A Christian composer who has written music for Adventures in Odyssey and Angel Studios has revealed that he lost out on mainstream jobs due to his biblical beliefs but noted that it was worth it to stay true to his faith.
"Sometimes sticking to your guns in this industry will cost you," Aaron Fullan, an actor and composer, told attendees at the Christian Worldview Film Festival in Albany, Georgia, last month. "That is the harsh reality of being faithful to God's calling in this industry."
Fullan has composed music for multiple projects, including Adventures in Odyssey and has starred as an actor in a dozen titles, including Surprised by Oxford. He also composed the popular opening "jingle" heard at the beginning of every Angel Studios release, including at the start of The Chosen.
Fullan, though, said he lost mainstream projects due to his beliefs. In 2017 he was chosen to be the composer for a new series by a major studio, he said. He even signed a contract. But when he received the script, he knew he could not go through with the commitment.
"I started seeing something unfold [in the plot] that I absolutely knew I wasn't going to participate in," he said. "I showed my wife. We looked at each other and I said, 'I can't do this.'"
Fullan told the executives and filmmakers he had to back out of the project. They "were not pleased," he said. The music supervisor called him and told him, "Are you kidding me? Are you purposely wrecking your career?" Fullan said he responded, "No. But I'm a Christian. And the content in this is blatantly against everything I stand for."
Fullan lost a second job – with an Internet browsing company – because of his posts on social media.
"It paid really well. It was a great opportunity," he said.
But three weeks into the project, he received a call from the creative director.
"And she says, 'I'm sorry, we can't work with you.'… And she said, 'One of the higher-ups at our company looked at your social media. And based on some of the content you have on there, decided you're not a good fit for our company.' So I'm like, 'What happened in the last week, that changed so dramatically?' So I looked and looked and looked through my posts. And the only thing that I could see that would have been potentially controversial was I'm very vocally pro-life. And extremely so on my social media."
The company declined to confirm his suspicions, he said.
"This industry is often very anti-Christian depending on what circles you end up being in," Fullan said. "If you commit to prioritizing God and His Word in your decision-making over worldly success, adulation of man, you will be faced with some difficult decisions. But again, you will also be blessed in unimaginable ways because the Lord sees your commitment to Him, and is honored by it."
The book of Daniel presents two scenarios for confronting the world, he said.
Sometimes – as in Daniel 1 when Daniel and his friends were allowed to eat vegetables instead of the king's food – it is possible to reason with the world, Fullan said.
But other times – such as in Daniel 3 when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to an idol – it will be impossible for Christians to work with the world, Fullan said.
"Looking back on some of the events that I went through, I had to constantly remind myself of this: 'Choose this day, whom you will serve' – Joshua 24:15.
"That question," Fullan added, "needs to always be in your mind no matter what avenue of this industry you're interested in. Because you're going to be confronted with some difficult things."
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Photo courtesy: ©Christian Worldview Film Festival
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
