I'm Excited About The Sequel to the Movie God's Not Dead

 7/6/2015 STEVE STRANG  charisma news

Some of the cast members from "God's Not Dead 2," including Melissa Joan Hart, third from right.

One of the most successful Christian movies of 2014 was a low-budget film about apologetics called God's Not Dead. It was made for a little over $1 million, but grossed $100 million at the box office, including DVD sales. It now has more than 7 million fans on Facebook.

I knew about the movie before it happened because it was based on the book by the same title written by my longtime friend Rice Broocks. I knew Rice was a passionate apologist for the Christian faith and skilled at explaining complex Christian concepts in a way anyone could understand. I was also aware of the many faith films being made—most of them were mediocre. So I was skeptical when Rice called wanting coverage for the movie, especially since they were having trouble getting theaters to screen the movie. But wanting to encourage any effort to bring Christ into the wider culture, we gave the movie extensive coverage right at its release launch.   

I'm not the only one who liked the movie. When we ran our article, it was shared and reshared by our readers. The first weekend, the relatively few theaters showing the film were nearly sold out. The number of theaters showing the movie doubled the second week. Clearly something was happening. The rest is history.

I tell you this because last week I visited the set for God's Not Dead 2 in Arkansas. I was the guest of Troy Duhon, who provided the funding for the first God's Not Dead movie (which an insider told me may be one of the most successful movies in history based on return on investment).

I wasn't sure what to expect for a sequel, though. Would it be the same actors in a different setting? I rewatched the first as I flew to the set and noticed all sorts of subtleties in plot and characterization that I missed the first time I saw it.

I was impressed again by how good the movie was: the acting, cinematography, the Louisiana State University location. The film even featured a huge rock concert from the Newsboys and a scene where car struck and killed one of the main characters (but not before he accepted Christ).

The basis of the plot is how a young Christian university student defended his faith (using apologetics arguments from Rice Broocks' book) in his philosophy class before a hostile atheistic professor. Yet it had interesting subplots that somehow all fit together: a leftist reporter who discovered she was dying of cancer, and a Muslim student expelled from her home when she accepted Christ (but her father, who was a strict Muslim, was shown to be emotionally torn over losing his daughter).

Another subplot was the anguish of a Christian mother with Alzheimer's. But when she spoke with her wayward selfish son, she spoke about spiritual things with clarity as if she was being led by the Holy Spirit.  

The movie had star power: Willie and Korie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame made two short appearances as themselves that added to the plot.

Hollywood has taken notice that clean "faith-friendly movies" are more successful than R-rated films. I'm constantly being invited to screenings where the marketers are hoping Christians will pack the theaters and fill marketers' pockets with money. I walked out of one screening recently, horribly disappointed at a movie that claimed to be faith based, but was nothing more than a Catholic priest, a couple of Scriptures and a heart-warming plot. It didn't come close to communicating the gospel or even real Christians being a light in a dark world.

But God's Not Dead filled this need—a strong Christian witness in a well-written, well-acted film. Its sequel is about a high school teacher, played by Melissa Joan Hart, who is arrested for speaking about Jesus in the classroom.

The movie climaxes with a courtroom scene in Little Rock, complete with real experts playing themselves being called to testify.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard and saw. The stars like Melissa Joan Hart and Sadie Robertson were likable and seemed passionate about this new movie. Everyone I talked to from Director Harold Cronk down to the extras said they believed the movie would help teach a generation of Christians how to defend their faith in an increasingly hostile environment.

It was fun watching the takes and retakes and to watch and listen on the monitors at Benton High School in Benton, Arkansas, about a half-hour outside of Little Rock. They used an actual classroom and some local teens, along with members of some Christian bands and the children of a few well-known Christian leaders as students in the school.

Troy was at my side most of the day, explaining the movie business and talking about some of the exciting things that resulted from the first God's Not Dead movie. He also gave me a play by play on what I was seeing and who was who. But when he would reel off how this actor or that actress was on some well-known network TV program, I was clueless because I don't follow those programs.

Many of the actors professed to be Christians, including Hart—who I know as a spokesperson for Wal-Mart—who told me being in the movie allowed her to "come out" as a Christian in Hollywood.

I've traveled the world, interviewed three U.S. presidents and spoken at the United Nations. But I was unprepared for how much fun this was. Even though I play the role of a CEO at the office, I think I must still be a reporter at heart, because I quickly fell back into that role as I interviewed Troy the financier, Harold the director and some of the stars.

While at the filming, I recorded numerous interviews to be used on upcoming podcasts of The Strang Report. You won't want to miss them over the next few weeks. If you haven't subscribed, click here to do so. We're excited how the number of our podcast subscribers is growing every day.

The first time around, no one knew how God's Not Dead would succeed. The promoters were starting from scratch to get an audience. This time around, they have a brand, and many people like me eager to see what is next. How many of their 7 million fans on Facebook do you think will want to see the sequel?

Leave your comments on what you thought about God's Not Dead or this trend toward faith-friendly films in Hollywood. Share this with your friends. Let's get a buzz going in anticipation of this exciting new movie that I believe will be better than the first.

