War Room Critique - Could This Be The Reason The World Points Fingers At Christianity?

I don't know what to call this blog article, but I will come up with a name. The purpose of this article is not to divide the body of Christ, but to point out where and why divisions are taking place in the church, where we should be working together for the cause of Christ.

I am going to take an article found at http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2015/09/why-i-do-not-recommend-kendrick.html  and edit it. I want to show the fallacies of this kind of thinking. It is not a matter of whether or not you agree or even like Beth Moore (many people do not even know who she is) or Priscilla Shirrer, but whether an article like this one even makes any sense.

There are a lot of blogs out there and a lot of differing opinions. When it comes to those who are born again and are part of the body of Christ, we are to grow together in love, even though there will be disagreements among us.

Basically, this was a concern I had when the 'Strange Fire' conference took place last year. I saw a group of people now calling Christians who believed in the spiritual gifts for today, as heretics and false believers. They point to those on television who are using the gifts in much the same way that the Corinthians did in the early church days. They claim that the spiritual gifts have ceased and now we have the word of God and don't need such gifts.

This article does not primarily have to do with the spiritual gifts or if you believe they are for today or not, but it has to do with taking a movie, criticizing it, disagreeing doctrinally with it, and condemning it. The authors of articles such as the one posted above, position themselves as critics and I have seen many times, where they are followers of John McArthur, as well as his teachings on 'Strange Fire', which include believing that the spiritual gifts do not operate any more. So, the movie is out because it supposedly is 'adding to Scripture' because the people in the movie supposedly hear God's voice. (In case you haven't figured this out yet, some Reformed Bible teachers believe that God does not speak to our hearts today. We only hear His voice through Scripture). So, if I understand this correctly, I guess God cannot reveal Himself to me because that would mean that I am receiving extra Biblical revelation. If I understand what these people are saying, this is what it sounds like to me.

Let's go on and edit this blog. My comments are in blue italics.

Why I do not recommend Kendrick Brothers' new movie, "War Room", part 2

Part 1 here


For Christians seeking family friendly faith based movies either as entertainment or as ministry, the Kendrick Brothers movies from Sherwood Pictures have been the go-to series for many. Originally from Athens GA, the Kendrick Brothers are Shannon, Alex and Stephen. Alex and Stephen have been making full-length Christian movies since 2003, initially at Sherwood Baptist and now from their newly formed production company. Their first film was the independent release of Flywheel in 2003. After that came Facing The Giants (2006), Fireproof, (2008), and Courageous, (2011). Movie #5, War Room, came out Aug. 28, 2015. The opening weekend Box Office stunned Hollywood. It brought in 11 million dollars.

The films seem almost universally and uncritically adored, from patrons of them who flock to the screens to church pastors and leaders who show them in their sanctuaries. The films' showings are often accompanied with attendant paraphernalia such as curricula, studies, sermon outlines, resolutions, books, journals, devotionals and other merchandising. As a side note, translate the fervency and diligence some pastors promote and urge attendance at these movies to their fervency for preaching the Word expositionally and urging worship in their church. I wish. 

Whenever anything, and I mean anything, that is promoted from the pulpit it is wise to delve into whether the thing being promoted is consistent with the bible and thus edifying for the sheep. It is also wise to research the people behind writing these movies, books, devotionals, and study guides.

In Part 1, I mentioned that I do not like the movies the Kendrick Brothers have produced so far. I have seen three of them (not Courageous, and not War Room). The films do present a good storyline, engagingly developed. The films are based on biblical themes such as prayer, submission, fatherhood, etc. The films are written by pastors and are prayed over diligently, we hear. They're emotional and watchable. So what's not to like?

Discernment is not just looking at the surface. Discernment is not just accepting that a Christian thing is "close enough." Jesus did not come 'close enough' to sinlessness for the Father to accept His sacrifice.  The Apostles and Martyrs didn't preach and die a 'close enough' faith. We must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Jesus said,

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16, commentary on what this means here)

In Part 1 I'd said I'd look more at the Kendrick Brothers' choice of casting. They had said in this Youtube interview from several months ago that for the movie War Room --

We pray over every single role. We want Christians playing Christians in these movies, we want to know they believe what they are speaking in these roles. We want no hypocrisy, [we hire Christians who show that] we believe what this movie is about then live it out, outside the credits. 

So, since they announced the basis for their casting decisions, let's look at them and compare to scripture to see if they hold up.

