On the heels of the success of his latest movie Lifemark, award-winning Christian actor, producer, and director Alex Kendrick recently revealed he has successfully overcome two separate health battles this year.
Kendrick, 52, took to Instagram to reveal the news that he’s had to deal with both melanoma and a mild stroke he suffered last March.
Kendrick, the brother of producing partner Stephen Kendrick, wrote he recently had a melanoma removed from the top of his head.
“I just got word from the doctor that I have clear margins. No cancer!” he wrote.
The filmmaker also praised God, writing: “God doesn’t owe us anything. But He walks with us through the hard days because He’s loving, faithful, powerful, and kind. Praise the Lord! Thank you Jesus!!”
Despite his medical problems over the last year, including what his doctor called a “mild” stroke, Kendrick told Christian Headlines he’s still grateful to God.
“So {there were a} couple of scary moments, but I’m very, very grateful and thankful to the Lord. But no matter what happens, He is good and is always faithful and loyal and deserves our praise and worship. … I’m gonna keep rolling, and as long as the Lord allows me to, will keep serving Him and doing what He’s called us to do.”
Although he didn’t go into detail about his stroke, Kendrick said his cancer surgery went well.
“I had had some issues with that for a number of weeks and slowly overcame that. There’s a couple of minor things that stayed with me, but they’re not stopping me,” he told Christian Headlines.
He also encouraged other believers to worship God no matter what circumstances life may bring.
“It’s for you and I to honor and walk with God, no matter our circumstances,” Kendrick said, discussing what he has learned. “So there are days I feel great, and you feel like praising the Lord. And then there are days that you don’t feel good, and you have hurdles in front of you. Or you feel terrible. {But} we should still worship the Lord because He’s God. We don’t worship … {only} on the days we feel blessed. We worship God because of who He is {and} He loves us.”
The Kendrick brothers will begin shooting their next movie next year. They have yet to release any details or the new movie’s title.
Kendricks Reveal Prayer Important Part of Their Production Process
As CBN News has reported, Kendrick and his brother Stephen have openly discussed how they pray for a substantial time before making new movies, ensuring themes, storylines, and other elements align with God’s will — a process differentiating them from many other filmmakers.
“I want the Lord’s presence on the projects we work on,” Kendrick told podcaster Shari Rigby. “I want Him to be glorified, Him to do more through these projects and ministry avenues than I ever could, and I want to hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ when I’m standing before Him.”
Kendrick said it’s important to check one’s heart to ensure God is at the center of our motivations, keeping in mind what really matters and not becoming consumed by awards, finances, and other accolades.
“We’ve tasted a little bit of the awards and the status that we thought would be fulfilling, and it feels good for about 15 minutes,” he said. “Then it starts to fade and I realize, ‘Lord, I just want you.'”
Lifemark Now Available on Streaming Platforms and DVD
Kendrick’s movie Lifemark was released on streaming platforms and DVD on Dec. 13. And a DVD package that includes the first six movies from the Kendrick brothers is now available at Walmart.
As CBN News reported in September, Lifemark, a pro-life movie produced by Kirk Cameron and the Kendrick Brothers, hit over $2 million in ticket sales on opening weekend and was one of Fathom Events’ highest-grossing events this year.
The film even moved people to come to Christ.
“We’ve got just a flood of responses and people even making decisions for Christ in the theater,” Kendrick told CBN’s Faithwire at the time. “We’re very grateful for what’s going on and can’t wait to see what else God does.”
“We’re hearing wonderful testimonies of people saying, ‘Our church group was sitting in the theater, and we saw a woman sitting off to the side crying at the end of the movie. We…went over, started a conversation. She shared her story with us. We were able to minister to her, pray for her, talk about salvation with her,'” Kendrick shared.
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