Facing the Giants (2006)

Interestingly enough, after I posted my last blog entry titled, Prosperity Gospel, I went and saw the movie, Facing the Giants (2006). I had no idea it would have prosperity theology as its main theme. The movie is about a head football coach at a private high school who begins the movie in a pretty discouraging situation. He and his wife have been trying to achieve pregnancy for four years but to no avail. He finally goes to the doctor to see if he is the problem, and it turns out that he is. On top of this, his football program is going down the drain. They start the season horribly, losing to the worst team in their division. And to make matters worse, the athletic directors, parents, and even assistant football coach want to get rid of him. The head football coach discovers this one night as he walks by a room at the school where they are all meeting and talking about how to fire him. Other things that are going wrong in the head football coach’s life are that his car is old and not working well, finances are tight, and there is a dead rat somewhere in his house that is causing his home to smell. After coming across the meeting of people who were trying to fire him, he comes home and shares everything with his wife and they both weep bitterly. They asked God where He was. Their finances were tight, his job was on the line, they were not getting pregnant, and he felt like a failure. At this point, the movie goes in another direction. The head football coach and his wife get on their knees and pray. He gets into the Scriptures to get his heart and mind renewed so that he can face this tough time in his life with courage and hope. After his loss against the worst team in the division, he shouted at his team, “If you are not here to win football games then what are you here for!?” Now after reading the Scriptures he has a shift in his heart and mind. Football is not about winning, it is about honoring God. If we win or not, we still are called to honor God. He makes God the object of faith rather than football. The head football coach goes to school with a new outlook and shares this God centered vision with His team. In response, his student athletes begin to honor God by playing and practicing with confidence. Instead of coming with bad attitudes and expecting to lose, they begin to play and practice courageously and manifest maturity. They begin to be better students in the classroom, and learn how to honor their parents. After this shift in the team’s outlook on football, everything becomes better. Relationships change at school and at home. The head football coach gets a pay increase. After restoring a relationship between one of his football players and his father, the father buys the head football coach a new Ford F-150. At the house, he finds the rat that was stinking up the place, and with his pay raise he is able to buy his wife jewelry. And most importantly they go on to win the state championship with a small team. And to top everything off, his wife becomes pregnant. The synopsis of the movie is: Put God first in your life and He will bless you.

Positive Elements

The movie did a good job depicting the reality of trouble when it showed the couple crying and the head football coach asking God where He was. The theme of turning to God in prayer during times like this was also depicted well. God is the one we are called to go to, not only in times of trouble but at all times, since He is the living water that can quench our thirst. The power of prayer was also portrayed very well as the people of God at a Christian school prayed that God would bless them and He did. He gave them a community of families that were having broken relationships restored, and a football team victory on the field. The greatest miracle of all was the 51 yard field goal by a teenage rookie kicker, and of course the pregnancy after thinking there was no hope. Towards the end of the movie the developed theme was “anything is possible with God. Serve God and let Him take care of the rest.” The power of a trusting and hopeful faith in the movie was a living description of the faith Jesus calls his followers to have in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

The best part about the movie was the way in which the head football coach’s outlook changed. In the beginning he thought winning was everything. After having his heart and mind renewed through the Word and prayer, he realized that God is first and football is second. The movie, Friday Night Lights (2005), depicted the opposite. Football was depicted as an idol in that movie. Indeed, football can become an obsession in our own lives. In Facing the Giants, the head football coach’s outlook changed and football was put into its proper place. The results of being living witnesses to the gospel in relationship with parents, and as students was depicted well. Further, the living voice of God’s Word was made present on campus. One day after bible class, a public school transfer who had a broken relationship with his father was brought to repentance and faith. The same student had his relationship with his father restored. That same day, students who were mistreating each other, were brought to tears and confessed their sins to each other. Relationships were restored; the community of Christians on campus was renewed.

Negative Elements

The main theme of the movie was: Put God first in your life and everything will go well. This is what Lutherans call a theology of glory. And I have to tip my hats to the producers; they depicted their theology of glory quite well. After putting God first, the head football coach got a new car, a raise, a state football championship, and even found the rat that was stinking up the house! The theme was: Put God first, and in all ways and in all things, God will bless you. Too often Christianity is sold in this way. Christian broadcasters often shout, “If you give your life to Jesus your life will be so much happier and your life will become better.” Fulfilling your dreams, maximizing your potential, and prospering all have one thing in common: They are focused on the things of the earth. If Christians in this life put God first, they may not get a pay raise at their job. They may get fired for being a living witness to the gospel. There are Christian football coaches who do put God first in their work, but they do not win state championships using teenage rookies to kick 51 yard field goals. Further, if you put God first in your life, it does not mean that you will get a nice car. You might get your car stolen or broken into. And if any of these negative things (stolen car, job termination, football losses) happens in your life it does not mean you do not have God’s favor. Christ said that experiencing suffering and persecution is a normal part of the Christian life. Although you live on this earth right now, your citizenship is in heaven with God.

Conclusion

While this movie had many positive elements I am not sure it will have a positive impact on a non-believer. It will most likely not cause them to inquire about the Christian faith. The combination of poor acting, poor cinematography, and poor theology will probably leave the non-believer thinking that Christianity is cheesy. The way things were depicted was a little corny for a non-believer to be impacted. There were so many things that began to go well that the Christian life seemed unrealistic. If a non-believer does desire to inquire about the Christian faith as a result of this movie, I am not sure having earthly hopes is a beneficial way to begin a relationship with Christ. It is definitely not a good hope for Christians today to have as more persecution in America is on its way. While it was good to see Christians make a movie, and I hope to see more, I also hope that Christians in the future will combine better theology and cinematography to make an impact on the world for Christ. Putting Jesus first may not result in happiness, it may result in persecution.