Classic Christian Films Get Scary

Image of the Beast (1980)
Hollywood has had many successful film franchises, from the Universal Monster films to the Hope and Crosby Road films to the Bond films to the Star Wars franchise to the Fast and the Furious movies….There are lots. But Christian film franchises? The Thief in the Night series of four End Times films is one of the first. 

Since then we’ve had Kirk Cameron’s Left Behind trilogy (there have been other non-Cameron Left Behind films, too, such as the Nicolas Cage remake). More recently, there's been the God’s Not Dead trilogy and quite a number of films in the Pastor Jones film series (directed by and starring Jean-Claude La Marre.)

But that early series began with 1972’s A Thief in the Night, followed by 1978’s A Distant Thunder, followed by this week’s film, Image of the Beast, the third in the quartet of films. All of the films are the work of writers Donald W. Thompson and Russell S. Doughten Jr. (and all are directed by Thompson). All of the films take place in the End Times of a Dispensational worldview. Though we are supposed to focus on clergy and churches here, it seems worthwhile to detour into eschatological theology.

Through the centuries people have developed a variety of interpretations of the Bible passages that discuss the last days of planet Earth. Those Scriptures primarily include the books of Daniel, First and Second Thessalonians, Revelation, and various teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. These passages have been discussed and debated endlessly.  

For instance, Revelation 20: 1 - 6 talks about a thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on Earth. Premillennialists believe this reign will take place after Jesus’ Second Coming. Postmillennialists believe the reign takes place before the Second Coming. Amillennialists believe the reign is symbolic.

Is there anyone still reading? If so, thank you very much.

In the 1800s a man named John Nelson Darby introduced a new theological system known as Dispensationalism, which neatly divides all of history into different “dispensations” or sections. He was the first to tidily divide the Last Days into discrete little sections. He wrote that we are now living in the “Church Age,” and the next dispensation, the Seven Year Tribulation, would occur after the Rapture of the Saints (when all Christians would be taken into Heaven when Jesus meets us halfway without coming down to Earth). At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus would return and begin his thousand-year reign on Earth. And after that comes the Final Judgement and then eternities in Heaven or Hell.

The Thief in the Night films (like the Left Behind series), treats the Dispensational System as, well, Gospel. This is made clear in the opening scroll of Image of the Beast: “The book of Revelation reveals a time to come, of great tribulation. A time of such great catastrophe, that no film could portray its reality.” (Especially on this budget). “It is the belief of many Bible scholars that the facts presented in this film story could become a reality in your lifetime.” (I love the use of the word “facts” to describe events in a fictional film. And arguably many more Bible scholars would say things won’t happen in the way they are presented in this film.) “After watching this film, we hope you will take seriously what God says in His word about these prophecies, and turn to Jesus Christ -- and avoid the events you are about to experience in this motion picture.”

So what are the "events you are about to experience"? This film opens the way the previous film, A Distant Thunder ends, with the heroine of the first two films, Patty Myers (Patty Dunning), looking up at the blade of a guillotine. In the world of these films, those who won’t take the Mark of the Beast (a tattoo on the forehead or hand) are doomed to execution by the government. Patty wouldn’t become a Christian prior to the Rapture and didn’t in Tribulation either. And so Patty, facing the blade, calls out, “I’ll take the mark! Don’t kill me!” Sadly, at that moment a great earthquake makes the blade comes down and slices off Patty’s head.

Patty’s death might be frustrating for people who cheered for her in the first two films, but it makes sense with the theology expressed at one point in the film: those who refused to become Christians prior to the Rapture can’t become Christians during the Tribulation. Someone says that Paul wrote this in First Thessalonians and I have no idea what they're talking about.

So in Image of the Beast, we follow new folks: Leslie (Wenda Shereos), Kathy (Susan Plumb) and her young son, Billy (Ben Sampson), and David Michaels (William Wellman Jr.) who is trying to wage a civil war against the government. I suppose none of these people had the Gospel clearly presented to them before the Rapture because they all seem to have a possibility of salvation. In fact, early in the film, Leslie trusts in Jesus as her Lord and Savior, but during an escape attempt from government forces is paralyzed from the waist down. She puzzles over why God keeps her alive.

Toward the end of the film, we learn why Leslie is kept alive. She is able to present the Gospel to young Billy using the Wordless Book. (This is a book composed of different color pages which each represent the aspects of the Gospel. If you went to Vacation Bible School in the seventies or eighties, you probably know the Wordless Book.) Having become Christians, Leslie and Billy are able to face the guillotine without fear.

I was more puzzled by the salvific situations of Kathy and David. Had they received a clear presentation of the Gospel before the Rapture? If they had watched one of those Worldwide Films where Billy Graham clearly presented the Gospel at the end of the film, were they done for? If they had stumbled on a Chick comic tract pre-trumpet call, were they doomed?

Even more puzzling is the fate of the Reverend Matthew Turner (played again by writer/executive producer Doughton). In these first three films, he plays a pastor who taught falsely prior to the Rapture, but then becomes the go-to source for expositional explanation of the Dispensational Chart of what is happening in the End Times. In this film, he lives in a cabin in the woods and feeds Leslie, Kathy, Billy, and David with produce from his little farm. Turner seems to now be teaching the truth about Jesus and exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit, but can he truly be a Christian if he didn’t accept Christ prior to the Rapture? The film never really answers the puzzling question.

