Monday, March 02, 2009

Good Little Christian Family

Okay, I am officially a Christian. I mean, I was saved at the age of 9, but recently I've been feeling a little left out of Christian culture. See, despite the fact that my husband is a pastor --- we had not seen Fireproof. We still haven't seen Facing The Giants, although we've owned it for months.

First off, the movie was pretty good. I thought it was kind of predictable, since I knew how it was going to end. That could have been because we saw it so late, though. The couple fighting reminded me of some people we knew, and I think they might be able to get something out of this movie. It likely would have meant a lot more if Nate and I were in a struggling or new relationship. It's certainly a movie that a newly married Christian couple or a couple that is having issues could benefit from.

However, the hype around this made me think of the Christian sub-culture. We seem to be a sub-culture of fads, of movements. Doesn't it seem to you like things go in waves, through all the churches, and you aren't really considered part of the Christian "in" crowd unless you've read/seen/done whatever it is? Like the Purpose Driven Life. I'm not anti-Purpose Driven Life, really, but the hype got old. FAST.

It makes me wonder how many of the marketing people, advertising people, publishing people are truly Christians who want to impact the world for God's goodness.

Or, is it more likely that they know by stamping "Christian" on a product, it has a guaranteed audience? Is it about Jesus? Or is it about money?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe a little of column A, and a little of column B? dh and i have yet to see Fireproof OR Facing the Giants. i think our salvation is still valid though ;)

i think that many of these things are great tools for ministry - our church did 40 Days of Purpose and it was a good thing. not because of the hype surrounding it but because it explained basic theology in a very accessible and personal way. does that mean that everybody has to do it? no!

but a tool is only good inasmuch as it can be used. that's all.

Dana said...

I agree, Krista. I think the 40 Days/PDL was a great basic Christian book. I actually read most of PDL, myself. I do find it kind of sad that so many people that had been saved for years were so utterly astounded by it. What bothers me most are when people take a tool and prize almost above the Word, which happens far too often. They become "PDL" churches, instead of Bible churches. (Or any other curriculum/program, not to pick on PDL. That's just the recent fad that leaps to mind.)

Dana