Eden: It’s really a pleasure to meet you. God has done so much work in my own heart and in the hearts of many of my family and friends through the films that you’ve made and the books that you’ve written. So this opportunity to talk to you is really a treasure.

Alex Kendrick: Oh, that’s great, that’s great.

Eden: I’d love to learn a little bit about you first. So what are a couple of things that bring you joy?

Alex Kendrick: You know, the longer I live–and I’m 51 right now–the longer I live, the more that just being in a right relationship with God and having his presence in your life is probably the number one thing. I remember going through stages where you want to accomplish things. And while I’m absolutely for doing things with excellence, I wanted to accomplish things. And after a while that began to subside, as the Lord kept saying, “just know me. Just know me.” So walking with the Lord on a regular basis, spending quality time with him has become more of a treasure for me at this stage of my life, and I am conveying that to my children as well. I have six kids, 23 down to 13, and so I’m communicating that to them as well, that spending quality focused time with the Lord and his Word every day is probably the wisest thing you can do with your time.

Eden: Amen. Well, our audience is largely, we expect, people that didn’t grow up in church and people that might be newer to the faith. And so in your own life, what does it practically look like to prioritize getting to know Jesus over doing things for Jesus?

Alex Kendrick: On a daily basis, including today, the first thing I do when I get up is—You know, and I want to make sure that I’m awake enough to do this. So I get up and if you need to, eat breakfast first, grab a cup of coffee, whatever you need to do. I get alone with my Bible and I read at least a chapter a day. And right now I’m going through the New Testament. And so I read at least a chapter a day.

And here’s what I do when I’m reading: I ask the Lord to speak to me through this chapter that I’m reading. I say, “Lord, would you give me understanding? Would you help me apply what I need to be applying in my life? Would you give me insight into the Scripture passage I’m reading?” And sometimes I’ll read things along with it, you know, commentaries or historical facts of what was going on at that time. But I read that and I cannot count the number of times that a Scripture jumps off the page at me and the Lord says, “this is what I want to say to you today.” And it becomes very real. Or, a principle from Scripture will apply to something that me or my family is walking through or dealing with–a hurdle. And so doing that is spiritually charging for me. It gives me insight and wisdom. It helps me to face the day.

And sometimes–I’m going to admit this too—sometimes it’s very deep and enriching, and other times it seems very simple and basic. So the days that I spend with the Lord are not always the same. It’s like a breathing pattern. He gives me something deep. Then the next time I’m like, “Well, that was pretty good.” And I go on.

And I would say to whoever is watching, I encourage you to spend enough time where you can saturate in what the Lord is saying and doing.

I also have my prayer time. And when I pray with the Lord, I love following the ACTS concept: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.

In other words, I start off by just acknowledging God for who he is. He is a perfect God. He’s my creator, Jesus Christ is my Savior. I acknowledge and I praise and worship him for who he is.

And then if I need to get some things right in my own life, I tell the Lord, I confess. Or I tell the Lord, “Lord, this is where I need help, this is where I need forgiveness. And my attitude yesterday was terrible,” or whatever it might be.

And then thanksgiving. I thank God for all he has done. God loves it when we have a thankful heart.

And then finally supplication. What do I need to ask of the Lord? “Lord, would you help me here? Would you protect me here? Would you help my wife, my children? The movie we’re working on?” Whatever it might be.

And so I follow those things (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) generally. And so that’s my daily format.

In the evenings, my wife and I get together with our kids, those who are in our house, you know some are away at college, but those who are in our house. And we do a family devotion every evening. And so what basically that is, is, turn off the TV and close the laptops and all of that. We sit there and we go through “what’s the Lord teaching each of you?” We share. It’s very relaxed. And we’ll read a passage of Scripture. We pray together, and each of my kids can give insight into what’s the Lord teaching them. Whatever the prayer requests are, we do that as a family as well.

So we have the morning individually, and the evening together, and we love that. And I’ve been doing that for about 12 years now with my family and we love it.

Eden: Wow. That’s awesome. Yeah, I just read this morning from the book of First John, where it says that “Whoever has the son has life; whoever does not have the son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). And as you were just describing that routine in your personal life, you know, you talk about the Lord and about his Word like he’s really alive. And I think for a lot of people, the Bible seems like an old book or something that was written in the past for people of the past. And it’s such a wonderful truth that the one who wrote the Scriptures is still speaking and still alive today, and he wants that relationship with us.

The way that you described just your own personal walk with the Lord is so encouraging and a good reminder. I like how you mentioned morning and night, because I think in a lot of circles, Christian circles, it’s easy to talk about your morning quiet time. But Jesus is someone we need all throughout the day and someone we should be speaking to.

