To Save A Life (8/3/2010)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving teen suicide, teen drinking, some drug content, disturbing images and sexuality.

Directed by Brian Baugh

Starring Randy Wayne and Joshua Weigel

One of the best discussion provoking films I’ve seen in a long time!

If you’re a youth worker or a parent…take your kids to see this film! You won’t regret it.

The story is about an unchurched kid named Jake Taylor. Ever since Jake was a kid, he was the type of guy you couldn’t help but like. For Jake, life is good. He has friends, fame, a basketball scholarship, a future and the hottest girl in the school. Not much to get down about, right?

Enter Roger Dawson. He’s Jake’s childhood best friend before Jake’s popularity goes into high gear. Miserable and mad over being on the outside of Jake’s, or anybody’s inner circle, he’s tired of being pushed aside by everyone. He walks onto campus with a gun in his pocket and pain in his heart, and makes a tragic move.

Jake is devastated at what Roger has done. And something in him changes. In seeking answers in his own life, one question plagues him the most… could I have saved him? He is now deeply compelled to reach out to the students who are on the fringe of acceptability by the school’s upper crust. But he finds reaching out to the undesirable threatens his world. He may lose his own friends, his scholarship, his dreams and even his reputation to do it.

I'm going to be completely honest. Don't get mad at me for saying this… but I'm usually not a big fan of most Christian movies.

Trust me, it's not because they're Christian. I'm a believer. I would love for Christian films to be good. My distaste exists simply because many Christian films have been put together by people with great hearts, but not a lot of skill in the area of film making. (Just because a restaurant is owned by a Christian, does that necessarily mean the food tastes good?)

When the filmmakers first asked me if I would screen this film, inside I thought, “Oh man. I hope this isn’t another Extreme Days or Left Behind. But I didn’t want to be closed minded, so I gave it a shot. I figured I’d give it 15 minutes… if it stunk by then, I’d bail.

So I gave it a shot.

Not only did I not bail after 15 minutes… I don’t think I looked at my watch once.
The cinematography was surprisingly good. It only took me about 90 seconds to realize that. In addition, the story really captured me as a youth worker. I think you’ll find To Save a Life an authentic glimpse into the thoughts of many unbelievers.

Let me not lead you astray, this isn’t the best movie I’ve seen. The film has its flaws (at times I wondered if they tried to cover too many issues in the film). But I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, especially the raw look at the typical American youth group. All too real.

As the story unfolded, I really grew to like the lead, Jake. He was very authentic. Audiences saw the conflict between just having compassion and acting on it. It’s a real struggle that kids experience.

The youth group scenes were REALLY good. In my Do They Run When They See You Coming? book I gave a similar glimpse of a youth ministry through the eyes of an “unchurched” kid. I’ve used these kinds of stories for years in my student evangelism workshops. This film does the same thing, really capturing that moment through the eyes of the “visitor.”

And a funny side note: the writer made the pastor’s kid the evil nemesis. Classic! (Since he and I are both PKs) Probably not too far from the truth. The writer really understands youth ministry today, revealing both the good and the bad. You’ll meet a couple very real committed kids, and then you’ll meet plenty of “stagnant” kids. A great snapshot of today’s youth groups.

When I finished screening the film, I immediately wanted to see how Christian teenagers would respond to this call to compassion. The message of reaching out on campus is inescapable.

I gathered a group of teens and tweens in my living room and screened it again, this time following the film up with questions. The sheltered kids in the group were a little surprised by some of the raw elements of the film (nothing profane, just the fact that a Christian film showed kids partying and doing what high school students do at parties). They all were really challenged by the film’s authenticity and call to reach out to people outside our normal comfort circles.

So from a youth worker’s perspective… the film was brilliant.

I just trained a group of student leaders on this very subject a few months ago. We specifically talked about what happens when “people walk in the door to our youth room.” Then we talked about the student that will never “walk in our door.” How do we reach out to them? I think this film showed that struggle, and the balanced approach youth ministries need. The film isn’t all about “coming to youth group.” We see believers inviting kids to church, but we also see a Christian who has the guts to walk up to people where they were (a kid at the lunch table, at his house playing video games, etc.)

Go see this film. It probably won’t be winning any awards… but its well worth seeing. Furthermore, it will be a great discussion piece for your Christian students.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Definitely. Yes, it’s PG-13 because it shows some scenes where kids are partying, drinking and there are some mild curse words. But let me be clear—this film took a risk to do what the Bible does- and that is, show a genuine look at how God works through sinful people in real-life situations (have you read some of the R-rated material in the book of Genesis?) I go into more details about the content in this blog.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What was the theme (or the message) of this movie?

A: This powerful film has a powerful message…your life can make a difference.

Q: What can we—as serious Christ-followers—take away from this movie?

A: Set in High School, To Save A Life tells the powerful story about Roger, a senior who commits suicide right in front of Jake, his former best friend and current basketball all-star. The more we discover about the relationship between Roger and Jake the more painful the film becomes. Not only does Jake ignore Roger because of his new found popularity, but it seems the entire school ridicules or alienates him.

As we are drawn into the story one can’t help to be reminded of Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus says:

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

A: We can do exactly what Jake does in this film. We can begin to treat others the way Jesus would treat them. We can begin to love “the least of these”. Start by identifying those in your school who are like Roger: Who is being bullied or laughed at? Who is alone and desperate for friends? How can you “love on” them?