In the new faith based film All Saints, (in theaters Sept. 2017) newly ordained, Michael Spurlock’s first assignment is to pastor All Saints, a struggling church in Tennessee with and handful of members and a mortgage beyond its means. The best option may be to sell the church. But when All Saints church hesitantly risks welcoming a community of Christian Karen refugees from Burma–former farmers scrambling for a fresh start in America—Pastor Michael feels they may be called to an improbable new mission. Michael must choose between closing the church and selling the property–or listening to a still, small voice challenging the people of All Saints to risk it all and provide much-needed hope to their new community. Together with the Karen refugees, they risk everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all.
“Importantly, this revival (of a church) happens when the church turns outward, looking both to help those who showed up as outsiders and also to receive help from the wider community, instead of focusing inward on maintaining self-sufficiency. When the church faces a crisis toward the end of the film, even non-Christians show up to help out, because they can see the good work the church is doing. It is like Matthew 5:14-16 in action. In simplest terms All Saints makes the argument that love is the best apologetic for the truth of the gospel.”
This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author John McAteer about his web film review “The Apologetics of Community in All Saints.”
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