Do you love sharing faith building movies with your family but feel like finding quality faith based movies is much harder than it needs to be? I’ve brought an award-winning filmmaker and storyteller to help us navigate the film industry so Hollywood doesn’t become your pastor or your children’s youth pastor.Wilson Hickman is the creator of The Lost Healer. Wilson is a storyteller who combines the wonder of fantasy adventure with the timeless truths of Scripture. His series began as a desire to explore the strength of familial love and humanity’s deep longing for something beyond this life. His work invites readers to experience an imaginative story that’s not only thrilling, but also deeply reflective of the spiritual journeys we all face.To learn more about Wilson Hickman and his work look for him on:Website: https://www.thelosthealer.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelosthealerseries/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelosthealerseries/Special thanks to Smile Online Course & Books for sponsoring this episode. To learn more visit: https://thefatherhoodchallenge--smileteenskills.thrivecart.com/social-career-skills-accelerator/Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastrhttps://zencastr.com/?via=thefatherhoodchallenge00:12.91Jonathan GuerreroDo you love sharing faith, building... mo Do you love... Do you love sharing faith-building movies with your family, but feel like finding quality faith-based movies is much harder than it needs to be?00:24.46Jonathan GuerreroI've brought an award-winning filmmaker and storyteller to help us navigate the film industry so Hollywood doesn't become your pastor or your children's youth pastor. So don't go anywhere.00:37.12Jonathan GuerreroGreetings, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me in this episode called Intentional Movie Watching with Kids. Today, I'm excited to welcome Wilson Hickman, the creator of The Lost Healer.00:48.66Jonathan GuerreroWilson is a storyteller who combines the wonder of fantasy adventure with timeless truths of scripture. His series began as a desire to explore the strength of familiar love and humanity humanity's deep longing for something beyond this life.01:04.94Jonathan GuerreroHis work and invites readers to experience an imaginative story that's not only thrilling, but also deeply reflective of the spiritual journeys we all face. well some wellome Wilson, welcome to the Fatherhood Challenge.01:18.54Wilson HickmanThanks for having me on. It's great to be here.01:20.38Jonathan GuerreroOkay, I love this next question. What is your favorite dad joke?01:24.86Wilson HickmanOkay. Honestly, I had to think a little bit about this one because I've i've heard a lot over the years. um one of my One of my favorites, I'll say, is a ah Bible-based dad joke.01:35.45Wilson HickmanSo it's, um why wasn't Cain able to offer a sacrifice that pleased the Lord?01:43.32Jonathan GuerreroHmm. I definitely haven't heard this one.01:46.15Wilson HickmanBecause he wasn't able.01:50.06Wilson Hickmanah but Yeah, it's that's one of those ones where it's so bad it's good.01:54.72Jonathan GuerreroI love this.01:54.95Wilson Hickmanchuckle.01:55.76Jonathan GuerreroI'm going to save this one. i have a student I have a student that loves to, he's just a little kid, but every time he comes in the classroom, he loves to to share some sort of ah of a Bible joke.02:10.29Jonathan Guerreroand So we always exchange bible exchange Bible jokes. That's just our tradition. So I have a fresh one now.02:15.06Wilson Hickmanah02:16.59Jonathan GuerreroThank you.02:17.56Wilson HickmanYou're welcome. and and And for future reference, hearing myself say that back, you probably want to ask it, why couldn't Cain offer a sacrifice that pleased Lord? Otherwise, you give the answer away if you say Abel in the question. But it still works, so I'll take it.02:28.25Jonathan GuerreroIt works. Yes.02:32.44Jonathan GuerreroWell, thank you so much for being here. It's an honor to have you. Let's start with your story. How did you get into filmmaking? And specifically, how did you get into Christian, into the Christian storytelling scene?02:45.22Wilson Hickmanright, well, that really traces all the way back to my childhood, and i was blessed to be raised in a Christian home. I came to know the Lord from an early age, but I will say that my faith didn't really become my own until probably age 14 or 15, and that's when I heard the gospel presented in a way that I'd never really heard it explained before.03:05.54Wilson Hickmanum Back before then, I think if you would ask me something like, do good people go to heaven or does God help people who help themselves? I probably would have said yes. Um, but then I heard the gospel presented using, ah God's law, the 10 commandments, God's moral commands in order to prepare the heart to recognize the significance of what Jesus did on the cross.03:25.99Wilson HickmanSo someone asked me, you know, how many, how many lies have you told in your life? And I thought, well, Okay, I've told a lot, but i i've I've repented and tried to do better. And they say, okay, have you ever um jealously desired something that belongs to another? I'm like, yeah, plenty of times. Have you ever dishonored your parents? Yeah, plenty of times. Going through the Ten Commandments, and then you realize, oh, if I stand before God with this kind of record having broken his laws repeatedly...03:50.03Wilson Hickmanthen i have no hope. I have no righteousness of my own. I'm i'm justly condemned. And then they explain, okay, that's why Jesus had to come and die on the cross because he was God in the flesh, lived a perfect life we could never live.04:01.48Wilson HickmanAnd then he take dies to take the punishment we deserve. And then he rises again, proving he has power to raise us to new life. We have to put our faith in him for salvation and entrance into heaven, not in ourselves. And that totally opened a new understanding for me, and I realized, oh, any good deeds I do are out of gratitude to the Lord for fully saving me. They're not to make up the difference in Christ's sacrifice or anything like that.04:22.76Wilson HickmanSo that radical new understanding of the gospel, which you know was thoroughly biblical, and just somehow had never grasped it before, ah set me off on a new trajectory of, okay, my life needs to orbit around ah glorifying God and making him known.04:36.04Wilson HickmanAnd I've always been very passionate about creative storytelling. um From a young age, I would write books, ah literally physically write books, like just take a pencil and write because i didn't know how to type on a computer yet.04:48.30Wilson HickmanAnd then once I learned how to do that, my writing really took off chapter books, novels. And then I graduated in late high school towards wanting to write screenplays, which seems like a natural progression.04:59.89Wilson HickmanAnd um i was at a crossroads wondering whether I should go to college to pursue ministry or to pursue filmmaking. And i really felt like God was prompting me and saying, you can do both.05:12.48Wilson HickmanYou can be a filmmaker who uses storytelling and creativity to share themes and messages that will point audiences to me while at the same time being compelling and engaging in entertainment. And I notice in the Bible that there's so much historical narrative reserved for us. And that's because you can have, you know, authentic true life ah accounts that despite being about real people who are authentically living their lives, have types and shadows of Christ woven throughout them.05:37.98Wilson HickmanAnd so that's kind of the model I sought to pursue with my storytelling. So i went to I went to film school and i made several short films. And after graduating, I've ah had this passion to pursue fantasy filmmaking in particular.05:52.65Wilson HickmanAnd because I've always been a huge fan of like the Chronicles of Narnia, ah Pilgrim's Progress, Lord of the Rings, stories with ah ah the in the fantasy genre that have biblical themes woven throughout them.06:03.42Wilson HickmanAnd so I want to make compelling entertainment that will point people to God by accessing our longing for something higher, or something greater than us and but making us recognize our need for God, while at the same time being a broadly enjoyable story that doesn't feel preachy.06:17.80Wilson HickmanAnd so that's been my my drive and how God has brought me along thus far in my journey.06:22.91Jonathan GuerreroYour latest project is Christian-themed fantasy TV series called The Lost Healer. what is this What is the synopsis and inspiration for the project?06:32.88Wilson Hickmanum so the synopsis of The Lost Healer is it follows a young princess named Kiva. Her father was murdered and her kingdom was invaded when she was only a child, and after years of living under enemy occupation, she embarks on a dangerous quest to find a forbidden relic that is prophesied to free her people.06:50.19Wilson HickmanBut the difficulty is that her people have largely lost faith in this prophecy, including her beloved brother, who's now being set up as a figurehead ruler for the enemy that has conquered them. And Kiva's only hope on her journey appears to be a young knight from the enemy ranks who actually takes pity on her and might just turn against his cruel masters in order to save her.07:10.54Wilson HickmanAnd the inspiration for the story is actually the two main characters. So there's Princess Kiva and then her brother, Prince Rian. And I often tell stories that center around a brother and sister because I'm best friends with my sister in real life. And God's blessed me to so have that friendship all throughout my life.07:27.77Wilson HickmanAnd I like to explore the unique bond between siblings in my storytelling. And so I started with those two characters and I wanted to incorporate struggles that i that as Christians we often face in real life. And one of the greatest struggles is how do you share the gospel with a close friend or a family member? Somebody who you're afraid of saying the wrong thing may be driving them further away from Jesus. And so you say nothing.07:54.13Wilson Hickmanand just try to you know witness to them through your actions and your character, which that there's certainly a place for that. God does call us to that, but to a certain extent, there has to come a point where you actually openly share the gospel with them.08:06.51Wilson Hickmanand But that's the struggle of how you do that. How do you do that without driving them away? And so I wanted to create a scenario in which this brother and sister have um an ideological divide.08:17.34Wilson HickmanAnd what what happens is the brother has been manipulated by the empire that conquered their kingdom. And despite the fact that this empire is responsible for their father's death and that it's ideologically imposing these lies that he he knows are false, he feels like he has to put his head down and go along with them in order to keep the peace. And so because of this political manipulation he's under,08:37.37Wilson HickmanHe can't even entertain the search for the healer that Kiva is embarking on because that would be an act of rebellion against the Empire and something very dangerous. But nonetheless, it's the truth and it's what needs to happen. And so Princess Kiva, in in this ah first proof of concept episode that we've done, she finds this amulet that will point to the healer.08:54.81Wilson HickmanAnd she wants to share that with her brother and and get him on board the quest and show them that show him that there's hope that their land and their people can be freed. But because of all the political manipulation and pressure that he's under, he keeps getting pulled away and it's never the right time to to explain it to him.09:09.01Wilson HickmanAnd it's just meant to echo that struggle, which I think a lot of people can relate to. im Not just sharing the gospel with your family members, but sharing any kind of difficult truth with a person that you love. How do you express your love to them when they're in a situation where they they don't recognize or won't admit that there's even a problem?09:25.45Jonathan GuerreroYeah, I was just thinking this series is literally playing out today in the lives of so many people.09:33.40Wilson HickmanYeah, it is. and i'm Thank you.09:35.45Jonathan GuerreroYeah, that.09:35.95Wilson HickmanI'm glad i'm glad that record resonated with you.09:37.95Jonathan GuerreroIt is. it It's resonating big time. um I'm seeing what you're doing as as spiritual warfare. ah Hollywood is a battleground.09:51.28Jonathan GuerreroPeople's TV sets is a battleground in the exact same way that the mind, everyone's brains, everyone's mind is the battleground of spiritual warfare.10:03.40Jonathan Guerreroum it isn't some field somewhere in the world, some big physical space. That is not the spiritual battleground. It is literally your mind. This is where the spiritual war between good and evil is literally being fought.10:18.53Jonathan GuerreroAnd everyone's TV sets, your streaming services that you subscribe to, all of this, they are all tools. They are all weapons in the exact same way that a bow and arrow or a shotgun or an AR-15 is a weapon or a pistol.10:37.82Jonathan GuerreroIt's all the same thing, same idea, different a different realm. How is your work different from that of Hollywood or streaming networks and what they produce?10:47.84Wilson HickmanWell, and that's that's so that's an excellent question. And it all goes back to your worldview, um or you could call it the paradigm, the lenses through which you look at reality and interpret all your experience. Everyone has one.10:59.16Wilson HickmanSo whether it's Christianity or secular humanism or whatever you want whatever you want to fill in that blank with, everyone has a starting point of basic beliefs through which they interpret all of reality.11:09.58Wilson HickmanAnd whether they intend to or not consciously, that is going to bleed into any art you make. So if you're starting from a paradigm that says there is no God, there's no ultimate purpose to human life or just cosmic accidents and in an accidental, uncreated, purposeless universe, that hopelessness and that sense of, well, then if there's no God and who who tells me right from wrong and who makes me and loves me and has a purpose for my life, then any purpose for my life has to be arbitrary. it has to be made by me.11:38.00Wilson HickmanAnd those kinds of themes will bleed into entertainment, which is why For years, we've had the traditional Disney message of follow your heart, ah b be yourself, make your own path, make your own