Priscilla Shirer dominates the movie, being its main cast member (TC Stallings plays her husband). Since the Kendricks deliberately choose Christians who live what they believe, then what does Shirer believe?

Shirer believes and teaches extra-biblical, personal revelation (This is a false belief about Shirer. This belief of extra-biblical personal revelation comes from a belief system that says the spiritual gifts have ceased and we do not need to hear God's voice today because we have His word instead.)

Unfortunately, Shirer is a proponent of hearing directly from God. Here in an interview in Charisma Magazine, Shirer explains her basis for launching her "Going Beyond" ministries. Charisma Magazine has the tale (and even being quoted in Charisma is another discernment red flag). In the article it states,

In her case, God was speaking to her about going to “the place of abundant living—an experiential relationship with God.” “He said: ‘Priscilla, you’ve been at this mountain long enough. There is a new place that I want to take you to,’” Shirer says. In light of God’s challenge, Shirer naturally desired to “go beyond” personally.

So God personally speaks to Shirer clearly enough that she can put His words in quotes? This is a problem. When one tells the world that God speaks personally to her (and this isn't the only instance of her recounting extra-biblical revelation from God) then she denies the sufficiency of the Bible.

(Again, we have a belief system here that believes that God is not a personal God. We cannot hear His voice because we have His word instead. Not sure what they believe the role of the Holy Spirit is in our lives today, but He must not have much to do with us since we have the canon of Scriptures available to us).

Shirer believes in and teaches an experiential faith (When we come to Christ, do we experience anything concerning a relationship with God, or is it just a mental acknowledgment that He died for our sins?)

Secondly, look at the phrase "she naturally wanted to go beyond..." Go beyond what, exactly? The bible tells us not to go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6) something Shirer has already done in speaking of direct revelation from God. (Revelation 22:18) (Really?? Are you for real? This has nothing to do with receiving 'extra Biblical' revelation equal to the Scriptures. You are making a very big stretch on this one). Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others, as we're told in 2 Corinthians 10:15. In Galatians 5:12 Paul cursed the Judaizers, wishing they would "go beyond" their circumcision and excise the entire appendage lol. (This verse has nothing to do with going beyond Scriptures as is stated here). But Shirer's basis for a ministry of 'going beyond' is really a basis to go beyond what is written and venture into the experiential, something she says all the time should be normal for Christians. (So, I guess again that our relationship with God is just mental, not experiential? Can we experience a deepening relationship with God or is that just 'pie in the sky?') For example she said, "A lot of the demonstrative gifts of the Spirit aren’t used all the time in my church—almost never—so I could easily box God in and say because that is not my experience, God must not operate in that way. We need to accept that the body of Christ is full of other believers who have experienced God in equally relevant, equally reliable ways."

What Shirer is saying here is that if another person who calls themselves a Christian is experiencing the sign gifts, we must accept their experience as valid, or we will be putting God in a box. (No, you are putting words into her mouth. The spiritual gifts need to be tested. Any good church will tell you that. Everything that is done by means of a spiritual gift has to be weighed and tested.). Notice she didn't have a biblical stance for her reasoning why she believes the sign gifts continue. Only that if the experience is happening it must be valid. (No, the spiritual gifts are for today and they are for edifying the body of Christ. They are tools we have to serve one another with and glorify God with).

She says this not because she has come to a concerted biblical conclusion, but because of "other believers who have experienced God in equally relevant, equally reliable ways." (yes, they have. Revelatory does not equal the canon of Scriptures). Again, she has come to this belief - and teaches it- because people EXPERIENCE the gifts, not because she has exegeted the text to prove it so. (The spiritual gifts have not ceased and using the verse that says, "When the perfect is come.." is taking the verse out of context to mean what you want it to, not what the intention of the Scriptures is).

Shirer believes in and promotes contemplative prayer

Third, in addition to receiving and promoting as normal the extra-biblical revelation from God, experiential approaches to teaching and believing God's word, Shirer also teaches and promotes Contemplative Prayer. (Also known as Centering Prayer) This is a Catholic/Occult/Mystical practice which is not based on the bible but on inner knowings and experiences that supposedly occur after emptying the mind and experiencing the presence of God. "We are to meditate actively, using our minds, based upon Scripture, not empty nothingness and waiting" as the writer at CARM explains. (I would agree with CARM on this. Beth Moore and Pricilla Shirer are not practicing occultic mystic praying. When it comes to meditation, we are told from Scriptures in many places to meditate upon the word).

