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Jesus sent us and the Holy Spirit empowers us to take the Good News to all nations—all the streets (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8)—even the streets of Samaria where we will have more differences than similarities.
There is one street that has infiltrated and affected every other street more profoundly than any other: Hollywood Boulevard. The constant bombardment of messages through movies, television programs, music, literature, and the arts is almost immeasurable.
I think Christians rarely stop to ponder how much of the culture on Main Street is influenced by the content from Hollywood Boulevard. Probably because so few Christians are involved in the artistic or creative communities.
Here’s what we need to remember: All of this creativity is God-given. The opening words in the Bible say, “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1).
We specific examples of God-given creative skills in:
- Bezalel—Exodus 31:1-5
- Oholiab—Exodus 31:6, 35:34
- craftsmen and craftswomen—Exodus 31:6; 35:10, 22, 25
- Huram—1 Kings 7:13-14
- food administrators—Acts 6:3
- Tabitha—Acts 9:36-39
(You can check out all of the Scriptures mentioned in this post here.)
In more modern times, we see notable creative people giving credit to God for their abilities.
- William Shakespeare’s use of biblical themes—and even exact phrases—throughout his work is easy to spot. In the opening line of his last will and testament, he wrote, “I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, believing through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Savior, to be made a partaker of life everlasting.”
- Johan Sebastian Bach, considered by many to be the greatest composer to ever live, placed “S.D.G.” on every one of his musical compositions, which stands for Sola Deo Gloria: only for the glory of God.
The apostle James tells us that every good and beautiful gift has come to us from God our Creator (James 1:17). And then this is my paraphrase of a similar thought the apostle Peter—
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks [writes, paints, composes, sculpts], they should do so as one who speaks [writes, paints, composes, sculpts] the very words of God. (1 Peter 4:10-11)
So, here are four thoughts about how we can take the Good News of Jesus to Hollywood Boulevard.
- Create a beautiful culture in your home, your Main Street, your workplace, your school. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you answer the question, “What can I do so that the love and beauty of Jesus will be felt here?”
- Use your creative skills—write poems, compose music, paint a picture, sew clothing, bring innovation to your job.
- Support beautiful authors, musicians, moviemakers, painters, etc. Hollywood produces what they think will make money, so if you are supporting creators of beautiful things, they will produce more of those things.
- Leverage Hollywood’s culture to talk to others about heavenly culture. Point out biblical themes, challenge the rationale behind unbiblical lyrics, etc.
“Christians need to ask themselves a few key questions to help us respond to the society around us. First, what is good in our culture that we can promote, protect, and celebrate? Second, what’s missing in our culture that we can creatively contribute? Third, what’s evil in our culture that we can stop? And fourth, what’s broken in our culture that we can restore?” —John Stonestreet
Don’t complain—create something better.
Don’t compromise—promote what is beautiful and edifying.
The Holy Spirit can empower us to take the Good News of Jesus even to Hollywood Boulevard!
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series Takin’ Him to the Streets, you can find them all here.
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Craig T. Owens 