How 'The Forge' aims to reignite Church’s mission of discipleship in fatherless generation
A troubled, fatherless teen, Isaiah finds a father in God in an exclusive clip from "The Forge," a film whose director hopes helps bring the Church in this generation "back to what Jesus did with His disciples."
"The Forge" is directed by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick and stars Aspen Kennedy, Karen Abercrombie, T.C. Stallings, BJ Arnett and Benjamin Watson.
"Isaiah Wright has some growing up to do,"reads the film description. "A year out of high school with no plans for his future, Isaiah is challenged by his single mom and a successful businessman to start charting a better course for his life. Through the biblical discipleship from his new mentor, prayers of his mother and a prayer warrior named Miss Clara, Isaiah begins to discover God’s purpose for his life is so much more than he could hope for or imagine. From the Kendrick Brothers, the creators of the No. 1 hit WAR ROOM, comes THE FORGE, a faith-filled new movie with familiar friends and inspiring new twists.
In an exclusive clip of the film, Isaiah is shown on his knees at his bedside, crying out to God. His mentor then welcomes him to "The Forge," a group of men discipling the next generation.
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"I pray for you that you not be one in a million, but one of a million. We need more believers who are wholeheartedly following Jesus. Isaiah, welcome to The Forge," he says.
Speaking in the clip, Alex Kendrick says, "I believe the Church right now in this generation needs to get back to what Jesus did with his disciples."
Shirer, head of Going Beyond Ministries, added, "The body of Christ, the bride of Christ, is supposed to be about turning all of our attention, our ambitions, our focus, fixing our eyes on Jesus. We are devoted to Jesus, and we will do anything He calls us to do."
"The Forge," which hit theaters in August, was a box office success, grossing $29.4 million worldwide against a $5 million budget. It received positive reviews from critics and audiences and earned the Kendricks' fourth "A+" on CinemaScore. It's now available to rent.
In a previous interview with The Christian Post, the Kendrick brothers, who are also behind "War Room" and "Courageous," stressed that they aren't out to win Academy Awards. Rather, they want to equip, uplift and challenge the Church to live out the calling set before them.
"Jesus said the Church is the salt of the Earth and the light of the world, and God will reach the world through a revived, surrendered, unified Church," Alex Kendrick said.
"Before we tell the world, 'You need to work on your marriage,' we within the Church need to be aligning with Scripture and under the Lordship of Jesus. … When we surrender an aspect of our lives to the Lordship of Jesus, He takes this worldly mindset that is often twisted and broken and leads us to disarray and chaos and confusion, and He leads us back to His good, pleasing and perfect will in each area of our lives."
"God has given us an opportunity through film to take the best messages in the world. … We can help the world; we can be a blessing and be the salt in the light that Jesus has called us to," Kendrick continued. "We know that our movies are not aimed to win Academy Awards. We're not interested in that. We want to go after the hearts, minds and lives of the viewers because love will desire God's best for them in every area of their lives."
In the film, Cynthia is depicted as a prayer warrior for her struggling son, regularly asking God for wise male mentors to come into his life. Shirer told CP that the countercultural concept of male leadership within the household is crucial despite its declining popularity in mainstream media depictions of the family.
"It's important, and it is the design that the Lord had in mind when He created family," she said.
"Obviously, we live in a broken world, and so there are so many parents who are doing it by themselves and are doing an amazing job. But this is where the Body of Christ comes in, where there are surrogate parents and surrogate aunties and uncles and people that fill in the gaps in all of our children's lives."
"Seeing males step up to the plate of influence and leadership in these young people's lives in this film, I really do think is going to inspire and encourage the Body of Christ to rise up and fill in those gaps that they see around them."
"The Forge" is now available for rent or purchase.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
