Screenplay

FADE IN:

EXT. CLASSIC WHITE CHURCH AND STEEPLE - MORNING

The sound of a whole congregation singing a classic hymn is heard floating in the air. The church is back-lit by a picture perfect sky as the clouds break and a ray of golden light descends over the building, creating a postcard image of the perfect church. ANNOUNCEMENTS - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING The hymn comes to an end, the people are seated and the pastor steps up to the pulpit. PASTOR Good morning, friends! There is a palpable silence as the congregation stares back at the pulpit. A high angle shot makes the room look distant and open and the buzz of a florescent fixture completes the scene. PASTOR (Clearing his throat) Well, then. We have a few announcements. He shuffles through some pages. PASTOR We have a birthday celebration here at the church on Thursday. Im sure everyone is aware of who is is. Im very proud to announce that we will be hosting the 3rd annual prayer-athon this year. Those of you who would like to be a part of... The pastor is drowned out and begins to speak with a muffled sound. The camera pans slowly across the congregation with the muffled sound of the pastor continuing. Children are poking fun at each other. Some of the adults are fidgeting with their hair or clothing. One prominent individual is twirling a string of bubble gum from her mouth to her fore finger with a bored look on her face. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) ...the event should contact Mary Martha at the office desk. (Pause) Uh. Were also still seeking a regular volunteer to care for the nursery AT LEAST on Sunday (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) (contd) morning. This would greatly serve the ministry and its ability to reach out undisturbed to those in need during services... Cut back to the pastor. The muffled sound of his voice ends and we hear it with normal clarity once more. PASTOR ...and finally. (Pause) Our turn out last week for street witnessing was somewhat LESS than impressive (smiles simpathetically) Were going to give another go this Friday night! Please pray about it, and, if the Lord guides, meet us out in front of the coffee shop at about 4 oclock. SERMON - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING We hear a shrill laughter and the sound of children giggling and teasing. An over the shoulder shot of the PASTOR shows that there is a very TIRED MAN in ragged but clean work clothes surrounded by little kids with no mother around. The kids disrupt the PASTOR enough to cause him to pause. A close up of the PASTOR reveals that he is getting perturbed. He closes a fist over his mouth and feigns a couple of coughs. Cut to a medium-close up of the TIRED MAN, who nudges and lays his hand over the heads of his children until they are silent. There is another long period of silence and the pastor launches into his sermon for the day. PASTOR If youll turn in your bibles to the second chapter of James this morning. A pause, and he begins to read PASTOR "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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PASTOR (contd) or a sister is without clothes and daily food. More shots of our congregation ranging between paying attention to totally disconnected. PASTOR (CONTD) If one of you says to them, Go in peace; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Here, James is not saying that our salvation depends on our deeds, but rather that our deeds are an outward sign of our salvation... SPORTS FAN - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING As the scene transitions, we pan across a row of the congregation and stop at a man with a stubbly shadow on his chin and a jersey on. Hes staring intently at the pulpit, but as he does he begins to slowly smile big and wide and tilt his head up until his eyes land at a point somewhere over the pastors head. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) A test! If you will, that what we say is the guiding principle of our lives, namely the Lordship of Jesus Christ, is actually what drives us. It is, after all, so easy for us to become entangled in the colorful things the world has to offer. Fading into the soundtrack, we begin to hear a crowd cheering and the vague, but familiar sound of a sports announcer as the sound of the pastors sermon fades. We see a shot of the pastor from SPORTS FANS POV. The background melts away and becomes a montage of NFL imagery. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) To be swept away by them and even consumed. Where does the Lordship of our life really lie? If we call him Lord, doesnt that make him the boss? Once, some of the religious leaders of his day asked Jesus what (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) (contd) the greatest of all Gods commandments was. A question which should have a great deal of impact even for us today. It should not only be of utmost importance what our commander has said is the most important of our guidelines, but it should also relieve us to know that all of this book is summarized in the following statement! Another shot of the SPORTS FAN face-forward, medium wide shows us that the whole church sanctuary behind him has melted away into a sunny day at the park with two (or more) men playing football back and forth. All the while we can hear the pastors sermon in the background. VANITY COMPETITION - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING As the sermon continues, we pan across to another area of the sanctuary where two ladies are seated apart from each other on the same pew. As she listens half-heartedly, JEALOUS BEAUTY 1 (who is wearing a shawl) glances over to JEALOUS BEAUTY 2 (who has short hair) through the corner of her eye and does an eye scan from top to bottom. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) In Matthew twenty two starting in verse thirty seven Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. JEALOUS BEAUTY 2, noticing the probe, glances back at JEALOUS BEAUTY 1 and then glances away quickly so as not to be noticed. Her nose in the air. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. JEALOUS BEAUTY 1 takes out her compact and examines herself in the mirror. Her face is blocked momentarily from the camera by its mirror and when it is brought down, she suddenly has a ridiculous amount of make-up on! She then glances back over to her rival and smiles.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) Its amazing to me how often these simple principles of the Kingdom are gummed up. Complicated. In the hustle and bustle of our modern life, we just get easily swept up in what we see and hear.

