--- description: "Can you love your neighbor as much as yourself and then knee him in the face as hard as you can?" title: Fight Church Movie Trailer: MMA Fighting Approved by Pastors image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # There's a Documentary About Pastor-Approved Fight Churches: Watch the Trailer by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 3, 2014 7:00 PM CUT by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 3, 2014 7:00 PM CUT The first rule of _Fight Club_ is that you do _not_ talk about Fight Club. But Bryan Storkel and Academy Award-winning director Daniel Junge are spreading the gospel about a fascinating new wave of Christianity in which pastors and followers are practicing faith by participating in MMA fights. [_Fight Church_](http://www.fightchurchfilm.com/ "undefined") premieres April 24 at the Independent Film Festival of Boston, and based on the trailer, it looks like a fascinating watch. These five quotes perfectly exhibit why it looks so mesmerizing: * “When Preston came up with the idea of having a fight club in the church, it was an easy thing to say yes to.” * “Tough guys need Jesus, too.” * “We’ll just be a couple of God-fearing men punching each other in the head.” * “Jesus never tapped out.” * “Can you love your neighbor as much as yourself and then knee him in the face as hard as you can?” While this form of spiritual practice might seem unorthodox, it isn’t out of line with past religious trends. Muscular Christianity, a popular movement in the Victorian era, emphasized the importance of evangelical spirituality with physical strength and participation in sports. This just takes things to the next level. \[[_Deadline_](http://www.deadline.com/2014/04/video-mixed-martial-arts-mma-pastors-documentary-fight-church-trailer/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/48413/fight-church-trailer-pastor-mma/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/48413/fight-church-trailer-pastor-mma/"},"headline":"There's a Documentary About Pastor-Approved Fight Churches: Watch the Trailer","datePublished":"2014-04-03T19:00:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:07:22.964Z","description":"\"Can you love your neighbor as much as yourself and then knee him in the face as hard as you can?\"","url":"https://time.com/48413/fight-church-trailer-pastor-mma/","keywords":["movies","Christianity","mma","film"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/48413/fight-church-trailer-pastor-mma/","name":"There's a Documentary About Pastor-Approved Fight Churches: Watch the Trailer"}}]}] ```