As our nation gears up to celebrate its 250th anniversary later this summer, one can’t help but feel patriotic about a remarkable journey that began in 1776. It is an opportunity to honor the ideals of freedom, democracy, and resilience that have shaped our country’s history.

It is a time to celebrate the diversity, innovation and enduring spirit of the American people, while also acknowledging the challenges and complexities of the past.

Our founding fathers would be humbled by the renewed commitment to the values that they established, foundational truths that will guide our nation into its next chapter.

Through the years, so much has been said about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin about their contributions to charting the course of our history, but there are so many other heroes from that era that we know little about. 

Take the Rev. George Whitefield, for example. A close friend of Franklin, Whitefield is best known for sparking the first Great Awakening, a movement that united an entire nation with his proclamation of liberty in Christ.

“History doesn't know George Whitfield, like we know George Washington,” says Sight & Sound Theater’s Chief Story Officer, Joshua Enck. “But when I started to peel back the layers of that story, I learned that he grew up without a father. His mother ran a tavern. He had this supernatural speaking voice. He wanted to be an actor. He went to Oxford. He met the Holy Club, the Wesley brothers (John and Charles), and he got converted to Christ. And he said, 'I want to use my voice from the pulpit, not the stage. And so, he had this anointing that was on him, and he ended up moving and ministering to people all over England, Scotland, Ireland and the United States.'"

To honor Whitefield’s contribution to the foundational bedrock of faith in our nation, Sight & Sound Theaters, best known for their spectacular theatrical presentations of the Bible, is releasing a new full-length feature film called “A Great Awakening.” Opening in theaters nationwide this Friday, the movie explores how an unlikely friendship resulted in one of the most defining moments in American history.

Enck explains: “Ben Franklin was on a spiritual journey, like we all are in life. But what people don't realize is that this friendship that he had with George Whitefield, this reverend, ended up being the catalyst for the Great Awakening. We learn that Ben Franklin was born the 10th son of his Puritan father, who was a religious man. His father set him apart as a tithe to be a preacher. Ben Franklin ran away from that. But years later, he was the greatest promoter of the greatest awakening the colonies had ever seen. That's providential. That's how God works. The Lord redeemed that calling that was on Ben Franklin's life by having him promote this uprising of faith.”

Enck wrote and directed “A Great Awakening,” a ministry he has served since 1995, when he began his career as a stagehand.

Enck, who has previously directed six Sight & Sound theatrical productions, joins us to chat about how the role of faith inspired unity during a very divided time in our nation's history. Listen as he shares how the relationship between Whitefield and Franklin shaped the early foundations of America.

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News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/sight-sounds-joshua-enck-on-faith-freedom-a-great-awakening.html