It has been a while since a movie has moved me this much. After watching clips of Cecil B. Demille’s “The King of Kings” I wanted to grab my bible and dig into the stories that have framed my faith.

We watched it today in Faith, Film, and Culture- a class taught by Dave Anderson, a friend of Hollywood and director of the Compass Film Academy here in Grand Rapids, MI. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favorite classes… not only because I love story and its impact on our culture, but because it shows God’s impact on a hurting world.

Cecil B. Demille is a man I know well… for one, we share a birthday (he would have turned 104 the day I was born… had he still been alive) In high school, we watched “The Ten Commandments” though at the time I didn’t care much about the story. Now I see how niave I was. Not only was Mr. Demille a brilliant director (he was doing things in the 1920’s that rival some of our modern technology)- he was devoted to the bible, making several films about it to challenge others to think about their faith and fate.

If given the chance to share my faith through media, would I be as blatent as he? Would I be able to make something that would say “this is Jesus and his story. This book- the Bible- is the ultimate story: come listen, come watch, come read.”

Watching the “King of Kings” made me really question what I’m doing for the Kingdom. The actors were so expressive, Mr. Demille so creative… they knew how to reach us- even in the silence of the film. THAT is creativity at its highest- reaching the soul, forcing it to reconsider its path. Media reaches us where we are at… why not use it to bring us to a better place?