Alex Kendrick: You know, the the Lord impacted me with a verse several years ago. It’s Jeremiah 29:13, and it’s not a verse I had ever highlighted before.

But Jeremiah 29:13 includes this, when God says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (ESV). You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Basically this is what jumped out at me: First, God is not hiding. He says, if you are seeking me, you will find me. And I love that because I want to find the Lord every day!

But also he says, “but you need to do it with your whole heart.” This analogy was given to me a years ago and it stuck with me—God should not be the spare tire in your life that you only turn to when you absolutely need it, and you’re in a crisis. He is the steering wheel of your life, and so he is—every day, everywhere I go—he is the prominent individual in my life that’s helping me guide my life. And so I don’t just turn to God when, “Oh, I’m in a crisis. Now I’ll go pray. Now I’ll go to church. Now I’ll pull the spare tire out and fix the flat tire.” No, he’s everything. And so I’ve learned that God says, “Alex, you will find me if you seek me with your whole heart.”

So I encourage whoever’s watching this, I encourage you: you check it for yourself and see that God is true when you honestly seek him and go after him with your whole heart, and see what he does.

Eden: Amen. I would love to hear about what you are currently working on. So I mentioned that you are involved in film. What do you do for work these days and what projects are you working on?

Alex Kendrick: Yep. This is the book that we wrote on Lifemark.

Lifemark is a true story about an 18-year-old girl that years ago was physically laying on the abortion table and she heard a voice saying, “Get up, there’s still time.” And so she asked the doctor to stop right as the procedure was beginning. She gets off the table. The doctor is upset. She gets off the table, walks out, puts her clothes or her regular clothes back on, and she ends up placing her baby for adoption.

And a Christian couple that could not have their own children, biologically could not do that for medical reasons, they adopted this baby that they named David. When David was 18 years old, he crossed paths with his biological mother that he had never met before.

She thought he would hate her, and the opposite was true. As a Christian, he just wrapped her up—loved her. She began weeping. He said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for placing me for adoption. Thank you for my family that I have. Thank you for choosing life.” And it just melted her heart and it gave her a level of healing because she had always fretted, Oh, what’s happened to him? He’s going to hate me. I never, you know, could take care of him in my situation. But the opposite was true.

And so he now speaks around the country about his testimony and what the Lord has done. And then she is now a Christian. She also speaks and shares her story. And so we turned that into a movie. Now there’s a lot more to the story. There’s some twists and things like that that are very exciting. But that’s the backbone of the movie.

And so we worked with Kirk Cameron and we shot Lifemark last year. We just finished putting it together. So it comes out in theaters on September the 9th (2023), and you can go to Lifemarkmovie.com to see the trailer, to see clips, read the story, and see the actors.

Eden: Very neat. That sounds like an amazing movie.  Right now with just everything that’s going on in our country, that’s such a needed message about the importance of life. And we know that the Lord loves life from conception till death. And he loves every life. And so I would love to hear what inspired you guys to choose to make that your next movie?

Alex Kendrick: We had just finished our movie Overcomer in 2019, and were waiting to put that out in theaters. I was actually in my office and Kirk Cameron called. We’re friends. And he said, “Hey, I just saw this short documentary called I Lived on Parker Avenue. He said, “Man, I’m just weeping, Alex. You got to watch this thing.”

So I watched it and it grabbed my heart as well. And the reason that that documentary even exists is, the David I was talking about, who was 18 years old at the time? He had a friend travel with him when he met his biological mother and he filmed it. He filmed their interaction. And so he put together a little documentary of what it was like meeting his birth mother and later his birth father and what the Lord did through all that. And so when I saw it, man, it just grabbed my heart.

So Kirk said, “Alex, we should make this into a feature film.” So we prayed about it and I had a peace about it. I felt like God was saying, “yes, you do this.” And so we started working on it.

And then little did we know this year (2023) when we had planned to release it, Roe vs. Wade is being overturned. And we didn’t know. We didn’t know that was going to happen. We had no idea. So this movie talks about the beauty of life itself, the joy of adoption. Kirk has adopted four of his six kids. My brother Steven adopted his daughter Mia, and it’s just been such a part of our life. And of course, we’re spiritually adopted when we are in Christ. And so I was thinking, “This movie is worth making.” We were putting it together, and then the next thing you know, Roe vs. Wade is being overturned. We couldn’t have picked a better time. And I can’t wait to see what God does with this.

Eden: For last couple of movies, my friends and I have been counting down the days until they come out, so we’ll be sure to enjoy that one as well. As you have been recording the movie and scripting it, is there anything in particular that the Lord taught you personally as you were working on it?

