Karen Abercrombie refuses roles that don’t honor God

Published on September 6, 2024

WAR ROOM actress refuses roles that don’t honor God

By a Movieguide® contributor

WAR ROOM’s Miss Clara, Karen Abercrombie, revealed in an interview with Movieguide® what it’s like to star in the faith-based series THESE STONES and her new Kendrick Brothers film about discipleship, THE FORGE.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful series called THESE STONES,” Abercrombie said of his new show, “and it’s uplifting and it’s inspiring and it casts a wide net and it’s the type of project that the whole family can watch together at the same time. I play Miriam, Moses’ sister, Aaron’s sister and you’ve never seen anything like it on television. It’s exciting and it’s fresh and it’s a wonderful way to get the message out into the world.”

Movieguide®’s review of THESE STONES episodes 101 and 106 is as follows:

THESE STONES is a faith-centered television series on UP Faith & Family that brings famous Bible characters to life. After her mother dies, a young woman named McKenna discovers an undercover program in which Bible characters help people today. Miriam, Moses’ older sister, tells McKenna to follow in her mother’s footsteps by helping the Bible couriers help others. She soon finds herself on a mission with Aaron, helping a son reconnect with his father. After each successful mission, the helper and the person receive a stone representing the lesson learned. McKenna tries to leave the program when Miriam and Aaron refuse to help her grieving father.

THESE STONES tells imaginative, well-acted stories. The stories are full of explicit Christian elements and valuable Bible lessons about trusting God. In each episode, THESE STONES shows Bible characters helping people in the real world, teaching them moral and spiritual truths about love, courage, faith and peace. THESE STONES has low-budget production values, but the performances convey uplifting messages. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution due to theological issues and scenes depicting and depicting death.

The series is a modern take on biblical messages. It premiered on Up Faith & Family yesterday, September 5. According to Abercrombie, the series intelligently addresses serious real-life issues.

“We have situations that the audience can relate to: death, loss of a loved one,” the WAR ROOM star told Movieguide®. “It’s something that we’ll all experience in some way, people getting lost in their journey… So, everyone who watches the show will see someone who reminds them of themselves or someone they know, or there will be a few characters that remind them of themselves. Just watching them choose to go through it in that moment is absolutely wonderful and definitely a teaching moment.”

The actress reflected on her acting career. As her faith grew, so did her conviction about the roles she would accept.

“Once I really gave my life to the Lord, there were roles I couldn’t play, and there were times when I really needed a paycheck, but I have to say no, you know, and trust that the Lord will send something else, open another door somewhere for me to come through. I don’t want to use anything that He’s given me for something dark or seedy or whatever,” she explained.

“The gifts that He gave me are there to bring light,” she said. “They’re there to bring hope, and that’s what I want to do, period. So I made my choice, and that’s the choice that I made, and it wasn’t always easy to make the way that I’m making it now, but those are the choices that I make and I’m grateful for them, and then I look at how He blesses me on so many levels and in so many ways, in every detail. And I’m blown away by His grace and His patience.”

In Abercrombie’s new Kendrick Brothers film, THE FORGE, she reprises her role as Miss Clara from WAR ROOM. She told Faithfully magazine last year that WAR ROOM was her favorite project.

“It was wonderful to reunite with some of the old War Room crew and I love working with the Kendrick Brothers,” she said. “They are who they say they are and it’s refreshing too. Working with them strengthens my approach because it’s night and day for a lot of the shoots that I do outside of faith projects and even some faith projects, things happen that maybe shouldn’t happen, but any time I get to work with the Kendrick Brothers, oh, it’s nice.”

“It’s like you’re working on fertile, nutritious soil, and the space becomes a place where spirit is omnipresent,” she continued. “And so the work turns out to be exactly that, you know? Spirit-filled, beautiful, charming, honored, and honorable.”

The synopsis for THE FORGE from Movieguide® is as follows:

THE FORGE follows 19-year-old Isaiah, a video game addict, disrespectful of authority, and lazy. Isaiah’s mother forces him to get a job, and he lands one at Moore Fitness. The business is run by a Christian named Joshua who wants to mentor Isaiah so he can learn to be a good man. Isaiah accepts Christ, and Joshua teaches him to live for Jesus. The Lord works in Isaiah’s heart and life. Isaah’s new relationship with Jesus helps him save Joshua’s business.

Abercrombie is happy to play characters that reflect real situations that real people go through. They model a real response, but also sometimes show the right response to situations.

“Often when you watch a movie where you see a character go through something that you’ve been through, and you see how they react, how they handle it, you realize that you don’t have to respond to anger with anger or violence with violence, but that God’s way is a light that we reflect back,” the faithful Christian said. “His way is the way, and when we do it that way, the result is completely different than we imagined or what it could have been. To convey messages of hope, light, love and kindness, I believe that when we do that, we keep the lights on.”

“Here on this planet, you know, it’s a dark, dark place, but I’m not afraid because I know who I am because of who I am and so using the gifts that God has given me, the opportunity to pass them on and hopefully touch somebody, lift somebody up, isn’t that wonderful?”