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Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3 Message to Religious People
Toy Story 3 opens today.
Don't be late or you might miss the pre-show Pixar Short, Day & Night.
The plot is simple: assumptions are made, fireworks ensue... until the characters Day and Night look beyond the exterior and see each other's hearts.
We fear what we do not take time to understand.
Throwing rocks is easy; listening and loving is harder.
Religious folk can so quickly forget the prelude of the Gospel: Everyone has a past.
This Pixar Short should be required viewing for those inside the Church, as Pixar nails Jesus' clear teaching on judging others.
Behind the Series: Confessions
A number of church leaders have contacted me asking about our message series from Easter, Confessions of a Blue Jeans Wearin', Coffee-Addicted Pastor. With 43 professions of faith over a 3 week period, Confessions was beyond a doubt our most fruitful teaching series to date.
The genesis of the series is our vision in 2010: Reach the Lost at Any Cost. Putting ourselves into the shoes of someone who would never darken a church door, we discovered that raw authenticity + honest messiness = building a bridge of grace into their world.
A few years back I did a professional photo shoot that provided the flavor for the series branding. After 3 hours of work, one of our volunteer digital artists created the print branding that we leveraged in weekend handouts and a 10,000 piece direct mail campaign prior to Easter.
Our creative team was able to recreate the original photo shoot through a video-shoot in an abandoned area of Caro. Josh Phillips went above and beyond for our church's vision; he actually created two different message bumpers - one appealing to the 9:30 crowd and another for the 11am crowd!
The simple set design highlighting a stage-long brick wall with mounted highlights created just the right environment for lowering first-time guests' spiritual defenses. A truth I'm always reminding our 1st Impressions Team of is this: Until someone is environmentally-secure, they will not become theologically-aware.
All in all, God moved and people responded. I am thrilled that our team gelled to provide a creatively-enhanced worship experience for hundreds of families in the greater Caro region.
Further posts on this groundbreaking series include:
Confessions of a Pastor
Sunday Reflex | 04.11.10
Beat-Up, Broken, Betrayed, & BoredIf we can share any free creative elements with your church, please let us know.
