Ron + Hope: Unfiltered - Southern Gospel with Guest: Pastor Kent Munsey

Foreign. Hey, guys. I want to welcome you to Ron and Hope. And you're saying, Pastor Ron, we don't see Hope. Well, I'm sorry to say the life of the party is not going to be joining me today because I got a special guest that I'm going to be bringing in in just a moment that you do not want to miss. Don't click off. Don't. Don't go anywhere. I know y' all like to see me and Hope poke fun at each other and just go back and forth with our witty ban. But you know what? I can't replace her personality. She's personality plus. But just so appreciate you guys being with us. We call it real, raw and relevant. And you've seen a lot of the real, a lot of the raw, and a lot of the relevant. I'm really excited about the podcast. Thank you to all of our subscribers. Thank you to everybody who watch, who streams, who goes to YouTube. However you get a hold of the podcast, it's just been a blessing. Our sponsorships are increasing. The. That means we get to pay the bills with other people's money for what we do, and it comes to you for free. And so I'm certainly grateful for that. But listen, I really believe that you're in for a treat these next few minutes. If you can put aside about a half hour, there is a movie that is coming out that I just finished watching, hearing about myself. It's still fresh in my mind and in my memory. That is very, very impactful. Not every Christian movie can I say that about, But I'm going to tell you this right here. If you want some great Christian entertainment with an inspiring storyline, we're going to talk to you about the movie Southern Gospel that's about to come out and about one of the creators, Pastor Kent Muncie, who's going to be joining me here in just a second. So you need to call somebody, text somebody, tell them whatever you need to do to get in here and watch this, because today is going to be a very special day. Pastor Kent Munsey, his wife Allie have been friends of mine and Hope for some time. A friend is someone that sticks closer than a brother, and he's been with me and seen some great times, and we've had to talk through some of my darker times, and he was a friend in that. But I want to tell you a little bit about him. So many of you in the audience probably already know that know about him. But for those of you who may not, let me tell you a Little bit in the short bio. Kent Muncie pastors together with his wife Allie, and they are the current senior pastors at City Church Chicago, a church right in the heart of downtown Chicago. I love that. In October of 2010, Kent and Allie planted City Church in Chicago at River west location, 77 N. Green St. Then recently expanded with their newest ministries, newest ministry center located at 825 West Chicago Avenue. And received a miracle during the 2021 pandemic. Listen to this. When they were able to raise $5.5 million to purchase a property on Lot D. I'm going to tell you something. I'm in an extremely urban area myself in the Bay Area of California. Purchasing property is a lot different in downtown city areas than it is in other places. And to be able for the church to be able to get its foot on the ground and own property, that is a major, major deal. Congratulations to everyone at City Church for that. Our future property on Lot D of United Center, 128 W. Paulina St. God is so faithful. Pastors Kent and allied their vision to bring the message of Jesus Christ to the city of Chicago in a fresh and relevant way by building a community of people that love people and love new life in Christ, live planted in a community and lead to change the world. I'm going to stop right there because there's a whole lot more than I could say. But I want you to hang in here as we go back and forth because you're getting an interview from someone who actually made the movie happen. All right, Pastor Kent, I want you to join me and so excited that you are here with me. You just got through with a lunch and a group of pastors yourself and kind of previewing the movie. So what's been the response so far? I know it's real early in the process, but what's the response?

Well, first of all, I just want to say thank you, Pastor Ron. And I am no substitute for the great Hope Carpenter. So I apologize for all of you that are looking for Hope. Actually looking forward to, you know, being on with her as well.

But, you know, I'm just. I'm just the sideshow man. She's the light. She's one that lights up the screen. But I think me and you both married up a little bit. What do you think about that?

Oh, absolutely.

We did. We did.

That's when you know that the anointing is strong, right? Just look at the wives.

Yeah, exactly. Go ahead and tell. I do want to tell how things are going so far, though. What's been the response? Because, you know, there's not a lot of this out there.

