Mike Blackaby's Blog

COURAGEOUS Movie Trailer

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Pop-Culture is an arena dominated by a secular worldview. Because of this, whenever a faith-based movie is released in mainstream theaters, Christians hold our collective breaths! Courageous, after earning almost 9 million it’s opening weekend despite being screened in far fewer theaters than other box office releases, made a strong case that Sherwood Pictures is doing something right.

Now, I’ll have to be honest. I wasn’t a big fan of Facing the Giants (although I usually like football movies) and wasn’t thrilled with Fireproof (although firemen are the bomb). Of course I loved the themes presented in each of those, but I felt like they fell plague to the curse that most Christian entertainment does: cheesiness. Whether it is Christian music, movies, or (a soapbox for another day) T-shirts, Christians seem to only make art that has absolutely no substance. They often preach so loudly that the world hardly takes notice (except to ridicule) and are left to simply entertain church youth groups on their bus rides to camp. That’s fine and serves a certain purpose I suppose, but I really feel like Christians can do better.

I was privileged to attend an advanced screening at the Fox Theater back in August, and actually met several of the actors. I didn’t really know what to expect since I knew nothing about the film prior to the screening. I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it definitely has it’s cheesy moments of “Did they just go there?” but the Sherwood filmmakers have grown by leaps and bounds in every area. The acting is better, the film quality is better, the humor is better, and there are action scenes (what?! Don’t worry, no guts.).

The story centers around four policemen and their realization that the courage they display in their daily jobs must start at home with their families. If you have success at work, and yet lose what’s really important, everything falls apart. And it does, when tragedy strikes the central family. Most of you have probably already seen it, so I won’t go into detail about the plot, other than to say reality comes barging in on all these men and they are forced to make some serious decisions regarding what it really means to be a man.

What I noticed most is that Sherwood is really starting to find their stride. The added humor (especially a scene in which a character pretends to be a psychotic gang leader in the back of a police car to scare his seat-mate into submission) adds a lot to an otherwise very emotional plot. There are several tender moments that had me (as a pretty unemotional guy) sniffling (but just a little!) because of their depth. The actions scenes bookending the movie also add some adrenaline that you need in a movie about cops!

Of course, there is the obligatory conversion scene with the agnostic cop coming to terms with his need for a Savior. But even this was done in a much better fashion than in previous efforts, and I found myself hearing words I have used in sharing the truth of the gospel in real-life situations. I probably would have made the movie about 30 minutes shorter, just because it seems to attempt too much (by following the story-arc of 5 main characters) for one film.

Of course, secular critics will (and have) had a field day lambasting it for being preachy or cheesy or narrow-minded. And this is where I get fired up. Do people honestly expect a movie made by a church to say nothing about God? Preachy? Yeah, it’s made by two pastors! What makes me so angry is that every movie preaches something. Mark Driscoll has said that movies are simply sermons using pictures. Did a movie like “Brokeback Mountain” preach a certain worldview? Duh, and yet it won 3 Academy Awards. In an industry run almost exclusively by secular filmmakers, actors, and philosophies, apparently there just isn’t room for a Christian voice. For a culture that is supposedly open to free expressions of art, I’m disgusted (but not surprised) by the reactions of most film critics reviewing this movie. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But review it on the basis of it’s film credibility and artistic expression, not based on the fact that you have a problem with anything Jesus-related.

That’s a rant I could go on for much longer, but I’ll save it for another time! In the end, Sherwood Pictures is inspiring to me because they don’t just sit back and criticize Hollywood for making movies celebrating secular values; they have entered the fray and gone where few Christian artists have dared to go. As with the Truth Dare in Fireproof, Courageous also promotes the message of the movie through books and the Courageous Resolution for dads. It does not seek to simply entertain, but to transform people and thus transform culture through the gospel of Jesus. And for that goal, I applaud them.

