Tonight, my wife and I had the privilege of attending the red carpet Atlanta premiere of the new movie War Room. Brought to you by the same people who gave you two of my all-time favorite movies Fire Proof and Courageous, I had high expectations for this film. And my expectations were well-exceeded.
Focusing on the power of prayer and the impact in can make in every area of your life, War Room is the finest movie I have seen in 2015. I would recommend everyone reading this post to promote and take as many people as possible to the opening on Friday, August 28th.
I also want to point out Karen Abercrombie, who plays the elderly character Miss Clara and the spiritual epicenter of the movie, deserves an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She delivers a career-defining performance.
The following are 44 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From War Room The Movie:
- “We want God to use this movie as a tool to bring people back to Him.” – Alex Kendrick in his welcome and opening remarks prior to showing the movie.
- “War has been part of humanity in every age…There always seems to be something to fight for.” – Miss Clara does a powerful monologue on spiritual warfare in the movie’s opening. Points #2 through #6 are quotes from the monologue.
- Good Intentions Without A Good Strategy Leads To Poor Results – “Someone has to develop a strategy to combat the enemy.”
- “Death is part of life.”
- “Very few of us know how to fight the right way.”
- “Victory doesn’t come by accident.”
- Fathers Set The Tone Of The Household – In one of the early scenes, Tony Jordan, played by T.C. Stallings, is filled with anger and rage when he arrives home from work. Obviously, the tone of the remainder of the evening takes a downward trajectory.
- Healthy Communication Is A Necessary Ingredient To A Healthy Family – “In order for this family to function we need to communicate.” – Elizabeth Jordan, played by the delightful Priscilla Shirer, to her husband Tony in an attempt to improve their marriage.
- Excellence Matters – “A man wears his pants around his waist.” – Miss Clara to a teenager doing her yard work.
- Great Leaders Focus On What They Can Do. Not What They Can’t – “I can’t do nothin’ but call folks.” – Miss Clara
- True Peace Only Comes From A Relationship With Jesus Christ – Miss Clara says, “God’s still in control. It encourages me.”
- Your Talent Can Take You Where Your Character Cannot Sustain You – Though he was an incredibly talented salesman, Tony was filled with greed and stealing from company.
- One Person’s Character Does Not Determine Yours – “Submission is ducking so God can hit your husband.” – Beth Moore’s character Mandy to Elizabeth.
- A Healthy Life Requires A Healthy Perspective – Miss Clara asks Elizabeth, “You attend church occasionally. Is that because your pastor only preaches occasionally?”
- When It Comes To Prayer Do Not Confuse Activity With Accomplishment – Miss Clara tells Elizabeth, “Just because you argue a lot doesn’t mean you fight well.”
- Prayer Brings Clarity To Your Role – Miss Clara continues, “My job is not the heavy lifting. That is His job.”
- Great Leaders Give People A Picture Of What God Can Do In Their Lives – Miss Clara concludes her challenge to Elizabeth by saying, “I see in you a warrior that needs to be awakened.”
- Pay Attention To The Details In Your Child’s Life – As adults, we can let the concerns of life overshadow what is really important in our families, what God is doing in the lives of our children.
- “Your husband has his own issues but he’s not your enemy.” – Miss Clara on the devil being the real enemy who steals, kills and destroys.
- Christians Should Be Bringing Solutions – “I’m a Christian. I help people.” – Michael, played by comedian Michael Jr, to Tony
- Local Churches Are The Best Places Where Your Life Can Be Changed Forever – Jordan says in disgust, “I’ll see you in church.” To which his friend Michael says, “I’d like to see the church in you.”
- Money Can’t Buy You Love, Happiness or Contentment – Elizabeth says, “I’d rather have a good marriage than more money.”
- Jesus Is Necessary For Success In Every Area Of Your Life – After a foiled robbery attempt, Miss Clara makes the police officers promise to put crying out in Jesus’s name in the their report. “People are always leaving Jesus out and that’s why we’re in the mess we’re in.”
- Jesus Shed His Blood And Died For You – “Do you deserve grace?..Jesus shed His blood. He died on the cross for you.”
- Surrender Is Necessary For Success – Miss Clara says, “If you want victory you must first surrender.”
- Great Results Often Require Great Changes – To get the quality of marriage she deeply longed for, Elizabeth removed all the clothes from her closet to make it a War Room.
- “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” – Elizabeth passionately quoting James 4:7
- “JESUS IS THE LORD OF THIS HOUSE!” – Elizabeth
- “I shouldn’t fight God because He always wins.” – Miss Clara
- What Parents Do In Moderation Children Always Do In Excess – After seeing her mother create a War Room in her closet, Elizabeth’s daughter Danielle, played by Alena Pitts, created her own War Room.
- A Life Of Prayer Requires Commitment – “When’s the last time you heard of a woman giving up closet space?” – Michael. Who added, “I wished my wife prayed for me like that.”
- Daughters Draw Their Confidence From Their Fathers – As Tony began to invest in Danielle’s life, her self-confidence increased exponentially.
- Marriage Is Not Based On Commitment – Elizabeth tells Tony, “I’m not done with us.”
- Marriage Is Based On A Person, Jesus Christ – Elizabeth continues in her conversation with Tony, “I am His before I am yours. And because I love Jesus I’m staying right here.”
- Those Who Have Been Given Grace Should Willingly Extend Grace – The world desperately needs grace – grace from each other but ultimately the grace which can only be received from Jesus Christ. One of my favorite scenes is when Tony serves a former boss (who was very mean to him) by changing his flat tire.
- The World Is Dying For More Godly Husbands And Fathers – “I would rather have a man chasing Jesus than a house full of stuff.” – Elizabeth
- Husbands Either Serve Their Wives Or Serve Themselves – You cannot do both. Spoiler Alert – This involves a basin of water and ice cream.
- “Raise ’em up Lord! Raise ’em up!” – Miss Clara’s declarative plea to raise up more prayer warriors.
As a bonus, the cast participated in a Q&A following the movie:
- “The only one who can fight for us, the Lord can offering healing.” – Alex Kendrick
- “When I do stand-up comedy my kids have to repeat it.” – Michael Jr.
- “My prayer life, I was only scraping the service.” – Karen Abercrombie prior to the filming of the movie.
- “There are men out there that do love their families.” – T.C. Stallings
- “We want someone (Priscilla Shirer) who will represent God after the film’s opening.” – Kendrick
- “You cannot sit in the film and walk out of the theater just thinking, “That was a good movie.'” – Shirer
In closing, please go see this movie. War Room is a fantastic film!!! In addition to making you a better leader, it is one of the few movies which can truly change your life forever.
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