I have not seen it yet... Maybe next weekend.
I thank the Lord for all those that He has touched through these movies. They are a blessing, however there are a few things that we need to beware of when it comes to the Sherwood movies that I have seen. Particularly the first two. I think they often send the wrong message, particularly to those who are not saved and are curious about our faith.
I have two issues with the movies that Sherwood is putting out:
First is the "Your Best Life Now" mentality behind it. For instance, in Flywheel and Facing The Giants the message became "surrender your life to God and you will sell more cars, the towns people will support you, you'll win the state championship, you get brand new red truck, you wont lose your job, your wife gets pregnant... twice... after trying for years... etc etc"
In Fireproof, while the storyline was a little more realistic, it was very much about what WE can do to change our lives. There was some transformation by the Holy Spirit, but the movie was not about regeneration... it was about bringing discipline and self control into our own lives. Thats not the gospel. Discipline and self control are the RESULT of regeneration, not the other way around.
I have found just the opposite to be true, conerning the first two movies I mentioned. The more I surrender to God the more the trials of life pile up. I'm walking closer to God than I ever had... and in the last two years I had a heart attack at the age of 42, and then 9 months later lost my job due to the economy in this country.
Where is my red truck?
The truth is I've grown MORE from the trials God has brought into my life than from anything else.
Jesus did not sugar coat the Christian life and calling. He said things like "Count the cost", "Men will hate you", "Men will say all manner of evil things against you",... etc.
Jesus told the rich young ruler the exact OPPOSITE of what marketers would advise... He said "Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and then come follow Me." It did not shock Jesus that the guy walked away. He knew the guy was not willing.
You do not see THAT being taught in evangelism classes today! Yet, thats what our Master did. Every time.
All of His apostles died violent deaths because of their faith. No red pickup trucks for any of them.
We need to tell that side of the story when leading someone to the Lord too.
The entertainment value of the movies is good. No doubt, and I applaud those guys for making them. As I said, I have not seen Courageous yet, so I cant comment on that one. However, when our kids have watched the other movies we have had to sit with them and correct some of the message of the movies... with scripture.
One other issue I have is the "Prayer of Jabez" style hype and fad that goes along with any Sherwood movie that gets released. Before the movie even comes out there are books and curriculums and coffee mugs etc... everything except Happy Meals (and thats probably coming!). Now, I'm sure there are some good intentions behind all that, but let's face it... have you priced that stuff? Someone is raking in a LOT of dough.
It becomes a money making fad.
If you look thru older posts on this topic you will see that I have had glowing things to say about the Sherwood movies... thats because I have matured and grown since writing those things.
Krispy