No, that's right. And I'm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we just finished a screening with 30 pastors. Pastor Bill Scheer, pastor at Victory Church, Paul Daugherty was here. So many great leaders from around Tulsa and the response is overwhelming. This is a faith based movie and, you know, we took a little bit of a different direction. We, you know, we really do believe that, you know, you know, the text in Revelation where it says that, you know, we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. And we took a different approach. We felt like we weren't going to try to present the whole gospel message in this movie, but rather we wanted to tell a story of faith, a story, a true story around Samuel Allen, who grew up in the 60s and 70s and was a rock and roll star whose father was a pastor. And we just, we tell a raw, honest story. And the response has been overwhelming. And, you know, and so I'm excited. We're just seven days away from our very first being available on theaters. So seven days from today, you can go to the movie theater and over 1500 theaters nationwide and you can see Southern gospel. So we're excited.

Wow. Congratulations. Congratulations. You know why I say that? We here at Redemption just started our record label and I really had to grow to know that business. I felt like we had a sound that could be used and go out there and maybe fill somewhat of a little bit of a gap and just all that goes into it, the creative process, the production, all of the different companies that have to be involved, and the money that has to go forth to seed it and invest in it. I was amazed at when we got the final product, the actual songs and ready to drop them. We were so excited for because we knew what went into it. You have to be excited because you've been on the backside and you know, what goes into something like this. I'm just curious. I know I'm off script a little bit. How long does it take to put a process like this together?

Well, for us, we wanted to make a full feature film. So to give you an idea, you know, there's. There's roughly about 150 full feature films made in the US per year now. Are there more movies made than that? Sure. So let me qualify it from $3 million in up. Basically, when you get to that range, you become a union film where you have tiers. So tier one film is 3 to 5 million. Tier two is 5 to 10 million budget for the just the production and within that you have minimum wages for, you know, for your cast, your crew. And so we wanted to make a full feature film. And you know, it's a big undertaking. So first and foremost, raising the money and resources, you know, to do that is a big deal. Especially when we started our faith based film company in 2015, there had only been about 150 in total faith based movies ever made.

Wow.

And there was only probably 10 of those that were successful that made money. So Hollywood has not really figured out the faith based audience. They don't know what stories work, what films work. And there's been great films that maybe they were faith based that didn't do as well in the box office. But then others maybe that weren't, we wouldn't look at it and say this is a great artistic, you know, cinematic feature did exceptionally well. So it is a tough space and industry just as a market. So it took us about three years to raise the money. But then once we did the money we went into development. So we spent about a year. Because the film, you know, can never really be better than the script.

Right.

It will only be as good as the script. So we spent about a year on the script. It's based on a true story. So we didn't have a lot of liberty. And then we went into pre production, which we spent about six months in pre production. We were in production for about three months and then post production was six months and then it took us a year to find the right partner to distribute the film. So, you know, it's a pretty lengthy process. And a lot of films, you know, probably 60, 70% of films, once they even get the money, never make it to the marketplace. So it's been a long time coming. Scripture says, you know, that hope deferred makes the heart sick. But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Exactly. Seeing something from the very beginning stage all the way through now to we're just getting ready to present it to the marketplace. It's a long, challenging adventure, you know.

And I'm sure you're tired, but you do have a glow about you. You look like you're eating from the tree of life. Now I know that that has to be an amazing feeling to see something that just started in somebody's heart now played out on the big screen. And so again, I just say congratulations to you. I got some questions I want to ask you, but I want to make sure that the information that you want out about the movie gets out. So, number one, tell us about the film. What is Southern Gospel about?

Well, Southern Gospel is a music bio that's based on the true life events in the film of Samuel Allen, who you meet as a 1960s rock and roll star that runs. Runs into some trouble, you know, and he has to fight through his inner demons, really, to realize his childhood dream of becoming a preacher like his father. So I'm a pastor's son. I know you're a pastor's son. So stepping into producing this story, this film was something that I was deeply, deeply inspired to do, just to tell the story. And let me just say this. I think America, for example, would agree that stories like Rocky, right, have really shaped our culture. I know growing up watching Rocky 1, 2, 3, and 4, it had such an impact. But what's funny is I've never boxed. I'm not a boxer.

