Movie Review: War Room

I took my family to see War Room recently and loved it! The Kendrick brothers have done a great job with their previous movies (and their growing skill at movie-making is obvious) so my excitement as I stepped into the theater was well placed.

Here are just a few of the reasons that I loved this movie:

It is about prayer. 

There is one spiritual discipline that most Christians know we should engage in. Yet, that same discipline is a source of defeat. We know we should be praying more than we are so we live with disappointment. This movie helps to highlight this spiritual discipline by pointing out the power of prayer and providing some principles of effective prayer.

It is encouraging and not condemning. 

Rather than beating Christians over the head for not praying more, this movie encourages and motivates Christians to get back into the prayer closet. Honestly, people tend to respond much better to encouragement than condemnation. This movie tapped into that.
 
It leaves the viewer with a desire to create a "war room." 

Folks who left the theater weren't simply talking about how good the movie was. Many left with a desire to do something about what they had just watched. They want to pray more. They want to empty out a closet and turn it into a war room where they do battle on their knees.

It is culturally relevant.
 
Many Christians are greatly concerned that our country is in desperate trouble. Immorality seems to be growing exponentially on every front. This movie provided the solution found in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Most of it's main characters aren't white.
 
I LOVED the fact that most of the main characters didn't have the same skin tone as me. (What must the black community feel like when most of the movies they see are cast with white people?) Yet, in celebrating our differences, I relished the fact that the men and women on the screen were my brothers and sisters-in-Christ.

The actors performed incredibly.
 
Most of the actors weren't "actors." Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer are well known speakers at women's conferences and are prolific writers ... but they aren't actors. Yet, the Kendrick brothers cast them and allowed them to excel in yet another area of influence. They did incredibly well as did each of the other actors.

My absolute favorite was "Ms. Clara!" Karen Abercrombie did an incredible job in her role as the older lady who would essentially be the hero of the movie. It was through her masterful acting that the writers were able to share much wisdom and inspiration about prayer with the viewer. (As an aside, I was a little disappointed when I found out that "Ms. Clara" was played by a much younger actor. I honestly found myself wishing that Ms. Clara was real to life. But, that just goes to show how incredible of a job that Karen did to make "Ms. Clara" believable and likable to the viewer.)

The characters became our friends.
 
The movie was 2 hours long but I've sat in movies that long before where I just didn't feel a connection with the movie characters. Not so with War Room. I left the theater feeling as if I had come to know and really enjoy the persons in the movie. They had become my friends as I "lived life" with them for a couple of hours.

There was a sense of community in the theater.  

Even though it may not have been said, I couldn't help but feel a kinship with those around me in the theater as War Room was playing. (I don't feel this with other movies.) Why? Because most of the folks in the room, even if we don't know each other's name, are brothers and sisters-in-Christ. So, it kind of felt like a family night in the living room around the tv.

It was a movie the whole family could watch.
 
It's often extremely difficult to find a movie that I enjoy that the rest of my family enjoys as well. I've got a wife and sons in 5th grade, 9th grade and 11th grade. And each of us has our specific taste in movies. Yet, War Room is a movie that all of us loved. I especially loved that my 5th grader could watch it knowing that there was absolutely no objectionable content.

It is a prophetic warning for America. 

In the Old Testament, God sent prophets to warn His people of their sin, call for repentance and encourage them to follow Him. In our day, I believe that God is not only using preachers and ordinary Christians to sound the alarm, He's also using fantastic movies. I can't help but believe that God is calling our nation back to Himself so that He does not have to administer His judgment upon us. He's calling His people to humble themselves and pray. I can't help but think that one of His "prophets" is War Room. Through this movie, God is calling for Christians to wake up and pray like we've never prayed before in hopes that our nation can be healed.


So, these are a few of my reflections. If you haven't yet seen War Room, you owe it to yourself to see it this weekend. Do your faith a favor - watch the movie!

Movie Review: "Do You Believe?"

I love what the producers of "God's Not Dead" and now "Do You Believe?" are doing! They are creating incredible movies that give Christians the tools to defend and live out their faith. Already, I cannot wait for their next movie!

I watched "Do You Believe?" last night with my family and some friends. I want to put in print, while its still fresh on my mind, what I loved about the movie! So, here are some of the reasons why I would highly recommend others to view this movie...