Alex Kendrick: First that—Psalm 139 talks about this—God is our creator. He is the one that gives us life, and he knows us even in the womb (Jeremiah 1:15). He knows what our future is going to be like. And of course, he offers us salvation when we turn to him and seek him.

And so life is not just when we consider birth, and the stage of birth at the hospital. That’s wonderful. That’s a beautiful moment. But was that baby alive two minutes before that in the mother’s womb? Well, yes. Was it alive a week before that? Well, yes. Was it alive two months before that? Well, yes. So that is a human life. And yes, it’s developing, but that is a human life even before the day it’s technically born. And so we want to value life. We want to value what God’s done. Scripture says that we’re made in his image (Genesis 1:27). You know, he’s the one that came up with this whole idea—the figure that we have, the body that we have. And so we want to honor our Creator, honor the gift of life, and put focus on what the Lord wants us to put focus on.

So this was a very touching film to work on–the fact that it is true. We had the actual people that the movie was about on set with us, and they were they were cheering, they were crying, they were embracing us, praying with us. They were like, “This is so wonderful. May God use this story–all the ups and downs and everything–to draw more people to him to, to bring more value to what life is and the hope that we have in Christ. So it was an amazing process.

I am still so grateful that the Lord gives us a chance at life and that he says, “I love you.” What’s even more, Scripture says when we are in Christ, we have eternal life with him. And so that’s even something to look forward to. So, it’s just good. And I’m so grateful that the Lord even gave us an opportunity to do this.

Eden : And in comparison with your other films, have you seen a lot of growth in this new one? It seems like from my perspective, a year sounds like not very long. Is that a quick amount of time to be making a movie? Did you feel like it was slower or faster than the previous process?

Alex Kendrick: So the way it works for us is, Overcomer we finished in early 2019. We were introduced to this concept in the middle of 2019. So we started working on this one. We also, during COVID, did a documentary called Show Me the Father. So Show Me the Father is out there. And we were able to do that because it took a much smaller crew. People were restricting movement during the heaviest part of the COVID months. So we did it with a much smaller team, but we did Show Me the Father, and then we picked right back up with the rest of Lifemark and finished Lifemark in 2021—shooting it. Now, today, we are finishing all the editing and the special effects and things that are in the film.

We did some things with this movie we’ve never done before. There’s skydiving and ATV racing and cliff jumping because they were a part of the real people’s lives. We didn’t have to create that stuff and stick it in the story; that was really already going on. So we said, “okay, we’ll go out and film it and then put it in the movie.” So there are new aspects of this movie we had never filmed and done before, which were exciting.

And so our movies usually overlap. So this one took a total of three years, but mainly about one full year of strategically working on just Lifemark. So they do take a while. But again, the Lord surprises us every time we’ve done a film with what he does, the lives that he touches and what he even teaches us in the process.

Eden: Well praise God. You mentioned a book that comes with the movie, so I’ve actually got right here, your book Defined: Who God Says You Are that comes with the Overcomer movie. It seems like for each movie you’ve created a devotional or a book that walks you through a book of the Bible. Is the book that you just showed us, is that the same format or is it in a different format? And what’s the highlight of that book?

Alex Kendrick: Yep. So this one (Lifemark) is the novel version of the motion picture itself. It still has the gospel and biblical principles in it, but it’s more in story form. For this particular one we gave the platform of doing the curriculum and teaching aspects to Kirk because he is so passionate about adoption.

Kirk’s wife, Chelsea was adopted, four of his six kids are adopted, and he goes around the country and speaks between each movie project. And so he said, “Can I do this because it’s in me to do it.” And we said, “Kirk, if the Lord’s putting that on your heart, do it.” So he has got the curriculum he’s developing right now that’s doing exactly what you mentioned, that goes deeper into Scripture and into views and adoption, spiritual adoption, physical adoption, families, you know what does that mean? And so he’s working on that right now. And we’re of course rooting for that. And so we’ll see what God does with the movie, the novel, the curriculum he’s putting together, and the ministry books. And again, we’ll just keep walking and see what the Lord does.

Kirk has published the Bible study book with video access here through LifeWay publishers.

Eden: Very neat. I look forward to that coming out. So I like to ask typically if there is a resource outside of the Bible that has really influenced your life. So for people that are new to the Lord, we would like to help them build a library. So we like to recommend books online. Is there something that you’ve read over the course of your Christian life that has really been transformative in your own walk with Christ?

