THE FORGE; Beyond Just a Movie

In life, we learn things from different sources and through several mediums. As much as we might not see the lessons, perhaps for lack of interest or focus, almost everything, if not all, that comes before our faces presents and leaves us with a lesson. The lessons can go on to impact our lives, shape our narratives and possibly answer a present or future concern.

The prompt suggests sharing lessons learned from movies. That could sound funny. Why? As per the popular view that limits movies to being some form of entertainment alone, it could seem funny that we should be finding lessons from what it means to entertain us. Believe it, there's more to just the superficial entertainment, there's always a lesson.

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The presentation of the messages could vary. While some writers and producers put them in plain sight, others tend to articulate them in some way, requiring the person watching to pay keen attention to grasp them. Generally, movies present us a form of entertainment, but even for entertainment there's always a lesson, be it movies or any other form of artistic expression.

“The Forge” wasn't just a movie, it was an embodiment of a message that's really needed. So, this movie came out last year and made quite a buzz. It caught my attention even from the trailer as it was another franchise from The Kendrick Brothers who have blessed many with great works like “War Room” and “Overcomer.” I knew it would be a captivating one.

The presence of some of my favourites in this work such as Priscilla Shirer, T.C Stallings and Karen Abercrombie made me anticipate, with the likes of Cameron Arnett and Aspen Kennedy. That was all before watching the movie. After watching it, some deep-cutting lessons remained with me.

The movie was about a 19-year-old boy who was living with his single mom. He had no desire in him to take up responsibility as a growing adult. The only desire was whiling away time playing video games and basketball with friends. Of course, the mother couldn't take it any more, so she asked him to get a job and be a responsible adult.

In his quest to do that, he came to a fitness enterprise called Moore Fitness. The president of the company took an interest in the boy though his attitude wasn't polite. He offered to buy the boy lunch and then engaged him in discussion during the lunch. He eventually gave him a job with a perk to it; and that is that they meet at other times for mentorship.

Funny how this was the prayer of the boy's mom who is a saloon owner. Gradually, he nurtured the boy from moral and biblical principles into a responsible man, whose growth was evident and appreciated by the mother, something she had hoped and prayed for. He found his way to the Lord and later got introduced to The Forge; a group of men who meet together and engage in discipleship.

Now, to this point, there were already profound lessons that I had learned. Such as being responsible, mentorship, forgiveness and quite others. The one that got me hard came up towards the end. It's what stands as the core message of the movie; that is the place of discipleship and the need for the help of others in the journey of faith and life.

It highlighted how discipleship is necessary yet ignored. Also, it's the way to capture and nurture a generation. Discipleship brings about multiplication. “The Forge” goes beyond just a movie, but a cry, a beckon to realise and fill a gap that had been left open over time. It's about impacting another, as much as you're impacted. I find that really true and helpful.

Images are screenshots from the movie.

Thank you for reading through!