‘Passion’ stirs hearts of Florida pastors

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)–Scores of Florida Baptist churches are aggressively promoting Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of The Christ" as an evangelism opportunity. Some have invested in bulk mailings promoting the film, some are renting movie theaters for showings, and others are hearing month-long sermon series using the movie and Gibson’s appeal to attract the unchurched.

"The Passion of The Christ," produced by Gibson, will open Feb. 25 in theaters nationwide. The R-rated film graphically depicts the brutality of Christ’s trial and crucifixion.

Among Florida pastors who have seen the film, primarily at the Beyond All Limits pastors’ conference in Orlando Jan. 21, the film’s impact was immediate.

Steven Ray, pastor of Gateway Baptist Church, Miami, described the scene as thousands of pastors departed the showing: "When it was over, all you could hear was sniffing and sobbing. All those men left without a word. There was no chatter, no applause. It was too solemn for all of that."

Ray described the film as "absolutely stunning" and praised Gibson for sticking to biblical accounts of the crucifixion. Unlike other Hollywood productions that use stories from the Bible–but take the Bible out of the story, "The Passion of The Christ," except for two or three scenes, is true to biblical accounts–even to the language spoken by the actors, Ray said.

"I thought the use of Latin and Aramaic, with English subtitles, would be distracting, but there is not a whole lot of dialogue, anyway," he said.

The movie trailer was shown Feb. 1 at the end of Sunday morning worship at Gateway, while the children were in children’s church. Members of the church were given movie posters which to display in businesses and schools. A brief trailer also appears on the "announcement loop" on the churches video screen. After members have seen the movie in local theaters, Ray plans a "talk back" session to hear if their reactions mirror his own.

"I literally shook during the scene of His flogging," Ray reported. "I am aware this was done for my sin. No Christian can escape that."

Pastor Michael Petty saw the Orlando showing of The Passion of The Christ and returned to First Baptist Church, Marianna, with enthusiasm for the evangelism opportunities he envisioned. The congregation, in a special offering, raised $19,000 to rent the Marianna Twin Cinema for the film and promote the showing to its neighbors. Owners of the Twin Cinema, which does not normally show first-run movies, were reluctant to show the film. First Baptist Church agreed to completely buy out seven showings in the four-week run - "four-walling the theater", in theater terms.

"When the movie is shown, we will have our own ushers, print our own tickets, hand out church information packets, and have an invitation," Petty said. "We want to make the most of the opportunity."

Outreach Marketing, Inc. has offered churches bulk mailings of promotional postcards in local zip codes. First, Marianna, is mailing 10,000 cards, and is erecting an evangelistic billboard during the engagement.

Scott Lake Baptist Church, Lakeland, will utilize Outreach Marketing products in a neighborhood evangelism effort. A postcard reading "The Passion of The Christ - true or false? Come explore the evidence at Scott Lake Baptist Church." will be mailed to 5,000 homes within three miles of the church. A 4’x 8’ banner with the same wording will be displayed on the church property.

Also, pastor Darrin Kress will preach sermons about the crucifixion: The Hero: Who was Jesus; The Plot: Why did Jesus have to die?; The Twist: What does the resurrection mean?.

The entire Easter emphasis at Scott Lake will be followed by a one-day conference, Consumed With Hope, led by Don McCutcheon, evangelism strategy director, Florida Baptist Convention.

Jacksonville’s Southside Baptist Church plans to work with the San Marco Theater - across the street from the church auditorium - in showing The Passion of The Christ. Theater owner David Blue will bring the movie to the theater "at our request" reported associate pastor Ron Henson.

In addition to selling movie tickets at the church, Southside Baptist will have showings for its congregation. The theater also is offering a special showing for pastors Feb. 25, the day the movie is released in theaters.

Jerry Waugh, pastor of Northcliffe Baptist Church, Spring Hill, saw the film at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago in January. The showing was followed by a question-answer session with Mel Gibson. Waugh said he was impressed with Gibson’s testimony and his motivation for making the film. As widely reported by media in the promotion of the movie, Gibson, raised a devout Catholic, left the church in early adulthood, but returned to faith after what he called a "crisis of faith."

Waugh recently preached a sermon, "The Gospel According to Mel Gibson," in which he quoted not only Scripture, but also Gibson. The Academy-award winner was asked "Why is the movie so violent?’ to which he answered, "because Jesus had so much He had to suffer in paying for our sins."

"I am careful in talking about the movie, to make sure that people know it is a movie about Jesus," Waugh said. "I do not want people to attach sainthood to Mel Gibson."

Waugh’s sermon was highly promoted and attracted an extra 300 persons to a Sunday morning worship service normally numbering 1000. Fourteen unchurched families filled out information cards.

"Churches need to be prepared for the world’s questions about this," he said. "It will impact both the world and the Christian community."