Pastor Vs. Pastor in MMA Documentary ‘Fight Church’

Documentary filmmaker Bryan Storkel previews his new documentary Fight Church, which focuses on the confluence of Mixed Martial Arts fighting and Christianity - can the two seemingly contradictory elements co-exist and flourish?

In the third Christian-themed documentary for Storkel, he basically attempts to answer the question: Can you love your neighbor AND punch him in the face? The film will be available on VOD beginning September 16.

The documentary’s trailer begins with one of the pastors profiled stating his dual love for Christ and fighting. “As Christians, there are times where you take shots – that’s where the Bible gives you your training.”

The leader of one church concurs with this belief, saying the idea of putting a fight club in the church is a good idea, since “tough guys need Jesus too.”

The question is posed by one participant: “Can you love your neighbor as yourself, and at the same time, kick him as hard as you can in the face?”

Among the pastors appearing in the film are one former MMA fighter who is also shown raising his son to embrace guns from a young age. He declares his belief that brute force and violence can and should be used to reconcile differences, and thinks God approves.

“At the end of the day, it’s about reaching people with the gospel, regardless what you do to get them. You introduce them to a relationship with Jesus Christ,” says another MMA fighting pastor, who saw the fruits of his proselytizing via the sport.

“Some people definitely get a little hooked and want to keep going back for more,” Storkel says about the sometimes addictive nature of MMA.

The director said he really didn’t know much about MMA before the documentary, but ironically did get his first exposure to it through a church event he was invited to while visiting family in Michigan. “I had been to one MMA viewing party and it was a church sponsored event.”

Storkel said he doesn’t particularly like watching MMA, which he does admit has now reached legitimacy as a sport. “I don’t like to watch it. Sitting and watching five hours of fights, I feel drained at the end of the day… I just don’t need any more testosterone for another week or two – I’m just going to go home and sit in my bed.”

He added: “If you’re watching that consistently every day of the week, if you’re a huge MMA fan, and that’s all you watch and that’s all that goes in, it seems like that at some point, some aggression or violence is going to come out. But there’s plenty of people who would debate me on that.”

He was also asked whether he eventually bought the argument that the connection between Christianity and MMA fighting is real.

“From a personal stance, I don’t think the two go together. But I also don’t see a problem with them doing it, I just wish they wouldn’t relate it so closely to their faith. I wish they could just admit and say, I enjoy doing this, and it’s not because Jesus was a fighter, it’s just because I like fighting.”

The film also showcases opposition figure John Duffel, a Roman Catholic Father from the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Manhattan, and documents his activist efforts to prevent the legalization of MMA fighting in New York state.

Duffel expresses his opposition to cage fighting because he believes it doesn’t convey the Christian teaching to love one another. Rather, he thinks it reinforces an endorsement of hating one another.