September 24. Kirk Cameron. Cameron started acting as a child and is well-remembered for his role Mike Seavers in TV’s Growing Pains. Later, he starred in the Left Behind series, Monumental, and Fireproof, which became the number-one-grossing inspirational film of the year.
Cameron partners with Ray Comfort in an evangelical ministry, The Way of the Master, and speaks at thirty churches a year as part of the “Love Worth Fighting For” marriage conference. On this date in 2013, Cameron released a hope-bringing documentary, called Unstoppable.
In 2016, he hosted a live event, where he urged people of faith to embrace biblical principles and to create a future of hope for our children. In more than 750 theaters across the country, more than 150,000 people participated.
Cameron and his wife Chelsea have been married for more than 25 years and have 6 children. They host Camp Firefly—a free summer camp for terminally-ill children and their families.
When a man is tempted to compromise, working through the struggle makes him strong.
In 1988, when Cameron was 17, he was the next Tom Hanks. He played Mike Seaver on the hit sitcom Growing Pains, earned $50,000 a week, drove in bullet-proof limousines, and flew on private jets. Nothing could stop this bright star from taking over the world.
But Cameron had become a Christian, and his new life in Christ was invading his old life in Hollywood. He couldn’t contain his new passion for his Savior, and the Growing Pains scripts that he had happily accepted before now troubled his conscience.
In one episode, Cameron’s unmarried character was supposed to wake up next to a beautiful girl and say, “Hey, babe. Good morning. What’s your name again?” But Cameron wanted to honor God. He knew that if Mike Seaver did something, his young fans would do it too.
Cameron knew he had to say something. But he also knew it might cost him his career. He had been acting since he was nine years old. It was the only life he knew.
“Please don’t make me do this,” he prayed. He ran through all the excuses he could think of: “The stories aren’t real. The characters aren’t real either.”
The Lord whispered back: “Are you going to do what you think is right, or are you gonna compromise?”
The cast and crew were ready to shoot. Cameron nervously approached the producers, cleared his throat—careful to avoid his pubescent voice cracking—and politely asked them if the scene could be changed to something less sexual.
The producers reluctantly obliged, but it meant that eleven writers had to come up with a new scene at the last minute, and actors had to learn new lines. The writers assumed Cameron was trying to take over the show, and they threatened to quit.
When the press got wind of what had happened, Cameron found himself on the front page of the tabloids, and the headlines read: “Cameron goes off the religious deep end!” His reputation in Hollywood was ruined.
The cast of Growing Pains had been like a family to Cameron. But they couldn’t understand this change in their friend either. And although the producers eventually persuaded the writers to return, Cameron and the cast began to drift apart. It was incredibly painful for this young believer.
He could have compromised his principles. He could have asked the writers to write his character out of the show. He could have thrown in the Hollywood towel. But he remained on the set because he believed that God still wanted him there.
Things didn’t get easier. There were more battles. More scenes to change. Cameron struggled, but at the same time, he grew in courage and conviction, unwilling to compromise his faith in Jesus.
Two years later, God blessed him in an unusual way. Chelsea Noble, a Christian, was cast as Cameron’s onscreen girlfriend, and the two hit it off immediately. In Chelsea, Cameron had finally found someone who understood what he was going through, and by the time the show ended in 1992, they were married. Honoring Jesus had taken Cameron on a long and difficult road, but it had all been worth it.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV).
Are you willing to bear the cost of putting God first in your life today? When a man is tempted to compromise, working through the struggle makes him strong.
Dawson, Will. “Kirk Cameron’s Real Life Growing Pains.” CBN. Accessed July 3, 2020. http://www1.cbn.com/700club/kirk-camerons-real-life-growing-pains.
Ewald, Dan. “The Rebirth of Kirk Cameron.” Today’s Christian. March/April 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20080711143843/http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2003/002/1.20.html.
Cameron, Kirk. Still Growing: An Autobiography. Ventura: Regal, 2008.
Story read by: Nathan Walker
Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter
Audio production: Joel Carpenter
Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/
Project manager: Blake Mattocks
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