Some thoughts came into my head only moments ago so I want to share them with you. I was thinking about filmmaking, life, the opportunity someday to have a family, etc. Just thinking about things in life that mean most to me. Then I started thinking about film, and what it means to me as well. As I had said in a post a few back, just honor and privilege it is to make films that can honor the Lord. What I’m about to say here could be controversial but my conscious is clear, and for the most part…much of this article is a wakeup call for myself.
There is much argument around Christian filmmakers (or filmmakers who are Christians, even that title is debated amongst folks) about what is heavy handed in regards to your art. When you state something in such a way that it makes the audience out to be a fool as if they couldn’t understand what your trying to communicate. I would agree, but I might disagree given what the Lord has just helped me to realize in the context of what can actually or should be considered heavy handed. Why is it that the name of Jesus can be considered heavy handed? I understand that bad writing and delivery have a lot to do with what people consider heavy-handed in films with a faith-based message…but really, what is it that makes it so difficult to hear?
Why is it even if the lines are written well and even performed by a great actor, can people (even Christians involved in art) wince in their seats? ”Oh he’s using the name of Jesus again…o brother.” How far have we fallen? When did we get to the place where the Lords name is like an intense glaring light that we have to shield our eyes from. Shouldn’t His name be sweet? I have fought with this so please hear what I’m trying to say. I just kept thinking about the people who buy things in the Christian market. I see many films that I would consider terrible, somehow getting rave reviews from consumers and praise. Why is that? The story wasn’t that great, the writing and dialog was poor, the delivery was pretty bad, etc. I’ll be honest, the elements in the previous sentence can ruin a film for me, but I hope I never get to the point where the message of a film falls silent because I can’t look past the ART and see the TRUTH the “bad art” is trying to communicate. One could argue that because it’s poorly presented that the TRUTH’s ability to shine through is diminished. I can see that point of view but let me argue the latter.
I see it like this. I’ve had many discussions with folks where we’re talking about people with ministries out there that aren’t ran biblically or their doctrine has a lot of heresy or whatever else. Well someone always carries a torch for that person because they’ve seen some eternal results (salvation of someone or groups of people, or even thousands of people). To that I’ve always presented my view that even in a flawed setting, God’s Word shines through. I also swing to the Calvinist side of theology, so to me, I refuse to believe that one verse in a sermon taken out of context, or that one word that Pastor flubs up while speaking, or that person who’s cell phone goes off during the message, has anything to do with whether or not God’s Truth will speak to those whom He has ordained to hear it. I don’t condone doing things the wrong way, and it doesn’t excuse anything, but who is the one who impacts the soul? GOD IS. Nobody comes unless the father draws, and he could use an old Christian film from the 1980s with poor acting and everything to draw someone for himself, he doesn’t need the next Shawshank Redemption (which is my favorite film by the way). I would apply that to films of a faith-based nature. While I can look at it and say “O come on, that movie is awful,” I need to remember that regardless of it being a film without a good story, with good acting, good cinematography, etc….JESUS is in that film. The creator of the universe, the one who died on a Cross for my sin, the one who made all things and to whom all things hold together. God’s eternal truths are communicated in this “bad film.” Should I therefore dismiss it for the reasons I decide?
I think we all have things very wrong here. I love art, I love film, I love GOOD film, and I’m not a fan of BAD film, but when GOOD film/art overtakes GOD we have some reflecting to do. Filmmaking means nothing. Right? Some filmmakers reading this are going “but…but…well no you see.” Just stop and think about it. Filmmaking means NOTHING. Good art isn’t the prize, Christ is the prize. This is why despite seeing flaws in others films I recognize their commitment to truth. They commit to the truth first, art second. This is the order in which we need to live life let alone make our films. God first, everything else second. I wouldn’t trade the truth in Standing Firm for the greatest composer, the greatest cinematographer, the greatest actor, or whatever. I don’t care if Tom Hanks walked in and said “I’ll be in this film, put money into it, market it up the wazoo with my name all over it and make you a millionaire…if you’d only take out JESUS.” It would be difficult to say no but I know in my soul that I would have to.
For once, shall we take off the artistic glasses by which we seem to be viewing everything and instead put on God’s spectacles for a moment? When you look at others films…what do they tell you through that point of view? By all means put on the artist glasses afterwards and make all the critiques you want, but don’t let your love for art get in the way of what God could be trying to teach you. I don’t look at my bible when I crack it open and go “blech…black text on a plain white page…that’s boring,” and not read it. We need to rearrange our priorities a bit I think and understand what’s important and what lasts. Many like to think that God appreciates good art and what it looks like more than how His Glory is communicated through it. That isn’t the case. If that were true than God wouldn’t burn everything when this planets runtime is over with, you’d be walking into heaven and seeing the Mona Lisa hanging on the wall. Gotta save some of it you know? Because it’s worth something…you know…it’s good art?
Christ is the prize, Christ is the goal, Christ is where we aim and His Glory is what we strive to make much of. Nothing else…not even art.