identity. And that's really having tragic consequences today.11:51.41Wilson HickmanAnd I don't think they're necessarily consciously sitting down and trying to make anti-biblical themes. But nonetheless, it's just their worldview expressing itself in their art, and it's inevitable. So when ah when a Christian sits ah sets out to make art, you you want to tell a good story and one that will keep people on the edge of their seat and and and engross them with the lives of the characters. and so And I feel like Hollywood, the further it's gotten away from God, it's gotten worse at storytelling. And I don't know that anybody would really object to that. In the last 10 years or so, we've really seen a decline in the writing, the screenwriting of of major films and TV series.12:25.10Wilson HickmanAnd I think it's directly correlated to the further Hollywood has gotten from biblical themes, themes that correspond to the truth of who God is and what he wants for our lives. Because for a long time, even even secular films would have moral messages that, while not directly tied to the Bible, were consistent with it.12:42.59Wilson HickmanBut now they've abandoned that and they're largely preaching themes that are openly anti-biblical. And the further away you get from that, the the more detached you get from the ultimate creator, the ultimate artist, the storyteller of the universe who is God himself.12:56.18Wilson HickmanAnd I believe as Christians, we should be setting the standards of excellence in storytelling. And so I see God raising up a generation of of Christian filmmakers who care about excellence in storytelling and and excellence in their craft and are consciously as well as subconsciously weaving biblical themes into their writing.13:13.24Wilson HickmanI can't tell you how many times I've looked back at something I've written and been like, oh, This kind of points to the gospel in with this plot twist or with this character, but I didn't intend to that when I wrote it.13:23.80Wilson HickmanYou just have to be so engrossed in following God and who you are as a believer, and then a lot of these things will just naturally write themselves into your work.13:33.03Jonathan GuerreroI'll give you one example that comes to mind of of what you said earlier of the decline in in quality storytelling. Pixar used to be one of my favorite animation companies.13:43.74Wilson HickmanOh, yeah.13:44.70Jonathan GuerreroI love the stories that they produce. And it goes in line with what you're saying. I mean, they're not out there quoting scripture and and trying to openly pound some moral idea. But their films had, almost every single one of their films had some sort of a good moral compass to it.14:02.24Jonathan Guerrerothat that you could take. and And you could go to scripture and find support for what the films were teaching, the overall story behind it. And then Disney came into the picture.14:13.65Jonathan GuerreroAnd after that, the storytelling fell apart. And now their films are are deeply rooted in and spiritualism, New Age ideas, the occult, witchcraft, and they're not even trying to hide it.14:29.39Jonathan GuerreroIt's they are, they are actually proud of it. It's out in the open and they are using the Pixar engine for, for all, for these stories. And it's such a disappointment. And that's just one of example um where they've just lost that ability to do that. And this is where I think what you're doing is so refreshing because it it is so different and we don't have to we don't have to think about it.14:56.59Jonathan Guerreroum we We can trust that. um And even if you don't want to trust it and verify it with scripture, it's going to pass that test. And that's what I appreciate about what you're doing.15:09.95Wilson HickmanWell, thank you very much. And that's why i'm I'm passionate about fantasy as a genre in particular, kind of springboarding off of what I said earlier. I believe that there's a reason that some of the best-known fantasy stories that have largely shaped the way we view that genre were written by Christians. You have Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, and that's basically because fantasy as a genre has a unique power to explore spiritual themes.15:35.87Wilson HickmanOn the one hand, it's got escapism. It takes you out of the real world and brings you into this larger-than-life reality where you know fantastical adventures can take place. And so it has that awakening of our inner child.15:48.00Wilson HickmanAnd right there, Jesus says, you know, it's it's those who humble themselves like children who enter the kingdom of heaven. You have to have a sense of childlike awe to approach God properly. And fantasy helps awaken that in us.15:58.89Wilson HickmanBut then also, fantasy, because of its larger-than-life nature... Paradoxically, it also can amplify and bring into sharper focus the very real struggle between good and evil