Taking a Stand Against Spiritual Bullies

I grew up having to deal with bullies. I was a skinny kid with horn-rimmed glasses (usually taped) and made good grades. I might as well have worn a target on my chest. My small 10 grade public school got all the kids that were kicked out of the larger church school. The teachers used to put all the honor roll kids on the front rows as a kind of human shield against the barbarians in the back. My Mom must have worried that I had hemophilia I came home with blood on me so often.

From that experience, however, I learned to be mule-headed and somewhat indifferent to pain. I still have a knot on my forehead where a kid pushed me face-first into a concrete wall. I think he cracked my skull. In those days you didn't have CAT scans for that sort of thing and doctors were very expensive. You learned to be resilient and you get very tired of knuckling under to bullies. You also learn all sorts of subversive ways to resist them.

As an adult you expect that you won't have to put up with that sort of thing. Sadly, bullying takes on a different form among grownups, but bullies still exist. Spiritual bullying is the most pernicious form of bullying I think. It happens in religion, politics and culture one way and another. Resisting these people can be every bit as difficult as standing up to a giant 5th grade thug.

In church it's the bony-fingered self-righteous who use their position's power to intimidate others to get their own way. We've all met the woman or man that Ray Stevens, in his song Mississippi Squirrel Revival called "Sister Bertha Better Than You." In politics, it's the use of political power to crush any opposition through legal means, bureaucratic intimidation or by silencing those who speak out against whatever they are up to.

In the culture, it can show up as the homeowner's association that tries to fine you for flying a flag. I know of an HOA that tried to fine homeowner's for planting their rose bushes. Another tried to fine a woman recovering from cancer because she was two weeks late mowing her grass. I've seen community members who threaten you because they think you raised funds for a local nonprofit organization without getting permission from whoever thinks they are in charge of that sort of thing. Happened to me a couple of times.

In this day and age, as we close in on the end of time, I am reminded of Christ's admonition that we need to stand strong in such times as these. It's can be hard to do that. Often there is a price to be paid. An Air Force colonel named John Boyd used to tell the pilots he trained that they faced a choice of two paths in their service. Along one path they could do what was good for the Air Force. Along the other, you could play the political games. Play the games and you could count on steady advancement, awards and a long career.  Do what is right and, Boyd told them, you can expect that you'll never be promoted beyond colonel. 

There is a price to be paid to stand for the right, though the heavens fall. Your reward may not come in this world, but God is watching and the reward he offers for your faithfulness is far beyond the rewards of men.

Jesus once told his disciples a story. It was about Pharisees who stood on a corner praying to God and thanking Him that they were better than other men who were simply praying for God's mercy. Jesus said, plainly, "They have had their reward."  

That's all they'll get it seems. For those who like David, Jonathan, Gideon, the disciples and Jesus Himself, who stand for what is right, like a tree planted by the waters, shall not be moved. For these brave souls, there is a reward beyond measure waiting. For the bullies? As Jesus said, "They have had their reward."

© 2023 by Tom King
 

 

Christian Filmmakers Making Believers Out of the Film Industry

 

Jonathan Roumie in The Jesus Revolution

 

A New Christian movie from Lionsgate studios called "The Jesus Revolution" starring Kelsey Grammar and Jonathan Roumie (who plays Jesus in The Chosen) opened in fewer than 2500 theaters on its first weekend and grossed 16 million dollars. The second weekend nearly doubled that earning 30 million dollars on a budget of just 15 million. And word of mouth has been responsible for most of that volume at the box office. It also looks like maverick Christian film producers like Dallas Jenkins over at Angel Studios are also making enough of a profit to fund several future movies that appeal to Christian audiences. Profits from The Chosen as well as other projects Angel Studios is releasing over the coming year include an animated feature about the life of David, the Israelite King, a children's animated television series and though most people don't know it, they produce the Youtube hit, Drybar Comedy that features clean comics performing in, of all places, Provo, Utah.