#1 by Paul Cobb on April 17, 2010 - 3:20 pm
Christ is truely our prize…
#2 by E. J. Irish on April 19, 2010 - 11:55 am
I appreciate your heart Kyle, but I cannot agree with your basic premise here, that art means nothing, that filmmaking means nothing. Of course it means something and has value, and I will provide a biblical basis for saying so. I do agree with you that art is not the ultimate meaning, God indeed is! But you didn’t say only that, therefore, my response.
DIFFERENT WORLDS
The dynamic going on here is like the saying “There are worlds with money and worlds without money.” Both worlds exist and to be successful we have to know what world we’re in. No amount of good intentions can pay for electricity bill or the rent for instance. But once we have paid the bills, there are worlds beyond the basics of life, as grateful as we might be for our physical needs being provided for.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes to mind here. Once we have food and shelter, human beings are complex creatures and we search for something to feed the soul – art, romance, entertainment, travel to foreign lands.
And so it with the worlds you have brought up in this discussion. There is a dimension that only God can fulfill, only God can fit the need, our need for a Saviour, that is, the spiritual dimension, the salvitic dimension.
GOD HAS MORE THAN BASIC SALVATION IN MIND FOR US
But once we are saved, God does not immediately wisk us off the planet to heaven. Why? Because He’s not done with us yet, and because He has a purpose for us and through us beyond basic salvation. Of course, the biggest continued purpose is cooperating with Him in the salvation of others. And this is incredibly important. But I would propose it is not the only reason.
Yes, we are to build Christlike characters, sanctification if you will, and while it is the most important reason, He keeps us here, it is not the only reason. Not only do our characters need to be completed for eternity, I would propose our personalities need filling out as well. We are to learn a greater appreciation for beauty and for balance in the universe while we are still in this life. There is a world in addition to basic salvation, and it is the world of beauty, balance, and cultural refinement.
Can nonbelievers enter this other world of beauty? Of course they can, and sometimes we find them more advanced than believers in understanding and experiencing it. Does this other world save us? Absolutely not. But that does not mean it has to value whatsoever as you are claiming.
Will mastering this other world of beauty and balance in any art cause people to be saved? Not directly, but it could be a factor in getting the attention and respect of nonbelievers who know this planet well. This is no guarantee however.
GOOD FAITH AND GOOD WORKS
Protestants leaders of 500 years ago were challenged in many ways for their belief in “fide sola, scriptura sola” – “faith alone and scripture alone” being the basis of our salvation. Some feared that if they taught what the Bible really teaches about salvation, namely, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8), that such a belief might kill incentive, tend to dampen the showing of initiative among believers.
But the great Reformers saw another world, another dimension, to the theology of justification by faith. They saw that if believers were freed from trying to be accepted by God for salvation through works, that instead of dampening enthusiasm for good works, good works would actually increase. As believers we are always working from salvation at the Cross, never towards salvation and acceptance with the Father. We are always and forevermore “accepted in the beloved.” (Eph 1:6).
This means we are accepted in the Beloved in our bad art forms and our good art forms, the main point I think perhaps you were trying to make here. And that this is the greatest value, the greatest security and the greatest reason to celebrate! And of course, it is!
But good theology then should be a steppingstone to good works of all kinds including good art because we are working as a thank-you response to the salvation always finished at the Cross for us. Since we are freed from useless thinking that we can work for salvation any more, then our energies and imaginations can and are freed up to express our gratitude to the Lord in all sorts of ways, including the making of superior art.
A LIFESTYLE OF GRATITUDE
We aren’t confused that superior art forms have anything directly to do with our salvation, but they do reflect on the depth of our understanding and our willingness to live lives of gratitude to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our art reflects on our gratitude, if we will bother learning to live an entire post-salvation lifestyle of gratitude including learning the ropes of our trade or craft.
An entire life of gratitude always includes arts of gratitude. When we say thank you to someone, we send a nice thank you note, not a sloppily put-together one. If the thank you is from a child, we appreciate the primitive art which may be on the card. But it’s different when a mature adult expresses a thank-you:
“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things” (1 Cor 13:11 NLT).
ARTISTIC STEWARDSHIP
Finally, I would propose that it’s a matter of stewardship just as much as learning to manage money and pay tithes and offerings. It is the stewardship not of mere money but of artistic ability and expression.
A familiar scripture can take on additional meaning with this understanding:
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10 NAS).
This is often preached not only to mean little things in life but as money being that which is least being a barometer of how faithful we will be in eternal things, that which is much. Again we see two worlds, but the two worlds are connected in God’s eyes. What we do with one reflects on our character and attitude towards the other.
I would therefore propose this is not only true of the world of money being that which is least but connected in God’s eyes to the spiritual realm, but the world of art as well.
What we do with our art whether it be music, visual art, literary art, photography or filmmaker is included here in the “that which is least”. This is why art and filmmaker has value in and of itself distinct even if it is not directly related to the spiritual realm we think of when we think of Jesus, the Bible, and the Church.