We do have a church in the film. The World Church of the film collaborates with the government, corporations, and Brother Christopher (who the film presents as the Antichrist). Kathy and David attend a service in a local congregation of the World Church, and it really does seem more like a stockholders' meeting for the One World Government rather than a time of worship.

Reverend Turner explains, by pointing to his End TImes Wall Chart, that the World Church is the Whore of Babylon described in Revelation 17. Since I’m puzzled by the actual motives and stance of Rev. Turner (perhaps things will be clearer in the fourth film of the series, The Prodigal Planet), I’m just going to give our lowest rating, One Steeple, to the World Church of the film (a church being pro-Satan and anti-God is not good in the Movie Churches book.)

Classic Christian Film Month Checks out The Cross and the Switchblade

The Cross and the Switchblade (1970)
It’s tough to watch old films about youth gangs without snickering. West Side Story is a wonderful musical, but watching those tough guys do ballet steps in the marvelous opening scene makes the average moviegoer giggle. Through the years 1970's pioneering Christian film The Cross and the Switchblade has been the recipient of much mockery. Deservingly so.

The first of only three films directed by actor Don Murray (who earned some cult cred by playing Governor Breck in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Bushnell Mullins in the reboot of Twin Peaks.), it tells the true story of a small-town preacher, David Wilkerson, who went to Brooklyn in 1958 to minister to the gangs. Wilkerson served as a technical advisor on the film. (The film opens with a word from the producer warning that you might find this story “unbelievable” but assuring us it’s true.)

In spite of its status as nonfiction, some aspects make for difficult serious viewing now, starting with the casting of Pat Boone as Wilkerson. In many ways, that casting makes good sense. Wilkerson is supposed to look clean-cut and out of place, but with Boone, we’re getting the very personification of clean-cut. The man made commercials extolling the virtues of milk and was known for making rock’n’roll “safe for the young people." He really seems like a nice guy but isn’t the greatest thespian (though there is no greater admirer of his work in Journey to the Center of the Earth than 6-year-old me). Nonetheless (at least according to Wikipedia), Boone worked hard to get David Wilkerson's book made into a movie.

Making his screen debut in this film is Erik Estrada as Nicky Cruz, the roughest of the rough, the second in command of the Mau-Mau gang. It’s difficult for audiences of a certain age to not think of Ponch, the motorcycle officer from the long-running series CHiPs. He went on to play the role of Erik Estrada in movies like Van Wilder and shows like My Name is Earl.

Everything in the film looks much cleaner than one would expect, and the gangs seem much better dressed than I expect. Wilkerson encounters street people with cute names like Little Bo, Bottle Cap, Mingo, Augie, and Big Cat (the leader of the Bishops, the Mau Maus' African American rival gang).

A common complaint about Christian films that deal with a criminal element is that the language is kept pure, and it is rather jarring to hear a gang member exclaim, “Aw, shucks!” The same complaint might be made about films about young thugs (such as Blackboard Jungle) made while the Motion Picture Production Code (the Hays Code) was still in effect. In this film, there's an attempt to give a flavor of rough language in the film. When Nicky asks a fellow gang member why the preacher seems to have picked him out for special attention, his friend responds, “Because you’re the worst, craziest bastard there is. If he can reach you, he can reach anybody.” This “B” word is used at least twice in the film, along with a scattering of “damn”s. This must have come as quite a shot to those who were watching 16mm prints of this film in churches during the seventies, but verisimilitude is still an issue here.

The soundtrack by Ralph Carmichael (who provided the soundtracks for many of Billy Graham’s World Wide Pictures) is not very representative of the time or place. It often sounds more like the background music in TV shows like The Brady Bunch or Dragnet, when a “rock” album would be playing at a party (without any vocals).

But fortunately, this blog doesn't exist to review the films, but to review the clergy and churches in films. And the Reverend David Wilkerson (as portrayed in this film, certainly) was a very admirable man. He is literally willing to give the shoes off his feet. The film shows his passion for young people in gangs and on the streets of New York City. He left a comfortable ministry in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, to serve the impoverished youth of New York City. His ministry had an impact on gangs and young people struggling with addiction.

He managed to preach effectively on the streets of New York City (sometimes with, and sometimes without the support of local law enforcement). “I’m just a country preacher 300 miles from home. Is there anything in your life you’d like to change? You got hate sticking out of your eyes. You pretend you don’t want anyone to touch you, but inside you’re crying out for love. Pray with me that the Holy Spirit will come into your heart and make you a new man.” In another street sermon, he says, “May I say something? There is someone who loves you very much, He knows about the drinking and the marijuana and He knows what you’re looking for when you’re playing with sex. You guys talk about getting high, He’ll get you high but He won’t let you down.”

He clearly assures the gang members, addicts, and homeless that they are loved by Jesus.

We also see Wilkerson accepted (and housed) by a Hispanic church fellowship when they discover he has been sleeping on the streets of New York in his car. They are quite surprised to find him, “What miracle brings such a fine young man to our troubled streets?” asks the pastor. That same congregation takes in a young woman, Rosa (Jacqueline Giroux), to detox from her heroin addiction.

