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Religion

Actor always takes time to spread his faith

Kirk Cameron no longer views questions and interruptions as a problem. He sees them as an opportunity to witness.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published November 5, 2005

SPRING HILL - An hour before he spoke about sharing the Christian faith at the Worldview Weekend conference two weeks ago at Northcliffe Baptist Church, actor Kirk Cameron was busy practicing what he preaches while dining at a local restaurant.

"He did a magic trick for us," said Jessica Rivera, a waitress at the Ruby Tuesday's on Cortez Boulevard. "And then he told us if he lived around here, he would attend Northcliffe Baptist Church and invited us to visit there."

Cameron, 35, also handed out Christian literature to restaurant patrons who came up to his table to get a closer look at the television and movie celebrity.

Scott Lindsey, another Christian speaker from the weekend event, said it's not unusual for Cameron to share his faith on his personal time. "We had about an hour to kill before we were to speak at a Worldview Weekend in Kansas, so we stopped at an IHOP," Lindsey said in a recent interview. "It was a small town, so I thought no one would know who Kirk Cameron is. We weren't in there three seconds before you could hear the buzz through the whole restaurant. Every two seconds we were interrupted with, "Oh, I love you and I watched your show,' and Kirk's busy signing this and that and giving everybody gospel tracts."

Lindsey wondered whether that annoyed Cameron.

"I asked him, "Does that aggravate you after awhile? You can't go anywhere without somebody wanting your autograph and to talk to you.' He said, "You know what, it used to. And then the Lord revealed to me what a blessing that is.' I realized I have to try to make opportunities to witness to people," Lindsey said, "but Kirk has people come up to him and ask what he's doing in town. He tells them he's there for a Christian conference and asks them if they're a Christian. It's neat that he has that attitude about the whole thing, and he uses each opportunity to talk about the Lord."

This is not the same Kirk Cameron who played teenage heartthrob Mike Seaver from the sitcom Growing Pains, broadcast in the late '80s and early '90s. Cameron says becoming a Christian has made him very different.

When he's not speaking at Christian conferences or spending time with his wife and six children (four are adopted), Cameron shares a ministry called The Way of the Master with evangelist Ray Comfort, which teaches Christians practical techniques for sharing their faith.

In a press release about the recent Worldview Weekend, Cameron talked about his ministry.

"We speak truth in love, the way Jesus did," Cameron said.

The actor said most non-Christians have a positive response and thank him for taking time to share the gospel with them.

"They say that for the first time they understand because it was presented clearly and was not just religious jargon. Christians today are realizing that we need to present the gospel in a very genuine and effective way. You can't just sugarcoat the gospel or dress it up with marketing. You don't ignore issues like sin, judgment, the reality of heaven and hell. We have to make people understand the grace of Christ."

Cameron also stars in the Left Behind Christian film series based on the bestselling fiction books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. His wife, actor Chelsea Noble, is in the films as well.

The latest film, Left Behind: World at War, was released Oct. 25 on video and DVD by Cloud Ten Pictures and Sony Entertainment. It stars Cameron as the lead character, Buck Williams, and features Louis Gossett Jr. as the president of the United States, Gerald Fitzhugh.

At the conference, Cameron shared his story of coming to faith in Christ. It can also be heard in audio at his ministry Web site:

"I was not always a good little Christian guy. I grew up in a house where we didn't go to church. I was a staunch atheist. I thought I was just too smart to believe in a fairy tale like that.

"When I was 14 years old and I had been working in the entertainment industry for a few years, I got the part of Mike Seaver on Growing Pains. Within a few years it was a hit show. I had everything I wanted. I was a famous person.

"But I met a guy who was the father of a girl that I liked. He said, "Kirk, you've got a lot, but there's still something you don't have. You don't have the Lord.' He invited me to church, and I thought I should go since he was the father of the girl I liked.

"So I went to church with him and I heard the gospel for the first time. I listened because it wasn't what I thought it was. This man stood up there and he opened up a Bible, which I thought was just a big dusty book with a lot of rules designed to suck all the fun out of your life. As I listened, I realized that it wasn't. It was the word of God.

"He explained that there was a God who made me and you and everyone and everything on this planet. And he sustains life moment by moment. He is a holy God. He is a pure God. He's a good, amazing, wonderful God.

