Tag Archives: Christian Celebrity

Kirk Cameron: I Found God On “Growing Pains” Set

Kirk Cameron is well known today as a Christian actor but many people do not know that he did not accept Christ until he was 18.

What may be surprising is that he found God on a soundstage in Hollywood while filming the show that made him a star, “Growing Pains.”

“I think eventually if people are thoughtful you start asking grown up questions like, ‘How did the world get started? Where did we come from? Where are we going? Why are we here?’ and I guess when I, as a child, I just sort of had blind faith in the fairytale that they way we got here was from goo to the zoo to you,” he told FOX411. “I finally said that doesn’t sound right and someone took me to church and kind of opened my eyes to what I believe is the truth about who we are and why we’re here and so when I was about 18 years old I wanted to start living my life in a way that said thank you to the way God made me.”

Cameron said that once he accepted Christ he quickly became more passionate for a relationship with Jesus.  He would study the Bible and strive to do all he could to learn the Word of God and apply it to his life.  However, that devotion to Christ and his teachings has led to many conflicts with Hollywood.

“I think that when anyone is in the spotlight…you’re always going to be held to a higher standard and we should be held to a higher standard because we’re influencing more people than others might be,” Cameron said. “With the privilege of a platform comes great responsibility….[We’ve] got to be careful with what we say and how we say it and everything should be seasoned with grace and while I certainly I don’t do that perfectly, I strive to do it increasingly.”

Cameron said that one of the things driving him now is to make movies that a Christian family can sit down and enjoy together.

“My wife and I are always looking for a great new movie to watch on movie night and it’s hard to find films that are fun and inspiring and that are going to build up our faith in God and our strength as a family. So we decided we would make one and we made it right here in our own backyard with a local little league team and it’s a movie where family learn the lessons of mercy, patience, sacrifice and trusting God,” Cameron said, referring to his new film “Mercy Rule.”

Christian Mingle Movie: She Fakes It & Finds Him

A popular dating site for Christians doesn’t seem like it would be the best thing for a full-length feature film but actor/director Corbin Bernsen doesn’t agree.  He is making Christian Mingle the centerpiece of a film about faith, love and life.

The movie is about a woman in her 30s who has a great career and all the material perks of life but is unlucky in love.  Desperate to find a man, she signs up for Christian Mingle despite the fact she is not a Christian.

Along the way she finds love with a man…and realizes that she needs the true love that only comes from a relationship with Christ.

Bernsen said that despite the tie-in with the website, the movie is not a full-length commercial for Christian Mingle.

“They have been incredible partners and friends in allowing us to use their name and play an integral role in the film, but one of the first rumors I want you to help me dispel is that this is a commercial for them,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Bernsen has been focusing in recent years in directing and producing movies with a Christian message.

Christian Mingle, starring Christian actress Lacey Chabert, will be released in October.

Dove Award Winning Worship Leader Rejects Genesis

A Dove Award winning worship leader and Christian music artist has come out and said that he rejects the story of creation as found in Genesis.

Michael Gungor, who with his wife Lisa have been nominated for Grammy Awards and won Dove Awards for worship music, wrote on his blog that he doesn’t believe the story of creation in Genesis is literally true.

“I guess I’ll have to come out of the closet and admit…no, sorry kid, I don’t believe in a literal six-day creation,” Gungor wrote.

The posting comes after a post earlier this year where he denied Adam and Eve.

“I have no more ability to believe, for example, that the first people on earth were a couple named Adam and Eve that lived 6,000 years ago,” he wrote. “I have no ability to believe that there was a flood that covered all the highest mountains of the world only 4,000 years ago and that all of the animal species that exist today are here because they were carried on an ark and then somehow walked or flew all around the world from a mountain in the middle east after the water dried up.”

Gungor is now working with liberal Christian theologian Rob Bell and others on projects including “God Our Mother” that talks about God as a motherly, loving figure.

