To Engage or Not to Engage

Mixed feelings is the only way to describe my feelings on how the religious community, particularly the Christian community, should engage the celebrity world. Part of me is scared to death that they won't open their mouth, and part of me is scared to death they will. Quite a dilemma.

That the world of stardom needs to be engaged and confronted there can be no doubt. But, the million dollar question is, do Christians have what it takes to do the job, and do it right? Do we have the wisdom we need? Are we as wise as serpents and harmless as doves as Jesus mandates? Or will we simply come off as fanatics and wackos? I'm often appalled at the lack of common sense and class - yes, I said class - Christians have when it comes to sharing their faith. I swear we look like bumptious hicks sometimes... or spineless jelly fish - I don't know which is worse.

We use "Christianese" as a matter of course, never thinking that nobody has a clue what we are talking about, and thereby exposing our faith to unwarranted ridicule. I remember once of hearing about a person who confronted an atheist by saying, "The Holy Spirit's gonna getcha!" Oh, help. While the atheist in question wasn't a celebrity, that little anecdote illustrates my point perfectly. If we ever do manage to engage the celebrity world, may Heaven help us to talk plain English and refrain from unwise use of righteous speak! And may the Lord deliver us from a swaggering, cocky attitude when we do witness. (Humility is an indispensable virtue for those who would talk to others of their humble Lord.) From cynicism, facetiousness, and sarcasm, good Lord, deliver us, too. And save us, oh, Lord, from giving a testimony so weak and shallow, the recipient mistakes it for bilge water.

It is also distressing to see Christians confront people with their faith when they themselves are ignorant. I would not discourage new converts from sharing their testimony of what the Lord has done for them. Rather I am cautioning against the practice of what is commonly called "going off half-cocked." Make sure you take careful aim, and have plenty of rounds of ammunition in your chamber. It is most distressing to see the quarry dodge the bullet and run off without being pierced by the truth because of a want of preparation and foresight. If you are going to engage someone in something so profound as faith, which touches on every aspect of life and existence, be prepared to answer for it. As the Good Book says, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks of you a reason for the hope that lies within you."

But, most importantly, if we are going to convince the celebrities and stars of their need of a Saviour and a change of lifestyle, we are going to have to be the genuine article ourselves. We are going to have to bear witness by our behavior that Jesus' saving power is efficacious. There has been far too much preaching and too little living. Too much mouthing off and too little loving. I am sure as I am sure of anything that one of the reasons Christian seem to have such a relatively small impact on society is because there is such a dichotomy between what we preach and how we live. Recent comments by Sandra Bullock convince me more than ever this is so. She made the comment concerning the making of the movie The Blind Side, that the Touhys, the wife of which family she impersonated in the movie, were the first genuine Christians she ever met, who actually lived the way they said they believed.

As Christians, we are the pipe through which Divine Power - Divine Power to convince and convert the sinner - flows, and if the pipe be clogged with the scummy build-up of sin, all our efforts are in vain. Mark it down, if we aren't having the impact we should, there is a pipe clogged somewhere. Those who are weary of immodesty amongst the stars ought to be sure you dress modestly themself - no use complaining about Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" while your cleavage is showing. Those who are weary of the immorality in the celebrity world shouldn't be sleeping around and living common-law. Hypocrisy will get us nowhere fast.

And here I must say, if Christians would exhibit the love and holiness they should, it would make up for many of our shortcomings when we do bear witness to our faith- shortcomings, which, all too frequently, are a direct result of not living as we ought. We may not have our presentation together as we should, and we may not be able to answer every theological and philosophical question that is hurled at us, but it will be very hard for the opposing party to argue with a life well lived.

My fear is that we have reached such a state in society, that if Christians really lived the life they should, we might bring an avalanche of persecution on our heads when we did engage the celebrity world. But that's a thought for another time.

I have more to say on this important topic, but I think it's best if I wait. A blog is a bit like pie: make the "byte" too big and the connoisseur will choke.

Love, and lots of it, until the next time,
Pastor Chelle
P.S. Happy New Year, everybody! May God bless it to you.