A year ago I shared in this column some strategies for changing the content of television and film. I suggested writing to the writers. But have you ever thought about becoming a writer yourself? Or perhaps your church wants to make better use of video technology and production in worship and outreach. What if you could send yourself or your worship minister away for a weekend or a month to learn about writing and production for film, television, and video projects? Most of us don’t think about changing careers and don’t have time to go back to school for years to learn a whole new set of skills, but if we could get away for just a weekend or a month to learn from industry professionals who just happen to be Christian—well that might just be doable.

Act One is a program designed by Christians for Christians. Only these Christian designers happen to be industry professionals who have worked in Hollywood for years on television projects like Buffy and That 70s Show or movies like X-men 2 and Fantastic Four. As its Web site explains, Act One is a non-profit organization dedicated to training and mentoring “Christians of all denominations for careers in mainstream film and television. We prepare our students to produce film and TV projects that combine mastery of craft with great depth and meaning.” But the Act One programs are not merely for young people at the start of a career. Teachers, drama and worship ministers, or people who want to learn to write film scripts on the weekend while they work their regular jobs in Middle Town America could still benefit from what Act One has to offer.

The Programs

Act One offers three excellent programs for people interested in learning or developing their screenwriting skills. The Summer Writing Program is a learning opportunity that requires those involved to travel to Los Angeles for a month of intensive training. There are, additionally, Saturday programs in L.A. But for those of us who are just too far from the West Coast or can’t manage a month off in the summer, Act One has begun a series of individual Screenwriting Weekends in cities all over the nation. Finally Act One offers script consulting for anyone, anywhere in the world. The faculty in the writing program come from top industry professionals who have worked on projects like Déjà vu, Home Improvement, What Women Want, and Batman Forever.

Act One’s other major program for anyone who might be interested in a Hollywood career is the Executive Program, a 12-week study in Hollywood offering continuing education credits through Pepperdine University. It includes a full-time internship in the Hollywood industry along with over a hundred hours of classroom instruction. Its primary purpose is to “prepare talented Christians for executive careers in mainstream entertainment.”

You can find out more about the Act One programs at http://www.actoneprogram.com/.

Not a Commercial

The program is proof that God is working in the world of popular culture. If Hollywood is a Babylon of sin and degradation there is nevertheless a light burning in the darkness: Christians making a difference in the world, bringing about change, and turning the tide that turned against us in the mid-twentieth century because we did not take seriously the mandate to be in the world (of the Hollywood film industry) while not of it. Act One and other programs like it are a call to American Christians, and the call is this: “The door is open; come get involved.”

The importance of technology and media literacy in ministry within the church will only continue to increase. Church outreach must become continually media savvy and technology oriented if we wish to remain relevant in American culture.

The word “relevant” is becoming overused, and I understand the potential danger of the church adapting itself so much to the trends of the world that it may no longer be recognizable as God’s holy people set apart from the world. But our models for adaptation come from Acts 17 and Paul’s life. At Athens he molded the unchanging truths of the gospel to fit the culture in which he found himself. To the Corinthians he said, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22), and we must do the same.

I have shared the Act One ministry with you for two reasons: to encourage some of you to consider making a difference by writing for or working in the industry, and to encourage the rest of us to learn the skills we need to carry our local church ministries into the 21st century. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells