Still Growing: An Autobiography (27 page)

I turned down the movie
A River Runs Through It
and dozens of other opportunities (much to my manager’s disappointment) due to content issues. I remember seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in
Titanic
and thinking,
Little 15-year-old Leonardo is all grown up! What a big hit. What if I had had an opportunity like that? Would I have done this movie?

Then I thought,
I wouldn’t do it. The story is exciting, but it has scenes that I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole
.

I turned down one sitcom because I didn’t feel right about spending everyday at work, playing husband to another woman and father to other kids. Although that might not seem like a big deal to some, it meant I would live more of life with a make-believe wife and children than with my real family, spending all that time away from Chelsea and the kids. It didn’t sit right with me.

Another time, I was offered $100,000 for a quick, easy movie. The story was fun and romantic, but at the end of the movie, my character swept his girlfriend off her feet and plants a big, long, juicy, wet kiss on her. I declined the movie because I had already decided that I would not kiss any woman other than Chelsea. I wasn’t trying to make a statement; it was simply my own conviction—one that I’m sure has cost me other opportunities.

One TV historian said, “Some people think Kirk Cameron has hurt his career by being outspoken about his conversion to Christianity. Actually,
he’s a very smart man. He knows that by playing the Christian hand, he is actually strengthening support from a very large segment of the population. It has helped his career.”

What he said about my career still going strong appears to be true. It has changed course, but it’s strong. However, being outspoken was not a deliberate choice to help my career; I believed my choice would have the opposite effect, completely tanking my career.

I guess I was wrong. Since then, I’ve been on VH-1, MTV, Nickelodeon,
ABC Primetime News
,
Larry King
(twice), MSNBC,
Scarborough Country
,
Heartland with John Casik
and the front pages of Yahoo and AOL. I didn’t look for these opportunities and no publicity firm could land all these appearances. They’ve come to me unbidden.

When I was on
The O’Reilly Factor
, Bill asked, “Has your conversion hurt your career in Hollywood?”

I answered, “The truth is, I have a beautiful wife. I’ve been married 15 years. I’ve got six kids. I’ve got an exciting career. I’m passionate about a show I love. And I’m talking to Bill O’Reilly in front of 4 million people, not because I was caught with a gun in my hand but because of my faith. So I think it was a great decision.”

For the last 20 years, I’ve worked hard at developing a trust level with the family audience and it wasn’t easy to do. It cost me lots of money and career opportunities. But I feel like the reward is paying off now in other ways and with different opportunities.

Recently I read a script by the people who produced
Facing the Giants
. It was one of the best scripts I’ve read in a very long time.

I called the producers of the film and told them I was interested in playing the role. They told me that they wanted an actor who could not only play the part, but who was genuinely walking with the Lord. They wanted complete credibility with the Christian world because they wanted pastors to help with the promotion. As they looked for someone to play the role who met their standards, they realized they had very few choices.

They asked me to audition. My manager was shocked.
Didn’t they know my work by now? Hadn’t they seen me act?

What we didn’t know was that the producers wanted to see me in person, not only to determine if I could handle the emotionally
intense role, but to see how I lived out my faith.

These were people who respected my choice to not kiss any woman other than my wife. For one of the final scenes (yes, I got the part), the producers had Chelsea come in, gave her a wig to make her look like the actress who played my wife in the movie, and shot it in silhouette.

The kiss you see is a real kiss with my real bride.

It’s funny . . . I’ve made all the wrong decisions for a lucrative acting career. I’ve been dropped by UTA, AMG and William Morris agencies. I’ve made all the wrong decisions, yet 20 years later, I still show up in a positive light on high-profile shows. I’m working on season four of my TV series. And to top it off, my name’s written in heaven.

Life is good. The high cost of following Jesus on the narrow road may look totally backward to some, but the infinite value and adventure has been thrilling beyond my wildest dreams.

I suppose it could be argued that I reached the pinnacle of my success when
Growing Pains
hit its zenith in 1987. But it depends on your definition of success. I am a very wealthy man: I received my riches the day I pulled over to the side of Van Nuys Boulevard and gave my whole self to God—what little I knew of Him at the time.

From the moment I prayed that bumbling prayer, my TV stardom meant nothing. That’s not to say, however, that I’m not grateful for the platform. Some say that the only reason we’ve gotten
The Way of the Master
show on 20 networks is my fame as a teenager. I don’t understand why the world listens to me when there are far more articulate teachers and preachers. I guess it’s the pull of image and celebrity. Rather than run from it, I’ve learned to accept it and watch as God uses it for His glory.

I don’t mind fans coming to talk to me anymore. I invite it. While I used to walk with my head down, I now walk face-up and look people in the eyes. If they want to stop and chat, great! They push open the door to a conversation and I simply respond with what I’m doing these days.

It took me a while to figure out who I really am. When we were dating, Chelsea occasionally asked, “Who are
you
, Kirk? Because I don’t think I’m seeing
you
.”

Her question sent me on a discovery mission that has taken years to sort through. And in another 10 years, I might look back at this book and decide I didn’t know all that much about myself now. I’m not even 40, for cryin’ out loud. But these things I know for sure . . .

