Back in the day, when Lifeway Bookstores still existed, the first shelf through the door would featured new releases and top sellers. There would be everything from children's books to teens, adult books and books for grandparents and the elderly.

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The store itself had different sections for different ages as well. There were children books in the back, a giant amish romance novel section for lonely Christian housewives, and somewhere near the bathrooms there was a hidden theological section with a few academic resources for the nerds and weirdos.

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Lifeway understood that Christian books can have different categories for all sorts. Whether you were single or married, a male or female, a child or a teenager, there was something in Lifeway made exclusively for you.

But for some reason Christian movies never understood this.

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Whoever the powers that be were, they decided "Christian" was a genre. A category that meant suitable for all ages, lacking any distinction.

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Christian media embraced KLOVE's tagline of being "safe for the whole family" without any sort of flexibility.

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Every Christian movie is intended to be viewable for all audiences, at the exact same time.

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There are no movies made exclusively for college age Christians, there are no Christian movies made exclusively for adult singles, or married couples without children.

Now there are movies that might appeal to different audiences. For example FIreproof was for married couples, but that movie for married couples had to pass the "can your five year old watch this movie with you" test.

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Family friendly films are great. There is something truly wonderful about sitting down and watching a movie with everyone in your entire family at the same time.

But eventually the children go to bed and parents want to enjoy something together.

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Creating films for adults and single men and women doesn't mean that the film has adult language or nudity. It means it's simply made for an older audience. The themes might be darker, the sin might be portrayed more realistically, the story told with more nuance. the scary might be scarier and the sad might be sadder.

Christian media embraced the genre in order to get the financing. That hallmark money is real. That's business. But the ability to tell stories appropriate for different ages in the Christian market was squeezed out.

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An entire industry was kneecapped. Creativity was tossed out third story window.

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But LOOR plans to fix this. Like Christian book stores, there will be films for the entire family, but some films won't be safe for every one in your family.

Gritty docuseries. Adult animation. Shows made for husbands to watch when the wife goes to her women's bible study (that wont need to be removed from the browsing history).

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So go ahead and send the kids to bed.

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LOOR awaits.