Steve Strang is the founding editor and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook stephenestrang.

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'God's Not Dead' Movie Creators Hope for Double Blessing With "Do You Believe?"

'God's Not Dead' Creators Hope for Double Blessing

By Efrem Graham

News Anchor & Reporter

Friday, March 20, 2015

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LOS ANGELES -- "God's Not Dead" broke box office records and became the highest grossing independent film of 2014. Now the film's creators are releasing their follow-up to the hit faith film. It is called "Do You Believe?"

Critics call "Do You Believe" a faith version of the Academy Award-winning film "Crash."

The movie follows a dozen characters, moving in different directions. All of them are longing for something more as their lives unexpectedly intersect. The all-star cast includes Mira Sorvino, Lee Majors, Ted McGinley, and Cybill Shepherd.  

Shepherd and McGinley spoke with CBN News about their roles in the project.

'What Attracted Me to the Role?'

Shepherd plays Teri, a grief-stricken mother who lost her daughter.

When describing that role, Shepherd told CBN News Teri is "frozen because she is not really letting herself feel her grief. It is too deep. And that is what made me want to play this role, the idea of going through that transition, where my character faces her grief about losing that child."
 
Ted McGinley plays Matthew, a pastor.

"It starts off with me putting what looks like blood on the cross and turning around to the audience, really, with just a very straight face and sort of confronting all of them," McGinley said of his role.

"So it is a little bit uncomfortable at first," McGinley continued. "But you see he begins to come around. But he is a guy who is going to tell you the truth because that's what he just encountered."

Surprising Success

"Do You Believe" is the latest project from Hollywood actor and producer David A.R. White. His Pureflix production company has produced nearly 90 faith films in the nine years since it started. That hefty roster includes "God's Not Dead."

What does "Do You Believe" bring to the table for family friendliness that other films lack? Bob Waliszewski, Plugged In Online's director, answered this question and more. Click play to watch.

"I think it surprised everybody," White said, reflecting on the success of that movie.

"When we released the trailer in October, like six months before it came out, the trailer was shared between five and 10 million times. It was the number one shared page for that week on Facebook, so we had an idea that we had something special," he continued.

"And then the movement leading up to the release was really incredible. But never in a million years did we ever expect that it would do as well as it did and that people all over the world would support," he added. "And you would see these London, double decker buses with 'God's Not Dead' on it."

"It was truly a dream and also truly a dream to see how God used that movie in so many different people's lives," he said.

Praying for Double Blessing

White prays his new film will have a similar impact.

Pureflix films have also managed to cast some Hollywood heavy hitters. White credits compelling storylines.

"I think it is the script first and foremost. It moves them when they read it. I got a call from Delroy Lindo right after he read it. And his agent was like, he was acting the role out on the phone to his agent saying, 'I want to do this,'" he explained.

"And so, I think that is how that type of talent comes into it because it is not like the money we pay is extraordinary. Obviously there are so many other places that pay a lot more money, but people are really moved by the story," he said.

From a Place of Faith

"Do You Believe" delivers a story of both intensity and inspiration. And even many of the actors performed from a place of faith.

"I just know that God is there. I have no doubt. So, in my darkest deepest hours of pain and questioning, whatever comes along in your life, that at some point, you are not alone. And that is really comforting," McGinley told CBN News.

Shepherd noted, "I was raised in the Episcopal Church and then I chose to be confirmed. I sang in the choir and my faith was always there. I think being confirmed because you don't have to get confirmed and I still have that prayer book by my bed."

The film comes out on Friday, March 20.

'God's Not Dead' Makes Box-Office History

God's Not Dead,' which pulled in $8.5 million on its opening weekend, stands as further proof 

of the desire to see faith-affirming movies on the big screen. (Pure Flix Entertainment)

'God's Not Dead' 

Makes Box-Office 

History

 3/24/2014 BEN KAYSER/MOVIEGUIDE

Divergent may have been the No. 1 movie at the box office this past weekend, but the movie everyone is talking about is the independent faith-based movie God's Not Dead.

Pulling in $8.5 million on the first weekend and amassing an impressive $10,979 per-screen average, the movie stands as further proof of the desire to see faith-affirming movies on the big screen.

God's Not Dead is a movie about Josh Wheaton, a freshman college student who is forced to defend his Christian faith against an angry philosophy professor. Starring Kevin Sorbo as the atheist professor, David A.R. White as a priest who encourages Josh and guest appearances by Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson, the movie also ends with a performance from the Newsboys as they perform their song "God’s Not Dead."

Freestyle Releasing co-president Mark Borde, who distributed the Pure Flix Entertainment movie, states, “While this huge opening may be a surprise to the industry, it is not so much to us. The in-house tracking, the legitimate 1 million Facebook fans, the very high trending on Twitter and Fandango among many other platforms, and the huge positive reaction from the hundreds of screenings over the many past months, gave us hope for a significant opening.”

With Son of God already pulling in $55 million domestically and several other-faith based films slated for the next month, including Noah and Heaven Is for Real, it seems quite clear that more than ever, God is working in the hearts and minds of Americans through the medium of movies.

Click here to read Movieguide's review of God's Not Dead.