and in a way that most genres can't.16:11.23Wilson HickmanIt can expand our imaginations to recognize the severity of evil and the glory of God's good. And when we have that shifted mindset, we can start to appreciate the weight of the good and evil struggle that we see in our own lives.16:26.00Wilson HickmanIt might be buried under the mundane, repetitive nature of our you know real world existence, but it has eternal implications. And fantasy is good at expanding our imaginations to help us have categories to put those things in.16:38.84Jonathan GuerreroJesus used fictional stories, didn't he?16:41.13Wilson HickmanOh, absolutely. Yeah.16:43.60Jonathan GuerreroYeah. So you're using, really, the same tools that Jesus used.16:49.08Wilson HickmanYeah, exactly. and um And going back to what I said earlier about being inspired by by biblical narratives, a lot of the the historical accounts in the Old Testament, you can read them in hindsight with the advantage of the New Testament and see types and shadows of Christ woven throughout them.17:05.58Wilson HickmanThe life of Joseph is one of my favorite examples. He gets betrayed by his brothers, put in prison falsely for crimes he didn't commit. And then he gets delivered from the prison, which is a kind of a foreshadowing of Christ's resurrection. Then he delivers the land from a famine.17:17.63Wilson HickmanAnd then his brothers come and bow to him. that's a real That's a real historical narrative that really happened to Joseph. It's not you know a made-up story, quote-unquote, designed to preach. But nonetheless, you see foreshadowings of Jesus woven throughout it.17:29.46Wilson HickmanAnd I think that's what Christian storytelling should aim for, to be compelling ah a compelling narrative that stands on its own, while at the same time having biblical themes woven organically into the fabric of its narrative.17:41.31Jonathan GuerreroThere's another angle to what you're doing that I'm also seeing. What you're doing is your is is on everything that you're doing and producing right now is on solid demonic turf.17:54.42Jonathan GuerreroWhat I mean by that is ah Satan has um pretty convincingly claimed the movie industry. That is solidly his turf.18:06.34Jonathan GuerreroIt's not difficult to see that. Just go into whatever streaming service that you subscribe to. And go look through all of the movies that are recommended to you and go ask yourself, what is what is that TV series teaching me? What is the point of that TV series?18:23.17Jonathan GuerreroWhat is the point of that movie? And just start going through the list if you need any convincing of who the movie and film industry and television industry belongs to, which side it's on.18:37.15Jonathan GuerreroSo you are literally going onto demonic turf. And let's be clear, when you're watching some of these movies and some of these TV series, what you're actually doing is giving consent.18:50.92Jonathan GuerreroYou are opening doors. You are opening portals that allow demonic access to you. you are You are making agreements that they can come in and do whatever they want, put whatever ideas in your head, do whatever they want to do with you, you you are opening that door.19:12.52Jonathan GuerreroSo likewise, the spirit realm works both directions. Those same tools work both ways. So what I mean by that is you are going onto demonic turf,19:25.14Jonathan GuerreroAnd you are also creating access points where this time the Holy Spirit has consent because the watcher, the viewer of your content is asking questions in their mind, is curious, is captivated, is pulled in, is starting to formulate ideas.19:45.30Jonathan GuerreroThat is an open door. That is consent. And in some cases, it'll go so far as to become an agreement for the Holy Spirit to continue that work. And you are doing this on demonic turf, which is no different than what Jesus actually did and the time that he was on earth.20:03.89Jonathan GuerreroHe stepped into demonic turf and he took back people. He took back ground. So that's how I'm viewing what you're doing.20:15.69Wilson HickmanWell, thank you. um I certainly certainly appreciate that. And and obviously, Jesus is you know God. He's almighty. And i can anything I can do is only through his strength and his power that he you know graciously ah makes a way before me.20:29.51Wilson HickmanBut um to springboard off of what you said about the power of films to be used for good or evil in spiritual warfare... Certainly, that this traces back to what I've always loved about film since I was a kid.20:42.58Wilson HickmanWhen you would leave the movie theater, and most of us can probably relate to this, if you had seen a really good film, you would leave the movie theater and there would almost be this sense of shock, this sense of awe coming out of the theater and you're like, you feel like you're coming back down from something higher.20:56.83Wilson