Everyone has a story close to their heart.  Our stories tell us about ourselves, who we are and we could become.  

My life as a working college student is ordinary.  If you were to follow me around all day with a video camera, it certainly wouldn't be exciting enough for even a dollar theater.  That doesn't mean my life isn't beautiful; it just means that my life story isn't going to make big bucks on iTunes or in the box office.  

Movies are just visual stories if you think about it.  Good movies remind us that life is a story, and it welcomes us to be involved in an adventure.  Sometimes when my life seems ordinary and routine something in me craves an adventure, a romance, a tragedy, a hero.  A life.  

I can remember days when I would re-watch scenes of movies as many times as my OCD neighbor washes his hands.  The scene with Elizabeth running towards Mr. Darcy in the field; the bravery of Maximus dying in the arena; Batman risking his life to bring justice to a city who hates him; Rose saving her lover's life in the sinking Titanic; Lucky Jack fighting on board his beloved ship; Sam carrying Frodo and the ring up Mt. Doom; Harry Potter battling against evil.  

Those scenes remind us that we want to be more.  

Life is an adventure.  Life is not a sermon.  That's why I don't like watching Christian movies.  I don't feel romanced by watching Mr. Joe Christian act perfect do all his perfect little things.  Here are the three common themes I see in Christian films:

1.  In Christian movies, everything becomes better after you "get saved".  They tend to have this theme: when you become a Christian, you get saved from hell and all the bad things in life.  Take for example the movie Facing the Giants.  The basic plot of the film is this: everyone has bad problems in life.  These are serious problems too, like football teams not winning, cars not starting and women are not having the babies they want.  After the main character gets his act together and starts calling on God, he gets the title on a brand new car, a smashing success at a football game and a pregnant wife.  

Really?  I think I'm about to fall asleep just thinking about that dramatic plot.    

I watched another Christian movie once where the main character became a Christian and then a month later became debt-free.  I wanted to laugh.  We all know God isn't a slot machine; yet almost all of our movies display him as such.

The reality is, after you become a Christian, you still have a mortgage, car payments, student loans and toilet plungers.  You still struggle with infertility, loosing records, rough marriages, rejection, hate, shame, jealousy and greed.  

When I watch a Christian film where things become perfect for the character after their conversion, I am not inspired.  I feel like I've been tricked.  

2.  There are only two kinds of people in Christian movies: believers and non-believers.  When you only have two kinds of characters in your movies, they get old and predictable really fast.  And of course, the Christians are the ones who have their act together while the atheists are all living terrible lives.  Sounds just like real life, doesn't it?

3.  There is almost never a good plot because our films can't show evil.  Imagine watching The Dark Knight without the Joker.  Imagine watching Narnia without the dark magic.  Imagine watching The Patriot without any war scenes.  

I understand my Christian friends who tell me that we should think about good things.  However, a movie with no plot is not a good thing.  It's a pathetic thing.  I've never read a Bible verse that tells us we should watch boring movies.

When you take evil out of the plot equation, the most exciting things Christians can come up with is selling used cars.  Really - that's what the movie Flywheel is all about.  A scandalous used car salesman calls on God and then God saves his marriage and makes his car lot turn a huge profit.    

Thanks,  but I think I'd rather watch Saving Private Ryan.

In short, Christian films try to sell Christianity.  They try to sell God like you'd see a bottle of dish soap.  The problem is, you can't market Christianity the same way Wal-Mart markets their clothing department.  American consumers want quick, efficient, easy, convenient, and self-esteem boosting products at low costs.  When you make Christianity a product to sell American consumers, you have to change the essence of what Christianity is.  Christianity isn't a quick fix: it's is not convenient, it's not low-cost and it doesn't care about your self-esteem.  When Christians create movies to try to make Christianity look good they usually have to change what Christianity is in order to market their product to American consumers.  That may be harsh, but I believe it to be a reality.

Life is not a sermon; it's not a formula; it's not black and white.  We're creatures with hearts frantic for adventure.  I'll admit some of my greatest memories are going out to late night movies with girlfriends and trying to hide the fact we're all crying.  We cry when we see undeserved love; unexpected romance; bravery; compassion and redemption.  Those are the things our hearts long for; those are the things that make movies what they ought to be.