Alex Kendrick: Well, several things, but the one that comes to mind the most is actually a very old book. It’s called Mere Christianity. And if you have read that book, that one hit me when I was in my 20s, and I became more aware of the difference between sinful nature and being the spiritual man in Christ that we all need to be, and the battle in between. Paul says, he has to die to himself daily. Paul said he was the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15-17). And I’m thinking “But Paul, you did so much for the Lord!” But Paul was also very aware of his sinful nature as he says in Scripture. But I became more aware of that in my own spiritual growth, going through Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis in my 20s. But I mean, many books have done that for me, but that was the first one that jumped in my head as I began launching into my own spiritual growth.

There are so many good ones out there. My brother and I try to add to that, you know, we did the Love Dare, Resolution for Men, Battle Plan for Prayer, Defined that you have, and we love investing in the next generation of believers as well. But that’s the first one that jumped in my head.

Eden: Mere Christianity is a great one. I remember reading that in college and just being blown away by Lewis’s ability to present truth with such eloquence, and so simply too. It’s a great book. And I also have loved your Battle Plan for Prayer. I’ve given that book to multiple friends. That was a life-changer for me, just seeing the importance of prayer and how it’s really the lifeline of our Christian life. Prayer is how we win the war in life. It taught me how to pray in a way that’s strategic and not random. You know, it’s so easy to just feel like “I’ve got a load of prayer requests and I don’t know where to begin.” And yet you give such a clear outline for how to pray through all the different areas of your life. I really appreciated that.

Alex Kendrick: Isn’t it interesting how we have so many strategies for our life? Most of us have some sort of financial strategy or education strategy or a strategy for our car or home or whatever. When it comes to prayer, it’s just very general. “This is what I need today, God.” And we throw it up there, and I’m thinking, Wow, that can be so much more strategic. We have a very real Enemy out there and he is strategizing against us (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11). The Lord says that the Word of God is our sword, and prayer is our lifeline to and communication to God the Father (Ephesians 6:17-18)—Why wouldn’t we not be using that more strategically?

Eden: Last question is how could we be praying for you as an organization? How could we pray for your family and then for your work?

Alex Kendrick: This is the way I would respond to that question. And I tell a lot of young filmmakers this.

We are often approached by young filmmakers, and when they learn the technical aspects of making a film and they happen to be Christian, they say, “I’m ready.” And what we normally say is, “We thought we were too when we were in your shoes, but we were not.” We would want to say to you that that learning the technical aspects of filming is certainly good and important, but as a Christian, you have a target on you. And if you want to step up to teaching, preaching, sharing biblical truth through motion pictures to potentially millions of people, you also have a responsibility on you (James 3:1). And you cannot take that as flippant or secondary, you know.

So we encourage people to chase and seek the Lord as much as you study how to make a film, because you need God’s hand on it. And God’s favor is your greatest asset to making a movie. And we would rather make a $3 million movie with God’s favor than a $300 million movie without God’s favor. It’s not worth it. So we tell people to chase after the Lord first. If you call yourself a Christian and you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, make him the number one aspect of your filmmaking, even in your process, rather than, “Oh, I have this camera or this knowledge of how to make a film.” That’s secondary as a Christian in your filmmaking journey.

So we would ask you to pray for us that God continues to show himself strong, that he will continue guiding us, and that our hearts will remain tender to the Lord, and that he will help us get past whatever hurdles are out there that the enemy tries to put in front of us to accomplish what the Lord wants us to accomplish.

I’ll finish with this. God took away my desire for awards and status some time ago. Most people love awards and status. And for a while, that was important to us. And the Lord eventually said, “Do it for my glory and for the rewards you will get in heaven, and not for the temporary awards you get here. Because if your heart is aimed after earthly awards, that is all you will ever get” (Matthew 6:20-21). So he said, “You chase me first. Do not worry about being number one or getting some award or whatever.” So the Lord had to strip that out of our hearts. And he’s done it for our team. So do it for the Lord. Ask him to bless it, to guide you and let him have the fruit.

Eden: Well, we will definitely pray for you along those lines, because we know the impact that your work and the work that God has done through you has had on our own lives. We know that he loves to use us to do his work. Thank you so much for meeting today and taking the time to share with us a little bit about what you’re doing. We really look forward to what God does through all of your labors.

Alex Kendrick: Thank you so much. Thanks for doing your ministry as well. It’s nice to meet you.

Eden: Thank you so much for listening to our podcast today. If you enjoyed our conversation, I would encourage you to like or subscribe to our podcast so that you can hear the next conversation. And if something that you heard today spoke to your heart or got you thinking, I would encourage you to not let the day go by without talking to God about what’s on your mind. We believe that he loves you and that he’s pursuing you today out of that love.