I credit the biblical messages of Christian music crossing over to mainstream music, in particular the debut Jars of Clay album, for leading me to Christ for which I'm eternally grateful. I was a prodigal son who thought my works and basically being a good person would eventually lead me to Heaven. 

 

It took the conviction of the Holy Spirit grabbing my heart and pointing me to my desperate need for my Savior, Jesus, to bring about repentance, and know the Truth "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9, NKJV). 

 

My wife was pregnant with my oldest daughter in 1999 when I was saved. We now have three daughters, and my oldest is now 13 years old. I desperately pray for all of my daughters to not stray away from the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Whether or not music has had a big impact on your life or your walk with the Lord, I highly recommend going to see the prodigal daughter-inspired film, Grace Unplugged. Starring AJ Michalka as Grace Trey, the film opened in theaters on October 4. 

 

It also stars James Denton as Grace's father, Johnny Trey, who was formerly a one-hit wonder mainstream music pop star with the catchy and smartly written song, "Misunderstood." 

 

The lyrics of the song in many ways tell the prodigal story of the movie: "Under the surface, we're all the same / searching for purpose, running from shame / I'm sorry I'm not all the things that you want, all the things that you thought I should be / wish I could read your mind /  come on let me inside / wish you could somehow see that I would always be all that you want from me, misunderstood." The bridge of the song says, "It's my time, I'm ready." 

 

Many have felt or still feel misunderstood by parents when they give boundaries or rules that are meant to protect and help children who they love to understand the Words of Jesus: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10, ESV).

 

As attractive as the world can appear, with the lures of popularity, prosperity and possessions, without building a foundation on the Rock of Christ Jesus, any amount of worldly success is like building a house on sinking sand. This movie lovingly portrays that reality with Grace being lured by the idea that she can make it big in the music business by going out to Hollywood to record her own version of her father's song, "Misunderstood." She seeks to become like her music idol Renae Taylor, a singer she thinks embodies all that she wants to be in life, including turning away from her own Christian upbringing in pursuit of stardom.

 

The friction between Grace and her father—who leads worship at their small church in Alabama—is portrayed with a sincerity that any family can relate to regarding stubborn parent/child interactions. Grace has a hard time with the boundaries being set by her father, in particular her desire to play guitar and "rock out" during worship sets when he asks her to play piano during worship.

 

The excellent cast of this film also includes Kevin Pollak as Trey's mainstream music manager, Mossy; Michael Welch as Grace's new friend in California, Quentin; and Jamie-Grace as Grace's friend, Rachel, from back home in Alabama.

 

A resource is introduced to Grace during her prodigal wandering in California in the movie by the character Quentin, the real-life book Own It: Discover Your Faith in God, written by Hayley and Michael DiMarco. The book is about helping readers understand what to do when faith meets real-world challenges. Own It complements the film's storyline with the premise of asking what it means to "own" your personal faith instead of following the faith of your parents, friends, or others. 

 

This movie portrays the story of redemption with compelling performances by AJ Michalka (Grace), James Denton (Johnny), and Michael Welch (Quentin), who each demonstrate the Truth of what it means to live out the words of the emotional confessional song from the film, "All I've Ever Needed." 

 

In the song, AJ (Grace) beautifully sings: "Honestly, it's time for honesty / my heart is on my sleeve, will You hear me out / God gave me everything, so there's nothing left for me to lose now, will You forgive me now? Truth be told, I've made this world my home / I let it steal my soul / But now I want it back / Cause all I need is waiting / In Your arms, a place to hang my heart, where I am known at last / You're the one true thing I have / I've chased a million things, bright lights and empty dreams, Now here I am / Right where I thought I wanted to be /I'd trade it all right now / Leave it all and lay it down / To get back to where I belong / Lord, all I've ever needed was Your love." 

 

Those words cut deep in my heart, and are a pleasing offering to our Heavenly Father, God. 

 

Grace Unplugged is an excellent faith-based film that I plan to watch with each of my three daughters and lovingly discuss with them my desire for each of them to personally "own" their saving faith in Jesus Christ. The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke's Gospel account (Luke 15:11-32), is everyone's story. In one way or another, we all want our inheritance and want to squander everything with prodigal living. The Good News of the Gospel is that we're never too far away from the reach of our loving Father, God. 

 

To enter God's Kingdom, we all need to proclaim, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in Your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called Your son" (Luke 15:21, NKJV). God's answer to each of us who return to Him will be: "for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (Luke 15:24, NKJV). That's cause for celebration!

 

If you are looking for songs filled with prayers to express your commitment to God, you'll want to also get the life-giving soundtrack for the movie, which has four songs by AJ Michalka, and also includes Jamie-Grace, Colton Dixon, tobyMac, and Chris Tomlin—who has a cameo appearance in the film as well. 

 

If you liked the faith based films Soul Surfer, Courageous and Home Run, then you absolutely must see Grace Unplugged. It is easily the most entertaining and life giving film I've seen this year. The movie is a beautiful, well-acted and inspirational portrayal of grace—"God's riches at Christ's expense."