The Barbie Effect

 Anyone who has not heard about Barbie must live on the moon. We have been inundated with trailers and clips and commercials about Barbie, the first live-action film about the iconic doll starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken.  After years of production, Barbie, the movie, was released last week grossing $382 million at the box office.  Many years ago, the movie industry discovered the power of trailers, short clips and promotional scenes that entice us to spend money to watch their movies. 

 Perhaps we can learn something from Barbie.

The Australian writer, Michael Frost, argues that Christians and churches are like movie trailers for the Kingdom. We are to live in such a way that when others see us, they say, “I want to be a part of that,” or ”I wish the world was like that.” This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Whether we like it or not, our churches and our lives are being viewed like movie trailers by others. When non-believers look at our churches and our lives, they are whispering to themselves and to one another saying, “I’ll have to check that out,” or, “I wouldn’t want to be part of that.”

Jesus presented the clearest preview of the Kingdom. He invited others to look at his life to see what the Kingdom looks like. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-21).

The early followers of Jesus practiced Kingdom living in such a way that others were drawn to them and to their churches. This is why the Christian faith exploded in the first three centuries. People saw previews of the Kingdom practiced in the churches and the lives of believers, and they wanted to be part of it. Across the centuries the Christian faith has been the primary source for charities that care for the poor and dispossessed.

This is also the reason Christianity is stumbling in our day. Too often churches and Christians are selfish and self-centered, fighting among themselves for control with a judgmental attitude toward others. When others see this, like patrons at a theater, they whisper to themselves, “That’s not for me.”

Every church and every believer must live in such a way that others see God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “But thanks be to God, who … manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

Bill's book of poems, Peole Places and Things, is FREE on Amazon eBook July 26-29.  His poems have won first place in the Colorado Open Poetry Contest and the Mimssissippi Valley Poetry Contest.