About Rob Starner
An ordained minister and Professor of Greek and New Testament, Dr. Rob Starner has been empowering Christ-followers to fulfill the Great Commission for over four decades. He has taught hundreds of university classes, authored two books, written numerous articles, blogs, and vlogs, and had leading roles as Jesus, the apostle Paul, and Joseph of Arimathea in theatrical productions–he has even had bit parts in small, independent films. But it was his experience of The Chosen, the first ever multi-season TV show based on the Gospels, that has focused his present ministry on one primary mission, namely, “The Chosen Initiative.”
About “CrossLens”
The CROSS of Jesus is the LENS that puts all of life in focus. It is BOTH the divine “pill” for human ill AND the divine “blueprint” for living meaningfully and honorably as Christ’s ambassadors. THAT is the focus of CrossLens ministries!
About
“THE CHOSEN INITIATIVE”
“The Chosen Initiative” (TCI) is about connecting The Church with The Chosen. The Church is the ideal venue for experiencing The Chosen because (1) it offers a distraction-free environment; (2) it has qualified Bible teachers to help people process what they experience; and (3) it has a community of believers who will embrace new converts and support them in living out their faith.
The Chosen is NOT the Bible, and we must never lose sight of that distinction. It makes no claim to the divinely inspired authority that is found ONLY in the Bible itself.
The Chosen is a TV series based on the (capital “G”) Gospels, a re-telling of the (lower-case “g”) gospel, an illustrated sermon, a visual Bible commentary, a film presentation of the MESSAGE (Gk, logos) about Christ through the eyes of his first followers.
All content of the The Chosen MUST be evaluated by its faithfulness to (or departure from) the truth and intention of the Bible–JUST like every sermon, Bible commentary, hymn, Christian music video, popular theological emphasis.
In short, every presentation of the good news about Jesus–in whatever media format it is found–MUST be evaluated according to its agreement with (or departure from) the BIBLE.
THE CHURCH AND THE CHOSEN
Jesus’ Parable of the Sower offers several insights that are applicable to the Church’s role in sowing the seed (i.e., “message”) of The Chosen. The Chosen is a “seed” (i.e., a “message” about Christ). There is power in that seed to bring forth much fruit, but there are also obstacles.
Birds who come to devour. These are those who condemn TC outright and persuade their audience to avoid TC altogether. Rocks. This represents people who in their joy about TC take from it only what appeals to them, and fail to dive deeper into the Scriptures themselves. Thorns. These are the matters of theology or Christian practice reflected in TC that conflict with what some have been led to believe about Christian faith and practice.
Fertile soil. These are the people who find deep resonance between what is portrayed in TC and what is taught in the Scriptures. They enjoy the show because it faithfully displays the nature, character, will, plan and purposes of God and His unique Son Jesus that is displayed in the Spirit-inspired Scriptures themselves, it presents a relatable Jesus who is FULLY HUMAN every whit as much as fully divine, it presents relatable examples of Christ-followers who face trials and struggles in growing in their faith relationship with Jesus, and it creates a thirst for READING and STUDYING the Bible.
TAKEAWAY: The Church has a vital role to play in “sowing” TC by preparing the soil, fertilizing the soil, planting the seed, watering the soil, and protecting the seed from the birds so that it will yield an exponential return of fruit THAT REMAINS!
DR. STARNER’S ROLE: Dr. Starner’s extensive knowledge of the history, culture, language, and customs of the biblical world, his 40+ years of disciplined exegesis of the Bible, and his thorough understanding of narrative techniques make him a trustworthy guide for helping church leaders and individual Christians understand The Chosen, realize its full potential, and make effective and efficient use of it for evangelism, church growth, and discipleship. The apostle Paul urged Timothy, his “son in the faith” and pastoral protégé: “Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains [italics mine] the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15b, NLT). The verbal construct translated in italics occurs only here in the entire New Testament and has been translated variously as “teaching accurately” (NET), “correctly handl[ing]” (NIV); “correctly explain[ing]” (NLT), “rightly handling” (ESV), “rightly dividing” (KJV). The verb essentially means “cutting a smooth path” for something, and while in this context that certainly includes accurately interpreting, explaining, teaching, etc., Paul’s choice of it over words that mean more narrowly and specifically “interpreting,” “explaining,” etc. suggests he has more in mind. False teaching is not the only roadblock to the gospel message; failure to practice the true message one preaches ranks a pretty close second. Both of these block the effectiveness of the gospel. Paul is essentially urging Timothy (and, through the Holy Spirit, US) to “cut a smooth path for the gospel!” In this same way, Dr. Starner’s mission in “The Chosen Initiative” is to cut a smooth path for The Chosen so that The Chosen in turn can cut a smooth path for the gospel to reach every person on the planet! This means accurately explaining what The Chosen is, answering the legitimate questions of concerned church leaders, countering the objections of convinced naysayers and/or snarky antagonists, living in accordance with the kingdom values espoused in the show, and coaching church leaders in best practices in how to use The Chosen and its ancillary Bible studies and devotionals and . . . yes, even . . . “Chosen gear” in the evangelism and discipleship programs of their church (or recovery ministry or homeless shelter or prison or . . . or . . . ).
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CROSSLENS MINISTRIES AND THE COME AND SEE FOUNDATION: The relationship of CrossLens Ministries to The Chosen, LLC. and the Come and See Foundation is best understood as ancillary. To use biblical terminology, CrossLens Ministries functions as a paraclete,” meaning “one called alongside to help.” This relationship is dynamic, synergistic, fully cooperative and mutually supportive but not organic. Dr. Starner is NOT an “official” or “authorized” representative of either entity. He is not being paid to represent them. They are “on the same team” and supporting each others goals in mutually agreeable roles.
To engage with TCI or simply to find out more about it,
CLICK HERE!
To donate directly to the Come and See Foundation,
CLICK HERE!
For free access to every episode of “The Chosen” and all ancillary materials,
CLICK HERE or
scan the QR code below!
Dallas Jenkins’ Endorsement
[Click Pic Below]