Local
Pastor in Movie deal to make a Biblical Epic
Local pastor, Stephen Missick, of King of Saints
Tabernacle in Cleveland, Texas, is developing a script for a Biblical film for
a Hollywood film producer. Film producer Harvey Rochman has contacted Pastor
Missick and asked him to develop a script about the Apostle Thomas in India. In
the Bible, Thomas is one of the Twelve Apostles. He is known as “Doubting
Thomas” because of his refusal to believe the resurrection of Jesus without
first having placed his finger through the nail print in Christ’s hands.
According to extra-biblical accounts, the Apostle Thomas traveled to India in
order to preach the Gospel of Jesus there.
Pastor Missick believes that his is an ideal time to
produce a Biblical epic. He says, “In early 2014 we have seen two Biblical
blockbusters, “Son of God,” and “Noah.” Noah had a gross of $100 million in the
USA and it may have made even more money if not for the controversy surrounding
it. The “Son of God” movie made $67 million dollars, although most of what was
in the film was already aired footage from “The Bible: The Epic Miniseries”
television miniseries. Other recent faith-based movies, such as “Heaven is
Real” and “God is not Dead” have preformed well. “God is not Dead” was made on a budget of less
than $2 million, but has grossed over $70 million. Later this year “The Exodus”
starring Christian Bale as Moses will be released to theaters. This shows that
there is an audience that is willing to support Biblical and faith-based
movies. The story of “Doubting” Thomas is marketable for several reasons.
First, it will be a biblical epic (which are profitable as is seen above) and
secondly, it also has an appeal to a global audience, in this case, to India.
Hollywood has recently began making movies that appeal to a world audience and
to India. We see this in “Slum-dog Millionaire,” “Million-dollar Arm,” “The
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” and “Life of Pi.” (Note, life of Pi dealt with
spiritual themes, and portrayed an Indian boy coming to faith in Jesus Christ.)
Also, this is something that is new and unique. The story of Saint Thomas’
missionary journey to India comes from the era of the early church fathers.
However, few are aware of this story so it will seem new and is sure to spark
conversation. Christianity is the third largest religion in India, and there is
a large group of Christians in southern India who consider their church to have
been founded by the Apostle Thomas. “
Harvey
Rochman is a film producer who produced Lost Junction (2003), and Misconceptions
(2009) and is an internationally known media facilitator. Harvey is a key
figure in the rapidly expanding global multi-media network. Harvey has traveled
the world, retracing the ancient route of Alexander the Great, absorbing the
core ideas and cultural aspirations of developing nations. He has predicted
that Hollywood will play to a world-wide audience in the 21st century, with
heroes and stories from other venues beyond American stereotypes.
The
audience for Hollywood movies is international, and now Hollywood is beginning
to tell international stories. International settings are beginning to be seen
in many of the Marvel Comics movies for instance. In an interview with Michael St. John his
home in Key West, Florida , Harvey Rochman said, “Studio chiefs still act like
they're living in the days when the target audience for movies was Main Street,
U.S.A., But they're wrong. That type of thinking is outdated. Today, the
fastest-growing audiences are not on Main Street. They're in Beijing, New
Delhi, South Korea, Indonesia, and Mexico, to name a few. These are countries
in which people want to see their stories up on the big screen. When
Hollywood doesn't deliver, a home-grown film industry will inevitably take its
place. Hence the phenomenal growth of Bollywood over the past two decades.”
According
to Mr. St. John, “Rochman is hard at work arranging financing for movies that
tell those global stories. And as adamant as he is that the U.S. film industry
must begin looking for stories from abroad for its next generation of movies,
he's equally adamant that telling those stories will benefit the West just as
much as it will benefit the rest of the world.” Mr. Rochman says, “The decades
of Western dominance, of American and European dominance over world culture, is
coming to an end. If Hollywood can see this trend, understand it, and grow
accordingly, there will be a treasure trove of new, fresh, and exciting movies
to make, and a global audience of billions to pay to see them. But if Hollywood
insists on remaining trapped in the previous century, it will see its global
importance and relevance diminish, year by year, until it's too late.”
According
to Pastor Missick, the mantle of Christian leadership is also passing on to the
“third world.” He says, “You often hear about the decline of Christianity in
the west. I think this is greatly exaggerated, but there is doubtlessly an
expansion of Christianity in the third world. This phenomenon has been written
about in “The Next Christendom” by Phillip Jenkins and “Whose Religion is
Christianity?” by Lamin Sanneh. Evangelical Christianity is becoming more
racially and culturally diverse. I have been blessed to participate in this
dynamic spiritual movement when I held evangelistic outreaches in Uganda and
India. We are beginning to move beyond the “Euro-Centric” view of Christianity.