I'm not either.

But yet it inspired me. And I believe that our pastors are truly heroes in our communities. They're heroes in our country. And there's really not a lot of films or stories that gives us an inside look to these heroes that have made such an incredible impact. So it's a music bio, it's a true story, but it's also an inside look of not only a pastor, but a pastor's son and his journey of becoming a pastor. And so it's, it's, it's, it's a really great film. And I don't really know of any other film that that is similar that I could even compare it to.

Well, I've got to pull back a minute. And we love our sponsors. I'm going to talk about one of those, and when I come back, I'm just going to tell you a little bit of how much I identified with the young boy early in his life when the movie started out. So, anyway, you know what I want to talk to you about Neutrophil. This is. This is such an amazing product. We're so excited. Thank you. Nutrafol. We love having you as sponsors. Over 80 million men and women in the US experience thinning hair, yet it's not openly talked about, which can make going through it feel very scary, very stressful, and it just adds to the problem. I tried Nutrafol. Nutrafol is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement clinically shown to improve hair growth thickness, visible scalp coverage for men and women. Did you know that there are multiple causes of thinning hair? Nutrafol is the hair growth supplement that goes beyond Genetics to target stress hormones, nutrition, metabolism, aging and lifestyle factors that may be impacting your hair. Thinning is different for men and women. Nutrafol has multiple unique formulas for men and women to provide exactly what they need based on their biology and age. Every formula is physician formulated using natural medical grade ingredients for reliable results without compromises. In clinical studies, 72% of men saw more scalp coverage and 86% of women saw improved hair growth after six months. Nutrafol is also trusted and recommended by more than 3,000 top doctors. All right. You can grow thicker, healthier hair and support. Support our show by giving to Nutrafol by going to Nutrafol.com and entering the promo code RAH. Of course, that stands for Ron and Hope, R A h to save $15 off of our first month's prescription. This. I need to say that again. Is that Ron and Hope or is that rah? Okay, so it's supposed to be rah. Okay. You can grow thicker, healthier hair and support our show by going to nutrafol.com and entering the promo code RAH to save $15 off our first month subscription. This is their best offer anywhere and it's only available to US customers for a limited time, plus free shipping on every order. Get $15 off of nutrafol.com spelled n u t r a f o l.com promo code. Please don't forget that R A H. Thank you, Nutrafol. We're so grateful for you and go out and try that. I'm a customer myself. You know why? Because I didn't have as much hair in my 50s as I had in my 20s. So listen, I want to pull Pastor Kent back up and just say this. Pastor Ken, I never remember you and I had had several conversations over the years. Were you ever a part of a denominational system? I know that there was a. There was a storyline to that in the movie. Were you. Did you come out of that?

You know, I remember the denomination that my father was actually kicked out of. You know, funny enough, and you know, he was kicked out of his denomination because he was bringing the world into the church. He was doing illustrated sermons as evangelistic outreach and they forbid him to do it because they said that he was bringing the world in and the devil in. And he just saw the effectiveness of it. And eventually he loved his denomination. But sadly they ended up disassociating and in taking his credentials and license. And then ultimately my grandfather, who was also a pastor, ultimately ended up leaving that denomination. And so.

I get that my dad bled denominational blood. He's the best man I've ever known. But I mean to tell you, he was going to die on that denominational hill. I mean, he really did. I never felt that way, but out of honor from my dad, even after his passing, I kept, you know, some credentials with the denomination license, ordination. But even though our ministry was independent and after my dad died, they took care of me and got. Got me. Got me out and got rid of me. So I really this one of the story lines, and I don't want to blow it for anybody. I really couldn't somehow, you know, see myself and what was going on there. A lot of the same beliefs, a lot of the same systems. My dad even pastored a church that looked like that one. I mean, literally, that's how primitive it was. Let me make sure that I get to your questions, Pastor Kent. How did you get involved? I told you, even before the podcast started. I'm so intrigued because I know you as a pastor and I know your dad's been a hero in the faith, but how did you get involved in movie making?