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JEALOUS BEAUTY 2 raises a shoulder in indignation and squirms a bit uncomfortably. She takes out a little spray bottle and dusts her head with a mist that makes the little girl sitting next to her choke. With a flick and a flourish, she bows her head and then quickly comes up with a long, flowing mane of shiny hair in slow-motion like a shampoo commercial. She glances back at JEALOUS BEAUTY 1 challengingly. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) We get competitive! We see the mirror as more real than the supernatural and become mired in the vanity of the now. Well, thats a form of faithlessness people! In response, JEALOUS BEAUTY 1 lifts her snooty nose to the air as though unimpressed with her rivals show. She then pulls her shawl down on her left and then on her right, reaches behind her to pull something dangling from the back of her blouse and BAM! All of a sudden she is dressed in a sparkling gown fit for a ball. She glances craftily over at the other woman who is watching, but then looks away in a fit. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) So much energy expended chasin our tails in the pursuit of earthly glory, when the Father is correcting us to aim our sights on things above. Whats the best case scenario there, huh? "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (pause) Right? THE GAMER - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING After a refresher shot of the pastor at his pulpit, we pan to another member in the pews. A young man (the GAMER) with bags under his eyes staring intently forward as though riveted by the sermon. The TIRED MAN and his children are directly behind him.

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PASTOR I know Im no exception! I get to fishin and wanna completely forget sometimes that the Lord is looking over my shoulder. You see, its our hearts that He wants. Our attention and our love is where the real battlefield is and the enemy is constantly fighting for ground there. The GAMER continues to stare straight ahead as the sermon fades and is replaced with the sounds of gunfire and explosions. As we zoom toward his eyes, we switch to a wide shot of the stage and pulpit. A red crosshair appears over the pastors head and begins to scan across the room. A readout appears at the top of the screen including a timer and a score in the thousands. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) Theres an old native American saying thats tells of two wolves that live within us all. One of them is selfless, courageous and noble and the other is selfish, impatient and destructive. If you want to know which one of them is the stronger, the answer is: the one you feed. Strange enemy soldiers and other oddities begin popping up from behind obstacles and bushes and are quickly gunned down by the scanning crosshair. As they explode into a shower of pixels, little pixelated scores appear above where they were shot. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) You can tell that your love belongs to something else when you find your mind drifting to it even when you know his voice is calling. You know what Im talking about, right? Im not the only one here. Hehe. The congregation laughs nervously and we see a close up shot of the GAMERS eyes just as he shakes his head and snaps back to reality. PASTOR (CONTD) But its not only the fun and exciting things that get us though, is it? Were also demanded upon (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: PASTOR (CONTD) (contd) constantly by our needs and by our flesh. HUNGRY MAN - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING PASTOR I mean, we get hungry right? pay the bills! Gotta

