Casting Call: Director Dads Needed

Note from the editor: Dads, don’t miss this piece. I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with Ben at some length at the 2024 Mid-Winter Conference in Lancaster. His message to fathers is of vital importance for our homes, cities, states, and nation. Persevere in the role God has given you and lead well!

My name is Ben Myers; my wife Felicita and I have eight children, from age 13 to newborn. We lead a ministry called “Inner-City Movement” in Philadelphia where we have served thousands of youth and their families for over twenty years. We started off using under-tent outreaches in which we shared the Gospel through drama, which led to young people wanting to be discipled and become a part of the presentations. Since most of them came from broken homes without fathers present, we assumed that we would become their spiritual champions. We traveled around the region showing churches how they too could use the arts to disciple youth and do major shows and outreaches.

After ten years, we moved into a building that had formerly been a movie theatre in the 1920’s. It had 1600 seats, but it was dilapidated. We renovated it and began our programming targeted to young people. We had theatre Bible trainings and large shows presented in a very immersive way. Eventually, our need for HVAC and other systems drove us to think more creatively. God brought us back to our beginnings with a “tent of meeting.” We built the world’s first 360-degree projection dome for live theatre, complete with moving seats, wind, mist, bubbles and flying actors. We designed the placement of the projectors just right so that the actors looked like they were “on location” (in the Holy Land) on the massive 360 ̊ screen. We produced and presented professional-level productions that featured the kids.

However, it was not long before we became very sad as we watched a startling phenomenon. More than 70% of the youth that came through our program were showing no sign of lasting faith after they left. The 30% of children that DID show good fruit had a dad and mom that were spiritually leading them. This really confused us as we had such cutting-edge technology AND an engaging Bible discipleship strategy! What was missing?

Around this same time, Felicita and I began to desire to have children of our own. Soon, the news came that I was going to be a dad, and the fear of the Lord gripped me for the first time in my life. I knew that my hidden sins were going to have a direct impact on my soon-to-arrive daughter, and that shook me to my core. God directed me to His Word, and for the nine months that my daughter was coming into the world, I read through the Bible with trembling hands three times. I now knew who He was, the horror of my sins, and the glory of the Gospel! Though I would have told you that I had loved God all my life, I had really loved my sins and planned to sin. Finally, at the age of 30, I surrendered. When my daughter was delivered, so was I.

As I was reading through the Bible chronologically, my theatre/director mind began to envision God as the Greatest Producer/Director of all times. After all, He had written a script, casted parts, male, female, husband, wife, children, Jew, Gentile, villains, and a Hero. By us playing our parts written before the set (the earth) was made, we give Him Glory and tell His story of Who He is and what He has done, shown on the stage of our home, church, and communities. I clearly saw my role in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength and teach these things diligently to your children.” Malachi 4:6 says, “I will send the Spirit of Elijah a great turning of the hearts of the Fathers to their children and children to their fathers.” Ephesians 5:25 reads, “Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word.”  Ephesians 6:4 likewise: “Do not provoke your children to wrath but raise them in the fear and instruction of the Lord.”

I now knew that I was to lead my family with daily times around God’s Word. But I didn’t know how. My father was a first-generation believer, and no man ever came around him to teach him how to lead his family toward God through the Bible. Thus, I too was void of God’s Word, leading to 30 years of hidden sin and dysfunction. But I was willing to try. I found out that, 200 years ago, it was normal for Christian men to lead family devotions, where the family prayed prayers, sang a song, and read a passage of Scripture that they then discussed. I thought “I could do this.”  So I gathered my young family and tried it. It went horribly. Everyone was distracted, including my wife. I asked God for help, and help He did. It felt as though He said to me, “Cast parts like you do in the theatre ministry,” and so I did…and it worked. Everyone got excited and played their part, saying their lines as we spoon-fed it to them until they could read. The Bible came alive in our home and we were being changed, especially me.

We were now convinced from Scripture that God created the family as the institution for discipleship to be humbly led by the father, so we began to re-think what to do with our youth theatre ministry. I felt as though God was asking, “Ben how many of those kids don’t have dads?” I’d reply, “All of them, God.” He’d say, “That is not what I asked. How many of them don’t have a living dad?” And all of them did except one set of twins that were adopted by their grandparents. “None,” I said. “Then stop going after the kids! If you want to see lasting fruit, go after their dads, and I will help you.”

We decided to change from a youth-focused ministry to a family-focused one, because we wanted the families to experience the same transformation we had seen in our home. Put simply, this was God’s original design from the beginning. We decided to make an app called ActorsBible that would help fathers direct their families through a fun, interactive, scripted version of the entire Bible, made up of 62 acts and 833 chronological scenes. ActorsBible gives everything needed to easily act out Scripture. There is a a teleprompter script, a musical score, songs with lyrics, application questions, and 360 ̊ visuals of the Holy Lands. (My family traveled to Turkey, Greece, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, capturing the exact locations with an 8k, 360 ̊ camera and put it in the app, so families are literally transported to the Holy Lands every time they have family devotions.)

Now, when kids want to be part of the ministry program, we start with their dad. He begins by participating in the “Director Dad Vision Casting Call.” During this, he hears how God has specifically casted HIM to play the role of director, and that he has more anointing in his pinky finger to direct his family toward or away from God than 100 million seminary-trained pastors. WHY? Because God has casted him alone for this role. The fathers get excited when they find that they are wanted, needed and have a job…no…a great quest to accomplish. They then commit to a 21-day family meeting challenge (using the ActorsBible app at home) going through 21 scenes with their family that cover the Gospel, from Genesis to Revelation. They then have an opportunity to come together with all participating families at the theatre to present the stories back to back as one whole musical show. We run the show in our Dome using the ActorsBible software, displaying the 360 ̊ Holy Land images, teleprompter in the back, complete with music, moving seats, lighting, and special effects.

Over the last three years, we have been traveling the US in an RV doing the ActorsBible Experience RV Tour at churches, conferences, workshops, expos, house meetings, and more. We have shared about the importance of family discipleship and demonstrated the power of ActorsBible by facilitating devotions as one large group. It has been incredible to witness the power of enacting God’s Word to bring families to God and each other. This year we will add a projection dome to the tour!

In God’s final act of the greatest show on earth, He pours out the Spirit of Elijah, a turning of Fathers’ hearts to their children. This ultimately leads to a people prepared, playing their parts, a straightening of crooked ways for our Lord’s return. In addition to evangelism, and the restoration of family discipleship, our goal with ActorsBible is to help people realize that God has written a script (the Bible) and casted parts; male, female, children, Jew, and Gentile. Though all are equal before God, He has a specific role for each of us to play according to the Script, “as it is written.” His Will be done, and for His glory. It’s time for each of us to play our part, not someone else’s. We have to get in order in time for the finale! Let’s get to our places; the curtain is going up!