We’ve been talking about doing a movie series on Sunday mornings. If you want to know WHY I believe churches should do them, read last week’s posts. This week we’re going to talk about some of the HOW of doing a movie series.
I believe in choosing a movie that on one hand isn't too much of a stretch, but on the other hand doesn't completely make the point for you.
On one hand you could use a movie to make a point the movie doesn’t really make. If you do that, it will seem like you’re trying too hard. It may even come off as disingenuous. People who have seen the movie will be thinking, “Wait a second, that is not what the movie was about at all. You’ve got to be kidding.” So, for instance, don’t pick the movie “Wild Hogs” so you can tell the story of Jesus casting the demons into the pigs. That just wouldn’t be kosher. (I am hysterical!!)
On the other hand you could use a movie where everyone sees the point of your sermon coming from 100 miles away. For example, last year some people were surprised that I didn’t do Spiderman 3. They said, “Didn’t you see what it was saying about the evil within us, and the power of our dark side?” My answer was, “Yes. And so did you. And everyone else. That’s why I’m not doing it.” Think about Jesus’ parables. They always made a point, but the point was subtle, almost hidden, you had to think about it for awhile.
My goal is that when people who saw the movie hear the sermon they’ll be a little surprised by what I saw in it, but at the same time they’ll think, “Yeah, that’s true. You’re right!”
Make sense? You may not agree with me, but if not, well, you have the right to be wrong. (Still hysterical!)
- featured on newchurches.com
Monday, March 24, 2008
Preaching: Movie Style (Pt. 5)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Vince--good stuff but help me get my arms around it a little more. Could you rate these movies using your criteria. Which would make the cut, which wouldn't?
Michael Clayton
I Am Legend
3:10 to Yuma
Atonement
Horton Hears a Who
August Rush
Dan in Real Life
Enchanted
Into the Wild
Of all of them, I have only seen Michael Clayton and August Rush. I'm taking my kids to Horton tomorrow, and tried to rent Dan last week but it was sold out, and I want to see Into the Wild.
So, Michael Clayton: What would you preach about? It's not absolutely obvious to me what it would be about, so that's good. I'm thinking probably ethics/ integrity, which isn't too much of a stretch. If it's some other topic, it might be too big a stretch. Like if you did a sermon on a relationship between a father and son, I would think, "That was such a minor part of the movie, it seems bizarre to me that that's what you would preach on about it." So that movie could work, maybe, for ethics... Though, personally, I wouldn't be real excited about preaching it.
August Rush: Again, not super obvious, which is good. What could you preach on that wouldn't be too much of a stretch? You could use it as a parable for our need to be found by our parent - our loving Father who desperately wants to find us. That, I think, could really work. If you crafted it just right, you might be able to do something with the "music guiding us" idea, paralleling it with the Holy Spirit, but you'd have to be careful 'cause that could get goofy. So I think with that theme it could be good. However, doing a sermon on finding your gift and using it - "His was music, yours might be leading a small group!" that would seem like too much of a stretch.
If/when I see the others I'd be glad to share my opinion. (Not that it's necessarily right!)
I saw "Into the Wild" last week. A pretty decent pic. People who saw it may have checked into the background and will know that Sean Penn didn't stick entirely to the story (but who does in Hollywood?)? The final scene before the dude dies all alone definitely speaks to our need for relationships, but might be a little "obvious". Then again, maybe not... Worth a shot.
I saw "I Am Legend" in the theater, and loved it. You've got the whole "entire human race infected by virus" = we're all infected by sin thing, the self-sacrifice of Will Smith at the end so that others may live. Again, it may be obvious, but maybe not.
If your church seems more into the indie film thing, check out "The Darjeeling Limited." I think it fits really well into the "not so obvious" thing--some good stuff about forgiveness in relationships.
If you're interested, here's the link to what I blogged about it: http://aaronsaufley.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/add-this-to-your-netflix-queue-the-darjeeling-limited/
I do say that some of symbolism in "Darjeeling" is obvious, but I've been watching films for this stuff for years, and once you learn how to do it, it gets easier.
hey vince,
i just read your t-shirt book on easter afternoon and it rocked my socks off (well, i was at the beach and wasn't wearing socks, but if i had been, they would have been rocked off). thanks for helping put into words so many things that the Holy Spirit has been saying to me through the Word and validating some decisions that i making about slowing down the speed of life to "the speed of love". thanks for being naked (well, that isn't going to sound great, unless someone has read the book, but hey, i think i will leave it in the comment anyway...)
lea: you are totally welcome!!!
aaron: thanks for giving away the ends of all those movies!!
I do what I can!
Post a Comment