What if Jesus had an agent?
Maybe a savvy negotiator could have gotten Jesus the perfect gigs and nightclub headliners at the Jerusalem Jazz Fest for miracle night or a healing extravaganza? That would attract the big paying crowds, wouldn't it? Man, oh man, if he had a few European speaking tours he could have persuaded the world to believe in him without even needing the cross? Just think: A good marketing plan and a polished mission statement could have saved Jesus a lot of grief… don’t you think? Jesus’ own brothers thought so! In John 7, they encouraged him to really go BIG. In a loose paraphrase, his brothers said something like this to him in verses 2-4, “Why not leave podunk Galilee and take your talents to the big city of Jerusalem? Show the world your stuff and they will love you! If you got it brother, flaunt it!” There is only one problem with this suggestion: this is not why Jesus came! Jesus’ goal was not to “win friends and influence people,” but to DIE! For many modern day Christians, we tend to forget this. Enjoying the show is so much more fun than weeping over our sin; and just like his brothers, we foolishly imagine the best bet for the gospel is “Puttin’ on the Ritz!” We think…”Wow, imagine the various ways Jesus could attract the crowd: he could heal, he could preach with power, he knew how to use edgy and raw props like spittle & mud, and you know he was the first to really sport the anti-establishment post-modern beard? Such possibilities…” People are suckers for Hollywood & Hype…and if the show attracts a big crowd, we think, “all the better for God,” right? I am not so sure…think about it… - Doesn't the incessant need to do anything to attract more and go BIG reveal the god we really worship: the world and their praise? - If we think we need more celebrities and athletes to jump on the Christian bandwagon to legitimize the gospel, and it is important to us to have pollsters confirm that Jesus is still popular; then doesn't that mean God has to keep active and pull out all the stops "to get out the vote" just like any ole regular politician? - If the Gospel is only seen as powerful if it makes someone successful, or worship is only genuine if the hot ladies in church are up front singing, than is it really a message for the common man? Who was the gospel meant for anyway? People like you and me: FAILURES, FOOLS, SINNERS AND SLOBS. And if that is true, than why do we get so excited when Tim Tebow gets signed by a team (because honestly, he is not that good)? Does it mean God is back on top and he can make anyone who believes in him successful too? Or any news of a pop star singing about Jesus like Carrie Underwood, we think the gospel is “winning” once again? YEAH!!! I remember when I first started in Youth Ministry, every teen that could play a guitar had dreams of starting a Christian band. If you were to ask them why, they would tell you, “I want to use my talents for Christ.” But I had this sneaky suspicion that what they really wanted was to dip into the new sea of fanatical followers after seeing all the success of Jars of Clay and Third Day. “Wow, finally, music we could jam too without being embarrassed…and if I hit it big, go on tour, get black eyeliner like Kevin Smith (or is it Kevin Max?), witness to the hardcore group KORN as I headline for them, than I am finally doing something for the kingdom of God. Right? Oh yeah, it would be cool to …’have a limo, ride in the back, and lock the doors in case I’m attacked (anyone remember that song?)’” Nowadays, all the rage is to be a Christian Movie Maker, an actor, or maybe even a script writer. Now that most churches allow their people to go to the theater, this has become the new road to reach the masses with the gospel. My guess, it is also a cool and intoxicating way to achieve fame, glory and big money. Many trendy Christians disguise their desire for success by intellectually arguing that, “story and narrative is what reaches people instead of straight forward proclamation and the need to understand doctrine & theology. The new road for evangelism for the church is to get a film to be screened at the Sundance Film Festival, buddying up with Robert Redford." Individual Christians even convince themselves they need to go to film school because “I know I am gifted with filming and movie making because I was in church dramas and I am also really good at posting You Tube videos.” I remember talking to one person who actually told me that it is O.K. for him to watch all the movies Hollywood ever put out, even the rotten pornographic ones, because he watches them with an artist’s eye! He is a movie expert, so he evaluates them with a trained eye, not like your average novice movie-goer who only wants a cheap thrill. And then he finished his foolish justification by saying: “And let me tell you, I really love movies.” Tell me, “Who doesn't?” Remember when “Passion of the Christ” came out? Churches would buy whole theatre showings because it was going to be a powerful tool for the gospel. Mel Gibson wrote and produced it, Mad Max and Braveheart himself, just think? It made some big money, it was eye catching, it was brutal. . . and the hype only lasted 6 months. “O.K. Mel, what’s next?” Then he went off the deep end. Tell me, do churches still promote the “Passion of the Christ” to reach people? No, it’s “Facing the Giants,” “Fireproof,” and “Courageous,” now. Maybe even putting big studio money in projects like “Noah,” are going to win the world? Russell Crowe for Jesus! (I don’t think so) Am I against movies being made with Christian themes? No, but the desire for fame, making it big, and using Hollywood marketing tactics as a substitute for one-on-one sharing and loving others… I am against. Jesus came to engage a broken world…not to impress a highly competitive world. He didn’t come to win, he came to die. He isn’t here to impress but to bleed. What is interesting, in the same chapter of John, Jesus said that the way you can tell if his teaching is genuine or not is by “doing the Will of God.” He didn't say by “watching.”
1 Comment
5/27/2016 11:28:27 pm
So earlier this week I was starving... then hardly hungry at all compared to the day before. Now I can't sleep and wake up around 3AM wide awake. What the hell is going on!?
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