'The Grace Card' inspired by success of firefighter-themed 'Fireproof'

Eye doctor David Lane took time out from his practice with the aim of giving people new vision in a different way. The result was The Grace Card (6-02341-00449-7, $24.99), a PG-13-rated police drama about racism and forgiveness that releases on DVD Aug. 16 after an unexpected theatrical run.

Having written church dramas for years, optometrist Lane was inspired to take his ministry writing a stage further after seeing the Sherwood Pictures hit Fireproof. "When I saw it, I said, 'I believe that this is what God has been calling me to do.' "

Investing his own money, he wrote and produced the movie through his own Graceworks Pictures, founded to create "entertainment with purpose," in association with Calvary Pictures, formed at his church in Cordova, Tenn. Filming took place in and around the Memphis area, with Michael Joiner, best known as one of the country's leading "clean" comedians, one of the few professionals in the cast.

He stars as Mac McDonald, a longtime police officer embittered by the loss of his son in an accident, whose anger is further fueled when he is partnered with a rising star on the force who happens to be a part-time pastor and a loving family man.     

Originally planned as a straight-to-DVD release, The Grace Card was picked up for cinema screenings and drew $2.4 million at the box office earlier this year. "That was a blessing to us and something we never expected," said Lane. 'This message of grace and forgiveness is something everyone needs to hear the emotions we address in the movie—anger, bitterness—are universal."

Included in the extras are Starting a Grace Awakening: Behind the Scenes, Give a Little Grace: Outtakes and "Healing Begins"—a Tenth Avenue North music video. Outreach has produced a DVD-based study course, study guide and 30-day devotional tied in to the film.

Call Provident-Integrity Distribution at 800-333-9000 to order. For more information, go to www.thegracecardmovie.com. 

Life-changing heart attacks leave Angus Buchan with 'no time to waste'

Plain-spoken evangelist-farmer Angus Buchan gained international attention through his book Faith Like Potatoes and the subsequent film adaptation, which told of his conversion to Christ and the miracles that followed. 

After two heart attacks during one of his Mighty Men Conferences (MMC), he was reminded to live in light of eternity, a perspective he brings as a father in the church to readers of Come of Age: The Road to Spiritual Maturity.

After speaking before thousands at an event in 2009, Buchan collapsed with a heart attack. He recovered, and the medics thought the collapse was due to the heat. But after being taken to his house, he collapsed again and was airlifted to the hospital.

"As the helicopter took off I looked down on the multitude of men with their hands raised up in prayer, he said. "I will never forget that as long as I live. When we arrived at the hospital, about 60 kilometres away in Pietermaritzburg (South Africa), I was healed. The heart specialist said there was nothing wrong with me and I was discharged. I preached the next morning. Obviously I felt like I had been run over by a Mac truck, but God did indeed heal me."

Considering why it happened, he said: "Possibly God was humbling us as a body of men. After my two heart attacks, the whole spirit of the event changed significantly. There was a tremendous brokenness and an attitude of humility that overtook the men in general."

In 2003, Buchan had sensed God directing him to cancel all of his preaching appointments and focus on mentoring men. "I thought this meant a few men, but this is when the MMC phenomenon was birthed," he said. "After MMC 2010, the Lord instructed me that this was to be the last MMC on the farm and that I must pass the baton on to the younger men, and MMCs are now taking place all over the world."

In his 60s now, Buchan disciples and encourages men toward spiritual maturity. Buchan's simple faith was highlighted in Faith Like Potatoes and is presented again in Coming of Age. "Having put our trust in the Lord, we have physically seen Him answer our prayers many times," he said. "The Bible tells us that without faith, we cannot please God."

With a gift for communicating the truth in love to ordinary men who wouldn't normally darken the door of a church, Buchan does not "Bible punch" them.

"Many of these men that we are mentoring are more theologically correct and qualified than what we are. "

Although Buchan speaks of keeping short accounts, not second-guessing God and other lessons he's learned, his main message now relates to how short this life is.

Out of his heart attacks, "I learnt about the brevity of life," he said. "We do not have time to waste in arguing and being self-centred and selfish because time is of the essence. The Lord has been telling me for many years that life is but a vapor and I understood this after this experience."

Understanding that life is fleeting, he also knows how critical it is for people to submit their lives to Christ. "It doesn't matter how good a person you are," he said. "Unless you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, there will be no eternal life for you. To see the mighty harvest that is coming in through so many different aspects of life is really striking me."

A 384-page softcover book, Come of Age is available from Kregel Publications. To order, call 800-733-2607.

The father-son account Growing Up Colt: A Father, a Son, a Life in Football (978-1-616-26659-2, $24.99) demonstrates the power of Christian parenting and sports success in the life of NFL Quarterback Colt McCoy. Written in alternating voices by the Cleveland Browns player and his football-coach father, Brad McCoy, with Mike Yorkey, the book releases this month from Barbour Publishing.

The pair talks about the formative events of Colt's football experiences—he won the 2008 Walter Camp Award and was the 2008 Heisman runner-up—along with the foundational principles of their family and faith, which has helped keep Colt and his siblings grounded. 

