Tonight I got to watch a movie called, I think, "Perfect Stranger", and it got me thinking about why christian movies are generally boring.

The movie is about a woman having marital issues. She is a business lawyer and is not a christian. An invitation to dinner appears magically in her office. It is signed "Jesus Christ." Intrigued, she turns up at the restaurant and meets up with a Jesus dressed like a successful executive.

Then, over dinner, they discuss all the big philosophical issues about christianity, religion and the world. I fell asleep at various points in the next hour. She goes home and falls in love again with her family, having dragged down her Bible to look up Revelation 3:20 which Jesus had written on a card for her

Let's start with the fact that, unless you have a really riveting dialogue and story to tell, an hour of restaurant conversation is not going to produce a good movie. Take a look at any TV show today- there are always multiple stories or sub-plots that interplay with the main story and the characters.

Jesus, the real one not the movie version, rarely talked theology. He told a lot of stories. Importantly, he did not try to cover all the angles of every conceivable objection to faith. And even his stories were open-ended leaving more questions than answers.

But really do we think that if we were to meet Jesus in the flesh it would result in a long-winded question and answer session about theology?

I came to faith in Jesus as a result of a vision in which I basically saw Jesus and was so awe-struck by his glory and so overwhelmed by love that I had to have more. I had to give my life over to serving this Son of God. When I say "I had to" I'm not suggesting any sense of compulsion- this was a revelation that I could reject but I knew it would be foolish to do so.

In this vision, Jesus did not answer any objections or questions that I might have had. There was no conversation- just awe, lots of light and incredible joy.

It's funny but I find more of this sense of awe in movies and shows that are not explicitly christian, which do not try to preach or convert, but yet convey the greatness of God. I think of the "Lord of the Rings" series, some episodes of "Doctor Who" and the Harry Potter series (of which I read all the books but only saw a few of the movies.)

So to Christian artists, playwrights and story tellers, please tell the story but leave the preaching to the preachers. You have powerful media with the potential to change hearts and lives. Show people the passion, the power, the awe of our wonderful God. Teach them about redemption and salvation and grace- without the words. Reveal to us the story of a God who is passionately in love with His people.