Hickmanand You've had like some kind of ah experience that transcends the the mundane reality and you're kind of feeling the shock of returning to the normal world. And I really feel like that speaks to us being made in God's image because we are designed to love and worship God.21:09.17Jonathan GuerreroThank you.21:13.74Wilson HickmanAnd so when we experience a story or something that transcends our normal lives and and draws us closer to Him, we are are We are getting a small taste of what we're made for, which is we're were made for another world to enjoy God faceto face to face.21:29.42Wilson HickmanAnd but as his image bearers, we naturally seek that fellowship. And when we see something that resembles that or that opens our minds to better be able to grasp hold of that, it it creates a sense of awe.21:41.53Wilson HickmanAnd so we're left wanting more. And ultimately that feeling, that longing for heaven, and C.S. Lewis talks a lot about this in his excellent essay, The Weight of Glory, but that that feeling of longing for that higher beauty is meant to draw us to God and point us to the ultimate longing for heaven.21:57.14Jonathan GuerreroThere's a scripture that's popping in my mind, like right this minute, as as you were saying this, and that is that eye has not seen nor ear has heard the things that God has prepared for us.22:03.86Wilson HickmanYeah.22:07.71Jonathan GuerreroSo it's as if God is is actually giving us permission to open up our imagination as wide as possible. And this is where your films are actually encouraging this.22:19.40Jonathan GuerreroAnd try to imagine heaven. Try to imagine the presence of God, what that would be like to be face to face with him. Things like, you know, go try and put on sunglasses first, strong sunglasses, and go look at the sun. And imagine that right now when you're in this human body, your human eyes can't look at the sun without it damaging your retina.22:46.28Jonathan GuerreroAnd the brightness of God is like a thousand times brighter than the sun to such a degree that in heaven there is no use for a sun for sunlight.23:00.46Jonathan GuerreroAnd try to let your imagination grasp that. Try to let your imagination grasp what eternity is, both an eternal past and an eternal future.23:11.96Jonathan Guerreroand the dimensional implications that that could bring for our existence in the future. Like, let your mind just go with this knowledge that is supported in Scripture that your imagination is inadequate to process the reality that is to come.23:30.10Wilson HickmanExactly, exactly. And this this also ah circles back to why it's important for us as Christians to be pioneering excellence in storytelling. Because some of the most fundamental some of the most fundamental things that make a good script are what is necessary to create that feeling of awe.23:39.92Jonathan GuerreroYes.23:46.81Wilson HickmanSo for instance, you You see a really good movie. One of the features of a great script, there were many, but one of the features of a great script is a term that's called plants and payoffs. So there'll be something that happens toward the beginning of the film, like a line of dialogue or a seemingly random occurrence that sets up a little piece of the plot.24:03.04Wilson HickmanAnd we're like, oh, that's interesting. And then the story moves on and then we get to the end towards the end of the film and suddenly that little piece of information comes full circle and becomes something really important that... it finishes the character arc or allows the hero to beat the villain in some way. And we're like, oh, that was set up earlier. and And what is that pointing to? That is pointing to our longing for God to bring all things to its proper end. Romans 8, 28, he works all things for the good of those who love him and called according to his purposes.24:26.52Wilson HickmanAnd we're longing for that to happen. We're longing for every little twist and turn of our lives, the good, the bad, and everything in between. We're longing for all of that to be brought to its proper completion and see, oh, that's the picture God was painting.24:38.02Wilson HickmanThat's the tapestry he was weaving. That's why that happened, because that was setting this up and God was working this. And we're longing for that sense of completeness, that sense of a good artist who's ultimately working good out of all things in this universe for the good of his children and his for his glory.24:53.00Wilson HickmanAnd when movies do that, it gives us a small taste of what that satisfaction is like to see a story come full circle. And conversely, when movies don't do that, it really, really leaves us, you know, feeling cheated because in fiction, we expect we we we we expect to see that kind of artistry because ultimately we're longing for that artistry in the real world, that sense that there is a creator who's weaving all of history