'THE ROAD' as a tool for Outreach?

The other night I took my wife to the pictures and, against my wife's preference, she wanted something lighter, we decided to see 'the Road' a much hyped film based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. Light it was not and left me regretting I hadn't gone with her choice!Though reflecting on the film later, despite the cannibalism etc, there were aspects to it which were quite inspiring. My son saw it the next night and said it reminded him of 'a father and son' weekend I'd taken him on in the Mourne mountains when he was about five. Certainly I remember the weather - it was very,very wet!Men will enjoy this film more than woman as it focuses on the relationship between a man and his son in the context of an end of the world scenario! My favourite theme in the film was that of the father teaching the son to keep on carrying 'the fire', or as they say in Northern Ireland: 'to keep her lit'.Can this film be used as a tool for outreach? The following article written by Lillian Kwon a reporter for the Christian Post believes it can. AK

WASHINGTON – The production company behind "The Road" is reaching out to the faith-based community, asking them to consider the much-anticipated film as something that could possibly be of value for ministry.


Viggo Mortensen plays The Man in "The Road," a film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. "The Road" is rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language.

Though the rating alone may be reason enough for some Christians to skip the film, some are giving it a chance and even calling it a more powerful tool than Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" because of its wider appeal.

"We need to look at it as a cultural key to build bridges and start spiritual conversations ... about the truth," Phil Hotsenpiller, teaching pastor at Friends Church in Yorba Linda, Calif., told The Christian Post. "People will see it. You'll miss the opportunity to have a spiritual conversation ... and give a biblical interpretation."

The movie, which opens in theaters nationwide Nov. 25, follows a father and his young son in a post-apocalyptic world. As they move south toward the coast to escape the cold, endless winter, they eat what little scraps they find, find shelter in abandoned cars and the woods, and encounter cannibals as well as other refugees. The journey is a struggle to survive in a world that is dying.

"It's more than your average zombie flick," screenwriter Joe Penhall said at a recent media roundtable in Los Angeles.

One of the major themes drawn out in the film is humanity/inhumanity, Penhall noted.

"What's in every single scene of that film is coping with the disappearance [of] humanity," he said. Religiousness, spirituality, music, and love all constitute humanity and the film depicts the horror of its gradual disappearance.

"How do we continue to generate humanity when humanity as a concept is fading into history?" Penhall posed.

While struggling to survive and protect his son, the father (played by Viggo Mortensen) finds himself losing his own humanity. But director John Hillcoat believes the boy saves his father because he gives humanity back to the man through his innate goodness.

At the heart of the film is the love story between the father and son. Even in the midst of their overwhelming struggles in a world where nothing is left, it's their love that keeps them going. But with that love, the father has a constant fear of being unable to protect his son and even worse leaving his son in a world where he can't protect himself.

Though such familial love is admirable, Dr. Reg Grant, professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary, hopes Christians will use that story to "redirect those who fear that the best we have to hope for is the strength of human love."

"'The Road' provides Christian an opportunity to offer a better way to those seeking real hope," he said.

"The Road" is not a religious film, let alone a Christian one. But the deep questions raised and the spiritual themes embedded present "a unique entry point for those in the faith community to share the hope of the Gospel in a hopeless world," said A. Larry Ross, president of A. Larry Ross Communications, the Christian media company that was asked to take the film to the faith-based community.

While Christians typically work with films that either "edify" believers or can be used for general outreach, "The Road" presents a different opportunity, said Ross. C

Given that the movie is expected to be a significant media and cultural event and a huge success (there's already some Oscar buzz), Ross believes Christians should take advantage of that opportunity.

"The impact [of this film] will not be in the theater but over coffee when discussions happen," he said.

He also noted that although "The Road" is not didactic in style nor forthright with the Gospel message, like many Christian films are, the director and others who worked on the film have said it would not be presumptuous for faith audiences to view the film through a biblical filter.

Hotsenpiller of Yorba Linda believes that all things, including this film, can be used as vehicles for Gospel distribution and reception. He has developed a discussion guide and sermon series for the movie around such topics as life and death, good and evil, love, and the environment, and has been traveling to cities throughout the country hosting screenings for pastors and other faith-based leaders.

