Fireproof Premier

Fireproof opened in 839 Theaters across the country this weekend. Intial reports rank the film anywhere from #3 to #4. $6.5 million came in through the box office.

The Love Dare is #11 on Amazon.com and Dr. Michael Catt's book, Fireproof Your Marriage jumped 45,000 spots over the weekend.

To quote my pastor, Michael Catt, "God is stirring."


Praise the Lord for His hand upon it and the Faith Community's response.

Maximo TV was on hand to interview some of Fireproof's lead actors and co-writer Alex Kendrick. Click on title to watch.

REMEMBERING 9/11

As we approach the 7th Anniversary of 9/11 there is much to remember. With perhaps the most crucial presidential election in the history of our nation just weeks away we need to be reminded. With so many messages out there that have many confused let's here from one who has been in the fight. Let's hear from one of our heroes.

Watch the video and tell a veteran "Thank You."

Do You Remember Prayer Meeting?

Prayer is the most powerful weapon that our Lord has given to us as believers and as His church. Coupled with the Word of God and faith we are equipped for battle, made ready for service and are made to lean wholly on Jesus name. What an awesome tool.

Yet, in recent years the prayer meeting has been cast aside, ignored and forgotten. Replaced in some places by good things, just not the best things. We talk about prayer, but don't pray. We study about prayer, but don't pray. We keep prayer lists, but don't pray.

Crises come and we pray. But just as soon as the crisis is over we stop praying. Many churches still list it on their weekly activity page. Just as many still conduct a "prayer meeting," but do we pray.

The lack of prominence of prayer meetings in the present day church subsequently and directly is related to the demise of spiritual power and spiritual blessing experienced today in the church.

The following came across my desk recently:

"Mrs. Prayer Meeting died recently at the First Neglected Church on Worldly Avenue. Born many years ago in the midst of great revivals, she was a strong, healthy child, fed largely on testimony and spiritual holiness, soon growing into world-wide prominence. She was one of the most influential members of the famous Church family.

But for the past several years, Sister Prayer Meeting has been failing in health, gradually wasting away until rendered helpless by stiffness of knees, until her death was caused through lukewarmness and coldness of heart. Lack of spiritual food, coupled with the lack of faith, shameless desertion of her friends and non-support, were contributing causes of her death.

At the last she was but a shadow of her former happy self. Her whispered words were inquiries concerning the strange absence of her loved ones, now busy in the marts of trade and places of worldly amusement.

Experts including Dr. Works, Dr. Reform, and Dr. Joiner, disagreed as to the cause of her fatal illness, administering large doses of organization, socials, contests, and drives, but to no avail. A postmortem showed that a deficiency of spiritual food, coupled with lack of faith, heartfelt religion, and general support were contributing causes.

Only a few were present at her funeral, sobbing over memories of her past beauty and power. Carefully selected pallbearers were asked to bear the remains tenderly away, but failed to appear. Her body rests in a beautiful cemetery of bygone memories and glories, awaiting the summer from above'."

If we are ever going to have revival in our churches and in our country God's people are going to have to hit their knees and pray. God just may have to send a crisis. It's not that Aunt Sara's arthritis isn't a need, it just isn't going to bring revival. That is unless God sent the arthritis to lead Aunt Sara to repent of whatever it is that she needs to repent of.

How you do it is not as important as that you do it. We need to acknowledge His Majesty, recognize His Holiness, confess our sinfulness, repent and return to Him.

God send revival and let it begin in me.

Fireproof at the Fox

Friday, August 29 was a spectacular evening. It is one that will go down as an incredible night. About 4,000 people from the faith, firefighting and business community assembled at the historical Fox Theatre in Atlanta at the gracious invitation of the Chick-fil-a Cathey family private screening of Fireproof.

Here we are before the screening beside the poster and after the screening with Bubba and Cindy Cathey.

