A couple of years ago, I was on vacation in Jekyll Island, GA, and I watched a three hour special on the “100 Greatest Movie Lines of all-time�. I had waited all day for it to come on and watched intently, remembering the great scenes of each movie that had made the list. It was at this point that I realized that the movie industry had a greater impact on our culture than I thought it did before that point. It has ballooned even more since that time, mostly becoming more grotesque, sinful, and sexually provocative by the year. A group of people, under the guidance of God, have produced a movie that is capturing the souls of audiences everywhere.

Alex Kendrick and his brother Stephen are ministers in Georgia. After reading a story about the influence of movies on today’s generation, they asked God to use them to turn the tide of influence to a more positive one for society. The results were far beyond their expectations, with the Lord proving that His Word is true. I recently caught up with Alex to talk about their latest film, Facing the Giants.

His Life
Growing up, Alex found out quickly what his passions were and those God-given passions would eventually be used by God to impact more people than he or his brother could have ever dreamed of.

Q â€" Can you tell me your testimony?

“I am the middle son of three, my older brother is Shannon and my younger brother is Stephen. We grew up in Metro Atlanta and my father was in ministry as we grew up making little movies in our backyard and in our neighborhood with the neighborhood kids using a big, bulky camcorder, the first one that came out in the mid 80’s. After doing that a lot, we kind of developed a knack for it. We did it through high school and for our youth ministries in churches, and both Stephen and I graduated from Kennesaw State University, with bachelor’s degrees in communications. Stephen and I were called into full-time ministry after college and attended seminary. Both of us went on staff at Roswell Street Baptist in Marietta, GA. I did the college ministry there and Stephen did the middle school ministry. In 1999, I came to Sherwood Baptist Church to be their Associate Pastor of Media and run their television ministry, and when I came, I suggested that we try to do a movie, and they said that they were not opposed to it but wanted to get our TV ministry in better shape first. So, I focused on that awhile. Stephen came down to Sherwood in 2001 and joined me. He does a little more of the teaching and preaching side and works with our prayer ministry here when we are not making movies. I do the media ministry, lead a televised Bible study each week, and write and direct the motion pictures.�

In the opening of the interview, I could tell that I was speaking with someone who not only knew about God, but knew God personally. He spoke with a passion, constantly backing things up with Scripture. He opened up his life and showed the troubles, successes and even some of the humorous moments.

Q â€"When was the time that you doubted God the most?

“That’s a hard question. I would have to say that would have to be associated with my earthly father, Larry Kendrick. He has had Multiple Sclerosis since 1984, and although he is still alive and to some degree active in his ministry and his job, he’s completely tied to a wheelchair and numb over most of his body. The M.S. slowly eats away at him year after year and I have begged God to heal him and wondered if God ever would. So, my struggle in faith and with doubt has to do with that area, but I’ve also come to the point over the past two years where, just like we say in the movie, “Lord, if you derive more glory from him being in that wheelchair, because of his godly attitude and his testimony, then I’ll praise you either way. That’s a hard place to get to where you can praise God even when your heart’s desire is not met and what you want terribly is unfulfilled. We’re supposed to worship and praise God because of who He is, not what He does for us.�

Q â€" Were you ever a prodigal son?

“No, not really. When I was young and became a teenager, and my father was healthy, there was one time that some of my buddies in middle school were starting to get too big for their britches and I started to buy into that. I determined that I was too big to get a spanking. One day, I disobeyed my father, which I did not do often, and it made him angry enough to tell me to go up to my room cause I was going to get a whippin’. I was determined that I was going to show him that I was man enough to take it and he started whippin’ me. When he was done, I turned around and said, “Are you finished?�. It was the first time I had ever spoken to my father that way and he looked at me and said, “No, I’m not.� I got the real spanking then. I was in tears and apologized to him and (laughing) that was pretty much the end to my rebellious period.�

I also asked him about feeling close to God and he told me about his experience at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove last year. He and his wife had used the trip to recharge their batteries and in the midst of doing so, God spoke to him “very personally� and the Lord restored his zeal on that trip, a zeal that is still with him today.

The Movies

We spoke in great length about the Lord’s plan that all began with an article that Alex and his brother read that “basically said that movies were more influential in our culture than what the church was doing.� Upon reading this, they took action to influence movie-goers with the Word of God. Their first project, Flywheel, would eventually lead to Facing the Giants, but an important foundation began with Flywheel and continued into their latest production.

“We took it (the article) to our pastor, and asked them if it would be a good time to try a low-budget movie. He thought about it and prayed about it for awhile and gave us the go ahead, provided that we pray the money it.� They needed $20,000 for the first project and they got it by praying it in. The movie would eventually make it to a few theatres and the DVD would be picked up by Blockbuster and carried in the 4,500 video stores nationwide. After the success of Flywheel, Alex and his brother again began seeking the will of God.

The next project was an opportunity for the Lord to show even greater His power to Alex and the congregation at Sherwood. As they prayed for direction on the next movie, God gave them the words to script Facing the Giants. This time, they prayed for the funds and God provided $100,000, as they were seeking the Lord’s favor in an even greater way, hoping to reach out to more people. God opened the door for Sony to get on board and they had the movie put in to 441 theatres. God had gone beyond the expectations again as Alex and his brother were hoping to get the movie into forty theatres to cover the state of Georgia. Roughly 1.7 million tickets have sold thus far and with the DVD release upcoming, more lives will surely be impacted by the Lord’s work on this film.