But other pastors have not been as quick to take up the film as an outreach tool. Christof Weber, pastor of Rockland Community Church, in Front Royal, Va., sees the film as powerful and moving, but does not plan to show it at his church.

Instead, he believes the movie is "fertile ground for having deep, soul-searching conversations."

"Films are the lingua franca of younger generations," Weber said. "If you want to dialogue with people under 40 about spiritual issues, it is almost impossible to do so without discussing the movies they watch."

"That said, I don't like the idea of trying to use any film as an 'outreach tool,'" he continued. "I'm not interested in trying to find just the right bait to get people interested in the Gospel. What not-yet-believers need are far more Christians who are willing to really listen and who are interested in genuine relationships and conversations that don't hinge on whether they 'make a decision for Christ.' I don't feel a need to be a 'closer' when it comes to evangelism, but I do want to be able to engage people in meaningful conversation. And to do that requires that I watch movies, like 'The Road,' that explore truth and meaning from new, and even disturbing, angles."

Brian Wilbur, pastor at BridgeWay 242 in Arlington, Va., is more open to using the film as an outreach tool. He said it presents an opportunity to bring Christian answers to all the questions the movie raises.

So while “The Road” may not be a film like "Passion of the Christ" or "Fireproof" that churches would buy out theaters for, a number of Christian leaders and those involved in the movie believe “The Road" will force people to look at what really matters in life, make them think twice before wasting another bottle of water, and challenge them to search for hope not in the world but in God.

The hope presented in the film "is horizontal, and there's a limit to that," acknowledged Ross.

"[But] we can talk about the vertical hope," he added.

ANDY PLAYS MOZART IN SHAWSHANK

This my favorite clip from the classic film 'Shawshank Redemption'. Andy discovers a record of Mozart and playing it causes his spirit to soar out of the confines of the prison he's in. He also can not keep it to himself, but must share this sublime music with the other prisoners,and in doing so, sets them free for a few short moments. This is of course in direct defiance of the powers that be, who try to stop him, and so continue to oppress the prisoners, keeping them in a state of hopelessness. The authorities of course are not truly free themselves, nor do they appreciate the sublime quality of the music.

This reminded me of how Peter and John, having been so captivated by God's Spirit, were prepared to risk punishment, even death, for sharing with others the hope that they had in Christ - saying to the authorities who forbade them: 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.' So it was with Andy in prison, who felt the price of this freedom was worth the punishment he was to receive for both listening to it, as well as sharing it with the others- for the authorities could not ultimately take it away from him.

Quotes from the film

Red: I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.

Andy: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget. Forget that there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone. That there's a - there's a - there's something inside that's yours, that they can't touch.


Andy: That's the beauty of music. They can't take that away from you.

The Temptation of Jesus by the Devil in the Wilderness

We don't know in full the anguish and suffering that Jesus felt after his 40 day fast in the Wilderness when he was tempted by Satan. One thing for sure, Satan did all in his power to seduce and bully Christ into subverting the will of the Father.This clip portrays at least a little bit of this! Regarding ourselves if we do not feel the power of temptation in our own lives we are perhaps either giving in to it that we don't notice it or Satan is happy with the way we are living and are not causing his kingdom much damage. Of course at times, as in the life of Christ,there will be times when we are not particularly battling and things are relatively calm perhaps when Satan will leave us to plan future assaults.We can also take encouragement from Christ here who did not give in but with a word was able to defeat the enemy of all our souls.Like Christ, our new nature does not want to sin (1John)though Satan will do all in his power to do his evil works. These can be most obvious things such as the sins of the flesh, but they will also include subtle sins, the greatest of which is probably spiritual pride!( By the way this was the one that got Lucifer himself). If this is our besetting sin we are in big trouble as it can often lead to justification of all manner of sins, such as the self righteous condemnation of people or groups, or even lead to so called 'holy wars' where we could feel justified in putting to death someone in the name of Christ( C.P. Crusades. What then is the solution to protecting ourselves from these attacks? My thinking is that we should stay close to Christ, watch and pray and put on humility and the whole armour of God so that we would be able to stand in that evil day.AK