Well, I think I mentioned my dad earlier, and being a PK, my father wrote 27 stage plays, and we would travel when I was a young man, and we'd go into cities, and he would do these revivals, you know, on the weekend, and then he would actually do these evangelistic Christian plays and illustrated sermons, and we'd go in and cast and make costumes and. And, you know, I grew up in that. And so for me, I never felt like I had the creative talent that my father had to write or even direct or, you know, produce these plays. But I always felt. I always felt connected to, you know, the creative producing side. And so I had a dream of producing films. And. And in 2015, a pastor friend of mine, Jeffrey Smith, who is actually the writer and the director of the film, we started a film company and we said, you know what? We want to tell true stories, testimonies, you know, on film, on the big screen, and allow our. Our stories that means so much to us and that have inspired us, that we've collected. We want to share them on the big screen. And so that's how we started. And I really have to honor my father, because my father, ever since I was little, has been my hero. And his passion for getting the gospel outside the four walls of the church and in doing it in fresh, creative, relevant ways, I think really set a standard. And just like in the movie, the character wants. Wants to be like his hero. His dad. I wanted to be, you know, just like my dad and follow his footsteps. So. So for me, this is a way of honoring his legacy by, in, in my way, in my generation, just taking it, you know, to a different level.

You know what, your dad is known for that even to this day, he, he's known for his creativity and packing buildings out with those plays that he would do. I did not know he was the writer behind all that. I tend to be more on the administrative side than the creative side. So I kind of envy those guys that can sit down and write out a script like that or write a storyline like that. That is, that is so crazy. And I, and I really get the fact that you want to honor your father's legacy with this movie making. I also, you know, the, the cinematography. I'm, I am by no means a movie critic whatsoever. I don't have the credentials, but I have over the years learned a good bit about media. And I was so impressed with the quality of the acting. I was so in. I was so impressed with the cinematic quality of it and, and everything and how it was all put together production wise. I just thought it was masterful. So I don't know what type of team was assembled to do all this, but I want to tell you that there is nothing cheesy, there is nothing less than about this movie. It has been done right, it's been done well. And you know, if me and you are just talking, what would you want people to get out of the movie? Southern gospel the most when they watch it, what do you want them to leave with?

I want them to leave with hope that, you know, that life is messy and challenging and it's hard. And even as a believer, sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances and situations that, you know, you know, we don't know how to share how God actually brought us through. And sometimes we're not really as raw and as honest. Right. You know, maybe we should be that could really minister to someone else. And our hope is that this story would create a conversation. You know, we hit all kinds of topics. I mean, you see, in the movie we deal with race, you know, in the church we deal in the movie we deal with depression, which the church historically has not done great at, you know, really talking about. We deal, we deal with a religious pharaoh, suitable spirit, a divisive spirit that we see is still, it's, it's prevalent even today in the church. We deal with church hurt, which, you know, growing up, I mean, I listen, you know, to people now as a Pastor talk about church hurt. And you know, I grew up in a church where it's like we're crucified with Christ, you know, pick up your cross, you know, and you know, and follow Jesus. And today I think that this is, I think the movie creates a great platform for us to just get real honest and talk about the real issues that we go through as the children of God.

The storylines are going to hit a spectrum of people because you're right, not only were those topics dealt with as a part of the storylines, but they were dealt with well. I think one of the things that was so telling to me is here again, I want to talk about the movie without talking about the movie is the church always handle failure well. We don't always handle people's weaknesses. You know, we don't always handle. I try to let people, you know, you don't take your chains and your filthy rags and run away from him. You run to him. And I don't know that. The church over the years has done a great job of that. And especially with you and I ministering in more urban places now more than ever. These people know that God's not ashamed of their difficulties, their failures and their struggles. But he didn't come for the righteous. He came for the lost. He came for the sinner. And that storyline is prevalent in the movie as well. We got another sponsor that I just want to give a couple of minutes.

