Discussion questions for Facing the Giants:
Is this storyline just too “good to be true”?
Were there characters that held more strength or believability?
Does God still move in such obvious ways?
What about the fact that this movie was made completely by volunteers? And became its own “facing the giants of Hollywood”?
Questions about the movie lines:
Why do you think Coach Taylor makes Brock wear a blindfold for the Death Crawl?
As Mr. Childers says, “Your actions always follow your beliefs.” How do changes in your internal would make their way out to your external world?
It is a huge risk to put David Childers in for a 51-yard field goal. When asked what he was doing, Coach Taylor answers, “I’m preparing for rain.” What does he mean by that?
As John S. pointed out during discussion, most "Hollywood" stories are too good to be true, but that doesn't keep us from watching, enjoying, wishing, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut on the same token, take a series like Harry Potter, where in the end, a multitude of people we come to know and love end up dead. It is war, but nobody comes to the end and thinks: "it wasn't worth it" or "if only they had all given their lives to Jesus, nobody would have died and evil would have been instantly vanquished."
Again, we're talking a whole, multi-part series vs. a 2-hour low-budget church-made film with a whole lot of theology to cram in, but I maintain my opinion that, by the end, it was less "Give your life to God, God will give you life abundant" and more "Give your life to God, God will give you everything you ever wanted and more. Right now."
The most believable character for me in the movie was Mr. Childers. If I had to pick a character to emulate, it would be him. He was realistic and consistent. I would want to be the kind of dad that held my arms up every time. I think, out of anyone, he was the most always "prepared for rain." He stood up at the end and braced himself on the fence. Believable. Now, if he had started walking.......
I think God moves in even more obvious ways, all the time, but I think this movie has a lot to say about perception and receptivity. The fact is that, in "real life," most people who saw Coach Taylor drive around in that new truck would assume he just bought it with the raise he got for having a winning team. It was only really Taylor and a few others who knew how much of a gift that it really was. We only know how obvious that work was in his life because we're omniscient third parties watching the movie, which is something we're really not in our everyday lives. How many "God things" do we miss everyday because we are busy passing judgment or just plain not paying attention?
Overall, I think this movie had a lot of different things to say to each person in the room last night. We had a range of perceptions, from those who have recently seen God working like this in their own lives, to those who just needed a note of positivity, to those who look for the good in everything, to those who overanalyze everything (like me!), to those who want to believe the movie but have had experience to the contrary, to those who have a whole lot of fruit-bearing faith but still sometimes feel like the world is completely against them.
To the very former, Facing the Giants might seem completely realistic and even affirming. To the very latter, Facing the Giants might seem more-than-completely out of touch with reality! But if you strip the movie down to messages, I think everyone in that entire spectrum would agree that we all benefit from having an attitude of hope and perseverance.
:-)
--kory // www.korywilcox.com
As I said Wednesday night, I fear that the movie might send the wrong message to non-Christians. To me, it gives the message that if you just turn everything over to God and trust him, you will get everything you want. This kind of thinking also could lead to the conclusion that if things don't go your way, you just aren't trusting God enough; your faith isn't strong enough; etc.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I really like the message the movie has for Christians. It is a message we all need to be reminded of and that is that Nothing is impossible with God. I don't doubt that God can and does move in powerful ways in our lives, even when we don't ask for it or even acknowledge it. The movie is definitely a great, feel-good movie.
I did learn that the movie was made by a church on Wednesday. The first time I saw it, I thought it was just some low-budget Hollywood movie. I am really impressed at how well these amateurs did with it.
The turning point in the movie is when the coach has Brock put on the blindfold and do the 'death crawl' all the way across the field. This scene is very inspirational. I loved the observation someone made Wednesday about the blindfold and how we all limit ourselves by what we think our limit should be. If we put on a blindfold and give something 'our very best' and don't stop, we would probably all surprise ourselves.
The cynic in me says the movie was over-the-top and too-good-to-be-true, but the optimist in me loves a good happy ending! Joy P.