wfn.org | Christians look to 'Passion' as evangelism tool

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 20, 2004  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL{069}

A UMNS Report
By Amy Green*

These days it often takes a good movie to get people reading the book. Take
"Seabiscuit'' and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy for example. 
 
Christians hope for the same reaction with "The Passion of the Christ," Mel
Gibson's controversial take on Jesus' last hours. Describing it as a
one-of-a-kind evangelism opportunity, many United Methodist churches are
promoting the film as part of their ministries. The film will be released
Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday, and it is already one of the most talked-about movies
of recent years.
 
United Methodists, like other Christians, have bought out many of the film's
first showings to share free tickets with nonbelievers. Many congregations
plan to be at the theaters - some are setting up tables - to answer questions
and share prayers. And they are mailing fliers across their communities
urging people to see the film and direct questions about it to their
congregations.
 
They feel the film presents a unique opportunity to share Christianity in a
way today's public can identify with, says John Tanner, pastor of Cove United
Methodist Church near Huntsville, Ala., which draws about 900 on an average
Sunday.
 
"The bottom line is that throughout the ages of church history, the arts have
been an important part of the way the story has been communicated," he says.
"The art form of our age ... is this art form of the motion picture."
 
Congregations also welcome "Passion" promotional materials available through
the film's Web site and a dozen others. The film's Web site offers posters,
bookmarks and other materials for free. Teen Mania, a youth ministry, offers
a CD-ROM and DVD package for youth based on the movie. The International
Bible Society has created a special edition New Testament and Gospel of Luke
with scenes from the movie.
 
Among the publicists hired to promote the film are Larry Ross, Billy Graham's
publicist, and others known among Christians. Film executives are like any
others trying to penetrate their core audience, Ross says. But they are
getting their best support at the grass-roots level. 
 
Cove United Methodist Church put together a four-week series of sermons,
titled "CSI: Jerusalem," taking an investigative look at Jesus' trial and
death. The church is promoting the series with mailings around the community
inviting "Passion" viewers to visit the congregation for a better
understanding of the film's claims.
 
The United Methodist Church of Visilia, south of Fresno, Calif., bought out
three showings of the film and is planning panel discussions after each
showing. The church also is tying the film into a Lenten study of Jesus'
trial and death. 
 
Faithbridge United Methodist Church in Houston is mailing out flyers and
sending members to the film's showings with business cards inviting viewers
to visit the congregation for discussion of the film. 
 
"It's a very provocative film, and it would be hard for anyone who is not a
follower of Jesus Christ to see the movie and just walk out and be done with
it," says Ken Werlein, pastor of Faithbridge United Methodist Church, which
draws about 1,100 on an average Sunday. 
 
Gibson - who produced, directed and helped write the film - stoked this
support by inviting Christians to screenings across the country in the months
leading up to the film's release. They came away from those screenings
proclaiming a film that they described as powerful for its realistic and
unrelenting portrayal of Jesus' trial and crucifixion.	
 
The film is said to have moved the venerable Graham to tears and Pope John
Paul II to remark, "It is as it was." First lady Laura Bush said in
mid-February that she would like to see the film.    
 
Gibson says his intent is to inspire introspection and dialogue. He began
researching the four Gospels 12 years ago when a spiritual crisis led him to
re-evaluate his faith. The result, he says, is a film that closely represents
the Gospels' portrayal of Jesus' last hours. 
 
But the film sparked criticism for its violence and what some describe as
anti-Semitism.
 
"My concern about it is the use of graphic violence and heart-wrenching
emotional trauma to get people to follow Jesus," says Susan Bond, an
associate professor at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School in
Nashville, Tenn., who teaches a course on Jesus in film. "It seems to me
enormously manipulative."
 
Bond also frets the film could renew anti-Semitism and believes these
concerns could overshadow its evangelistic merit. However, others disagree.
They point out that Jews were not alone in crucifying Jesus, and they say the
film's realism - even if it is violent - sets it apart from other films about
Jesus.
 
Lin Goodyear, pastor of the United Methodist Church of Visilia, which draws
about 1,000 on an average Sunday, believes the film will become a religious
classic that will do more than get people reading the book. 
 
"It just aims right at the heart," he says. "Instead of knowing about Christ,
they will know Christ." 
# # #
*Green is a freelance journalist based in Nashville, Tenn. 

 
 

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