Conversation With Kendrick Brothers 12 Years Ago Still Inspires Christian Band
By Movieguide® Contributor
The Kendrick Brothers Stephen and Alex hopped on a video call with for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel and Luke Smallbone to talk about the Kendrick Bros’ new hit movie about discipleship, THE FORGE.
“One of the things I’ve always loved about your movies is you guys take a very, very important subject matter of the church and you put it into a film that I think encourages and spurs on the film,” Luke told Stephen and Alex.
For KING + COUNTRY’s song, “What Are We Waiting For,” is the trailer song for the movie and shines through in a powerful scene within the film.
Luke told the Kendricks, “It’s kind of funny that you made a movie about discipleship because one of you was telling a story about how you had started having all these young filmmakers come up to you and say, ‘Hey, tell me what you know…Who do you know?’ like kind of like what [producer Josh] Walsh is doing?’”
“You know, and at first, I think one of you…was very much like, ‘No. No, I’ve learned this. I’ve learned these lessons. You go find out yourself,’ and one of you said, ‘No, no, no,’ after having that feeling in my gut, the Lord did a gentle reprimand and said, ‘No, no, no, no. You tell them everything.’”
That story, which was told over 12 years ago, stuck with Luke. Since then, he’s tried to adopt that idea of sharing and encouraging others in their success as he hires people onto his projects.
“One of my principles in how we hire people is I say, ‘Hey, I want to be able to hire you for 10 years, alright?’” he said. “I go into it thinking I want to hire you for 10 years because there’s a chance we’ll only work together for a year or two, but I want you to go on and do far greater things.”
“So, if it is only a year, if it is only two years, I will give you everything that I know so that you can go on and do far greater things than we could ever achieve,” he continued. “And you guys have modeled that and you made a movie about it. You didn’t know that it was probably stirring your spirit, you know, 12, 13 years ago [but] I’ve never forgotten that story.”
Stephen said their attitude toward sharing with others came from their father, who was a great role model for them.
Stephen said, “We have a dad who led a Christian school, and he loved his teachers. He would give up his paycheck so they could get paid. He would give vehicles that he had to make sure they were taken care of, and they would take a bullet for him.”
“So, he loved them almost like children even though they were the teachers under his leadership, and we grew up watching that model with our parents, and when we were in ministry…you start deeply loving these people you’re pouring into and you want them to succeed in marriage, in family, and business, [finances], every area of their life,” he continued. “When you love them, you want them to succeed. It’s that way with us and our kids.”
When you learn to love people, you’ll have a heart that yearns for their success, which, in a way, is what THE FORGE is about. Your needs and desires aren’t at the forefront of your mind when you’re loving someone else.
“When you love people, it’s like, bro, how can help you, man,” Stephen said. “I want to see you succeed because God owns it all and ultimately, He’s going to get all the glory, and we gotta be in it to win it, supporting one another, lock and shields, because we have an enemy, and it ain’t one another. The enemy is after us, trying to steal, kill and destroy. We gotta support each other.”
Joel agreed, adding, “Proximity is increasingly important and same with discipleship. You can’t disciple at arm’s length. You gotta get up in in in each other’s [faces].”
Part of Movieguide®’s +4 review of THE FORGE reads:
THE FORGE follows 19-year-old Isaiah, who’s addicted to video games, disrespectful to authority and lazy. Isaiah’s mom forces Isaiah to find a job, and he lands one with Moore Fitness. The company is run by a Christian man named Joshua who wants to mentor Isaiah so he can learn how to be a good man. Isaiah accepts Christ and is discipled by Joshua on how to live for Jesus. The Lord works in Isaiah’s heart and life. Isaah’s new relationship with Jesus helps him save Joshua’s company.
The first act of THE FORGE is a bit slow with too much static dialogue. However, once the jeopardy starts, it becomes more exciting and finishes with a powerful, entertaining, redemptive ending. THE FORGE has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. It does a beautiful job displaying the deep need for discipleship in the Church. It spurs Christian believers to disciple and mentor the next generation. The movie also shows how prayer changes hearts and has a clear presentation of the Gospel. THE FORGE will inspire the hearts of Christians to continue being fully committed to Christ.
Many of the Kendrick Brothers’ movies have won Movieguide® Accolades, including Teddy Bear Awards®.
THE FORGE recently earned a 100% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and made it into the nation’s top five movies in its opening weekend. As an entertaining family movie with Biblical and moral values, it’s no surprise that it’s a hit.
