Fun Friday: The 'Need' for Christian Entertainment

If we look at the landscape of Christian entertainment, really entertainment as a whole, it’s clear how much we need Christian entertainment to make an impact. Now, if it isn’t obvious, I’m using the word ‘need’ hyperbolically. We obviously don’t need entertainment, all we need is Christ to find fulfillment in this life. However, I am using the word ‘need’ to show its impact. The world-renowned pastor-theologian, John Stott wrote in his book Between Two Worlds, “Christians should seek to penetrate the world of the mass media and equip themselves as television script writers, producers, and performers(actors). We can hardly complain of the low standard of many current programs if we take no constructive initiatives to provide alternatives which are not only technically equal if not better, but more wholesome as well.” Stott is one of the last people evangelicals would expect to hear this from and he wrote this back in 1982!
Stott saw the influence that entertainment would have on the world and encouraged Christians to take an initiative in, not only creating Christian content, but even creating better content than the world. Whether you want to admit it or not, entertainment has a massive effect on our society from the elderly down to the youth. We are all affected by media through our phones, computers, TV, movies, video games, social media, etc and it’s having a major impact on the current generations and our future generations (our children). In the past (some still today), some churches and denominations have done their best to provide damage control by trying to get rid of TV and movies altogether. However, the problem is that, with the invention of smartphones— which almost every person has—everyone has access to the same content on TV in their back pocket. If we're quite honest, the amount of 'content' out there has grown more sinfully then ever before. Christians have to stop downplaying, avoiding, and rejecting entertainment and its effects. The longer we do, the more we let the world and the culture disciple our children through the media. This is why I’m saying that we need Christian entertainment.

VeggieTales: A Case Study

Now I know some Christian’s might not like me saying this but I think a company that did this well, and was way ahead of the game, was Big Idea Entertainment with the creation of VeggieTales. I know, I know. VeggieTales, really? They aren’t exactly the pinnacle of great theology and sound teaching. I get it but let me explain.
In the 70s and 80s, kids entertainment was skyrocketing and it was only going up from there in the 90s. Big Idea was created in 1989 and aired their first film in 1993. In the 1990s and early 2000s, VeggieTales was a huge hit in both Christian and non-Christian homes and, due to its success, is still alive today. Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales, was smart enough to spot an opportunity in the industry as he capitalized on it and now, his creation has become a household name.
But the question is, why did VeggieTales do so well? It wasn’t just Christian. It did well because it was a genuinely funny, educational kids show that was full of catchy, memorable songs, and meaningful life lessons from the Bible. I still remember the Cheeseburger Song and my wife hates that I sometimes blast the Larryboy Theme song in the car. VeggieTales wasn’t just a Christian show. It was a good show! Now obviously, this wouldn’t be a show that should be used on Sunday sermons or at seminary to teach the ins and outs of exegesis. But that was never the point. It was geared to young children. Imagine a 4 year old who understands who Jesus is and how he came to save sinners by watching a silly tomato and cucumber on TV. They’re able to laugh, sing, and understand the basics of the Gospel at the same time. What parent wouldn’t want that?
If you wonder why Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings are still beloved series to this day, it’s not just because they're Christian. It’s because they’re great. Even Pilgrim’s Progress and Moby Dick which are both blatantly Christian, are beloved books because they're just great books! It’s because of these works, that many people became influenced by the Christian messages. The reason why these were successful works is because their focus was to make good entertainment with Christian messages.
If you make something good, people are compelled to listen to your message. Jesus didn’t just preach the Gospel, He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He did so many miracles that people were compelled to listen to Him. I’m not saying that entertainment is the same as healing people. What I am saying is, if we do everything as unto the Lord with excellence, you’ll be flabbergasted at how God can use the most unique works to spread the Gospel. I’ve met people personally and indirectly who have been convicted by the Holy Spirit unto salvation through books, music, videos, movies, TV, and other forms of entertainment. My point is that we don’t need to shy away from entertainment and if we do it to the glory of God, God can use it to draw the lost unto Him.

Christian entertainment doesn’t have to be overtly Christian.

