Showing not Telling
The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him:
“There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very large flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and with his children. From his meagre food she would eat, from his cup she would drink, and in his arms she would sleep. She was like a daughter to him. Now a traveller came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveller who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”
David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.”
Nathan replied to David, “You are the man!” -- 2 Samuel 12:1-7 (CSB)
Stories have the ability not only to illustrate truths but reveal the character of those willing to listen. The prophet Nathan had the difficult task of revealing the adulterous sin of his anointed king. Rather than condemn him directly, he uses this fable to alter David’s perspective so that he ultimately condemns himself.
While our gospel message of Christ’s death and resurrection should remain unchanged, we are free to explore creative ways to deliver it. While campus evangelism often leads to explicit and logical gospel presentations like Paul’s preaching at the Areopagus, we should not shy away from sharing the gospel in creative ways. Beyond Nathan, for example, we see other prophets delivering God’s message through visual mediums: Ezekiel’s performance art, Jeremiah’s pottery, and even Hosea’s marriage were all messages from the LORD that were shown, not told. Jesus himself shows us clearly how storytelling can convey real truth through his use of parables.
For our evangelism today to both engage and enlighten, we can and should consider exploring visual media such as film and television to help shape our conversations with our peers. Students are already engaged with countless streaming services – so how can we engage this art form for the gospel?
Importantly, we need to remember that the task at hand is not to manipulate the film’s message for our own purposes, nor to show a ‘Christian’ film in the hope that its own message will be enough (please don’t show ‘God’s Not Dead’).
Rather, our approach should be to explore and draw out the gospel truths already at work within the piece we are exploring. Themes such as the thirst for justice, the longing for identity, and the fear of mortality are rich within film and TV – so talk about it and connect these familiar themes with Gospel truths! At the same time as affirming truths within our cultural landscape, we also should be identifying this world’s idols. Exploring how themes such as the freedom of self-love, the pursuit of success, and being content in the unknown might be shaped by a better story. We can be confident that Jesus both confronts those oppositions and yet connects to them to a greater view of reality, this can be referred to as ‘Subversive Fulfilment’.
Case Example
At Christmas time we watched the film Klaus as a CU in Aberystwyth. The film’s message is that “A true selfless act of goodwill always sparks another”. Through a discussion around this we were able to recognise the truth in God expressing kindness for all of us as image-bearers, and that selfless acts are good things. Many might mistakenly think that the message of this film resembles that of Christianity. And yet, whilst being able to affirm some of the truths within it, we were also able to draw out a much greater truth presented by the gospel. The heart of Christian faith is not simply that we should act in goodwill for the benefit of ourselves or others, but rather the belief that Christ has accomplished the greatest of selfless acts on the cross so that we can approach the God of all things in all our sin and be redeemed.
Through this example, I hope you can begin to see how different facets of the gospel message can be shaped by the content we choose to show. We can observe both the truths and lies that culture presents through discussion.
What do I do now?
If you are keen to host your own film discussion, there are a few practicalities that need to be ironed out for you to be able to screen your film:
Licensing: Know the legalities of showing films in your CU setting; You need a ‘non-theatrical’ film license to show films and TV programmes in a public event. Technically, if you are gathering informally as a group of friends, you don’t need a license. But if it is a large gathering that you have publicized as an event, you will need a license. Top tip: before paying for one, ask your SU whether your university has a license. Find out what kind of license it is since it may mean that you can only show films from a certain production company or streaming service. If you are considering paying for a license yourselves, which may cost over £100, think about whether the event will be worth it in terms of size. Would the event be better as a smaller discussion shared by word of mouth?
Venue: If you do decide that your event will work better as a low-key event, all you need is a space with comfortable seating for everyone who’s coming, a decent sized screen and maybe a microwave to make popcorn (snacks are pretty much essential for these events). If your event is official, have a similar approach but of course in a larger space. These events can be long, so prioritise comfort.
What should we watch?
Picking the right viewing can often make or break your event.
License: One of the first things to consider is what you’re allowed to show, as previously mentioned, your licensing may dictate what service or production company you’re allowed to use. Again, a small event won’t require this, so ideally pick a film.
Zeitgeist: Similarly, to choosing evangelistic talk topics, consider what will be most engaging for students attending the event. Both in terms of screenings that students will find appealing, as well as the themes raised that will engage their minds. This also means Christian films are out of the question, trust me, your friends do not want to watch. ‘God’s not dead’. Also challenge yourselves to not just watch a Disney film – explore films that are layered and will give you a lot to discuss and question. Finding that appeal to students may well mean watching something that’s higher than a PG rating! Don’t go against your conscience and be careful the content isn’t too explicit - but we should be challenged to engage with culture using the ‘language’ of the culture. Think of the film that your friends would want to watch before thinking of what you want to watch.
Runtime: Having a screening and talk/discussion can be long. As good as ‘Return of the King’ is, maybe the 4 hour 23 minutes extended edition wouldn’t be the most appropriate choice. If you are watching a feature-length film, try to stick to 90-minute movies. You could also consider a single episode of a tv show. There are a great number of anthologies available, (shows with stand-alone episodes) such as Black Mirror or Inside number 9. Or if you’re feeling really arty show a well-reviewed short film.
Structure
While there is no real blueprint for the evening, this is how the evening could look:
Welcome: Introduce the evening and the film you will be watching and do remind guests that it is a Christian Union event providing space for a discussion afterwards. Make sure to create a nice and cosy atmosphere where guests can relax and enjoy themselves as they watch.
Screen the film.
Opening Discussion: Now you may choose here to go a few directions, depending on the size of your group and who is speaking/hosting. You could give a short talk about the film before transitioning into a discussion. Or you might prefer to launch straight into a structured discussion. Questions will be framed around the themes of the film, but some examples of questions might be:
Did you enjoy the film? How did it make you feel? What did you like about it (writing, direction, cinematography, acting, editing and soundtrack)?
What deeper meaning did the film have? How does the film handle the underlying themes? How is our attention drawn to particular images?
How does this compare to our own worldview? Does the film represent your feelings about the themes it explores?
How does is compare to what we find in Christ? How does the film echo God’s common grace? How does Jesus tell an even better story?
For more ideas for forming questions check out Tony Watkins' helpful guide!
Through this process, the aim should be to identify through mutual experiences and crossovers in worldviews. Persuade them of those parallels, the flaws of the secular world and foundation of truth in Christ. Then invite them to know salvation in Christ as you have.
There is no blueprint for the perfect film evening, but hopefully this has helped you to consider, not only how to engage with your friends but the very culture that surrounds us.
Still looking for resources? Some suggested further reading:
