Veggie tales and the idol of “impact.”
After the financial collapse of Phil‘s company Big Idea Entertainment, makers of Veggie Tales, Phil explained the belief system that had driven him to make the motion picture that caused it all:
“God would never call us from greater impact to lesser impact! Impact is everything! How many kids did you invite to Sunday school? How many souls have you won? How big is your church? How many videos/record/books have you sold? How many people will be in heaven because of your efforts? Impact, man!”
He began questioning this belief system:
“The more I dove into Scripture, the more I realized I had been deluded. I had grown up drinking a dangerous cocktail – a mix of the gospel, the Protestant work ethic, and the American dream… The Savior I was following seemed, in hindsight, equal parts Jesus, Ben Franklin, and Henry Ford. My Eternal value was rooted in what I could accomplish.”
He eventually concluded that the Christian life “wasn’t about impact; it was about obedience.”
for more see The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity by Sky Jethani.
Hat tip to Vitamin Z
interesting. I like how he said, “a dangerous mix of the gospel, protestant work ethic, and the American dream.” ha What a thought…
exactly. So easy to get a little off target, isn’t it?
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