on the preaching opportunity of the da vinci code

June 2006

 

Dear Vineyard Pastors,

 

First of all, thanks so much for all that you did to make the regional conference a success.   We got very positive feedback--virtually everyone felt that conference as a whole was quite successful.   A lot of people put a lot of hard work and prayer into that as well as your time and energy to participate, none of which is taken for granted. It takes investment to have community, and an experience of community in our relationships in Vineyard beyond the local church is so important to our health as local churches and as a movement.

 

If you missed the conference, or would like to share the goods with those in your church who were not able to attend, the main sessions are available online in mp3 format (workshop audio recordings are soon to come).   Let me especially recommend Rich Nathan's talk on justice and Donnell Wyche's talk on emerging generations as ground breaking for the Vineyard, and dynamite, Spirit-empowered presentations.   (The latter, in particular would be especially helpful to older pastors trying to make sense of some of the issue and questions raised by a younger generation of leaders in the Vineyard .)

 

The Preaching Opportunity of The Da Vinci Code

 

I've been thrilled to see that many of you are taking advantage of the blockbuster movie, TheDa Vinci Code, to address issues raised by the movie in sermons.

 

Having seen the movie and read some of the background material (likethe Gnostic gospels) I was impressed at how well positioned we are in the Vineyard to speak to the key issues raised by the movie.   The Gnostic Gospels have made quite a splash in the religious publishing world because the issues raised by the Gnostics are very much part of the contemporary spiritual climate.   Some very central themes in Vineyard speak quite directly to many of these issues.For example:

 

Gnosticism is a form or "over-realized eschatology. " The beginnings of this are seen in Paul's letter to the Corinthians--those who claim special knowledge seem to believe the kingdom has already come in fullness, something Paul corrects in his letters.   Our familiarity in the Vineyard of a kingdom theology that stresses both the 'already' and the 'not yet' of the kingdom (with a passion to see as much of the 'already' as possible) is a healthy corrective to a Gnosticism which only stresses the 'already' of the kingdom, and to an unbiblical traditional Christianity in the West that only stressed the 'not yet' of the kingdom, leaving the church vulnerable to Gnosticism as a result.

 

Gnosticism appeals to a desire for spiritual intimacy.   Again the church in the Western world has been weak on this for centuries and the Vineyard emphasis on the real possibility of experienced intimacy with God is a healthy corrective, and a better one than Gnosticism provides.

 

Gnosticism is often profiled as liberating for women. The movie of course, has much to say about the "sacred feminine" and the role of Mary Magdalene.    In point of fact the older traditional forms of Christianity to which Vineyard is a response, viewed women as outright inferior, leaving a vulnerability to Gnosticism's recent claims to a more positive view of women.   Vineyard of course, with it's emphasis on "everybody gets to play" has always had a very positive view of women and is part of a more recent corrective in the church toward viewing women as equal (as they are viewed in the New Testament.)

This is true of both those who would adopt a "complementarian" view of women in ministry (limiting ordination of women, for example) and those who would adopt a "egalitarian" view of women in ministry.   In other words, both positions (and we have advocates of both within the Vineyard) stress the equality of women, and only differ on whether gender is a ruling criteria for some leadership positions in the church.   Again, this is a major shift from the centuries-long traditional view (one that is inconsistent with the New Testament) that women are inferior.

 

By the way, when speaking to this issue, be sure to read the closing verses of the Gnostic gospel of Thomas, where Jesus promises to turn Mary Magdalene into a man!   (A little embarrassing to those who claim the Gnostic gospels are pro-women!)

 

Gnosticism, in the movie at least, claims to represent a more "human" Jesus.  For years, the church has stressed the divinity of Christ to the exclusion of his humanity; but the gospels, of course, assert both.   John Wimber's emphasis on the humanity of Christ (e.g. the fact that he did his healing as a human empowered by the Spirit), and the later writings of N.T. Wright, are very important in understanding the Jesus of history as fully human (as well as fully divine).   In fact one of the main differences between the Gnostic Gospels and the New Testament Gospels are this: Jesus in the New Testament gospels is a more fully human being than Jesus in the Gnostic gospels.

 

In other words, the things that God has given us as important perspectives in the Vineyard speak very directly to the underlying theological issues fueling the renewed interest in Gnosticism, of which the movie is simply the most

recent example.

 

A couple of final thoughts on preaching in light of all this:  

 

1. These themes are important themes for us to stress in preaching, not simply as a response to the movie, but because they key themes in the contemporary spiritual climate .   A high but also balanced view of subjective experience of God, the already and not yet of the kingdom (with a hunger for as much of the already as possible!), everybody gets to play, a truly biblical view of the humanity and the divinity of Christ--these are all themes to return to again and again, long after the movie hype is a thing of the past.

 

2. Consider adopting something other than a "culture war" approach to the release of The Da Vinci Code .   If our only emphasis in response to the movie is to mount an all-out highly charged critique of the film, we may well fail to reach those who are most vulnerable to some of the distorted perspectives in the film.   We already live in a highly polarized religious culture with "Blue States and Red States" and talking heads on cable news programs yelling at each other across the cultural-religious divide.   People who are not already Christian may well expect churches to be slamming the da Vinci Code as a pack of lies.   Sometimes meeting expectations lowers your odds of gaining a hearing.   Defensiveness is often interpreted by the non-convinced observer as a sign that you've got a weak case.   I'm planning on leaving the critique of the movie to the multiple web sites and books that do a fine job, and instead speak to the issues raised by the movie like, "are the New Testament   Gospels reliable?"   and "what's the difference between Jesus in the New Testament gospels and Jesus in the Gnostic gospels."   By all means, familiarize yourself with the Gnostic gospels before critiquing them. They can be read pretty quickly.   A good summary of the Gnostic Gospels is, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Gnostic Gospels, written by a graduate of Regent in Canada.   Ben Witherington, from Asbury Seminary and a real Jesus Scholar, has an excellent book on the movie as well.

 

This is wonderful time to be alive and pastoring. Bless you all as you engage

the culture with the love and wisdom of Jesus!

 

Love,

 

Ken & Nancy Wilson

Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor

Great Lakes Regional Overseer