The Secret Life of the American Teenager

So I saw the advertisement for this show, and as a youth leader, was kind of intrigued. I decided to check it out by watching an episode online. It kinda caught my attention so I watched some more. Although it was kind of entertaining, I am still debating about how I felt about the show. The show is from the same creators as 7th Heaven, and this is not hard to see after watching for a couple minutes!

The main character in the show is Amy, a 15-year-old supposed "band geek" who finds out she's pregnant in the pilot episode. The father of the baby is a stereotypical "player" (as high school "players" go) who Amy had a one night "fling" with (their word, not mine).

More than the pregnant 15-year-old or the many sex-obsessed high school students, however, the portrayal of Christianity in the show is what really held my attention.

One of the other main characters is an outwardly Christian cheerleader whose boyfriend (also a "Christian") cheats on her with the "bad girl". Yet the openly Christian cheerleader devotes her time to convincing her parents to let her get back together with him. The cheerleader goes through the halls in school openly discussing her faith and the benefits of abstinence, all wonderful messages, but I can't help but cringe in the portrayal of these messages. It almost seems like the show is poking fun at Christianity, while at the same time promoting the message of abstinence. (That probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me...sorry).

Anyways, it got me thinking about how Christianity is portrayed and stereotyped in our culture. For some people, Mandy Moore in a Walk to Remember is the closest thing to a Christian that they have seen. I can't help but wonder why there aren't realistic, loving, or dare I say "normal" portrayals of Christians. More than wondering why these don't exist, I've been wondering how to make people see who Jesus is....for real. Not the American-ized Jesus, or the Jesus who hates abortions, or the Jesus who has to wear a tie every Sunday. This isn't intended to sound sarcastic, but I think Christians, myself included, need to face the fact that we don't always represent Christ how we should not matter how hard we try. I know this is inevitable, but I want to work on getting better.

I didn't come to any earth-shattering conclusions on this topic, but I am reminded of something I heard once and never forgot "you may be the only Bible that someone reads, or the only Jesus that someone meets".

So I guess what I am getting at here is a desire to represent Christ better, and the only way to do it is to know him better. In order to know him better we have to read his word, we have to talk to him, and we have to look for his face in the faces of others.

Sorry if I rambled...just some stuff I've been thinking about.