Vacation 2008

Once again the Bagwell's, Malcom's and Rainwater's gathered at Jekyll Island for our annual family vacation. Thirteen of us made our abode for seven days at Shorehouse, 7 Dexter Lane. Six others were just across the backyard on the beachfront. Cycling, sunbathing,Driftwood Beach, WII games and others made up our daiy activities. Of course there were the trips to Barbara Jeans on St. Simons and Spankys across the causeway. James and Tim Rainwater two of the newest to the family got plenty of attention as they made their first trip to (as Uncle Doug calls it) "the best little Island in the world
We missed Jeremy and April, Ben, Shauna, Elijah, Samuel and Asher and Matthew. Maybe next year. It would be great to have the entire family around, but then it would take a couple of more houses and everyone's stimulus checks. Too bad, they're spent.

An Awesome Evening

Tuesday, May 13 was an awesome evening for the members of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA. A private screening of Sherwood Pictures new movie, Fireproof was shown. Over 1100 of the church family walked the reverse red carpet on this night as the directors, producers, cast and crew applauded the church family for their prayers, support and overall commitment to this venture to the glory of God.

We had the opportunity to be reunited with David Nixon (assistant director), Erin Bethea (Catherine Holt), the firemen and nurses. In attendance were dignitaries from Albany and Dougherty county, not the least of which were members of the Albany Fire Department.

This was our first opportunity to see the movie in it's entirety. WOW!!! It is fantastic. Our prayer is that God will use it and get glory from it. We pray that it will impact marriages, father-son relationships and call the body of Christ to the forefront of the battle for the souls of men.

FIREPROOF The Movie: In Theaters September 26, 2008

Marriage is a COVENANT RELATIONSHIP between two people. In most wedding ceremonies you will hear the minister say something like, "We are gathered here in the presence of God and these witnesses." Marriage was God's idea. He performed the first wedding and in His own words, "It was very good." Fact is, only God could have authored something this good.

Marriage is a WORKING RELATIONSHIP that takes daily care and attention. Yes it does! Because you have two sinners living in the flesh making up this relationship, there is much work to be done. When we start out we promise, "forsaking all others I will be true only to you." And, "for better for worse." We promise to cherish, be faithful and do so "til death do we part."

Marriage is a BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP that is a picture of Christ and His church. The wife is to the husband as the church is to Christ. And the husband is to the wife as Christ is to the church. What a beautiful picture this is. In some way all married couples have "wedding pictures." However, there is no picture more precious than a marriage that honors Christ.

My wife Phyllis and I will celebrate 35 years of marriage in August. It seems like yesterday that I stood with my dad and my pastor at the front of a church full of family and friends and saw the most beautiful woman in the world come through the door on her dad's arm. We decided before that day to have a marriage committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that we were in this for the long haul. It has not been perfect. It has not been easy. It has not been without tough times, but it has been with HIM.

I still can't believe that Phyllis and I had the awesome privilege of playing the parts of John and Cheryl Holt in Sherwood Pictures newest motion picture, Fireproof. We can hardly wait until next week. Tuesday evening there will be a private showing of the movie at Sherwood for current members. Then again on June 8 at the SBC Pastor's Conference those attending will be able to see the movie.

Below are some short videos (movie trailer, behind the scenes and music video) for your enjoyment.

Pray that God will keep His Almighty hand on the movie and please share it with all you know.

Fireproof Uniting Family Advocates

National groups such as Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday endorse the movie and are urging their constituencies to see it. Influencers such as marriage expert Gary Smalley and Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A are also working to spread the word.


It's no secret that U.S. marriages are in crisis. The U.S. Census Bureau and marriage organizations vary on the stats but agree that nearly half of all weddings lead to divorce--with rates highest in the Bible belt. Some 25 percent of U.S. adults divorce at least once; and given the abundance of poor marriages, many couples skip it outright.


"Fireproof" mirrors the problems of many marriages, in this case through a firefighter whose high-stress job spills into his home life. Hitting on pain points common to married life--from indifference to insults to emotional affairs and internet porn--the story opens with a couple's disintegration.


"Most movies are about relationships that lead to marriage," Michael Catt, of Sherwood Pictures said. "'Fireproof' picks up seven years into a marriage headed for divorce. And the question is: Can a cold marriage revive? Why stay together?"


