When you go to your Sunday service and plop down in the pew, do you think about Scandal? No, not the choir director’s new chest hair-exposing shirt. I’m talking about the TV show. If the ABC drama Scandal is being discussed in your church sanctuary, then you may be in one of the congregations that a recent Atlantic article was talking about.
On the face of it, that might seem like an odd subject to mix in with messages about tithing and discipleship. After all, the show is a heated drama focused on the swirling, seedy world of adultery, sexual liaisons and swept-under-the-rug misdeeds in Washington, D.C. In other words, the very behaviors pastors exhort their flocks to avoid. Ironically, however, the series’ steamy subject matter has also given some pastors a readymade opportunity to talk about those sins.
The Atlantic article noted a senior pastor from a church in North Carolina who, after addressing the topic of adultery in a service, tweeted a suggestion to congregants advising them to avoid making the same extra-marital relational mistakes as Scandal’s protagonist Olivia Pope. He then encouraged any who had already stumbled in their vows to seek out counseling.
Another pastor planned a series of Scandal-centric sermons to fit neatly in the space of the show’s three week broadcast hiatus. “As long as we live, we will all face scandal in our lives,” said Pastor Olu Brown of Atlanta’s Impact Church. “How do we find some basis to talk about this for the next three weeks? I can think of no other book than the most scandalous book ever written: the Holy Bible.”
Of course, making this sort of culture-to-church connection isn’t new. And I’m sure Scandal isn’t the only show being tapped for sermon illustrations. Pastors have been using pop culture to connect with their congregations for a long time. For that matter, media references don’t have to focus on fire-and-brimstone admonishments against sin and evil living. They might simply be a contact point. A way that church leaders can say, “Hey, we’re not oblivious to the media you guys are consuming, but what do you think about …?” And then steer the conversation in contemplative directions.
On the other hand, as a Plugged In guy, when I read a story like this I can’t help but wonder about one tiny little niggling thing: How many of these well-intending pastors and churches are actually steering people to watch the Scandals or, say, Game of Thrones shows that they’re referencing? How many unaware folks leave the service thinking, “Hey, if the pastor thinks there’s a lot to be gained here, maybe I ought to give it a look.”
In the end, it feels kinda like a double-edged sword to me.
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