‘Can I Play Too?’—Dallas Jenkins’ Dad, ‘Left Behind’ Author Jerry B. Jenkins, Discusses Writing Novelizations for ‘The Chosen’

Since 2017, the hit show “The Chosen” has only grown in popularity. 

The series, which follows the life and ministry of Jesus Christ through the eyes of his followers, has earned multiple awards from MovieGuide, the Gospel Music Association, and K-LOVE. Seasons 3-5 of the show have all had theatrical releases and have grossed more than $140 million worldwide in 55 territories.

Dallas Jenkins has become a household name in the evangelical community for creating, writing, and directing “The Chosen.” What some might not realize is that Jenkins is the son of Jerry B. Jenkins, the co-author of the best-selling “Left Behind” novels, a series of books—and now films—that imagines what the end times will be like.

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The elder Jenkins has now come alongside his son to novelize “The Chosen” in a series of books. The fifth and latest volume is called “‘The Chosen’: Not My Will…” and follows the events of Holy Week, which were portrayed in the fifth season of “The Chosen.” 

Jerry B. Jenkins recently sat down with The Christian Post to talk about the book. 

When asked what drew him to the project, Jerry joked, “Well, obviously, because my son created ‘The Chosen’ series.”

“I helped him get started in his career, way back in the day—back when ‘Left Behind’ was pretty popular and I had the means to help finance his movies and stuff like that,” said Jerry. “But ‘The Chosen’ was really his own.” 

Dallas Jenkins has spoken candidly about the fact that “The Chosen” came on the heels of the commercial failure of “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,” a film he directed in 2017 that bombed at the box office and left Dallas feeling as though his career might be over. 

Nevertheless, after Dallas spent time working on a personal project for his church, the idea for “The Chosen” was born, and the show went on to become the largest crowdfunded series in history. 

Jerry told The Christian Post, “I always thought that everything Dallas did was brilliant, but this time I was right.” 

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“But this was all his own,” Jerry said, adding that his role in the show’s creation was that of “a supportive dad.” Jerry continued, “When I saw how huge this thing was and how great it was, I said, ‘Can I play too?’ And [Dallas] was happy to let me write a novel for each season.’”