Your church is heavily influenced by evolutionary thinking. It is founded on principles created by pagans and for pagans. You have succumbed to hellish thinking and imposed it upon your church. At least this is the case if your church has a nursery or a Sunday school or any other kind of program that involves dividing people by age. That is the rather audacious claim of Divided, a documentary that is being heavily promoted by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC). Divided is a film about youth ministry. Kind of. At its heart it is a movie that promotes Family Integrated Church (FIC).

Divided follows a young filmmaker named Philip Leclerc as he seeks to find answers to the tricky question of why young people are abandoning the Christian faith. This journey quickly leads him to the leaders of the FIC where he learns that age segregation is at the very heart of our problems while family integration is the key to rebuilding the church and recapturing the next generation. 

The film begins with a long list of scary statistics pointing to the sad reality that young people are increasingly abandoning their churches (a genuine concern that I wrote about recently). This introduces the tension the movie depends upon. How do we guard our children against becoming just another set of sad statistics? Leclerc begins his journey at a Christian music festival where we see young people head-banging to Christian rock and just plain having fun. He speaks to youth pastors who believe the key to reaching youth is to be cool and hip. He speaks to young people who believe in evolution or who don’t even know what they believe. He says about this festival that people were being taught that “the fun music of the world can bring you closer to God.” And in this way he paints an ugly picture of an entire generation.

Having done this, he finds the best and brightest of the FIC movement and allows them to interpret. This sets an intellectual like Voddie Baucham against a girl with a face full of piercings who partied so hard at the concert that her mohawk collapsed. It’s hardly a fair right. What Leclerc does is what so many documentarians do: he chooses his representatives very, very carefully. He chooses the intellectuals of the FIC to represent his view and chooses the young and foolish to represent the other side. It’s hardly subtle and not at all fair. He builds his case on a cliche.

Once he has set the two sides in opposition, he allows proponents of FIC to pile on. One by one Scott Brown and Voddie Baucham and Doug Phillips and Paul Washer and many others talk about how youth ministry has ruined the church—and not just youth ministry, but any kind of ministry that divides people by age. These men make the claim that the first 1800 years of the church knew no age segregation whatsoever; it is only in the past 200 years or so that anyone considered dividing children by age. They claim that any kind of age segregation stems directly from evolution and has roots in paganism. Any kind of age segregation therefore sows pagan seeds of division.

These leaders claim that the Bible clearly teaches that we must not age segregate. Ever. The classroom is a pagan creation and so too is the Sunday school. Leclerc goes so far as to claim that the mass youth exodus may just be God’s hand of punishment upon the church for our active disobedience in ignoring what Scripture teaches.

The solution is to raise up a new generation of fathers who will take responsibility for their children and stop outsourcing the raising of their children to youth pastors. Fathers who truly love the Lord and who truly love their children will know better than to allow them to participate in youth ministry or Sunday school. These are the central claims of the film.

So what do we do with Divided?

There are few things that thrill me more than learning what God is doing in other parts of the world. The Lord works in amazing ways and calls to himself people from every nation and tribe and tongue. Yet even in a world that is rapidly shrinking through the new media available to us, we hear far more than we see. Dispatches from the Front is a series of DVDs created by Frontline Missions that gives us a glimpse of what God is doing across the world.

There are currently 4 episodes available, each one about an hour long. I decided I would watch one of these DVDs each day until I had seen all 4. They were so good that I ended up watching all 4 back-to-back. Each one takes the viewer to a different part of the world—Southest Asia, Eastern Europe, West Africa and India. Each one shows Frontline’s director Tim Keesee traveling within a certain region, seeking to understand the intricacies of its culture and meeting with local Christians. As he does this he hears of miraculous conversions, of terrible persecution, of seemingly insurmountable challenges. It is compelling stuff, amazing stuff; it is nearly impossible to watch without emotion, without tears of joy and sorrow.