The end credits note that Wilkerson went on to found Teen Challenge, an organization that continues to help people deal with alcohol and drug addictions. (I currently work in this field, and I should note that the organization continues to do fine work.)

So Wilkerson and the churches that support him receive our highest Movie Churches rating of Four Steeples.

Is it just me or does Gil Frazier as Big Cat look a lot like a young Samuel L. Jackson?

Classic Christian Films Month: Here's Joni

Joni (1979)
We here at Movie Churches readily acknowledge (along with most critics) that the majority of Christian films are pretty bad. In spite of that, we're celebrating Classic Christian Films month, and we're happy to say that this production from World Wide Pictures (Billy Graham’s production company) is quite different. It’s a biographical film starring its subject, Joni Eareckson.

Hollywood has a mixed record of people playing themselves. There have been notoriously bad self-portrayals by sports figures such as Jackie Robinson in The Jackie Robinson Story and Muhammad Ali in The Greatest. On the other hand, World War II hero Audie Murphy’s portrayal of himself in To Hell and Back led to a long, successful film career. Joni is Eareckson’s one narrative film performance, but it was lauded by Janet Maslin of The New York Times.

Joni begins with the diving accident that resulted in a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels, resulting in tetraplegia (in other words, Eareckson was paralyzed from the shoulders down). The rest of the film is about Joni coming to accept her diagnosis and her learning to live her new life. 

She was 17 years old at the time of her accident and had been quite athletic, enjoying horseback riding, hiking, tennis, and swimming. She quickly knew she would no longer be able to use her legs, but in time she learned she would never have full use of her arms as well.

Many Christian films, such as the recent hit, Breakthrough, portray healing from a medical standpoint. Many Christian films about sports portray Christian athletes always being victorious, winning the big game or the big race. This film offers no physical healing. 

Many Christian films portray a troubled person turning their life around when they come to faith in Christ. Eareckson was already a Christian when she dove into the lake, breaking her neck. The film shows how her God was present with her through anger, depression, doubt, and suicidal thoughts. Those aren’t places most Christian films are willing to go.

Another major theme in the film is Joni’s romantic life. At the time of her accident, she had a boyfriend. While she was recovering, he supported her in many ways, but as time went on, the relationship reaches a point where Joni breaks up with him because she feels it's not fair to him to continue. She meets another man who believes that he has enough faith for Joni's healing. He takes her to an empty church and asks her to pray for healing. They do pray, but that healing doesn’t come. And that relationship ends.

This is another example of the film not offering easy answers. It portrays the real longings of a quadriplegic woman for romance, for a relationship. (It doesn’t shy away from kissing scenes between Joni and the actors who play her boyfriends, either.) But the film doesn't give Joni a romantic happy ending. (Sometime after the film came out, Eareckson did find a lasting romantic relationship. She and Ken Tada were married in 1982, three years after the film was made. And they are still married.)

Perhaps you’ve noticed there isn’t much in the way of clergy and churches, which are supposed to be the focus here. It's surprising we don't see clergy visiting Joni in the hospital or rehab facility.

At one point, we do see Joni wearing a Young Life t-shirt. Young Life is a parachurch organization that works with high schoolers. According to her autobiography (which is the basis for the film), Young Life staff greatly influenced Joni, but we don't see them. We saw her visit an empty church with a boyfriend, but there is nothing about the church itself (it seems to be Roman Catholic -- lots of candles -- but that's all we know about it.)

In the conclusion of the film, we see Joni speaking at a church, telling her story. We then see Joni speaking at a Billy Graham crusade. There is a cameo from Billy Graham himself -- we see him but don’t hear him. 

Joni went from a time of great pain (physical, spiritual, and emotional) and doubt to being an encouragement to people around the world. The film demonstrates Joni’s work as an artist (holding pens and paintbrushes in her mouth) and a singer. It doesn't show what happened later: she founded “Joni and Friends,” an organization that has done much to advocate for the disabled, particularly in the church.

I greatly admire Joni Eareckson Tada and her ministry. Though we don’t see much about the church at the end of the film, or the crusades of Billy Graham, any organization that invites her to speak gets Four Steeples from Movie Churches.

Crime Month: Can I Get a Witness Protection?

Can I Get a Witness Protection? (2016)

Many people can’t stand Christian films because the films tend to be...how should I put it? Let's just say sub-par quality. Or incompetently produced. Or insipid. We here at Movie Churches have a different problem with Christian films. We figured that if any filmmakers get the mundane, nitty-gritty details of church and Christian service right, it would be Christian filmmakers. But no.

This sad fact was demonstrated once again in this week’s film, Can I Get a Witness Protection? The 2016 film has a potentially workable high concept: a man who witnesses a murder is put in the witness protection program as a pastor in a small church. Similar themes have been used in films like My Blue Heaven, For Richer or Poorer, and Did You Hear About the Morgans? but this film gets very few of the facts of small church life right, especially in the particulars of denomination and location.

This appears to be the only movie writer/director Robert G. Lee has written or directed, though he has written a number of episodes of VeggieTales. Lee has had an extensive television career as a warm-up comic for a number of sitcoms - Designing Women, Perfect Strangers, Wings, Just Shoot Me, and others. To make this film, he used crowdfunding resources (Kickstarter and Indiegogo).

