When a man of faith is asked to contemplate his “what if” moment – the life-altering decision that set his path – the answer often reveals the very heart of his purpose.
For Dallas Jenkins, the celebrated creator and force behind The Chosen, the popular life-of-Christ television series, that moment came 15 years ago, when he chose to obey a divine directive that would ultimately redefine his career, his faith and, arguably, the landscape of Christian entertainment.
Prior to that pivotal decision, Jenkins admits he was a filmmaker caught between worlds. He had made a couple of movies but was always “trying to be kind of cool, trying to be indirect” about his faith. He didn’t really want to be associated with faith-based films, describing them as “so bad”.
This all changed during a profound encounter with the Lord, one of only a handful in his life. When he felt God telling him to make movies for Him, Jenkins' response was that there was a problem as they weren’t turning out that well. The response: “Well, make a good one.”
Jenkins says this was a moment of profound trust – a turning point in which he had to surrender his identity as a filmmaker seeking worldly approval and to, instead, embrace his new calling as a creative disciple.
He reflects that had he not embraced that sacred calling to tell explicit stories of Jesus, The Chosen would not exist. He would have been “left to my own devices and seeking fame or success or finances or power in some other way”.
This path, he says, would not have worked, because God’s calling for his life was to use his voice and talent to “spotlight Scripture, to put a spotlight onto who Jesus is”. His unshakable conviction in his identity as a follower of Christ – and not just as an artist – is a central truth he has come to know and one he aims to share with all, Christians and non-Christians alike.
This divine spark ignited a creative evolution that has continued to this day. Even now, in the midst of filming Season 6 of The Chosen – a season he describes as “the most exhausting, the most difficult, the most refining thing I’ve ever done” – he remains obedient to that initial calling. The process is a sacrifice, but one he feels God desires “to portray His ultimate sacrifice”. And it is this complete surrender that Jenkins attributes to his growth as a creative.
Ultimately, this creative evolution in service of God has led to a single, unifying theme throughout all of his work: redemption.
“If you could come up with one word to describe the theme of all of the projects that I’ve made, it’s redemption,” he says.
It is this theme that has brought him full circle to the movie that started it all. The 15th-anniversary re-release of What If hit theatres on August 5 and 7. Jenkins believes the movie still holds up and he remains proud of the work, noting that despite a very limited budget, it continues to change people’s lives.
He says that if viewers of The Chosen watch this earlier work they will see that, even then, it told an authentic story of redemption from a person who had surrendered his life to Christ.
The movie, he explains, is about a man giving up his old identity for something greater – giving up who he has been in the past. It depicts a man trusting that God’s plan for his life as a man of faith is superior to any worldly gain.
While Jenkins has inevitably become a better filmmaker during the course of the last 15 years working in the industry, he insists that his personal sanctification is the true source of his growth as a filmmaker. He describes how he has become “stronger in my faith, more humbled, more grateful”. He believes that it is this personal transformation that has allowed him the privilege of creating The Chosen.
He says that Season 6’s brutal filming schedule is a refining process that he embraces. The pain of the experience is, for him, a sacred part of the work.
Additionally, he wonders if this difficult journey is something God wants him to do as a form of sacrifice. The re-release of What If is, in this context, a “nice … God gift” that serves as a timely reminder of his original calling and the enduring power of his faith-based filmmaking.
Turning to the subject of legacy, I ask him: What would be the title of your autobiography and what would be the summary on the back cover?
Jenkins, ever thoughtful, initially references the biblical story of the five loaves and two fish. He believes it is not our job to “feed the 5,000” but simply to provide our meagre loaves and fish for God to work with. Thus he says his autobiography might be titled something like Five Loaves and Two Fish.
Jenkins then recounts the powerful story of an actor in The Chosen who reached out to thank him for making the show, explaining how it had led the actor to become a believer. It was a story that clearly meant the world to Jenkins.
He says he would love for his tombstone or autobiography to say: “Dallas Jenkins made the introduction to Jesus for lots of people.”
“I can’t think of a greater thing than that,” he reflects, before adding that when it comes to meeting with God in heaven, he hopes to hear the following words: “Well done, good and faithful servant."
But, Jenkins continues: "I then hope that He says, ‘You introduced people to Me.’”
Photo: graphic featuring Dallas Jenkins (credit Arcadia).
O’Maria Akpati is a speaker, writer, True Beauty advocate and host of the radio show the Theology of True Beauty.
