Follow Me: Seminar Session
Professor Grant Horner
“Living As A Disciple In A Fallen Creative Culture”
This was more of an open forum Q&A with one of my favorite professors. Here are a few of the questions asked and a brief summary of his answers.
Notes:
Q: Should we imitate or copy pop-culture as art in the chruch or should we be original?
A: The goal should always be to honor God. Sometimes original art is impossible because you have artists in the church that are not capable of being original.
Q: What is your position on Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)?
A: The Bible does not speak directly about style but it does speak against legalism. The problem is when Christians get together to force their opinion and conscience on others. The rule is to charity: give up your right to use CCM if it will offend others.
Q: How much of human nature is appropriate to show in a screenplay or film?
A: A narrative story must always turn on conflict otherwise it’s boring. You will always have something like good vs. evil; right vs. wrong; justice vs. injustice. As a result human nature will show itself in those conflicts. There is no set rule except that it should honor God and not profane the work of Christ.
Q: Are Christians free to colaborate with non-believers in a creative endeavor?
A: Yes, in fact we are suppose to be doing those types of things. We can’t sit in a safe little bubble with a megaphone and say, “Hey have you heard about Jesus?!” But the trouble comes when the project goes in a direction that dishonors God and if you can’t resolve things then you have to walk away. There is a cost sometimes.