Learn more here, here, and here on why this practice is not biblical.

Back to the Kendricks and their discernment

When the Kendricks say they pray over each role and take time selecting Christian When the Kendricks say they pray over each role and take time selecting Christians who are sound and non-hypocritical, this is the level of their discernment? Putting front and center a charismatic mystic who promotes extra-biblical revelation and the experiential method as the benchmark of affirming truth? It seems to me the discernment level of those making the decisions at Kendrick Brothers Productions is not what it should be.

In addition, their casting of Beth Moore leaves much to be desired, since Moore engages in occult channeling, receives visions and extra-biblical personal revelation, puts herself out as a prophetess, promotes pop-psychology, mysticism, contemplative prayer, and legalism, poor exegesis, teaches men, lives like a feminist, and much more. (Not true. Look up Beth Moore's ministry and find out for yourselves if she is really doing these things. This is a form of bearing false witness against your neighbor, in other words, lying about someone, or in another term, 'slandering').

Speaking of associations, the Kendrick Brothers' discernment on this front also leaves much to be desired. They associate with TD Jakes, an unsaved pastor who denies the Trinity. Back in March of this year, Alex Kendrick was a featured speaker at the “Missions and Marketplace Conference” in Chicago. Also speaking at that conference was Jakes. The #WarRoomMovie twitter stream recently published a thank you to Jakes for his support of the movie. Remember, Jakes produced the film version of the heaven tourism book Heaven is for Real.

So back to the Kendrick Brothers' discernment. It seems that each of their movies have promoted some aspects of Christian life that are not biblical. (Did you actually see the movie? What parts were 'unbiblical'?) It seems that each movie has gotten a bit more blatant and forward in the departure from biblical discernment and practices. It seems that it got worse after they left the oversight of Sherwood Baptist and began partnering with heretics and hiring false teachers for their movies.

  Accepting a favorable review from false prophetess Paula White is like a restaurant chef accepting a food review fromJeffrey Dahmer

Merchandising Merchandising Merchandising Merchandising

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:3 KJV)


Make room, Ephesian silversmiths and idol makers. (Acts 19:19-20).  A new merchant is in town. Here are some examples:

Kerusso parthers with Kendrick Brothers for "War Room" film merchandise.

Kerusso, the leader in Christian apparel and gifts, has announced a new partnership with the Kendrick Brothers who recently produced their fifth film titled WAR ROOM releasing August 28, 2015 from Sony Pictures Entertainment’s TriStar Pictures, distributor of Soul Surfer, Courageous and last summer’s faith-based sensation Heaven is For Real. The partnership grants Kerusso rights to produce officially licensed merchandise and apparel for the upcoming film.

Books to accompany new Kendrick Brothers movie

Coming along with it is a line of books, including a novelization of the film, officials from the publishing companies say.

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:17).
Don't forget your Battle Plan Prayer Cards! Buy now! (Is it wrong to make Bible reading and prayer aids and sell them? Would it be better to sell something else, even if it is good? The author is judging the motives of the movie makers and comparing them with those who sold doves, pigeons, etc. in the house of God which Jesus overturned.)

Should I buy the "Battle Plan for Prayer"? If I do, I'll have to move the Love Dare aside to make room on the shelf...And where will I put my Courageous Resolution? (Hmm. Why do you buy books that you don't plan on reading?)

He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:13)

Remodeling, AKA the "Doing Something/Experiential" method of Christianity

(But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only. What a stretch!)

Most of the Kendrick Brothers movies blame the man. Here is one meme that pokes at this fact.

(I get the drift of this comment although it may not be the best choice of words used to express this concept).

Let's all remodel our closets!

(There is nothing wrong with these comments. They are spot on and Biblical).

This woman remodeled already ! Because it's the room that does it!

(I watched the movie twice and didn't see any evidence of the actresses saying that it is the 'room' that does it.)

Awww, so sad this lady didn't have a closet to donate to the cause. She made a nook. Her prayers will be nook sized instead of #powerful. (Really?? Do you know her motives when she prays and what faith level God has given her to pray with?)

Spot the missing resource!!

In conclusion...yes I have a heated righteous indignation at the lack of discernment evidenced here. I have a heated anger regarding churches that relentlessly promote these films yet when it comes to sharing the Gospel or even personally shepherding the flock they have they tolerate sin and compromise. I am very upset at all the merchandising. I really am.

