THE GOD MAN

THE GOD MAN is a documentary by Christian filmmaker Darren Wilson who travels to Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Alaska, Rio de Janeiro, Mozambique, and Honduras with other Christian friends and his daughter to talk to Non-Christians, Christian missionaries, poor people, and persecuted Christians about the nature and character of Jesus and how a personal relationship with Him can transform people’s lives. THE GOD MAN is an inspiring movie that’s told from a charismatic perspective and is filled with great biblical references and excellent evangelical, apologetics information about Jesus, the Apostles and the Gospel.

The movie begins with Darren introducing the documentary’s purpose, to show people who Jesus really is. He says the movie was inspired by a series of “dreams, chance encounters and impossible timing.” He adds that Jesus spiritually took control of the movie, which ended up showing how Jesus is actively involved in the world. The journey took Darren, several friends and his daughter, Serenity, to Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Alaska, Rio de Janeiro, Mozambique, and an island off the coast of Honduras.

The crew first went to Las Vegas, where they interviewed people on the street about who they think Jesus is. Clips of interviews with a Hindu, a Muslim, a New Age believer, and several other people mention several unorthodox, Non-Christian ways that people view Jesus. An interview with Messianic Rabbi Jason Sobel contradicts their statements by citing biblical passages like John 10:22-39, especially Verses 30-33, and Luke 5:17-25. Another theologian says that Jesus was Fully God and Fully Man, and a third theologian explains the significance of what the other two were saying by citing John 1:1-14.

In Minneapolis, two weeks after the death of George Floyd, who died during an encounter with police, Darren talks to a husband and wife team of street preachers trying to bring healing to the riot-torn city. For example, Charles Karuku tells a crowd how God ordered him and his brother to reach out to the 90-year-old man who had killed their father years ago, when Charles was still in his mother’s womb. They forgave the man, and the man forgave them for the hate they had long harbored toward him for their father’s death. The result is that they all became the best of friends.

God inspires Darren and two friends to travel to Hope, a small town in the Alaskan wilderness. There, they witness to three people about Jesus, succeeding in converting them.

In Rio de Janeiro, Darren and his crew visit a slum where a missionary couple witness to the people there about Jesus. The missionaries and their converts say Jesus has helped them rise above the squalor and deprivation around them. In Mozambique, they show clips of a Christian missionary who ministers to Christians fleeing from ultra-violent Muslim persecution. The stories told in this visit are simply heartbreaking. Even so, the Christians who survived the Islamofascist persecution have immense joy, despite many friends and family members being murdered.

Finally, in Honduras, a dream Darren has about meeting some triplets there sends him and two friends to a Christian missionary, who leads them to a restaurant. There, they meet a Christian waiter who says he works with three men who are triplets. They set up a meeting with the three men, but they are an hour late. It turns out that the men can’t really speak much English at all. However, just as they entered, a bilingual security guard appeared, and he agrees to translate for Darren and his two friends. God’s timing allows them to talk to the three men and the security guard about Jesus. It turns out the security guard is a Christian who’s disillusioned with the church, but Darren and his friends encourage him to start using his faith to evangelize and disciple other people.

Inserted throughout these trips are studio interviews with theologians and pastors, who discuss the Christocentric themes and appropriate biblical passages that illustrate what happened during the trips. There’s also an ongoing interview with Darren’s daughter, Serenity, who, while working with her father on shooting the movie, goes from a backsliding, marijuana-using Christian to an on-fire believer renewed by Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

THE GOD MAN is an inspiring, absorbing movie that’s told from a charismatic perspective. Some early scenes featuring a man making a Christian lantern from some clay he found in a stream run a little bit long. However, the redemptive meaning of those segments becomes clear at the end. Also, as the interviews with the Christian missionaries, theologians and pastors proceed, the time passes quickly.

Of course, THE GOD MAN has a strong Christian worldview. Director Darren Wilson fulfills his premise showing Jesus active in the world today, bringing people to faith, strengthening their faith and filling them with peace, joy and love. Multiple, pertinent biblical passages are discussed by multiple people, or cited on title cards, during the movie. Though Wilson and his friends come from a charismatic perspective, the movie has lots of strong Christocentric theology for the mind. THE GOD MAN has some references to drug addiction, alcohol addiction, violent persecution, and a fear of physical assault. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for preteen children. However, the movie ends on a moving piece of imagery, capped by an important verse about Jesus from 1 Timothy 2:4

THE GOD MAN is playing in theaters on June 6, 2023, but, hopefully, there will be some repeat showings in the coming weeks.