Introduction

Abstract

Even through grainy home video footage, the sense of anticipation is palpable. The last strains of a processional hymn that accompanied the bridal party down the long aisle fade out, and there is a moment of stillness in the church before the sanctuary swells with the opening chords of Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus.” The large crowd, filling row after row of crowded pews, stands to greet the bride. The double doors open wide, and Lindsay, linking arms with her father, begins her long-anticipated walk down the aisle toward her fiancé, David. It had been two years since Lindsay, twenty-three, watched David’s heroic on-screen role in a locally produced Christian film, and her feelings for her longtime acquaintance deepened. When she saw the film, she says, “My heart turned toward David. And I couldn’t bear the thought of him being with someone else.” But because Lindsay was committed to the tenets of Christian courtship, she could not make the first move.