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.