Although already having been available on DVD, Lord, Save Us from Your Followers is being theatrically released in selected cities. A recent screening of the film was followed by a fifty-minute panel discussion featuring the filmmaker, Dan Merchant; Michael Levine of Levine Communications and author of Guerilla PR; Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University; and Bill Lobdell, author of Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace. The panel was moderated by Mark Joseph, founder of BullyPulpit.com. This report represents an abridged version of the discussion.
The film looks at the way Christians (especially evangelical Christians) engage the world. It calls for Christians to be in dialogue with people of other beliefs in constructive ways.
When asked to comment on the “culture war,” Levine began by asking the audience how many identified themselves as committed Christians, then how many believed that he was going to hell because he was not a Christian. He estimated the hands raised to be about 99% and 80% respectively.
Levine: If you believe that is a very good way of inspiring interfaith dialogue—we differ. But I deeply admire your willingness to tell the truth. I love it.
There are two groups of people, right? And one of the two groups (you can imagine which of the groups I’m referring to) believes definitionally that the other group, no matter what they say [or do] is going to hell. That’s a conversation breaker, right? It’s not great. . . . That’s something to think about.
Merchant: I think Michael hits it on the head. That’s the conversation breaker. It’s not like you sit down for a blind date and go, “OK, here are the things. If you’re not a Yankees fan, you haven’t seen the Rolling Stones live, if you don’t think Paul is the best of the Beatles, then I’m sorry, this dinner’s over.” You don’t set up a blind date like that, do you? You probe and you talk and you get to know who someone is.
Joseph: I think what Michael is saying is that he’s uncomfortable with the conversation as long as you hold to that belief.
Levine: It doesn’t engender a kind of authentic, vulnerable, transparent dialogue.
Merchant: I think one of the things that’s fascinating is that when we Christians run to that place I think we’re completely missing the boat. There is explaining what we believe and why we believe it—and the discussions of hell in the Bible are fascinating and limited, and there’s so much about how we’re supposed to treat each other. If you look at the demonstrations of Christ’s Gospel—if we’re obedient to Christ—then I meet Michael and I’m looking to understand who he is and let him get to know me. And within the context of that relationship the conversation may be very different. I may learn things about him and he may learn things about me, and frankly to me the conversation is: you know what, Michael, we’ll sort it out at the pearly gates. I take a very different position. If I’m a Christian—if I believe this stuff—my job is to be obedient to it. I’m afraid Bill is more right than I wish he were [referring to his comments about most Americans being cultural Christians] in the respect that—let’s go back to the red letters in the Gospels. Jesus lays out some pretty tall stuff that he expects from us. Most of us don’t do it, because it demands something from us. It’s very difficult.
Lobdell: Don’t you think as a Christian after you get to know Michael and love him up and everything, you have a responsibility to try to get him to accept Christ to avoid hell?
Merchant: You know, the way I personally would look at it is I would hope that that conversation comes up because Michael brings it up, not because I would bring it up to him. Then Michal would see—“Wow! What this thing about how you seem to be more patient than everyone?” Then it becomes his choice.
May 2nd, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for the opportunity to explore this subject. Your website truly does a service the Body of Christ needs, as so many of us watch movies Hollywood puts forth. Grace and mercy always be unto you!
Though I had not heard about this documentary by Mr. Merchant, I intend to obtain a DVD copy ASAP. Reducing us to love (a Joyce Meyer’s book title of similar subject I recall) is what being transformed into Christ’s image is all about, Amen? After all, God IS love!
Shalom~
LMS
May 2nd, 2010 at 6:04 pm
That’s terrific to hear, LMS. This is one of the most good-hearted and entertaining films of the millennium thus far.
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:17 am
I do have a bone to pick when it comes to ‘Behaviour Modification’. Yes why are people so scared of Christians?
One word: fear or should I say the wrongly portrayal of Abba God as a fear inducing, judgmental and technically a law-binding tyrant on His followers.
