Take the Leap

I was watching Steve Martin today- in the movie “Leap of Faith.” It made me shiver to watch. Because it looked like a mix Benny Hinn, Marilyn Hickey and Joel Osteen! He was preaching- if you could call it that- and quoting miscellaneous Bible verses and talking about “getting saved.” There was no mention of sin, but there was a story about a guy who needed “faith.” Actually, he needed not to be afraid of men with a 9mm, he just needed to get the “12-gauge super charged grenade launcher of FAITH!!!”

Seriously, he had this… healing thing going on. He ended the shows by “Feeling a healing comin’ on!” It’s like- Benny Hinn. The healing man. He “healed” these people, as he said, according to their faith. When people came up to get healed, he laid hands on them and pushed them over, or whacked them with his hands, or held his hand on them and started shaking and getting them to shake too. He must have the kind of faith that he could pass off on the people.

He told them “the move you give, the more you live.” I got the sudden desire to become a faith covenant partner because I just want to live longer. Cuz, let’s face it- God won’t strike me dead as long as I keep putting money into his pocket, right?

As a preacher, Martin always had his smiley face on! He was always excited, and he fed people misused Bible verses and easy answers. He put on a GOOD show- pyrotechnics, a full choir singing good ol’ gospel songs. And he actually has this jacket that is completely large, silver, sparkly, shiny panels that reflect the light and wow the eye.

But he’s a shyster. His people sit in the audience and start to get the crowd fired up when they’re not responding to the preaching. All it takes a little of that, and then the first healing, and pretty soon, there’s no dead audience. He has a night of question and answer time when he doesn’t actually answer anyone’s question, he just gives easy answers that makes everyone forget what the real issue is.

Now, don’t get me wrong- I’m not accusing any of the people mentioned here as being shysters. Furthest thing from it. But I am asking what do these people offer that Steve Martin could not offer? He was a “good” preacher- catch phrases, loud preaching- he made you believe it! But he offered people nothing other than “hope” which, while good, is not right. God offers more than hope, and real preaching needs to offer more than just hope- it needs to offer answers! Hope is a good thing, but if I start spouting out verses, claiming a name I don’t believe, etc- it’s NOT good enough. And people hearing it, well..

Anyway- Steve Martin actually goes so far as to claim that while he was a sinner, he was a HUGE sinner- and his life of sin makes him better for preaching because people who need to get rid of that stuff can’t go to someone who has never experienced that stuff. He went so far as to glorify his sin because it made him connect better. And I used to think like that, too… But glorifying sin isn’t good.

Anyway- long story short, the movie ends with this young boy coming up for healing. He has been for healing before, his sister told Jonas (Steve Martin’s character). As a matter of fact, the preacher even told him it was God’s will to heal him. But he had the audacity to tell the kid that it was his own fault he wasn’t healed, because his faith wasn’t strong enough! From then on, Jonas tries not to do anything to entice this kid. But the kid comes to the final meeting for being healed- he was in a car accident and can’t use his legs. The boy ACTUALLY gets healed- like a REAL miracle! All Jonas has been preaching has been fake- this was real. The movie ends with him leaving his flashy coat on the bed and disappearing.

there was a conversation toward the end, after the kid got healed. he came to the tent after the meeting and talked with Steve Martin- a conversation that goes like this:

SM: IK've been conning people since I was about your age and there's one thing I've learned. It's to be able to spot the genuine article. Don't worry about the cops- you can always get around the cops. But you CAN'T get around the genuine article. And you, kid, are the genuine article.

kid: are you saying that you think you're a fake?

SM: Kid, I'm saying that I KNOW I'm a fake.

kid: As long as you get the job done, what's the difference?

SM: Kid, it makes all the difference in the world.

You see- when you have an encounter with the true living God, you can’t help but be changed. And if you’ve been doing it wrong your whole life, you’re blown out of the water. It’s… amazing. But God’s healing doesn’t come in proportion to our faith- because there are people who have REAL faith and haven’t been healed. It’s just a mystery how God works. But when God really hits- it’s not something we can resist, and it’s not something we can walk away from. Not because we really can’t choose that, but because it’s so intense that we can’t imagine anything else.

Side notes- I forgot that Liam Neeson is in this movie. Martin’s character has got a crew that is in on his schemes- they look at each other for every “miracle” and realize they’ve contrived it all. Some of them aren’t all that good of actors. I think the choir that he has is unknowing about his scheming.

But this shocked me most of all: Steve Martin’s hair is not white. Is this the ONLY thing he’s ever done in front of a camera that his hair isn’t white?