Charles Brammall on ministry to entertainers in Sydney and Hollywood and London
Many entertainers are forthright and sometimes have few filters, which can be hilarious. One night in a small group, we were nearing the end of the night, and one lady jumped up and said, “Gotta go, sorry. My hubby’s waiting at home in his ‘lingerie’ 🙂 .I’ve only got a few more hours of being fertile!” and scurried out. It was great that she felt safe to share that with her brothers and sisters in Christ!
Some entertainment people can also be eccentric and socially unusual. A lovely Christian chap in our small group at our home at Epping would routinely arrive late, wearing his jarmies, and bearing takeaway food for dinner. He would proceed to perch himself standing on the back of our lounge, his head near the ceiling, and eat his takeaway, invariably spilling it down his jarmies and onto the lounge.
Another person at ACC was an intelligent, keen Christian, highly regarded in their science field, but a committed conspiracy theorist. They took an interest in things like the “Black Helicopter” theory (that a UN force would soon arrive in the US in black helicopters to bring the US under UN control).
Also in “Chemtrails” (that there were water condensation trails, “contrails“, from aircraft. Under secret government policies, these consisted of chemical or biological agents, containing a toxic mix of aluminium, strontium and barium. They would be used for a range of projects, from a planned espionage mission, to a US government cover-up, or even the consumption of the passengers’ remains by giant crabs.) I struggled to be gracious with conspiracy theorists and found them difficult to talk to. Others in the congregation were more gracious and patient, to their credit.
Many creative people are also socially progressive, and avant garde in their views on reproductive and sexual health. A florist in the main street of Artarmon, a friendly young single lady, was happy for us to put up our SPLAT poster in her window, and we chatted and became friends. She started coming to church, and heard the Jesus message. In 2002 she confided in my wife and me that she wanted to have a child, had found a sperm donor, and was expecting. In those days this was fairly rare. The child is now twenty two.
LA, NYC and London
I was invited to attend what is now called the Australian International Movie Convention (AIMC). There, I spent time with a Presbyterian minister from LA and New York City, Rev Larry Poland, from ‘Mastermedia International” (who sadly died in 2023). He had a similar but slightly different Gospel preaching strategy to industry executives. It was simple, and had complete integrity, unlike what Paul describes in Tit 1:10-11:
“For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception,… It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching… in order to get money dishonestly.”
Larry would call up the big movie production houses (Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros., etc) and ask if he could have an eight-minute appointment with the Deputy CEO. He knew it was much more likely to be granted eight minutes with the deputy than with the insanely busy and stressed CEO. He would tell the deputy about his national chaplaincy role in Film and TV with Mastermedia, a media research company. When asked what his agenda was, he explained it was to chat about a large, forgotten, film-consuming demographic in America. If the studio could tap into this unreached demographic, it would mean a huge additional income stream (all of which was true).
He was often granted the eight minutes with the executive (who was usually skeptical, slightly suspicious, and impatient, at least initially). He proceeded to tell them (quite genuinely- his large staff had done extensive research) about the Conservative Evangelical demographic and how it wasn’t being reached to the extent it could be. Often the executive was interested, and they would chat (for about eight minutes) regarding possible strategies to reach this market better.
As the eight minutes drew to a close (and Larry was conscientious about sticking to this), what often followed was a Godsend. The executive was disarmed by Larry’s gentleness, cutting edge research and integrity. Also, his care and commitment to the company’s bottom line. The executive would begin to feel safe opening up to Larry about the stress he was under and the effect it was having on his marriage, kids, or emotional health. Larry was able to offer pastoral care at this point, and many times, the executive would say, “You don’t have to rush off rightnow, do you? Have you got a few minutes to have a coffee?”
He would send his gopher scuttling off for refreshments, and as they chatted, this sometimes led to an ongoing relationship. The executive began to think of Larry as “their” chaplain. Larry would ask God for opportunities to introduce them to Jesus, and in God’s goodness, there were more than a few times He granted this. It was an inspired strategy and a perfect reflection of the Gospel in its complete transparency. God is good all the time. It was sad to hear of Larry’s death this year, and I believe he will receive many crowns in Heaven, and get much longer than eight minutes with the eternal CEO!
A chaplaincy and mission to theatre people occurs in London’s West End as well. It provides Christian pastoral care for believers and secular people.:
“A young Anglican curate… and an actor… realised there was a whole community of people who because of their working schedule were unable to attend Sunday services and therefore to access the church’s ministry. The Theatre Chaplaincy UK (TCUK) was set up to provide access to pastoral and spiritual support. (This was one of ENTER’s raisons d’etre as well.) Unlike many churches… there was no expectation that those seeking support from a theatre chaplain were churchgoers, let alone regular (attendees)… TCUK has a network of chaplainsthat provide pastoral and practical support for those onstage, offstage, backstage and front of house.’