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Trending Topics with Efrem Graham: August 11, 2016

CBN News anchor Efrem Graham chats with 700 Club Interactive’s Andrew Knox about the latest trending topics. Read Transcript


How many you got so far?

You and me.

EFREM GRAHAM: Actor Chris Pratt comes in at number five.

He stars opposite Denzel Washington in "The Magnificent

Seven" this fall, but he's the buzz of social media

now for a tweet answering a fan's plea

to pray for his sick son.

Pratt tweeted, "The power of prayer saved my son.

This boy Sam needs a miracle.

Say a prayer for Sam, even if you never have before.

Try."

[SINGING]

EFREM GRAHAM: Singer, actress, and preacher's kid,

Toni Braxton, comes in at number four with a miracle story.

TONI BRAXTON: The odds of this musician and performer

having a child diagnosed with autism-- one in 110.

I'm Toni Braxton, and I encourage

you to learn the signs of autism at autismspeaks.org.

Early diagnosis can make a lifetime of different.

EFREM GRAHAM: In an interview with Access Hollywood,

Braxton now says her youngest son,

13-year-old Diezel is no longer on the autism spectrum.

Now to number three.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Prayers are being answered for Christian rocker, Dallas

Taylor, lead singer of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.

Taylor was seriously injured when

an ATV he was driving on church property went out of control

and struck a sign.

In addition to prayers, fans have

started a GoFundMe page hoping to raise $75,000

for his medical expenses.

Now to number two.

I think God has trained me most at really

wanting me to be responsible and to pursue excellence.

Romans 8:28 says, God works everything

for the good of those who love him

that are called according to his purpose.

And that purpose isn't for my happiness and my joy.

That purpose is so that I become more like Christ daily.

EFREM GRAHAM: US diver, David Boudia,

is among the Olympic winners pointing to Christ

after winning the gold in Rio.

US swimmer, Michael Phelps, earned his 19th gold medal

in the men's 4 by 100 freestyle relay,

but recently revealed he suffered from an identity

crisis and had thoughts of suicide in 2014.

That is until NFL star, Ray Lewis,

stepped in with words of encouragement

and sent him Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose-Driven Life."

Now at number one, "Ben-Hur" hits theaters August 19th.

QUINTUS: No matter where you're from, this ship is your body.

That drum is your heartbeat, and your God is the glory of Rome.

EFREM GRAHAM: I had the pleasure of visiting Rome with you

and being on the set and seeing the film yesterday,

and when I walked out, all I could think

was, you guys don't do anything small, do you?

Yeah, this redefines epic, doesn't it?

EFREM GRAHAM: "Ben-Hur" producers,

Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, say faith-based films need

an epic feel to attract secular audiences.

ILDERIM: You lose, you die.

Well, Efrem Graham joins us now.

Tell us about this interesting news

item of Toni Braxton's son.

Oh, I tell you, she says that he shows no signs of autism,

no longer on the autism spectrum.

What people may not know about her story

is she suffered a lot.

She is the child of a minister, parents are divorced.

She's gone through two bankruptcies.

She admitted years ago that in life, she had an abortion.

And when she had her son and found out

that he was diagnosed with autism,

she immediately was angry and said

that this was God punishing her for having an abortion.

And, of course, she said then after that,

she began to feel guilty, things that all of us

do-- beat ourselves up for our mistakes.

Here you are a minister's kid not believing

that you could be forgiven and that God would punish you

by giving you a child with autism.

And I tell you, him being off the spectrum,

she says, is the result of number one, diagnosis early,

working with him early, finding out, and doing everything

she could for him, then, of course, endless prayer

from her father, who's a minister,

from her mother, who's in ministry, her sisters.

So for them, it's a miracle story.

It Gives.

Lots of people hope and for us to pay real close attention

and get diagnosed early.

Great encouraging story.

EFREM GRAHAM: Indeed, indeed.

Now the film you profiled in your top five, "Ben-Hur,"

you actually were on site for the filming in Rome for a bit.

Absolutely.

I had an opportunity to go.

It's been more than a year now to go to Rome,

and it was actually done at Cinecitta Studios,

the same place that the 1959 version was done.

But this is not your 1959 Academy Award winning

"Ben-Hur."

This is an epic, and Mark Burnett

has said-- he said this to me.

He said it to countless other journalists

that he felt in terms of doing Christian films,

it is important that they be epic

to attract a larger audience, to attract not just Christians.

You want to attract as many people as possible.

And I can tell you, the chariot scenes in this film

are amazing.

And they are not stunt doubles doing the riding.

These are the actual actors doing it, and it is amazing,

and it's a very well-done, well-told story.

It's hard to believe that a story written in 1880

could still have such validity today and be

so exciting to see.

ANDREW KNOX: Do you think it'll deliver at the box office?

Because will the non-Christian-- you know.

What do you-- who do you think they're

going to attract primarily?

I think they're definitely going

to get the faith audience.

I worry, because I've done stories on it.

We've done previews on it.

We've got commercials running on the air,

but when I talk to my non-Christian friends,

many people still haven't heard about it.

So I'm thinking, how do we crack that, you know, that shell?

How do we get to you to make you see it?

So my hope is that it will stay long enough to build the buzz,

and I think if it stays long enough over time,

it will attract.

But I just worry about that premiere weekend,

which is so critical for a film's success.

And Mark Burnett and Roma Downey

have really stayed true to their word

about wanting to produce excellent Christian films

and TV programs.