The wacky comedy tells the story of Jack (Jamie Alexander) and Julie (Jacquelyn Zook), a couple with a rocky marriage forced to move from San Diego to Fresno in the Witness Protection Program after Jack witnesses a murder in a garage of his trucking company. (Since Fresno is only a five-hour drive from San Diego, one might wonder if this is much of a hiding place. Someone in the film raises this objection asking, “You don’t think people in San Diego can find Fresno?” The federal agent responds, “We’ve found most people in San Diego don’t want to find Fresno.”)

Jack is given a position as associate pastor in the First Presbyterian Church of Fresno. Senior Pastor Bronwen (Kevin Brief) takes two large bricks of cash from the federal agents as reimbursement for helping  Jack and Julie. He provides them with living space in the church (which has no showers or private bathrooms) and admits the dilapidated church has been struggling financially. Federal protection money helps them get by.

We then meet the rest of the staff of the church. Danny (David Storrs) serves both as the church janitor and youth pastor (of a youth group with a single member.) Kathy (Karen Whipple) is the music director who is not only unable to play any musical instruments but can’t even play a boombox (at a memorial service she inadvertently plays Christmas carols and the Hallelujah Chorus). And Linda (Jodi Shilling) is the church secretary but calls herself the pastor’s “indentured servant.” With Jack, that makes a staff of five serving a congregation of fewer than fifty people (guessing from the church services we see). The staff all seems quite incompetent, and I was sure the joke would be that they were all part of the witness protection program. But no, this congregation hired and continues to pay a large staff of people wholly unsuited to their work.

The next plot twist comes when the senior pastor dies, putting Associate Pastor Jack in the place of Senior Pastor (you know, like royalty or Presidents). Jack really shakes things up by going out into the neighborhood, serving community meals, and letting a couple of homeless men sleep in the church. This brings the church to the attention of the media (oddly, it's as if no church anywhere -- not just in Fresno -- has ever done such a thing before) and the media draws the attention of the killers.

At the conclusion of the film, the killers come to the church during a service and --at gunpoint -- threaten to take Jack away. But the congregation is able to overcome the killers and call the police. Jack admits he isn’t a real pastor, does not have any seminary training, and, in fact, just became a Christian during his weeks of service at the church, but the congregation acclaims him their new pastor nonetheless.

So what does the film get wrong about churches? And about Fresno? And even about crime? So many things.

First, mistakes about churches:

1. Pastoral hiring. It was a very poor choice to make the church Presbyterian. There are a number of Presbyterian denominational variants in the United States, but all of them have elaborate procedures for hiring pastors involving bureaucracies in the denomination, church elders, and the congregants. If filmmakers had made the church an independent congregation or even if they just called it Baptist, it might be possible the senior pastor would choose his own associate and the congregation chooses its own senior pastor, but this doesn’t happen with Presbyterians.
2. Church signs. We see a number of “witty” sayings on the church sign in the film. (“We Don't Raise Our Hands In Church - We're Afraid God Might Call On Us!” “Presbyterians - We’re like Methodists but without the excitement.” “Download God’s Prayer App for Quality God Facetime”) I’m more than willing to believe all of these sayings have appeared on the signs of real-life small churches, but the signs don’t get changed that quickly.
3. Financial accountability. The senior pastor keeps the funds in cash in a safe. No one but the senior pastor has the combination to the safe. The IRS would be very interested in these things.
4. Pastoral requirements. Jack’s first sermon is a disaster and his attempts to use the former pastor's library just confuses him,  so his staff gives him several books: Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ, C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, and Josh McDowell’s New Evidence That Demands a Verdict. I’ve read all these books, and they’re good, but it's hard to believe that in one week these books on apologetics not only lead Jack to become a Christian but also make him a passable preacher. As Paul wrote, “Whoever aspires to be a pastor desires a noble task...He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” I don’t think Paul would have been cool with making Jack a pastor.
5. No way this would be First Church. The name of the church is First Presbyterian Church of Fresno, but it seems to be located in an upscale newer neighborhood. In a city like Fresno, most First churches (and sometimes even Seconds and Thirds) of a major denomination will have their campuses near the center of the city in a downtown area.

Geography is outside our purview here at Movie Churches, but as a former resident of Fresno, I have some quibbles. The few people in the congregation in what appears to be a very tidy neighborhood seems relatively well-to-do, but our introduction to the church mentions homeless people living in the neighborhood (we see a few well-groomed people pushing shopping carts on the street or getting clothes from what they think is a clothing giveaway). In addition, everybody seems very white, though Fresno's population is only about 50% white. About 40% of the people living there are Hispanic, more than 10% are Asian (Fresno is home to the second-largest Hmong population in the US), and about 30% are Black, Native American, or "other"). Not surprisingly, the church used in the film is located in a Los Angeles suburb. 

I also had real problems with how the way the criminals conducted their business. I admit I'm not an expert, but does it make any sense that criminals concerned about one man witnessing their criminal activities, would hold a whole congregation at gunpoint, creating dozens of witnesses? Again, I’m not in the murder business, but that isn’t how I’d conduct my murder dealings.

But we don’t rate geography, demographics, or the accuracy of criminal representation here. We rate churches and clergy in movies, and we’re giving the entirely fictional First Presbyterian Church of Fresno a meager Two Steeples.

