God Told Me to Write This Blog
First of all, these thoughts are not meant to offend anyone, but that doesn’t meant they won’t.
At least once a day, and usually a lot more than once, I get an email or a phone call from someone who wants to be in the movie business. They may be a writer, and actor, a musician, a cameraman or just someone who wants to be in the movie business but has no particular idea of what it is they want to do exactly. That’s all fine and well.
So let’s say I get ten such calls a week. Of those ten, probably five start with words to effect of “God told me to call you” or “God told me he wants me to act in a Christian movie”.
There’s also, “God gave me an idea for a movie”. I mean, it’s pretty hard for me to say, “You know, I hate to throw a stick in the spokes here, but you’re going to have to tell God that’s a pretty bad idea”. Ouch. Now I’m not complaining. I’m just wondering how the rest of you out there deal with this on a regular basis.
If someone tells you that God has told them to do something, do you just drop everything and devote a hundred percent of your time and focus to this calling? Imagine if you had heard it with your own ears. An angel appears in the sky above your neighbour’s house and tells him, “take down that fence”. I can tell you now, if it were me, I’d be out there in a second, hammer and axe in hand.
But what if you don’t see the angel. Instead your neighbor just shows up at your door and says, “God told me to take the fence down”. And let’s say you know that the neighbor’s 300 pound uncle with the hairy back likes to sunbathe in the backyard every afternoon. Now what? “Sorry Frank, you’re going to have to tell God that fence ain’t comin’ down”. In other words, you don’t really believe God told him to do that.
So when DO we believe it? Usually when it’s something we want. If Frank had come over and said “God told me to give you two hundred bucks”, then you might be a bit more open minded.
Now does that mean that God has never told me to do anything? Yes. Oh, and while I’m at it, I am equally close-minded to the age old excuse, “the devil made me do it”. No he didn’t. God can help is along our paths and can open doors for us along the way. But ultimately, we choose our paths, and we knock on the doors we want to knock on. So if you want to be an actor, why not say so.
“I am an actor, and I want to serve God better by using my talent in a Christian movie”. That makes it a whole lot easier for me to say, “let’s see you audition”. After all, if God Himself sent you, then you shouldn’t even need an audition right? It’s the, “it’s not what you know it’s who you know” taken to quite an extreme.
- Post by Paul Lalonde, Chairman/Owner of Cloud Ten Pictures
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I know exactly what you mean Paul. Oddly enough, despite me being new to everything…I get a ton of emails and calls myself. It’s tough to return everything because there isn’t a very good way to say some things without it stinging. I had a conversation with a friend recently and he said he doesn’t believe God can tell anyone anything outside of His Word. I do not agree with that doctrinally, just to be clear. But, there does seem to be a lot of people who confuse God speaking to them and them speaking to them.
As an outsider it’s tough to discern properly. I guess it really comes down to how we should handle everything else. Read God’s Word, pray in the spirit, and be strong so when something comes along that is legitimately from God or it’s something God wants to present to us, that we are fully ready and prepared to recognize it as His leading.
Lots of people want to make movies, very few should actually be doing it. Unfortunately a lot of people who really aren’t very good are the ones that get the budgets and put them to waste…er, I mean use. That’s a different comment for a different blog post though
Trust me Paul, your not alone with this. I just wish people would stop and get confirmation from the Lord before they move on things. Just because something is a great opportunity, looks like it’ll be beneficial to the Kingdom, has a need you can fill…doesn’t mean it’s God’s Will that YOU actually help/fill the hole/etc. Don’t shut everything out, but don’t jump on everything because lots of great opportunities will come along in life that God may ask you to give up because he has something better for you.
A word to those that this blog post might apply to (as in you’ve sent emails like that before) Loading your offer/audition/fanboy emails with “O God told me to send…” or “The Holy Spirit woke me up in the middle of the night…” is not necessary. If anything, that kind of thing is irrelevant. What can you personally provide to who your emailing that will generate a response? If the Holy Spirit told you to do something, then go do it, you don’t have to broadcast to everyone that 3am the previous morning you woke up and BING a revelation! Putting the kinds of things that Paul posted about into your emails actually could hurt you when you send it to him because to some degree, it automatically puts you in a group of people (at least it does to me). Someone who is legitimate (at least in my experience) presents their emails professionally, sincerely, and they’re well thought out. Just be patient, present yourself well, and know that you don’t have to load it with all sorts of biblical stuff. If the Spirit led you to email someone because “the spirit wants me to act in christian movies,” then send a normal email and wait for a response. If it was truly the Lord telling you and not you, then you’ll get one…
Kyle Prohaska
Praise Pictures Inc.
http://www.praisepictures.com
good article; too many Christians do exactly what you say and come off sounding really flakey; God works more often than anything through common human experience, everyday people and our own logic, which He expects us to use.
You know, it could also be that they have their timing off… I have heard more than one person speak of God “calling” them to something, that then didn’t come about for years…
Just a thought.
God told me to write this comment.
I totally understand your logic in this post Paul and I agree.
When God talks to us like everything else that makes God God (and no that’s not a typo) it will be prove to be direct, clear, concise. It will not “wishy washy” because there is nothing “wishy washy” about God.
Sometimes however people have a hard time converting what they believe God has told them into the English language. However going by what I said in the paragraph above about God not being “wishy washy” when He speaks to us, if God indeed has spoken to someone then indeed He (God) also has the power to give the English translation to that person so they can not only express themselves but express themselves and be understood.
Now with all I just said, I hope it makes sense. FYI God did not tell me to say what I did in this comment. It’s only my opinion.
(((hugs)))
My first thoughts on reading this blog was that God put us in a natural world to lead our lives serving a supernatural God & going about our day to day lives in a very natural way!! We have interests, desires & passions that we have developed or He has given us & He may just speak to us in some fantastic supernatural way about following these but i believe (like KYLE) that we should seek confirmation & i think the scripture says from 2 or 3 sources!! I am NOT quick to say “God told me” about anything unless i know that i know that it was truly Him & i have that confirmation. I like what Carol said, “God works more often than anything through common human experience, everyday people and our own logic, which He expects us to use.”
On a lighter note…i so totally wish i could be an actress in Christian filmaking as i have done acting in churches ect before but never professionally but I am a single mom of a almost 11 year old girl & God would just have to open up some pretty fantastic doors to make a way for that!! So for now i am content!!
Paul,
Relating to this is something I can understand. Yet, nevertheless when someone tells me that “God told me to do this or that” I go into prayer. Usually… actually let me rephrase myself. Before God sends someone to you saying that “He spoke to them about this or that” 10 out of 10 times God had already been working with your heart about something that may relate to that persons message. If my neighbor saw an angel on his roof that told him to tell me to cut down his fence, even though I know that his hairy uncle sunbathes in the yard, I would get in hard prayer and fasting about the situation. Chances would probably be that God told him to get the fence down and I have absolutely nothing to do with his/her mission. Thus, once he/she realizes this, I would be setting up my own fence because told me to… this way he completed his/her mission and I save my kids from having to see that Black Bear laying out in the yard.
That is a sticky situation. If someone says that “God told them…” I just smile and make a comment that if God said that to them, He’ll bring it about in His timing and His way. But I don’t stop what I’m doing and give 100% of my time to that as God did not speak to me about doing things to bring it about. If they want my participation or if it directly affects me (ie the fence issue) than I tell them that I’ll gladly participate or agree WHEN God speaks directly to me about it and that should be reassurance to them that they won’t step out of His timing if He hasn’t spoken to me yet. Of course, I’m not bothered by the volume of “God told me…”s as you are.
Keep doing the great work God has called you to!