By Mark Ellis
Denzel Washington
Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington told GQ Magazine he reads the Bible every day and had an intense encounter with the Holy Spirit in his twenties.
“I read from the Bible every day, and I read my Daily Word,” he told GQ’s Michael Hainey. The devout Christian and son of a Pentecostal minister also talked about his father’s influence in his life.
Washington said it was not difficult to be a preacher’s son. “He wasn’t a taskmaster, but there were certain things you couldn’t do. He had his own church, and it was a long Sunday, because you had to be there all day.”
While Washington felt some rebellion as a teen when his church attendance began to feel like “a job,” he’s thankful for his father’s presence and influence. “Everyone I grew up with didn’t have a father. I had a father. My father was a decent man. He was a very spiritual man and a gentleman.”
The double Oscar winner had an unusual encounter with the Holy Spirit as a young person that left him changed. It happened in the church he still attends, 30 years later. “The minister was preaching, ‘Just let it go,’ Washington recalled.
“I said, ‘I’m going to go with it.’ And I had this tremendous physical and spiritual experience,” he says.
The incident provoked the fear of the Lord in the budding actor. “It did frighten me,” he said. “I was slobbering, crying, sweating. My cheeks blew up. I was purging. It was too intense.”
Washington’s experience left him with questions. “It almost drove me away. I called my mother, and she said I was being filled with the Holy Spirit. I was like, ‘Does that mean I can never have wine again?’
The famous actor admitted his father’s preaching style informed his film portrayal of Malcolm X. “Preaching is preaching, be it Malcolm X or…” he noted. “I don’t want to generalize and say ‘the black church,’ but there’s a certain style. And growing up with that, I understood it.”
“I remember certain cadences in the way my father would set up certain things. And when I would hear Malcolm X, I would say, Oh, he sets it up the same way. It’s a rhythm. It’s almost music.”
In the GQ article, Washington also issued a strong challenge to fathers in the African-American community. “Take responsibility,” he admonished. “One of the things that saddens me the most about my people is fathers that don’t take care of their sons and daughters. And you can’t blame that on The Man or getting frisked.”
“Take responsibility,” he repeated. “Look in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better?’ There is opportunity; you can make it. Whatever it is that you choose, be the best at it. You have an African-American president. You can do it. But take responsibility.”
Then Washington urged a creative approach to a spiritual discipline: “Put your slippers way under your bed so when you get up in the morning, you have to get on your knees to find them. And while you’re down there, start your day with prayer. Ask for wisdom. Ask for understanding,” he intoned.
Washington also noted that in his devotional time prior to his interview with GQ, he was struck by this advice: “Don’t aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference.”
Washington and his wife, Pauletta, have been married since 1983. They have four children. In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows inSouth Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
At various times in his life, Washington considered becoming a preacher. In a 1999 interview he said, “A part of me still says, ‘Maybe, Denzel, you’re supposed to preach. Maybe you’re still compromising.’
“I’ve had an opportunity to play great men and, through their words, to preach. I take what talent I’ve been given seriously, and I want to use it for good,” he stated.
To read the full GQ story, click here
what a great article! all I can say right now is what a great man… to stand for his faith in a time it’s not so easy to. Really pleased to read this!
Vicki Maher
Denzel, my wife and I admire you as a great actor but more especially as a godly man. We keep praying that earthly fathers will be like you and take up their responsibility and show their children God’s way to live. It’s then that this world will become a better place to be family. Well done Denzel. By the way, we are right now celebrating our 49th wedding anniversary.
Beautiful! Know God will guide you and use you the whole way!
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What a precious article. As a respected actor, people listen to what you have to say. Thank you for your words of encouragment to fathers.
Did I miss the link to the GQ article?
Thanks for calling attention to this omission. The link has been added to the end of the story.
Denzel, God bless you sir. I’m so glad that you’ve been able to keep both your faith (all these years) and marriage for about 29 years, even within Hollywood. My prayer is that God will help you to “finish strong”, while we keep on being inspired by you. By the way, my wife and I are just about 12 years old in marriage.
You can not be double minded or luke warm the bible tells us. Trying to understand why and how Denzel can be an Obama supporter ? How? God bless
I have always liked him in his roles. I am glad to his history and spiritual background. This is an encouraging word,
A truly blessed article! I have shared this on my Facebook page.
MKP, you bring up an interesting question … off the top of my head, I would say that we are all a work in progress when it comes to our faith – and sometimes our faith is there, but our knowledge of history hasn’t quite caught up with our faith yet. So let’s pray that Denzel will have a meetup with, say, one of the daughters of the late MLK, who can begin to fill him in, or maybe Walter Hoyt.
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This article points out the problem with America and the church. Most leave their faith at the box office window. Though Denzel is an above average actor, unfortunately he has been exploited by Hollywood in the vast majority of roles he has chosen to play. One would be hard pressed to find many roles which are family oriented or inspire folks to look toward his faith. Just because he is a successful actor does not make him a good role model. His support of Obama is proof of that without a doubt. It is impossible to love Christ but support abortion (over a third of all abortions in the US are black babies) and same-sex marriage just for starters. Those who justify such behavior are only compromising their faith as well. It’s time that Christians began to clean up the house of the Lord…and until we get serious about being doers of the word rather than hearers only…this nation will continue to falter.
I heard from two sources Denzel is Christian. I went looking and found numerous instances of that suggestion. What I don’t understand, then, is how he decided to do the movie “Flight”? As I watched the cartoonish representation of Christians, totally unnecessary to the story, and listened to the outbursts of laughter throughout the theatre (the only time in the entire movie anyone laughed), I kept asking myself. “Denzel read the script. He knew. How did he find it acceptable???”
I didn’t, and I would advise any Christians to avoid it. Bad enough it contains full frontal nudity (unnecessary to the story), contains a plethora of cuss words (unnecessary to the story), the ridicule of the faith using false depictions of what a Christian is became just too much. The pilot is a drunk and a drug addict. He gets into a plane that suffers a serious mechanical failure. Through the magic of CGI, he performs and impossible maneuver and gently lands the plane in a grassy field, at flight speed, and within about 200 ft. brings it to a stop. Blood tests taken while he is unconscious show he was drunk and on cocaine while flying. A slick lawyer helps him to the point where he only has to tell one more lie and he can get away scott free. His conscience gets the best of him, he tells the truth, he goes to prison, and involves himself in a 12-step program. Meanwhile, his estranged son returns to him asking for “his story.” Fade to credits. Now you don’t need to go.
Denzel, I’m very excited to find out that you are a christian and had an experience with the holy spirit. I had an experience when I was 13 years old. I got called to minister at the age of 16. I am now in training to become a pastor. You are a very inspiring actor. I too got tired of going to church sometimes. You will know if your called to the ministry. The holy spirit will lead and guide you. You may hear it from other people, but you need to know for your self. I like all the movies that you played in particular The Preachers Wife. I wanted to say that yes the movie Flight was different, but I liked it. I felt like it was letting people know if you do drugs this is what is going to happen to you. A clear message that people on drugs think they are in control and they are not. Eventually, the drugs will takes their toll and you will end up dead or in prison. Your children may not even know you, because you never had time for them.
Teresa
Washington was born in Mount Vernon, near New York City, New York, on December 28, 1954. His mother, Lennis “Lynne”, was a beauty parlor-owner and operator born in Georgia and partly raised in Harlem. His father, Reverend Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr., a native of Buckingham County, Virginia, served as an ordained Pentecostal minister, and also worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, S. Klein.`^
Have a good day
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