In the sports world, though Colt was a high-school and college football great, not everyone believed the young quarterback had what it took to make it in the NFL. In fact, he was considered a bit short to be a quarterback playing at that level. 

Although Cleveland drafted him, he was third string, and in his first year only got a shot at leading the team after the team's first two quarterbacks succumbed to injury. But his chance came against the Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers, and as a rookie, he proved to his coach, team and fans he could handle the pressure of the big game.

Growing Up Colt talks of lessons taught and learned by father and son, and the role that the family's faith played in Colt's personal and spiritual growth. The book details four principles that parents Brad and Debra practiced in raising Colt and his siblings: prepare your children for the path, not the path for your children; prepare your children to do their best; prepare your children to be leaders; and prepare your children for open and closed doors.

In his growing-up years, he started as the water boy for the high school team coached by his father. The McCoys also reveal the factors that went into Colt's decision to play at the University of Texas in Austin, and the inside story of what it was like for Colt to become the player many perceive to be the school's greatest-ever quarterback. 

The book examines Colt's NFL rookie season, and the preparation required to be ready to take the field in any game. The McCoys also talk of how difficult it was to lose the 2010 Rose Bowl, when the dreams of winning a national championship were dashed by a hit only three plays into the BCS Championship Game. Colt recovered quickly, though, and just days after the loss, he went on to successfully propose marriage to his girlfriend, Rachel.

Aside from football, the book also talks of Colt's first deer-hunting trip with his father and his brief stint as an amateur bull rider. Acknowledging that Colt is not perfect, the book also looks at times when his parents were forced to discipline him for his behavior. 

For more information, visit www.barbourbooks.com. To order, call 800-852-8010.

Latest project: Upside: Surprising GOOD NEWS About the State of Our World (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group, July).

Why do you think so many Christians are negative about the future? When people present the gospel and talk about Christianity, they often present it as an answer to a problem. I think that gives pastors and teachers a motivation to highlight the problems in the world. … I think that means that we spend a lot of time listening to people talking about how things are going badly with the world.

What good news do you talk about in the book? I didn't set out to find good news; I set out to find how things are doing. It turns out there's a lot of good news. … One of the areas of great news has to do with health. With just about every measure that we have, Americans and people throughout the world are getting healthier. People are living longer, babies are dying less often, there are fewer infectious diseases. Even people who get cancer are living longer.

What else did you learn? There are several places with a mixed bag. One is the economy. We're just coming out of a recession now, but I think that obscures people's perspectives, that in many ways things have gotten substantially better in the last 50 years financially. We make a lot more money. We have a lot less poverty. Worldwide, poverty rates are going down. But income and equality have increased substantially over the last several decades. 

Did any of your findings surprise you? Yes. I was surprised by how much healthier everyone's getting, even with the AIDS epidemic. It's much better now than it was 10 years ago, in terms of the rates of new cases.

Toward the end of the book, you ask, "What is getting worse?" One has to do with family relations. Compared to 50 years ago, we have a lot more people living together—not married. Divorce rates are a lot higher; premarital sex rates are higher. The number of kids being raised without both parents has increased substantially. Abortions are much more common now. These are things that, from my Christian worldview, I see as negative. Some say this is a dark cloud, but there is a silver lining. In a couple of these measures, in the last 10, 15, maybe 20 years, things have gotten a little better. So in the last decade or two, divorce rates actually have dropped a little bit. Premarital sex rates have sort of peaked—granted very high, but they're not getting higher. Also, another benefit is that the rate of abortions has decreased over the last 10 or 20 years. Overall, family relations are getting worse, or have gotten worse for the last 50 years, but in a couple areas in the last 10 or 20, they're getting marginally better.

Ask the author: Mary DeMuth

Next release: The Muir House (July).

Publisher: Zondervan.

Where did you get the idea for this book? 

It came to me on multiple fronts. I wanted to explore memory, particularly a missing memory and the stress that brings to someone. Then I wanted to throw in a Christ-figure boyfriend who represented God's steady love. The house with secrets added to the mix. I've driven by the house on the cover of the book many years, then I had the privilege of going inside and taking pictures. It seemed to scream for a story within its walls. Today it is vacant.

Why Texas for this novel?

All my novels (so far) are set in East Texas. I've lived in Rockwall, Texas, near Dallas for four years now and have fallen in love with my community. It seemed natural to me to set a book here where I live and love and parent and laugh. 

Do you usually start a new book with a story, a character or a message or some combination?

A character. Willa Muir is the kind of girl who seems strong, but she's broken inside. She believes that if she can find the truth, she can move on. The story is an exploration of the idea that whether we know the truth about our past or not, we still have to make a choice to live. We can't use our past as an excuse not to live. She has to come to this conclusion herself as she uncovers a painful memory.

Is exploring the past an important theme for you?

Yes, again I'm exploring the idea of family secrets and the dynamic of that. Why do families keep secrets, and what compels kids to keep them out of fear? How can we be set free when the truth comes out? What does freedom from the past look like in terms of how we engage in relationships today?

Do you have a fondness for a particular character in The Muir House?

