End of the Spear - cont.

I know that the thread was closed, but I've got something to say about how the Church and so many pastors are missing the mark.

This movie is produced by a Christian production company. One of their production companies, Impact Productions, had a 14-year stage play that ran all over the world: Toymaker's Dream. The producer for End of the Spear said that the reason that Chad Allen got the part was because he auditioned the best. If you're making a movie, you want the best actor you can get. Chad's was not only the best audition, he was willing to live in a tent in the jungles of Panama during the filming.

Steve Saint, Rick Saint's (the pilot) son - who grew up living with his mom in the village where his father was murdered, says that he has no problem with a homosexual portraying him or his father. Rather, he hopes that while Chad was in the jungles of Panama filming this movie, that he would meet some real Christians.

Compare the Church's response to this movie to the story of Jesus eating in Matthew's house. Matthew was a tax collector. He was despised by the religious people in Jesus' day. Scripture tells us that Matthew invited his friends to the dinner to meet Jesus. Who were Matthew's friends? Other tax collectors, corrupt government officials, prostitutes (and probably some homosexuals too). The Pharisees, who weren't invited, obviously looked through the windows and saw Jesus dining with these 'sinners'. They ridiculed him and his disciples for hanging out with sinners and implied that Jesus and his disciples must also be sinners for choosing to hang out with them.

Jesus replied that He came to call the lost, not the religious people who thought they had everything already figured out. Today's Christian church is just like that of the Pharisee's. We are exclusive. We expect sinners to come to the Church for salvation and to conform to our way of eating, drinking, dressing and behaving.

Jesus was the opposite. He loved sinners and despised religious people. He went to sinners. He offered forgiveness. He offered hope. He offered inclusion.

I'm sure that Pat Robertson will take as much flack from Christians for supporting this movie as he did from unbelievers for claiming that God caused Sharon to have that stroke as punishment for giving up Israeli land. He's said some stupid things in his time, but so have hundreds of other pastors and church leaders.

You can follow the flock off the side of the cliff if you want, but I'm not blindly going over the edge. The Church needs to be more like Jesus, not less like Him. I'm going to listen to the Shepherd and not a bunch of baa'ing from people who confuse activity with a relationship with Christ. May God forgive us for being so clueless.

 

I should also point out that this is the same production company that produced the documentary - Beyond the Gates, telling the same story, only this time it's more of a theatrical release.