Mark Driscoll Interviews 'The Bible' Creators Mark Burnett, Roma Downey on New Film About Jesus’ Life

Nov 07, 2013 05:35 PM EST

Pastor Mark Driscoll interviewed Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, creators of "The Bible" mini-series, about their upcoming film at Resurgence Conference 2013.

Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma, have produced numerous television shows, such as "Touched by an Angel," "Survivor," "The Apprentice," and "The Voice." The couple felt called to create a series on the Bible, and was met with much dissuasion from Hollywood co-workers - "of course, everybody told us we were crazy, [that this was] going to ruin our careers," they said. Nevertheless, Burnett and Downey were at peace about the project and didn't care whether it would damage their careers. Much to the surprise of many, "The Bible" mini-series had over 100 million viewers.

Burnett and Downey managed to condense much of the Bible into ten hours of film, with the help of scholars and leaders in the church who gave them feedback on the manuscript. Working on such an immense project together deepened the couple's marriage and friendship, Downey says. "The Bible" took over four years to film, with some setbacks along the way; though they sometimes faced disappointment and fear, they persisted in prayer and things "just had a way of working out," they said.

There was enough extra footage from filming the mini-series for the producers to make "Son of God," a movie about the life of Jesus Christ. The film also covers the Lord's death, resurrection, ascension, and the Great Commission. Burnett and Downey hope that the movie will put Christianity "right in the middle of dinner conversations," and make people feel comfortable with talking about Christ. They also hope that people will bring lost family and friends to see the film, which has been rated PG-13.

Driscoll thanked Burnett and Downey for using their God-given abilities and opportunities to tell people about the Lord - "There's nothing more important that you could do with your life," he said. "Son of God" is scheduled to debut on Fox in February 2014.