I really like Hale, Willa's love interest. He's intentional, steady, patient and yet entirely human. I love his dimensions, that he's not easily predicted. 

What drives you to write fiction, and is it still fun?

My craziness, probably. Fiction erupts from me when I'm mad about something. For this book, it's secrets. For others, I got angry about sexual abuse, spousal abuse, hypocrisy and parental neglect. It's my way of working out injustice on the plane of a story. God has chosen to heal me in many ways as I write my stories—and feedback from readers has confirmed that He's used my stories to help heal others. So, yes, it's still fun. It's what I'm created to do. When I write fiction, I feel invigorated and alive. Weaving a story is difficult, but it's also excessively and beautifully creative.

Any advice for Christian retailers in promoting this book?

This is a love story. A lost story. All under one roof. It appeals to the twentysomethings who like an unconventional love story. It appeals to those who love coming-of-age stories. There's also a strong thread of decorating and house restoration in the book. And anyone who loves mysteries will enjoy the book.

ECPA Fiction Top 10

1. Leaving, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan) 

Did you know... A Facebook page by the series' main character, young actress Bailey Flanigan, is run by Kingsbury's daughter Kelsey and has more than 11,000 fans. Bailey invites readers to ask for advice or simply be a friend, and to post on the page.

2. The Judgment, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) 

Did you know... Lewis' book brings to life a little known practice among Pennsylvania's Lancaster County Amish—taking in "English" foster children. Lewis said: "I'm so touched by Amish families who have opened their hearts for the summer to children in the 'Fresh Air Program,' as well as to those who have fostered, then adopted non-Amish babies, their homes already buzzing with many biological children. So heartwarming to my adoptive-mother heart."

3. The Journey, Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour Publishing)

4. Vicious Cycle, Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

5. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books)

6. Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)

7. Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan)

8. Lineage of Grace, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)

9. The Thorn, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

10. A Heart for Home, Lauraine Snelling (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

New fiction releases coming in August:

Courageous, Randy Alcorn (Tyndale House Publishers)

Dancing on Glass, Pamela Binnings Ewen (B&H Books)

Out of Control, "The Kincaid Brides," Mary Connealy (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

The Faith of Ashish, "Blessings in India," Kay Marshall Strom (Abingdon Press)

The Harvest of Grace, Cindy Woodsmall (WaterBrook Press)

The Second Messiah, Glenn Meade (Howard Books)

To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn, Sandra Byrd (Howard Books)

Water's Edge, Robert Whitlow (Thomas Nelson) 

Best known for his portrayal of Jesus in the Visual Bible Series: Matthew, Bruce Marchiano reprises the role in Encounter, released on DVD this month by PureFlix Entertainment.

What’s Encounter all about? 

Well, you have a handful of people on a lonely stretch of highway in a terrible storm and they seek refuge in a roadside café. It’s very mysterious; it’s almost Twilight Zone-ish that this café would be out there in the middle of nowhere. Little do they know that the sole proprietor and the waiter and the cook—the one guy in the café—is Jesus in present-day life. He meets them in the middle of all of their struggles—in the middle of all of their life questions.  

How did you come to be a part of the project? 

I just received a phone call from the director/producer, David A.R. White. After reading the script, I had a couple of questions and I explained to him, “Look, if you want me to play Jesus, which I would love to do, the thing that’s very, very deeply important to me and—I’ll say this humbly—I think to the Lord, is that everything that’s done—every conversation, every answer to every question—must be done in fullness of love. The people have to see that the heart of God breaks over their pain. They have to see it in every glance; they have to hear it between the lines.” He just smiled, he understood that, and he said, “Yeah, let’s go for it.” The next thing I knew, we were on the set shooting. 

What was the shoot like?

It was equally exciting and grueling. It’s been said that making movies is a little bit like going to war. You’re thrown in with this group of people and they more or less become your family. You’re with them around the clock in a very intense situation. We started shooting at 6 p.m. and we ended our days at about 6 a.m., sometimes 8 a.m. We did that straight through—I think the shoot was a solid seven days. You can imagine by the end of that everybody was pretty depleted and pretty exhausted. At the same time, it was remarkably exciting because we’re dealing with the heart of the living God in this film.

What was it like playing a modern-day Jesus?

 For me, the only thing that changed was the costume. I basically did the same thing I did in Matthew, which is basically just love the people, desperately love the people, just feel heartbreak over their pain—deal with them hands-on, face-to-face, eye-to-eye, intimately, involved in their life and speaking truth even when it hurts.

You’re inextricably linked with playing the person of Jesus: Is that ever a burden? 

Yeah, there are times—only in the sense that I’m a guy who loves making movies. I’m an actor who loves creating characters, and once you play Jesus, it’s hard for the movie world to see you in any other capacity. So many Christian films have been made, and I’ve often been asked, “How come they didn’t ask you to play that part?” A lot of times the answer is that they just can’t imagine me outside of the robe and sandals and the beard. So there are times when it’s a burden, but it’s a very tiny, tiny burden because it truly is the honor of honors, the privilege of privileges. I say this and really I mean it. If I never play another character as long as I live, I’m the happiest guy in the world.