BEING REACTIVE JUST AIN’T WORKING

There was a program on television that I saw with my sister called, “Casting Call”. It depicted (in reality) children who go to Hollywood to have their dreams of becoming actors and actresses realized. Of course, it may be more of a dream of their parents than theirs, but that isn’t really the issue. One of the things that happens when they arrive in Hollywood is that they are strongly encouraged to embrace dianetics, a metaphysical pseudoscience invented by L. Ron Hubbard the founder of Scientology. Scientology is big in Hollywood. Demi Moore, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Priscilla Presley, Chaka Khan, Isaac Hayes, Kelly Preston, Placido Domingo, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Kirstie Alley, as well as producer Richard Donner, director Tom Mankiewicz and a whole host of other celebrities have embraced the ideology.

Many of those in Hollywood who follow Scientology, were once Christians—or at least, were raised in Christian homes or were taught Christian or Judeo-Christian values. Something went wrong. Very wrong. The biggest problem, I believe, is our tendency as Christians, to be reactive rather than proactive. We stand by and allow things to occur as if we have no power and no authority—and in this case no God-given talent and ability, either. First, we watch silently as Christians or those who are close to a decision for Christ slip away into false doctrines without a sound, much less a fight. Secondly, proactively, Christians many of whom are gifted as directors, producers, actors, actresses, etc. would rather start little tiny companies that cannot compete with Hollywood rather than storming Hollywood in the Name of the Lord to bring change. We complain and boycott, after the fact, but we have the power to affect Hollywood and what appears on the big screen and television before it arrives there. We also are not willing to invest in the “Kingdom” in this area. We are soooo stuck on the offering plate. God’s Kingdom is so much bigger than the offering plate, and we cannot win the world dropping 10% and an offering in the offering plate, and stopping there—we must become global-minded people. 

For most saints, life is church, work, church, work…. There is more. God wants us to become involved in the world—not become the world, but in order to win the world we have to connect to those in the world. We must be wise soul-winners. It is past time for us to find a common ground, connect and insert Christ in a palatable way that does not repel men and women. It must be a presentation of HIM, and not our idea of Him, and not our own man-made laws and rules. We cannot approach them with a rehearsal of their sins, either—that is not the Gospel! The Gospel is “Good News”—it is the solution, not a recitation of the problem. That is how we fail in our witness; we always want to tell people how wrong they are or how pitiful they are—innate in every person is the knowledge of the need for something more. They may not recognize their need for God, but they know that Something is missing—that there is a void to be filled, they don’t need you to tell them what’s wrong. They need you to tell them how to fix the problem, and that is all.

My main point in writing this (I did get side-tracked, slightly) is to encourage the Body of Christ to stop waiting for the ball to drop and respond once in crisis mode. The time to move is before we have a problem. We know that satan is using every weapon, tactic and tool in his dastardly arsenal, but we are waiting to see how bad the damage is before we respond. It’s too late (for many) when we utilize this method. We must not think that careers for our young people are limited to ministry, the corporate world, education, etc. They need to be in politics, entertainment including secular music, modeling, sports and all of those areas that weren’t been encouraged in the past—but we need them to be spiritually strong, uncompromising in their faith and excellent in their natural vocation as well as their spiritual vocation. Let’s face it, for the people of God to make their mark in these areas, we will have to be the best of the best. I believe that the cream of the crop in all of these areas (and more areas) already exists among us. The problem for them is that we have forced them to choose between the church and the career of their choice, when it isn’t necessary. It is totally possible to live godly and be a politician, entertainer or model, just differently than others, with integrity and love for God.

We hate what is on television—and we complain, but really what are we doing about it, beyond complaining and boycotting sponsors (which hasn’t been very effective, because we don’t really support boycotts)? We complain about the political climate—whichever side you happen to be on, but when is the last time any of us desired to run for political office (with integrity) beyond the neighborhood? Power only works when you use it. Having power is not enough—you have to flip the switch. We have so much power in the Body of Christ, and it goes untapped and unused—wasted. And, the world continues to remain unwon and dying, because we don’t activate the power that we have. 

It is very sad to watch the world be so driven in things that are evil and we don’t have any drive in the things that are holy, good and spiritually prosperous. Sleeping giants, we have to wake up and turn on the light to permeate the darkness.