Pay for Play Sermons

Blogotional points out an article on Disney's promotion of Narnia to pastors, and the extent to which they've gone to hype their movie to Christians:

Attention, pastors: You have just four weeks remaining to work a lion, a witch or a wardrobe into your next sermon.

Walt Disney Pictures is so eager for churches to turn out audiences for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which opens Friday, that it's offering a free trip to London - and $1,000 cash - to the winner of its big promotional sermon contest.

The only catch is that the sermons must mention Narnia, based on the hugely popular children's books about four British children who walk through an uncle's magic armoire into an enchanted kingdom.

Sermo-mercials are just one of the ways promoters hired by Disney and its production partner, Walden Media, are peddling Lion as a kind of Christian-themed Harry Potter.

Hollywood has been doing this sort of thing since The Ten Commandments in 1956, when Cecil B. DeMille had study guides sent to schools.

There has definately been a push to market this movie to churches. I mentioned an article a few days ago which documented the lengths some churches are going to get their members to see the movie. However, offering to pay pastors to mention the movie in their Sunday sermons almost smacks of the payola scandals of the 50's.

I have no problem with Disney sending information to churches to promote the movie. I remember when Oliver Stone turned out his demented conspiracy theory movie JFK and created study guides for students in the hopes they would buy in to his fantasies. If he can promote his movie that way, why can't Disney?

Hopefully pastors will be discerning in what they agree to do if they feel the movie deserves their promotion. Otherwise, will we start seeing product placements during sermon illustrations?

Pastor: "When I read John 3:16, I'm reminded of how much I love Campbell's Chunky Soups. Hmm, Hmm, Good!"