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Hey, Pastor Kent, you Know what? We've got about a. We got about six or seven more minutes left in the podcast, and I. I had the questions here that I wanted to ask you the things that we want to get out about the film, but I. I want to stop talking for a minute and basically give you the platform for these last few minutes to discuss anything to. To let the audience know how they can help. How can we help bring success to this endeavor which y' all have invested so much of your time, energy, talent, money into? Now it's time for the body of Christ to respond and say, there is a huge demand for Christian entertainment and inspirational stories. So I want you to. Anything left about the movie you want to say, and then tell us, as the body of believers, what can we do?

Thank you. Thank you so much. SouthernGospel Film is our website, and I'd encourage you to go ahead and go to the website. We have trailers on the website. You get to meet our cast. And I probably haven't shared with you the incredible cast we have. We have J. Alphonse, who is. They're calling him in Hollywood, the young Sidney Poitier. He's featured on Essex Magazine next month. He's got some major lead roles that are coming up. We have. We have Emma Myers, who's on the Netflix. It's the number one show on Netflix right now called Wednesday.

Yeah.

And so she's. She plays in the film Caitlin Norkhan. She's an incredible actress in the film. She's our lead actress. She was the main character, female lead on the Walking Dead. We also have Gary Weeks, who's one of my favorite. He's the father in the movie.

Yeah.

And he. He's in Outer Banks. He's the dad in Outer Banks. And. And so. And, oh, one more. I got to mention this. The Michael Jordan of bluegrass, literally. He. He. Dan Taminsky is well known in bluegrass circles. He did all the music for oh Brother, Where Art Thou? And he also did. He also did the voice for George Clooney in that movie. All the songs. And he wrote all those songs. He's making his very first appearance in a major motion picture in Southern gospel. And so the music's incredible.

I'm not even a bluegrass fan. The music was awesome.

Yeah.

I was sitting there watching movies. I'm like, I could listen to that right there. You're right. The music was incredible.

Yeah. So the music was great. But I guess the biggest thing I want to say is to those that are watching, I just think we have to do a better job as the body of Christ in supporting faith content in the marketplace. I went and watched Jesus Revolution and you know, I have really nothing to do with that film other than I'm a fan. And I went and bought the ticket and I'd say, go, go watch Jesus Revolution. Watch Southern Gospel. You know, we can complain about what's happening in our culture, right? We can complain about what our kids, right, are being fed, you know, through Hollywood and the music and the entertainment, you know, or, you know, we can support the kind of content that's life giving and inspiring, that has a faith based message. And you know, I was, I'm guilty of, you know, criticizing whether it's Christian music or Christian films. But I can tell you that if we would do our part and support each other and support faith based content in the music industry, in the film industry, I really do believe we can see better and better and better content. Because our message, the message we have is the hope of the world. The message that we have is what the world needs, but how we put it together and how we package it. We should be writing the best songs, we should be producing the best artists.

Yes.

The greatest businessmen should all be believers. And I think we should learn to support one another. I have a question for you really quick. I just honor you and who you are in the body of Christ. What do you think, Right. What do you think about what I just said? And why do you think it's important for us to be outside the four walls? Whether it's doing worship projects or faith based movies or being entrepreneurial. Why do you think we need to be in the marketplace as believers and faith leaders?

You know what, I don't want to herald in any way myself as maybe being a prophetic voice, but when I was in my late twenties, I remember doing about a six month push in our church. That was a fast growing church at that time. I remember doing a huge marketplace push. I exactly, I believe exactly what you just said. The best of the best should be being produced out of the church, out of the body of Christ. The best music. I believe we should set the standard. I believe we should set the bar high. I don't believe we should let the world set the standard and let's try to mimic it. I think we need to set the standard higher. But I will tell you, I have noticed that that is not something widely believed. There's a lot of people still need. You need believe, you need to keep this great divide between the holy and the secular. But the Jesus that I saw invaded the Secular. In fact, the only people I saw him having a hard time with was church people. He would scorch those guys. But when he got into Zacchaeus house and taxpayers and sinners, he was fine. And so I would implore pastors and leaders like, let me tell you what I'm doing this Sunday, we have churches on both coasts. We have ichurch with about 4,000 members. And then we have our Facebook Live, which has now gotten up close to a million. And Ron Carpenter's going to get up in the pulpit Sunday and tell people he saw this movie. And you need to take your family and you need to go see this movie. And I'm going to tell you something. If corporately that would happen across America in churches, this thing could turn upside down. I mean, it could really, really be impactful. I don't know. I can't answer why there's been a lack of support for Christian content. But I will tell you this. There's a lot of complaining that it's not out there. And so now that somebody has done it, let's support it. So that leads me to my last question to you. Is Kent Muncie officially in the moving makey business?