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The cameras on the move again. This time, we settle on a man who is seated just off the middle isle about middle of the room. His eyes are heavy and he is struggling to stay awake. At the word hungry he snaps to attention and sits back. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) But in the end, the Lord is not undecided about who chose Him over the things of this world. The camera pans back to a medium-wide shot of the man and the center isle. Down the isle and slightly out of focus in the back of the sanctuary is a gathering table with a huge pile of baked goods at the center of it. As we watch, a solid version of the man remains seated, but a semi-transparent version of him slowly turns and cranes his neck toward the goodies. The ghostly figure gets up in slow motion and begins walking down the aisle away from the camera and toward the table. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) Later in chapter twenty five of Matthew, Jesus continues, saying, "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. As the mans spirit heads toward the table, his body remains seated with a feigned look of interest on his face as though he is engaged in what the pastor is saying. His spirit looks back as though he might get caught. The closer his spirit gets to the goodies, the more the table begins to glow. Brighter and brighter until the ghostly figure of the man is overwhelmed with light. Heavenly voices sound out a sweet vocal chorus. Cut to a wide shot over the pastors shoulder (no light, no voices) overlooking the whole sanctuary. All is normal and the goodies on the back table remain undisturbed. Someone in the back coughs twice.

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THE TEXTERS - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING PASTOR He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. We cut to an extreme close up of a slender hand (TEXTER 1) roaming over a smart phone. Blurred in the distance, way over on the next pew, is another young lady with another smart phone. "OMG I want to go home" is what is typed across the screen. The focus changes to the distance and we see the other girl (TEXTER 2) look up and snicker. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Cut to a medium close up of TEXTER 2 and we see her barely containing herself as she types hurriedly into the phone "Do you think Brian is hot?" Cut to a wide shot with THE GAMER center frame. Behind him, and with the TIRED MAN and his children in sight, TEXTER 2 on his left smiles while TEXTER 3 on his distant right looks shocked and begins to text back. All the while, he stares slack-jawed at whatever he is still imagining. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Over the shoulder of TEXTER 1, we see her type in "SRSLY?!". Suddenly her Mom notices what shes doing. We cut to TEXTER 2 just in time to see her type in "JK". In the distance, TEXTER 1 gets her phone plucked from her hand by Mom. There is a silent fit seen from her friends perspective, then all is calm. TEXTER 2, still close up, slaps her phone on her lap in disappointment and sighs out loud.

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WRAP UP - INT. CHURCH SANCTUARY - MORNING Cut to a tight shot of our pastor. PASTOR So where does that leave us? (PAUSE) We all seek what is genuine. We all want to see the Truth lived out in our own lives and we all wanna see the real fruit of a real walk with a real God in each other. EXT. CHURCH ENTRY - LATE MORNING The church is letting out and the pastor is standing near the door shaking hands and smiling as the people leave. PASTOR (CONTD V.O.) But that requires that WE are the genuine ones. (pause) It takes being honest with ourselves and taking inventory of where were at before the Lord... The V.O. of the sermon fades and we catch little exchanges from our congregation assuring the pastor they will be there on Friday. EXT. COFFEE SHOP - LATE AFTERNOON Establishment shot of the coffee shop and busy street corner. The PASTOR is standing in casual clothes aside from the shop with a Bible in hand====. TITLE OVER: Friday - 4:30PM A medium-close up of the Pastor shows him looking at his watch and glancing this way up the street and then back the other way. People file past him and he finally drops his arms in resignation. He lowers his head and leans his back against the coffee shop wall. Somewhere off screen, we hear the same shrill laughter that gave the PASTOR pause earlier on Sunday morning. The background score somehow changes from melencholy to light-hearted as we see the little kids that surrounded the TIRED MAN bound around the corner in slow motion and bolt toward the PASTOR. Finally, the TIRED MAN himself appears, ragged and dirty and probably just getting off work. (CONTINUED)

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The children surround the PASTOR and when the TIRED MAN arrives, the PASTOR shakes his hand with a relieved smile and pats him on the back, which throws up a cloud of dust from his work shirt. After a moment of gabbing and poking with the kids... We cut to a crane shot and the camera begins to receed upwards. Just then, a couple walking by is stopped by the PASTOR and, together with the TIRED MAN, begins to witness to them with Bible in hand. FADE TO BLACK