Nobody is sure what to expect

when Mel Gibson's highly publicized film "The Passion of The

Christ" opens today at Tinseltown and nearly 3,000 other movie theaters

nationwide.

Will people walk out in disgust?

Be moved beyond tears in emotion? Will revival break out amid the spilled

popcorn and sticky floors?

Several Fayette County churches

have at least taken steps to prepare their membership, as well as the

community at large, for the reaction some moviegoers are sure to have

to Gibson's graphic telling of the final violent, bloody hours of

Jesus' life.

The Rev. Frank Ellis, pastor

of Fayetteville First Baptist, has preached sermons the past two Sundays

on what audiences can expect to see in the movie, and whether Gibson's

depiction of the crucifixion is historically and Biblically accurate.

For the next three Sundays,

Ellis is preparing sermons aimed toward those who've already seen

the movie and now have questions, particularly non-Christians or unchurched

moviegoers.

"I've been preparing

our people to be ready to answer the tough questions a lot of people are

going to have," said Ellis. "People come out of this movie asking

'Did this really happen?' and, 'What does this mean to

me?'"

First Baptist is also hosting

discussion groups organized by church members, and several Sunday school

classes are studying the movie and its meaning using special resource

guides provided by the Southern Baptist Convention. Two weeks ago, church-members

gathered to watch a live satellite Q&A session with Gibson broadcast

from California.

Also, the church has been distributing

movie posters around the community, and ordered 5,000 "Passion"

door hangers to canvass neighborhoods.

Clearly, the gory, bloody nature

of the film is not for everybody, Ellis concedes.

While he described the beatings

and torture endured by Jesus and details of the crucifixion itself in

his sermon last Sunday, a handful of worshippers quietly slipped out.

Many more are likely to walk

out of movie screenings as well, though Ellis said the physical torment

shown in the movie is believed to be far less brutal than reality.

"I've had a number

of our members come up to me and say, 'I'm not sure I want to

see this movie,' and I have to say that I have my own hesitation,"

said Ellis. "But I also believe from what I read and what I've

heard that this movie has the power to change people's lives in ways

they cannot imagine, and I don't want to miss that."

"From what I've been

hearing and what I'm telling people is that the violence is not gratuitous."

The graphic nature of the film

has earned it an "R" rating, but that might not be the only

thing that keeps people away.

"The Passion of The Christ"

is filmed entirely in Aramaic and Latin, with English subtitles, which

can make for difficult viewing. But the language, just as the violence

shown itself, was necessary to remain historically accurate.

The film opens with Jesus in

the Garden of Gesthemane, and concludes just hours later as he is crucified

and takes his final breath. Ellis suggested that the narrow window of

the story has a powerful impact.

"The full depth of his

ddespair when He cries out, 'My God, My God, why has though forsaken

me?' can't be comprehended by us," said Ellis. "That

comes across very clearly in this movie, the pain and agony He felt."

Ellis said he has no qualms

about promoting Gibson's film, which has been more than 10 years

in the making, because he doesn't question the Australian's

motives as some critics have chosen to do.

"Mel Gibson had all this

world has to offer, money, fame," said Ellis. "And then he realized

one day that even with all that, he still had nothing. He discovered that

life had more to offer, and he set out to share that."

Added Ellis, "I wish all

these people questioning the motives of Mel Gibson for making this movie

would ask that same question of all the other Hollywood producers and

the movies they make."

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