Cartoons & Church
The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Francis Chan. Maybe you’ve seen him at a Passion conference, or watched his sermons online. Or, you may have read Crazy Love. [If you haven't, please take advantage of a few links...]
Chan’s latest book, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect for the Holy Spirit has been on repeat in my mind. I haven’t removed it from my ‘now reading’ section on the blog, as I am reading it again for the second time. Sometimes I tend to gloss overs sections of a book, and I need to go back to read again so I can soak it all in.
The above video is from the book’s DVD Study Guide. I thought I’d share it with you all. The cartoon depicts the condition of many American churches. It’s interesting to me how a “children’s story” can speak so much clearer to me than other things. Perhaps it’s that whole ‘innocence like a child‘ thing that Jesus was talking about. Take a look…
What are your thoughts? Do you find yourself trying to move the big red tractor?
It took me two times of watching the cartoon and the commentary to really understand the full allegory of the story. I was a bit confused after the first time as to what the people moving the tractor represented. But after the second time (of hearing the commentary), I think I got it. And I agree, the church shouldnt be about the experience , but rather the lessons.
Not to say that the experience can’t help to fuel the lessons, but it is more important to focus on the message and letting that move us, rather than how the message is delivered and for us to have the experience move us.
Hollis- indeed. As the cartoon portrayed, good things happened by the efforts of the people. They had the right amount of crops that they needed, so their labor was definitely not in vein. However, they were ignoring the instructions. They were there the whole time, but no one bothered to keep them. Once they were studied, the tractor could be used as intended, which of course brought forth a harvest that was beyond their need. So, it provided for others as well.
Sure, we do great things in church that reach or serve others. But, are we relying only on our own efforts (moving the tractor)? That’s what I took from the story. The last sentence of your comment hit the nail on the head, my friend…