Keesee writes about all of these things in his journal; the format of the DVDs is to combine video footage with his journal entries. And it’s a powerful combination.

Here is the trailer for Episode 3 (which was probably my favorite):

I’ve got a thing for documentaries, and especially for nature documentaries. I loved Planet Earth and Blue Planet and Life and Nature’s Most Amazing Events—some of the recent major productions (all of which come from the BBC, as it happens). Human Planet is the same but different. It features the same stunning, high-definition footage of the planet and its inhabitants. But this time it focuses far more on people than on plants or animals. It focuses on the human element of life.

It does this by looking at the various habitats in which humans have learned to live and thrive: from deserts to the Arctic, from the grasslands to the cities (and everywhere in between). The camera work is top-notch, the stories are fascinating, the music is powerful, the overall experience is inspiring. Allow me to share a few of the lessons I learned from this series.

We Are Amazing

When God created human beings, he created something extraordinary. This series treats us as if we are simply the species that has managed to evolve the furthest but, of course, we know better. God created us to have dominion over the earth, and we have done that in amazing fashion. From the frozen Arctic to the hottest deserts we have gone into the world to subdue it and to have dominion over it. The tragedy of it is that so few know what God has called us to. So many serve foreign gods or serve no God at all.

It is amazing to watch this series and to see human ingenuity, which is really an imitation of God’s ingenuity (since we have been made in his image). Some of this ingenuity is thousands of years old; some is cutting edge. But since God put us on this earth, we have learned to adapt and to thrive in breathtaking ways. This series highlights some of the most impressive and most unexpected ways we have done that.

Is it estimated that in all of Turkey, a nation of almost 74 million, there are only a few thousand Christians. From their infancy Turks are taught that to be a Turk is to be a Muslim and to be anything else is treason. The few Christians who stand firm in their faith are viewed as terrorists, as insurgents who wish to overthrow the government. They are harrassed and slandered and sometimes fear for their lives.

On April 18, 2007, three Turkish Christians were murdered inside a Bible publishing office in the city of Malatya. The men who killed them were barely men at all; they were Muslim teenagers who had posed as seekers interested in learning more about the Christian faith. Each was found and arrested with a note in his pocket reading, “We did this for our country. They were attacking our religion.”

The three men who had been killed had first been bound at the wrists and ankles, they had been tortured, they had been stabbed with butcher knives. Finally, with the police at the door of the office, the teens had sliced the throats of these Christians, killing two immediately and fatally wounding the third.

Malatya is a DVD that tells the story of these men, these martyrs: Necati Aydin, a husband and father and pastor of the Malatya church; Tilmann Geske, a German citizen, a husband and father who had served the Turkish church for 10 years; and Ugur Yuksel, a young Christian, soon to be married, who was being discipled by Necati. It looks to their families, their widows, to learn about the aftermath of these attacks in which the wives chose to extend unilateral forgiveness to the attackers; it looks to the colleagues, the fellow pastors and the men they discipled, to see the impact of these attacks on the church in Turkey. And it looks to the lives of the men themselves to show that even today Christians are martyred, killed for their faith.

Malatya tells this story well, it tells it artistically, it tells it faithfully. It is a sad tale and yet it is the kind of tale we, as Christians, must expect to hear. It serves to prove that the message of the gospel, the good news, remains bad news to those who resist it. So often it is only through trials, tribulations and martyrdom that the gospel advances.

Here is the trailer:

You can learn more at malatyafilm.com or purchase it through Amazon.

I’ve got a bit of a thing for nature documentaries and maybe it’s because I’m not exactly the traveling type. I don’t ever anticipate being able to visit South America or Africa, to walk through the jungles and savannahs and to see so many of the wonders of God’s creation (at least on this side of eternity). Nature films, though, provide a glimpse of some of those things I guess I won’t ever see except through the lens of a camera.