"And he went on to explain that we were created by God to know him and to love and obey him with all of our hearts and to be in a right relationship with Him. But that does not exist today because of something that separates us from God, and that something is called sin.

"I didn't understand what sin was, but he explained that there is a selfish streak that runs deep in the heart of every person. It shows up in many different ways in your life. It shows up when you lie. It shows up when you steal. It shows up when you dishonor your mother and father. It shows up when you think you're better than other people. One of the clearest ways it shows up is when you put other things in your life in a more important position than God who gave you those things.

"As I was listening to him, I was feeling really guilty because if that was true, I was in big trouble. I was guilty of all those things. My dirty socks were more important to me than God because in my mind God didn't even exist.

"He said that God hates sin. God is pure and holy and he hates sin, not only because it separates us from him but because it's wrong. And (he said) that God will punish sin and those who commit sin in a place called hell. I was thinking, gosh, that's really harsh. But he went on to explain the character of God as being also loving and compassionate and merciful and that he has provided a way for each and every person who has sinned against God to be forgiven. He's done that by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross. And that if we will humble ourselves before God and repent of our sin and trust in Jesus Christ, who died to pay the price for our sin, that God will grant us forgiveness and everlasting life. And he did that because of his great love for us.

"And I'm sitting at the back of this church feeling two things: one, very guilty because I knew that I had sinned, if anyone had ever sinned against God. And two, I felt this incredible sense of hope. My heart was swelling with hope that this story of an amazing God who sees my sinful heart would be compassionate enough to actually take my punishment for me and forgive me and welcome me back into a right relationship with him.

"So I went home not knowing what to say to my friend's father. But I sure had lots of questions. I asked him about evolution. I asked him about all kinds of religions. I asked him about the Bible and I asked him for answers. He gave me lots of intelligent answers to these questions. But he said, "Kirk, there's one question you need to ask God yourself. I can't answer it for you. And that's whether or not he's real.' I thought, how am I supposed to do that?

"About a month later I was sitting in my car all by myself on the side of the road, and a thought occurred to me. Kirk, if you get in a car accident and die today, will you be going to heaven? And I knew the answer was no. I knew that I had ignored God my whole life - put everything in a more important position than he was. I had sinned against him even though I knew things I was doing were wrong, but I did them anyway because I could get away with it. But God saw all of that, and I knew there was no reason he should let me into heaven, especially in light of what he had done by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for me.

"So I knew it was time for me to do something about that. I decided I would pray. I didn't know how to do it. I'd never done it before. But I closed my eyes and I prayed the clumsiest prayer ever prayed in the history of prayer praying. I just said, "God, if you're there, I need to know. God if you're real, would you please show me and would you please forgive me and would you please change me into the person that you want me to be?'

"And I opened my eyes and it wasn't like a gust of wind blew through my window or I saw visions of Jesus on my windshield, but I had a very real sense that God heard me. I felt he was listening to me, that he was real. And it felt so good.

"I went back home and told a friend who was a Christian what I'd done, and he gave me a Bible. I started reading my Bible and I started learning about this amazing God, who is not this big bad cop up in the sky just waiting to punish people because he somehow gets his kicks by doing that. He is a holy, just and righteous God who desires for us to turn from our sin so that we can be forgiven of our sin.

"It's an amazing story of love that's spelled out in the Bible. And that's the God that I have fallen in love with and that I live for. And I can honestly tell you today that of all the places I have ever been, of all the people I have ever met, of all the fun and exciting things I've ever done, absolutely nothing compares to the joy of knowing Jesus Christ, of knowing that my sins are forgiven and that I'm in a right relationship with God."

Kirk Cameron partners with evangelist Ray Comfort in a ministry called "The Way of the Master" that teaches Christians how to share their faith. They appear weekly on the Trinity Broadcasting Network in a reality-type show that demonstrates witnessing techniques they have used with people they meet on the street. The program includes film footage, taken with hidden cameras, of those encounters.

The two are also planning a live daily radio show to begin in January where they will make an effort to lead those who call into a saving knowledge of Christ as Savior.

The ministry has a Web site at www.wayofthemaster.com

Information about Cameron can be found at his Web site at http://www.kirkcameron.com/

[Last modified November 5, 2005, 01:22:18]