Faith Driven Consumer™ -- the group behind the recent IStandWithPhil.com movement that played a large role in Phil Robertson's return to Duck Dynasty, is tracking the commercial viability of major Hollywood films courting faith audiences. In 2014, the Year of the Bible Movie, studios are targeting 46 million Faith Driven Consumers who spend $1.75 trillion annually. While recent films such as SON OF GOD and GOD'S NOT DEAD are exceeding expectations at the US box office, the organization finds that NOAH has underperformed its opening weekend relative to its potential with a faith-based audience.
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Uwe and Hannelore Romeike came to the United States in 2008 seeking political asylum. They fled their German homeland in the face of religious persecution for home schooling their children. They wanted to live in a country where they could raise their children in accordance with their Christian beliefs. The Romeikes were initially given asylum, but the Obama administration objected, claiming that German laws that outlaw home schooling do not constitute persecution. Creation Museum founder Ken Ham announced Thursday that a municipal bond offering has raised enough money to begin construction on the Ark Encounter project, estimated to cost about $73 million. Groundbreaking is planned for May and the ark is expected to be finished by the summer of 2016. Ham said a high-profile evolution debate he had with "Science Guy" Bill Nye on Feb. 4 helped boost support for the project. Pastor Rick and Kay Warren of Saddleback Church, the Most Reverend Kevin Vann, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Orange County (NAMI-OC) are joining together to host The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church on March 28 at Saddleback Church in Southern California. Open to everyone, The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church is designed to encourage individuals living with mental illness, educate family members, and equip church leaders to provide effective and compassionate care to any who face the challenges of mental illness. A recent poll finds that Christians are concerned that directors of a faith-based film hitting the big screen soon have fundamentally changed the core message of a Bible story.
During 2014, studios are targeting the 46 million Christian consumers who spend $1.75 trillion annually, and Faith Driven Consumer is tracking the commercial viability of Hollywood's effort. With the impending release in March of the Paramount Pictures film Noah, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Darren Aronofsky, Faith Driven Consumer has questioned members of the film's target audience about whether they are concerned about the controversial deviation from the actual biblical narrative. Anne Schleper, a defenseman on the United States women's Olympic hockey team, is an Olympian with a plan. Schleper, 24, said she approaches her team's quest for a gold medal in Sochi, Russia, as a Christ follower who invites Him onto the ice with her. The U.S. will play Thursday (Feb. 20) in the finals. "I'm a Christian and nothing happens in my life that isn't filtered through God's hands first," she wrote Feb. 6 on her Twitter account. The other day I was listening to a preacher close a sermon about pain. The preacher preached about the very real struggle with pain and suffering that we all have to encounter in this life. In typical African-American style, the preacher closed the sermon with a celebration. Here the preacher resolved the pain by pointing to being “hooked up.” U.S. Olympic snowboarder Kelly Clark knows some of the trappings that come with athletic success. A four-time Olympian, she has seen those temptations herself. That's one reason she decided four years ago to start the Kelly Clark Foundation to help others compete in the sport that she loves so much. "As a competitive athlete, sometimes you're required to prioritize yourself and think about yourself all the time," Clark, who won the bronze medal on Feb. 12 in the women's halfpipe competition, said. "I thought it might be better if I didn't spend so much time thinking about myself. That's kind of where my inspiration came from to start the foundation." In the aftermath of the Super Bowl, authorities announced that they rescued 16 minors in the New York City area from sex traffickers. In addition, more than 50 women who were also coerced to work as prostitutes were saved. Police from more than 50 law enforcement agencies spanning New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut arrested 45 pimps in a two-week run up to the Super Bowl. Before the Super Bowl, The New York Times reported that the NYPD had already made 298 prostitution-related arrests this year through Jan. 26, a 30 percent increase over the same period in 2013. CNN also reported on a New York City high-end drug and prostitution bust last week. It seems simple. Do you want to have a good relationship with Christ? Then read the Bible and pray. And be disciplined about it. For some men this comes very naturally, for most men it takes work, and for a few it remains a stubborn source of shame and defeat. We absolutely need to continue to encourage more men to read the Bible every day and to spend time in prayer with God. And it's great if they have the discipline to do it at the same place and same time every day. But some men may also need to hear that they can stay connected to Christ and keep growing by using a variety of strategies to read God’s Word and pray. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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