Gungor’s statements are drawing less-than-pleased responses from people who followed their ministry, saying that he’s obviously walking away from God and embracing the views of those who deny God’s word.

New L.A. Lakers Player Celebrates By Feeding Homeless

Outspoken Christian NBA player Jeremy Lin celebrated his joining the L.A. Lakers in a way that seems unusual in the world of high-dollar sports.

He fed the homeless.

“Famed shooter Jeremy Lin who was recently acquired by the L.A. Lakers, embraced his new city by serving meals to the homeless today along with teammates Xavier Henry and Laker Girls at The Midnight Mission SoCal’s largest social service provider,” the Midnight Mission shared online.

Lin has previously conducted multiple outreaches in cities where he plays as part of the Jeremy Lin Foundation.  The foundation says their work is “compelled by [Lin’s] relationship with Jesus.”

Lin’s official first interview with the Lakers, posted to the team’s website, had Lin saying that he was going to be playing for God and would let the Lord decide the results and how it will benefit his team and his community.

“When I look back on the past two years, I think I’ve grown and learned a lot as a person, as a Christian and also as a basketball player,” Lin said.

Baylor Basketball Star Says God Will Open New Door

Isaiah Austin, whose dream of playing in the NBA ended when a physical before the draft found a rare genetic disorder, is turning what some consider a huge blow into a moment of praise to the Lord.

Austin, who was symbolically drafted at the NBA Draft by the league as “the league’s best pick”, said that God was simply closing a door and that another one would come open as the Lord leads him.

“I worked so hard to get to this point and unfortunately it was taken away but when God closes one door, He opens up another for you … God has really put will power in my heart to help me push through this … I’m going to dream again,” said Austin.  “I’m going to go around and share my story with as many people as I can and just hope to touch people’s lives and let them know that any obstacle that they’re facing, they can get through it. All they have to do is keep a positive mind and thank God for every moment that they’re here on this earth.”

Austin was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, which impacts the heart, eyes, circulatory system and skeleton.  His aorta has been growing wider in the last two years and if it continues to expand he will require open heart surgery.  His doctors said his condition made it too risky for him to continue competitive basketball and that he could drop dead on the floor at any moment if he continued to play.

Austin says that he plans to remain in the sport in some way and Baylor coach Scott Drew said there’s a coaching position available for Austin if he wants it.

Jeff Foxworthy: Christians Don’t Know The Bible As Well Today

Jeff Foxworthy, clean comedian and Christian husband & father, says that Christians today don’t know Scripture as well as they did years ago.

Foxworthy, who hosts “The American Bible Challenge” on secular cable channel Game Show Network with gospel music legend Kirk Franklin, spoke of the lack of Biblical literacy he’s seen during his time hosting the show.

“We have way too many distractions these days,” Foxworthy told the Christian Post.  He said the people on the show are very knowledgeable but that it’s that head knowledge which initially made him not want to host a “Bible game show.”

“My faith is very important to me, but when they first asked me about it I had to say, ‘Let me go think about this, because can you do a game show about the Bible?’ Really, I didn’t want to be in line at hell looking up going, ‘It was a game show, right? That’s why it was a game show.’ And we kind of went back and forth because – and I’ll tell you where I landed. I thought it would be kind of weird to just reward people for the things that they knew, because the only people Jesus got sideways with were the Pharisees who had all this head knowledge but they had no heart knowledge.”

Foxworthy is the one who came up with the idea that those who win would get a financial award to give to their community.

Foxworthy also told the Post that it was 20 years ago during the height of his “You Might Be A Redneck If..” period that he felt led to be bolder about his faith.

“That happens in so many ways, whether it’s sharing a testimony at a Wild game dinner, leading a small group Bible study at a homeless shelter for years or hosting the “American Bible Challenge”,” Foxworthy said.

Bethany Hamilton Calls Jesus Her Stronghold

Bethany Hamilton says that when she lost her arm to a shark attack that her first instinct was to turn to the focus of her life.

