New Film With Lisa Chan Explores 'True Beauty' the Way God Sees It
Steve Carr may be a man but he knows the pressures and expectations women face when it comes to beauty and success.
"I have seen the demands and expectations that our culture places on women pretty much are in direct opposition to what Scripture would tell us (the same is true for men)," Carr, executive director at Flannel and father of three daughters, told The Christian Post. "Our culture's definition of beauty is impossible to achieve by most. However, if you buy the right products or get the right injections or have the right surgery, you can have a better life!"
He knows what the magazines are telling women. On top of the right look, women are being told they need to have better sex, have perfect children, and a great career – all things that they "deserve," Carr noted.
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But Carr is looking to pass on a different message to women. With the help of Lisa Chan, wife of bestselling author Francis Chan, Carr is producing a new film series titled "True Beauty."
The first part ("Be Still) of the series was released last month.
"The 'True Beauty' series, explores the tension between how the world tells us to live and what Scripture has to say. Proverbs 31 tells us that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who loves the Lords is to be praised. This series is about finding your identity in Jesus," Carr explained.
Lisa Chan admits that she has gotten "caught up in charm and beauty and chasing after things that don't really matter." But she realized that the kind of woman God views as precious is the one who fears Him, walks with Him, and knows Him.
"Am I getting distracted by things that are not meaningful, that are not true?" she poses.
"True Beauty" is the fourth film series produced by Flannel. Previous films include "Nooma," "Basic," and "Ed's Story."
Carr said he had actually been looking for a woman speaker for years for his new film project. When he began working with Francis Chan in 2009 for the "Basic" series, that's when he got to know Lisa and found her to be "exactly what we were looking for."
"We have been looking for a unique woman who can revive sort of a lost skill in the church today and that is what is described in Titus 2 where the 'older' women are instructed to teach the younger women in what it means to live out their lives in Christ," he said. "So we were looking for some old school teaching personified in someone who people can relate to."
The "True Beauty" films are not meant to be simply a teaching. Rather, they are designed to portray real life.
The first part of the series features Chan encouraging women to learn the discipline of being still and spending time in God's Word in order to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
"We are living in crazy times," she says. "It just feels like we're spinning out of control and we're forgetting about God. I'm worried, spiritually speaking, that we're missing what we really need and what's really important – we're missing God."
Flannel also weaves in the story of Susan who was living the "perfect" life until her husband left her. Carr described Susan as a "real life example of what happens to one who embraces the Be Still lesson."
The next two parts in the series, which Flannel is currently working on, will be "Deny Yourself" and "Not of This World."
Flannel's previous film, "Ed's Story," has been seen by about 1 million people in 144 countries.
The Chans, who formerly led Cornerstone Church, a successful megachurch in Simi Valley, Calif., have settled in northern California where they launched a church planting ministry in San Francisco.
On the Web: https://flannel.org/products/true-beauty-be-still
