I belong to an informal club called "We Must Convince Dick Alexander to Write a Book." The club has no dues or official activities other than remarking occasionally, "You know, Dick really needs to write a book," and then lamenting that he has no desire to.

We say this because not only does Dick have great insights on Christianity and culture, he also expresses them uncommonly well. Whether he's preaching or writing, he's a great communicator.

For several years I attended LifeSpring Christian Church in Cincinnati, where Dick serves as Senior Minister, and I still receive their online newsletter each week. My favorite part is Dick's article on the back page. Sometimes he discusses a recent world event and sometimes he focuses on some aspect of church life. No matter what the topic, it's great reading.

This week he hit it out of the park with an editorial on The Golden Compass. In case you are one of the six Christians NOT currently on the receiving end of three dozen email campaigns to boycott the film and you have no idea what the fuss is about, The Golden Compass is a movie releasing this week, based on a book of the same name. Its author, Philip Pullman, has made his anti-God and anti-church views quite clear, and the backlash results from concerned parents who fear their children may adopt the same beliefs once this movie becomes a mainstream hit.

(Side note: I have a strict policy of not criticizing books or their movie versions until I've actually read the book, so I can't comment on this one because I picked it up years ago and got bored three chapters in. Does anyone who has read the book have anything to say about it?)

Anyway, Dick briefly explains this situation to his readers and then writes about how Christians should respond:

Have you chuckled at Muslims who have a knee-jerk reaction to anything they perceive as offensive? A cartoonist draws bad-taste cartoons of Mohammed and there's a price on his head.

The Christian version of that is not as physically violent, but it can be verbally violent. Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the atheist who successfully led the drive to eliminate Bible reading and prayer from public schools, said the most hateful mail she ever received was from Christians. Demonizing Mr. Pullman is unlikely to cause him or those who agree with him to rethink their views.

God's not threatened by the book or the movie, Dick goes on to say, and then concludes with encouragement for parents to read or watch it together as a catalyst for discussion. Don't make it forbidden fruit, he suggests, but ask questions like, "The writer is angry at religion that abuses power. Isn't God? Aren't we?" or "What is a good 'compass' for life? Is there danger in just following our own hearts?"

He concludes by writing, "This will not be the last time our children encounter this message. But if they can learn now in the security of a loving relationship with thoughtful parents how to live in both grace and truth, they will be better prepared to live for God."

See what I mean? He's amazing, and no one outside of LifeSpring is getting to read this stuff!

If you want to join the WMCDATWAB club, just mention to someone sometime, in a rather resigned tone of voice, "I sure wish Dick Alexander would write a book." Perhaps we can come up with a hand signal or something with which to identify each other.

As for Golden Compass, if you've read the book, let me know your thoughts on this latest cultural kerfluffle.