Absolutely.

They keep churning them out and churning them out.

EFREM GRAHAM: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And that's really important, because unfortunately,

when you hear that a film is faith-based

or is a Christian film, you automatically

think, well, it's second rate.

It's subpar.

That is not the case for any of their work,

and it's certainly not the case for "Ben-Hur."

This is worth a look.

Even if you love the original, this is worth a look,

because it's a different twist on the story.

The character of Christ has a bigger role.

The actors are phenomenal.

I think people will be pleased-- Christians, non-Christians.

It is a great well-told story.

The special effects, the cinematography-- phenomenal.

Another film getting buzz is the film

regarding Hillsong, which has been shelved for awhile waiting

for distribution.

You're seeing it.

I've seen it.

I saw it actually just this past Friday.

Great film.

You just go to the movies all the time.

I know.

I feel like that's all I do is go to the movies.

I'm very appreciative.

"Hillsong-- Let Hope Rise."

It's been on the shelf for awhile.

It is finally now going to hit theaters in the fall,

in September.

The film is very well done.

If you would-- I'm trying to imagine.

I never thought that writing a song could be suspenseful,

but this film shows you how writing a song

could be suspenseful.

The only thing-- and I said I think this is probably just me,

because I'm a fan of Hillsong-- is I just

wish I would have learned even more

about the players behind the film.

We learn some about their lives, but I

wanted to know even more about how they got to where they are,

because it is so phenomenal.

And some would argue that's a sign of a good film, right?

It leaves you wanting more.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And I will say the director of this film

is the same director who did the documentary on Jay-Z

and the same director who did the documentary on Nicki Minaj.

He loves music, so he goes from Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, and now

Hillsong United.

By seeing a film, does it give you an understanding,

or will we learn why Hillsong music

has been such a phenomenon, why it's captured so many?

I think you will.

You really will.

There is no mistaking.

From Brian Houston down to his son,

Joel Houston now, who leads the music ministry,

it is clear that music was a mandate and a vision

and a part of their ministry.

It was their desire to write the songs for not just

their church, but churches all around the world.

And I went to a concert that night,

and it's nice that when you're there,

for the musicians and the people on stage to just be silent,

and you hear the audience.

They know word for word, and they sound so beautiful.

You would think, OK, this has got

to be just a little close to what heaven

is going to be like.

Their music is phenomenal.

And the film, I think, is going to do well.

And of course, something we haven't even touched on yet

you did for a bit in your top five

is the Olympics, which has the focus of the world.

Now Michael Phelps has been in the news,

not only because he won since your report.

He's won his 20 and 20 first gold medals.

Unprecedented.

The guy's remarkable.

EFREM GRAHAM: Amazing.

ANDREW KNOX: But he's been in the news for another reason,

because there seems to be some sort of spiritual awakening

or growth, thanks in part to a book.

EFREM GRAHAM: Yes, yes, yes.

ANDREW KNOX: Tell me more about it.

EFREM GRAHAM: If we follow Michael Phelps

from the last Olympics, we saw that his life was spinning out

of control.

We saw arrest.

We saw marijuana use.

We saw drunk driving.

We saw all of these accusations come against him,

and he has now admitted that following the Olympics,

he was suffering from an identity crisis,

because he wasn't supposed to come back.

He had planned on not returning.

He suffered from an identity crisis,

and his life was spinning out of control.

ANDREW KNOX: Some people, I heard,

said, I didn't know he was back in the Olympics again.

Yeah.

They were surprised, unless they were following.

That's right, because no one thought he

was going to make the return.

So he does make the return, and he opens up and shares.

He's given Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose-Driven Life,"

and it does help to change him, to give him guidance,

because prior to now, I don't think we ever

heard Michael Phelps talk about any type of spiritual journey

or any type of awakening there.

We heard him talk about discipline, hard work,

being raised by a single mom, and doing

all he could to do well, but not having

a relationship with Christ or feeling

his purpose in his life.

Isn't it interesting to think that an Olympian

with so much success would still struggle

with what my purpose is.

What am I here for?

What's my meaning?

Yeah.

You know, I guess part of the reason or part

of the difficulty for them sometimes is to be an Olympian,

it takes living, eating, and breathing

whatever sport that is.

I mean I've heard athletes say, you

don't win it at the Olympics.

You win those games in those competitions

and the endless years of practice

you go through to get there.

And you're so consumed with doing that that when

that's done, then what?

So many have said, OK, I've got the Olympic gold.

Now what?

Shawn Johnston has said she suffered the very same thing.

It was like, OK.

I got the gold, and even as they were handing it to her,

she felt, is this it?

Is that all there is?

And I can imagine.

I mean when your life is so consumed with that,

that's a difficult place to be.

Quickly, since we're running out of time here,

we were talking a moment ago.

You've got something kind of fun coming up about "Ben-Hur",

don't you?

Absolutely, absolutely.

"Ben-Hur" is coming out next Friday.

We're doing a special episode of Studio 5

that you don't want to miss.

I am going to be in character.

I asked the makeup and wardrobe department here

to suit me to become Morgan Freeman's character.

I'm going to become Ilderim, the horse trainer that helps--

ANDREW KNOX: There he is.

EFREM GRAHAM: There he is.

I am going to become as close to him as I possibly can.

ANDREW KNOX: I don't see it.

I don't see it.

[INAUDIBLE]

But you got to tune into Studio 5 to see how they make me over.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

My pleasure.

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