In Theaters Now! Church People

Church People (2021)

Mike Lindell, the man who founded the MyPillow company, is a lightning rod of controversy. In recent months, he was honored by then-President Trump. After the election, Lindell made statements about Democrats stealing the election. Lindell was, and probably will be forever linked with the January 6th rioters. This is all rather sad because Lindell founded MyPillow with some worthy goals, such as providing employment for ex-convicts and people looking to overcome addictions, but now Lindell is a villain to the political left and a hero to the political right. In an introduction to the new film, Church People, Lindell talks about the importance of bringing people in the church together, but it seems quite unlikely that at this time he's someone who could bring people together.

Also, considering the number of people that were in the theater the night we attended Saturday night, it's unlikely that Lindell will be widely known as a movie producer anytime soon, though he was executive producer for the new Christian comedy. (Lindell also plays a bit part in the film. Sharp eyes may spot the Mike Lindell bobblehead on the senior pastor's desk, but no one will be able to miss the MyPillow product placement.) Though we saw the film in a movie theater, it hasn’t been widely released but has had limited showings through Fathom events. 

Church People wants to be a satire of the gimmicks and stunts found in seeker-friendly and mega-churches. Since I served many years in youth ministry, I'm pleased to report that the hero is a youth pastor. Thor Ramsey plays youth pastor Guy Sides (it’s difficult to decide whether the actor's name or the character’s name is more unlikely). Ramsey's in his 50’s, and his character is asked if he isn't too old for his job. Guy responds, “Youth pastor means I minister to youth, not that I’m young!” The fact is that most (though not all) successful youth pastors are in their 20’s or 30’s. The people who stay in youth ministry longer than that tend to do a good job of recruiting and training other staff and or volunteers. In this film Guy seems to be running the youth group practically solo, in spite of taking a lengthy book tour as “America’s Youth Pastor.” (this title seems peculiar -- he seems to have only a couple dozen members in his youth group in a megachurch of thousands. I don’t see why he would be so acclaimed. 

Pastor Sides seems quite awkward with people, especially women. A woman who seems to recognize him comes into his office while he's talking with a student, and he tries to figure out why she's there -- is she the parent of a student? Does she want to be a volunteer? He scrambles to find a volunteer form in his desk as the woman is obviously amused that he doesn't recognize her.  (The film’s initial title was Youth Group. In spite of this, the youth are mostly anonymous and minimally involved in the story.)

Turns out she's Carla Finney (Erin Cahill), the daughter of the senior pastor. For the past ten years, she's been a missionary in Molvania (not a real country) and she's just returned home after a broken engagement. 

I would assume the church would have supported Carla, so I was baffled Guy wouldn’t recognize her -- even after an unlikely absence of ten years. Before long, he and Carla are dating and having quite intimate conversations with her in front of the students in the youth group (which is -- obviously -- quite unprofessional) The students are surprisingly invested in the relationship between Guy and Carla (they are quite disappointed when they don’t kiss in front of them). 

Carla’s father, Pastor Skip Finney (Michael Monks), is also overly involved with his daughter’s love life. He tries to set her up with Tino (Joey Fatone) who seems to have the singular profession of church soloist. He is a simple (dim) man, which is why Skip thinks he’ll be “safe” for his daughter. No one in the film seems to think it might be okay for Carla to be, um, maybe, single. Everyone seems very concerned that she should be in a relationship and not waste time going back to the mission field. 

Pastor Skip has what he believes are big plans for his church. He tries to bolster attendance by using BMX riders on the stage behind him while he preaches. He challenges the congregation to raise attendance by saying if a bar is reached, he will have the church logo tattooed on his bicep at the end of a service. But his biggest stunt is planned for Good Friday. He decides to crucify someone on stage in the Good Friday worship service. Since none of the staff agree to be crucified (even though they -- probably -- won't be killed), he recruits a high school student, Blaise, a new believer. (Fortunately, the ‘G’ rating assures audiences they won’t really witness a crucifixion in the film.)

Pastor Guy is outraged that Skip is taking advantage of one of his students, and the majority of the film is Guy’s attempt to prevent Blaise (Clancy McCartney) from having nails hammered into his hands and feet.

The only really competent person who works at Sand Hills Neighborhood Church is head greeter Chad Chase (played by Stephen Baldwin. It’s a double Baldwin film with Billy Baldwin playing Blaise’s father.) Chase knows the names of most of the members of the congregation and is aware of their needs. He genuinely seems to care about other people, which seems out of the wheelhouse of the pastoral staff, which is focused on numbers and influence. (Guy does give lip service to concern for the Gospel and his students, but he doesn’t really seem to be very good at his job.)

This is why we are giving Sand Hills Neighborhood Church and its staff a mere two steeples for its Movie Churches rating.

We weren't crowded in the theater. 

Mindy channels her inner inaugural Bernie.

Some Film Recommendations

It goes without saying that people have been doing a lot of screen watching in days. A friend on Facebook recently asked for suggestions of things to watch, so I did some digging around for some options.

Since we don't review the movies here at Movie Churches (instead, we review clergy and churches in movies -- as you know), many, many of the films here aren't good. Some are almost painful to watch, but I do it for the good of you, dear readers. These, on the other hand, are films I enjoyed. Some of them I love dearly. They're divided into categories, and if you'd like to know more, click the title to go to the original post. Most are available on Amazon Prime.

