Kirk Cameron and I are the same age. When his TV show ‘Growing Pains’ was on the air, I was in the age demographic it appealed to and, I must admit, I was a pretty big fan. I can somewhat remember the controversy between Cameron, the writers on Growing Pains, and his fellow cast members when he accepted Christ and subsequently began objecting to some of the content, dialogue, and plots on the hit show. I mean, I remember it, but it’s not like it was that big a deal to me. I wasn’t a Christian at the time and, though I was a fan, it wasn’t like Darth Vader started going to church or anything – I mean, it was a pretty small glip on my radar.
Flash forward several years and it turns out I am still a fan of Kirk Cameron. Now that I’m a Christian I appreciate how outspoken he is regarding his faith. He is actively promoting the gospel and I have nothing but respect for that. In addition, His movie Fireproof is one that I’ve literally seen dozens of times and really enjoy. So when I picked up this book it was out of mild interest at best. I was kind of interested in his memoirs considering the Growing Pain years and looked forward to reading his take on what it was about the gospel that impacted him so much that it changed the trajectory of his career. This book delivered on each of those fronts.
It was interesting to read how Cameron became a teenaged heart throb and how that stardom impacted his everyday life. Cameron details every aspect of his career from bit parts in commercials to star of a hit TV show along with the events in his acting career after Growing Pains. But he also shares his testimony and how the gospel impacted that same life. He explains why he made the choices his made and what his reasoning was at the time. I enjoying seeing things from his perspective.
Perhaps what impressed me the most was that Cameron allowed the gospel to impact his life. How many times do we see people accept Christ yet refuse to allow His grace and mercy to change them. That can’t be said about Cameron. He was willing to answer God’s call even if it damaged his career. A career, by the way, that was successful by any definition of the word. Cameron trusted God with his career and, by all appearances, has been blessed for his faith.
I enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of Growing Pains and of Kirk Cameron, there is no doubt you will too.
DYING 2 SELF 