I read the book, Unbroken, nearly three years ago. And it broke me up. Definitely one of my favorite reads of the past several years.
Unbroken chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was an Olympic track star who was later shot down and captured by the Japanese during WWII. His survival story is nothing short of astonishing, heart-rending, on the edge of your seat intensity.
If I want to give a book to a man to move him on the continuum of becoming a follower of Jesus, Unbroken is the book. This is not a “Christian” book in the traditional sense but rather a book about a man who, against all odds, becomes a Christian.
This Christmas, right on December 25th, the movie Unbroken will release nationally. It is directed by Angolina Jolie. You can watch a trailer here: http://www.unbrokenfilm.com
So here’s an idea to take advantage of Unbroken. For Christmas give every man in your church a copy of the book as a gift. Or, encourage people in your church to purchase copies and give them to their friends.
Encourage everyone to see the movie. Better yet, encourage your church participants to invite their unchurched friends to go to the movie with them.
And then . . . launch a teaching series in January that you title: Unbroken.
Here are some ideas for four weeks of teaching:
Week 1 Unbroken When Life Doesn’t Turn Out The Way I Expected (based on the life of Moses)
Week 2 Unbroken When Life Seems Unfair (based on the life of Daniel)
Week 3 Unbroken When My Own Life Decisions Haunt Me (based on the life of Peter)
Week 4 Unbroken When The Life Of Following Jesus Causes Me Pain (based on the life of Paul)
Okay, so you get the idea. There are a myriad of Biblical truths that could be taught on this subject. Or, you could quote the eminent theologians, Chumbawamba, “I get knocked down but I get up again.” Unbroken.