Christian Filmmakers Making Believers Out of the Film Industry

 

Jonathan Roumie in The Jesus Revolution

 

A New Christian movie from Lionsgate studios called "The Jesus Revolution" starring Kelsey Grammar and Jonathan Roumie (who plays Jesus in The Chosen) opened in fewer than 2500 theaters on its first weekend and grossed 16 million dollars. The second weekend nearly doubled that earning 30 million dollars on a budget of just 15 million. And word of mouth has been responsible for most of that volume at the box office. It also looks like maverick Christian film producers like Dallas Jenkins over at Angel Studios are also making enough of a profit to fund several future movies that appeal to Christian audiences. Profits from The Chosen as well as other projects Angel Studios is releasing over the coming year include an animated feature about the life of David, the Israelite King, a children's animated television series and though most people don't know it, they produce the Youtube hit, Drybar Comedy that features clean comics performing in, of all places, Provo, Utah.

With the work they've done on "The Chosen", Angel Studios has opened a breath of fresh air upon the Christian film industry and given more mainstream studios like Lionsgate the courage to take a risk on Christian-themed projects. The Christian film industry has been doing some very nice work on pretty tight crowd-funded budgets the last few years. They've even drawn some mainstream acting talent like Ed Asner, John Ratzenberger, Kevin Sorbo, Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, Tyler Perry, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, Roma Downey, Kirk Cameron, Dean Cain, Stephen Baldwin, Eric Roberts, Kelsey Grammar, Lee Majors, Eric Avari, Randy Travis, Dean Cain and Candace Cameron Bue. Christian film also provides work for a host of new talented young actors and actresses willing to risk the wrath of Hollywood's distinctly anti-Christian culture. Hallmark and the Lifetime Channel have upped the depth of the faith-based films they produce, seemingly a bit less hesitant to address prayer, church-going and Christian values than they once were. Amazon hosts Up, Faith & Family as a subscription service and even some distinctly Christian films as regular selections on Prime Video. 

Jesus and His disciples - The Chosen

 My wife and I are watching The Chosen over and over every weekend the way we all did when Star Wars came out in the 70s. The series is just that compelling. Christians can't get enough and even hardened criminals find themselves drawn to a Jesus who is approachable, kindly, and joyful with a sense of humor to boot. This Jesus is one they can imagine themselves following. They can see a reflection of themselves in his very human disciples and for the first time in their lives, this collection of tough guys and hard cases can imagine themselves following Christ themselves.

Christian film is growing out of its awkward stage. The burgeoning faith-based film genre has delivered performances in the past 20 years that rival the quality of mainstream films of 20 or more years ago. I've lately seen performances and stories that for quality beat lots of today's mainstream films with much larger budgets. Christian films often tell compelling stories, many of them based on true stories. And they do it all on achingly tight budgets, while managing to look professional while doing it.

Eric Avari as Nicodemus in his secret meeting with Christ

The genre is learning its craft and producing some surprisingly wonderful films. The Chosen has even become a very popular television choice in Texas prisons with inmates stumbling around the day room engrossed in their computer tablets as they binge on season one. Violence has decreased dramatically over the weeks since the new inmate computer tablets were distributed to the men. Soon, word spread throughout the cell blocks that "The Chosen" was "...something you've gotta see, man!" Church attendance went up. An altar call at TDCJ's Coffield Unit last weekend resulted in 30 to 40 inmates coming forward to follow Jesus. Episode 1 of season 2 (only season 1 is available on the tablets so far) packed the chapel this weekend when the chaplain held a special showing.

Something is a' brewing out there; the kind of signs Jesus told us to watch for, I'm thinking. I hope we can take back the part of our culture that finds stories about faith and belief a thing worth watching and supporting. From the number of films crowd funded by independent donors and people who send in their 5 dollars because they want to see a movie they can feel good about seeing, film-makers seem to have discovered a way to produce movies that don't necessarily appeal to jaded Hollywood producers. It seems millions of movie-goers and non-movie goers are willing to put up their own cash to see wholesome films that lift the spirit, instead of being stuck with movies that glorify violence, illicit sex and crime. 

