I saw you on TBN the other day (with your brother Kirk) and decided that I would see what I could find out about your acting career. I was excited when I saw you had a spot for Acting Advice, but was disappointed that it is still under construction. As of last December (through an amazing sequence of events) it seems that God is calling our 17-year-old daughter, Heather, into acting–at least for now. We are committed to helping her pursue this training and experience for this coming year–since the rules all change when she turns 18. She has been attending classes and has her first background opportunity at the end of this month. The hard part is that there is little information about the movie and its rating at this stage of the project. Our concern and biggest struggle is that there is no clear line/guideline on where to draw the line for a Christian. Did you find yourself involved in things that you later wished you had known more about, and stepped away from? We believe God has led us this far (to be salt & light), but it is just all so out of our usual comfort zone. Any input you have would be greatly appreciated.
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Thanks for visiting my website. I’m happy to share my thoughts with you on the entertainment industry as a Christian. Working in television and movies today is very difficult as a Christian. You were right in saying it’s not clear where to draw the line. You’ll have to use your conscience and much prayer on this one. Yes, there have been a few things I’ve worked on and have regretted since becoming a Christian. There’s no turning back, but now, having a biblical worldview, my decisions are different and my options are fewer. An agent will tell you that as someone who’s starting out, you can’t picky about what you work on if you want to establish yourself. Most agents and managers will push your daughter to audition for everything and will encourage her to take what she can get. Most will tell you to compromise on the small stuff now and if she starts working regularly and develops a name for herself, she will have more opportunity to pick and choose then.
As a Christian, you MUST be picky. You don’t want to compromise your moral standards for some time in front of the camera. And you certainly don’t want to work on something that could lead a searching soul astray. This is why it is very difficult to be a Christian in the entertainment business. Most TV and movies today don’t uphold the standards that we value as Christians. My advice is to find an agent that is fully aware of where you stand morally, and that you’re not willing to allow your daughter to go on auditions if they compromise that in any way. Honestly, it will be hard to find an agent willing to work with you because there are so many talented actors who are willing to do anything. They may say “that’s fine” in the beginning, but eventually it will get old for them. I don’t want to sound completely discouraging…there are some good ones out there! You’re just going to have to do some research and find them. My mom was one of them, having her agency for 15 years (she’s retired now). If an audition comes along and there isn’t much information on it, get the sides in advance. If the material is questionable, call your agent and pass on it. Keep everything in prayer. Most of all, talk to your daughter and make sure she fully understands the seduction of the entertainment industry. We can’t be salt and light if we become like everyone else. On a positive note, studios are making more faith-based films since the success of Passion of the Christ!
