Christian publisher boots ‘The Blind Side’

Let me tell you a great story: A husband and wife adopt an impoverish teen who grows up to become a college football player and goes on to the NFL. Except, if you walk into a store of one of the largest Christian publishers, you will not be able buy the movie.

“The Blind Side“, a movie based on a book by the same name, stars Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw and apparently is deemed too dangerous with its PG-13 rating (because of a racial slur and a few minor curse words) by LifeWay Christian Resources, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

A Southern Baptist pastor successfully fought to have the movie dropped from LifeWay. Rodney Baker, pastor of Hopeful Baptist Church in Lake City, submitted a resolution to the SBC Resolution Committee.  According to the Associated Baptist Press, Baker was able to push for a similar resolution to pass in the Florida Baptist Convention.

I asked Ed Stezter, President of LifeWay Research, for a response:

@alanrud Lots of thoughts… sad ones.

— … Ed Stetzer … (@edstetzer) June 15, 2012

I’d like to know Ed’s sad thoughts because this is sad – and ridiculous.

This ban of “The Blind Side” reminds me when the Southern Baptist Convention boycotted Disney because of their gay friendly policies.  That turned into a big nothing. Southern Baptists really thought they could hurt Disney by turning millions of Baptists away from the family friendly entertainment company. In the end, Southern Baptists made a fuss and Disney continued to make money.

According to Marty King, LifeWay spokesperson, God is somehow harmed by the movie:

The movie does include instances of street language we would have preferred not have been included. If highly profane words or words denigrating God’s name would have been used, of course, we would not have sold it. I know our God who is holy is pleased with this action

If LifeWay, who pulled the book “The Shack” because it was too dangerous, believes “The Blind Side” is really harmful then I guess they should pull “Fireproof” because Kirk Cameron‘s character struggles with a porn addiction in the movie. And, LifeWay should not sell Mel Gibson‘s “The Passion of the Christ” because it depicts bloody violence.

What is wrong with Christianity if we cannot use an art form to illustrate real people with real problems using real situations? Jesus met with all sort of people: drunks, tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners, and the like.  Those encounters offended a lot of religious people because they were deemed unclean and unholy. Their behavior did not honor God, but Jesus still sought a place at the table with them.

That is what this is all about. Finding a place at the table. If we cannot welcome the likes of people who buy “The Blind Side” then how can we welcome the poor, the dependent, and unlovable? If “The Blind Side” has no room at the table at LifeWay, then how can we teach people about the realities of the world if Southern Baptists refuse to offer a movie that depicts real people struggling with real problems?

Insulating Christians from the real world does nothing to help the kingdom. You don’t have to watch an R rated movie to understand the world, but not offering a redeeming PG-13 movie like the “The Blind Side” tells the world that Southern Baptists are more concern with ultra purity than getting into the messy world of people’s problems.

In the end, spending time and resources by blocking a movie with selective use of minor profanity communicates the wrong message. If Christians cannot deal with real world situations, how can we address the world’s problems?