You are familiar, I’m sure, with Planet Earth, the 2007 BBC documentary that was and perhaps still is the greatest nature series ever filmed. That same team is responsible for Planet Earth’s successor, titled simply Life. The series, filmed over four years, looks at “the lengths living beings go to to stay alive.” This makes the series less epic in scope than its predecessor, but no less ambitious and certainly no less enthralling.

Life does a great job of mixing well-known animals with those that are more obscure. In one show you’ll watch cheetahs and elephants and in another you’ll encounter a bizarre pebble toad that lives in just one small corner of the earth. You’ll come almost literally face-to-face with these creatures and so many others. The producers were able to capture shots that are as close-up, as intimate as any you’ve seen. Like Planet Earth before it, the camera work is absolutely stunning. In short “making-of” featurettes after each of the episodes you’ll see the lengths they went to in order to capture these shots, sometimes working for days to film just a few seconds of footage. The series also features a musical score that takes itself lightly enough that it can add an element of fun or drama where appropriate.

We watched most of this series as a family and enjoyed doing so. Now, depending on how much you’ve talked to your children about life and depending on whether or not you live on or near a farm, you may find yourself having to answer a few questions (like “Daddy, what does fertilize mean?”) since the animals are often filmed in the very throes of passion. And when the animals are not creating life, they are often destroying it, meaning that you will see a few gruesome deaths along the way. However, such is life (and, therefore, such is Life).

Watching the series as a family also gave us opportunities to discuss the inevitable references to evolution. Narrator David Attenborough throws around millions of years like a millionaire throws around nickels. In one particularly comical moment we see flamingos on the screen while Attenborough describes the birds’ reptilian ancestors. Even a child can look at a newt and then look at a flamingo and do the math. The series is not constant in references to evolution but you will encounter it several times along the way.

Overall, Life is yet another fantastic series and one that will take you face-to-face with some of God’s most remarkable creatures. The Bible tells us that it is the fool who says in his heart that there is no God. And this means that it is only the fool who could watch Life and not catch glimpses of the Creator. Watch it and praise God for his artistry.

Do note that there are two versions of the series available to you—the original by the BBC and the Discovery Channel adaptation. Be sure you find the original since David Attenborough is in every respect a superior narrator to Oprah Winfrey. Attenborough’s eccentric inflections are part of the fun. Also, if you have access to the appropriate hardware, it’s worth upgrading to the Blu Ray version so you can watch it all in high definition.

Here, in case you’re not yet convinced, is the trailer:

Desiring God and Crossway have partnered together to create some interesting new products. They have recently released three small group studies which combine lessons on DVD with book-format study guides. I will provide a brief description of each and then share my thoughts on the series:

Why We Believe the Bible. “With the deluge of communication around us—books, newspapers, blogs, journals, and magazines all insisting that their view of the world is most compelling—which should we trust? This is no small question. In fact, our answer has eternal implications. The twelve-session Why We Believe the Bible Study Guide and DVD are designed to help study groups and classes explore the claim that the Bible stands above all others as the book of books, pointing infallibly to the King of kings. Through the DVD teaching of Pastor John Piper and the five guided assignments per week, participants will study biblical texts and discuss probing questions to help them see why the Bible alone is worthy of our confidence.”

An Introduction to TULIP. In this study “John Piper walks study groups through each point in the DVD and its companion Study Guide, discussing the implications and the issues from a fully biblical perspective. Piper’s 30-minute DVD teachings cover topics that include the meaning of “total” in total depravity, doing missions when God is sovereign, Romans 9 and the two wills of God, and ten effects of believing the five points of Calvinism. This sixteen-session, guided group study equips facilitators, teachers, group leaders, and pastors to help their members understand the all-important differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. It also calls them to hold fast to biblical truth regarding God’s salvific work in his people’s lives.”

