"Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential or something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." The church is indestructable and will exist for eternity. It will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it."
- Rick Warren
Friday, September 30, 2011
From Christianity Today:
Rob Bell is reportedly working on a television drama called Stronger with Carlton Cuse, executive producer and screenwriter for the show Lost, according to New York magazine and Deadline.
New York's Vulture site reports that the show will be loosely based on Bell's life story as a musician and eventual founder of his church, Mars Hill Bible Church. The show will feature a musician named Tom Stronger who ends up becoming a benefactor and spiritual guide, the site reports. Josef Adalian writes:While based on biblical principles, Bell's brand of spirituality is not about hard-core evangelical, fire-and-brimstone teachings. Instead, his goal is to service folks' spiritual needs without the overlay of religious dogma (see also: Oprah). Stronger is similarly expected to explore spiritual themes but without being as on-the-nose as other recent series that have tackled these issues, such as 7th Heaven and Touched by an Angel. There's also expected to be a narrative twist to the project that will make it a bit unconventional, but for now, that detail is being kept secret (this show is from a Lost-ie after all).. . .
The author of controversial Love Wins announced last week that he would leave his church to move to Los Angeles and launch a tour. Shane Hipps will take over preaching at Mars Hill Bible Church in the spring after Bell leaves.
"There are two kinds of grief. One is the grief you feel when someone dies or you find out you have cancer. The other is kind of grief you feel when your child goes off to college," Hipps said in a statement to Christianity Today. "The second grief is mingled with joy, and hope, and gratitude. Our grief is clearly the second kind. Rob is graduating, and we send him with sadness and joy into a big world."
[tip o' the hat to our friend Phil over at Brandywine Books]
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Comments on "Rob Bell To Work On TV Show With Lost Writer":
6. nhe
- 10/04/2011 8:39 am CDT
ok, so Rob Bell has some issues around hell and the atonement that we disagree with - I get that......but do you guys really think that he can't write something redemptive and worth watching? I don't see the connection, he's a gifted guy with at least a heart for what is good if not for Christ Himself......some of the most redemptive movies/books/art out there are from people we would call "unorthodox".....aren't we being a little harsh?
7. Bill
- 10/04/2011 2:34 pm CDT
nhe,
I'm guessing, especially with Carlton Cuse working on it, that it has a decent chance of being good, and probably at least as redemptive as Lost was.
I'm not going to get excited about it being Christian, though. I went that way with Lost for a brief moment until they started talking about Jesus' baptism washing his sins away and then there was the all-faiths chapel at the end of time :-)
I am a huge sucker for redemptive movies and books. I think there's redemptive and then there's redemptive. For instance, there are redemptive works of art, etc, that actually are part of leading people directly to Christ and, while I doubt you would agree, some of the stuff that is roundly mocked on the Christian blogosphere, like Fireproof, falls into that category. Lost people hungry for God are not often as worked up about "cool" versus "cheesy" as we are.
Then there are redemptive works of art that cause people to be thirsty, though they aren't explicitly Christian. Stuff like some of Switchfoot's albums (Beautiful Letdown comes to mind). Excellent stuff and it plays a role.
There are also redemptive works of art that are feel-good in the best sense of the word. They remind us that we are made in God's image, though that's not spelled out always. They can play a role. It's a Wonderful Life is a great example of that.
Then there are redemptive (ahem) works of art, shows, books, etc, that peddle the lie that we're all deep down good and that there are many paths to God. Oprah, for instance, or, I guess, Lost
Not all are created equal. Just because something's redemptive-ish doesn't mean I'm lining up for it.
That being said, here's hoping Rob Bell comes up with something good.
8. nhe
- 10/04/2011 9:39 pm CDT
that's where I guess I just think a little differently Bill - I think good IS Christian, always.....good art - movies/books/paintings etc. - is good because it illuminates the image bearer in us.....so I don't think Rob Bell's TV show could be good because he's a pastor and runs in Christian (albeit emergent) circles, I think it could be good because I know he's in touch with his image-bearerness.
9. Bill
- 10/04/2011 9:54 pm CDT
Well, as I said, I hope it's good.
You wrote: "I think good IS Christian, always"
Here's a thought experiment: Imagine a film that is really well made, well written, great cinematography, etc. Let's say that it had as its theme the idea that Jesus never existed and that really the way to God is through, say, just believing in the inner deity.
I wouldn't argue with you if you thought it was good. But I might take you to task if you said it was Christian. Do you really mean that all well made art is Christian?
10. Andrew
- 10/05/2011 11:52 am CDT
I think good IS Christian, always.....good art - movies/books/paintings etc. - is good because it illuminates the image bearer in us.
I agree with you in the abstract, but it gets more complicated when I look at particular works of art. While I think our need to tell stories is an indication of God in us, I would not go so far as to call all good art "Christian." The novels of Kurt Vonnegut and the poetry of Philip Larkin are explicitly atheistic. Cat's Cradle and "Aubade" are remarkable as works of art, but I do not leave them with the sense that I have just experienced "Christian" art.
11. nhe
- 10/05/2011 2:11 pm CDT
Good thoughts guys.........now we're having to more narrowly define good according to the conversation, which is fine.
I think that there is a difference between tapping into my intelligence, or my giftedness and tapping into the image-bearer inside of me.
Something that comes from the image-bearer inside of me is something that comes from the (either filled or empty) God shaped vacuum in my soul that cries out for a Savior. In our souls deep down we know (Romans 1) that we're created for something amazing, even if we're suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.......anything that "seeps out" from that place (and I think stuff does all the time) is Christian.
and, BTW, I think I can still be totally depraved in motive and still create something good from the image bearer inside of me.
Einstein's theory, while good for the world, is not Christian, IF it comes from his giftedness, not his image-bearerness .....BUT something MIGHT also be brewing in him either consciously or subsconsciously (a la Eric Liddel) "God made me brilliant and when I come up with new theorems, I feel his pleasure" - that would (IMO) be Christian. Image bearers, via common grace (I believe) can consciously or unconsciously feel God's pleasure - THAT is always good - and is uniquely true of the God of the Bible (hence "Christian")
...subtle shift, maybe even just semantics.
So, something is "good" if it is created (consciously or unconsciously) in the context of feeling God's pleasure - via common grace, or a personal relationship through Christ. "The Shawshank Redemption" (IMO) is good and uniquely Christian - but more via common grace given to Stephen King, than overtly Christian.
Vonegut's works (I believe) come from giftedness and not image bearerness.......though it could be argued that creative writing from a self-professed non-Christian source could possibly be sovereignly added to the discourse from image-bearerness - I'm not quite willing to go there though.
These are opinions and thoughts I have - definitely based on my Christian world view and understanding of scripture - but I do not hold to this as "truth for all".
gwhsd
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you don't want a love that's pure
you wanna drown love
you want a watered down love.
-bob dylan