Deacon Godsey's Letter to the AFA (09/26/2006)
***
Hi all,
I
recently received an “email action alert” from the American Family
Association; maybe some of you received the same thing. It came in
response to…well…click here to see: http://www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=215
Below
is an email I sent them through their website; I’m considering using
this as a launching pad for a website article on “Jesus and the Media:
Living in the Tree of Life,” addressing the concerns I include below,
as well as some “extra” discussion of all the guilt-trip emails that
get forwarded around the Christian community, reflecting the same kind
of “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” approach I believe
organizations like the AFA have chosen to take.
With
all that in mind, I’m fully aware of the tightrope one walks when
trying to stress the “tree of life” without eating from the “tree of
the knowledge of good and evil” at the same time; if you have a minute,
please read the email response below and let me know your honest
opinion of whether I “crossed the line” or not. If I do the article, I
want to make sure I’m sticking in the right tree J
Thanks…
To whom it may concern,
It is with great respect that I write to express my concern over the
reactionary nature of the AFA's efforts to address the criticisms
levied at the Christian community by the U.S. mass media.
While I share your concerns for the name, image and reputation of Jesus
being sullied by our culture, I'm concerned that "boycotts" of THE BOOK
OF DANIEL, Madonna's concerts, Rosie O'Donnell's comments on THE VIEW,
etc. may be classic cases in missing the point.
When such "boycotts" or "response campaigns" occur, we may end up
winning the battle (at least in our own eyes), but we're also making it
much more difficult to win the ultimate war of seeing people give their
lives to the God who loves them and the Savior who died for them.
Christians who have lived/worked in Hollywood - daily experiencing the
prejudice, criticism, sarcasm, etc. of their colleagues because of
their faith - will tell you very clearly: they have never met ONE
individual who has given their lives to Jesus as the result of a
boycott, but they know MULTIPLE people who have chosen to "dig their
heels in" even further because of the way our Community handles itself
when it comes to the work they've chosen to give their lives to.
I realize my email probably isn't going to cause any major policy
changes at the AFA, but I still thought these concerns need to be
shared.
Jesus died for Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, the creators of THE BOOK OF
DANIEL and everyone else in the media/ entertainment industry...do we
really need to make it even MORE difficult to reach them w/His
"kindness that leads to repentance" by responding with such
defensiveness?
I'm sure they already KNOW we're hurt by their actions/comments (that
may, in fact, be their intent in some cases); but what might happen if,
instead of responding with criticism and defensiveness, we responded
with grace and forgiveness...now THAT (I'm sad to say) would REALLY
blow them away.
Just a thought...
Respectfully,
De@con Godsey
Executive Director of Creative Communication
Trinity Church :: 15555 W Dodge Rd
Omaha, NE :: 68154 :: 402.330.5724, x.3342
www.trinityomaha.com