Upstart web edited video provider Vidangel has settled the lawsuits film producers lodged against them now that said producers are recognizing Christians as a lucrative viewership. There's nothing like finding out they can make money off a group of people by catering to their tastes to bring liberal Hollywood royalty down off their high horses a bit. Vidangel allows you to select what profanity you want to delete or whether you want to remove nudity and even the suggestion of sexual perversion for that matter. Also you can remove "blasphemy" (like the ubiquitous, guarantor of an 'R' rating G....d..... word found in so many otherwise decent films).. 

 

Lately, the proverbial fig tree has been putting forth leaves so to speak. This makes me happy. There are even a couple of new video websites that will cover actors' bulbous naughty parts with said fig leaves and they draw huge audiences.

 

© 2023 by Tom King

A Very Funny Guy

Micah leading the singing of the girl's team's fight song.

It's been more than a decade since the terrible day our beloved son, Micah died. I did CPR for 30 minutes while waiting for the ambulance and couldn't bring him back. It was the worst day of my life and I've had plenty of bad days. Sheila and I got through that day but it feels strange. It doesn't seem like more than a decade since we last heard him drive up in the driveway after work and burst through the front door looking for something to eat. In many ways our lives fell apart in the aftermath - Sheila's illness, our jobs went away, we lost our home, moved far from our families, passed through poverty, homelessness, our other son sick and in prison because of it. We lost most everything of worldly value that we have worked for. 

Gray day at the beach - Micah scooping up the ocean with a fork.

And here we stand, trusting in God that all things do, in fact, work together for good to them that love God. The devil doesn't like anyone who passes through the fire and clings to their faith in spite of it. Our daughter and son-in-law, however, are pillars of the church and are doing well. Sheila's health is stabilized. It doesn't mean the challenges are done, but we face them trusting in Jesus. We can do nothing else here at the world's end, save stand and fight. Thank you all for your many prayers and your wonderful support in our hours of need. We love you all and pray for you constantly. God bless you all. Here are a couple of stories friends sent me about Micah. They give me courage.

• 

  Micah & Jordan in Mexico
  

  I often think of Micah, and his beautiful love for Christ and others. I still will never forget the Mexico trip we were both on, and our bus arrived at this out-of-the way area with small cabins and a main building. The only food sent on the bus was an entire box of flour tortillas... So around 6:00 PM that night, Micah came to my cabin, and said, ""I've been foraging for food, Paula, and I have found a really old bull roaming this property! Now I know a lot of folks here are vegetarian, but come sun-up, I think most of 'em would change their minds and eat BEEF Fajitas!". Then he added with resignation, "Besides, it's an old bull, And since I've got this (brandishing a large Bowie knife), I think I can take him! So If Harley and the food hasn't shown up by midnight, I'm killing the bull, and prepping him! All I need you to do is get a fire going on this brick-built grill, while these guys (motioning to a few young college kids) can gather fire wood for you!" - Paula Westbrook

• 

  Micah "The Wall" King
  

  In 1993 our son Micah played basketball for Keene High
  School. The boys team played first and then the girls played. I think this game was at Blum, Texas - big Keene Charger rivals. Between games one of the girls on the team complained to Micah that the girls always rooted (loudly) for the boys team, but the guys didn't seem interested in supporting the girls when they were on the court. As the girls team took the court, Micah rounded up the boys, stood them up and led the Keene crowd in singing the girls team's fight song. Someone took a picture of the moment (top of the page). That's Micah on the far right with the Big Dog sign in his hand, singing his heart out for the girls. 
  

• 

  Micah playing shark with our daycare kids.
  

