The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported yesterday on the "I am Second" movement, a national media campaign that showcases a series of personalities, including University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and vampire novelist turned "Christ the Lord" author Anne Rice, who declare themselves to be second behind Jesus.
The about section on the campaign's website reads:
I am Second is a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others. Actors. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Drug addicts. Your next-door neighbor. People like you. The authentic stories on iamsecond.com provide insight into dealing with typical struggles of everyday living. These are stories that give hope to the lonely and the hurting, help from destructive lifestyles, and inspiration to the unfulfilled. You'll discover people who've tried to go it alone and have failed. Find the hope, peace, and fulfillment they found. Be Second.
I used to have a problem with use of media campaigns to, as it were, advertise Jesus. Churches, and the Church, should not need to advertise on billboards and in movie theaters in order to get their message out there.
But many people are probably benefitting from this campaign in some way, or at least starting to think more about whether they want to start talking to God more as a result of it. What's wrong with that?
An important part of spreading the message of Jesus is giving people a reason to be interested in it, awakening the desire that is dormant in the hearts of so many to discover the kind of happiness that only Christ can give. In other words, we have to make people want to get to know Jesus. "I am Second" is a great example of this, and I hope it's just the tip of the iceberg.
A bit from the report:
Author Anne Rice starts her testimony while sitting, hands folded, in a white chair.Rice talks directly into the camera. She is a former atheist and well-known novelist who wrote Interview With the Vampire and other vampire-themed books. She explains how the vampire fantasy explores loss of faith and the struggle between good and evil and how people cope when cut off from God -- all once aspects of her life.
Rice has reconnected with Jesus Christ and recently began sharing her story through the increasingly popular I Am Second campaign.
"I was a Christ-haunted person," she said. "I was a Christ-haunted atheist."
The Christianity-based campaign marries old-school media -- billboards, radio commercials and bus stop kiosks -- with the Internet. A Web site gives users access to short video testimonials from everyday people struggling with problems but also features athletes and celebrities such as Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and actor Stephen Baldwin. Online maps show people where to connect with others. Downloadable materials are available that people can use to spread the need to put Jesus first.
"We live in this world where we are all trying to be first," said Nathan Sheets, vice president of partnership development for the Plano-based e3 Partners Ministry, which is behind the 17-month-old campaign. "Everything is about me being No. 1."
Sheets and Norm Miller, CEO of Interstate Batteries, wanted people to ask themselves whether God comes first in their lives and to say, "I am second because Christ is first in my life."
