Preach Less, Reach More
St. Augustine St. Francis of Assisi (thanks for the correction, Gaspar) is reported to have said, “Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words.” In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer expressed a similar thought about film: “The more you preach, the less you reach.”
His point is that there’s a conundrum of sorts in Hollywood these days. Studios seem to want overtly Christian films because they have seen the financial success of some Christian films. They also want their films promoted by pastors from pulpits, which in their minds means the film has to preach. Some studios have “created a cottage industry of Christian experts working on behalf of studios to help them find Christian movies or help them figure out how to make Christians come to their movies.” He calls it “the Christian machinery.”
Problem is not all filmmakers want to make movies that preach. They want to make films to make people think and engage in discussions about life. Jesus taught in parables. He said “The kingdom of heaven is like…” and told stories. That’s a great model for filmmaking.
What do you think? What are movies that don’t preach but reach people?
Movies can preach, it just has to be part of the natural flow, instead of forced. The latest VeggieTales offers some positive morals without an explicit Scriptural message. On the other hand, people go see films like Luther and The Passion of the Christ and don’t mind the explicit Scriptural messages b/c it is a natural part of the movie. The problem isn’t so much whether one includes a scriptural presentation in the film or not but whether one makes a film that is truly art or a film that masquerades the gospel in art (a sad statement on our inability to show the gospel for the majestic and redeeming creation/act it is).
January 15th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Exactly David - what’s your first intent? Sublimating the art to the message means the message will suffer because the art won’t be the first concern.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
It also depends on what you’re preaching. If its good morals, or a vague redemptive theme found in most movies, then everyone is happy. Humanism will always please both sides of the camp. But the true gospel message, a call to repentance and faith, will appeal to some, yet be repulsive to most. It’s the nature of the gospel.
With this in mind, I don’t see how we can make films that please both Hollywood and God without compromising on one of them. Both values are worlds apart, and in direct opposition to each other.
I think thats one reason why Jesus spoke of the kingdom in parables. He would have had a much more hostile crowd if he told them truth directly. But you also run the risk of the meaning flying over peoples heads. Revealing the meaning should be done in a creative artistic way that everyone gets.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Funny, Trevor - we were just talking in the office the other day about what a film would look like if patterned after the parables. You could do a complete feature, then end with “The kingdom of Heaven is like…”
The meaning might fly over some people’s heads, but I think that happens with scripture, with preaching, with anything spiritual. That would be really interesting to get some creative people in a room & toss it around.
We’re about to add a new set of teaching DVDs called “Modern Parables” that are, like 36 Parables, a modern interpretation of Jesus’ parables. Both of these are done really well. Modern Parables adds a teacher’s guide, a lesson/workbook as well.
But what if someone took other teachings from Scripture, or just scriptural principles & tried to express them as parables? I think it would be a great experiment.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Fine for movies…not fine in the church. God has determined that the message of the gospel would be dispensed through what Paul calls the “foolishness” of preaching. If this is Phil Vischer’s paradigm for Veggie Tales or Christian filmmaking, that is fine. If he is suggesting we should not preach in Church, he is contradicting 2000 years of Church History where the preaching of God’s Word has been central to the nourishment of the saints.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Trevor - I agree with you. On the other hand, I think unfortunately right now we mainly offend b/c of our poor presentation of the gospel (or anything at all for that matter) rather than for offending a gospel that (can be) offensive.
January 18th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Glen - I believe Phil was talking in the context of movies & art. You’re absolutely right - preaching in the church is a whole other thing.
But you also point out the dichotomy of faith and Scripture and Jesus’ teachings. What was/is needed and wanted by believers (preaching, instruction, encouragement, the Gospel) is an offense to non-believers. So whether it comes in the form of a sermon or a film, it will always be offensive to them.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Films are not for preaching in a direct sense. If anything films show the creativity and cunning ability endowed on the film-maker and then placing the best story content to reflect that. People go to the theatres to be entertained, enjoy themselves, escape from life and to think/reflecton life again. Telling people the answer for salvation and the Gospel message is not necessarily the best way especially when they have not been convinced they have a problem and film is not the best medium to do that. Sometimes we as believers have been so used to giving people the answers that we don’t know what the problem is and how to solve the problem that give rise to the answers. Films (by believers)however we can make people see the best and worst of humanity and show the need for something greater than ourselves. It can create the hunger needed to make people talk about the subject matter afterwards (after seeing the movie).
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:00 am
David, Lesley Angella,- I agree with what everyone is saying. This was a topic very close to my heart as I struggled with producing a documentary on Christianity intended for outreach. However, I feel I ‘hit the nail on the head’ with all these concerns! It featured several stories of changed lives once they repented and put their faith in Jesus. I narrated the feature mainly from a wheat field and used parables that Jesus used as it related to the stories. At the end I simply had questions come up on the screen, which really left the door open for viewers to seek out more infomation from their friends who gave that DVD. I’m not saying this to plug my DVD, but I’m just saying that if a film is done right, it can swing open the doors for the gospel. I feel we can do better than Hollywood could ever imagine, why? Because we have so much more to offer, and secondly, we serve a God who has the power to change lives!
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:29 am
St. Francis of Assis said, “Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words.” Not Augustine
May 13th, 2008 at 12:29 am