War Room: A Movie Practiced Before It Was Produced

On August 28, War Room hits theaters.  It’s a powerful movie about prayer that has the potential to change your life for the better.


Since I got the privilege to help develop curriculum with the Kendrick Brothers, I got to watch different edits of the movie months ago.  Watching the film and working on The Battle Plan for Prayer was pivotal in my own prayer life.

But quite honestly, my life was changed concerning prayer years before that.

The day was October 13, 2010.  I was in Nashville, TN.  And what I witnessed that day changed how I perceived prayer.

I had been asked to work with the Kendrick Brothers as they developed a Bible study to go along with the upcoming movie, Courageous.  The entire ordeal how I got involved is a crazy story of God connected things together in such an incredible way.  I know there are far more talented people to have worked on these projects, and I am sincerely humbled and grateful that I have been able to tag along for the ride.

The reason that day was so important was that we were in the middle of a writers’ conference for the curriculum.  We had watched the movie.  We had discussed ideas.  Whiteboards were full.

photo

This meeting room was full of all types of important people from the movie, LifeWay, and other agencies (with little ol’ me stuffed in the middle of it all).  Everyone had their opinions concerning how to make the most out of these resources.  And everyone was expressing them (including me and I felt as if some of them were probably looking at my name badge thinking, “who let this guy in?”).

Some wanted to take it in this direction.  Others wanted to take it in that direction.  People were having side conversations and talking over one another.  It was getting pretty chaotic in the room, and I looked over to determine which side Alex and Stephen were leaning towards.  They begin whispering something to each other.  I had my hunch about which way they were going to go, and then they did something very surprising.

“Hey guys, all of these are great ideas.  We could take it in a thousand different directions, but we don’t want to go anywhere where the Lord is not leading.  So you guys hang out here for a bit, and my brother and I are going to go somewhere and pray.  We want to know the Lord’s agenda and not our own, so just hang tight and we will be back in a little while.”

And, with that, they departed the meeting room and walked through the halls of LifeWay command central to find a quiet place while the rest of us just stared at each other.  I chuckled, rose from my chair, and went for a walk.

I kept popping my head in to see when the meeting would recommence.  Minutes went by and we just waited.  We all just hung out until they eventually returned somewhere 1-2 hours later.

As they reentered the room, the unsure eyes that had left the room were nowhere to be found.  Alex and Stephen came in with a peace and a confidence that was found outside of themselves.

After time on their knees, they were as clear concerning direction that anyone could possibly be.

We all listened to the direction and everyone followed suit.  It was the perfect direction.  The result was an incredible batch of resources that helped equip men to be who God was calling them to be.

The Next Movie

IMG_2621I had just found out that I wouldn’t be teaching a college course for the Spring.  I told Amanda, “I wonder what will fill up that time.”  It wasn’t long after I prayed to be a good steward of those months that God filled up the vacant space.

“Would be honored to help again!  What is the new movie about?”

“We haven’t finalized the title yet, but the movie is about prayer.”

How fitting.

I loved the idea but was unsure how a movie focused on prayer would translate.  I was thoroughly excited to see how far off my skepticism was as I watched the film.  The movie is incredible.  Their team gets better and better and what they do, but I also think this topic works so well because these guys live it so well.

There are people who talk about prayer because they are supposed to, and there are those who actually believe in it.

Alex and Stephen Kendrick are men who are devoted to prayer.  Before a prayer movie was ever on the radar, they were men of prayer.  They led their church, ministries, families, and lives to be consistent in prayer.

I love that their prayer lives impacted me before they ever made a movie, book, or Bible study about it.

Now, don’t get me wrong: the movie is their best to date.  The book is extremely helpful.  And I believe the Bible study can make a huge impact on you.

But what I love most about it is that I can speak to the integrity of the film.

The men who wrote, directed, and produced this film model prayer in their daily lives.

War Room

The film releases in theaters across the country on August 28 and I highly recommend it to you.  For those of you around the Greenwood area, we have reserved a showing on Thursday night before the official release and have some discounted tickets.  You can get your tickets here while they last.

If you are interested in the Bible study, it is releasing the same weekend.  You can get more info here.  I will be teaching it at North Side twice in the next year.

I pray that this movie and the accompanying resources will impact your lives, homes, and churches with a renewed commitment to prayer.

In our culture, people can often have suspicions of “famous Christians” and unsure of their intentions.  I can say that learning from the Kendrick brothers and serving alongside them has been one of the most enriching discipleship developments in my life.  They are the real deal and they honestly hope these resources will draw you closer to Jesus.

I can wholeheartedly say that the men behind the film live it out.  I can’t wait to hear how God uses it.