Review: The Gospel According To Lost

January 21, 2010

If you are a blogger and you don’t know about BookSneeze, you should. Thomas Nelson Publishing has initiated a new program to create book buzz on their Christian titles. Bloggers can sign up at the site (and follow on twitter) to receive free books for review as long as the reviews are posted, shared, tweeted, etc.

My first review for BookSneeze is Chris Seay’s The Gospel According To LOST. I looked forward to reading this title for several reasons. First, I am a LOST fan. LOST is a fantastic voyage, a journey of imagination marked in hour long segments. Secondly, I am familiar with the coolness that is Ecclesia Church in Houston, the church plant where the author Chris Seay is head pastor. Several years ago, I cold called the church to ask about their methodology and had a great conversations with one of the pastors who was overly generous with his time and spirit! I am also an ex-Houstonian, so there’s Lone Star style affinity happening. Lastly, I wanted to see what a Christian leader would write about LOST, if they got the chance to.

The first real question to answer when looking at a book of this nature is, what would drive someone to write an entire book connecting the Gospel story to the LOST mythology? I think the answer is simple: You get to watch the whole series and call it “research.” Genius, I tell you!

Seay does more than watch TV, however. In my view, the The Gospel According To LOST (TGATL) accomplishes three things. First, the author allows the reader a glimpse of his interaction with the story. Second, he provides a blueprint for how one might use the series to teach in a Church-type setting. Third, Seay draws parallels between LOST’s main characters and their types to those in Biblical literature.

TGATL provides the reader with a means to interact with the story. Too often, we watch something, especially on TV, and are a passive entity. That, however, is against the LOST code of viewer ethics. LOST gives the viewer the opportunity to not only observe, but interact and respond. TGATL serves to show how interactivity with the show might be approached. For a Pastor, it’s natural to watch the story lines develop and connect them to the Biblical story that they preach every week. That is precisely how the author interacts with it. Pay attention to Seay’s connection the story and its characters, his passion for the series and its creators. This is not just a book about his interactivity, it’s a teaching tool meant to unleash ours as well. ** If you are looking non-churchy interaction, see the epilogue.

TGATL is a useful field manual for Christian communicators who would like to present aspects, themes, plots and characters from the show in their classes and sermons. In the dialogue between the series and the author’s imagination, Seay makes as many connections to Biblical story arcs and theology as there are chapters. This book would make an excellent class for teens and adults who are as trapped on the island as the characters are. Let’s face it, it’s the 21st century. The church simply has to be using the media that people consume regularly and create imaginative inroads to communicating the Gospel. If you think that your congregation isn’t watching Lost because they are too busy reading their Bibles…wake up a smell the Jacob! In a world where Lost-ness is not just a metaphor for a TV show, this book provides critical opportunity for connection and discussion.

Lastly, TGATL is a study in character archetypes and the plots that they inhabit. Good stories work because of characters. We could really care less where they are, but when we care about the people we are hooked. This is true of all literature (as it is life). When I think of how many DVDs I’ve turned off because I just don’t like anyone in the film, it’s staggering. Good characters are good characters because they are, well, like us. They have strengths and weaknesses, desires and dreams, successes and failures, but most importantly, they have something to lose. Their existence balances somewhere in the tension between risk and security. Good characters grow and change. They make choices, better ones than they did the last time. Seay pays particular attention to character types. That’s what allows him to connect LOST to the Gospel so successfully. The characters on screen are alive in the pages of Scripture. The challenges of being lost on an island are similar to those of being lost in the plains of Judah. The real strength of LOST is not the magical, unpredictable power of the island, it’s in the delicate, familiar people who inhabit it. TGATL takes a close look at those people in all three dimensions. People that only Jesus could love…and does love. People like me.

The idea to take on LOST and provide the Church with a tool for teaching was genius, Chris! Perhaps I should start working on my own project: The Book of Firefly. I haven’t watched those in while ; ).

If you haven’t been caught up on the show in a while, maybe this will help:

Posted in LOST, books, booksneeze