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A Tulsa pastor’s best-selling book based on one of his sermon series that went viral on YouTube is coming to another screen soon.
The Rev. Michael Todd’s book “Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage and Sex” has been adapted into a movie of the same name that premieres Feb. 4 on Amazon Prime.
The movie features Kelly Rowland, actor and singer-songwriter of Destiny’s Child fame, as television producer Leah Caldwell, and Clifford “Method Man” Smith, rapper, actor and a member of the popular Wu-Tang Clan hip hop collective, as her ex boyfriend Jarrett Roy, who is also a producer.
The film follows the two leads and a group of supporting characters as they navigate love, dating and relationships based on Todd’s book.
DeVon Franklin, the movie’s producer, called the film a “spiritual rom-com.”
Franklin, known as one of the producers of the film “Heaven is For Real,” and other faith-themed projects, said he met Todd about a year before his relationship sermon series went viral as YouTube videos.
“I was following that and I really got a lot out of that,” he said.
Franklin said when the book “Relationship Goals” was released, he realized that there was room for a spiritual romantic comedy, so he set out to make a movie incorporating some of the faith principles in Todd’s book.
“I felt like the principles in the book would lend themselves very well to characters exploring and expressing those principles in the movie,” Franklin said. “I just felt like wow, there’s an opportunity here to make a great movie and also touch people’s lives at the same time.”
Transformation Church is featured prominently in several scenes in the movie. Todd and his wife Natalie have been co-pastors of the church since 2015. The film includes several scenes featuring worship services at the church and the Todds are interviewed about “Relationship Goals” in another scene. The downtown Tulsa skyline is shown in a scene, and an early plot sequence hinges on an Oklahoma weather mainstay that viewers in the Sooner State will recognize. (You’ll know it when you see it.)
Todd, 39, said seeing concepts from his book come to life has been gratifying.
“You know you hear these little promptings to do things, and then you just write them down and hold them to your heart and pray about them and tell your wife, and then to see it almost six years later, be a real thing,” he said.
“It’s one of those things that I say it’s only crazy until it happens, and it’s happening, so we are really excited about it.”
‘This process has been so joyful’
The minister said he wasn’t concerned about how the concepts of his book would translate to film because Franklin was at the helm.
“We talked about it and I told them very clearly, I didn’t want this to be a Christian movie. I wanted this to be a movie that had Christian principles in it, so that it could be a wide net for people who ain’t never coming into a church, who don’t want anything to do with God or changing their lives right now, to be able to see it, and maybe it become a mirror for them to be able to walk into,” Todd said.
He said Franklin understood his vision for the film.
“I’m telling you, this process has been so joyful because he’s been at the helm, making sure to guide the faith as well as the reality of the story and I’m just grateful to work with a partner like that.”
The pastor said his congregation loved being part of the film. He said there was one Sunday when some scenes from the movie were filmed at the church after worship services. Thousands of church members stayed after services were over in order to serve as extras in the movie.
“It was really cool because they were a part of the genesis of this message and because of that, them seeing it become a movie and seeing Kelly Rowland and Method Man walk in, and DeVon Franklin and all these other people — it makes them believe in the dreams and visions that they have,” Todd said.
“That’s something I want everybody to get, that if you feel like there’s something you’re supposed to do, just do it, because great things can happen if you wait patiently. We’re six years from me and DeVon originally talking about this movie being done, but it feels like the perfect time to help people win in relationships.”
Todd said he hopes the movie might help people recognize that they need to end a toxic relationship if they are enmeshed in one.
“I want them to get a real mirror of what it looks like,” he said. “Some of the characters may be going through some things that may be a little reminiscent of what we live in real life.”
Todd also said he’d like to see singles make a frank assessment of of their proverbial “list” of what they want in a spouse.
“I don’t like some people to rip up their list — you know, the things they want this perfect person to be escorted into their life,” he said. “I want them to see that maybe there’s some wiggle room in what you desire and what God has designed.”
Finally, Todd said he’s hoping people looking for relationship goals, “become the relationship goal.”
“Become what you are looking for,” he said.
“A lot of people have a high standard for what they want in somebody else, but maybe don’t live that out. Maybe, through this film, they will be able to have hope again that there’s some great people that they’re supposed to connect with, and some things that need to change.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.oklahoman.com ’
