Everyone's a critic

I actually found a spot to sit in the land of badge people, known outside of my neighborhood as Amazon.  A seat in a comfortable spot in the Starbucks located at ground zero is a valuable commodity.  It doesn't often happen here during business hours 6 days a week, so I'm feeling pretty fortunate.  I have Van Morrison in my headphones, wondering if any people of the badges actually know who he is, and am just spending a bit of time people watching.  Lest you think that's code for being lazy, I'm actually working.  It's a bit of a self imposed research project that all people who practice the pastoral arts need to consider a priority task.  Actually, all people who claim a relationship with Jesus need to see this as a more noble task than it tends to be considered in the contemporary church.  A bit of contextualizing wouldn't really hurt anyone.  Jesus was, after all, the master of it.  If we claim to follow him, it only makes sense that we employ some of his methods.
In the role of church planter that I currently hold, this is not luxury, it's necessity.  To know how and how not to be able to communicate within the context that I find myself is of the highest priority.
It pained me to hear this morning, once again that "conservative" people of my belief were protesting and objectionable to the upcoming release of Hollywoods latest offering for the masses hungering for spiritually centered messaging... Otherwise known as "Noah".  The objections center primarily around the thought that this movie is not necessarily "biblically" accurate.  Really?  Really??? The screenwriters apparently took some creative license with the biblical account.  Really???  I would guess that if one didn't take some kind of liberties, it would be a pretty short film.  This is probably something that my contemporaries wouldn't want you to know but I'm pretty sure a fair number of us "preacher" types have taken some sort of liberty with the text in order to communicate the truths we hold dear.  "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" sort of stuff.  Why?  Because good communicators and preacher types know their audiences and what will get across and what won't.
So why do we insist on running our same play book of criticism and angst when someone from Hollywood sees an opportunity ( make a movie) to communicate to a need (spiritual interest/desire) that people will actually pay to consume.
Perhaps, those of my faith need to spend less time criticizing those who are answering the call and spend a bit of time people watching, better yet listening, and investing in our own ability to communicate truth.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on my way to get some badges printed up for our new church.