After experiencing the movie “Inception,” I quickly realized there was much more to this flick than your average summer blockbuster. I’m glad I had an empty x-large drink cup to scoop my scrambled brains up after the show (ok, so maybe it fit into a small cup, but my point remains the same!). In an age where summer movies demand you to flip the “off” switch on your mind, here was a movie about the mind! I was pleasantly surprised! Here is why…

To try and summarize the whole plot would take several hours and a degree in philosophy (both of which I don’t have), so let me quote another reviewer: “Inception centers on a team of individuals led by an “extractor” named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who, through the use of a special device, construct the dreams of a target and use those dreams to implant an idea so that the target will make a decision beneficial to the individual who hired the team.  To say that scratches the surface would be an insult to both scratches and surfaces.” Clear as mud? Great! Let’s continue…

There are about 8746 other details that go into this intricately crafted plot, and let me tell you, it will keep your utmost attention! But Cobb says something that got me really thinking. He asks, “What is the most resilient parasite? An idea.” You see, an idea is not easy to get rid of once it’s there. It continues to eat away at your mind, demanding to be fed. In the movie, Cobb and his team enter into the world of a powerful man’s head to plant an idea deep within, because they know if they are successful, it has the potential to drastically affect his actions, and those actions will affect the world.

An idea is a powerful thing because every action starts as an idea. Is it any wonder why Jesus spoke about the heart, and not just the actions of people? In Matthew 5:21-30, Jesus says that not only are murderers guilty to be judged, but also everyone who is angry at his brother! Or, that those who look on a women with lust are actually guilty of committing adultery in their heart! Why would he say these things? Because ideas are powerful. Jesus knew that every murder starts in the heart. It’s not a knee-jerk reaction, where someone might say to the jury “I was walking down the street when Bill bumped into me, and before I could help it, I pulled out a gun and shot him!”  Every action starts as an idea, and ideas start in the heart.

What ideas are floating around in our heads? Do we think they are fine, as long as they stay in there? I dare say we all have some pretty sick ideas, whether of vengeance or selfishness or lust or greed. Are we feeding these ideas? Are we dwelling on these thoughts? It is a dangerous game to let ideas go unchecked in our heads, because it may not be long before they work their way into our hands and our feet. Jesus knew it was the wrong approach to simply try and curve people’s actions. We need something deeper. We need a new heart that gives us new ideas. Thankfully, God promises to do just that…

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

The hit TV show “LOST” (RIP!) was popular for many reasons. It had great characters, an intricate plot line, romance, suspense, adventure, and mystery (much like my teenage years). But one of the aspects I really came to appreciate was the constant tension that played out in the characters of John Locke and Jack Shepherd.

Throughout most of the series, Locke remained firmly committed to his belief in the spiritual/supernatural, while Jack (a former doctor) could only believe in the rational/material reality. Their worlds of faith and reason collided numerous times throughout the show as they tried to understand each other. In one particular encounter, Locke asks Jack in frustration, “Why is it so hard for you to believe?” With equal passion, Jack counters, “Why is it so easy for you?!” And then Locke says something that really stuck with me. He simply states, “It has never been easy.”

It may be tempting to assume that Christians follow a blind faith that never requires anything from them. Atheists like Richard Dawkins equate believing in God with believing in fairies. For them, it is simply a sheep-like, blind belief in something we deep down could never rationally hold to be true. Does he have a point? Do we simply live in a fairy-tale land that is far removed from reality, in which we gain comfort from a grandfatherly deity watching out for us because we can’t bear to face life apart from such fantastical illusions?

I don’t think this is true for one minute. In fact, I echo Locke’s statement and say “It’s never been easy.” This does not mean I have to force myself to believe. Far from it! But faith is costly and takes work. If anything, we are often tempted to twist what we know is true into something that is easier. If we lighten up the language of Jesus, then suddenly we don’t have to take seriously His call to “Pick up your cross and follow me.” Or, as many atheists have done, if we simply convince ourselves that there is no God, then we are not held morally accountable to Him, and can go about our lives doing what we please, answering to no one but ourselves.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” (Mere Christianity) Faith is never easy, but it is always worth the effort.