  Micah worked at Little Caesar's Pizza while he was in high school. He and a friend managed the store by themselves. His partner one day was in the back making a pizza when he heard the bell on the door jingle he waited to hear Micah greet the customer. After a while he went to the front to see what was going on. A customer stood at the counter. Micah was nowhere in sight. Micah's partner went to the counter and said, "Welcome to Little Caesar's." He nearly jumped out of his pants when he felt a tug at his cuff. He stepped back and look down to see Micah, all 6'3", 280 pounds of him folded up inside the space under the counter, grinning from ear to ear.  Micah's partner had no idea what to do next. He wound up taking the customer's order and pretending there was nothing wrong. When he went back to make the customer's order, Micah crawled out from under the counter and acted as if nothing were out of the ordinary for your friendly neighborhood Little Caesar's. The poor customer looked utterly confused, but sat quietly till his pizza came out. Micah had a weird sense of humor.

• 

  Micah with his Boys & Girls Club kids
  

   A mother approached us at Micah's memorial. Her elementary school son played the trumpet. He had been invited to play a trumpet solo at the First Baptist Church, the second largest church in Tyler. He was terrified. He confided his fears with Micah during Boys & Girls Club after school the week before. Micah encouraged the boy to go ahead and play. He shared stories with the boy of his own struggles with stage fright. He sometimes would shake so hard, people on the stage could feel the floor vibrate. What Micah did for the little trumpeter was get up early on Sunday morning, went down to the First Baptist Church and sat down on the front row next to the boy. "Don't look at anyone else," Micah told him. "Look at me. Keep your eyes on me while you play and you'll be alright." The boy gave a perfect performance. Micah came home that day and never told us what he had done. The boy's mother told us how grateful she was for what Micah had done for her boy. "My son," she said, "trusted and loved Micah and that got him past his fear."
  

• 

  Micah's daycare class
  

  Two weeks before his death, Micah was talking to a friend. They talked about the future, girl troubles and school. Suddenly, Micah asked, "Do you think anyone would miss me if I died?" I kind of think he knew God was telling him his time was short. I can answer his question now. There's not a day goes by I don't think of Micah. His Mom is the same. Everyone I know remembers our gentle giant fondly. Many of his kids have come to us years later to tell us how much they miss him. 
  

• 

  Making another memory with Mom.
  

   One day I went out in the backyard of our daycare center one stiflingly hot Texas day and found Micah sitting in a wheelbarrow full of water spraying jets of water into the air with a hose. "What ARE you doing?" I asked looking at the growing puddle in the middle of the playground.  "I'm makin' a memory," he replied. It was Sunday and the puddle would evaporate by sundown so I figured no harm, no foul. The boy (I say "boy", he was over 6 feet 250 pounds by then) gave me a sheepish grin. I gave him a thumbs up and left him to his memory making. I told his Mom to look out the back window and told her what he said he was doing. She cried a little. Moms are easily made misty-eyed.

• Two years after I wrote this, my daughter told her Mom another Micah story we'd never heard.  Micah worked a series of restaurant jobs out of high school. He eventually came to manage a restaurant making pretty good money. Whenever he got paid, Meghan told us, Micah came and found her and took her out to eat. His favorite place was a Chinese buffet on the South Loop in Tyler. He was such a fixture there, the lady who owned the place with her husband would spot him coming in the door. "Ah! Big a Boy!" she would hurry to meet him as he came in (Micah was 6'5" by then). "Musta be payday." It was. What I didn't know was that when he went to China Buffet, he would find his sister and take her along to treat her to dinner. He used to check out her shoes to see if they were wearing out. Meg was working her way through school at Chik-fil-A and put a lot of miles on her shoes. We didn't know her shoes were wearing out, but Micah who also put a lot of mileage on his shoes and at his weight, the wear and tear on his shoes was substantial. It was just like him to be aware of his sister's shoes and because he was doing pretty well, he didn't worry for a second about who should pay for Meg some good shoes. He just did it because Micah was just that kind of person.
  

The mark of a life well-lived is the hole it leaves when that life ends. Our church has never been so filled for a funeral than it was for Micah's memorial service. The stories that we told of his life at the service made us laugh and cry. I've seldom seen a funeral service quite like it. I miss him and look forward to Jesus' coming when he will rise and all of us will together be caught up in the clouds to go home with Him. What a day that will be!

© 2022 by Tom King