Given that firefighters have one of the nation's highest divorce rates, "Fireproof" also has the support of many firefighters and related organizations. John White, former head of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Search & Rescue Team, is urging firefighters across the country to see it.


Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A doubles as movie promoter to every audience he addresses: "Since visiting the 'Fireproof' set, I've been Fireproof's biggest fan," he says. "On top of a powerful message and the potential to change lives and marriages, this is one great movie!"


People like Bob Waliszewski, director of Focus on the Family's Plugged in and Scott Evans, founder and CEO of Outreach, Inc., are excited about the movie's potential to inspire people to want to heal their marriages and actually show them how. "The clips have me excited about the potential of this film to give hope to struggling marriages," Waliszewski said.


"We all know marriages are in trouble," Evans said. "[What] a powerful and relevant way to address the need and provide hope for healing."


Dr. Jeff S. Fray, chair of The Marriage CoMission, echoes Evans and Waliszewski: "Fireproof's challenge to 'never leave your partner behind' brings to us a dramatic experience of the power of sacrifice and forgiveness. I expect this film to give viewers more confidence that great marriages can be a reality."


Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife, sees this one movie's impact far beyond weekend movie- going. "'Fireproof' is going to do more than entertain and stir hearts when it comes to movie theaters," he said.


"This movie is about fireproofing your most important earthly relationship," Executive Producer Jim McBride says on behalf of the filmmakers. "Our hope and prayer is that people will be touched by the story of Caleb and Catherine and commit to fireproofing their marriages--no matter what state those marriages are currently in."


Sherwood's aim to "reach the world from Albany, GA" rides on first-rate entertainment packing powerful messages. Its first movie, "Flywheel," explored business integrity. "Facing the Giants" tackled personal fear and failure. Now "Fireproof" asks what makes a true hero.

(Source: Christian Newswire)


For more information about "Fireproof," how individuals and organizations can get involved, and in what theaters the movie will open, stay current with www.FireprooftheMovie.com.

Don't Be An April Fool

Today is April Fool's Day. Though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

Here are a few famous hoaxes:

The Swiss Sphaghetti Hoax:
In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.


The Bible does not have that much to say about "fools." Yet what it does say is worth our attention.


David
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1

Jesus
"And (Jesus) told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' "Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:15-21)

Ahhhh! That's the secret...be rich toward God.

How is one rich toward God? I am so glad you asked!
1. J - Put God first - Matthew 6:33
2. O - Put others next
3. Y - Leave yourself last
It brings JOY!
Any investment we make with God has a guarantee of return.


Roger Babson, the statistician, was lunching with the President of Argentina. "Mr. Babson," the President said, "I have been wondering why it is that South America with all its natural advantages, its mines of iron, copper, coal, silver and gold; its rivers and great waterfalls which rival Niagara, is so far behind North America."
Babson replied, "Well, Mr. President, what do you think is the reason?"
He was silent for a while before he answered. "I have come to this conclusion. South America was settled by the Spanish, who came to South America in search of gold; but North America was settled by the Pilgrim Fathers, who went there in search of God."
—Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations

A teacher had just related to a class of boys the story of the rich man and Lazarus; then he asked, "Now, which would you rather be, boys—the rich man or Lazarus?"
One boy replied: "I'd want to be the rich man while I'm living and Lazarus when I die."
—Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations

Fireproof In Final Editing Stages

Sherwood Pictures newest movie "Fireproof" is in the final stages of editing. As a matter of fact the rough edit has been sent to Provident Films. The "teaser trailer" (along with other interesting information) is now online at: http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/.

I want to ask my readers to pray about several things. First pray for Alex Kendrick as he and others work on the job of editing the movie for it's final version. Second, pray for Stephen Kendrick as he writes a book that will be released (I believe) when the DVD is released (and I am not sure when that will be). Pray anyway.

Next pray for our pastor Michael Catt and Jim McBride as they take care of the other things that accompany a work like this. And last but not in anyway the least, pray that God would see fit to continue to place His Almighty Hand on this work. His hand has been evident in scriptwriting, casting, production and editing. Pray that souls will be saved, marriages mended and strengthened, men and women brought to the throne of God and lives totally transformed.

