We are the front line.
(Re-posted from the archives - this one was originally written in 2012. Though a bit dated now, it’s still a thought worth considering).
When I started writing my first novel, Through the Fury to the Dawn, what feels like years and years ago, I set out to do something that I felt had not been
done before – at least not to the degree that I wanted to take it. That
thing was to write a story with strong Christian themes that was chock
full of the grit and grime and general tragedy many of us have seen in
life. Faith isn’t boring - so why should our creative interpretation of it be so? Why is it doomed to be laughable, unrealistic, and cheezy?
We are no longer in the compartmentalized 80′s and 90′s where
Christianity in media was something that needed to mirror “Real” movies,
books, and music. Christian musicians, for the first time, are really
carving into new frontiers with their music instead of trying to be the
“Christian version of” fill in the blank – and they are being respected
by secular and Christian fans as the artists that they are.
Christians and Non-Christians alike are calling out for Christian
media that they can invest in and connect with – not something that
feels fake and full of geared emotion.
More and more the Christian community is wanting to connect with and
experience the struggles of real people who identify with their faith –
not perfect cardboard cutouts. They want to see true evil embodied in
realistic villains – like the ones they see on the six o’clock news –
not paper tigers. They want to be apart of a story that feels genuine
like the secular stories do. Just look at the genre defying success of
books like “The Shack”.
I’m tired of talking about “how far is too far” in terms of content. Yes I’m sure there is a line - but life doesn’t have boundaries for content - our messes are ugly - and our work should reflect
that. Does this mean we will alienate some individuals who can’t handle or
don’t want to expose themselves to the more extreme content? I believe it does, and that’s OK. To each his/her own. But
seeing as the market is already saturated with plenty of options for the
more conservative consumer – I think they’ll be fine.
I’m not saying the message of the Gospel should be altered or tainted
or that we as Christians shouldn’t uphold the pillars of what we
believe – but we have to start showing life in our stories. Real life.
Bad guys cuss, good guys have vices, and everybody is full of sin and in
need of the saving blood of Christ.
They are calling for us – all of us who create – to step forward and
take Christian media to the next level. We are the front line. Where we
go from here is on us.
What are your thoughts?
