By Shannon Baker, BCM/D National Correspondent
BALTIMORE—As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes and their partners, are confident and focused. They willingly stand up to the worst the world can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.
While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.
They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them.
Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those that are most dear to them?
That is the question raised in COURAGEOUS, a new movie that opens in theaters on Sept. 30.
COURAGEOUS is the fourth release of Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Church in Albany, Ga. Their first release since FIREPROOF, the No. 1 independent film of 2008, Courageous joins FACING THE GIANTS and FLYWHEEL in touching and impacting lives through heartfelt stories of faith and hope.
Several church leaders in Baltimore were invited to a special screening of the movie in April. They had strong responses to the movie, including the following:
Robert Anderson, Pastor, Colonial Church, Randallstown:
“I believe the film COURAGEOUS will mark a turning point in Christian cinema. Personally, I give it three and a half stars out of four! The best aspect of all was the clear message of the Gospel and the challenge to fathers to step up to the plate and be the man God has called them (us) to be by leading their families as godly men with love, honor and integrity. Needless to say, I highly endorse and strongly recommend this film for everybody. Multitudes of families will be blessed for eternity.”
Ed Reese, Pastor, Hazelwood Church, Baltimore:
“I thought the movie was the most intense, moving and inspirational movie I’ve seen since ‘The Passion of the Christ.’ I thought the quality of the movie was right up there with the best of the secular movies out there today. I can’t wait to see it again when it comes out Sept. 30th.”
Bridget Wilson, member, Streetlite Christian Fellowship:
“I attended the film with my husband (Collie III) and my two teenage sons (Nicholas-15 and Collie IV-17). We all loved the film! Personally, I thought that the movie was very thought provoking and intentional. My 15-year-old son said that he would like to ask his father to go see it with him when it comes out on Sept. 30th. It was wonderful that it had impacted him that much.
“I realize that the film was geared towards fathers and their children…but, as a wife and mother, it opened my eyes to a lot of things that I tend to overstep my boundaries about with regards to my husband being the leader in the home. Thus, seeing the film and really absorbing what its message was, I will now be more intentional about allowing my husband to truly lead our family and to be the man that God intended him to be in my life and in our children’s lives.”
At a Question and Answer session at the end of the movie, a participant asked why the movie isn’t opening on Father’s Day.
Kris Fuhr, vice president of Provident Films, answers on the COURAGEOUS blog (http://www.courageousthemovie.com/blog), “Late September is an ideal time for churches to rally around a film as a new ministry year is beginning. Leading up to that, we will be providing churches with clips and other COURAGEOUS resources for use with Father’s Day 2011.”
They suggest that churches reach out to the men in their church and community and celebrate courageous dads through a big Father’s Day celebration or a Saturday morning breakfast.
To assist in the effort, www.courageousresources.com has a series of videos, a sermon outline, and an encouraging article for dads available to develop a celebratory Father’s Day event. There is also a quick step-by-step guide to use.
The filmmakers also urge that church leaders begin praying for those who will see the film.
“For more then a year we’ve prayed to be sure that we’re pursuing God’s idea and not our own,” said Michael Catt, senior pastor of Sherwood Church.
To learn more, visit online at CourageoustheMovie.com.