Minister, film-maker sees no conflict in Christian involvement in Hollywood

LEESBURG (FBW)-Art Ayris is not your typical film-maker. But, then again, he's not your typical Baptist minister, either.

The executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Leesburg and executive producer and writer of "The Touch"-a feature film which opens next week-is building a track record that proves a Christian minister can be involved in Hollywood without compromising his Christian worldview.

A member of First Baptist for 22 years and church staff member for the last 15 years, Ayris felt a "very, very strong pull from the Lord to be involved in film" starting about five years ago, even though "it seemed totally foreign to me."

Since then, virtually everything Ayris has done has received critical acclaim, including receiving screenwriting awards, including Best Television Movie in the 2003 "Hollywood's Next Success" contest and a finalist in the 2004 "Fade In" contest.

"The Touch," Ayris' first feature film which tells the story of how First Baptist has changed lives through its Ministry Village, has further enhanced his growing resume of work in the entertainment industry-a world in which Baptist ministers do not regularly frequent. But he believes the power of film to tell stories needs to be recaptured by Christians who understand their biblical responsibility to seek to bring all of culture-even Hollywood-under the sway of Christ's Lordship.

Although personal evangelism is "our primary" responsibility, "I also believe Christ has given us a cultural mandate," Ayris told Florida Baptist Witness in an interview last summer during the shooting of "The Touch."

Noting that Christians have for too long "totally neglected" the arts, Ayris rejects the artificial division between sacred and secular often erected by Christians.

"I see all of life belonging to God and we can use it either for His glory or our sinful, selfish purposes." Just as God is a Creator, "we have a chance to create," he added.

Noting that it is widely demonstrated that a very small percentage of Hollywood executives regularly attend religious services, Ayris said that fact does not discourage his interest in the entertainment industry.

Even recognizing that many in Hollywood hold and promote an anti-biblical worldview, Ayris said that the challenge of being involved in such an environment is similar to the need of Christians to impact other parts of the culture-politics, poverty, disease-that are sometimes unpleasant.

"My personal experience in ministry is when you go wading into mud, it's not fun; it's painful; it's dirty; you're misunderstood. ... The easy way is to pull back and have good prayer meetings and come to church and have great fellowships," Ayris asserted.

But for Ayris, "I have felt much closer to Christ" when he was witnessing to a prostitute, even while her pimp "is standing there ready to beat me to pulp."

"As I see it, every area of life should be redeemed. God's people should be involved in trying to redeem that for God's purpose," Ayris added.

Some of Ayris' collaborators in "The Touch" are active Christians who live with the tension of working in an industry that is stacked against the Christian worldview.

Kristia Knowles, an actor and model from Daytona who plays the lead character in Ayris' film, told the Witness in an e-mail interview last summer that there are advantages to being called a "religious person" because it "keeps many undesirable" roles and people away from her.

"I turn down many modeling jobs and acting jobs that could pose a problem for my belief system. ... I don't want to be where God doesn't want me."

Shauna Bartel, a member of First Baptist Church of Orlando and actor for 20 years, told the Witness after a Feb. 10 private screening of "The Touch" that because her current station in life does not require her to take just any role, she is very selective in what she does. Bartel plays Wanda, the women's shelter worker who helps change Hannah's life.

"I'm looking for a story that has some redeeming quality to it. And a lot of what's being made right now does not have that," Bartel said. "The story is more important to me than the role that I play. I could play a bad character in a story that is a redemptive story and has a redemptive message."

Ayris admits as a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry he is still working out his theology of how Christians are to be in the world, but not of it. And while Christians will come to different conclusions about to what degree or even whether believers should try to influence the entertainment industry, there's no question in Ayris' mind that Christians should be involved in Hollywood.

"To me, film is no different than any other area-where sin reigns, we should be a part of offering positive solutions, giving positive alternatives."