together for his glory and for our good.25:05.90Jonathan GuerreroYes, yes.25:17.04Jonathan GuerreroYes, yes. What are some sources that you recommend for finding films, including yours, that are safe for families?25:26.14Wilson HickmanOkay, so two sources I've always used are Christian Review websites called Plugged In and Movie Guide. And they usually have you know recommended films and they can give you an overview of you know content breakdowns of of films that are currently out. And you can go back and search for older films, which you know sadly is where you're going to find most good movies these days is by looking for films that were made.25:46.67Wilson Hickmanmore recently than 10 years ago. um But um but ah that aside, specifically for The Lost Tealer, um i encourage you guys to check out thelosttealer.com, which is our series website. You'll find links to our socials there. We're on Facebook and Instagram. It's at thelosttealer series.26:04.77Wilson HickmanAnd then specifically on thelosttealer.com, you can watch our proof of concept and you can follow our journey as we're continuing our film festival circuit. And i also encourage you to sign up for the newsletter on thelostdealer.com because you'll get a series updates delivered directly to your inbox.26:19.93Jonathan GuerreroAnd just to make things easier, if you go to thefatherhoodchallenge.com, that's thefatherhoodchallenge.com. If you go to this episode and you're looking for the episode called Intentional Movie Watching with Kids, Intentional Movie Watching with Kids, look right below the episode description. I will have the links that Wilson just mentioned posted right there for your convenience.26:45.94Jonathan GuerreroWhat scriptural guidelines can dads use to discern what is safe entertainment and what is not so that they can protect their family?26:54.94Wilson HickmanAll first and foremost, you have to know the scriptures. You have to know the biblical worldview. So if you if you aren't familiar with ah the biblical worldview and you watch a film, you might not immediately perceive how it's going against scripture.27:08.93Wilson HickmanSo i I tend to filter this through the lens of what I see modern entertainment largely doing. And as I mentioned earlier, what modern entertainment is largely doing is preaching a message of You make your own purpose. You make your own identity. Follow your heart.27:23.42Wilson HickmanIf you really want something and if you really want to do or be something and the world disagrees, well, then the world has the problem. You couldn't possibly be wrong. Your wish needs to come true. Your deepest desire needs to be granted. That's your identity.27:34.00Wilson HickmanNow, what does the Bible say? Jeremiah 17, the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked, who can know it. We shouldn't trust our fleshly inclinations. We shouldn't trust every desire that crosses our mind, even as believers, because we still wrestle against the flesh and the temptations of this world.27:48.45Wilson HickmanAnd so we need to filter all of our desires and all of our life's goals through God's word and ultimately be seeking to glorify him and continually seeking his guidance. So if you have films that are telling us You make your own identity, follow your heart, ah do your desire. And if the world doesn't like what you're doing, then the world needs to change, not you.28:07.49Wilson HickmanThen that's so that's a those are films and series that are encouraging us to have some kind of God complex where we are the God of our own little universe. And that, of course, is a lie as old as ah the Garden of Eden where Satan told Eve, you could be your own God just and define good and evil for yourself.28:21.32Wilson HickmanAnd so that's really, that really, there's nothing new under the sun, like Ecclesiastes says. We're going to see different, the the same lies dressed up in different packages all throughout the, you know, all of human history. And so definitely be on the lookout for any message that is trying to preach something like along the lines of you're the master of your own destiny and you...28:40.08Wilson HickmanYou have the strength inside yourself. you know even Even messages that seem innocuous, like believe in yourself, which to an extent is true. You don't want to have inferiority complex. But the ah the opposite extreme of that is, like I just mentioned, the God complex, where you think you don't even need God.28:52.61Wilson Hickmanyou You make your own way in life and you define right wrong, etc. And so knowing the knowing the scriptures and knowing the gospel is paramount because the gospel is that we're not our own savior. We can't save ourselves. We need Jesus to save us, not just from condemnation for our sins.29:08.25Wilson HickmanWe need him to save us from the demonic attacks and spiritual warfare of this world. We need him to save us from our