“We grew up in Atlanta and in the church. Like in the height of Southern Baptist megachurches. We realized pretty quickly and pretty young that something wasn’t quite right.”
This notion of things amiss in a place that should have a higher calling inspired director Adamma Ebo Sundance’s offering “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” A comedy produced by her twin sister Adanne Ebo, ’Honk For Jesus’ follows a disgraced pastor and his wife as they attempt a comeback through a documentary. Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and First Lady Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) were spiritual role models. They had an enormous flock, the best clothes, and the most toys, but it all came crashing down when allegations surfaced that Pastor Childs was doing more than just ministering to some of the congregation’s young men.
The film also looks at the ministry’s wealth. While preachers have always been compensated at some point, the focus has shifted away from helping people and toward who has the most prominent church, television deals, suits, book deals, and so on.
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“It’s something that has never sat right with us. The core of the prosperity gospel. (a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God) Because that’s not how it works. The encouragement that you are as faithful as you’re told to be as long as you contribute to the church you can have as much as the preacher has” was the inspiration behind a pivotal scene in the film, Adamma Eco explained.
They took the filmmakers to their church when you first met Pastor Lee-Curtis and First Lady Trinitie. Once inside, they enter the church’s vestibule, which contains a massive closet containing all the pastors’ suits. They make a lighthearted remark about how “Prada” might be the way to go for Easter Sunday, the day of their planned comeback. We may all be laughing, but the filmmakers posed a critical question: why does Lee Curtis need so many suits to be an inspirational minister?
The couple’s biggest challenge isn’t refilling the church but figuring out why they lost the congregation’s faith. If you’re familiar with Bishop Eddie Long’s story. It’s common for many of these megachurch pastors to solicit sex from men while preaching against “homosexuality,” as Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs did. He desperately tries to pray the gay away, even rebaptizing himself to rid himself of the shame. It’s a complex topic to broach, especially in the Black community.
“There are plenty of people in the LGTBQ+ community that are Christian,” The filmmaker states. “We believe in God, but we don’t believe that God is a bigot. We believe that people who aren’t cis still want a relationship with God.”
The point of Lee Curtis’s journey is to show that living in those confines creates those scandals and narcissism. While Lee-Curtis bears a substantial portion of the blame, Trinities’ role cannot be overlooked. She prioritizes her devotion to God over doing what is right. “We put this behind us,” she repeatedly says throughout the film. It’s her way of deflecting attention away from the topic at hand.
“Women are expected to carry the emotional brunt of our families. Women are expected to shoulder everything. In this case, faith dictates that you make it work. You are under a covenant under God, and God says that you make that work,” that is the dilemma Regina’s Trinitie faces. She knows it’s in her hands to make sure that Lee-Curtis stays on track, especially as the church’s First Lady.
Finally, while “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul” may employ levity to draw attention to a critical issue, the film also poses an essential question to the Black community, namely, at what cost are we willing to preserve our spiritual leaders? That is what Adamma Ebo wants us to remember.
“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and while it currently has no distribution, that’ll likely change soon. More from this interview when it comes out later this year.
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