Movie Review: MERCY RULE

I can still remember when Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble (now Chelsea Cameron) fell in love on Growing Pains when their characters were dating. I was just a kid, but I breathlessly read all the details in Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, and every other magazine that covered it.

By now, you may have heard how Kirk gave his life to God and turned his back on mainstream Hollywood to work in faith-based films. And though many years have passed since the Mike Seaver days, Kirk somehow does not age and still has that same boyish charm and crooked grin

Mercy Rule is the latest offering from the Camerons' CamFam Studios (they have three more films in the works), and is available now on DVD. When I interviewed Kirk recently, he said that he and his wife (who have six kids!!!) have a hard time finding movies that they can all watch and enjoy together, and that that is the kind of movie they hoped to create with Mercy Rule. And they have succeeded; I think that kids will enjoy the sports aspect, and adults will be touched by the deeper story that is gong on. There is nothing too intense or mature in this film for little eyes and ears, which is good news!

Kirk plays John, whose family junkyard business is being targeted for a takeover by a shady lobbyist.
Meanwhile, John's young son Cody (Jared Miller) is facing his own problems with his baseball team as he waits for his big moment to shine as a pitcher. As both father and son see their dreams slipping away from them, they will need to decide if they will face their challenges on their own, or learn that they can rely on God, teammates, family, and friends to help pull them through.

As one reviewer (Pastor Rex Holt) said of the film, "Just as Fireproof restores marriages, Mercy Rule strengthens families!" And one way it does that is by including a booklet of family discussion questions and a study guide with the DVD. This is wonderful to have, as it lets you go a little deeper with your kids and spouse. It includes some great quotes from the movie ("Winning is not as important as fighting on the right side."), and covers things like building legacies, fighting envy, taking responsibility, and quitting whining (I need to take a second look at that last one!).


Kirk told me that he made the movie to help rescue families, and to remind himself about what is really important, because today it is so easy to get distracted and not put first things first. My favorite scene in the movie happens when Kirk and Chelsea (who plays John's wife, Maddie) are having a conversation about what "everything" truly means; when we say that we have lost or could lose everything, are we really just talking about material things?  And how can we be freed from the despair of this? Mercy Rule will remind you that focusing on faith and family, and having courage and looking out for others are the important things in life, and when we make those our priorities we can believe that will bring a blessing.

Check out the official Mercy Rule website at http://mercyrulemovie.com/.

Movie Review: GOD'S NOT DEAD

Years ago, while sitting in a philosophy class in college, we were discussing different arguments about the existence of God and belief in God. We were covering things like Pascal's Wager, God as the First Cause, and various kinds of Truth Tables. At one point, a boy raised his hand and simply said, "What about faith? What about believing in Jesus as the Son of God?" The professor proceeded to viciously take him apart, and it all ended a few minutes later with the boy collecting his things and leaving, never to return. That is one of those moments that I wish I could return to, so that I could change the fact that I sat silently by the whole time.


I am guessing that God's Not Dead (out now on DVD and Blu-Ray) hits very close to home for many people who have spent time in a college classroom.  College student Josh has just started Mr. Radisson's philosophy class when the professor jumps right in with the "fact" that there is no God. "God is dead," he says, and continues by saying that he never existed in the first place and is simply a fairy tale from days gone by. These days, science and reason have supplanted superstition. When Radisson asks the class to write those three little words on a piece of paper, sign their name, and hand it in, Josh cannot bring himself to do it and he admits that he is a Christian. Josh (who dreams of going to law school) is told that if he will not sign and does not want to fail the class he will need to defend the antithesis: that God is not dead. He will need to do this in front of his fellow students, who will decide if his argument was persuasive, and cover things like free will, creationism, issues of moral absolutism, and the meaning of life.
And there are other stories in the film that weave together, from a daughter caring for her mother with Alzheimer's to an ambitious young career woman who receives tragic news.

 God's Not Dead  is nicely shot and well-acted (unfortunately, a lot of faith-based films are not), and has a terrific cast that is led by Shane Harper (who is also a talented singer and has a song on the soundtrack), Dean Cain, and Kevin Sorbo. It is interesting to see two actors who portrayed superheroes in the 1990s (Cain in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Sorbo as Hercules) do such a convincing job as bad guys! There are some great smaller roles, too, handled well by Cassidy Gifford (Kathie Lee and Frank's daughter), Willie and Korie Robertson of Duck Dynasty, and the Newsboys, whose song "God's Not Dead" is featured prominently in the film. A special shout-out to lead singer Michael Tait, who does a great job in a very emotional scene. And while you might think you know how the movie will end, there is a big twist in the last few minutes.

I cried so hard while watching God's Not Dead, and not just because it really brought home the anti-faith bias that so many young people have to deal with as they get an education. God's Not Dead reminded me that you never truly know what is going on in someone's life, and that those who appear to deserve grace the least from us are the ones who need it most. I also appreciated some great advice that the pastor in the film gave to Josh; when Josh was questioning whether he should get up in front of 80 people in his class to defend God, the pastor said that most likely those same people would never set foot in a church, and that this might be the only meaningful exposure to Jesus that they would ever have. It really brought home that God has us exactly where we are meant to be, and that we can be used right where we are.

If you have (and I think pretty much all of us have) wrestled with questions like how God can exist while horrific suffering is happening here on earth, why your prayers seem to go unanswered, or why bad things happen to good people, you must see this film. Ultimately, when trouble comes, that is when we can draw closer to God, or reject him entirely...the choice is ours. I believe that you will be comforted by the answers God's Not Dead provides, and reminded that all the trappings of this life (and even life itself) are temporary.