Last week, while I was in Nashville enjoying the symphony, the church I attend started back its Wednesday fellowship meal and programming after a summer break.

One of the activities had been an adult Bible study, taught by our pastor, which I really enjoyed last spring. But this year, for the time being, the pastor is teaching a class on Christian reactions and responses to “The Da Vinci Code.” I have absolutely zero interest in this, and so tonight I went for the meal, had some nice fellowship, and came back home afterward.

I don’t know why I am so stubbornly disinterested; in many other areas, I’m quite interested in the various interactions (whether conflict or convergence) between popular culture and Christian faith. But “The Da Vinci Code” seems like a novelty to me, not something worth my time even with the intent of responding to it. It fits into a larger picture of pseudo-spirituality, of course; Americans today want the warm fuzzies of religion but without having to answer to any higher power (or each other, for that matter). I think Christians need to understand that trend better and prepare ourselves to respond to it. But as far as studying the particulars of this novel (or the upcoming movie) just to refute them, I really am bored with that prospect.

Even so, I almost signed up for the course just for the purpose of supporting my pastor. We’re having some division in the church right now; unfortunately, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back took place while I was in Kenya and I still don’t know all the specifics of it. Our attendance has been down since then and some of our members have been reported visiting other churches.

My pastor can be a hard man to get to know; some people who have only met him once or twice think he’s distant or even rude. But he’s not. I’ve come to appreciate him even when I don’t agree with him (and sometimes I don’t). As the son of a pastor, nothing gets my goat any quicker than people sniping at a pastor behind his back.