, study Eph 5:1-12.  We are to expose evil, but to stay innocent of sin.  How can we do that?  This is my most difficult challenge as a speaker.  My problem is not knowing my material, it's how do I expose evil and still keep my audience innocent of sin.  I'm sure you have seen "presentations" on the evils of entertainment that exposed too much.  Don't be one of them!

In His service and yours,
Al Menconi

www.AlMenconi.com