FACING THE GIANTS

4 Stars – Inspirational

It is rare that a homegrown Christian movie successfully makes it into the mainstream theaters, but “Facing the Giants” defies the odds.  Director Alex Kendrick created this film as a special project with the Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia, and most of the people in the movie are local folks who volunteered from the town.  Any profits received by the church from this movie were used to build a youth center in Albany, Georgia.

“Facing The Giants” tells the story of a football coach who has the task of building a team in a school where there is little history of success on the field.  Grant Taylor (Alex Kendrick) is a well-intentioned man who is discouraged to the point of wanting to quit his job.  To add insult to injury, the fathers of the young men on the team would also like him to leave.  One night, he enters the school after hours to finish some work and he inadvertently hears the fathers and some of his staff plotting to ask him to resign.

Grant has a loving wife who stands by him, but no matter what she says, it doesn’t relieve the hurt he feels as a failing teacher.  If one point of pain isn’t enough, Grant and his wife are struggling with the fact that they cannot conceive a child though they long for a family.  Being a man of faith, he can’t understand what it is that God is expecting him to do.  At a point in his deepest depression, Grant cries out in anguish to God, and ultimately surrenders everything about his life to Him.

It should come as no surprise that this is not a film about football.  It is about what God can do when men and women give all they have to God in faith.  The story is a classic tale about how when we reach our lowest, God transforms us into His greatest asset.

God’s messenger comes in the form of a janitor who tells Grant that he has prayed for him as a coach, and God has revealed to him that he is to be a word of inspiration.  In a similar fashion, David Childers (Bailey Cave), who is one of the smallest boys on the team, is given a series of loving talks by his own father. He challenged him with the truth that God is present to make us strong no matter how insignificant we think we are.  (David’s father is confined to a wheelchair with Multiple Sclerosis, but he stands tall in his faith.)

Knowing he has little time left as a coach, Grant challenges his team to give everything they have to the Lord and, win or lose, they will praise Him for being there with them.  Grant then begins to give everything he has to his team, asking God every step along the way to give him guidance.  The transformation in Coach Taylor’s approach gives inspiration and hope to these young boys who look up to him.

What follows is a series of successes that you will need to rent the movie to see. The story is believable, deeply sincere, and played out with loving conviction.  A cynic might say the story claims that “if you become a person of faith, you will live happily ever after.”  A better description of the story is that it clearly parallels the words of St. Paul: “Through Christ, all things are possible.”  It is true that they succeed as a team, but what is more important is that “winning” was no longer their primary purpose for entering the field.  Coach Taylor transformed a group of young boys into men of faith.  Each one reached out beyond their own inadequacies, and in heart-felt trust dedicated everything that they did to the glory of God.

Regardless of one’s religious beliefs or traditions, you can’t help but be moved by a story of how one man’s love for others built a team of men dedicated to living out this love in their lives.  The Sherwood Baptist church of Georgia has used this medium to preach a sermon to tens of thousands of people beyond the walls of their own sanctuary.  That in itself was a mighty act of faith.

 

Discussion:

1. When presented in authentic form, a film can present the “good news” with clarity and conviction.  Did you find yourself more willing to give everything you are to God in viewing this film?  Why or why not?

 

2. When we allow the circumstances of life such as poverty or size to define us, then we are unable to overcome such definitions.  Have you allowed any temporary definition of who you are to limit you?

 

3. The power of belief can often translate into victory – whether in football or in life.  But most of us grow from our defeats rather than our victories.  How do you respond to both victory and defeat in your own life?  In looking back, which has formed you into the person you are either for good or for ill?

 

4. Films are often seen as requiring a big budget and well-known actors. Do you believe this is true?  Are we entering into a new era in filmmaking where a local church, town, club or individual can make a film worthy of a large audience?  If so, how will this change the film industry?