It's one thing to blast bloodthirsty aliens into smithereens. It's quite another to pick up a virtual gun and do it in church.
Yet according to a recent story in The New York Times, hundreds of U.S. churches and Christian youth groups are using the video game Halo 3 as an outreach tool.
"The alliance of popular culture and evangelism is challenging churches much as bingo games did in the 1960s," the Times story reads. "And the question fits into a rich debate about how far churches should go to reach young people."
Actually, this debate has been raging, in one way or another, for hundreds of years. Churches everywhere struggle with what it really means to be "in" but not "of" the world. As Christians, what should we avoid? What should we redeem?
A Sanctified Shoot-'Em-Up?
Halo 3 seems an unlikely candidate for redemption. Released in September, the game is, after all, a first-person shooter: Players see the game through their own set of virtual eyes and pack some serious heat.
"This nonstop shoot-'em-up utilizes an arsenal that ranges from standard-issue assault rifles, shotguns and rocket launchers to alien weapons powerful enough to kick off Armageddon," Bob Hoose wrote in his Plugged In Online review. "Players shoot or dismember a whole heap of screaming, sharp-toothed behemoths, insectile critters and zombie grotesqueries, mercilessly spilling their blue blood."
Hoose also noted that the game contains a spattering of coarse language, some "hints" of sexual imagery and a backstory that incorporates dark spirituality. The bad 'uns in it belong to what is called the "Covenant," a group that feels that wiping out the human race is some sort of path to salvation.
Not very churchy. But here's the thing: Halo 3 has also become the best-selling video game of all time, earning $170 million in its first week of release (outstripping even the year's most lucrative movie openings and the latest Harry Potter book) and has now taken in somewhere north of $300 million. Adults and kids alike are lapping up Halo 3's addictive gameplay.
Suddenly, some church leaders didn't just see a game when they looked at Halo, they saw an opportunity. That's because many churches and youth groups are always searching out ways to capitalize on what's hot in the culture in order to 1) draw unchurched kids through the doors and 2) make sure Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights are fun enough to keep churched kids coming. It's a time-honored strategy—particularly in evangelical circles—and some would argue that these days, being culturally hip is an absolute necessity.
Yays and Nays From Pulpit and Pew
The Barna Group, a Christian polling outfit in California, has found that only 16 percent of young non-Christians (16-29 years old) view Christianity favorably, saying that it's too judgmental, political and old-fashioned. Even Christians themselves are growing weary of how some folks in the faith position themselves, according to Barna, and half of the nation's senior pastors say ministry is more difficult than ever because "people are increasingly hostile and negative toward Christianity."
Is it any wonder that churches are desperately trying to find new ways to reach people?
"We have to find something that these kids are interested in doing that doesn't involve drugs or alcohol or premarital sex," David Drexler, youth director at a church in Ashby, Minn., told the Times. In his mind—and in the minds of some other pastors—Halo 3 seems to fit the bill.
And the discussion doesn't end just because some congregants don't like the idea. In an article for Youth Specialties, former youth pastor James Wheeler writes that he had a Halo-like conflict with some church members when he wanted to take his youth group to play laser tag. Too violent, some in the church said. His knee-jerk reaction: "Are you serious?"
Wheeler acknowledges, though, that tensions between church and pop culture require serious discernment. While he'd say culture can be a conduit to reach young people, it can also lead well-meaning pastors down the wrong road.
"Do our youth ministries engage secular culture because we're insecure about the Christian faith and want to appear cool?" he writes. "I have to admit that at times, my attempts at engaging are mixed with this longing."
That's precisely the prickly thing about churches embracing too much of the culture. The question becomes not so much whether aspects of the culture can be redeemed, but whether we, as Christians, are becoming indistinguishable from it.
Dick Staub, author of The Culturally Savvy Christian, takes on "Church Halo nights" on his blog:
"The notion that 'cultural relevance' is our primary concern is a mistaken one—Jesus called us to faithfulness not relevance, and though I will build bridges from popular culture to the gospel I will not yield to the temptation to make the culture define what is relevant."
Game Over
We at Plugged In understand the struggles churches face in remaining central in a rapidly changing culture.
But Halo 3? The ratings system has its flaws for both movies and video games, but in this case, the uppercase M (for mature) on the front of the box should tell youth pastors all they need to know.
The game's rating, which is the equivalent of an R movie rating, was incurred for blood, gore, language and violence, and gamers are supposed to be 17 years old before stores are to sell them the game. To encourage kids under that age to play it in church—even from a purely secular standpoint—seems to 1) set a very poor example and 2) seriously circumvent parental authority.
But this isn't a secular issue, it's a spiritual one—one that gets to the heart of what we bring to our sacred ground.
The word sanctuary has traditionally meant a place of refuge, of safety. Throughout history, people have found a very real sanctuary within the church: Christians looked for safety within its walls during times of famine, plague and attack. Anglican and Episcopal churches often paint their doors red—a symbol of Christ's blood, and a reminder of days gone by when those red doors told soldiers to pursue their quarry no further. Christ's blood, after all, had been shed to save the guilty, and anyone could be saved through that precious gift.
After hundreds of years of keeping violence and mayhem outside hallowed walls, now we're inviting it in—pixel by pixel.
Halo 3 Review | 'Halo' and the Holy | Readers Pull Trigger on 'Halo'
