My Hero Renee

Renee Carter, a spirited student teacher at Campbell College, has a knack for making everyone think - and suddenly everyone wants her on their side. Atheist student Kandy asks her to advise a brand-new atheist club, while young Darcy writes a school paper calling Renee her Christian hero. But Renee is neither, just a searcher stuck in the middle of the road... which, Whit warns, is a great place to get hit by a car. At the board meeting, Whit's questions about the club's rules force Renee to admit she can't honestly serve as its advisor, and a furious Kandy takes back the word "hero" on the spot. Stung, Renee accuses Whit of ambushing her, but he gently shows her she ambushed herself by hiding from Kandy the truth she freely told Darcy. The club gets approved anyway, Kandy drops her class, and Renee wonders how she became a hero to no one in a single day. Then Darcy bounces in with a barbecue invitation and one more "You're my hero!" - and Renee smiles and asks, "How about if I just be Renee?"

Found on At Face Value Album 78 · 6 episodes

The run See every episode

0999 Not the Same A Marine dad returns home from deployment to find his family has changed in ways he didn't expect - and his son must figure out what faith means when it seems to divide the house.

1 of 2 1000 Kris-Crossed When a shy student from a rival school accuses Emily of bullying, her friends discover that clearing her name may be harder than proving the truth.

2 of 2 1001 Kris-Crossed When a talented young actress's accusation costs Emily her presidency and threatens expulsion, the young detective and her friends must untangle two seemingly unrelated crimes to clear her name.

1 of 3 1002 Better Buck Next Time A fresh start in a new town gives an injured teen a shot at football, faith, and friendship - but every open door seems to come at someone else's expense.

2 of 3 1003 Better Buck Next Time A teen football star's fresh start unravels when his sealed criminal past goes public and someone in town seems determined to use it against him.

3 of 3 1004 Better Buck Next Time Suspended for a crime he didn't commit, Buck must choose between clearing his name and protecting the troubled kid he mentors.

1005 My Hero Renee A well-liked student teacher who prides herself on never taking sides in the God debate discovers that the middle of the road may be the most dangerous place to stand.

1006 School of Hard Knocks A spring break preview at a fancy arts school forces Olivia to confront an old friendship gone cold - and some hard truths about her own talent.

1007 Up His Sleeve When a televised baking competition rolls into Odyssey, an aspiring teen chef must team up with a handyman who can't cook - and learns that answered prayers rarely look the way you expect.

N/A A Thousand Blessings

1008 Ambush When a decorated Marine captain asks Whit to block his son from Bible adventures in the Imagination Station, the reason turns out to be a story he's never told anyone - about what happened in Rakistan.

1009 Bottled Up A wounded Marine captain's homecoming strains his family until an unexpected visitor forces long-buried truths into the open.

1010 The Difference A wounded Marine home from war fights everyone around him until he discovers the real battle is the one raging inside himself.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 5 more roles

5 supporting roles

Darcy Pulaski Mia Lynn Bangunan Kandy Morris Alisha Liston Albert Ellingwood Mark Taylor Aiden Bryce Papenbrook Hugo Archer Vattano

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Nathan Hoobler Writer · Producer Phil Lollar Writer · Director Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

At Campbell College, a Scottish student teacher named Renee Carter leads a lively science and ethics class. When a Christian student named Aiden argues that science is dangerous without God, Renee challenges him with a clever argument on behalf of Kandy Morris, an atheist student: since Aiden already disbelieves in gods like Zeus and Thor, Kandy simply "goes one god further." Renee insists she is not taking sides, only getting her students to think, but Kandy is thrilled and declares that Renee is her hero.

Later, at Whit's End, where Renee works and programs the Imagination Station, she settles an argument between young Darcy Pulaski and her friend Hugo, who wants to know why nobody can see God if God is everywhere. Borrowing an idea from Mr. Whittaker, Renee compares God to Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island: Stevenson is not a character in his own book, yet because he created every detail of it, he can be seen in every line. In the same way, if God created the universe, He can be seen in everything He made. Hugo is left speechless, and Darcy calls Renee her hero too. Whit, overhearing, gently teases Renee about defending both sides of the God question. When she says a teacher should take a middle-of-the-road approach, he warns her that the middle of the road is "a great place to get hit by a car."

Soon both of Renee's admirers put her on the spot. Kandy asks Renee to be the faculty advisor for a new campus club, Athe Koinonia, the atheist society, and Renee happily agrees, since the board's approval is supposedly just a formality. Then Darcy proudly shares a school paper she wrote about her hero, Renee, which praises her as a strong Christian who encourages Darcy's faith. Renee gently tells Darcy the truth: she is not a Christian. She loves the Bible and believes in living ethically, but when it comes to God, she is searching and open to the possibility. To Renee's surprise, Darcy takes the news calmly and says she still admires her.

At the board meeting, Renee gets a surprise of her own: Mr. Whittaker is a longtime member of the college board. After Kandy's presentation, Whit commends her but pokes a hole in the one-god-further argument, asking whether a judge would excuse a car thief who claimed there is no real difference between stealing one car and stealing none. Then he asks about the club's bylaws. Kandy confirms that all the officers must be one hundred percent committed atheists, not people who are unsure, or searching, or open to the possibility that God exists. Renee suddenly realizes that Whit has just described her. Rising to speak, she urges the board to approve the club immediately, but withdraws as its advisor because she cannot honestly serve in good conscience. Kandy is furious, accuses Renee of torpedoing the club and misleading her, and storms off, taking back the word "hero." Renee, stung, tells Whit he was right about the middle of the road: "I just never thought you'd be the one driving it."

The next day, while Renee fixes an Imagination Station glitch that has a whale spitting kids out of its blowhole, Whit comes to make peace. He points out that she hid the truth from Kandy that she had freely told Darcy the day before: "I didn't ambush you, Renee. You ambushed yourself." He also reports that the club was approved unanimously with another professor as advisor, since Whit himself saw no reason to vote against a club devoted to seeking truth; after all, he believes there is only one truth, Jesus, and he suspects that commitment to truth matters to Renee too. Renee sadly notes that in a single day she went from being a hero to two girls to being a hero to no one, especially since Kandy has dropped her class. Whit replies that being a hero is overrated, but having the courage of your convictions is impressive, and he suggests Darcy handled the news so well because she belongs to a bigger hero who will never let her down: Jesus.

Just then Darcy bounces in to invite Renee and Whit to a barbecue at the Hospitality House for Military Families, and asks Renee to tell the kids there her story about God being like the author of a book. Renee gladly accepts, and when Darcy cheers "You're my hero!" Renee smiles and answers, "How about if I just be Renee?"