With the work they've done on "The Chosen", Angel Studios has opened a breath of fresh air upon the Christian film industry and given more mainstream studios like Lionsgate the courage to take a risk on Christian-themed projects. The Christian film industry has been doing some very nice work on pretty tight crowd-funded budgets the last few years. They've even drawn some mainstream acting talent like Ed Asner, John Ratzenberger, Kevin Sorbo, Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, Tyler Perry, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, Roma Downey, Kirk Cameron, Dean Cain, Stephen Baldwin, Eric Roberts, Kelsey Grammar, Lee Majors, Eric Avari, Randy Travis, Dean Cain and Candace Cameron Bue. Christian film also provides work for a host of new talented young actors and actresses willing to risk the wrath of Hollywood's distinctly anti-Christian culture. Hallmark and the Lifetime Channel have upped the depth of the faith-based films they produce, seemingly a bit less hesitant to address prayer, church-going and Christian values than they once were. Amazon hosts Up, Faith & Family as a subscription service and even some distinctly Christian films as regular selections on Prime Video. 

Jesus and His disciples - The Chosen

 My wife and I are watching The Chosen over and over every weekend the way we all did when Star Wars came out in the 70s. The series is just that compelling. Christians can't get enough and even hardened criminals find themselves drawn to a Jesus who is approachable, kindly, and joyful with a sense of humor to boot. This Jesus is one they can imagine themselves following. They can see a reflection of themselves in his very human disciples and for the first time in their lives, this collection of tough guys and hard cases can imagine themselves following Christ themselves.

Christian film is growing out of its awkward stage. The burgeoning faith-based film genre has delivered performances in the past 20 years that rival the quality of mainstream films of 20 or more years ago. I've lately seen performances and stories that for quality beat lots of today's mainstream films with much larger budgets. Christian films often tell compelling stories, many of them based on true stories. And they do it all on achingly tight budgets, while managing to look professional while doing it.

Eric Avari as Nicodemus in his secret meeting with Christ

The genre is learning its craft and producing some surprisingly wonderful films. The Chosen has even become a very popular television choice in Texas prisons with inmates stumbling around the day room engrossed in their computer tablets as they binge on season one. Violence has decreased dramatically over the weeks since the new inmate computer tablets were distributed to the men. Soon, word spread throughout the cell blocks that "The Chosen" was "...something you've gotta see, man!" Church attendance went up. An altar call at TDCJ's Coffield Unit last weekend resulted in 30 to 40 inmates coming forward to follow Jesus. Episode 1 of season 2 (only season 1 is available on the tablets so far) packed the chapel this weekend when the chaplain held a special showing.

Something is a' brewing out there; the kind of signs Jesus told us to watch for, I'm thinking. I hope we can take back the part of our culture that finds stories about faith and belief a thing worth watching and supporting. From the number of films crowd funded by independent donors and people who send in their 5 dollars because they want to see a movie they can feel good about seeing, film-makers seem to have discovered a way to produce movies that don't necessarily appeal to jaded Hollywood producers. It seems millions of movie-goers and non-movie goers are willing to put up their own cash to see wholesome films that lift the spirit, instead of being stuck with movies that glorify violence, illicit sex and crime. 

Upstart web edited video provider Vidangel has settled the lawsuits film producers lodged against them now that said producers are recognizing Christians as a lucrative viewership. There's nothing like finding out they can make money off a group of people by catering to their tastes to bring liberal Hollywood royalty down off their high horses a bit. Vidangel allows you to select what profanity you want to delete or whether you want to remove nudity and even the suggestion of sexual perversion for that matter. Also you can remove "blasphemy" (like the ubiquitous, guarantor of an 'R' rating G....d..... word found in so many otherwise decent films).. 

 

Lately, the proverbial fig tree has been putting forth leaves so to speak. This makes me happy. There are even a couple of new video websites that will cover actors' bulbous naughty parts with said fig leaves and they draw huge audiences.

 

© 2023 by Tom King