1. This movie masterfully interweaves many different stories into one beautiful masterpiece.

• At the beginning of the movie, the viewer is made aware that there are about 12 or so lives with stories to be told. It would seem at the outset that this is an almost impossible task. How can a 2 hour movie possibly allow you to develop any sort of relationship with the characters much less tell their stories and have it come to a compelling conclusion?
• The movie delivers! By the end of the movie, you have wept with the characters. You have celebrated with them. You may even feel like you have lost a friend as their characters exit the story or as the story comes to an end.
• But, it's not simply that the producers of "Do You Believe?" were able to connect the audience to the characters. They also made good on what they did so masterfully in "God's Not Dead" ... they interwove the stories so well that it was fascinating and yet not too complicated to keep up with.

2. This movie recognizes that life is hard and many things don't end well.

• Many Christian movies do the same thing that many movies of years gone by strived to do. They try to end the story with everything nice and neat. Everything works out perfectly as the hero "rides off into the sunset."
• Yet, stories like that are not true to life. We periodically enjoy them because they allow us to escape the difficulties and disappointments of life. But as those stories came to an end, we were brought back into the "real" world and realized there was very little to be gained from the story other than its entertainment value.
• "Do You Believe?" is true to life. It shows life as it really is (at least what it's like in a rough, inner city environment). But, the viewer sees that while those of us who live in rural America don't have to worry about crime as much, we are reminded that loneliness, despair, fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness and other such emotions are shared by us all. So, as the characters battle those emotions and the life circumstances that brought them on, the viewer is able to watch and learn. We get to see a true to life story in which various life scenarios live out their faith and see what happens to them.
• The viewers come to the end of the movie and are reminded that some who faithfully follow Jesus will experience joy and victory. Things work out! Yet, it is also possible that others who faithfully follow Jesus will lose their jobs or someone they dearly love will die. (Read Hebrews 11:1-35a - things work out for some people of faith; then read Hebrews 11:35b-38 - sometimes people of faith get nothing but difficulty.) Faith does not inoculate us from difficulties and disappointments. It does allow us to be strong and courageous in whatever comes our way. The movie makes this point wonderfully.

3. This movie calls upon viewers to put their faith to work.

• This movie speaks into a 21st century American Christian culture that is largely asleep. When we compare ourselves with others, we may look pretty good. But, when we compare ourselves to what God's Word says about Followers of Jesus, most of us fall far short of the mark. There is a reason why so few are getting saved in our churches these days.
• This movie resets the bar high where it should have been all along. In fact, at the beginning of the movie, a gentleman who is carrying a cross down a dark street approaches a pastor in his car. He asks the pastor if he is a believer. The pastor responds affirmatively and the question that is asked by the man with the cross hits the pastor (and those in the audience) like a gunshot ... "Well, what are you going to do about it?"
• So many of us love Ephesians 2:8-9 where it says we're save by grace alone apart from anything we do. Yet, the very next verse (Ephesians 2:10) tells us WHY we were saved ... "for good works." This movie calls followers of Jesus to live in light of verse 10.

4. The movie shows that one life lived for Christ can profoundly influence others.

• When we look at our ever darkening world, we cannot help but throw our hands up in defeat. We look around and see so much sin (including in ourselves) and we wonder what one person could possibly do about it. This movie shows how one act of kindness done in Jesus' name jars people to attention and causes them to reflect.
• In fact, this movie shows how counter-culture Christianity really is. Whether it is how a Christian responds when threatened with a loaded gun, an angry lawyer or an awareness of their imminent demise, this movie shows us that Christians who are informed by the Word will inevitably act in ways that are so different from the culture around us. And when we act in those unpredictable ways, it will almost always grab people's attention. Our message gains credibly when we behave this way. God is able to move powerfully in the lives of others when His children imitate the actions, words and attitudes of Christ.

5. The movie does not settle for a social Gospel but for a Gospel that changes lives for the present AND eternity.

• So much of the "good works" in Christianity today is simply doing the things that lost people can do. I mean, it's good to put shoes on people's feet, give them a warm meal and provide them shelter. But, lost people do this. Which begs the question ... If we are doing the same thing that lost people do, how can what we are doing be considered "Christian?" Don't get me wrong. It's GOOD to meet the temporal needs of those around us. But, if that is the extent of our actions, it's not a "Christian" work. It's just a good work.
• This movie shows that we must reach out to help others. But, in doing so, we must look for opportunities to share the Gospel. We must also make it clear that the reason we are doing what we are doing is because of Jesus. We have been captivated by His love and provision for us and we want to share it with others. Only what's done for Christ, in the name of Jesus, counts.

I could keep going but you get the idea. This movie was about real life stuff and real life Christianity. It is not only extremely entertaining, it is an incredible tool to help Christians grow in their faith.


If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it. If you have, tell others about it. We need to support movies like this and encourage the producers to keep pumping out more movies like this.


#pureflix #doyoubelieve