What’s the Difference? (available very soon from Monergism Books). “John Piper’s six, 30-minute DVD sessions lead groups in discovering what the Bible teaches about true manhood and womanhood and the impact of living out God’s design. ‘Over the years I have come to see from Scripture and from life that manhood and womanhood are the beautiful handiwork of a good and loving God,’ encourages John Piper. ‘He designed our differences, and they are profound.’ Yet when rightly understood according to God’s Word, God’s vision for both men and women ‘is not onerous or oppressive. It does not promote pride or self-exaltation. It conforms to who we are by God’s good design. Therefore it is fulfilling in the deepest sense of that word.’ With this as his context, Piper seeks to commend the beauty as well as the biblical truth of God’s design for men and women in this six-session small-group DVD and its companion Study Guide. Each 30-minute teaching of Piper’s delivers a powerful message to help Sunday school classes, small groups, churches, and families understand and celebrate the freedom of our God-given differences.”

I was pleased to find that these DVDs are not merely sermon excerpts squeezed and pressed into a study format. Instead, they have been (or appear to have been) recorded explicitly for the purpose. Each DVD features John Piper teaching from a stage (with a pulpit and overhead projector), leading the audience into a deeper appreciation of the subject. So these are not sermons as much as they are seminars. Therefore, it is a very natural context in which to participate via DVD either as an individual or as a small group. The Study Guide, which is both useful and well-written (never a given for Study Guides) offers a day-by-day format, which allows each lesson to extend over a week. And they are meaty, going far beyond the quick, the obvious and the unbearably light in the questions they ask and the concepts they cover. Do note that while the Study Guides will enhance the DVD, they are by no means necessary and the DVDs stand well on their own.

Whether you buy them for personal study, family study or small group study (or perhaps even homeschool study for high school students) these DVDs and associated study guides are well worth owning. The DVDs are slick, professional and well-produced and, of course, filled with great content. The books are also very well-made and well-written, majoring on the majors and enhancing the media content. These DVDs and Study Guides are a great addition to any personal or church library and I highly recommend them.

I am no authority on eschatology, on the theology of the end times. In fact, I need all the help I can get in understanding it and in separating one view from the next. It is an area where seemingly small distinctions can make profound differences and where tensions often run high. It was with some interest, then, that I turned to The Late Great Planet Church, a new documentary by NiceneCouncil. It is hosted and produced by Jerry Johnson who has been part of the team behind other such excellent documentaries as Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism.

Like most similar documentaries, this one relies on interviews with pastors and scholars. In this case the list of contributors includes Kenneth Gentry, Kenneth Talbot, Tom Ascol, Tom Nettles, Gary DeMar and several other notable teachers or scholars. Several of those who contribute to this production are former dispensationalists themselves and they are able to provide an personal, inside perspective on the issues inherent in the system that ultimately drove them away from it. Often this is little more than their growth in Christian maturity; as they searched the Scriptures they found, quite simply, that dispensational theology was nowhere to be found in God’s Word.

I will say up-front that, for this DVD, the information is better than the production. The production quality, though by no means terrible, is also not excellent. The audio is not great and the levels sometimes vary from segment-to-segment. There are also some background graphics which, at least to my untrained eye, appear to be stock videos that are low-quality and thus appear quite pixelated and stutter at times. Even the lighting is uneven so the faces of the people being interviewed are unevenly lit. None of these are major problems, but I feel they do merit a mention. Thankfully the information conveyed is very good and overshadows the somewhat-amateurish production quality.