own sinful inclinations that will harm others and ourselves. so And so anything that, any sort of entertainment that points us to the reality that, you know, human nature has fallen and that we need someone to save us, that's definitely in line with biblical themes.29:30.57Wilson HickmanAnd also a strong contrast between good and evil. that's That's critical to good storytelling. And because it's biblical, it corresponds with reality, which is that God is all good and anything that deviates and goes against him is a distortion or perversion of that goodness. And that's that's what we call evil.29:46.46Wilson HickmanBut the world is largely saying, well, good and evil are just matters of opinion. You know, they don't really, there's not really a ah absolute moral divide between good and evil. So just be aware of messages like that as well.29:57.28Wilson HickmanAnd um one thing i would I would say is that if you're... um If you're just really in tune with Scripture and you're constantly reading Scripture and seeking God's will, then these messages and deviations from God's Word are going to become much more apparent in in the films that you watch.30:13.85Wilson HickmanAnd conversely, you'll be able to see possibly unintended messages from filmmakers who may not even be Christian, but nonetheless, they're aligning with God's Word anyway. and And it makes great conversation starters.30:24.41Wilson HickmanSo for instance, you can have, you can watch a film that may not be made by a Christian, but nonetheless, it accidentally stumbles onto a message that aligns with the gospel in some way. And then it makes a great launching point for discussion with, you know, your kids or your friends.30:37.06Wilson HickmanAnd that's honestly what I'm hoping, ah the law stealer can do because it's not a, it's not a Christian film set in modern times where they explicitly preach the gospel, but it has spiritual themes woven throughout. And I'm hoping that it creates ah launching points to discuss the real world counterparts of some of these themes.30:52.77Jonathan GuerreroWilson, as we close, what is your challenge to dads listening now?31:00.08Wilson HickmanMy challenge to anyone listening is, first and foremost, like I said, pursue the Lord. The Bible says, draw near to God, he will draw near to you. Never think that you can do this thing called life on your own strength.31:12.75Wilson Hickmanum you You definitely need to be walking continuously with the Lord. Like Micah 6a says, seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. And so ah don't don't trust your own strength. Trust in trust in the Lord. And um he will give you the strength and the wisdom to go forward in whatever pursuit he's called you to, you know, whether that's how you're raising your children, ah what sort of career you're pursuing or any of those things.31:36.45Wilson HickmanAnd then the other challenge I would say is make sure that you are letting the Christian worldview, your your walk with God, affect every aspect of your life. Don't think it's, oh, when I'm at home with my kids, then I talk about God, or when I'm in church, then I talk about God.31:51.64Wilson HickmanBut when I go to work or when I talk with strangers on the street, then suddenly, you know, that's that's my quote-unquote secular life, and that doesn't have anything to do with God. No, God is in everything. God is in every little mundane detail of your life. And if you look if you look hard enough for him, seek him and you will find you'll find he cares about the big things and the little things in your life. He is intimately personal and he wants to be involved in everything you do in life.32:12.98Wilson HickmanEvery single day, um and this is something that's been radical for changing my perspective. First thing when you open your eyes in the morning, before you look at the news, before you look at anything, you should be praying and asking, God, please be the Lord of my life today. Open my eyes to discern your will today.32:30.67Wilson Hickmanand start the day with that perspective.32:34.06Jonathan GuerreroWow. Wow. What a way to wrap this up. I could not have found better words, wiser words. um The words that you've just said will be any listeners open door to experiencing God in every area of their life. And once you get a taste of that,32:56.27Jonathan Guerrerotherere they're going to be hooked. um And I'm speaking from personal experience. Thank you so much for sharing that. This has been a really fun conversation. i i love your your excitement and your passion for what you do, your passion for Jesus, your passion for the work that he has you doing. Thank you so much for sharing that with us.33:18.20Wilson HickmanThank you for having me on. It's been a real pleasure.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/thefatherhoodchallengepodcast/donations

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