It was a delightful film (see my review), full of laughter and tears and an exceptional story. You couldn't have asked for a better audience. We were told to be there at 7 for the 7:30 showing, but most were in their seats well before 7. Sometimes the laughter was so loud, some of the lines the actors were speaking got lost. One of the biggest laughs (and clapping) came when the husband in the movie (played by Kirk Cameron) brought his sick wife a bag of Chick-fil-A chicken. Talk about product placement! I was so proud of the Kendricks, the Cathys, Sherwood Baptist Church and the Body of Christ Friday night. To me, that is how the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be: one big wonderful family night that brings glory to God and joy to everyone that is part of it.

After the movie, we recognized Truett Cathy and his wife, who have been married for over 60 years. We heard from Bubba Cathy, Truett's son, who is a big supporter of the Kendrick brothers. We also heard from one of the young executives of Chick-fil-A. Everyone talked about the importance of marriage, and of what God was doing in their marriage in particular. Alex Kendrick spoke, who said the biggest thing that he and his brother have learned is the difference between a good idea and a God idea. A God idea is one that He is in and that He causes to succeed. You can see in their work that they know the difference.

The two stars, Kirk Cameron and Erin Bethea, talked about how they got the parts and what it meant to them. Especially revealing was what Cameron had to say about how he handled the kiss near the end, since he had committed himself to never sharing his lips with anyone but his wife. He solved the problem by flying his wife in for the kissing scene, and having her double for Ms. Bethea. I thought that was genius, and it brought tears to all our eyes and a standing ovation from the crowd.

Sherwood pastor Michael Catt shared with us his vision for Sherwood Pictures, that it is merely an extension of Sherwood Baptist Church, and not something that exists in and of itself. Their goal is to reach the world for Christ. Sherwood Pictures is merely one of the tools for doing that. But before reaching the world, they have to reach their own community; so, profits from Facing The Giants were used to build a sports complex to serve the needs of Albany youth, and to show them the love of Christ in community. You get the feeling that not just Sherwood Baptist Church, but all of Albany, Georgia is behind Sherwood pictures.

Sherwood and the Kendricks have joined forces with a lot of the big names in family ministry, including Focus on the Family, for whom the Cathys are big supporters. Many ministry materials have been produced in relation to the film, including a book by Michael Catt called Fireproof Your Life; a couples kit called "Fireproof Your Marriage" (includes a 6-session DVD and two participant's guides); Fireproof the novel by Eric Watson, who wrote the novelizations of the Kendricks' other two films; and, most amazingly, a book version of the journal used in the film: The Love Dare. After the movie itself, that, to me, is going to have the biggest impact, because people are going to be saying, "If following through on the suggestions in that book will do for me and my marriage what it did for the couple in the film, I want to do it." (It is basically a 40-day guide to saving or strengthening a marriage; but I can see how it could help anyone to love better.)

I love the vision of Sherwood Baptist Church and the Kendricks. If I were a young man, I would move to Albany, Georgia, get a job (ANY job - Chick-fil-A?), join their church and beg - BEG, mind you - to do ANYTHING on their next film. I think these people are the model of how to impact the world and God's Kingdom through film today. They definitely have a God idea of what needs to be done and how to do it. They remind me of how the Church supported the arts in the Middle Ages. It was a community effort; not isolated, egotistical artists working for fame and money, as most of the arts are produced today. It was a God idea. What a great example Sherwood has given all of us to follow.

Visit the Fireproof My Marriage web site (this is not the movie site) for some great resources: http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com/



Waitsel Smith, August 30, 2008

Text © 2008 Waitsel Smith. Images © 2008 Sony Pictures. All Rights Reserved.