This is but volume one of what is going to be a two-volume set, so Johnson does not set out to provide a complete rebuttal to dispensational theology. Instead, in this first volume he focuses on the rise of dispensationalism, looking to its roots and its earliest proponents. In the second volume he will compare dispensationalism to Scripture but here he simply allows the earliest teachers to speak for themselves. And if you know the history of this theology, you know that these men do great damage through their words and through their lives. There is Darby with his disregard for the history of the faith and his almost-prideful admission that this theology was unknown until he discovered it. There is his out-of-control ego which led him to separate from many other believers and eventually to conclude that his church was the only true church in all of London. Spurgeon’s reaction to Darby and his Plymouth Brethren is instructive as the perspective of a wise and godly contemporary. And then there is Scofield who, even as a professed Christian, utterly abandoned his wife and two daughters, immediately remarried and then assigned to himself the title of doctor even though he had educated himself. While granting that such men, with their unbiblical behavior, do not discount the theology, Johnson feels that he cannot tell the story of dispensational theology without providing these simple facts from the lives of its founders. And he is right, I think, to do so. Truly the roots of this theology are surprising and shocking, even. He looks also to some of the theology these men taught, showing how even their followers had to downplay or deny some of what was so utterly unbiblical (such as the view that God’s means of salvation in the Old Testament was different from the means of salvation today).

This is a valuable DVD, I think, and one that may well serve to encourage some of the people who have been reared in this system to think deeply about their beliefs. As an introduction, this first volume does its job well. I will wait eagerly for the second volume to see how Johnson and his team of scholars apply Scripture to dispensationalism and provide what I expect will be a thorough rebuttal.

Buy it at Monergism Books

(And if you have not yet done so, be sure to take a look at Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism)

The Torchlighters video series is a series of animated DVD’s dedicated to “Highlighting the honor, integrity and life-changing experiences of those well-known and little-known Christian men, women and children who in response to God’s call, dedicated their lives to a life of whole-hearted commitment and passionate service to Jesus.” It is a production of Christian History Institute along with International Films and Voice of the Martyrs.

The series recently expanded to six videos with the addition of The Richard Wurmbrand Story. This follows The Jim Elliot Story, The William Tyndale Story, The John Bunyan Story, The Eric Liddell Story and The Gladys Aylward Story (each of which I have reviewed in the past). If you have seen any of the previous productions, you will know what to expect here. In 30 minutes, it tells the story of Richard Wurmbrand, though it does so through the perspective of his son Mihai. It is targeted at children from ages 8-12. It focuses on Wurmbrand’s stubborn refusal to forsake his Christian convictions in the face of Communism and equally on his ongoing Christian witness to both guards and prisoners behind the walls of prisons. I watched it with an assortment of children within the targeted age range and they seemed to enjoy it thoroughly, cheering when Wurmbrand defied his torturers by standing strong for Christ.

While the animated video is enjoyable, I found the hour-long documentary even better. Prepared, I believe, specifically for this project, it provides a more detailed overview of Wurmbrand’s life. It features interviews with Mihai Wurmbrand and plentiful video testimony from Richard and his wife Sabina. It is, obviously, targeted to the parents of the children who will enjoy the animated feature.

This really is a good series of videos and they are well worth including in a personal library or, perhaps even better, in a church library. You can learn more about it by visiting the Torchlighters Web Site.

Here is the trailer:

Over the past weeks I’ve had quite a few DVDs added to my collection and today I thought I’d offer brief reviews of some of the more notable selections. Every one of them is available from Vision Video.

The Gladys Aylward Story

he Torchlighters video series is a series of animated DVD’s dedicated to “Highlighting the honor, integrity and life-changing experiences of those well-known and little-known Christian men, women and children who in response to God’s call, dedicated their lives to a life of whole-hearted commitment and passionate service to Jesus.” It is a production of Christian History Institute along with International Films and Voice of the Martyrs. The first in this series was The Jim Elliot Story and this was followed by The William Tyndale Story, The John Bunyan Story and The Eric Liddell Story. The fifth entry in the series is The Gladys Aylward Story. Much like its predecessors, this video gives a half-hour animated look at the life of a Christian hero. It is targeted at children from ages 8-12. It focuses on Aylward’s perilous 100-mile trek to rescue orphaned children from the ravages of the Japanese Army. It challenges children to understand what God can do through a Christian devoted to following him at any cost.