• I’m a child of God, a sinner rescued by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. As my pastor once said, “You don’t find God—He’s not lost. You are, and He finds you.”

• I’m Chelsea’s husband, protector, partner and friend. After being married for 17 years, I now know she is the most beautiful woman on the planet—inside and out. Chelsea has so many more gifts and talents than I realized when I first met her on the set of
Full House
. She has a deep and beautiful love for God, integrity and character. She is a very inspiring human being. Together, we’re learning that love is not a feeling; it’s a lifelong commitment. It’s a decision to love someone sacrificially, giving yourself for their good.

• I am the father of six spunky children who brighten the world every day they’re here. My kids are a never-ending source of joy and challenge. I love spending time with them individually and as a family. It’s a privilege to be their father.

• I’m an actor. I love to become part of a story that matters. I love to imagine and play make-believe. Maybe in this, I’ve never grown up. I may have stumbled into it as a child, but it’s a profession I now love. I’m grateful for what I’ve done so far in show business—and I hope to have the privilege of working as an actor for the rest of my life.

• I’m grateful. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful mother and father, whose hard work kept our family together during difficult times and who set an example of commitment and forgiveness for us kids. I’m so proud of who my sisters are becoming. Bridgette is a great mom, a committed wife and an absolute hoot to be with. (“You like crystal gel?”) Melissa is growing by leaps and bounds in her faith—pressing on to honor Christ—a shining example of a woman who loves her babies and her husband. My little sister, Candace, has her own
“full house” with three beautiful bambinos and a great husband—all maturing and growing in their love for family, friends and God.

• I try to be a good friend. I enjoy being a part of others’ lives—to be a support when they struggle, to cheer ’em on and share in their joy.

I’m striving to live these roles with excellence. I may not be there yet, but I’m still growing.

If I lost everything tomorrow—and I hope I don’t—I pray that my attitude would be the same as Job’s. This was a man who went from riches to rags. God allowed everything to be taken away from him as a test of Job’s faithfulness. But Job’s response tells all:

Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him (Job 13:15).

As I continue learning, I’ve realized that everything in this life is temporary. Faith allows me to see Hollywood in its true state, with all its jewels pulled off. Faith shows me better things than the world has to offer and gives me a view of my Savior and His eternal value. Faith lets me climb up above the platform of worldly popularity into heaven to see the priceless treasure of Christ Himself—and now that I’ve seen Him, I’m uninterested in living for anything less. This is why the Christian says, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8). It is my sincere hope that you will know that same joy.
¹

1
. Please take the time to read the appendix and recommended reading at the end of this book. I’ve added them for your benefit because I care about you, your family, and where you’ll spend eternity. God bless you.

Perhaps you, like most people, have questions about the existence of God. Maybe you are asking, “Which God is the true God?” and “How do I know Him?”

I’ve put together a list of resources on my websites (
www.KirkCameron.com
and
www.WayOfTheMaster.com
) that have been helpful to me in this regard. I encourage you to go and check it out.

Below is a portion of a script Ray Comfort and I wrote for an episode called “Why Christianity?”
¹
It addresses how to know the true and living God.

We know right from wrong because we have a conscience. The conscience is an impartial judge in the courtroom of the mind. It speaks to us irrespective of our will. Its voice can be so powerful that it has driven many men and women to drown themselves in alcohol and some to a faster form of suicide.

Human beings are unique among God’s creation in that we are
moral
creatures. That’s one of the many things that separate us from the animals. We have a distinctive knowledge of right and wrong, and so we set up court systems with punishment for wrongdoing. Unlike animals, we hold trials in which the evidence for both sides is presented before a jury. We want to ensure that fairness and justice prevail—especially when someone does something wrong against
us
.

Whether we follow it or not, we all have an internal knowledge that it is wrong to lie, steal, murder and commit adultery.

While we don’t need to read the Bible to know that it is wrong to murder or that we have a conscience, it is interesting to consider what the all-time bestselling book says regarding this “moral compass.” It states that the problem with the human conscience is that it often becomes “seared.” That is, it loses its life on the outside and becomes calloused. Like a smoke
detector whose batteries are weak, it no longer functions properly. Accordingly, God has designed something to bring the conscience back to life so that it can do its duty. The way to bring life back into the conscience is to look to the moral Law: The Ten Commandments.

The Commandments are like a mirror. When you and I got up this morning, one of the first things we did was look in the mirror. Why did we do that? Because we wanted to see what damage had been done during the night.

The mirror doesn’t clean us. All it does is reflect the truth so that we can see ourselves for what we are, and that motivates us to get things fixed up before we go into public.

With that thought in mind, let’s look into the mirror of God’s moral Law and see what it does to us. It may not be a pretty sight. You may want to look away, but please be patient, because it is a very powerful tool for helping you discover the reality of God’s existence.

The goal in completing this self-examination is to simply stir your conscience so that it will do its God-given duty. If you harden your heart, you will not hear its voice.

First, have you ever told a lie? I’m not talking about using discretion; I’m talking about a bold-faced lie. If you have lied even once, what does that make you? It makes you a liar. The Bible tells us, “Lying lips are an abomination to the L
ORD
” (Prov. 12:22) because He is a God of truth and holiness.