BY REBECCA GRACE | AFA Journal Staff Writer

Moving to California as an aspiring 12-year-old actress sheds a whole new light on the teenage life, especially when Mom and Dad don’t go. For Lisa Whelchel, widely recognized as Blair Warner from the ’80s sitcom The Facts of Life, such marked the beginning of a career in the entertainment industry and eventually led to her favorite recurring role as a full-time wife and mother in a reality show called life.

Now, 17 years after leaving the industry, she has fond memories of her days in show business and credits her success to God’s grace and the constant hold He had on her life from such a young age.

Whelchel began acting at the age of seven after her mother put her in acting classes to overcome shyness. Acting came naturally for Whelchel, but it wasn’t until five years later that she got her big break.

"I was in a lot of plays and musical theater," Whelchel told AFA Journal. "Then when we heard that Walt Disney was searching for 12 new Mouseketeers for a new Mickey Mouse Club, I auditioned for that."

And it was the role of Mouseketeer that took her to California and set her on a road to stardom.

The facts of life as a Christian
"From the time I was 10, there was no question that my life was not about being famous," she explained. "It was about my identity in Christ, and it wasn’t about Hollywood. It was about obedience to the Lord and what He wanted for me."

Although Whelchel, originally from the South, did not grow up in a church-going home, she started attending church on her own at the age of 10 after she and a friend decided it would be a fun thing to do. So they went.

For Whelchel, it was the first of many more visits to come. Although she couldn’t explain it at the time, she now realizes her heart found its home in that small church and her life took on a new meaning.

"I just responded to the Lord’s love and His offer for salvation and a relationship with me," Whelchel said.

It’s that eternal relationship that sustains her today just as it did during her time in the entertainment industry. But as any mature believer knows, merely calling herself a Christian doesn’t result in a steadfast devotion to Christ, especially in Hollywood.

The facts of life in show business
When it comes to remaining faithful inside, as well as outside, the industry, she said, "[Other than God’s grace] I would have to say just the practical discipline of spending time with Him everyday in the Word, in prayer, and in worship" is of utmost importance. In addition, Whelchel places value in getting locked into a body of believers where accountability and fellowship are readily available.

But it ultimately boils down to "daily denying your own desires, agendas, goals and dreams and submitting them to the Lord, seeking first His kingdom and then letting Him add the things He wants to your life," Whelchel explained. "That may be success in Hollywood, and that may not be."

But to Whelchel, risking success didn’t matter when it came to her devotion to Christ. For example, she took a bold stand on the set of The Facts of Life early on in the show.

"They wanted my character to lose her virginity, and I was able to stand up and say, ‘I can’t do that. I can’t use the talent God has given me to continue to perpetuate the lie that sex outside of marriage is just a normal fact of life,’" Whelchel recalled. "The producers were very honoring of that and respectful and didn’t ultimately write that script for me.

"So I was thankful for the opportunity, however small, to take a stand for righteousness," she added.

The facts of life in Hollywood
"I’ve been out of the industry for over 15 years, so from my friends that are still in, they say it’s much, much harder — much tougher, much uglier," Whelchel admitted.

Until very recently, Whelchel felt as if God had abandoned Hollywood altogether.

"[But] I do feel … that in just the last few years, from what I’m hearing and from friends, that the Lord is planting people who are making a difference in Hollywood," she said.

This is encouraging since there were very few Christians filling the roles of writers, producers, directors and actors during Whelchel’s time in the industry.

"I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that it [Hollywood] is such a hostile environment to the ways of the Lord," Whelchel said. "[Only] in the last two, three years have I seen any kind of glimmer of light being able to pierce the darkness."

Therefore, Whelchel urges industry insiders to step back and take a look at the end goal of each project being produced.

"I would encourage them to think about the influence — for positive or negative — that they are going to make and how it is going to shape the culture because it will shape the culture," she explained.

The facts of life as a wise consumer
But Whelchel is quick to admit that the emerging change in Hollywood is not totally in the hands of its insiders.

"It’s up to the people — the consumers," she said.

She believes it is the responsibility of the Christian consumer to stop going to R-rated movies and to stop watching TV shows that are immoral. Instead, the consumer should support family-friendly movies and programs so that Hollywood will recognize the demand for more wholesome entertainment.

"We can’t put all the blame on Hollywood," Whelchel said. "They have much less power than the consumer."

Therefore, Whelchel and her husband Steve Cauble, associate pastor and director of information technologies at The Church on the Way in Los Angeles, seek to be responsible consumers by monitoring their family’s media intake. Due to the family’s busy schedule, none of them find much time for television. But, a family favorite in the Cauble household is old reruns of The Facts of Life that are loved by Whelchel’s most loyal fans, her children — Clancy, 13, Haven, 14, and Tucker, 15.

"As far as movies, whenever our kids want to go see a movie, I immediately go to either www.pluggedinonline.com or www.screenit.com, or both, and find out if it’s something that is going to feed their spirit or their flesh," Whelchel explained. "They know I’m not going to sign off on most movies."

So the family usually waits until the movies come out on Clean Flicks, a business similar to Clean Films, a sponsor of AFA. Both companies take popular Hollywood movies and professionally edit out the offensive content making the movies free of profanity, nudity, graphic violence and sexual situations (www.cleanfilms.com).

"So we can still enjoy the story as a family," Whelchel said.

The facts of life as defined by family
After all, Whelchel places great value on her family. In fact, it was family that led her to leave the entertainment industry after she met Cauble in a prayer group at church.

"We filmed the last episode of The Facts of Life in 1988, and I got married a few months later and [eventually] had three children three years in a row," she explained. "So I got out because the choice to be a full-time wife and mother was just so much more enticing to me."

It was her love of motherhood that made the transition from Hollywood to home rather easy.

"There were certainly some difficult challenges going from making a lot of money to living on a pastor’s salary and going from the whole world revolving around me to … the mother’s life … [that] revolves around everyone else except yourself," she admitted. "But … like all those things that are tough, the joy outweighs the pain."

And Whelchel is quick to say that she doesn’t miss her life in the entertainment industry — nor does she regret it.

"I don’t look back with anything other than fond and happy memories," she said. "But really nothing compares to the simple thrills of what God has made me to be as a wife and a mom."