This week, articles about the TV series ‘LOST‘ abound – especially those either praising or decrying the series finale Sunday night. Yesterday I read an interesting post that contrasted the church to the series. In it, author Sam DuRegger deals with the question: “why can’t we tell the story of the gospel like J.J. Abrams does with LOST?“ That’s a very good question. He contends that budget and other issues aside, “The story of the gospel is just as multi-layered as LOST, with multiple characters, books, prophets and cultures which all combine to tell one whopper of a story!” He’s right! His post (which I recommend you read) goes on to ask some questions and propose some solutions.
His post touched on something that has been rolling around in my head since the finale Sunday night:
For me, it was all about the mystery. I loved the quantum physics, free will vs. fate, converging storylines, etc. I looked forward to each new episode hoping for answers that would bring some clarity.
I’m not sure if this is something that translates to church or not. It’s something I’m still thinking about and will ponder for a while. If we were to preach in such a way as to leave people hanging for next week’s sermon (a la LOST), that almost sounds like we are stringing them along so that maybe they can meet Jesus at the ‘end of the season’. There’s an element – probably the most important element – that should not be hidden. But is there something can we do to make people anticipate next week rather than simply come out of habit? I’m not sure if this is even a concept that translates to church, but it has me thinking.
What do you think?
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