I’ll admit that, though the animated video was enjoyable, I preferred the hour-long documentary included in the DVD’s extras. Prepared, I believe, specifically for this project, it provided a very enjoyable and informative overview of Aylward’s life. Her story is one that is well worth telling. This is a great addition to the DVD and one that extends its value.

Steve Saint: The Jungle Missionary

I think it is safe to assume that most people who read this site know the name “Steve Saint.” He is, of course, the son of Nate Saint, one of five missionaries serving in the jungles of Ecuador who was martyred there in 1956. Nate Saint, along with Jim Elliot and three others, were in the midst of making contact with the Aucas, now known as the Waodani, when the tribe turned on them, spearing them all to death. After this tragedy, Steve’s Aunt Rachel and Elisabeth Elliot, Jim Elliot’s wife, carried on the work among that primitive tribe, even living among them for many years. Upon the death of Rachel, the tribe asked Steve to come and minister to them. He brought his wife and children to Ecuador and settled in among the people there, befriending and serving the very tribe who had slaughtered his father. This video, a documentary of nearly one hour, tells Steve’s story and shares his testimony. It is a great story of tragedy, forgiveness, commitment and answering the call of God.

Journey into the Amazon

Journey into the Amazon also features Steve Saint. In this video, which clocks in at one hour, shows Saint leading a group of Americans into the jungles of Ecuador to spend several days among the Waodani. Many of the people in the group are related to the five missionaries who were killed near the village some fifty years earlier. As the Americans live among the Waodani, they learn the Wao way of life, living in a stone age society so far removed from any of the conveniences of modern life. They also see the remarkable transformation among the people and hear of the faith that was brought to them through such sacrifice. This is an interesting video that aptly portrays the night-and-day difference between modern North America and stone age South America. Yet we see that even in these far-off corners of the world is a family, knit together by a common Savior.

Eric Liddell: Champion of Conviction

Though most people know the name Eric Liddell, few know the details of his life beyond what was portrayed in the film Chariots of Fire. While this documentary covers Liddell’s early days with his improbable and inspiring Olympic victory, it focuses more on his career as a missionary in China. The story is told by Liddell’s biographer David McCasland, his daughter Patricia and Rev. John Keddie who served as a consultant on Chariots of Fire. There are also appearances by people who were with him during his long internment in a Japanese camp. The viewer learns about his service in that camp—as a friend, mentor, teacher and pastor. This is as good an overview of Liddell’s life as I’ve seen (and, believe it or not, I’ve seen several).

A Heart Set Free

This DVD is a biography of Charles Wesley, focusing on the life, ministry, lyrics and legacy of the great hymnwriter. Professionally made and without a hint of amateur production, this film simply tells the life of Wesley. It is shot in a variety of historical locations in England and the United States and features discussions with Wesley scholars. It is feature length, clocking in at just over 100 minutes. Nicely detailed and well-researched, this is an excellent look at a much-loved poet and hymnwriter whose legacy lives on in the thousands of hymns he left as a gift to Christ’s church. I very much enjoyed this one.

Reasonable Doubt

Reasonable Doubt pits evolution versus modern microbiology. The cover says, “Discover the fascinating modern science, unknown to Charles Darwin, that is shaking the scientific and academic establishment’s ‘holy grail’ of biologic evolution theory.” Using video clips and plenty of computer-generated graphics, a narrator explains how Darwin’s theory of evolution has been largely disproven by subsequent scientific discoveries. “As scientific knowledge grows exponentially, Darwin’s theory of evolution becomes more debatable and hotly contested by researchers on both sides of the growing scientific controversy.” I’ll admit to being unable to validate the facts presented here, as they are far above my rudimentary knowledge of science. The quality of this presentation is solid enough, though perhaps slightly amateurish, and the narrator has a voice that threatens to lull the viewer to sleep.

