I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Doug Bachelor the other day in which he mentioned something that, for me, underscores the perfect symmetry of the bible and it all started with a sheep.

Pastor Bachelor said that when you shear a sheep and you lay it on its back it won’t resist, it lays there defenseless and uncomplaining while its captor has his way with him - I’m paraphrasing. When he said that, a light went off in my mind and I had to research this point. I’m a city boy, born and raised in Harlem, NYC and I barely know what it means to shear a sheep. I never seen it done, and I certainly didn’t know how a sheep behaved while being sheared. I remember when I first heard the word shear; I thought it was share… lol.

Anyway, I did know of a scripture that reads: “…He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened not his mouth…” Acts 8:32

Now since I am so farm animal illiterate I decided to take a look at this for myself. Fortunately, in the age of youtube, I didn’t have to travel too far. I found this amazing video with a guy explaining the process of sheep shearing, and amazingly, like Pastor Bachelor said, when placed on his back the sheep doesn’t resist.

Clearly this all lends itself to the character of Christ. When He was in the hands of His enemies He didn’t resist either as Acts 8:32 points out. And then I think of all the sheep that had been sacrificed in the sanctuary, and how they didn’t resist. I’ve never seen a sheep sacrificed but I imagine their sad eyes as they lay still and allow themselves to be sacrificed.

I thought of a pig, how a pig resists every step of the way. Pigs squeal so loudly when they are merely touched by their handlers. I know this because as a child I remember visiting my grandparents in Mississippi and there were piglets on their farm. I remember my sister and me chasing the piglets around, and they were so noisy. Some might say for good reason, I mean who would not go out kicking and screaming when they are about to be slaughtered, especially under false accusations.

Only Christ seems to have such a character. It’s like He’s saying I’m dying for you and I don’t regret my decision; the acceptance that a sheep shows when in the hands of his captor is the acceptance that Christ showed when he was crucified.

Granted there’s a difference between shearing and sacrificing. Shearing is equivalent to a haircut while sacrificing is giving up your life for a cause. What’s important however is the attitude of the sheep while in the hands of his captors. It’s a powerful illustration that is very telling about Christ’s character to see a sheep being sheared. I think everyone should see what that looks like.

Christ, the Son of God, innocent, blameless, sinless and good, took my sins from me and died for me so that I may live eternally. That’s not fair. No animal, no human, and certainly not the Son of God should have had to die for me. But God has set this system in place because it is the only way of escape for me. So while Christ goes silently to my doom, I escape. How incredibly unfair... “How can I pay Him back” is a question that resonates with me on a deeper level now that I understand that He took my sins without protest. He never once lifted His voice in His own defense. He never once lifted His hand in His own defense. He never once moved His feet to flee His captors. He died for me and for you with no other intention in mind. Now who do you love that you would do such a thing for?

In His genius, God didn’t choose an animal that would resist like a pig or fight back like a wolf or dog, or overcome his captors like a lion or flee like a Gazelle. To represent the character of the Son of God a sheep was chosen. Even though we know Christ is described as a Lion and certainly could have overcome his captors at any time. A sheep was chosen because they are docile, lovable, and when in the hands of their enemy they are dumb. That to me is symmetry. My goal in my Christian walk now is to become dumb… like a sheep.

I saw an advertisement for a TV show on a bus that read Girls who like boys who like boys… it promises to be a fresh perspective on relationships, as the title implies. I’m not personally of the opinion that the old perspectives of relationships need revising but I do think it needs a revival.

I don’t really watch much television so I have to be honest most of my opinions about it are formed only after taking a cursory glance at some of the shows that are aired today. And there you go, as soon as I say “today”, I’m sure the reader can feel an opinion coming regarding “TV today” as if “TV yesterday” was so much better. I promise you, I’m not arguing at all that TV yesterday was any better than it is today.

I do however want to highlight a particular show that managed to maintain a strong sense of family values and entertain at the same time. It was a show that at its core held true to the concept of honoring your parents, as well as showing a husband who loved his wife and a wife who respected her husband. It was the Cosby Show. It ran for 8 seasons, and back then seasons meant years. It aired from 1984 to 1992 and for five of those seasons it was the number one rated TV show according to Nielsen Ratings.

As a youngster, I loved the Cosby Show. It instructed me, as well as stimulated within me an internal dialog about what kind of man I wanted to be once I reached the point of marriage and fatherhood in my life. It also taught me to value education. It wasn’t a Christian TV show, but it wasn’t vulgar or indecent in anyway. It stuck to a set of values and succeeded while doing so.

It was criticized by many, particularly in the African –American community for, supposedly, not being a realistic representation of Black families. Some felt having a father who was a doctor and a mother who was a lawyer was not how Black families were truly structured. I have to admit, growing up in Harlem I didn’t see any families structured quite like the Huxtables (Their fictional family name), but I didn’t watch the Cosby Show to get a dose of reality, I watched it to get a dose of possibility. I’m not saying that there are no African – American families structured like the Cosby Show’s family; in fact, as an adult, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting quite a few. My point is this is what good fiction is capable of: imparting values that uplift human character and developing within a person a sense of hope for higher ground.

When I was a young man I hoped to be like Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby’s character) in the way he conducted the affairs in his home. My father and step father were not great examples of how men should conduct themselves in their homes, and for me, Cliff Huxtable offered an alternative.

