Story time around the world!!

Who doesn’t like story time? My assumption is that most do, in fact, enjoy a good story. Not only do people enjoy them, but they also are more likely to learn from and listen to stories than purely being told to do or don’t do something. Want proof? Just look in the Bible. Jesus taught most of His lessons through smaller made up stories called parables. This helped the people to understand what it was that He was trying to say.


So what’s the best way to tell a story? Is there a way to get your story heard by the whole world? Well, yes there is. Film making. In chapter four of Understanding Evangelical Media, Schultze says that “the most-watched film ever produced by any company in the world has been Campus Crusade’s Jesus film, translated into over one thousand languages and viewed by six billion people in rented metropolitan theatres and in outdoor screenings in remote villages.” As a result of this move, they say that 200 million people have decided to accept Christ as their Savior. That’s quite the impact if you ask me. I’m not sure any missionary or medium could be quite as effective. Why was it able to do this? Because “...evangelicals share with mainstream audiences a desire to be delighted by engaging stories, not by heavy-handed preaching.” They would rather be drawn in instead of having a finger pointed at them.

In the article called “The Art of Movie Misinterpretation” by Tom Carmody, he talks about Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix and how there are two evangelical critics with opposite opinions on whether this movie is good to watch or not. One of them, Marc Newman (often using writings from C.S Lewis) argues that it is good because “... it illustrates the importance of fighting evil and the necessity of making the right choices.”


My mother sure wouldn’t agree with this statement, but I do. Her opinion would be similar to the ministers who “attacked Hollywood companies as sewage factories, spewing forth toxic evils that would contaminate any who came in contact with them.” Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and yes, even The Little Mermaid were out of the question growing up. If she caught me watching any of these (or ones like it) she would make me turn it off immediately. However, now I’m old enough to make my own decisions. My opinion now is that these types of movies are very influential in that they help people to see what evil really looks like, how terrible it is, and how to fight it. I think that in the past evil would just be ignored. At least we now know it’s out there. The devil can do far more damage when he goes un-noticed.


I would agree with Peter Kerr when he says, “What a family decides to watch would then be a matter for conversation, discernment and informed conscience.” I would also agree with this statement about Paul: “He refuses to become a slave to things that are merely permissible and not really beneficial. He captures the middle ground between outright rejection and mindless acceptance.” I think I’m in the same boat as Paul. Don’t just blindly accept what you see, but don’t flat our reject everything either. Make sure what you’re getting from a film (for example) is beneficial.


I hope Christians in Hollywood will continue this amazing art of storytelling and drawing people in through engaging visuals while teaching them without them feeling like they are being taught. Carry on story tellers! Tell the world what they need to hear!

Is Cyber Space a blessing or a curse for the Evangelical Church?

Evangelicals have become “Pilgrims of Cyberspace” according to Schultze. Some would argue that this is a good thing and that much work can be accomplished through cyber space for the work of evangelism. However some may also argue that the internet is a place where anything goes and where people are free to say, think, and be anything (including things that we shouldn’t surround ourselves with).

Rather than being on one side of the spectrum or the other, I would say my point of view is somewhere in the middle. The internet does have a lot of stuff on it that is not trust worthy, there is a lot of filth, and as Schultze states, “it can introduce Christians to pagan ideas, tempting misbehaviours and destructive communities.” There are many competing religions, ideals, and ways of living that are presented on the internet as well. On the other hand, the internet is also a means by which many people can be reached. It gives the opportunity to be heard and to speak your mind, discovering for yourself (out of all the opinions presented) what it is that you believe. A leader from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association said, “People don’t have to make themselves very vulnerable to get online and start searching for answers”. This just shows that the internet is one way that people are free to explore and think without as much hesitation as they would have in “the real world”. I would agree with the statement made by editor-in-chief of beliefnet that says that the internet “has a weird combination of anonymity and intimacy” allowing for these types of phenomena.

Although some say that the internet is a negative thing for evangelicals and other believers, it cannot be denied that it is in fact one efficient way to “communicate within congregations, among parachurch networks of believers, and between churches and distant missionaries”. I think relying only on the internet for building your faith is not healthy, but if you completely stay away from it, it can also take away from the amount of effective outreach work and connecting that can occur through this medium. From my point of view, the best option is neither to shun the internet and those who use it nor to become solely dependent on the internet for community and religious growth. Balance is key. We should stick to some traditions while also allowing ourselves to be a witness to the world and to each other through new technologies arise. The way to reach the new generation is through a way they can understand and the way to stay grounded in a solid faith still includes having the real–life church community supporting and strengthening you.

The Bible... more attractive than ever!

Who are you? What do you like? What would draw you in and motivate you to read a certain book or other piece of writing? These are the types of questions that people like authors and advertisers ask in order to cater to their potential audiences. If they want their material to be read and/or sold, they need to make it appealing and attractive for the reader. How do they do this? By niche marketing.

There is so much content out there now... especially given the constant new technologies like the online buying, e-books, podcasts and so on. Instead of having to go to a bookstore, you can save yourself the time and energy by simply looking and ordering online. How convenient to find anything they would have in a bookstore and more AND be able to have it shipped right to your door without you even having to leave your home.

It is hard for authors to make their works stand out above the crowd considering how much competing content there is. Some authors may want to talk to large, broad audiences. However in order to stand out, they usually have to have something special that catches people’s attention. Since everyone has different personalities, hobbies, and interests, one way to catch that attention is by making content that is more specific to certain types of people. For this reason, you can find just about anything you might be looking for. You can get how-to books that will help you master almost any skill. You can learn about the history of the world. You can even be taken to a new world of magical adventures. This makes the readers happy because they can choose more specifically something that interests them.

