Actor Bruce Marchiano, who played Jesus in "Matthew,"
will be our guest speaker next Sunday for Easter at Boise Centre on
the Grove at 10 a.m. Te following article is a snapshot of Bruce's
spiritual journey and his heart for ministry.
It's an amazing thing...
I am a professional actor. I gave my life to the Lord in 1989. Then I played Jesus in "Matthew" in 1993. I had no idea the fallout - in a good way - of that experience.
I remember being on the set of "Matthew" and a woman coming to me and saying, "My husband pastors a church. Would you like to come and speak at the church?" I shrugged my shoulders. I thought it was funny that anyone would invite me to speak to a church. But I'm game for adventure so I said okay and I went. I just talked about Jesus - His love, His reality, His heart - as we discovered Him in the making of the movie, and the Lord did a mighty thing in a lot of lives.
From then on the invitations just continued to roll in and here I am, years later, and the invitations continue to mount. It's turned into a full-blown ministry - sharing the reality of Jesus Christ... in churches, schools, prisons, hospitals, old age homes, stadiums...you name it!
I remember in 1995, I was at a crossroads. I could see the ministry growing without any effort. But at the same time, I wanted to pursue my acting career. My spiritual father, Dean Jones, told me, "Bruce, pray and work toward what you want. But eat what God puts on your plate today. Don't be so focused on what you want God to do in your life that you miss completely what God IS doing in your life."
From that point on, I just turned my eyes toward ministry and I couldn't be more thrilled. I look forward to more work in front of the camera (I love it!). But in this ministry God has given me, I couldn't ask for a more exciting
life.
As the ministry invitations grow and relationships build, I see God do more and more. I just continue to share Jesus as I discovered Him, as an actor...and then I give a call to response and watch the Lord touch lives.
The results have been beyond my comprehension. I've seen thousands of people give their lives to Jesus right in front of my eyes. But it is kind of funny - I'm not schooled or anything. I never went to seminary, never took a Bible class, and every time I go out and speak the whole thing blows my mind. PRAISE
GOD!
One of the greatest surprises and privileges I've had is seeing so many young people turn on to Jesus and receive Him in salvation.
It's funny how the Lord prepares a guy for such things. When I was just 22/23 years, I began coaching senior league baseball teams (13 - 15 year olds). At the time it was the greatest joy of my life, and what started out as a love of baseball grew into a heart for young people. I coached in that league for several years (even took an all-star team to a championship!), all the while, without my realizing it, honing my understanding of kids, my passion for them to realize all that their lives can be, and my skills in teaching that to them.
So, here I am years later, and the Lord has given me opportunity after opportunity to reach into their lives on His behalf for all eternity. If I've learned anything about young people, it's that they're smarter than we think they are, and in a world full of everyone putting on a song-and-dance to get their attention, what they're starving for is truth, real-ness, sleeves-rolled-up honesty & vulnerability. They're starving for us to cut the keep-everyone-happy hype, and just get real, and challenge them, and give them practical building blocks upon which they can march into the fullness of everything the living God hopes and desires for them.
Article
adapted from Bruce Marchiano's
Web site.
