Written and directed by Alex Kendrick, who also acts in the lead role as coach. Most of the actors are non-professionals. Kendrick is a pastor.
Coach Grant Taylor is in a desperate situation. His team has been doing badly year after year. Their best player has switched to a rival school, without even telling him. The players are totally discouraged.
There is trouble in other areas of his life, too. He and his wife have been trying to have a baby for four years—without success. Their earnings are low, not even allowing them to get their old car repaired. Their house is in disrepair.
There is talk of replacing Grant with a better coach—and he overhears such talk.
Totally discouraged, and feeling unequal to the challenges he faces, he sees no way out. Then, a man of faith challenges him: “Do you believe in a God who opens doors, or a God who closes doors?” And, “two farmers prayed for rain. One prepared the soil; the other didn’t. Who is the one who trusted God?”
These challenges shake Grant Taylor. He begins to take God seriously. He realizes, too, that trusting God does not mean being passive; we have to give our very best, and leave the results to God.
The now transformed coach soon galvanizes the players. The scene of Grant blind-folding the captain and making him crawl on his knees while carrying another player on his back is a wonderful lesson in building self-confidence. He shows them something else as well: Winning a match isn’t everything; trusting God and doing your very best is what life is about.
Though apparently a football movie, Facing the Giants is really a motivational movie about leadership, about trusting God and giving your best. There are many lessons worth quoting:
To the exhausted team captain who wants to come out: “Anyone can lead when the going is easy. Now the going is tough, I need you there.” When the team needs a 52 yards kick to win, and the players who is going to kick says, “I have never kicked more than 39 yards,” the coach replies, “I don’t want you to go in there telling yourself you can’t. You must give your very best; leave the results to God.”
To his wife, sad and frustrated at not becoming pregnant, “Whether He gives us a child or not, we praise the Lord.”
Some viewers may find the transformation of this insecure and frightened man into a confident leader, and how things out better than expected, overly simplistic. But most will enjoy the sports scenes, and find the motivational part inspiring.
The title is a play on words. “Giants” is the name of the strongest team Grant’s team (the Shiloh Eagles) will play against, and also stands for the apparently insurmountable obstacles he is facing.
The movie is available in India. Suitable for adults and youth, and worth discussing.
Points for discussion
Is Faith meant to make us passive (leaving everything to God), or dynamic (making us give our maximum)? Does religious training increase a person’s initiative and passion, or make people dependent and afraid?
How far are we affected by our “self-talk”? How can we challenge negative self-talk (“I can’t do this, I am too weak; I failed earlier, and will fail again’)?
A person of average talents with great trust in God will do more than a brilliant person who has no sense of God’s power. Agree or disagree?
Sports can be a great means of character-building. Agree or Disagree? How does this happen? How can a good coach teach students the art of living?
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