Its started out as a simple letter to my local cinema. As a Jesus film fan(atic) I wanted to know if they were going to be showing it, and to encourage them I offered to help them promote the movie amongst churches. I got a call two days later, went to meet the manager, and came out buzzing. Not only were they due to show it, but they would also let me know in advance when it would be on, do group offers for tickets, and let us have a stand in the foyer. When I boldly asked if they would be interested in a short intro to the film, putting it in a bit more context I was amazed that they thought it would be a good idea. I fed all this back at the leaders lunch group of all the major evangelical churches in town and they were suitably pleased with the result. I also ensured that the Joint Churches group, which covers every church in Loughborough excepting two very hardline conservative Evangelical churches who have opted out, were made aware of what was going on so that they could be involved if desired.
And then came some other ideas. I remembered the story about Jesus of Nazareth's debut on BBC1 and how the BBC switchboard had been jammed by viewers wanting to respond. I began to suspect that people might want to do that here as well, wanting to respond and not knowing who else to turn to. What's more there was a church right outside the cinema that we could sit in and be available for if anyone wanted to chat. Not in your face or aggressive just present and being there for people who wanted it.
Then someone else suggested a follow up course that people might like to go on. I agree that the film would make some people want to think about Jesus a bit more so why not. We've got a stand in the foyer, we could easily put some details about some follow up courses on it. Wasn't my vision particularly, but what harm could it do? I was just working for one of the churches, but this was being pushed by the leaders now.
Someone else wanted to do a block booking and give the tickets away. I was quite unconvinced by this until they suggested that we could do it as a ticket give away through the local paper & radio station. It occurred to me that only those who were interested in seeing the film would go for it and so this was actually a good way of giving away tickets, rather than some of the stupid / annoying sounding ways I'd heard elsewhere. It would also help keep it in the paper / radio, but not make it a church thing. The paper would just be doing a free ticket giveaway.
Then I went away for five days, in the meantime things had moved a bit more. There were now going to be people doing a questionnaire on the street as people came out. I wasn't really comfortable with this, but rationalised it. After all no matter when you walk through that bit of town there's someone giving away flyers, or holding a clipboard. The questionnaire was very short, but open. It might be OK. I prepared a couple of posters to draw attention to the opportunity to chat and passed them on along with a list of the various church's meeting times as I was going to be away to set up the stall in the foyer, and for the first few days of the film's local release.
When I returned my wife and I decided to go see 50 first dates at the same cinema. When I got there I was gutted to see that as well as our stand (which had not at all utilised the information I'd made available, and was much more geared towards the follow up courses that the opportunity to chat) there was also another stand from one of the two separatist evangelical churches described above. It looked though that their stall was unmanned and as such I thought it would just gave a bit more publicity to the film, and though some people might take their literature rather than ours there was no major problem really. OK, so the message about church unity which I'd worked so hard to put across was spoilt, but that would pobably pass most people by anyway.
Then came last night. Our church was due to be manning the stall being available to talk, and...sigh... doing the questionnaires. But I was surprised to find that we we're now meant to be doing this in the cinema foyer, rather than outside where we'd originally agreed. We were now also meant to be giving things to people as they cued up / on their way in.
The person who now seemed to be overseeing things had to sneak off and it was really obvious that the other guys in my group were as uncomfortable with this as I was so we decided we'd do our bit outside. This was driven partly by the fact that some people from the other church had now turned up. They were now arming themselves with their literature, and unhindered by their consciences / fears as we were they seemed to be heading for the top of the foyer, right where the tickets are checked.
This was the early showing anyway, but from our position we were able to see the handful of people who had turned up for the early showing being hounded as they came down the stairs, and by the time they filtered through to us, I didn't have much heart left to talk to them, and they certainly didn't seem to want to talk.
I returned to the later showing, my heaviness of heart erasing my eagerness to get their and resulting in me being late, but I was their just in time to get a good view of what had happened. In my absence the other guys from church had stayed in the foyer, and done their questionnaire's in there. Attendance had been low, and so the small numbers that did turn up to see the film, many of whom were Christians anyway, were swamped by Christians to swoop.
And so what started as a gentle response to people's reactions, to what God was doing outside the church's turf descended into a horrifying unedifying spectacle as competing church groups clamoured over each other in order to be best placed to carry out a theological and emotional assault.
Given that many reviewers have described the film itself as assault, it seems somehow I've managed to embroil myself in the theological equivalent of finding someone already beaten up and giving them a good kicking just to make sure. I'm sure I'd just meant to be their to address their wounds rather than add to them.
So, mea culpa, and I find myself in need of confession (posting this). Anyone got any ideas for some retribution that will brig healing to my soul (a la The Mission)? Watching Ordet 3 times? Reading several chapters of Bazin? Forced to spar with SDG & PTC next time they start a quoteandreply-athon? Expulsion from the PAAFC for a period?
Matt