Robert Duvall Trilogy
Duvall has made (IMHO) made three of the best films about the Christian faith. (And a couple of pretty awful ones as well, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.)
Get Low
Tender Mercies
The Apostle (language and violence)

Classics
Two of these films won the Oscar for Best Picture, and the other should have. (And all of the clergy did pretty well in their steeple ratings too.)
On the Waterfront (Adult themes)
A Man for All Seasons
The Quiet Man

Comedy
Frankly, there have been funnier films reviewed here, but the original request stressed that the films should be family-friendly. Still, these films did make me laugh.
Heaven’s Above
Millions (language)
O Brother Where Art Thou (language and sensuality)

Foreign
I know, I know, reading is hard. Subtitles. But worth it.
Au Revoir, Les Enfants
Joyeux Noel (violence)
We Are Brothers (strong language)

Musicals
The theology is rarely great in musicals, and these films aren’t exceptions. But they’re fun.
Cabin in the Sky
Guys and Dolls
The Sound of Music

Science Fiction/Horror
For some reason, people often think these genres are not Christian. But horror acknowledges the supernatural and science fiction often stresses that some things are beyond human understanding.
The Hunchback of Norte Dame
Signs (language, violence)
War of the Worlds (1953)

Worthy Christian Films
Christian films are, as a group, pretty bad. Too often they're nothing more than sappy propaganda. I’ve watched some really bad Christian films for this blog, but I enjoyed these.
The Case for Christ
Soul Surfer
Grace Unplugged

What about you? Looking for any movie recommendations? Let me know.

It's Netflix and ...well, sometimes I wonder... month: In-lawfully Yours

In-Lawfully Yours (2016)
Let me get this one item out of the way right now. It’s has nothing to do with churches or clergy or film criticism. Toward the start of the Christian romantic comedy, In-Lawfully Yours, the heroine has suspicions that her husband is unfaithful, so she goes to the front desk of the hotel where he’s staying and finds out what room he’s in (by knocking over some pens and turning the computer monitor while the clerk is picking things up). She goes to his floor and tells a maid, “I left my key on the table [in the room],” and the maid lets her in. The heroine catches her husband, if not in the act (this is a Christian movie), but between acts.

I work in a hotel, and I’ve got to say the staff of the hotel in the film should be worried about their jobs. That front desk clerk should have called security. The maid should contacted the front desk before letting someone she didn’t recognize in a room. And yet somehow, as badly as the hotel staff is presented in the film, the pastor and church in the film seem even more poorly portrayed. In-Lawfully Yours did not, I believe, ever have a theatrical release (it is, after all, a product of Home Theater Films), but it can be found on Netflix, so let’s do a synopsis of the plot. Then we can bullet point the ecclesiastic problems in the film.

First of all: that woman who broke in the hotel room? Her name is Jesse (Chelsey Crisp). She was there to tell her husband, Chaz, that his father had an accident and was in coma. (Really, she could have called the front desk and said there was a family emergency.) The father dies, and though Jesse and Chaz plan to divorce, Jesse goes to the small town of Bethel Cove to help her mother-in-law, Naomi (Marilu Henner), for two weeks to help Naomi prepare for a move to Chaz’s home.

Jesse is new to small-town life, and is even more new at going to church, but she goes with Naomi, just to help her get out of the house. Ben (Joe Williamson), who was Naomi’s son-in-law until Sarah -- Naomi’s daughter and Ben’s wife -- died, is the pastor of the church.

During Jesse’s stay, she and Ben start to date (with encouragement from Naomi, once Jesse admits that she and Chaz are getting a divorce). The relationship gets him into hot water with people from the church. Meanwhile, Chaz is trying to convince his mom to sell her house, though he doesn’t tell her he is in on a big development deal to buy up her neighborhood and make a lot of money. Spoiler - in the end, Ben and Naomi end up happily ever after, bringing about the In-Lawfully Yours title.

Let’s look first at the things Pastor Ben does poorly, and then look at what’s wrong with the “church leadership.”

About Pastor Ben:

1. False Representation - Ben introduces himself to Jesse at their father-in-law’s funeral as an “insurance agent.” You see, he “sells eternal security.” Get it? (I don’t, so if anyone would care to explain it to me in the comments section, you’d be doing me a solid.) Jesse learns Ben's real profession when he performs the funeral service. It's my opinion, as a clergy guy, that a funeral is not the best place for practical joking.
2. Unwise Relationship - Ben begins dating Jesse, even though she is still legally married and very recently had the traumatic experience of catching her husband in a hotel room with his office assistant. Wouldn’t Ben would have had some counseling training and experience? Wouldn’t he know it wasn’t wise for Jesse -- at this time in her life -- to be dating anyone? (Especially not a pastor who is vaguely related to her). But nope, they go to the movies together.
3. Bad Preaching - Ben stumbles through a reading James 1 as if for the first time. When he reads, “Consider it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds,” Jesse stands up in her pew and says that’s ridiculous. (It’s true Jesse has never been to church. But I assume she’s been to school, and did she stand up in class to argue with teachers? Has she never been to a lecture of any kind?) Anyway, Ben doesn’t seem to know how to respond to her interruption. He could tell her it’s not an appropriate time for interruptions but suggest they talk about it later. Or he could use her comment as an opportunity to teach in a new way. But instead he fumbles through a really lame response. 
4. Inappropriate hiring practices - Chaz has frozen Jesse’s credit cards, so Ben hires her to work at the church to help her out. She’s supposed to do office chores and, more ridiculously, lead the youth group. Why would a pastor hire someone with literally no Biblical knowledge or theological training and put them in charge of a ministry? What pastor (especially in a church where “the church board” seems to have control over everything else) could unilaterally hire anyone? I think it’s pretty obviously not a good practice, especially if you’re hiring your girlfriend.

