How playing Jesus led a former actor to a life of ministry in eastern Idaho
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IDAHO FALLS – Being cast as Jesus in a play was the role that changed James Runcorn’s life forever.
The 48-year-old California man, who now serves as the community discipleship pastor at Watersprings Church in Idaho Falls, had been kicked out of the church he’d attended in his youth. His mom had died during his formative years and his dad was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, which caused him to act out in unhealthy ways.
Runcorn decided to leave the school he’d been attending and set off on his own. He found a home at the Roosevelt School of the Arts in Fresno.
“Having been rejected from my church, I found this artistic community that was very accepting,” Runcorn tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I found this whole new world of performance where I could vent all these emotions I didn’t know how to deal with.”
And for someone intent on making it in show business, Runcorn was in good company. Tony-award-winning actress Audra McDonald got her start there and was just two grades ahead of him at the school. Mick Wingert, who is the voice of Po in “Kung Fu Panda,” was one of Runcorn’s classmates, along with Christopher Gorham, known for his film and TV roles in “Ugly Betty,” “Jake 2.0” and “The Other Side of Heaven.”
Runcorn quickly caught the acting bug and upon graduation, set out to seek his fame and fortune in Hollywood. But ironically, one of his first major performances was not an acting role at all.
“I joined the army because I wanted a job to prove to my girlfriend’s family that I could support her,” Runcorn says. “I did hundreds of funerals (as a member of) the firing party (at Fort Myer, Virginia), but then I worked as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknowns. It’s all about the honor and respect, but in a sense, it’s a performance.”
Multiple injuries while training at the Army Airborne School led to an honorable discharge after just two years. His dad’s declining health prompted him to move back to California. It was here that he and his wife enrolled in Fresno State University to obtain a theater degree.
Several years later, he landed a role in a pilot for NBC called “Holding Patterns.”
“It never aired,” Runcorn recalls, smiling, explaining that actor’s just starting out make very little money. “My best year as an actor, I made $13,000. The reason I made so much is because of (that pilot).”
That same year, he was one of 400 people cast in an audio Bible production called “NIV Live.” He worked alongside several big names for this project and it set him up for the role that earned him some notoriety.
‘I got cast as Jesus and something changed’
Shepherd of the Hills, a church with 15,000 members that he and his wife, Tena, attended in Porter Ranch, California, was producing an Easter play about Christ. Runcorn auditioned and won the leading role.
“I got cast as Jesus and something changed,” Runcorn recalls. “I would walk into Starbucks and people would say, ‘Oh look, Jesus is here.'”
Though he enjoyed the recognition at first, eventually, it made him realize how empty he felt and he started questioning the path he had chosen.
“After the performance is over and the beard comes off, are people still going to see Jesus in me?” Runcorn asked himself at the time. “I didn’t want to live life as a hypocrite or as someone who’s putting on a show for others. I wanted to be the real deal.”
Ultimately, he left the world of acting to reunite with the Christian roots that had been part of his upbringing.
A family connection in Idaho Falls inspired him and his wife to move. After attending Divinity school and obtaining a doctorate, he started working as a pastor.
The Runcorn’s have been living happily in Idaho Falls for the last seven years and the decision to move here is something they’ve never regretted.
What’s most rewarding to him about ministry is the way he says God leads him to connect with and help others through difficult times. He recalls meeting a woman recently who told him she was going to end her life, and as he listened to her story, he was moved by what she said.
“Apparently, she had just prayed and said, ‘God, if you’re real and if there is any point in continuing on, you’ve got to show me right now,” he says, tearing up. “That’s the moment I stepped into her line of sight and talked to her.”
Runcorn recently launched a podcast called Culture Crux where he invites people to share their stories of faith.
“Everybody has an individual story and a journey that brought them to this place,” says Runcorn. “I like to get to the heart of a person’s journey because it’s all about building relationships.”
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH RUNCORN IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.