This article originally appeared on Movieguide.org.

7 Things That Prove God Is Real by LEE GRADY, CHARISMA MAGAZINE

There indeed are answers for atheists' arguments 

against the existence of God. (iStock photo)

7 Things That Prove God Is Real

3/19/2014 J. LEE GRADY  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

When I was a journalist in my 20s, I needed to verify a fact about atheism. This was before the Internet age, so I phoned the Texas headquarters of American Atheists. Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the mother of modern atheism in this country, answered my call. Apparently she had a very small staff!

Her voice was gruff, and she sounded angry and cynical, even before I identified myself as a Christian. She answered my question and I hung up. Ever since then, I’ve felt intense sadness for people who deny the existence of God. Explaining her beliefs, O’Hair once said, “There is no God. There’s no heaven. There’s no hell. There are no angels. When you die, you go in the ground; the worms eat you.” What a sad way to view life!

I’m sure Mrs. O’Hair would be upset about the new Christian film God’s Not Dead, which opens in theaters this Friday. The film features Kevin Sorbo (who played in the 1990s TV show Hercules) as an atheist college professor who tries to force a Christian student (Shane Harper) to rethink his beliefs. The film releases at a time when atheism is growing in this country.

I was never on the debate team in high school, so I’m not the best guy to take on evolutionist Richard Dawkins or comedian/atheist Bill Maher in a televised argument. Still, my faith in God is certainly not shaken when I hear these guys whining about how stupid or weak Christians are. They have a constitutional right to view life negatively. But if I had a chance to give them my reasons for believing in God, I would list these:

1. Babies. I watched my wife give birth to our four daughters, and last month I visited my new grandson. I’ve stared at little Hananiah’s cute face and tiny fingers—and the cleft in his chin that resembles mine. How can anyone deny the reality of God when they see a baby? The amount of information encrypted in one cell in the human body is equal to that of 1,000 books. The total amount of information stored in your DNA is 40 times more than that of the largest set of encyclopedias in the world. King David felt this sense of awe when he wrote, “You wove me in my mother’s womb. ... I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:13, 14, NASB). Life is truly a miracle!

2. Thunderstorms. I love to sit on my back porch in Florida and listen to the rumbling of thunder. It reminds me of God’s majesty and power. The apostle Paul said creation was the best evidence of God’s existence. He wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen” (Rom. 1:20). Nature is actually full of quantifiable miracles. Just consider the fact that the earth is the perfect distance from the sun to support life. If we were any farther away from the sun, we would freeze; if we were even slightly closer to it, we would burn up. It’s obvious God created this home for us!

3. Flowers. There are more than 400,000 species of flowers in the world, and most of them are not edible. Their job is to simply make the world beautiful. Did they just haphazardly evolve over time, or did a loving God create each individual shape and color scheme for our enjoyment? People who choose to deny God don’t spend enough time looking at tulips, snapdragons, orchids, lilies, lotuses or magnolias. This is why it’s really important to stop and smell the roses!

4. The Bible. Paul wrote that “all Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible itself is proof of God’s existence because He used 40 unrelated people over a period of 2,000 years to write His unique love letter to us. There is nothing like the Bible because it carries the same consistent message throughout all of its 66 different books. Atheists can laugh at this idea, but those who have read the Scriptures and experienced God through its pages know why it is the best-selling and most-translated book in all of history. (Fact: 100 million copies of the Bible are sold every year. Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion has sold 2 million.)

5. The global spread of Christianity. Over the centuries, the gospel message has been vilified and ridiculed. Roman rulers threw first-century Christians to the lions, and 20th-century dictators sent believers to prison camps. It is estimated that 70 million Christians have been martyred since the church began—and 40 million of those were in the 20th century. Yet today Christianity has more adherents than any religion, and numbers are growing in many parts of the world. Our faith is spreading because it is the truth—and history shows that when this truth is mocked and scorned, it actually spreads faster!

6. Jesus. The most amazing thing about God is not that He exists, but that He loved us so much He was willing to send His Son to earth to save us from ourselves. Jesus was with the Father from the time of creation, and His arrival was predicted numerous times in Old Testament prophecy. Finally He interrupted history and came to live among us. His crucifixion is historical fact, and His resurrection was verified by hundreds of witnesses. The man who perhaps knew Jesus best—the apostle John—saw the risen Christ and touched His nail-pierced hands. He wrote, “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you” (1 John 1:3). Jesus is not an illusive fairy tale. He is the living, breathing, touchable Son of God.

7. My personal friendship with God. Atheists may not be convinced that God exists after listening to a storm, smelling a hibiscus or reading the Bible. When I am asked to defend my faith, I don’t start an intellectual argument. I have to go back to the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12: “I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed.”

There are many reasons I am convinced God is real (the existence of coffee alone proves that He loves me!), but the best evidence is how He forgave me, changed me and put unexplainable joy in my heart. And I can prove that.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. He now leads the Mordecai Project, an international ministry that confronts gender-based violence and oppression. You can learn more about his work at themordecaiproject.org or follow him on Twitter at@leegrady. He is the author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women and other books.

God’s Not Dead opens this weekend. You can check out the movie trailer here.

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