“I remember after I lost my arm, I just had this sense of peace that God was in control and that’s kind of weird for a 13-year-old to be like, ‘Hey, God, you’re in control,’ like I just lost my arm,” Hamilton told Fox News.

Hamilton wrote a new book called “Body and Soul” where she strives to talk to younger girls to be comfortable in their daily life and with how God made them.  She also wants to encourage them to seek healthier options in their life.

“On top of that, I wanted to encourage them in their faith,” said Hamilton. “And I think God calls us to take care of our bodies and to love and respect our bodies and I think that can be done through the way that we eat and the way that we move but also in the way we think towards ourselves and how we think towards God.”

Hamilton said one of the biggest ways that young Christian girls can show respect to themselves and God is by saving themselves for marriage.  Hamilton said waiting has helped build a big foundation in her marriage to a youth pastor.

“It’s such a beautiful thing now being in a relationship with someone as amazing as he is and being able to share life together and share our same faith and encourage and uplift each other and just be an awesome loving team.”

Carman Cancer Free; Announces New Album and Tour

Carman is celebrating a miracle by heading back on the road with his first extensive tour since 2001.

Just over one year ago, Carman announced on his Facebook that he had been diagnosed with Myeloma cancer and was given 3 to 4 years to live.   He said that the cancer is incurable and that he would undergoing chemotherapy to prolong his life.

Carman now says that every test run by doctors show the same thing:  He is completely cancer free!

He is celebrating God’s providential healing by releasing a new album, No Plan B, on May 29th.   He will also hit the road the same day for the No Plan B Tour.  Carman says the album and tour name come from his faith that God always has the best plan ahead of us.

“I never had any other options or plans if things in the ministry didn’t work out,” Carman said.

Carman said he has no plans beyond the tour but knows that when this season is over, God has a plan for what’s next.

NBA MVP Credits God With Transformation Of His Life

Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder said that he was only able to reach the levels he’s obtained in his career because of God.

“First off I’d like to thank God for changing my life [and] letting me really realize what life is all about. Basketball is just a platform in order for me to inspire people, and I realize that,” Durant said.

Durant spoke of his childhood growing up in suburbs of Washington, D.C. and that how it felt like they couldn’t get out because of the poverty and struggles faced by a single mother who gave birth to her first child at 18.

He spoke fondly if his mother who instilled a strong belief in God in her children.

“You made us believe, you kept us off the street, you put clothes on our backs, food on the table,” he said. “You went to sleep hungry. You sacrificed for us. You’re the real MVP.”

Devout Christian Bubba Watson Wins Masters Championship

Bubba Watson, a dedicated follower of Christ, outclassed the field at Augusta Country Club to win his second Masters championship.

Watson, now a two-time champion, said that two years between wins were a time of significant change in his “attitude toward life.”

“I became a dad,” said Watson. “I see myself as a role model for my son now, not as a golfer but as the man I am. I want to be a role model for him. I don’t want him to look up to anyone else. I want him to look up to me and so I had to change my attitude, had to change my life, the way I was going about it. Not a lot but a little bit, just to get better.”

Watson kept contact through the tournament with his pastor, Judah Smith of City Church in Seattle.  Smith told the golfer to study Philippians 4:11 and to rejoice that God has allowed him to live a dream.

Watson, who says he’s a Christian first, husband and father second and pro golfer third, has been known to organize hour long Bible studies for fellow PGA golfers.

“For me it’s a way to get back connected with the Bible and with God and Jesus. Now you know other people you can talk to, ask questions to, tell them what you’re thinking, tell them what’s going on in your life,” Watson said. “Getting more in the Word and realizing that golf is just an avenue for Jesus to use me to reach as many people as I can.”

“I’ve really got a good team around me trying to help me succeed,” Watson said. “Not just in golf, but off the golf course, to be a light for Jesus.”

Watson celebrated the win with his pastor, his wife and friends at a Waffle House.