The Rev. Mac Brunson recently took his kids out and, while the movie was forgettable, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas was hooked by one of the coming attractions.<\/p>\n\n
It was a trailer for the comedy \u201cRaising Helen,\u201d in which Kate Hudson plays a hot New York City fashion star whose life changes when she has to raise her sister\u2019s three children. Five-hankie chick flicks require hunky love interests and, lo and behold, this time the blonde falls for a handsome, charming pastor.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018No way Hollywood will get that right,\u2019 \u201d said Brunson, senior minister of the 12,000-member Southern Baptist superchurch. \u201cYou see a pastor in a movie today and he\u2019s almost always going to be an idiotic, dangerous, neurotic pervert or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Brunson aired some of these views when interviewed for a People magazine cover story called \u201cDoes Hollywood Have Faith?\u201d What happened next was a parable about studio insiders trying to do their homework in pews and pulpits. It\u2019s a trend that predates \u201cThe Passion of the Christ,\u201d but is surging along with Mel Gibson\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n\n
After reading Brunson\u2019s remarks, publicists working for Disney called and made the preacher an offer he couldn\u2019t refuse. Before long, Brunson was sitting in the Tinseltown multiplex in suburban Dallas, watching an advance screening of \u201cRaising Helen\u201d with 200 church members.<\/p>\n\n
The tough Baptist crowd was pleasantly surprised, said Brunson. Yes, the Lutheran pastor was played by John Corbett of \u201cSex & the City.\u201d Yes, this is the rare pastor who never mentions Jesus, faith, church and the Bible with a woman who has three children in his Christian school. But it\u2019s clear that Helen is seeking moral stability and she ultimately decides to embrace her children, rather than worship her career. And the romance was clean.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt was just a normal movie, or what people used to call normal,\u201d he said. \u201cThis pastor is a moral guy. He falls in love. He gets to be natural. He\u2019s romantic and he kisses the girl. \u2026 At the end it\u2019s clear that he\u2019s helped stabilize things and they\u2019re becoming a real family.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cSo hurrah for Disney, on this movie. They got something right and we ought to praise them for that. Let\u2019s hope and pray that they do it some more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
But bridge-building efforts like this are tricky. While Disney is making progress with one powerful Baptist \u2014 remember that the Southern Baptist Convention has been boycotting Disney for seven years \u2014 MGM is traveling a rocky road trying to evangelize church groups on behalf of its edgy satire called \u201cSaved!\u201d<\/p>\n\n
An online mini-guide for youth leaders says the movie presents \u201cChristian teens who make poor choices, have a crisis of faith, seek answers and ultimately emerge with a genuine faith.\u201d Studio executives say it contains a pure Christian message of tolerance and love. Meanwhile, producer Michael Stipe \u2014 the androgynous REM lead vocalist \u2014 has said it\u2019s a high-school vampire movie, \u201conly here the monsters are Jesus-freak teen-agers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The movie\u2019s American Eagle Christian Academy has a giant plastic Jesus figure (in running shoes) and born-again gunners practice at the Emmanuel Shooting Range (\u201cAn eye for an eye\u201d). One girl has a vision to sleep with her boyfriend to cure his homosexuality. The pseudo-hip Pastor Skip has an affair with a troubled mother (the area\u2019s top Christian interior decorator). The villain is a true believer who rules the popular girls (\u201cThe Christian Jewels\u201d) with an ironclad Bible.<\/p>\n\n
The executives behind \u201cSaved!\u201d simply haven\u2019t done the \u201ccross-cultural homework\u201d required to reach religious believers, said Walt Mueller, head of the national Center for Parent\/Youth Understanding in Elizabethtown, Pa. While much of the movie\u2019s satire is accurate and even constructive, it\u2019s the actual theological message that will offend most Christians.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re into a real postmodern, smorgasbord, all-tolerant blend of Christianity and every other conceivable faith in the world, then you\u2019re going to love this movie,\u201d said Mueller. \u201cWhat is amazing is that the people marketing this movie don\u2019t seem to realize that they are attacking lots of people\u2019s beliefs. \u2026<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe bottom line is that there are good Christians and then there are bad Christians and Hollywood gets to decide which is which. We\u2019re supposed to buy that?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Rev. Mac Brunson recently took his kids out and, while the movie was forgettable, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas was hooked by one of the coming attractions. It was a trailer for the comedy \u201cRaising Helen,\u201d in which Kate Hudson plays a hot New York City fashion star whose life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[324,1534,431,544,1542],"class_list":["post-1282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-entertainment","tag-evangelicals","tag-hollywood","tag-mel-gibson","tag-movies"],"yoast_head":"\n