For all Southern Baptist Pastors, the movie will be shown at 2:00 pm on Sunday, June 8 as a part of the Pastor's Conference of the Southern Baptist Convention. Don't miss it. It is due out in theaters August 22. And by the way pray for our pastor as he leads this years conference.

Prayer Works

Back in 1989, a Brazilian housewife and mother named Elizabeth Cornelio became concerned about her city, Goiania – population 1,200,000 and a major center of spiritism and other problems. So she began meeting for prayer with four women from other churches.

In 1993, she invited Christians all over the city to unite and pray. When 850 showed up, her pastor kicked her out of the church, saying, "Members of other churches are not spiritual brothers and sisters; they are at most spiritual cousins."

Today almost 200,000 women pray for the city every day, linked by her radio program. When the program had to go off the air from March through May of 1999, the crime rate quickly ballooned by 50 percent. The city sent a delegation including the mayor and police chief, beseeching her to get back on the air. (She did, and the crime rate sank.)

Every believer in town gets into the act: Midwives anoint newborns with oil, dedicating them to Jesus; Christians walk the aisles in supermarkets, praying for people; a few preach in bars, to great effect; and some even get up at 4 a.m. to walk through the empty streetcars, praying that God will bless each rider that day.

Don't laugh. In seven years, evangelicals in Goiania went from 7 percent of the population to 45 percent.

Now, a short science lesson:
In India, "a group of intercessors went walking and praying around a block of apartments for several days but left the neighboring block alone. When contacted later, over 70 percent of the prayer-walked block welcomed the intercessors while 90 percent of the unwalked block rejected them."

A similar experiment was done by a church in Phoenix. Intercessors randomly selected 160 names from the local telephone book and divided the names into two equal groups. For 90 days, they prayed for one group of 80 homes. The other 80 homes were not prayed for.
After 90 days, they called all 160 homes, identified themselves and their church, and asked for permission to stop by and pray for the family and any needs they might be willing to share. Of the 80 homes for which they didn't pray, only one invited them to come in. Of the 80 homes for which they had prayed, 69 invited someone to come over; of the 69, 45 invited them to come in.

If you pray, God will do the heavy lifting! Also, He will solve the problems that politicians struggle with endlessly.

A noted prayer leader has described what typically happens after concentrated, united prayer:
Government officials are given wisdom and guidance. Businesses are blessed. Crime rates go down. Healthy churches impact their communities ...Drug centers have closed, prostitution rings have moved out of neighborhoods, bars have shut down, crime rates have dropped, fractured neighborhood relationships have been healed, suicides have been prevented, marriages have been restored, workplaces have changed ... and individuals have given their lives to Christ.

Freed of the usual programs and routine, simple believers like you and me can actually do such things – and more. We are even beginning to change the world's political architecture:
The heaviest prayer-walking in recent memory was in East Germany in 1989, where groups of 10 or 12 were meeting in homes on Monday nights to pray for peace – some 50,000 people by October. After that, they quietly moved into churches and the streets. News reports said their numbers swelled to 300,000, and on Nov. 9, the Berlin Wall fell.

In India, Christians and dalits ("untouchables") had suffered persecution and caste-based suppression for centuries. But as the 2004 election drew near, about 5 million Christians around the world united in prayer and fasting against the Hindu nationalists who controlled the government. Polls all said that the anti-Christian BJP party had an unbreakable lock on the nation. Everyone was stunned on May 13 when the BJP was swept from power and firmly replaced by the Christian-friendly Congress Party.

As Sherlock Holmes once exclaimed, "Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot."
Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45558.

Perspective on giving to Missions

Americans give $700 million per year to mission agencies. However, they pay as much for pet food every 52 days. A person must overeat by at least $1.50 worth of food per month to maintain one excess pound of flesh. Yet $1.50 per month is more than what 90 percent of all Christians in America give to missions.
If the average missions supporter is only five pounds overweight, it means he spends (to his own hurt) at least five times as much as he gives for missions. If he were to choose simple food (as well as not overeat), he could give ten times as much as he does to missions and not modify his standard of living in any other way!