And that’s what’s missing today, an alternative. In my lifetime, vulgarity and indecency has been on TV but it’s never driven the whole entertainment industry as much as it seems to now. I often wonder what happens to that young impressionable boy or girl, who is now like I was when I was in my teens, but are being feed a steady diet of reality shows that thrive off of folks who live by such low standards.

And I know Christians to the right of me will say that people should not watch TV at all. I’m not against that as a way of life, but do we care at all about young folks who are not growing up in a home structured that way? I didn’t grow up in a home structured that way and I’m a witness to the value of good TV and I’m very aware of its import in shaping who I am today.

If I were to complain about TV today, my premise would not be to attack what’s being aired as much as what’s not being aired. Where are the shows that celebrate success in marriage and the joys of parenthood? Where are the shows that balance entertainment and upstanding values? Where are the alternatives to the inundation of alternative lifestyles that permeate media?

We have to counter the messages that are currently sent to the world in media. In order to win souls we have to win the message war and that will be difficult to accomplish if the greatest influencer of our generation, called TV and Movies (the art of the moving image) is not deployed to argue the case for high standards.

And just to be clear, I’m not trying to preach the values of Jesus without preaching the person of Jesus, which I know is a dangerous and false doctrine. I do believe, however, that it’s harder to witness to someone about Jesus if you haven’t won them over with the values of Jesus. And this is the essence of what Jesus means when he says, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mathew 9: 13)

And here’s the kicker, if the Cosby Show could have the ultimate effect of infusing me with values that made me pliable to receive Christ at some point in my life, how much more would a show that is specifically anointed by the Holy Spirit? Brainstorming, I’m thinking something like: Girls how like boys who like Jesus…

Blessings…

I watch these episodes and I see so many opportunities to Christianize the scripts... Here is one of my favorites from Season 1 Episode 2 called Goodbye Mr. Fish...

The US population at the time of this writing is 308,400,408 (and that number just changed as you read it). Some estimate the percentage of Christians in the US is as high as 85%. According to an article written in 2007 in the denverpost.com entitled Jesus may save, but Christians spend “The Christian market, however, with almost 70 million American adults and $2.1 trillion, or 28 percent of the national annual income in 2006, is the main event”. Another article in USA TODAY written in 2006 called Faith’s purchasing power explains that, “Nearly 12% of Americans spend more than $50 a month on religious products, and another 11% spend $25 to $29, according to a national survey of 1,721 adults by Baylor University, out in September”.

I threw all those numbers at you to make a point, and believe me there are more fascinating numbers concerning Christian buying power then these, which we may visit on another blog.

So here’s my question: Why does Hollywood, a place that prides itself on doing the numbers, targeting demographics and monitoring the spending habits of consumers conveniently overlook the Christian moviegoer? They certainly can’t argue that Christians don’t go to the movies especially if Christians make up 85% of the population. They can’t argue that Christians don’t buy Christian products, nor can they argue Christians don’t support Christian movies. So why are we shunned by Hollywood?

Obviously the issue is not money, demographics, or consumer spending, the issue is values. And to be frank, from Hollywood’s point of view, the issue is Jesus. The purity and righteousness, the simplicity and modesty, and all the virtues of character that Jesus represents apparently don’t make good storytelling. For example, romance Hollywood style most often includes adultery or fornication, and these are words that Hollywood avoids in order not appear judgmental. And then of course you have the onscreen murder rate coupled with other acts of violence, the stealing, the swearing, the nudity and the list goes on. Hollywood is not comfortable around Jesus and Jesus is not comfortable around Hollywood.

Hollywood is willing to ignore a mega demographic like Christians if it means not having to face Jesus. If only it were that simple.

Christian filmmakers should not be deterred by Hollywood’s rejection, but we should see it as a blessing instead. There is not a better time in the history of filmmaking than it is right now to be an independent filmmaker, especially if you’re a Christian. Let me cite a few examples for you since we’re looking at the numbers.

Fireproof made for a budget of $500,000. Total US theatrical sales, $33,451,479, and total US DVD sales $32,135,369…

Letters to God made for a budget of $3,000,000. Total US theatrical $2,848,587, and total US DVD $4,990,902…

The Passion of the Christ made for a budget of $25,000,000. Total US and international theatrical $611,899,420. DVD sales somewhere near 15 – 18 million copies sold bringing in something near $400 million in receipts.

I wish Christians understood that we don’t need to knock on anyone’s doors begging for opportunity when opportunity has already been provided for us. Jesus has made provision for us right here at home in His church. If we are Christians, and we are filmmakers, then we should make films for His audience reflecting His values because we love Him and we believe in what He stands for. We want Jesus to be comfortable around us, and we want to be comfortable around Him.

Let’s tell stories about romance in marriage, and stories that fortify the family, stories that uplift human character and point people Christ-ward. And praise God at the end of the day, we don’t need Hollywood to do that….

Blessings…

Psalms Poetic:

If it sounds poetic it was meant to be, if you love Christian poetry, then Psalms Poetic is the place to be. We’re taking steps to build an audience for Psalms Poetic and we need you to help us pass it along. Our vision is to feature poetry that admonishes, correct, uplift and adores Christ. Our vision is to provide a venue for artists who want to express their Christian creativity. Our belief is that this is part of the process of the renewing of the mind spoken of in Romans 12:2. (see below) Youth take a break from popular culture and create some culture of your own. Adults you are youth too… ;)

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Below you will find our first installment, a poem called Still written and recited by Clarence E. McCall. If you're interested in submitting a piece to Psalms Poetic send us a link to your video: clamccall@yahoo.com