That Kendrick Brothers' movie opened his eyes to the power of Christian films.
A star running back in high school, Stallings long dreamed of making the National Football League some day. After four years of college ball at the University of Louisville, he played professionally in the Arena League, the Canadian Football League and finally the now-defunct NFL Europe.
Then, in the fall of 2008, he went to the movie theater to see Fireproof. Stallings tells Pure Flix Pure Talk he could not believe the emotional response from the audience to the redemption of the lead couple's marriage. It so impressed him that began to think about a possible career in acting. Being a devout Christian, he sought guidance from the ultimate source of wisdom.
"I saw that film and saw what it could do to people: I could do this for the rest of my life, but I need to run it through the Lord and see if this is what He wants. And the way to do it was just pray."
So Stallings prayed, and the Lord did indeed lead him into acting. A couple years later, he ended up getting a part in the Kendrick Brothers' next movie, Courageous. That, in turn, led to his landing the lead role in their 2015 smash hit, War Room, where he and Priscilla Shirer played, ironically enough, a couple fighting to save their marriage.
Other films have followed, but Stallings has stuck to faith-based roles, scrupulously avoiding anything that could be perceived as running counter to his Christian faith. It's a decision he says has no qualms about.
"My purpose, my place with the Lord, Him smiling on what I'm doing, my ability to witness for Him - all of those things matter more to me than any notoriety or any paycheck or anything like that."
And what about setting aside those NFL dreams, any regrets? Stallings: "If God calls you to do something, you do it."