BE NOT AFRAID!

The talk I gave in NYC is one that has been taking shape for several years. I got the idea for it from the following quote from Pope John Paul II, from his address for World Communications Day in 2001:

As much as the world of the media may at times seem at odds with the Christian message, it also offers unique opportunities for proclaiming the saving truth of Christ to the whole human family. What is therefore needed in our time is an active and imaginative engagement of the media by the Church. Catholics, do not be afraid to throw open the doors of social communications to Christ, so that his Good News may be heard from the housetops of the world!

The lack of impact by Christians in the popular culture and specifically Hollywood comes back to fear. We mask our fear with disdain or elitism or faux-prudence, but in the end, we are afraid and it renders us mediocre as artists and ineffective as communicators. I will flesh out some of the notes from my talk here over the next few days (or weeks or months...) using the this outline:

A) Why are we Christians afraid of Hollywood?
B) What mistakes do we godly people make in our cultural forays because we are afraid of Hollywood?
C) What could we learn from Hollywood if we could stop being afraid of it?
D) How could we serve Hollywood – what could we bring to it? – if we could stop being afraid of it?
E) Act One as a test case of effective engagement

Stay tuned...