Photo Credit: Sara Burns
rejected. He preached the gospel to the poor. The capacity of tenderness that God has far exceeds anything we could ever reach or touch. But many times, God will allow something to happen to us that breaks our hearts so that we will become tenderhearted. Then, the love and the tenderness of Christ will flow out of that.” This is a scenario viewers will see in Overcomer. As Hannah and Coach Harrison face tough situations, they find themselves broken, which softens their hearts so that they begin to seek things God seeks and love things God loves. As such, the entire trajectory of their lives change. They are able to give God their best despite what they initially perceived as setbacks—a lesson Alex knows all too well.
Knowing that Setbacks are Not Final “A lot of people may not know this, but I was run over by a car when I was a kid,” Alex reveals, describing the 1976 incident. “We lived on a little bit of a slope in front of a four-lane highway…It was a Sunday morning, and my dad was trying to get us all in the car.” Stephen picks up the story: “I was in the front seat, sitting at the wheel. I was playing around and popped the gear into neutral, and the car rolled down our driveway [over Alex] into the street.” Alex concludes, “So, I got a little bit of a surprise having a car roll over me, but the Lord protected me. Other than some damage to my ear, which has been totally healed now that I’ve had surgery, and some scrapes, 20
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bumps, and bruises, I survived. And here we are making movies.” Sometimes life throws us curveballs. That doesn’t mean we’re out of the game. They are opportunities for God to show us He’s God. So, regardless of what we’re facing, we must rely on God’s wisdom.
Relying on God’s Wisdom With such an amazing track record for making films, it’s hard not to wonder what film the Kendrick brothers will do next. But if you ask them, they’ll tell you it’s not really up to them. “We have a number of scripts and plots...but what we tend to do is go through what we call a season of prayer,” explains Alex. “Basically, we say, ‘God, what do you want us to do next?’ Whenever he prompts us to go in a certain direction, we follow that direction because we desire His blessing on our projects more than anything else.” The brothers also rely on God’s wisdom when it comes to working together. “So, the way we tend to operate is with a point man mentality. Basically, each of us has different sets of God-given strengths, so whatever aspect we’re working on, the brother with that strength tends to be the point man, and the other two brothers support him.” Alex continues, “I’m not a very good producer. They make sure all the elements come together to make the film. Stephen is best at that, so he produces. I’m really focused on the story. So, all aspects of the story— the characters, how it’s visually told and directed and edited—are all
elements I work on. Shannon doesn’t like the limelight, but he’s the most structured, organized, and administrative. So, we support Shannon as he helps us with our company structure and making sure we’re legally appropriate.” Instead of relying on their own wisdom to get it all done, they operate in a fashion similar to the Trinity—one mission but three distinct persons, with different attributes.
More than We Can Ask or Imagine
The Kendrick brothers’ lives are a prime example of how when we follow God, He really is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think. Be sure to check out Overcomer in theaters this August. Let it inspire you to follow God’s lead so you too can be an overcomer, living a life that exemplifies Ephesians 3:20, one of Stephen’s favorite verses. He paraphrases, “Through Jesus, we have boldness. And He can do more than we can ask or think or imagine,” adding, “God can do so much through us, through the Holy Spirit within us... As much as we can imagine and pray for, God can do more than that.”