Church leadership:

1. Poor organization - The church leadership seems to consist of one old biddy. This woman, Doris, is followed around by another woman and a man, but she seems to make decisions for the church on her own. These three people are “the church board.”
2. Poor visitor treatment - Doris treats Jesse like a scarlet woman, a harlot, a strumpet, and all kinds of other out-of-date terms. I really think a woman who’s trying to care for one of the church’s long time members (who seems to be a former member of the church board) deserves better.
3. Poor child care - Doris is upset when Jesse interrupts sermons with her questions, so she sends Jesse to be a student in the children’s Sunday School class. Putting an adult in a Sunday School class, even as a student, without first doing a background check is very irresponsible, and these days a legal liability.
4. Inappropriate firing practices - Doris (and the board), attempt to fire Pastor Ben in the midst of a Sunday morning service. Most churches have a process for such things, but hey, if you think airing dirty laundry makes for better Sunday morning study than Scripture...

In other words, the pastor and the church leadership make many poor choices in the film, yet Jessie seems to come to faith in spite of them. In a flash forward, we see her contributing to the church as the pastor’s wife, so maybe the church is doing something right. Or maybe God finds ways to work through the weakest of vessels. Jesse, with all her flaws, saves Pastor Ben and the church in In-Lawfully Yours from our lowest rating. Thanks to her, they get Two Steeples.

(P.S. I just want to note that Corbin Bernsen makes an appearance in the film. I’m not sure if it’s even legal these days to make a Christian film without Corbin Bernsen.)

Old School Christian Movies: Oiltown USA

Oiltown U.S.A. (1953)
Understandably, when Billy Graham passed away in February, the chief focus was on his work as an evangelist. He preached to more people in more countries than anyone in history, but some also talked about the societal changes he facilitated by bringing churches of different denominations together and by working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to bring black and white churches together.

I haven’t heard so much about the innovations Graham’s organization made in the world of Christian films. Before the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association founded World Wide Pictures in 1951, the Christian film industry didn’t exist. World Wide Pictures not only produced but also distributed their films (as all big studios did before practices were changed by antitrust laws). Their first film was Mr. Texas, which Graham called the “first Christian Western.” While he wasn’t involved with most of the day-to-day operations of World Wide Pictures, the films were made with one stipulation: in every film, Graham would appear and present the plan of salvation.

In honor of Billy Graham, we’ll be looking at a couple of World Wide Pictures releases over the next couple of weeks, starting with 1953’s Oiltown U.S.A.

The film opens with a rousing title theme song with such lyrics as “Oiltown U.S.A! Everyone knows that it’s great. It’s the pride of the U.S.A.” referring to Houston, Texas. The film is the story of oil tycoon, Les Manning (Paul Power, guest star on seven episodes of Perry Mason), who’s known for his shrewd (and unscrupulous) business dealings. When his daughter, Christine (Colleen Townsend Evans), comes home from college, she’s shocked by changes in her widowed father’s life. She visits a downtown club to discover him playing roulette with an adult beverage in his hand and standing next to a woman in an evening gown. This understandably gives Christine the vapors.

But Christine surprises her father by hanging out with his business associate, Jim Tyler (the title character in Mr. Texas, played by Redd Harper), and his wife, Katherine. Jimmy sings “Jesus is my Partner” at a dinner party both Mannings attend, and he and Katherine both talk about Jesus, which doesn’t please Les Manning at all. Since his wife’s death, Manning’s tried to keep God out of the household (“religion and Les Manning have nothing in common”). He wants to be absolutely self-reliant, saying, “There’s my God, two strong hands!” In spite of this, tension with his daughter leads Les to contemplate suicide.

Things turn around when he happens upon life-changing television programming. He’s flipping channels (with what, four, five channels to choose from?) and happens upon the song stylings of George Beverly Shea and stops. Then Billy Graham himself appears on the screen, and we the audience are transported from the black and white preacher on the television to seeing the man himself in the studio in living color.

Graham turns in his Bible to I Peter 5:7 where we are called to cast our anxieties upon God. “God loves us… He’s interested in you… Anything you love more than God is idolatry… There are hundreds of you guilty of profanity… It’s heaven or hell, your only chance is Christ as your personal savior… You can do it right now, where you are. How long will it take? In the twinkling of an eye.”

Manning prays “the sinner’s prayer” and wants to tell his daughter. She’s on his yacht, though, cruising near the location of an explosion of a Manning Oil Company well and line. The small town of Texas City is devastated! Manning hurries to see if his daughter is all right.

He finds her with a friend, tending to the wounded in the small church providing shelter in the wake of the disaster. Manning tells his daughter of his decision to trust in Jesus, and she exclaims that the prayers of her mother have been answered.

