Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Rated R


     "One Sunday at church after I had finished preaching, I bumped into Lisa and Amanda, faithful members of our church. They serve sacrificially, pray regularly, and give consistently. Most in the community would describe these women as strong Christians. As they were leaving, I asked how they were doing. My friends politely explained that they didn't want to be rude, but they had to leave right away to catch a movie. Always on the lookout for good movie recommendations, I asked they were going to see. Lisa beamed as she said, "We're going to see Wedding Crashers... again! It's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen!" Just thinking about it, they giggled and grabbed each other's hands, like a couple of giddy schoolgirls.
     Suddenly they remembered that Craig is not "regular friend"; Craig is "pastor friend." The happy-happy giggle fest ended abruptly in a moment of awkward silence. Then Amanda added, "But you and Amy definitely shouldn't see it."
    I was genuinely startled. "Why not?"
    "Well," Lisa began sheepishly, choosing her words carefully, "You're a pastor. This movie has a lot of bad scenes. You shouldn't see that"
    What? Hang on a minute!
    Now you may be thinking, You're right Craig. What are you, five years old? Who are they to judge what's appropriate for you? You're a grown man! You've got six kids! I doubt Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn can show you anything you haven't seen before.
     That's probably true, but it's not really the point. Let's rewind our scene. Lisa and Amanda are Christians active in our church, and they are head out to see the hilarious, if somewhat raunchy, Wedding Crashers for the second time. I looked it up: "Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language." Is it just me, or is it odd for someone to believe that viewing a movie could be wrong for me because of my profession, but completely acceptable to other Christians, just because they don't preach on weekends?

Taken from The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel

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