Preaching: Movie Style (Pt. 5)

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!)

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