Chris Seay’s fascination with the TV series The Sopranos first produced a Leadership article, then a book, The Gospel According to Tony Soprano (Penguin Putnam, 2002) and a string of national media appearances. He has since written another book, The Tao of Enron (with Chris Bryan, NavPress, 2002). Chris pastors Ecclesia, a cutting edge congregation in Houston. We caught up with him at the health club where he and his family work out.
Leadership: You find gospel lessons in places most people wouldn’t think to look. How do you do that?
Chris Seay: I intentionally look for it. I think it comes with a trained eye. Having the experience of a church planter, I’m wondering, How can I connect with this person? What’s our common ground? For me, it’s most often through art, film, music, or to some degree current events.
Were you surprised that the article on ministry “mob-style” led to a book?
Yes, I was. I was writing the article, searching for a metaphor, and I thought, I could write a book on this. The publishers want me to add a new chapter, and they’ll re-release it next year with The Sopranos final season.
A mob boss seems like an unlikely link to the gospel.
I find the things most of us in Christian culture assume would be the furthest out—vulgarity, sinful behaviors—those are the places that people need the gospel most, and our best points of contact. Watching The Sopranos, you get this deep sense of neediness that comes from these characters and the spiritual search they’re on. These films and stories are a wonderful invitation to the gospel and to the story of God. I work in a part of the city that’s largely homosexual. People often assume that they’re always hostile to the gospel, but quite often it’s just the opposite.
What is it you’re looking for—the gospel in the story, or the need for the gospel?
I think most things in culture can be categorized in one of three areas. First is redeemed truth. Whether it’s on The Sopranos or in a song by Cold Play, you say, “That’s as if it came from Scripture.” It’s redemptive truth that’s congruent with the gospel. Second are things with a kernel of truth there that needs to be redeemed. It’s not Christ-centered, but there’s something worthwhile. Third are things that of themselves have no redeemable qualities. Pornography is one example, so we throw that by the wayside.
Once you categorize this info, what do you do with it?
We need talking points. It gives me something to discuss with the people I meet. Right now I’m writing a book on the movie The Matrix. So many people see the redemptive acts in that movie. It allows me to tell the story of God in a way that’s not just dropping propositions without a context.
When it comes to culture—the artistic value of a film, the writing, or the cinematography—there are a thousand good things to say. We ought to seize the day on those. It’s about connecting with those good things in order to connect with people we otherwise wouldn’t.
Have you connected with anybody in that way recently?
You know about the guy in the Mafia who e-mailed me through the Leadership website. He probably hadn’t picked up the last few Philip Yancey books, but he read the Soprano book. We’ve e-mailed and talked by phone. Now I’ve sent him a Bible. He’s at this place of contemplating faith in Christ and leaving this lifestyle he’d embraced. This is an incredible opportunity for me.
What would Tony Soprano say to Pastor Seay?
The biggest problem with Tony and Carmella’s faith is that people aren’t keeping it real. There is a façade to the faith they’ve seen. Tony would say: Acknowledge where you are. Acknowledge where people really are. And then engage their faith on that level.
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