Church and Chick Flicks

So a couple of weeks ago I went to conference in LA with Erwin McManus. In the final session, titled Human Narrative, Erwin brought out two of the actors from the television show Heros.

In the midst of their conversation they were discussing some of the various roles they had taken and some that they had turned down. The thought came out that they are waiting for the writers to write positive stories and positive material for them to participate with.

What would happen if we translated this principle from out of the entertainment industry and into the church industry? What if there were many would-be church goers or followers of Jesus that are simply waiting for a script to be written in such a positive way that they would desire to participate in the story?

Of course, we know that the ultimate story has been told and continues to be played out, but I wonder if we, as the church, and me, as a pastor, have lost the ability to write the good script.

I know there are some theological issues with this concept if it is taken too far but that is not my point. It is like all the chick flicks where the story line is the same; boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy gets girl back.

There are a million movies and shows based on this basic story. Some are good, but many are not, and still most never make it past the typewriter. If this is translated into the church world, the story line is the same; God love us, we sin, God sends Jesus and gets us back.

The problem is that most of us are writing bad versions of this story that either never make it past the typewriter, or worse yet, are box office busts.