Q â€" Was there a point in the writing or maybe in the filming of this movie (Facing the Giants) that you knew that God had a HUGE plan for this?

“We were told by several people, throughout the process, that this was not going to work. They said, “You and your brother have noble aspirations, but growing up shooting movies in your backyard is not the same as shooting full-length features that are shipped to theatres. You guys don’t have any experience; you haven’t been formally trained. You’re trying to do everything…write it, direct it, act in it, and edit it, and it’s just not going to be that good and don’t set your hopes that high.� I understand that this is not the normal way it happens, but we prayed the entire time to put it in the Lord’s hands and for Him to blow us away, and we didn’t compromise anything. We didn’t say, “God, we’re going to do a movie, now you bless it.� We sought Him; “Lord, what do you want us to do?� The other thing that I would say is this, when we were making the movie, we asked every person who was helping us, who would be on the screen or helping on the crew, “Is there anything in your life that would prevent God from blessing your work on this movie?� And a lot of them said, “Yes, there is something in my life.� And so they didn’t help. They’re not seen in the movie cause we wanted to be clean before the Lord, not that we’re looking for perfect people because they don’t exist, but we were looking for people who were actively trying to walk with the Lord in a clean way, so that He would want to bless us.�

Q â€" Were there any difficulties in the filming process, considering that, to a certain degree, you did have a limited budget?

I would say in every category. We struggled to shoot the movie with one camera, especially all of the football games. That’s so difficult. I remember shooting the championship game which is almost 20 minutes of the movie. We had to do it in five nights, when it was dark, with extras and people in the stands, so we tried to squeeze three or four hours out of the people in the stands each night and that’s very hard to do. Then I would say not having the budget to get additional lights and more computer equipment to be editing and rendering and all of that stuff was difficult as well.�

Q â€" Seeing the success of this movie, and that of Flywheel and the way that the Lord is building upon that success from movie to movie, what does that do to your faith as an individual?

“If you had asked me before Facing the Giants if God could take a low-budget church made movie and take it to theatres, I probably would have said that I believed that He could, but actually seeing Him do it is a whole other thing. Like a lot of other people think, “Can God heal you of this?� or can God provide for you in this way or that way, most people would say “Yes, we do think He can�, but it is kind of like head knowledge. It’s not heart faith and there’s a difference. Although I believe in God and I am saved and working in ministry, something happens when you go through an experience yourself. For my faith, I would say that it has been sparked and challenged, and has grown.�

His Advice

Q â€" What’s your favorite Bible passage and why?

“Oh man, I have a lot! I’ll start with my life verse which is 1 Peter 3:15. That’s my life verse and I try to write that anytime someone asks me to sign something. I love Psalm 1; that’s been a life chapter for me, just talking about the path of a righteous man and how he bears fruit in his season and just stays plugged in to the Lord. I’ll tell you that 1 Peter 3:15 and Psalm 1 are two that have had a long impact on my life.

Q â€" What is your advice to men when they have to face their giants in life?

“Two things. First, determine to praise God no matter the outcome. You know, in the movie, we have a happy ending and there are times in our lives where the Lord may overwhelm us, but there are also times that He allows us to struggle. Facing the Giants is one story; it doesn’t mean that all stories are like that. Determine to worship God wither way, just for who He is. Secondly, to truly believe that God can do the impossible if He chooses to. As I read through Scripture, part of what activates the Lord doing something is our faith. The woman who had the bleeding, she had the faith and reached out for Jesus and the Lord healed her. He turned around and said, “Your faith has healed you.� He tells the disciples that with the faith of a mustard seed, you can move a mountain. If I could add a third thing, it would be to ask them, “Is your life one of power as you walk with the Lord or is it lukewarm?�

Q â€" What do you think is the biggest problem facing Christian men today?

“Well, from a ministry standpoint, I see Christianity in America being lukewarm at best and I see men living lukewarm lives as husbands, as fathers, and even as ministers, who compromise their spiritual sensitivity with a lot of television, a lot of sports, movies, and unfortunately, many times, pornography. (We need) To learn how to die to some of those sorts of things in favor of what’s best, spending time everyday; I mean quality time, with the Lord, seeking Him, putting yourself in a position where God has to do the impossible. When Peter jumped out of the boat to walk on water, you have to wonder what he was thinking. He sees something out there on the water and Jesus says “Come�, but what made him actually throw his body out of the boat and start walking? That’s where I want to be. Somebody said once that it is safer to be out on the rocky waves with Jesus than it is to be in the boat without Him. I would say most men in America, and even ministers, have not been to that point. If men got serious about their faith and did not water it down with a lot of stuff that the world has to offer, I think you’d see a big difference in the way that husbands lead their families and their marriages, and in the church.

I noticed a great deal of humility in this man, as he understood that it was the Lord who brought this movie to the heights that it has attained, not the work of his own hand. Being a humble servant of God is something that all of us can learn to do a better job of, as well as learning to have the faith to even take on the giants in life. What has come from the Lord in this movie and in the life of Alex is a calling for all men to step out of the boat and believe the impossible is possible with the Lord. We are not defeated nor will we be overtaken, because the Lord is on our side and there has never existed an obstacle that He could not overcome.

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