7 faith-based movies to watch this Christmas holiday season
'Kirk Franklin’s a Gospel Christmas' – Streaming
Now available to stream, Kirk Franklin’s recently produced “first-ever” Christmas gospel film tells the “Incredible story of amazing grace.”
“Kirk Franklin’s a Gospel Christmas” aired Dec. 4 on Lifetime and it is said to be the first-ever gospel Christmas film.
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The movie, which is for an adult crowd because of its dramatic content, stars Demetria McKinney, Chaz Lamar Shepherd and Jen Harper.
“The film will show how much gospel music can live and survive outside of just Sunday morning, [and] that it can be on TV, on Broadway and in movies,” Franklin, one of the film's executive producers, told CP.
“It will be a great moment for the genre, the community and Lifetime.”
The romance story follows a young female pastor who is given the position of lead pastor of a church a month before Christmas. Feeling insecure about her new position, she finds her place when preparing the church’s choir for a Christmas jamboree. While there, she builds a strong church community and falls in love.
“The agenda should be that, whether it’s male or female, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached and that it’s being shared with the world,” Franklin said. “I don’t want to get into doctrine. I just want to be able to tell stories that align with the totality of the Gospel and the truth. And I think there hasn’t been enough honest conversations about identity and value and the esteem that we don’t have to be cookie-cutter.”
"Gospel music has always influenced American music, from your biggest pop stars, their musicians and their band of singers — [who] are all from the black church," he continued. "And so, we see that influence is all over pop culture for years from Elvis Presley to Kanye West. … This is an opportunity to just showcase the viability of the genre [of gospel music]. It’s been fun. It’s been great. I’m looking forward to people seeing the film.”
The film also addresses a number of issues faced by many Christians in Church culture, including church hurt.
For those who have been hurt by the Church, Franklin said he hopes the film will remind them that every person is a sinner saved by grace.
The movie is "not a pulpit" or a "Wednesday night Bible study," the gospel trailblazer stated.
"People can’t say, ‘They didn’t even have an altar call during the credits,’" he emphasized.
“This is why I want to deconstruct what we think 21st-century evangelism is. Some things are just for fun. When you go roller skating, you don’t get Christian roller skates. You just get roller skates. … I feel that every opportunity is a moment to point people vertically, but to have this overshooting attempt to make everything a suit, and tie, a Bible and an altar call is missing the opportunity to also be light in the world.”
“Kirk Franklin’s a Gospel Christmas” was directed by Erica Sutherlin and was created by Swirl Films and Big Dreams Entertainment.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: [email protected] She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