I think that the story of Saint Thomas is important because it is also about
the Gospel beyond the West. It breaks false stereotypes concerning how people
view Christianity. Since Thomas arrived in India there has been a significant
Christian community there and now Christianity is the third largest religion in
India. While the essential beliefs are the same, Christianity in India is
culturally eastern.” According to Pastor Missick there is a large body of
literature attributed to Saint Thomas. “Among the Aramaic Christians, there was
a strong devotion to the Apostle Thomas, because they considered Thomas and
Thaddeus to be the founders of their church. So we have two Gospels of Thomas,
an Acts of Thomas, Psalms of Thomas and a Revelation of Thomas. I am using
these sources as I adapt the story for my script.”
Harvey
Rochman discovered Pastor Missick through the article that he had written for
the Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies on the Christians of Saint Thomas in
India.
Stephen
Missick graduated Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as a
chaplain in the United States Army National Guard and has served in Iraq twice.
His church, King of Saints Church is a non-denominational church
that meets on 2228 FM 1127, Cleveland, Texas. Services are held Saturday
morning. For more information call 281-592-4104
Don't feel helpless with the
current situation befalling Assyrian Christians, there are many way you can
help.
1. Pray - that God protects them
from this evil and gives them strength and hope.
2. Donate - There are many christians organisations, NGOs helping the Christian Refugees.
3. Spread the news - Tell everyone about the situation, the more people know the plight of Assyrian Christians in Iraq the better.
4. Get online and spread the Message about the situation.
5. Tell you local government members, write letters, through social media, any means.
2. Donate - There are many christians organisations, NGOs helping the Christian Refugees.
3. Spread the news - Tell everyone about the situation, the more people know the plight of Assyrian Christians in Iraq the better.
4. Get online and spread the Message about the situation.
5. Tell you local government members, write letters, through social media, any means.
You can do all or many of the above, not doing anything does not
help anyone!
Radio Program
American
Family Radio serves a vital function in keeping American Evangelical Christians
abreast of important issues and events. Right now there is a crisis for the
Christians in the Middle East.
Most
American Evangelicals have a profound ignorance about our brothers and sisters
in Christ in the Arabic and Islamic world.
It is
important to support Israel, but there are Christians in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt
of whom we need to be aware, who we need to pray for and advocate for. It seems
that Evangelicals view the Middle East through the prism of Israel, but there
is a significant Christian population, certain important dynamics that are
playing out, and other perspectives of which Evangelical Christians must be
aware.
Now is a
critical time. The population of Christians in Iraq has declined to less than
1/3 of what it was ten years ago. If these trends continue, we will see the
disappearance of Christianity in the land of its birth. And, Christian
communities that have survived 1,400 years of Islamic persecution will finally
die out, during our life time. With the rise of Isis, the Assyrian Christian
community in Iraq may disappear in a matter of months.
There
are important Aramaic-speaking Assyrian villages in Eastern Syria, now under
Isis control. Now, the Assyrians of Northern Iraq are also under ISIS control.
This could be the end of the Assyrian Christian community’s presence in their
homeland.
We need
a paradigm shift in how American Evangelicals view the Middle East. We tend to
view the region through the prism of the Arab-Israeli conflict. There are other
things going on that we must be aware of. It would be unacceptable for
Americans to view all of Europe through the conflicts in Northern Ireland and
looking at the entire region of the Middle
East only through Israel is also folly. I believe Israel is important. But Evangelical support
for Israel is highly organized while we leave the Christian there to die.
It is
imperative for Evangelical Christians to act now. I want to appeal to the American
Family Association to consider starting at least a weekly one-hour radio
program that focuses on issues of Christians in the Islamic world. The program
can focus on the historical legacy of Middle Eastern Christianity, its history
and theological contributions, and issues of religious persecution and
discrimination arising out of Islamic extremism. I believe this is an urgent
crisis.
If ISIS
prevails, Assyrians are doomed. If Iraq becomes an Iranian protectorate, Iran’s
radical Islamist regime will control Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon and parts
of Afghanistan. This does not bode well for the future. And it is a consequence
of bad foreign policy decisions on the part of the Obama administration.
I have
lived in many countries of the Middle East and have extensive knowledge about
the Assyrian Christians of Mesopotamia and the Coptic Christians of Egypt. I
have visited Egypt, Israel and the “Palestinian Territories,” Lebanon, and
Syria. While I served in the Iraq War, I lived in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar.
I have
several videos up at my youtube channel if you want to check me out (www.
youtube.com/aramaic12). I have graduated with a Masters of Divinity from
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are interested, please
contact me at 832-455-2978 or 281-592-4104. I reside in Cleveland, Texas.
Perhaps, at the very least, some of your hosts for your radio programs can let
me call in and we can discuss who the Christians of the Middle East are and
what are the problems that they are currently facing.
The religious
cleansing of Iraq's Christians
By Lela
Gilbert
Published June 19,
2014
Just
a year ago, after months of bombings, shootings and kidnappings, Baghdad’s
Monsignor Pios Cacha made a grim prediction. He said that his Iraqi Christian
community was experiencing the kind of religious cleansing that eradicated the
country’s once-thriving Jewish community half a century before.