Ralph Winter of the William Carey Library, 1705 North Sterra Bonita Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104, in Leadership, IV,4,p. 64.

Asher Scott Pilgreen

Asher Scott Pilgreen was born at 2:59 p.m. CST on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 to Ben and Shauna Pilgreen of Tuscaloosa, AL. Welcoming Asher into the family were his two older brothers, Elijah (4) and Samuel (2). Maternal grandparents are Harris and Phyllis Malcom of Americus.

The War on Christmas

Christmas is under attack. One of the two most sacred of days and seasons of the year to the Christian community is under the gun. In some sections of our country it is coming from the business sector, while in others from left wing liberals bent on removing Christ from Christmas. Terms like "Merry Christmas" is replaced with "Happy Holidays." The "Christmas Tree" is replaced with the "Holiday Tree." They call is trying to be "sensitive to the public."

Simon Maloy, posted the following on the website mediamatters.org, "This is both a confession and a call to arms. For the past several years, I have been secretly involved in a secret scheme to secretly force religion -- Christianity, in particular -- from the public square. This secret has been laid bare, however, so now I can publicly and proudly proclaim that I am a member of the secular-progressive plot pithily dubbed "The War on Christmas," and have been authorized by the founder and leader of this movement, George Soros, to acknowledge its existence and call upon our fellow Christmas-haters to make themselves known and to take our no-longer secret campaign to the streets. Down with Christmas!"


Fox News host Bill O'Reilly claimed that "it's all part of the secular progressive agenda ... to get Christianity and spirituality and Judaism out of the public square." He then added: "[B]ecause if you look at what happened in Western Europe and Canada, if you can get religion out, then you can pass secular progressive programs, like legalization of narcotics, euthanasia, abortion at will, gay marriage, because the objection to those things is religious-based, usually."

What do we do? Well we don't back down...that's for sure.
1. Greet those you encounter this year with a sincere "Merry Christmas."
2. Take every opportunity in conversation to tell what Christmas means to you and why.
3. Invite friends, neighbors, and work associates to attend church with you this year.
There are many opportunities like musicals, dramas, etc.
4. Decorate your homes to the Glory of God.

The world is "hell bent" (no apology coming) on removing His presence from society. We are called to be salt and light. Let's be who He has called us to be. Some may think that this will go away and that people like this have no hope of succeeding.

Remember,"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

Evel Knievel: The Rest of the Story

Robert Craig "Evel Knievel" died recently. As long as I can remember he has been an American Icon. A self proclaimed "Dare Devil," he brought a new dimension to the motor cycle. Some ride for pleasure, others for transportaion, still others for identity...He used it like Michael Jordan used a basketball.

I'm sure there are various opinions about him ranging from heroic to downright crazy. No doubt he defied death on many occasions. He definitely escaped death on numeous occasions.

Now, I would not normally be writing a blog on Mr. Knievel. However, months before his death a very important event happened in his life. He made a life changing decision. A decision that everyone needs to make before they die.

On April 1 of this year Evel Knievel publicly confessed faith in Christ. Before an audience of 4,000 and a world-wide audience of millions over Dr. Robert Schuller's "Hour of Power" broadcast.

Knievel told how he had refused for 68 years to convert to Christianity because he didn’t want to surrender his lifestyle of "the gold and the gambling and the booze and the women." He explained his conversion experience by saying, "All of a sudden, I just believed in Jesus Christ. I did, I believed in him!" Knievel said he knew people were praying for him, including his daughter's church, his ex-wife's church, and the hundreds of people who wrote letters urging him to believe.

Evel Knievel came to faith in large part due to Lee Strobel's book "The Case for Christ."

Quote from Lee Strobel:
"I'll tell you what, we have seen such a change in Evel Knievel. I mean I am so thrilled to be his friend now and to watch how similar to my story coming from a profane and immoral and drunken kind of a life, and finding faith, and watching a life change thanks to the work of God. And to see that in Evel Knievel it's just been thrilling.

The "Dare Devil" became a Christ follower. Praise the Lord.