The use of “God-fearing” by Ms Rachel Moore is one such picture of God pounding on us mere Christians in believing in HIM. Isn’t that the falsehood that the movie is trying to make here and yet the very same review is strengthening the wrong understanding of God in the first place?
No, God makes us His children not because He wants us to fear him and do his bidding, God wants to be our Abba(in all sense of the right image of a loving dad to all of us)so that He can love us truly madly deeply.
The word ‘fear’ is now in so many minds of truly sincere Christians that are being binded by over-zealous,hell proclaiming, sin-trumpeting pastors and leaders of the Church they have forgotten that they are saved through Christ despite what they have done, despite what they are doing and despite what they will be doing in the future.
After all Christ saved ALL of US NOW while we are still not in this world that means His death that has happened before we are born is therefore effective from resurrection to eternity.
I questioned before why in Deut 6:13 the Bible said ” Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” If Abba God’s plan for Jesus is to bring us back to Him, then FEAR should be the last thing to use to do just that. Would you hug a wild lion even though He may be Aslan?
Then the truth comes when Jesus ‘translated’ for us in His words in Matthew 4:10
Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve.
Jesus, has effectively replaced the word ‘fear’ with ‘worship’. He has effectively put the Gospel in that one sentence.
We worship God not out of fear but of love to Him. We love our parents not because of ill treatment but of love given to us.
Time for this church to preach what Paul has preached all along that God does not look for behaviour modification for one to be saved (if not, that would be salvation through works and make Christ’s redemption void and unnecessary), God just need one thing: belief in Christ.
God also need one thing to make YOU, the believer, to be in His love forever: Jesus Christ.
If Jesus said He will never leave you nor forsake you, the onus is on HIM to make that promise true and not based on our behaviour.
If His death is only going to bring temporary relief from the judgment of sin, then His death is of no use to us and it is truly a great waste of life. If so, then why does He still go through the horrors of the cross? Very simply: He KNOWS it will last forever so please don’t preach otherwise saying that one can lose his salvation, that one can fall from grace when in fact, GRACE catches all of us when we fall so how can we fall FROM Grace?
That’s why we pray earnestly, “Lord save us from those who preach the wrong Gospel”
June 27th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
There is a LOT I don’t know on this subject…thank goodness, I’m content in leaving in hands “bigger than mine”…However, I’ve only recently 100% crossed that bridge. I grew up in a charismatic church. When I was six years old apx. I gave my heart to Jesus when my Sunday School teacher asked if any of us wanted to. I immediately told my Mom I was “saved” after Sunday School. Instead of big hugs and “Way to Go” or something along that line she almost frowned. She then asked my Sunday School teacher if this were true. My teacher replied that she was “preparing” me for when I would get saved….Hey, wait a minute…..”THIS IS ME” you are talking about I wanted to say…..I knew I had “Jesus” in my heart so how could I just be “preparing”….What I didn’t know was my Mom was all concerned about the “Age of Accountability”….she couldn’t believe I could accept Jesus before I reached that age…..Geez…When I became a Teenager, I became rebellious over the “hell and brimstone” I kept hearing about….I became kind of like the Pharoah in Exodus….When things were going tough, “Hey, God, come help me and I’ll do this and this…..” When things were going good again I forgot about God……this kept happening….I KNEW God held my hand when the waters got up to my neck in life BUT when they were going good again, “Hey, I can do this on my own……” or like Pharoah, “Nope, not going to let you go Moses, things are rosy now…” I absolutely LOVE what you did with this movie and it made me think again. I had “crossed the bridge” a while back and decided there was simply a LOT about God I would never understand. However, I didn’t have to my job was to believe, accept and love…..I’ve fallen way short on this but I do have a few points in this direction.
My hospice nursing kind of helped here…Great conversation I just LOVE this. For anyone who hasn’t seen this movie, do yourself a favor…..it is SUPER.