When Dan Brown&8217;s novel, &8220;The Da Vinci Code,&8221; hit the bookshelves a couple of years ago, I read it. And, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a cracking good story, I thought (and please notice that I said &8220;story.&8221; meaning it is fiction).

Now that Ron Howard has made the story into a movie, there has been major noise made about it by some pastors and churches around the country. They should not have bothered. The film is a bust, in my opinion, hardly rivaling the book itself.

It happens that way usually.

Remember the hoopla over Mel Gibson&8217;s movie, &8220;The Passion of the Christ?&8221;

I read just recently that after all was said and done, less than one percent of all the people who saw the movie reported any significant spiritual change in their lives. I suspect that in a few months, people will respond in a similar way about &8220;The Da Vinci Code.&8221; I have no problem imagining that people will engage in conversations in coffee shops a year from now, and the movie won&8217;t even be on their radar.

Recently, I read an editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The editorial had been written by Paul K. Harral, vice president and editorial page editor of The Fort Worth Star Telegram. He said he planned to watch &8220;The Da Vinci Code.&8221;

&8220;I&8217;ve enjoyed every Tom Hanks movie I&8217;ve ever seen,&8221; wrote Harral.

(Tom Hanks, in case you don&8217;t know, plays the star part of Professor Robert Langdon in the movie.)

Note this: Harral is a Christian, and said that his church planned to reserve an auditorium for a special viewing of &8220;The Da Vinci Code.&8221;

Afterward, the pastor would lead a discussion about the controversial film, seeking to engage the community in a teachable moment, an opportunity to witness, in fact!

How about that now?

Instead of ranting and raving about all the stuff in the film (again a STORY, not documented fact), this church sought to use the current interest in &8220;The Da Vinci Code&8221; to talk about the truth related to Jesus Christ and those in his life.

I like that. Maybe it&8217;s encouragement for you and me.

Whether you choose to see the movie or not, why not be alert to conversations around us related to this movie and then speak about what you believe, not being unkind or rude, but being straightforward in what you say and why?

I think the last time I read the words of Jesus, that was kinda what He had in mind anyway.

Ron Grizzle serves as pastor of Riverchase Baptist Church