The film closes with Manning in the sanctuary of the church saying, “It’s been twenty years since I’ve been in a church. I can’t help but wonder if a few minutes spent in here will help me do a better job out there.” Manning turns his eyes to the cross in stained glass, and the camera turns there as well.

Since we’re here to review churches and clergy in films rather than the films themselves, we appreciate that the church in Texas City, Texas, was ready to meet the needs of the community during a disaster. As for clergy, it’s always good to have more of Graham’s preaching preserved. Both church and clergy in the film earn our highest rating of Four Steeples.

Christian Film Month: In Theaters Now: God's Not Dead 3

God’s Not Dead 3: A Light in the Darkness (2018)
The bizarre thing about this film, the third in the God’s Not Dead franchise, is that it seems like an apology for the first two films. God’s Not Dead 3: A Light in the Darkness has a new writer and director, Michael Mason, who takes a whole new approach to the series. The first film was about a college student whose faith was attacked by a philosophy professor; the second film was about a teacher attacked by her school administration. Both films had villains that were a little more evil than a combination of Snidely Whiplash, Bill Sikes, and Dracula -- with just a tad more sinister mustache twirling.

The first two films in the series depicted Christians in America under assault from government and the media. To put it lightly, not everyone agrees with this assertion.

Some will point to certain issues that seem to defend the claim: universities have set policies that seemed to target Christian clubs and institutions. Government requires Christian bakers to make cakes for gay weddings and nuns to provide birth control. There are complex issues of the separation of church and state at play here.

On the other hand, some believe that Christians are still recipients of privilege in this country. They argue that our institutions are biassed toward Christianity, giving people Christmas day off and including “In God We Trust” on our money.

As a nation, we’re certainly somewhere between theocracy and pagan dictatorship. We should recognize that both kinds of government have existed in history and exist today. European countries still have state churches, but in the past, those state churches were considered the only legitimate system of worship. Inquisitions during the Middle Ages -- targeting Jews and Christians with dissenting views -- were government-run, while the Church (at times) provided a moderating influence. On the other hand, some Islamic and Communist governments still persecute Christians, throwing people in jail and even putting people to death.

Contemporary America is certainly somewhere between these extremes. The first two films presented Christians in the crosshairs of authorities who hated them for their faith, with the freedom of religion and expression at stake. This film is about eminent domain, a controversial but not necessarily a religious issue.

David A. R. White returns as the Reverend Dave Hill. In the first two films, he was a supporting player, supporting the persecuted. In this film, he’s the focus, as Hayden University tries to take his church through eminent domain.

The legal case seemed a bit fuzzy to me. Apparently, the university had been a Christian school which was given to the state of Arkansas. The church was located on university grounds, but the church is said to own its property.

Rev. Hill decides that he is going to fight. He says, “Maybe it’s time Christians stopped rolling over, turning the other cheek.” Since a key to Christianity is following Jesus -- who told us to turn the other cheek -- perhaps this isn’t a great idea. The Reverend goes to see his brother, Pearce, a Chicago lawyer, for help. Pearce agrees to defend St. James church, where their father had been the pastor. (There is a weird thing in movies where pastorates pass down from father to son that I’ve never seen much of in real life.)

There are, of course, other plot complications. A young Christian student, Keaton (Samantha Boscarino), argues with her boyfriend, Adam (Mike Manning) about issues of faith. Adam, in a funk, vandalizes St. James, accidentally setting it aflame and killing a man. When Rev. Hill learns Adam was responsible, the Reverend yells at him and shoves him. This confrontation is described as an attack in the newspapers (which isn’t too far off).

As the eminent domain case heads toward court, the community takes sides in the controversy. Those who wish to see a clearer separation of church and state protest against the church. Many of these people are quite upset by the exclusive claims of Christianity. On the other side are those who believe that the state is attacking the Church, attacking the Christian faith. Cable talk shows bitterly debate the issues.

But Rev. Dave eventually comes to see that perhaps he was in the wrong. He says God spoke to him saying, “This building is not my Church.” At the film’s climatic protest, the Reverend tells crowds protesting on both sides that he is giving up the case, and people need to learn to be tolerant and understanding of each other. The crowds immediately go all Kumbaya, hugging and forgiving each other. (Which seems rather unlike the protest culture we see in the news today.)

In the previous films, all Christians wore white hats, and many of the non-Christians wore black hats (figuratively if not literally). In this one, some of the most attractive characters aren’t believers, particularly the Rev’s brother, Pearce (played by John Corbett). He left the faith of his family during his law school years, then felt abandoned by his family. Dave doesn’t seem to have kept in contact with Pearce until he needs his help, but Pearce immediately came to his brother’s aid. Even so, Pearce doesn’t come to Christ and “pray the prayer” at the end of the film as one might expect.

In the previous two films, there are dramatic conversions to Christianity, but this film settles for people reconciling with one another and Christians becoming more clear about their own faith.

Reverend Dave and St. James Church earned its two Steeples out of four because most of the film the Rev. isn’t doing much for the Kingdom of God; he’s just fighting the power. At one point, college student Keaton says, “Everyone knows what the church is against, but not what it’s for.” Still, the church is building a house for Habitat for Humanity and supports a soup kitchen, so it doesn’t deserve our lowest rating, and at the end of the film, we see hope that the church will earn more steeples (if there’s ever a God’s Not Dead IV).