Creative Arts Provoke Emotion That Leads To Action
Kyle Thompson -
The power of the creative arts to provoke the emotions of empathy, anger, love, hope, hate, fear, which specifically lead us to take an action, is why it is imperative for preachers of the Gospel to not miss this tool.I believe it is why Jesus employed stories...parables, to express a complex idea in an easy to remember iconography.We are in dangerous times as Christian leaders. As the culture continues to fragment and gather into warring tribes, the demand for level heads has never been higher, but the ability to carefully share simple answers to complex issues is nearly impossible with words alone.The value of films like Superspreader (superspreaderfilm.com) which goes far in taking a snapshot of the recent past of 2020 and the ramifications then (and now and soon to come again) of standing, or in this case, singing for freedom; and JESUS REVOLUTION (https://jesusrevolution.movie/), which retells of the Jesus movement revival that spurred out of a similar cultural upheaval in our country over 50 years ago, is that the viewers can see for themselves the hope that Jesus brings, without uttering a word. The power of Sight and sound cuts through the veil of emotions to open hearts to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in an extremely effective way.We know the arts change hearts. It's partially why we are where we are today culturally. The 'Christian' movie business was on a pretty constant upward trajectory until COVID hit and now the shutdown of the theaters as much as the shutdown of the church has reverberated with fewer films of faith in theaters and those which have appeared, have not performed well for various reasons.Though we don't need the movie system to grow the influence of Christ in our society, there is a potential of missing millions of people who are even more likely to avoid attending a church in person now then before. So seeing films like this come to theaters become the only sermon many will ever have an opportunity to hear.For those pastors who say the value of online entertainment is just as good as in person theatrical releases, I would point to the same issue with online church services vs. in-person church attendance. And I say this as a purveyor of livestreaming for churches (Catalyst acquired sermon.net during Covid), the in-person experience creates a fixed position which disallows fast forwarding and allows the power of the moment to sit in a heart much better than online. Though there is value to livestream preaching and teaching, there is no true substitute for the shared experience with others in corporate worship and teaching. It is the same with film. These films in particular could serve as a launching point for revival happening in individual hearts which could affect our nation on a macro-scale.https://catalystresourcegroup.comKyle Thompson
Catalyst Resource Group works in the areas of
Missions, Movies, Streaming, & Production.
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