A chance to start over ...

OK, so most people would not have even heard of this movie, let alone know what it is about. It didn’t make it to the cinemas in Australia. But in it lies the story, the themes, the lessons that left me speechless, even teary. So much value for a purchase intended to fi ll a quiet Sabbath afternoon.

The Second Chance , starring Grammy Award–winning Christian artist Michael W Smith, is about a rock-star preacher’s kid who returns to the faith. Ethan Jenkins (Smith) is being groomed to take over from his father’s role as senior pastor of “The Rock,” a large congregation of believers in the big city.

But his radical ways and new way of thinking puts him in hot water, where he ends up being assigned to “Second Chance,” a sister church of The Rock, in a predominantly black, rough, beaten part of town. He was sent to “observe and learn.” Little did Ethan know that what he thought was service, what he thought was being a Christian was nothing like he had imagined.

In fact it was nothing at all like he had imagined. Ethan thought “church” was putting people in the seats, high attendance, great music. After all, he was an entertainer.

The ordeal became unstable for Ethan, who was exposed to drug dealing, prostitution, homelessness and crime, and constant confrontations with the “Second Chance” pastor, Jake Sanders (Jeff Obaferni Carr). As he met face to face with these experiences, he began to see what he was missing, what being the church really was about. He began to understand what his father meant when he said that “there is more to being a pastor than Sunday morning.” The movie refl ects a common mindset of many people, myself included, that we can just solve problems by giving money to charity, by doing a “good deed” every now and then just to feel better about ourselves.

Not that these things aren’t important, but there is something far greater and far more important than any little “act” can ever fulfi l. It is something to experience, and not many people really do.

Just ask anyone who has been on a STORM Co or an overseas mission trip. Most would say they went intending to be a blessing and provide a service.

But many return diff erent because although they intended to bless others, they were blessed themselves and it opened up their eyes to “reality.” Not many people actually realise how terrible a situation is until it smacks them in the face. And most times, this is the wake-up call.

Ethan refl ected on this realisation, labelling “safety” and “comfort” sinking sand. “I wanted to serve Him, so long as I could stay comfortable—stay where it’s safe.” Many of us genuinely do want to serve God but only in a way that suits us. We’re not willing to take that leap of faith and put our total trust in our Creator, knowing full well that no matter what occurs, He will look after us. It’s that initial step that is the most frightening.

The Second Chance is truly a movie that has a story to tell. It’s not a blockbuster, it may not have the greatest acting, but it will defi nitely open up your way of thinking. It tells a story every Christian should hear.

All of us need a second chance from time to time—a chance to start over. As Ghandi said, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Don’t think it—live it.