Washroom Leprechauns are Better than Garden Gnomes

The movie had just ended and my girlfriend told me she really needed to use the washroom, so I decided it would be the perfect time to do the same. As I walked into the washroom I saw Vin Diesel’s mini me, except for the spikey-gelled hair he was a dead ringer. “Wow little fellow are you looking for your pot of gold,” I said to myself as I envisioned myself patting him on the head. Now I know that this is not politically correct but regardless it was the first thing that popped into my mind. It was one of those moments when you can’t help but chuckle to yourself. But as I passed by him he must of noticed the smirk on my face because all of a sudden he tried to flex a little harder with a look on his face that said, “what are you laughing at, buddy?” Which only served to cause me to laugh a little harder. I don’t normally walk around thinking random thoughts about people but the movie we had just finished watching had a running joke in it about a leprechaun, so my guess is that’s what prompted the pot of gold comment.

Movies of are really a barometer that gauges the thoughts, fears, trends, and concepts that people are wrestling with. Movies are really just an on going conversation about what’s on people’s minds. That is why so much of the time we get enveloped emotionally with the films that we watch. We find ourselves reacting to what took place on the screen even in subconscious ways. It is this truth that we need to understand because truthfully we must face the realization that movies shape more people’s theology than, the bible and/or the Church. So it doesn’t help when movies made about biblical ideas by the Church portray poor theology.

Growing up I remember watching movies like “Left Behind” and thinking to myself that the bible doesn’t say anything about this stuff. Now I am sorry if I offend any Kirk Cameron or Tim Lahaye fans, but I realized even at young age that people have no idea about what will happen in the future. The more I saw movies about the rapture and heard Jack Van Impe talk, the more I realized that these people were just grasping at straws trying to solve the bible’s unsolvable mystery. Even now when I Googled Jack’s name to make sure I spelled it correctly a bunch of You Tube video links popped up trying to direct me to Jack’s Inca calendar meltdown. People don’t have a clue and they are so uncomfortable with that thought, that it drives them to develop all sorts of far-fetched theories about what will happen in the future. But the truth is there are some things that are certain, like God is victorious and Jesus will return. The rest of their theories don’t discount these truths, but they simply just go off the deep end with estachalogical paranoia.

As the Church we do not need to make “Christian” films, because truthfully there are already lots of Christians just making great films. We do not need to brand everything with the big “C” word. But we can point out Christ in movies without having to hire Kirk Cameron to play the lead role. Let us be part of the conversation without trying to sanitize it and brand it “Christian”.