I do understand the power of prayer and the wonder of prayers being answered. I am for prayer. I am against Hollywood films showing a pale and shallow Western Christianity where prayer gets you things. Where a remodeled closet is the answer and not the God who sees and hears.  (Not so. The room is just a vehicle. There is nothing in the movie that gives power to the room. The concept in the movie was taken from the Scriptures where Jesus tells us to go into our closets and pray. The Scripture taken in context has to do with not parading our prayer life before others to be seen by them. In the movie, it has a connotation that this is where I am going to take time to meet with God. Any 'war rooms' that we create can be anywhere. It doesn't have to be a closet and the movie doesn't say that it has to be a closet, but  closet is a good idea if it works out and aids the person in praying and listening (doing devotions, as we would say.))

Where the woman leads (subtly, because satan is crafty). Where prayers are to satan and not to Jesus. Where, despite all the Kendrick Brothers statements about prayerfully considering each person for each role, in another interview they decided that casting Black actors would be "more heart grabbing." And here I thought that there was no Greek or Jew, no slave or free, no male or female. (Galatians 3:28). But apparently using Black people in your movie brings the bucks. (The author assumes here that he knows the motive of those who did this movie. He is assuming that they are using God's word in order to make money rather than to communicate an important message from the word. I think this is called, 'judging'.). 

'War Room' Nearly Topples Gangsta Rap Blockbuster  

CBN News asked the Kendrick brothers about their decision to cast mostly blacks in the film. "When it came to 'War Room' there was a passionate flavor we wanted to present that really would have been different any other way," director Alex Kendrick said. "I felt like the Lord was saying it needs to be told through the African American perspective and the female perspective," he added. [emphasis mine]  (Again, this is an issue for this author because he does not believe people can personally hear from God.)

How did we get to this low point, of an undiscerning people buying merchandise at the temple and miss God, His Son and His Spirit so badly? It is all foretold, the time of apostasy, tickled ears, and lack of discernment is upon us. And yet there is a remnant strong and true, praying in whatever room they are, to a strong and mighty God.

(This article is a perfect example of someone who believes they have all their theological ducks in a row, but are missing the point of the Gospel message. Yes, we do want to be theologically astute. It is important to understand what the Scriptures say. But what we don't want to do is to take a concept, and find Scriptures to match our concept. Many of the verses used in this article are taken out of context. They have lost their original meaning in order to fit the presuppositions of the author as he appears to want to attack people and use Scripture against them. The man who wrote this article is using speculation and coming to conclusions. He is judging the hearts of those who made the movie. Really, only God knows the hearts of those who make movies and do other things. The author does not understand about Biblical ministry and God's call to the church to serve one another in love. One of the commandments says that we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor. From what little I know about Beth Moore and Pricilla Shirer, and the others who produced this movie, we can easily see that this author is bearing false witness against them. He is judging their hearts and motives and assuming his judgment is correct. 

It is not wise to assume things we hear about people as being true, necessarily. We need to check things out for ourselves and find out what the issues are really all about. I am not a fan of Beth Moore, but, I have heard her speak and I find nothing wrong with what she says. I doubt that she has people emptying their minds and then replacing the empty mind with lies of the devil. She is very big on using Scripture and has a very strong prayer ministry. But I would encourage all my readers to find for themselves what is true, but not by listening to what so and so says about people. Go directly to the source to find out. Never make a stretch by putting some assumed information together and coming up with a desired conclusion. Even going to the movie itself could be a good idea and then you will be able to see for yourself if this movie is really as harmful as the accusers are saying that it is. Does this author not realize that we are in a spiritual battle, or has he missed all the passages in Scripture that explain the battle we are in and the weapon of prayer that God gives us to use?)

Abortion; A Modern Day 'Molech'

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.  I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.  And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,  then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech." Leviticus 20:1-5 ESV

The situation above has to do with the Israelites worshiping a false god named 'Molech'. I still can't understand why anyone would worship a god like this, but there is a little bit of enlightenment on this if you were to have been born into a family who practices Satanic Ritual Abuse.

Those who practice SRA appear to have no emotions. They can sacrifice their children and not even remember what happened to their child. Why is this? It is because they have been made mentally ill by their parents, who were made mentally ill by their parents, and so on. They have a mental illness that causes them to blank out of consciousness and to live out their lives in another mental state, which isn't aware of what is going on. This condition is also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, or D.I.D. (It used to be called M.P.D). It happens to children when they are traumatized at an early age. Their minds are not able to handle the trauma, so, their conscious part of their mind basically goes blank, and the subconscious part of their mind takes over. They may live the rest of their lives in this subconscious state and unless they are made aware of it and are willing to get help in working through it, they will stay in that state of mind, most probably.

