I remember how surprised I was to learn that Esther and Song of Songs are the only two books in the Bible that do not mention God by name. You’d think that giving God a shout out—by Name—would be a prerequisite for any book in the Bible. But no. What does that say to you? I know what it says to me: God is comfortable in his own skin! He doesn’t need commendations from Earthlings to justify himself (read John 2:25 and 5:41). Put into the context of the book of Esther and the king’s sleepless night, he doesn’t mind working in anonymity as he responds to our prayers. He’s not competing with anyone for first billing, or second or third or any other billing.
 
Which brings me to what is sometimes euphemistically called “Christian filmmaking.” I used to think it was essential for a Christian film to meet several requirements, among them the repeated mention of Jesus by name (not as a curse word, obviously) as well as having the chief reprobate in the story say the sinner’s prayer by film’s end or—as in the case with World Wide Pictures—get saved at a Billy Graham crusade.
 
As a new Christian, and as a new Christian filmmaker, I made every effort to “toe the line” in these matters and follow the rules. And I had the best of intentions. I can say without equivocation that when I set out for Mexico in 1987 to try and find a story to make into a film for evangelism (my first film by the way), I had but one motive. I wanted to help people find the same Jesus who had rescued me from the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock (Psalm 40:2). I wasn’t interested in making a sleeper hit for Sundance or a breakout film as a new director. I had no interest in creating art. It was time to harness whatever abilities God had given me, and the training I had received at film school, and harvest souls!

Having previously spent time in Mexico during a stint with Latin America Mission (LAM), I decided to visit LAM’s director in Mexico—Juan Isáis, a popular and well-known evangelist in Latin America. It was a “scouting trip” then. I had no money for producing a film. But I had energy and enthusiasm. I had dreams.
 
Juan welcomed me into his office in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacán and we had a long talk. He heard me out. I really think he saw into my heart more than anything else. He saw that I, as he, longed to reach people for Christ. Critically, he connected me with members of the Christian community in Nezahualcóyotl, a poor barrio on the edge of Mexico City, and there I found the true-life story of Felipe Tendilla Ramos. That story, which became the film Ropa Nueva para Felipe, was filmed on location in Neza a year later and premiered at the Hispanic NRB in Washington, D.C. in 1990. Since then, it has been seen by tens of millions of people all over the world.
 
Thank you, Brother Juan!
 
But can I tell you something? As towering a figure as Juan Isáis was in the Christian community in Latin America, he had lived a somewhat wild youth. I know because he told me. He wanted me to understand why he was so enthusiastic in supporting me in my quest to make culturally sensitive movies for evangelism.
 
“You know what turned my life around, Cristóbal?” he said to me that day in his office. “I love movies, and one day I went to see a film called The Picture of Dorian Gray. Do you know it?”
 
“I don’t believe I’ve seen that one,” I responded. “But I recognize the title. It’s a book by Oscar Wilde.”

“That’s right,” said Juan. “In the movie there’s a character, a cynical sort of character, who says to Dorian, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?’”
 
Juan grew silent, visibly moved. I waited for him to continue.
 
“There I am in the theatre. A lost young man. And somehow, those words pierce my heart. For days, I have trouble sleeping. It’s all I can think about. That movie changed my life, Cristóbal. It led to me becoming a Christian.” 
 
I didn’t think about it then, but I think about it now. MGM produced The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1945. It was not marketed as a “faith” film. It did not mention God or Jesus (though it did quote from the latter). There was no Billy Graham giving an altar call. No sinner’s prayer. Nonetheless, it changed someone’s life. And this “someone” went on to win hundreds of thousands of people to Christ all over Latin America.
 
What do you think? Can a film be “Christian” without the mention of God by name? Without a sinner’s prayer? And here’s a follow-up question: Can a film be “Christian” if created by people who are not Christians themselves?

In response to the latter, I think of an Indian-made film about the life of Jesus. An American, John Gilman, had gone to India to produce his own version of the Christ story for evangelism, but had hardly set foot in the country before he realized the Indians had beaten him to it! They weren’t thinking of evangelism, but they loved the story of Jesus! Their film was called Dayasagar (Ocean of Mercy) and instead of trying to recreate the wheel, John joined hands with the Indian producers to distribute Dayasagar all across India. As a result, untold millions have seen the film and thousands of new churches have been planted.

 
And what shall we say of luminaries like Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky? Were they “Christian” writers? In my view they were but let that be debated ‘til the cows come home. I would just ask you to consider for now how many Jean Valjeans and Pips and Alyoshas may have entered the Kingdom of Heaven as a result of their novels (and the film adaptations as well). Paul the Apostle said it well: “What matters is a new creation in Christ” (Galatians 6:15).
 
As a final thought, I ask myself this question: What does God want of me as a filmmaker? Is it to take a formulaic approach to the Greatest Story Ever Told? To suppress imagination in favor of ideology? I believe, rather, that God would have me create such works of beauty for the screen that some in the audience will not be able to get to sleep when they go home. They will have been struck by a wonder they cannot adequately explain. A mystery that points to heaven.
 
Rules have their place, but don’t get stuck there, my friend. “For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
 
¡Un abrazo fuerte!

P.S. 

We are delighted to share with you that in just two weeks the Spanish-language version of Let Me Have My Son has garnered half a million views on YouTube in Latin America. Are you a Spanish speaker? Do you have Spanish-speaking friends? Share this link for a free viewing of the film and note that the film’s title in Spanish is Hasta Encontrarte.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkxEc9A1qJE

And remember that Let Me Have My Son is on Amazon!

P.P.S. 

Where were you thirty-two years ago? Were you even born?! Here’s a clip from a video made after a showing of Ropa Nueva para Felipe in Quito, Ecuador in 1992. Thank you, Juan Isáis, for your counsel and your prayers in making this film. May your memory be blessed.