Witnessing how God uses His everyday people's gifts and talents for His glory just cheers my heart! This past Friday evening I had the opportunity to attend an Atlanta fundraiser for a non-profit called Movieguide, which is headquartered in Los Angeles. Prior to this I was vaguely familiar; I had seen their film reviews from time to time. But, they do so much more.
The organization was founded in 1985 by Ted Baehr. When I met him he was wearing a tie with teddy bears on it. Figure it out. It took me a minute.... :)
Dr. Baehr grew up in a Hollywood family. Both parents were stars. He was raised with no religious affiliation. Accordingly, it was not until he was in his 20s that he began to read the Bible and met Jesus, realizing the fake Jesus he thought he'd heard about was nothing like The Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11). Converting to following Jesus Christ changed his life. Although already an extremely well-educated man and an attorney, the Lord led him to the mission field.
I'm not talking about the foreign mission field. I'm referring to the mission field of Hollywood. Dr. Baehr's two-fold mission is to redeem the values of visual media while educating the public from a Christian perspective about the movies available for their consumption.
The latter was familiar to me, but the former? What was that all about ... "redeeming the values of the media"? In his presentation Dr. Baehr shared how, prior to 1965, there were three major lobbying groups which influenced which movies got made and governed the content. One was Jewish, another Catholic and the third Protestant (mostly Southern Baptist). But, in 1965, these three hugely influential groups pulled out of Hollywood, having decided their presence was "unnecessary". Within 3 years, movies such as "Rosemary's Baby", a blatantly Satanic film most of my generation will remember for the shock waves it sent through the nation, began to be made. The 1970's were largely an endless procession of violent, horror-filled, profanity-laced, nudity-sprinkled films. Most were rated "R", and the "X" rating began to appear.
However, in recent years, due in large part to how Movieguide is influencing and educating Hollywood about movies that actually make money, that trend has turned around. In 2016, of the top ten $$-grossing films, 8 of the 10 were wholesome, "family" films. When I thought about it, I was aware of this reversal in recent years, but did not realize that Movieguide had played such a key role!
I also learned that the majority consumers of theater films are youth, ages 18-24. The key fact here is that what they view shapes their worldview. If all they have to choose from is Satan-sponsored trash, their views will be shaped accordingly. As Dr. Baehr says, "He who controls the media controls the culture." Surely, all my readers will concede that point.
Proverbs 23:7 loosely translated says, Where the mind and heart go, the man will follow.
We have a long way to go. American TV remains largely a cesspool. All types of filth can be viewed at the touch of a button on a personal, electronic device. Some purists might say that all Movieguide's efforts could be better used to directly spread the gospel. Not me. God created each of us with specific gifts to play our own key role in the battle for Christ's kingdom, and I appreciate what the Christian Film and Television Commission (CFTVC) ministry, under Dr. Baehr's leadership, is doing.
They need our help. As a 501c3, they depend on the support of like-minded Christians in order to be able to continue their excellent work. The minds and hearts of our young people are at stake. Will you help them? You can learn more about the Movieguide history, mission, leadership and events at movieguide.org . You can also donate there. I hope you will.
