Rob Bell recently announced that he is leaving his position at his church “in order to devote his full energy to sharing the message of God’s love with a broader audience.” We now know a bit more about what that involves.
Christianity Today reports that Bell is now working on a TV show with the screenwriter from the hit series Lost. According to the article:
The show will be loosely based on Bell’s life story as a musician and eventual founder of his church, Mars Hill Bible Church. The show will feature a musician named Tom Stronger who ends up becoming a benefactor and spiritual guide…
Based upon Bell’s previous movie making we have a pretty good idea as to the spiritual content of the shows.
While based on biblical principles, Bell’s brand of spirituality is not about hard-core evangelical, fire-and-brimstone teachings. Instead, his goal is to service folks’ spiritual needs without the overlay of religious dogma (see also: Oprah). Stronger is similarly expected to explore spiritual themes but without being as on-the-nose as other recent series that have tackled these issues, such as 7th Heaven and Touched by an Angel. There’s also expected to be a narrative twist to the project that will make it a bit unconventional, but for now, that detail is being kept secret…
The more I think about it, this marriage with one of the creators of Lost makes total sense (and, yes, more than just the title). When you watch the public unfolding of Bell’s Christianity over the years you can see a lot of parallels with the TV series. Just like the show I have wondered if Bell knows at all where he is going or if he was just kind of making things up as he goes. Trying to understand and track with the show reflects the strange theological switchbacks on Rob Bell’s trail. I guess this is going to be another season for Bell to try to figure it out. From my chair this is anything but entertaining.