Would I rather watch godly but bad art than good but ungodly art? Well, if I have to, yes, but my question to you and to all believers who claim to be artists of any kind is why should I have to? Especially why should I have to when the community of faith is maturing in our understanding of God and of our artistic stewardship to God.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO WELL IS A TRUE OF BOTH SPIRITUAL AND ARTISTIC VALUE
“Whatever you do, do well” (Ecc 9:10) is not about salvation directly, that’s true, and the spiritual realm is most important and most valuable. But this Bible verse also about stewardship and therefore is tied indirectly to our spiritual values and life. Certainly then there is value to art. But there is also eternal value in art indirectly, not just artistic value. Hence, the value of art, and the spiritual value of good art, and of good filmmaking.
#3 by Kyle on April 19, 2010 - 12:08 pm
I think you missed my entire point of writing that post. My point was not to say that art is 100% useless. It has it’s uses to be sure, and I do agree that there is a level of artistic stewardship that should be addressed. In my post I made it very clear I think that I’m not condoning bad art, and I encourage and prefer the creation of good art (good stewardship of artistic ability). However, the entire purpose of the article was to speak to those that place artistic goodness, OVER the God it’s meant to Glorify.
That entire article was more in the context of Christian filmmaking than anything else, and I’m not sure of your knowledge in the market of Christian films or of the kinds of bickering and conversations that plague it.
Many ignore the Glory that a film gives to the Lord in message and instead attack it’s artistic value. I think critiquing and such is extremely important, and if we ever hope to get better at filmmaking in the faith-based arena people need to be open to it. But, when I see far too many recognizing the artistic value, and far too few recognizing the eternal value…I write articles like this one.
Thanks for spending so much time writing that comment, that was a doosy to read! lol.
#4 by Paul Munger on April 19, 2010 - 7:58 pm
Absolutely beautiful Kyle! Got to be the best thing you’ve ever written. Christ is the prize, and Christ is ALL! I love your heart, and I love your focus. It’s in the right place! Please don’t ever change or lose that God-first focus. You are giving good testimony and God will be pleased. Men will try to dismiss your idea, but I think you have given a clarion call that God comes first before art. Let the art be good, no, scratch that, let it be phenomenally excellent, but let Christ be first and foremost glorious and magnified in our eyes.
#5 by Jason P Hunt on April 20, 2010 - 8:42 pm
We cannot diminish the importance of the artistic merits, however. The spiritual message will cause its own debate because of the divisions among denominations, which all have variations of doctrine that you may or may not agree with. Even if we can all agree to the basic message of the Gospel, the presentation of that message will create its own controversies.
Like it or not, however, the artistic elements are going to be what drive audiences toward our stories, or away from them. If a story is crafted well, the message will find an audience (whether it’s subtle or over-the-head is another matter). If a film is utter crap, it doesn’t matter what the message is. No one will see it.
If we’re looking at filmmaking as a way of setting an example before others, then our responsibility as Christian filmmakers is even more broad and sweeping. Our example is in front of others no matter what kind of stories we tell. The message doesn’t have to be so overt, as in FIREPROOF, but in how we approach the story material. Whether it’s a romantic comedy, murder mystery, science fiction, or anything else. As Christians, our obligation – our marching orders – include setting an example in our behavior, and that includes how we make films and how we tell our stories. We stand as examples not only to our audiences, but to our casts and crews as well.
I think too many times, we get it in our heads that Christian filmmakers are always locked into making message films. But that limits us in our creativity. Rather, we should look at our craft as an opportunity to show how films can be made without the gratuitous nudity, violence, etc. that much of Hollywood puts out every year.
Our process should carry our message, as well as our product.
#6 by Kyle on April 20, 2010 - 8:57 pm
The last sentence in your post sums it up I think. I agree 100%. Again I stress the need to put the Lord first and the art second. Who created all things including artistic ability? Who better to ask and consult with on artistic matters than the Lord? Who better to consult in what way to go about creating that art than the Lord? (the process in which you speak). People will always argue on the answers to those kinds of questions…like how a story should be told or in what way the message should be brought in, how blatant the message is, etc. Some want to fight Hollywood, others want to be in it. Some view it as a mission field, others as the devil incarnate, lol.
I guess the best way to sum up that article or anything that I would want to say to whoever is a Christian and involved in art (film or not)…simply seek Him in all you do and be willing to obey. Put him and what he wants you to do in spot #1, and your own reservations, feelings, opinions at #2. We won’t all end up in the same place regardless…but it sure would help lol!
#7 by Neves on April 21, 2010 - 10:07 pm
That was convicting. There’s times when I’m almost embarrassed or afraid to mention God or the Lord Jesus in my stories. That should not be.
What does God value most about our art—the product, the results of the product, or the effort and motive behind the product?
Say there’s a man singing hymns joyfully Sunday morning—off-key. What do we tell him: “Shut up, you’re making bad art?” Is it more important that he’s singing, or that he’s off-key?
There are some people who physically will never be able to sing like Pavorotti.