His
rather prophetic words made headlines in Lebanon’s Daily Star: "Iraqi Christians fear fate of departed Jews."
Father
Cacha’s reflections couldn’t have been more prescient. As he knew very well,
Iraq was once home to 135,000 Jews. Today less than ten Jews remain in the
entire country.
And
now, with the raging incursion of ISIS – a brutal Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist
group – the religious cleansing of Iraq’s Christians is nearing completion as
well.
Iraq’s
Christian community is hardly a western innovation or a colonial relic. It
dates from the 1st Century, when two of Jesus’ disciples – St.
Thomas and St. Thaddeus (also known as St. Jude) – preached the Gospel in what
was then Assyria. There has been a Christian presence in Iraq ever since.
The
heartland of their community has always been in Mosul and the Nineveh Plain.
There, in recent years, the Christian population has swelled, as refugees from
Basra and Baghdad have sought protection.
And
now, as ISIS sweeps through Iraq, an estimated 150,000 have had to flee Mosul and their ancient Christian
heartland, some for the second time in a decade.
Thousands
of homeless families have surged into Kurdistan, where they have found
provisional shelter and security, thanks to the Kurdish people and their
battle-hardened Peshmerga militia.
Yet,
strange as it seems, few in the West are aware of the Iraqi Christians' plight
or their uncertain future.
My
Hudson Institute colleague author Nina Shea writes, “The wave of persecution that has been directed at Iraq’s
Christians after 2003 has never received much attention by either President
Bush or President Obama’s administrations, but it has been a grave human-rights
problem. The campaign against Christians has encompassed 70 deliberate church
bombings and assaults, as well as assassinations, an epidemic of kidnappings,
and other attacks against clergy and laity alike. In recent years, particularly
since 2004, a million of Iraq’s Christians have been driven out of the country
by such atrocities. This can be rightly called targeted religious cleansing,
and it is a crime against humanity.”
Christians
in the Middle East know very well about the ferocious system of Islam enforced
by ISIS terrorists. When the group attacked Raqqa, Syria earlier this year,
they gave the Christians three options: “Convert. Submit to Islam. Or face the
sword.”
In order to save lives, Raqqa’s Christian elders chose to
submit to ISIS’s 7th Century version of Muslim Sharia law and became
dhimmis, a subservient, second-class minority under Islamic rule.
Among
other severe demands, particularly about women’s dress, their oppressors also
forbade the repair of war-torn churches, worshiping or praying in public,
ringing church bells, or wearing crosses or other symbols of faith. Bearing
arms is forbidden, and of course alcoholic beverages are banned.
The
Christians in Iraq know all too well what they face as ISIS carries out its
triumphant assault on Iraq – the terrorists’ vile reputation has preceded them.
Images of ISIS beheadings, crucifixions, rapes, torture and mass execution have
been widely disseminated on social media, including graphic YouTube videos.
To
make matters worse, rather than offer assistance to their Christian neighbors,
many Sunni Muslims in the area have simply turned
a blind eye or even joined the invaders.
Iraq’s
Christians have been left with little choice but to flee.
But
where will they go?
In
fact, the Middle East is overflowing with refugees. Millions of displaced
Syrians are living in tents and shacks, particularly along the borders of
Turkey and Jordan.
Thousands
of Syria’s Armenian Christians have been relocated to Yerevan and its
surrounding communities.
Coptic
Christians have fled Egypt by the thousands since the so-called Arab Spring
began. Those who remain are hoping and praying for better days under the new
President al-Sisi.
And
now most of Iraq’s remaining Christians are on the run, too, many of them
leaving behind everything they own.
Canon
Andrew White, the beloved Anglican “Vicar of Baghdad” reports, "Things are so bad now in Iraq, the worst they have ever
been….The army [has] even fled. We urgently need help and support….We are in a
desperate crisis."
Some
fifty years ago, Iraq’s Jews were able to flee to Israel when they faced
similar terror. But there is no Israel for Christians. Where can they go?
With
that in mind, I asked my Hudson Institute colleague Hillel Fradkin, an expert
on the Middle East, for his thoughts about their future.
“Considering
the present developments in Iraq,” he said, “it is almost certain that Iraq
will cease to exist as a united country. It will probably divide into three
parts, one of which will be an independent Kurdistan. Since that’s home to
another long-oppressed Iraqi minority – the Kurds – the Iraqi Christians’ best hope
for surviving in the region may well be found in Kurdistan.”
Indeed,
thousands have already found provisional shelter there. And as the rest of
Iraq’s terrified Christians rush headlong into an unknown future, we can only
pray for them as well.
May
they find peace, renewed hope and protection – wherever their tragic journey
takes them.
Lela
Gilbert is author of "Saturday People, Sunday People: Israel through
the Eyes of a Christian Sojourner" and co-author, with Nina Shea and Paul
Marshall, of "Persecuted: The Global Assault on
Christians."
She is an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute and lives in Jerusalem. For more, visit
her website: www.lelagilbert.com. Follow her on Twitter@lelagilbert.