Oh, man, this is. You know, I am in. I am in the business of bringing God's kingdom a little bit closer. And if we can move the needle for the kingdom of heaven through City Church, Chicago, or through Syzygy films, right. That, that, That's. That's. That would be a dream come true. So for me, it's less about the movie business for me, and it's more about Kingdom content, Kingdom messaging, and infiltrating every single sphere of influence for the gospel and for the kingdom. And maybe, you know, I'm younger and I really look up to you. And, you know, when we start talking about content and presentation, let me just say, if you're watching and you've watched Ron and Hope online or you've watched, you know, the church services online, I want to encourage you, you should go to one of their locations. Because I do not know a church in America, and I've been everywhere that's got better music, that's got better presentation technology, the way you teach, the way you mix it up. I've been watching you for years. You're always there. But I'd like for you, if I could. I know this is the podcast we're supposed to be promoting, but I would be so honored. I've got seven days left. Would you. I'd like for you to pray for me. Yes, I'd like you to pray for me and the film. But also I'd like for you to pray that God would raise up a generation of artists, filmmakers, business leaders, that that would would be just as bold as we've been in getting outside the four walls of the church. Because I believe this is our time. I believe that we have the greatest message. We're the hope of the world. We're what the world needs right now.

And so I'd be honored to pray. And you know, Heavenly Father, I just approach youh in the strong name of youf son Jesus, and I pray for my brother, Pastor Kent Muncie, and everything and everyone connected to him in this venture. I thank you for their life. I thank you for the passion that they feel and the love they have for you that inspires and drives efforts like this, which can be toilsome, which can be difficult and which can be very hard. And I ask right now that there be just a multiplication of favor that would come to them. To the movie Southern Gospel. And I prayed that something would happen where you put this lives in the homes, in the theaters of people even where it seemed like doors were closed. People with no church backgrounds, people that have never even seen a Christian based movie before. And not only that, but for the church people to support holy and to be inspired by it and dreams be born again and people come back to life with things that they have given up on and people that have failed know that God can use their failures in their favor and God can turn things around. And I pray for the strength of Pastor Kent and all those who are going through their promotion and I pray God that you just give them favor with who they speak to. And I pray God that you would let all of their efforts reach its full potential. I know your hand is upon them. I know your hand is upon this. And may lives be changed, may souls be saved, and most of all, may you get the glory for it. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen.

I receive it, Pastor Kent.

It has been a blessing and I do, can I really do. This is not podcast, you know, speech. This is. I do consider you a friend and I consider you a leader in the kingdom and I appreciate the fact that you feel the burden for this and step out and done it with such excellence and passion and redemption. And Ron and Hope Carpenter are behind you and I'm going to let you go and go get some other people behind it because I know you got other people to see and other people to talk to. But thank you so much for being with us today.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

All right, guys, that's going to do it for today. You know what? I hope that you've enjoyed this. Now here's what I want you to do. I want you to go watch Southern Gospel. When it comes out, if it's anywhere within driving distance, it's worth a night with the wife, with the girlfriend, with the family. Watch this movie, hit up with some Christian friends or maybe someone who is not, and let them hear the gospel in another way other than a pulpit, because they may never come into a church, but they'll enter a theater anytime. And this is a great friend. He and his wife are wonderful people. The church is a great church. And the fact that now this has come to completion, we need to get behind it and support it. Hope will be back with me next time. So she lights up the screen like I can't do. But this was great, what we had today and what we put before you. So let's all take responsibility and make this a huge success so that many more can come. I can't wait to see you next time. All right, until then, God bless you.