Will "The Passion" Dampen Passion For Passion Plays?
Category: Movies...
Posted Friday, February 27, 2004 at 10:51 AM [GMT-6]

I can't help wondering about the impact of "The Passion of The Christ" on attendance at the hundreds or possibly thousands of locally-produced Passion Plays at churches around the country.

Our church puts on a production every other year, alternating with another local Baptist church, and this is "our year." The production is elaborate and involves literally hundreds of people, either on-stage or behind the scenes. In the past, we've "sold out" (the performances are free) every presentation, with several thousand in attendance overall. In other words, it's a Big Deal, and has historically been an effective way of presenting the Gospel.

But, this year...I don't know. The film was so powerful, so realistic...and the production values were top notch. I wonder if theater-goers will have a mindset like, "I've just witnessed the real thing; why would I want to see a copy?"

I think the value of locally-produced presentations like we're working on is that they will generally present a more complete picture of Jesus' life. Even though we call it a "Passion Play," there's much more to it than just the last 12 hours of His life that traditionally defines His "Passion." Given the expanded context, these local offerings are probably better evangelistic vehicles than the movie. My hope is that they'll prove to be an extension, a valuable adjunct to the film.

We'll see.