So when Schultze mentioned in chapter 6 of “Understanding Evangelical Media” that bibles sell best (even outselling popular works of fiction such as the Harry Potter series), I was a little surprised. Perhaps the fact that it did surprise me is a bad thing. It seemed to make sense though, that once you have a bible, you would be set. But I will admit that when I started seeing all the new versions of bibles, I too wanted a new one (if not two or three). Now there are bibles specifically made for young girls, devotional ones for women, and study and application bibles for students. There are even ones made for the archaeological buff, and ones in more languages than ever before. People are seeking truth, and if they can find that truth in a way that is attractive and more applicable to their lives than ever before, they are much likelier to want to seek it out and discover it for themselves. Not only that, but with all the specific bibles out there, it is now also easier to understand and apply scripture to our lives.

I think the producers of these types of Christian material are catching onto popular trends that are also found in secular marketing. Make new versions, better applications, more attractive packaging and sizes and people will want to have what is new. I don’t doubt that God also has His hand in how His word gets to those who need to learn about it and understand it better. No wonder even one of the oldest books out there is still on top.

It's a battle ... Christian vs. Secular magazines

Christian publications seem to be seen as either boring or copying other “better” secular ones. Magazines in particular actually do have some things in common with “worldly” ones. They both try to aim at the same types of people by having women’s, men’s, sports, and children/youth specific magazines. Some of their goals are also similar in that they try to teach, delight, and persuade readers.

Secular publishing tends to explore whatever it can in order to draw people in. Unfortunately, the way in which they do that is usually not honourable. If they have any standards at all, they are very low. They usually dig up dirt and stir up gossip about celebrities. They exaggerate stories to make them sound like “must-reads” and turn their content into obsessive information that no one actually needs to know. Brittney Spears got caught drinking and driving. Angelina Jolie adopted yet another child. Christie Alley lost 100 pounds. What does this have to do with our lives? How is this valuable information? Yes, there are some secular magazines that do have great tips, photos, and information. It’s the more common, typical, cashier side magazines that irk me. They surround you with information that might look appealing but is not very useful to know.

Christian publishing also does what it can to draw audiences in. However their approach is one that I respect and appreciate far more. They try to cater to their older readers’ interests by sticking to more traditional Christian content that focuses on evangelism, articles on the church and faith. They also try to be relevant and modern for the younger audiences by putting their magazines online, adding links to other things they might be interested in, and including discussions on and reviews of popular movies, books, music, and other popular culture. Their aim is more to create something relevant that can improve the lives of those who read their material. Instead of seeking dirty details and meaningless information about rich famous people, or making it seem like things like profanity and sex are both acceptable and even “normal” in our culture, Christian publishers try to keep it clean and untainted. They try to include content that is beneficial for their readers and that can help answer more meaningful questions they might have about life and through giving guidance and entertaining, they provide the reader with more of a positive use for what they are taking in.

I personally would choose a Christian magazine (like Relevant for example) over a trashy, typically secular magazine any day. They are more meaningful, they try to include a variety of interesting articles on things that I find most interest in (such as life questions, testimonies, and my favourite musicians), and they include advertisements that I might actually take interest in instead of ones that say “You need this to be happy!” They also try to include popular culture, but they express it in a more critical and healthy way. It makes sense that I would want to support and take in things that I actually stand for and that I know will have a positive impact on my life.

The choice is yours.

Discerning critics eh?

The text book called "Understanding Evangelical Media" by Quentin J. Schultze and Robert H. Woods Jr. states five essential principles of "faithful media stewardship”. In other words, they describe what they believe to be the ways in which believers should handle media production and consumption. One of these Principles is “being discerning critics”. This principle explains that non-Christian media often see their audiences only as consumers who are mere receivers of their message(s) without thinking critically about what they are taking in. As Christians we need to oppose this view by realizing that the audiences that will be receiving our content are active people who we need to have so called "conversations" with.

According to this text book, God wants believers to be discerning critics who intentionally become engaged in culture and think about the kinds of lives they are living as well as which messages are being sent and received. I agree with this idea. God wants us to actually use the hearts and minds He gave us in order to discern what is around us and how we act in this world. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. There are many debates of what this statement means, but in my opinion, we as believers, are to engage in the culture around us by making the faith exciting and attractive (to reach out to the unbelieving) while NOT compromising our beliefs and not letting the outside world set the bar.

The lost are the ones who need saving. When Christ came to earth, He spent most of His time with the sinners of the world. Therefore it would make sense that if we are trying to be like Jesus, we would also try to find creative ways of inviting the lost to discover the truth. However, it is far too easy to become engulfed in the ways of the world. If believers concentrate on being of the world, a result can be compromising their beliefs and ways of living. This can include things such as Consumerism, a “me-first” attitude, and simply filling time with purposeless entertainment.

However, if we can be critical of what’s around us by questioning and researching what the world teaches compared to what we believe AND show our faith as both the truth and appealing, we are able to be faithful believers who represent Christ in an acceptable and inspirational way. By doing so, we become more than just mindless consumers who gobble up anything that is put before them. By putting effort and care into thinking about and acting on the ways we can be a part of media while learning, growing, and displaying God to the world, we are then living up to our responsibilities as believers.

A New Beginning

This is the beginning. A new blog. A new course. A new adventure. This is the place where my voice will be heard. More to come...