Ritchson is that rarest of things in modern show business: a serious and steadfast Christian who is, by all appearances, forthright in sharing it in the public square. Today that means that Ritchson is active on the internet: the 41-year-old actor maintains a YouTube channel called InstaChurch, the title of which—suggesting bite-size nuggets of doctrine—should not obscure the essential nobility of the undertaking. Thousands of viewers have watched Ritchson discuss marriage, prayer, the New Jerusalem, and other topics; perhaps a few of them have been enlightened or otherwise driven to orthodoxy.
Yet the sacred and profane came crashing into each other on a YouTube video Ritchson posted last month. Therein, the actor addresses a group of “supposed Christians” who have found fault with him for taking on the part of Reacher, who is, admittedly, the very definition of an antihero: he may be on the side of the good, but his methods (and bedroom habits) can be as troubling as they are entertaining to watch. Apparently offended by the accusation, Ritchson launches into a defense of the art of drama. “As if the only TV that should exist is seeing people silently folding their hands in the pew of a church,” he says. “What kind of stories are we supposed to tell?”
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