“The Chosen and The Church: ‘Strange Bedfellows’ or ‘A Marriage Made in Heaven?'”

If you have followed my blogs and posts on social media or are acquainted with my current mission, “The Chosen Initiative,” (a strategic plan to connect The Chosen to the Church), my position on this should be clear, but here I offer a rationale and appeal.

The Church is the ideal venue for experiencing The Chosen for at least three very good reasons: (1) it offers a distraction-free environment; (2) it has qualified Bible teachers to help people process what they experience in the episodes; and (3) it has a community of believers who will embrace new converts and support them in living out their faith.

Now some ultra-conservative Christians are rightly concerned (as all Christians should be!) that people do not mistake The Chosen for the Bible, or worse, make The Chosen become their Bible. The solution, however, is NOT: (1) to reject The Chosen outright or (2) to misrepresent its creative, imaginative elements as “additions to Scripture” and disingenuously portray it as a plot to proselytize for the Roman Catholic or Mormon faiths, or (3) to decry it as heresy (which it most definitely is not)! Rather, the solution is: (1) to come alongside The Chosen, (2) to make clear the distinctions and relationship between The Chosen and Scripture, (3) to show how The Chosen fully supports the truth and intention of the Scriptures, (4) to show that The Chosen ‘s portrayal of the nature, character, and will of God fully coheres with what is revealed in the Scriptures, and (5) to use The Chosen episodes and ancillary materials in their evangelism and discipleship programs.

The danger of confusing The Chosen with the Bible is real, particularly but not exclusively for those who are biblically illiterate. Sadly, an alarming percentage of church attenders are among this group!) And that is precisely why the Church MUST “step up to the plate.” Why would we rest content to let The Chosen “do its thing” as a “stand-alone,” when we don’t even do that with the Bible?! We understand that people need a knowledge of cultural context and valid principles of interpretation that pastors and Bible teachers provide if they are to rightly understand the Bible. And just so with The Chosen !

In summary, The Chosen is NOT The Bible, and we must never lose sight of that! It makes no claim to the divinely inspired authority that is found ONLY in The Bible itself. From the disclaimer on the first episode of the show through nearly every interview, Bible Roundtable discussion, Bible study book, and devotional, Creator/Director Dallas Jenkins stresses that The Bible is NOT a supplement to the show; the show is a supplement to The Bible. By “supplement” he does NOT mean “additional Scripture”; he means a resource for a clearer understanding of Scripture, like, for example, an illustrated sermon or a visual Bible commentary.

Thus, 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 bears the responsibility of stewarding this evangelism and discipleship “power tool”!

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: Rob’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 individual Christians and church organizations understand The Chosen, realize its full potential, and make effective and efficient use of it for evangelism, church growth, and discipleship.