A Story of Answered Prayer

A few months ago I received a random call from an extras casting agent looking to cast me in an episode of a relatively popular HBO series.  She had found me on a casting website that I had registered for some time ago.  Being a cameraman, I don't normally pursue acting or extra work, but times are tough and you look for employment where you can find it.  This was for a period piece set in the '20s and after meeting with the powers that be I was quickly cast and fitted for the show.

I had heard of this particular series but for the most part was unfamiliar with it; however it soon came to light that the show was the polar opposite of my Christian values.  Not surprising really; it was HBO.  As one of the leads stated at the craft service table, "Our show knows no boundaries."  That is an understatement.  Even though my scene was quite harmless, the day was quickly becoming uncomfortable and I found myself torn between desperately needing the paycheck and supporting the type of media content that is continually eroding the country's moral sensibilities.  In the quiet of my own thoughts I prayed and asked God, what am I doing here?

I was stunned by the answer.

I ate lunch with one of the other extras and he began telling me about his background as an actor, his time in the service, and his family.  He then brought up religion and began expressing certain doubts about God and faith.  He asked me if I had ever read the book of Revelation.  Indeed I had, but more shocking was the fact that I had loaded the entire Bible on my iPod that morning (extras sit for a long time) and had started with the end - the book of Revelation.  This was getting interesting.  We talked about God, the Bible, and faith all the way through lunch, though I was mostly listening.  I shared a little about the historical evidence for the New Testament and we discussed working through doubts.  I told him while we can go round and round with our own perspectives and opinions it's important to look for evidence of God, and one of the largest pieces of evidence for me is answered prayer.  I've seen it time and time again:  God answers prayer.  He was then called away to the make-up trailer.  As he was walking away, an ice cream truck drove by playing a tune.  He stopped in his tracks, turned to me with a stunned look on his face.  "That tune," he said, "we used to sing a song to that tune in Sunday school.  It was about Moses."  I now had a stunned look on my face.

We finished out the day and exchanged contact info because I planned to send him some photos I took on set.  This was right before Easter and I decided to invite him to the Sunday service at the Hollywood Bowl.  "You could explore those doubts," I wrote.  He accepted my offer.  His reaction was that of a cynical, somewhat hardened individual whose doubts were expressed in subtle irreverent commentary mixed with a genuine searching curiosity as he revisited his own roots of faith.  One minute he'd scoff at the offering plate being passed, the next he'd be singing an old hymn.  I wasn't quite sure how it set with him, but knew God was at work.

I kept my new friend in prayer and a few weeks later he reached out to me asking if he could come back to church with me.  It turns out that he reached a point where he was tired of where life and some of his choices had taken him, and in utter desperation cried out to God for help.  And God was answering.  Miraculous things were happening in his life.  He came back to church and this time the message blew his socks off.  He came away feeling like it had been given just for him.  We are now exploring starting a small men's group because, well, we both need fellowship and prayer in our lives.

To see God move so visibly is a true gift.  It's a reminder to me that God is at work in the darkest of places restoring hope and bringing new life to those who are desperate for it; a reminder that God can use any of us in spite of our weaknesses and shortcomings; and a reminder that while man's sin "knows no boundaries," neither does the blood of Christ.

Even on the set of True Blood.