COURAGEOUS

The biggest news in out part of this tiny little world is Kim Kardashian and her marriage, divorce to Kris Humpheries. Outside of the sports world, who ever heard of Kris — and while I’m at it, why is Kim famous. Only in America are people famous for being famous. What did she do – cure cancer, feed the homeless, save the earth?

Right behind her is the lawsuit filed against Justin Bieber claiming he father the child a one Mariah Yeater in a 30 second tryst at a concert in Los Angeles. I understand he would have been 16 at the time. He has certainly jumped into the rock lifestyle quickly, if it is true.

But why are these important pieces of news? How sick are we as a society? Why do nobodies and entertainers get the limelight? It is because we give it to them. We eat up their trash. What happened to embarrassment about these activities? They used to be shameful acts.

I am grateful there are some who are trying to add a positive Christian influence to the world of entertainment, thankfully.

I went to see Courageous a few days ago. It is the most powerful sermon I have ever heard or seen about the role of men in the lives of their kids. In case you don’t know about it, here is their description.

“Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God ... and to their children?”

This is the fourth film produced by Sherwood Pictures and the brother acting, writing and production team of Alex and Stephen Kendrick. The first film of theirs I saw was Facing Giants. Another outstanding film made on a shoestring budget. Courageous was made for 2 Million and the opening weekend took in 9.1 million. Fireproof, their third film was made for $500,000 and earned 33 million. All this to say, the their films are being critically well received. Sherwood Pictures is produced by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. The whole church gets involved in the making of these movies. Many are volunteers.

Michael Catt, the senior pastor, writes about the beginning.

When looking for a media pastor, I contacted Alex. Though Alex was using his gifts and talents in ministry, he was not the director of media for his church. I saw a diamond in the rough. Alex came on board in 1999, and we called his brother Stephen in 2001.

God had been preparing these two from childhood to make movies. As kids they lived next door to a man who was interested in technical gadgets. He bought stop-and-go animation cameras, and Alex and Stephen used his equipment to make short videos. For years the boys put together homemade “chase ‘em down and beat ‘em up” movies. Later they produced commercials, movie trailers and even school projects.

I talked with Alex about where he wanted to be in five to ten years. He said, “I want to make movies, but no church is going to let me stay on staff and do that.” I replied, “Why not? Bring me a script and a budget, and let’s see if God is in it.” That conversation was the genesis of Sherwood Pictures. Our goal from day one has been to make family-friendly movies that build on the Judeo Christian ethic and communicate the gospel without compromise. We want to make movies you could take your girlfriend or your grandmother to without embarrassment.

In 2001 we went to Orlando, Florida, for staff retreat and took a day off to hang out at Disney World. We took a behind the scenes tour and learned about their “imagineers.” As we walked around the park observing the attention to detail everywhere, we were challenged with this thought: If a secular company can be this committed to excellence, why can’t the church of Jesus Christ?

While in Orlando, I talked with Alex about where he wanted to be in five to ten years. He said, “I want to make movies, but no church is going to let me stay on staff and do that.” I replied, “Why not? Bring me a script and a budget, and let’s see if God is in it.” That conversation was the genesis of Sherwood Pictures. Our goal from day one has been to make family-friendly movies that build on the Judeo Christian ethic and communicate the gospel without compromise. We want to make movies you could take your girlfriend or your grandmother to without embarrassment.

What a great story. I hope you enjoy their movies as much as I have.