#Rethink "The Chosen"
THE CHOSEN has a lot of fans...
What began as one of the most successful crowdfunded entertainment projects ever, has now been seen by more than 200 million people around the world, thanks to distributors like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, the CW and The Chosen app. It continues to draw millions of people to the story of Jesus who may never have walked into a church.
However, no project, story or episodic series is free of detractors, especially one whose focus is built around a man worshipped by 2.3 Billion individuals and segmented into nearly 45,000 independent formal organizations.
Though the creator, Dallas Jenkins, has gone out of his way to remind fans that THE CHOSEN isn't a recitation of the Bible's story, he's steadfastly reiterated in interviews that his primary goal with the show is to “accurately represent the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels”. With 24 episodes, the pilot episode, and a Christmas prequel addition, there are hours of extrabiblical story lines and characters to analyze for true scriptural intent.
It's against this backdrop that Season 4 of THE CHOSEN comes out exclusively available through Churches...for the time being.
The hallmark of THE CHOSEN has been the free release of each season through THE CHOSEN app. However, after a month-long run in theaters, this newest season isn't yet releasing in any online format until some unspecified legal points are nailed down.
A new non-profit foundation, Come & See, now oversees the production and distribution of THE CHOSEN and they have set up a way for any church* to show THE CHOSEN for FREE in their church by simply;
- visiting https://sermon.net/the-chosen
- signing up through the online form, and
- receiving an emailed/password protected video stream of the film to show only in a church building.
There are a couple points in the fine print.
(1) The provided media stream can only be used to present THE CHOSEN episodes in a physical location where a local church congregation regularly meets for church services, (this seems to allow for house churches, but an official representative of that body should be the one to fill out the information),
(2) The episodes will not be shown for personal use nor be recorded, streamed or simulcasted online,
(3) No monetary exchange will be required for attendees (but it doesn't mean that an offering can't be taken up).
*Also, not specifically stated on the site, but clarified after signing up...there are roughly 20 countries where the provided stream cannot be played...primarily Central and South American countries, a handful of African countries, and many of the larger countries in continental Europe. Presumably, these countries still have some legal distribution hurdles to overcome before this option is allowable. However, all of the United States and Canada as well as Great Britain and Australia are freely available for exclusive showings at church.
With 8 episodes totally over 7 1/2 hours, showing the entire series in one sitting is probably not recommended. And since the series is making available just 2 episodes in succession each week starting on March 11th, it won't be until the first week of April that all episodes will be available.
"The Book is better than the movie."
Whether or not your church makes the episodes available at special showings on your campus or you just wait until they become available for individuals, pastors who talk about THE CHOSEN are getting a valuable opportunity to use the popularity and interest in the show to talk through the real scriptures in context. There are even clips from this season available for download if you would rather show a short scene and then discuss what Scripture specifically says about that particular storyline.
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Kyle Thompsona
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