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

Jerry described Season 5 and its novelization as “very deep” and “very emotional.”

“I had an incredible experience being on the set for this [season],” Jerry said, recounting being on set for Dallas’ birthday. Jerry said, “Every time he has a birthday, I remember the day of his birth, obviously. I remember being in the labor room and locking in these memories.”

“And so I was kind of doing that as I’m watching him work, and then he asked me if I wanted to stand behind him while he’s directing a scene in the Garden of Gethsemane. And I jumped at the chance,” Jerry recounted. “And ironically…there’s a father-son scene in the garden.” 

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Jerry continued, “So here I am, standing there, remembering [Dallas’] birth and watching him direct a father-son scene. And I’m a blubberer, so I had to put my hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t whimper on mic. But it was really a special, special occasion.”

Reflecting on the success of “The Chosen,” as well as of “Left Behind,” Jerry said, “It’s kind of amazing that this sort of lightning strikes the same family twice. Ironically, Dallas and I were the same age when our phenomenons hit.”

Both Jerry and Dallas were in the their mid-40s when they experienced explosive success, something that Jerry thinks “helped me be able to advise him a little bit.”

“That you need to not get distracted by the success of this thing, which I don’t think he would anyway. But it’s great that these things happened to us at those ages instead of younger,” he added. “By that age you realize [that] this is such a God thing—that you just sort of get out of the way and hang on for dear life.” 

Speaking about his involvement in “The Chosen,” Jerry expressed, “It’s really been a special privilege. And I think about what a thrill it is just to be used in any way to further this story.”

“There is a certain irony to it that I’ve written about the future, which I believe is gonna happen based on prophecy, and really use the same tools [for ‘The Chosen’],” Jerry said. “Is it plausible to put fictitious characters in the way of these actual events that I believe will happen and say, ‘This is what it could look like’?”

Jerry recounted that in addition to “Left Behind,” he and Tim LaHaye authored a four-part book series called “The Jesus Chronicles,” which told the stories of the biblical gospel accounts while “imagining other characters interacting with them and staying true to the gospels.”

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“And now Dallas has done this onscreen,” Jerry said.