(Sorry, not sorry for the corny memes lol) Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘if it doesn’t say God or Jesus, it ain’t Christian!’ Here’s the problem, neither the books of Songs of Songs(Solomon) nor Esther mention God. Would anyone consider these books to be non-Christian? God-forbid! Especially if you read a book like Esther, it’s nearly impossible to not see God working all through that book even though He’s operating in a veiled way. The point is that entertainment can be Christian-based. 
What's the difference? I'll go into more depth on another article but think of it like the difference between the Kendrick Brothers and DryBar Comedy. If you see a movie produced by The Kendrick Brothers, you know for certain that it's essentially going to be a video sermon. Even the Kendrick Brothers describe their own movies as sermons. These are Christian movies in the sense that they are very on the nose, oftentimes corny, but they have overtly Gospel messages. To be fair, I don't hate these movies and I love watching some of their movies like Facing the Giants. DryBar Comedy however, is completely different. This is a platform ran by Angel Studios and is designed to be a clean Christian-based comedy platform for the whole family. Guess what? They're actually funny! But what's also interesting is that the comedians aren't up there giving sermons or providing a 3 Circles presentation of the Gospel. In fact, all they're doing is telling hilarious jokes and providing great laughs for the family, but it's also obvious that the platform is Christian. What I mean by Christian-based entertainment is that we don't need anymore video sermons: we have plenty of those available on YouTube and PureFlix. What I am saying is that we need creative productions that present the themes of Christianity in imaginative ways. To put it another way, Christian-based entertainment is simply Gospel truth creatively wrapped up in TV, animation, movies, video games, music, etc.

It’ll only work if we take risks!

There are 2 reasons why modern Christian film have a bad reputation. The first reason why modern Christian film has a bad reputation is because of the poor quality of work and the horrible knockoffs. (Need I remind you that both Beckman and the Reconciler are Christian knockoffs of John Wick and Saw?) This is why we need to produce good creative productions. I'll go deeper into this another article, but you're probably wondering about films like The Chosen, House of David, or King of Kings. Again, aside from the theological debate whether these shows violate the Second Commandment or if it portrays the Bible to 100% accuracy, I am NOT talking about producing high quality of imaginative, historical reenactments. 
To be fair, many of these types of historical reenactments are good quality, but personally, I think it's a creative copout. Though I'm not saying that there isn't any creative input in the production, a biblical reenactment is simply a repackaging of the same material. Now, I'm also not suggesting that we 'change the story' of the Bible! God-forbid! But let's consider an example with food like a can of green beans. A historical retelling/reenactment is like taking the Big Green Giant green beans and slapping a different label on it with a different size can (no disrespect to biblical reenactments). Christian-based entertainment takes the green beans and creates a delicious recipe with it. Which do you think is more creative? The truth is still the same but one has produced an original creative product. Consider Jesus Christ in The Chosen and Aslan (the typology of Christ) in Chronicles of Narnia. Both of them are divine, righteous, and loving in character. Both of them die a substitutionary death of atonement in order to satisfy the wrath of God and pay for the sins of the people. Both of them rise from the grave and defeat Satan. Both are great quality but which one do you think took more creativity? We don't need more historical reenactments of the Bible. We need more creative ideas with Gospel truths flowing through them.
The second reason why modern Christian film is bad is because it is way too safe! By ‘not being safe’, I don’t mean we should start producing inappropriate content. What I mean is that in order to produce good content, we have to create real conflict and real characters. What do I mean by ‘real conflict?’ Conflict that isn’t only solved by the act of prayer and faith. Yes prayer and faith are irreplaceable in our walk as Christians but look at David. In 1 Samuel 30, David encouraged himself in the Lord and fought the Amelakites in battle. He had faith in God to win the battle but he still had to go to war… and Christians forget that the Bible is bloody. Very bloody! If you look at Christian screenwriting or film competitions, they have a strict ‘no gore or violence’ law in their rules. 2 Samuel 4:12 (CSB) says, “So David gave orders to the young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.” Could you imagine this on PureFlix?
I’m not advocating that we make another Saw flick but what I am advocating for is ‘real conflict’ because we face real conflict in reality. This is what made Passion of the Christ stand out from all other ‘Jesus flicks’. (Setting theological differences aside about portraying Jesus in movies). Yes the acting was great, but nothing compares to Jesus being beaten by the cat of 9 tails and Him being crucified on the cross. Mel Gibson decided to take a risk and, instead of pacifying the crucifixion with just a little blood on Christ, he showed the true brutality and wounds that our Savior received. It was because of his willingness to take that risk that Passion of the Christ is one of the greatest Christian films of all time (despite it just being another historical retelling). There is real political, family, and relational conflict alongside battles, skirmishes, and full out war in the Bible. If the Bible didn’t shy away from real conflict, why does Christian entertainment continue to do so?
Also, we have to make real characters. I’m not saying that everything should be historically real. I’m saying that characters should feel real and believable. Whether fantasy or not, a real character is one that is relatable, has flaws, and is facing adversity. This is why we love historical characters in the Bible such as David, Moses, and Job because we can identify with their faults. I can understand Moses’ anger to strike the Rock twice when his people refused to have faith in God after all He’s done. I can feel David’s discouragement when he’s pursued by Saul, rejected by the Philistines, and attacked by the Amelakites when he’s been nothing but faithful. Anyone with a heart can sympathize with Job who was a blameless man that questioned God after he lost his family, wealth, and health but refused to lose his faith. These are real characters because they face real problems and have real faults.
We have to stop creating Christian entertainment with cardboard characters that are so perfect! There is only one perfect Man and that is Jesus Christ. Unless we’re making a story about Him, our characters need to be realistic, flawed, and conflicted. Even Jesus was human. He cried, got angry, became hungry, and ate with saints and sinners, and had fear when He asked God to remove the ‘cup’ from Him but He encouraged Himself, “Not My will but Thine will be done.” Jesus, who is perfectly God and perfectly Man, is more realistically human than the ‘perfect people’ created by these Christian films.

