I'm a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand I fancy myself a speculative fiction writer. On the other, I'm a preacher. I don't know many people who do both effectively.
Stories work well because they implicitly communicate a timeless truth, and by doing so cause an emotional response from the audience.
Sermons work because they call for concrete, behavioral change. If they don't call for a change in behavior, they're not a sermon.*
As I navigate between these worlds I often see these two "laws" being violated on a regular basis. I watch movies that hammer their message so explicitly that I feel like I paid to hear propaganda. I also find myself listening to sermons that are filled with fascinating information, but I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with that information.
When a story delivers its message explicitly, it loses any possibility of delivering an emotional punch that might effect me after the story ends.
When a sermon delivers its message implicitly, I walk away asking "So what?" and continue living my life unchanged.
There are times where a story can have a line or two that explicitly states the "big idea" behind the movie . . . like in Batman Begins, “It's not who you are on the inside that defines you-- it's what you do." But any more than that cheapens the story.
There are times when a sermon should be implicit, but that concrete behavioral change needs to be delivered and understood by the entire audience.
So what books, or movies or sermons have you experienced lately that violate these "laws"? How do you respond to them? Do you stand up and cheer, or roll your eyes like me, even if you agree with the message?
*Like, "It is a wicked thing to not forgive when you have been forgiven so much," or "You should not find ultimate fulfillment in finances because God and others are more important," etc..
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