By Edwin L. Carpenter – Associate Editor, The Dove Foundation

Dr. Marc T. Newman is a graduate of Regent University, and he has a diverse background in teaching, writing, and running a website. He taught at the prestigious University of California, Irvine. He recently completed two Event Level Bible studies, based on the films “Glory Road,” and “The End Of The Spear.”

Newman’s Bible study based on “Glory Road” was co-written with legendary basketball great A.C. Green. “Grace Hill Media called to see if I was interested in collaborating with A.C. Green,” said Newman. “Of course he had been a basketball player with the L.A. Lakers. He’s humble, has a heart for the gospel, and wants to help kids,” he said. “A.C. had great insights and we made the Bible study guide available to download from the website, www.movieministry.com.”

Newman said “The Bible study walks you through the film—it’s about changing the world. As the movie deals with sports, Paul used coaching motifs. He spoke about boxing and running. In the movie the coach goes after players nobody else wanted. We see that with the Lord. God uses the weak and foolish things to confound the wise. Coach Haskins teaches his players in the film and God wants to mentor us to persevere and instill the belief that you can win, and then to execute the game plan.”

The response to the downloadable Bible study guide has been fantastic, according to Newman. “The website has had hundreds and hundreds of downloads for the ‘Glory Road’ study guide,” he said. “I liked ‘Glory Road’,” he said. “I give it thumbs up. It grows on you. I have seen it two or three times and it works. The Motown thing was working for me. It’s the 1960’s, and there is innocence in El Paso. When Coach Haskins sees the timid approach of Shed, he says, ‘You’re off the team.’ But he comes back and yells at the coach, and the coach tells him ‘Take it to the hoop.'” Newman emphasized that God wants his people to “take it to the hoop,” in giving one’s best effort for the Lord.

Newman mentioned that there are many other available articles on his subscription website, www.movieministry.com, and that he teaches people how to interpret what a film is saying. He claims he is not a film critic but a film interpreter. He is pleased to see so many family films recently released.

“January is usually a film graveyard,” he said. “But recently we have had ‘Glory Road,’ ‘The End of the Spear,’ and ‘Nanny McPhee.'”

Newman’s future plans include writing a book and he was in Tennessee recently to do some research for the book. He foresees writing a book on faith and culture, and understanding the media.

A frequent guest speaker for many organizations, and the overseer of his website, one gets the feeling that Dr. Marc T. Newman doesn’t plan to slow down. His main mission seems to be in writing the Event Level Bible study guides, and to coach people to comprehend what a film is saying. But as he will tell you—he’s not a film critic, he’s a coach.