Kirk Cameron totally stood me up. “Come to a screening of my new movie,” he says. “I’ll be there and it would be fun to meet up.” So off I went yesterday, along with Aileen and our friends Julian and Stacey (yes, I think all of my friends have their own blogs), to attend a pre-screening of Fireproof in Buffalo, New York. But conspicuously absent was Kirk. He was a no-show. It hurt. (Though shortly after the movie ended, while I was drowning my sorrows in Dairy Queen, he called to apologize and say that his flight from L.A. had arrived late. I guess that’s a pretty good excuse.)

Here is a photo I snapped of Kirk and me outside the theater (Note: in this photo the role of Kirk is being played by Julian):

On to the film.

Fireproof is a product of the team who brought us Facing the Giants, a film produced with a budget of merely $100,000 that went on to gross $15,000,000. In this new film Kirk Cameron plays Caleb Holt, a fire chief in Albany, Georgia. While he is loved by the men who work for him and regarded as a hero in his town, Caleb struggles in his relationship with his wife, Catherine. After seven years of marriage it seems that the relationship is growing cold. Caleb finds solace in looking at pornography on the Internet while Catherine finds herself in a growing relationship with a colleague. As the couple begins to steel themselves for a divorce, and as they begin the process of ending their marriage, Caleb’s father presents him with a book and challenges him to begin a 40-day experiment he calls “The Love Dare.” Caleb decides to give it a shot, though he does so more to respect his father than to salvage his failing marriage. Struggling to show love for his wife even as she continually rejects him, Caleb calls his father and asks, “How am I supposed to show love to someone who constantly rejects me?” This gives his father an opportunity to share the gospel with him and, armed with the reality of a new love, Caleb sets out to win back his wife’s heart.

I can be excused, I think, for entering the theater somewhat apprehensively. After all, Christians do not have the greatest track record when it comes to combining great spiritual truths with sound art. But in the case of Fireproof I was pleasantly surprised. The film, though produced with a limited budget compared to most of what we see on the big screen, is very well put together. There are really no occasions where I feel a bigger budget might have improved the film, and this despite a couple of extended action sequences where I would almost expect to see quality compromised by budget restrictions. This is clearly not the case.

This is not to say the movie is without blemish. There are a few occasions when the dialog becomes just a bit stiff or stilted and this is especially true in the film’s opening moments. There are a couple of times when I feel that portions of the script could have done with just a little bit more tweaking or when a scene could have benefited from just one more take. Also, I feel that a handful of the minor characters are too weak, either through lack of development or through sub-par acting. But these are really the only downsides worth mentioning. (Is it worth mentioning that everyone in the town has a good Georgia accent except for Caleb? How is it that his father and mother both have that southern drawl and he doesn’t?)

Kirk Cameron is very solid in the lead role and was a great choice for it. He is strong throughout and at key moments, when given the chance to shine, is outstanding. Erin Bethea, who plays opposite Cameron as Catherine Holt is also very good, and this despite Fireproof being her first major movie role (and only her second role overall). Caleb’s father is excellent as a wise, loving, pastoral father. The prominent characters develop well and I found myself genuinely drawn into the story. While the movie deals with difficult and serious themes, it does not take itself so seriously that it cannot pause for a few laughs now and again.

One thing I like to evaluate in Christian movies is whether the film inserts faith themes subtly or blatantly. In the case of Fireproof the person who watches this film will walk away with absolutely no doubt that it is a Christian movie. Faith figures prominently and the gospel is clearly presented. Sinful actions and decisions are shown to have negative consequences and are eventually rebuked. While “The Love Dare” is used to draw Caleb back to his wife, it is clear that this is merely an instrument used by God to do His work. This movie is Christian by any measure. It sweeps to an ending that is powerful and emotional, stirring to tears at least several of the people in the theater with us.

I enjoyed Fireproof and am excited to know that, come September 26, a film with such a good message will be debuting on hundreds or thousands of screens across America. It is a refreshing film with a refreshing message that speaks boldly to a culture infatuated with immorality and convinced that divorce is freedom. I am grateful for this film and pray for its success.

Here is the film’s trailer: