THE HARVEST IS RIPE IN HOLLYWOODA CALL TO ACTION TOWARD THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
A commission of love is being released toward the entertainment industry
The tragic passing of both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson in one day has hit the heart of Los Angeles in a devastating way. These two cultural icons, who pioneered in their respective industries, were loved. They were controversial, they were famous, they were broken, they were incredible—they were two of the people Jesus paid the price for on the cross.
For those of us living in Los Angeles, these kinds of events give us a much different perspective on the world around us. As I watched people gathering on the streets for both of these stars, my heart broke. The issue of what happens after the death of some like these hanged in the air.
I have been getting e-mails all day. So many people had a burden for these two superstars. I know many Christians who surrounded Farrah Fawcett all the way to the end. She was prayed for. She put her hope in God. She was believing for miraculous healing, and she was even reading books from a Christian perspective about this. I am so grateful for her choices in the end, and that she and her now-widowed husband got married to honor each other and God. She will be missed. (retraction: They only intended to get married, their wedding certificate was never filed).
Michael Jackson also had many Christians in his life giving him hope. They believed for restoration of who he was, not just as an entertainer, but as an individual. One of our radical Christian friends was going to be one of the choreographers on his new fifty-city tour. God was surrounding him with people who were called to love him on this mission ground of Hollywood.
You and I are responsible for the famous entertainers
We have a responsibility to love the entertainment industry well. This is one of the reasons why I planted a church in one of the entertainment capitals of the world—to provide hope and family to people who live in this cultural city.
We are supposed to respect and honor those who have leadership and influence in society, even if we cannot honor their message or methods. When the Father created them, He was preparing a place for them in heaven. He hoped that they would spend their whole lives in eternity with Him. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, God treated them their whole lives as being worthy of His love. We are not supposed to treat them with any less value. The Father doesn't judge these people with a permanent curse because they are not saved or are not walking with Him, He only judges them on the day they die, and His judgment is based on whether they chose Him or not. We need to give celebrities the same value and love the Father does.
It is society that raises people up to stardom, and society is responsible for their failures, their brokenness and their extreme behaviors. The Church is as responsible as anyone for popular culture. It was proven through marketing statistics that the reason Kris Allen (of American Idol fame) won this season was because Christian America was rooting for him. He was talented, but the much worldlier Adam, who was far more gifted, was not as appealing to the fans of the show. On top of this, more people voted for American Idol this year then for any presidency in history. The Church caused Kris Allen’s rise to stardom, and it is now responsible for its future treatment of him. We have to shepherd the famous, love them and help them to find their true identity. This has never been truer than now.
Because we haven't taken responsibility, there is a whole culture of people who are badly wounded and broken. They feel estranged from the very people who are supposed to represent the love of God. We, the Church, have had such an anti-love spirit toward them because we feel violated by popular culture, but we have answered an antichrist spirit with an antichrist spirit. Instead of love being our response, we have rejected an unreached people group. Many of us have felt righteous in the process.
Let’s start to take responsibility. Maybe you don't know how to actually affect culture as a Christian, but these people are cultural leaders in our society. We are called to action concerning them. We are called:
To pray that God reveals His love to them in tangible ways
To pray that ungodly influences are cut off from them
To pray that they won't be an immoral influence
To love them like they are part of our heart—like they are family
These famous people are being raised up as voices, as icons and as idols because they have something to give the world around them. They have a message. They are a voice for those who have no voice. Sometimes their message is absolutely polluted, but that doesn't mean their gift is not from God. We can see redemption of these people and their gifts.
There will be a revival amongst the unreached people group called the entertainment industry
There will be revival amongst the entertainment industry, but it is only going to break through as Daniels and Josephs love these people well, and as we raise up a prayer movement among those in the industry. These are going to be the two keys to revival breaking out in this harvest field.
This is where you and I come in. It’s time to raise up prayers and to accept the responsibility to love entertainers and the industry they are in. It’s time to influence them, not just with faith-based initiatives, but with compassion and kindness, whether they embrace Christ or not. It is time to answer the offense towards Christianity with authentic love.
Planting mission movements in entertainment cultures
Taking it a step further, I believe the Lord of the harvest is sending workers to the harvest field of the entertainment industry in a way that has never been so widespread. People are coming from all over the world to provoke God's love in the entertainment industries by working there. Almost every major ministry we are connected to has begun to send people to minister here. Others are releasing people because they believe in their calling. Bethel, Morning Star, YWAM, Campus Crusade for Christ, TAC, Harvest Rock, HIM, Iris Ministries, etc. are all seeing the value of going into this industry to reap the harvest that is promised to Jesus.
The entertainment industry is like a third-world nation in the Spirit
When I came to Los Angeles to plant a church, I had a vision. I saw a group of us ministering to one of the most extreme third-world-poverty people I had ever seen, but then my eyes opened, and overlaying the vision was Los Angeles. I immediately got the correlation that we are in a place where people die all the time because of their spiritual hunger. LA and other lands like it are third-world nations in the Spirit, and their people need intense love, effort and provision to be given them in creative spiritual ways.
I want to call you to action. If you have no way to directly go yourself into this mission field, connect the dots to someone who is there! About fifty percent of the people in our church are in the entertainment industry, and we are about to rent a building in the West Los Angeles area (around or in Hollywood) within the next three months. We still need some of the deposit, we still need chairs and we still need a sound system, but we are going! There are groups like us that you can partner with to make a difference. Let your heart be gripped with compassion for the cause! Help us bring in the entertainment field’s harvest!
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In the love of God,
Shawn Bolz
Expression58
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