COMMENTARY:
Mel Gibson, We Thought We Knew Ye
By A. LARRY ROSS
c. 2004 Religion News Service

(A. Larry Ross is president of A. Larry Ross Communications, a media/public relations agency in Dallas. For nearly 23 years, he has been director of media/public relations for the Rev. Billy Graham. Most recently he consulted with Icon Productions and served as media representative for "The Passion of the Christ." Photo of Ross available from RNS photo Web site.)

(UNDATED) "The Passion of the Christ," a film by Mel Gibson that dramatically portrays Jesus' final hours on Earth, opened Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25, to a record box office of $126.2 million the first weekend.

Since May 2003, I have had the opportunity and privilege of working with Mr. Gibson and Icon Productions regarding publicity for this vital film.

During a recent radio interview, a reporter referred to my responsibility handling media and public relations for evangelist Billy Graham. He then asked me if it was a difficult transition to go from media representation of a spiritual to a cultural icon.

I replied that after working up-close and personally with both influential individuals, I could sum up the reason for their impact in the same word -- authenticity. Of course, they are very different men on different missions, but both very transparent and authentic in how they carry out their respective art and ministry.

For Graham, that goes without saying. God has honored his faithfulness during more than six decades of ministry, which continues at 85 years of age with crusades in Kansas City and Los Angeles later this year.

The same goes for Gibson, a man of deep spiritual conviction, who is as committed to his calling as his craft, despite the risk and opposition associated with this project. It is as if God has blessed him and his career for such a time as this, to tell a story that had affected him so deeply he felt he had to share it with the world.

Moviegoers the world over know Gibson is a talented actor and producer/director who makes great movies, a sentiment shared by many pastors and Christian leaders across the country with whom he met in recent months to screen rough cuts of his work-in-progress. However, when they heard his heart and realized this film was a labor of love that came out of his own conviction and faith experience, what resonated with them was his personal transparency and spiritual authenticity.
I was most impressed with his exemplary response to what was often personal criticism of him and his family during the months leading up to the film's release. Consistent with the lead character in his film, he never tried to defend himself or answer his critics, instead remaining silent to allow other influential voices to speak out in support on his behalf.

Renowned British theologian Charles Spurgeon once said, "The word of God is like a lion -- you don't have to defend it, just turn it loose." Because "The Passion of the Christ" is based on the Bible, it too needs no defense as it puts the Gospel story at the unavoidable intersection of faith and culture.

Mel Gibson has said, "The Holy Ghost was in charge of this movie; I was only directing traffic." I have been a believer since I was 5 and have been in church all my life, but I have never been as arrested by the power of this message as I was viewing this movie.

Adrian Rogers told the National Religious Broadcasters gathered at their annual convention in Charlotte, N.C., he would rather be Peter, James and John asleep in the Garden than the church asleep in the 21st century. "I believe the impact of this film will not be evangelism, though that will eventually come," he continued. "Rather, it will be to bring the church back from `me-ology' to theology."

That wake-up call is already happening. Independent of Gibson and Icon Productions, churches and Christian organizations across the country have created special resources, sponsored theaters and made themselves available to answer questions of inquiring viewers unfamiliar with this life-changing story or hungry to know more.

Stuart Briscoe has said there are three parts to every sermon -- the "what," the "so what" and the "now what." For this film, the "what" has been played out in the national media debate that defined the stakes and "set the table" for its release. The "so what" is happening as audiences experience the film for themselves, going beyond that question to the "why" of the resurrection. The "now what" is also unfolding as audiences leaving the theater in stunned, somber silence are received by people of faith who can help them to the next level of spiritual renewal and faith in the One whom they saw suffer on their behalf.

Mel Gibson has produced not a theological treatise, but a powerful devotional -- his own personal meditation -- on the Passion of Christ. He vividly portrays as never before through the medium of film the life-transforming message of the cross that is central to Christian faith, as Paul said in Galatians 3:1.

The opportunity and responsibility are now up to the church. Using a volleyball analogy, my pastor, Pete Briscoe, challenged our congregation swelled by many new attendees the Sunday after the film opened. "Mel set the ball up above the net. Now it is up to the church to spike it."