{"id":13076,"date":"2018-03-16T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T10:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=13076"},"modified":"2018-02-19T09:39:57","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T14:39:57","slug":"inspiring-true-story-behind-mercymes-hit-can-imagine-hits-big-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2018\/03\/inspiring-true-story-behind-mercymes-hit-can-imagine-hits-big-screen.html","title":{"rendered":"‘I Can Only Imagine’ is a Compelling Story of Faith, Love and Redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"I<\/a>MercyMe\u2019s hit song \u2018I Can Only Imagine\u2019 has inspired millions of hearts all over the world since its release in 1999. Incredibly, the song was written in mere minutes by MercyMe lead singer, Bart Millard. Now the popular song is coming to the big screen with viewers getting a close look at the true story behind the song.<\/p>\n

Stop and grab some tissues.<\/p>\n

Although he found faith at a young age, life wasn\u2019t easy for Bart. He leaned into an active imagination and his love of music as escapes from a troubled home life. As he grew older, Bart turned to football in hopes of somehow connecting with his abusive father.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lived with my father, who was abusive, and it wasn\u2019t until he came out with cancer my freshman year of high school that his life turned around,\u201d Millard said. \u201cHe kind of fell in love with Christ and he went from the monster of the guy to the guy I wanted to be like when I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millard lived with his mother at first. But, after his mother decided to move out of town with her third husband, Millard and his older brother moved in with their dad when Millard was in third grade.
\nAt first, spankings were only a few pops on the bottom. But punishment became longer and more intense. As a boy, Millard endured three or four beatings a week. Millard, only 8 or 9 at the time was terrified.<\/p>\n

One particular abusive episode stood out to him. His father ambushed him and grabbed the boy with one arm, wailing away with the other with a growing rage he had never seen before.
\n\u201cHe beat me like a dog on a leash,\u201d Millard said. \u201cWhen I made eye contact with him, I thought: He\u2019s going to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, Bart missed two days of school \u2013 it hurt too much for him to put on clothes.<\/p>\n

Millard often felt like his dad was taking out anger and frustration that had nothing to do with his children\u2019s behavior. But something happened that Bart could have never forecasted.<\/p>\n

His father had a complete transformation of heart as a result of accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n

Bart\u2019s father often fell asleep reading the Bible, no longer deriding his son\u2019s involvement in church, even shocking his son one night by asking him, \u2018Can I pray for you?\u2019 This sent Bart\u2019s faith into overdrive.<\/p>\n

\u2018If the Gospel could change that guy,\u2019 Millard figured, \u201cthe Gospel could change anybody.\u201d
\nMillard and his father became friends, chatting for two hours each night as the teen administered a treatment through his dad\u2019s IV. They talked about what would happen after he died, who Millard should or shouldn\u2019t be dating, among other things.<\/p>\n

Eventually the physical scars faded and Bart found peace with his father shortly before he died.
\nIt was faith that saved their family, Bart said.<\/p>\n

It was his father\u2019s death that launched Millard\u2019s musical success. \u2018I Can Only Imagine\u2019 was a song Bart wrote about his father dying.<\/p>\n

When his father passed in 1991, Bart got mad at God.<\/p>\n

\u201cI finally got the dad I wanted, and he left.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the gravesite, Bart\u2019s grandmother, a woman of faith said, \u2018I can only imagine what Bub\u2019s seeing now.\u2019<\/p>\n

The phrase really resonated with him so much so that he became obsessed with the phrase, writing it everywhere he could until he finally put words to songwriting paper. And the rest was history.
\nThe film stars award-winning actor Dennis Quaid (\u2018The Day After Tomorrow,\u2019 \u2018The Rookie,\u2019 \u2018Soul Surfer\u2019) as Bart\u2019s father; Oscar winner Cloris Leachman as Bart\u2019s grandmother (\u201cThe Iron Giant\u201d); platinum-selling country music legend Trace Adkins as Bart\u2019s manager and will introduce Broadway\u2019s J. Michael Finley (\u2018Les Miserables\u2019) as Bart\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

Quaid explained that the movie highlights the power of a changed heart. \u201cIt\u2019s very uplifting, about how can really have a complete change in one\u2019s heart and how much you can move the earth with that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Members of MercyMe are also thrilled about the release of the upcoming faith-based film. Bart shared that this project has been in the making for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was first approached over five years ago. No turning back now,\u201d Bart said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI Can Only Imagine\u201d is in theaters March 16th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MercyMe\u2019s hit song \u2018I Can Only Imagine\u2019 has inspired millions of hearts all over the world since its release in 1999. Incredibly, the song was written in mere minutes by MercyMe lead singer, Bart Millard. 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