MOVIE NIGHT WITH THE ERWIN BROTHERS: WOODLAWN

“The Good Book says, ‘Where there’s no vision, the people perish.’ That means people can’t live without hope. They need it like they need air. I say: go give it to them.”

~ Mr. Nathan in the movie “Woodlawn“

“Revival comes through repentance.”

My Dad spoke these words just a few minutes ago as we were discussing this movie—which, we both agree, is about the best ever made (though 1959’s Ben-Hur will probably always hold the top spot in my book 😊). His words set me thinking. We as the people of God have been praying for “revival” for years. We write books about it, sing songs about it, blog blogs about it, chat about it on talk shows, print verses about it on coffee mugs, make signs about it to hold at political rallies…

But do we really know what “revival” means?

Do we know what it requires?

And do we have any idea what it might actually look like if it showed up?

Enter Woodlawn.

As a movie goes, this one hits every beat perfectly. The acting is superb. The story is engaging. The drama is visceral. The action (via some of the best football scenes ever), heart-pounding. The humor, genuine and refreshing. The love story, tender and raw. And the heart, intensely moving (trust me: you will cry—several times, probably). Woodlawn is, in every way, an American classic: from the epic visuals and “killer” soundtrack to the true-life underdog story of young Tony Nathan becoming the first black “superstar” of Woodlawn High School’s football team in 1970’s, racial-torn Birmingham, Alabama.

But the heart of Woodlawn goes even deeper.

Woodlawn is about what happens “when God shows up”.

It’s closely based on the true story of how a true move of the Holy Spirit of God (fueled by a nationwide event that took place in the 70’s simply called “The Jesus Movement”) took a football team, a school, and a city that was on the brink of collapse thanks to racial hatred and completely turned it around, 180 degrees. A few details were adjusted to adapt the story to screen, but the Erwin Brothers took painstaking care to make sure Woodlawn was as true to what actually happened in 1973 as possible—especially since their own Dad was a main character in the actual events. Often, he told his boys the story of Woodlawn as they went to bed, engraining into their young minds the reality of how God can change the scene—hearts, lives, cultures—when He is given free reign to move. When there is desperation. When there is repentance. When there is surrender.

Then the Kingdom of Heaven comes on earth.

Woodlawn is more than a movie. It’s more than an inspiring bi-opic. It’s more than a brilliant piece of filmmaking. Woodlawn is a reminder of what God can do in our day. What He wants to do. What He will do.

If we will seek Him.

We need Him—desperately. The time is over for us to pretend we don’t. As individuals, as families, as communities, as states, as a nation, as the world…as the Church of the Living God, we must have Jesus. But we can’t have Him on our own terms. We can’t come to Him and just “throw our petitions at His feet”, as Oswald Chambers once said. We must be willing to humble ourselves. To repent. To seek reconciliation—with Him and with our fellow men. If we won’t do this, we are truly lost…but if the story of Woodlawn teaches me anything, it’s that God loves showing up when we do. He loves coming through for us. Restoring what was lost. Fixing what is broken. Mending what’s been torn. Giving “beauty for ashes”, the “oil of joy for mourning”, and “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 63 & Luke 4).

Reviving hope in the human heart.

I love Woodlawn. I love every single thing about it. But I love it most because this movie gives me hope. It restores my vision. And it reminds me that if God did it once, He can do it again. He will do it again. As my Dad so perfectly stated:

“Revival comes through repentance.”

And revival is what people are dying for.

I say:

“Let’s go give it to them!”

“Look around you. We’re not alone. This is what happens…when God shows up.”

LIVE EPIC,

CHRISTIS JOY

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” ~ God (Jeremiah 29:13)