People can be both encouraged and entertained.
There’s this phrase that trended in the video game community for a while called ‘It’s more than just a game.’ This was a response to people outside of the gaming community who severely minimized the amount of lessons and stories that are portrayed from video games. I honestly agree with the statement that playing a game is often 'more than just a game’. Not just because I’m a gamer but because people forget that stories, including the ones in the Bible, have incredible power and that a video game is nothing more than an interactive story; stories which are incredibly deep and moving.
Here’s an example of a character from a video game. After losing his wife and his son, his heart became cold with war and bloodshed. Though he became incredibly powerful and feared, he was never fulfilled. He finally leaves his warmongering past to try to be a better man. In this process, he has a wife and a son but becomes an absent dad because he felt disconnected from living that type of peaceful life. However, when his wife passes away, he now has to be the caretaker of his 11-year-old son with whom he missed most of his life. He tries his best to teach him to be a better man than he was that’s not consumed by anger, pain, and emotion but only lifts his blade when necessary. However, his son becomes endangered by a powerful foe. In order to save the son he loves, he must dig back up the weapons from his past. As he is digging the hole—the past that he buried—he’s haunted by the chilling voice of a woman from his previous life. “Pretend to be everything you are not. Teacher… Husband… Father. But there is one unavoidable truth you will never escape: you cannot change. You will always be… a monster.” With those harrowing words, the warrior rises with his former blades that fit perfectly in his hands as he answers with a deep, somber voice. “I know… but I am your monster no longer.” This is a scene from God of War (2018): a video game!

As a Christian father and husband, this tears me up every time because, if you’re a parent, you know how hard it is to raise children and how much we fall short. We know what it’s like to have a rough past and to do our best to leave that behind so that we can be the best husbands, teachers, fathers, and godly men that we can be for our families. C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” This is what I mean that people can be enriched, enlightened, or encouraged and be entertained. People like playing God of War not just because it’s a great game, with solid mechanics and an open world; but because it was a game that encouraged men to be better fathers.  

Conclusion
This is what Christian entertainment should be and this is what John Stott was talking about. Christian entertainment should be genuinely good and entertaining, while also encouraging and enriching people with the Gospel message and values. Furthermore, the content doesn’t have to focus on the entirety of the Gospel message but just on one component. For example, Ruth doesn't talk about Christ being the Lamb, the Lion of Judah, or the Servant-Savior; but it does show Christ being the ‘Kinsmen Redeemer’. We can do the same! Like God of War, make a story, film, show, or a game about the relationship between a godly parent and a child. Or about being righteous in the midst of political turmoil as in Esther or Daniel.
The point is that we have to stop pretending that the Internet is going away. It’s not. Though we still do our best to place boundaries, the world is making more advances. How much longer will Christians be on the defense and start being on the offensive for the kingdom of God? I’m tired of Christians being upset about the influence of entertainment but we’re doing nothing to influence that world. It’s time for Christians to step up and take back our place as some of the most innovative, creative, and artistic people because we serve a creative Creator.
I hope this article has blessed you! I post weekly on our Theology Thursdays and Fiction Fridays. God bless!