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The Passion as Evangelism

There is little doubt that for many people The Passion will indeed be a significant film. It may briefly raise the profile of Jesus in society, leading to religious discussion and debate - it may even move people deeply and emotionally. In that regard, the positive reaction of certain British and American Evangelicals is understandable – we live in a dying world, which, particularly in the UK, shuns all conversation centring on Christ and his cross. Who would not welcome any opportunity to buck the trend of silence and cynicism regarding Christ’s work?

It would seem that the Passion is a God-given opportunity to be embraced with open arms. Here is a Hollywood blockbuster costing millions of dollars to produce and advertise, yet costing the church of Christ absolutely nothing, and bringing the historical Jesus to people who would never darken the doors of any church building, never mind anywhere that the true gospel would be preached.

What problems could there possibly be? Surely those who discourage people from seeing it are either short sighted, or failing to seize a chance that may never arise again? It may not be a perfect presentation of the gospel, but surely it is better than no presentation?

After all, listen to the ringing endorsements of church leaders worldwide:

"I think there is a possibility that churches that don't deal with this are almost going to be missing the boat," said Dan Marler, pastor of Church of God in Oak Lawn, Chicago, whose congregation has bought out all 360 seats at the 10 a.m. showing of "The Passion" on Feb. 28 at Loews Cineplex in Crestwood. "If you're a Christian church that's pro-Jesus, how could you not take advantage of this?"

So far the largest reported block of tickets was at Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif., where Gibson hosted the first large-scale screening of the film for pastors in early January.

Saddleback, whose pastor is Rick Warren, author of the mega-best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life, has purchased 18,000 tickets at seven theaters for the first two days the film is out, a spokesman for the church said.

"This is a window of opportunity we have. Here's a guy who's putting his money into a movie that has everything to do with what we do. Churches used to communicate by having a little lecture time on Sunday morning. People don't interact that way anymore. Here's a chance for us to use a modern-day technique to communicate the truth of the Bible"."

Pastor Cory Engel of Harvest Springs Community Church in Great Falls, Montana.

I can say that, in addition to being faithful to the essentials of the biblical account, it is easily the most heart-wrenching, powerful portrayal of Christ's suffering that I have ever seen.

Having shared a few of the details concerning The Passion of the Christ, may I now encourage you to take the time to go see the movie when it is released on the 25th of this month?

“It is deeply moving, powerful, and disturbing. A film that must be seen."
James Dobson, founder and Chairman of the Board of Focus on the Family

"After watching 'The Passion of the Christ,' I feel as if I have actually been there. I was moved to tears. I doubt if there has ever been a more graphic and moving presentation of Jesus' death and resurrection – which Christians believe are the most important events in human history.

The film is faithful to the Bible's teaching that we are all responsible for Jesus' death, because we have all sinned," Graham continued. "It is our sins that caused His death, not any particular group. No one who views this film's compelling imagery will ever be the same."
Billy Graham

"One of the most powerful evangelistic tools of the last 100 years."
Greg Laurie, Harvest Crusades

The endorsements simply go on and on.

Russ Hughes, director of worship and prophecy at St Luke's Maidstone said this:

"...we are competing for people's attention with things like the 9/11 disaster and Kylie Minogue's rear end, so we are not going to get people in by running a jumble sale ... This is the greatest opportunity for the Church in the last 30 years and if we did not use it we may not get such an opportunity again.”

Even in places where the gospel of Christ is hated and persecuted, the Passion has a foothold!

JEDDAH, 15 March 2004 — Pirated DVDs of controversial Hollywood blockbuster “The Passion of Christ” have hit the streets and are selling like hot cakes, according to street vendors.

The film is being sold outside of supermarkets, and out of the trunk of cars for the price of SR30 or less. A copy obtained by Arab News was of high quality.

A street vendor said on condition of anonymity vendors underestimated demand for the movie because the dialogue is in Latin and ancient Aramaic rather than English. “My customers don’t like subtitled movies, but they are buying this one."
Arab World News

So, bearing in mind the good intentions and motives of Christians to share the gospel with a lost world, and reminding ourselves of the enthusiastic endorsements of numerous Christian leaders, why should we have any problems with watching and promoting it?

We will begin to explore that in the next post...

Posted by pencils at March 30, 2004 11:10 AM | TrackBack