With D.I.D., unless the person has gone through treatment, the subconscious personalities will not even know that each one exists. In other words, the subconscious parts of the person that are active, do not know each other. But there is help for this, and this would be a whole other topic for another time.

Going back to Molech, I simply can't understand how a person could do that to their own child, or even to any child. 

Molech was a terrible looking statue, and the parent would bring the small child or infant to this statue. The statue had a grin on its face and the parents would place the child on the arms of the statue. There was a fire inside the statue and it would burn the child up. If I understand the story correctly, there was a time when this took place in the Valley of Hinnom. 

The people would make a lot of loud noise to try to drown out the screams of the children. I still can't imagine what it was that this false god offered that would be worth sacrificing your child in such a horrible way. Again, I think that these parents were probably mentally ill, due to whatever their parents did to them, and what their grandparents did to their parents, and so on. 

I am sure that the motive could have been fear. If a person who is living today, is born into a family that practices Satanic Ritual Abuse, their motive for what they are doing is simply fear. If a person tries to escape from such a family, they will be killed if they are found. If they are not found, they have had curses put on them to make them homeless of unable to work. This is with the hope that they will have to depend upon their families who are into Satanic Ritual Abuse and they will have no other place to go to, in order to survive. Many end up committing suicide because they see no other way out. 

Today, many are still practicing Satanic Ritual Abuse. They will remain hidden simply because Satan has power. God's power is greater, and we can have God's power in our lives if we know Him, through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible says that when Jesus died for our sins, many things happened. One of those things is that the Powers of Darkness were disarmed. Of course, the devil has not been sent to hell yet, but he still roams the earth trying to suck up anyone who is not willing to listen to what God says. If we do not listen to the truth, by default, we will listen to the lies of the devil, and we will believe them. 

Because many have not responded to the Gospel yet, by placing their trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation, and leaving their lives of sin behind, we do not have God's power to defeat the devil. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can turn to God and trust in Him. What we cannot do, is to live our selfish lives, and at the same time, have God on our side. If we regard sin in our hearts, and want to keep it, God will not help us. 

In this time period we live in, we still have people who are murdering their children. But now, the process of murder is called, "Abortion". Children get pregnant. Moms or dads take them down to murder their babies. Many more children have died because of being murdered this way, than people who died in the Holocaust, as terrible as that was.

With all the exposure of what really takes place during an abortion, it would seem like some of us would wake up. I mean, no one would really want to kill their child like that, would they? 

There's this precious little life and this baby moving around, yet the mom or the baby's dad wants this baby's life to end. Although this is not the answer to the situation, there are other options people can take, who do not want to keep the baby. 

There are adoption agencies around. Many people who can't have children would gladly take in a baby who wasn't wanted. 

The answer to an unwanted pregnancy is not to kill the person. You will be charged with murder on Judgment Day. The so called 'doctor' who performs the abortion will be charged with multiple murders on That Day. How could a person even trust a doctor who is comfortable with murdering?

Normal people do not kill their children. Normal people have feelings and emotions that would prevent him or her from killing children. 

There are two reasons (that I know of) which would cause a person to not have emotions like love. One of them is that the person is perverted. A person becomes perverted by continually hardening their hearts against God. God shows Himself to us by His Spirit, through His word. If a person continually rejects that, and believes and embraces the lies of the Enemy, he or she will develop a hardened heart. If the heart becomes so hard, then the conscious part of the person seems to disappear. Then God will turn the person over to his perversity, and the person will live in a 'world of lies'. He or she will believe the lies about God rather than what God says about Himself. Normal emotions people have will be gone in this person. See Romans 1 for a more extensive description.

The other reason people might not have emotions is what I covered above. They could be victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse, or may have been traumatized as a child. The conscious part of them goes to sleep, sometimes permanently, and it appears that the person does not have feelings or emotions anymore. He has blanked them out when his conscious part fell asleep. If a person is continually traumatized, he or she may never recover.

People used to offer their children to a statue that

would burn up their children. Today we offer

children to doctors to be cut up by them.

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that we would have a full life. The devil is the thief. He is behind all our selfishness and greed, as well as murders.

For more information on the Gospel, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com