Arts & Crafts Pastors

A Creative Arts Pastor in my home state of Kansas asked a question on a public forum today. He was curious to receive some feedback and shared some negative comments he had received for his title while on the job at prior place of ministry. Here are a few of the comments. 

• "You shouldn't call yourself a pastor because you don't preach."
• "The word 'creative' sets off red flags because it reeks of man made religion and systems."
• "The AG will ordain anyone nowadays, no matter if they have a legitimate calling from God or not."
• "Why don't I just call myself director? Pastor should be reserved for those who truly minister to people, not those who lead the songs."
• "We don't need pastors for 'Arts and Crafts.'"

This pastor went on to say that not all responses to his title were negative, but most were. As a missionary who works daily in the creative media process, I admit that I got quite hot under the collar at the belittlers and their self-appointed authority on the topic of creativity in ministry. Then I took a deep breath, realized that our creative calling is a divine calling, and our self worth is secure in the Heart of our Creator. 

And there is always this passage in Exodus that shows Holy Spirit falling on the quiet lives of artists and craftsmen, filling them with creativity before many others had the privilege of pastoring with eloquent sermons:

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.

“And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

Now we have Adobe products.

My God, Where Are You?

Tasha wavered in her decision to end it all, to go ahead and jump into the oncoming traffic! Suddenly the phone in her pocket started ringing…she didn’t recognize the number…but went ahead and answered it anyway. A strange yet distantly familiar voice greeted her. She hopped down off the railing she had been standing on, the one she was going to use to launch herself into the oncoming traffic, and said, "Who is this?"

This is one of the true stories some of our Turkish students told via video after completing our basic video production course. There have been over 1,000 viewings of this short film. You can watch the whole four minute story - in English at: https://vimeo.com/89915931

We are really excited to see that some of the videos we've been creating for Arab World Media have been getting lots of views on YouTube, Facebook, etc. We have more than 270,000 views from just 4 of the videos we created last year. Please pray that those statistics will translate into deeper relationships for discipleship in Christ.

Building momentum

International Media Ministries has entered into a new world, for us. The world of secular movie theaters. Our goal all along was to release the film En Apatia (Apathy) where non-Christians would see it. We wanted the secular venue.

It has been a huge learning curve for us. The paperwork and bureaucracy required to get it legal and registered and rolling last year was daunting. Expensive and overwhelming. Another twist and turn hit us with each submission of paperwork, but we finally became official. It is an officially Spanish made film. We had crew members and actors who were Spanish and helped us meet all the qualifications.

Last fall, we didn't get our first choices into film festival circuits. We entered in Spain but found no open doors. Our director, Joel, entered a competition in his native Mexico and we were accepted. The film received an honorable mention. The only one out of 900 films in the secular venue. The winner had a $5 million dollar budget, so we had some steep competition.

Just a couple months ago our distribution went from zero 100 in just a week. We had contemplated trying to release it ourselves in one theater at a time. It would be a lot of work and expensive, but we knew it needed to get out into the world. Our plan drew the attention of  distributors quite suddenly.

Distributors have connections with better known and bigger theaters as well as media outlets to publicize the picture and release all at once. God has opened doors and we just walk thru in gratitude watching to see what will happen next.

Please pray for our press showing next week. The secular press may or may not like the message of this film, but we pray whatever the press reports that it would draw people to the big screen in May. Is there such a thing as bad press? We will soon know.

Then we will have a private premiere at the cinema downtown that is known for this sort of thing. We will be mixing pastors, celebrities, media and staff with key people from the public. What a mix. Who would ever think these people would rub shoulders?

A feature on the only evangelical Sunday morning talk show in Spain will appear the week before the public premier on May 9. When God opens doors, things are going to get exciting. Pray for souls to be changed as they encounter the story of redemption on the big screen this May. Pray for other countries to be opened up to this film.

Training Emerging Filmmakers In Eurasia

One of the things I'm working on this week is our next training in a major Eurasian country. Our Denver Office Team has been working to raise up a new generation of visual storytellers in this important Muslim region.

We want to equip a new generation of young believers to tell their own stories of faith through short visual stories on the web.

Of course we know how important visual stories are to a global audience, especially youth. Our basic filmmaking workshops usually last four days and include instruction in camera, lighting, and audio production as well as story/script development for short film projects. We emphasize the use of very simple production equipment, including mobile phones as cameras.

Our next training will be in early June. I'll be bringing a friend who is an instructor at Full Sail University (a really great film school) to be my co-teacher. This will be our 4th workshop, with another planned in the fall.

Thanks for your prayers as we plan and travel. If you'd like to learn more and perhaps even be a part of a future trip, drop us a line.

"93"

Right now I'm rendering a shot from Rahab in scene nine that marks the halfway point for the colossal compositing process. This clip is 313 frames long and comes in at about 13 seconds. I am being stretched.

In replacing the green screen with a background of the interior of Rahab's tiny room, I am dealing with some challenging obstacles. Watch the camera movement. Now watch the tracking markers on the far wall and how they move at a different pace from the "stone" window frame. Notice that there is a corner in this "room" that I must create. Notice that other than the tiny lamp there is no object that remains in view for the entire shot. Notice the ladder rungs that cut across the first half of the shot. Notice the glimpses of the studio beyond the green screen that must be manually cut out. Notice the wide range of green represented in this shot. You have dark greens like a fine mossy bank and nearly white greens with touches of yellow on the underside of the wooden ladder. I can do this. I will do this. There is no other option.

Challenges like these point me once again to the tool of prayer. I have so many times for solutions to new problems that I suspect God will place a "prayer icon"  on the compositing program just beneath the animation curve editor button.

In our self-sufficiency we believe that we are capable of handling all challenges that come our way, even post-production related challenges. However, with prayer and listening in the quiet hour just before I get our of bed, I usually have a new plan of attack. With God, the most creative One, I can do this. I will do this.

Then & Now

Last month marked a personal and ministry milestone. 33 years ago, in February of 1981, I travelled to Brussels, Belgium. I went as a volunteer on what was intended to be a short-term missions assignment using my media skills at the headquarters of International Correspondence Institute. Or so I thought. God had a different and better plan for my life!

While I went overseas without a specific life calling to missionary service, I soon learned that I had unique skills needed on the mission field. I came to recognize that media had long-term strategic value and potential in missionary outreach, discipleship and training. And though I never experienced an overt or dramatic “sign” confirming my call, there was a growing sense of God’s purposes and clarity in His direction. It has taken me and my family to assignments living on 3 continents and work on hundreds of missionary media production, training and consultation projects around the world.

Three plus decades after that first missions trip, I’m reminded again of wisdom from the Message version of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.” Good advice!

Being a follower of Jesus goes far beyond a single moment of revelation. It demands a lifestyle of persistent seeking and serving. Whether or not our ministry calling began with a dramatic experience, sustaining it requires both our determined commitment and God's amazing grace. Today, my desire is to continue to trust in God’s purposes, listen to His voice and respond to His direction. What about you?

Audio engineering in Belgium circa 1985

global film training

Recently, taught a basic video production class...online! For the past two years I’ve gone down to Flagstaff, AZ to teach the class in person at Indian Bible College.

This year our account was so low I couldn’t afford to make the trip (IBC isn’t able to pay its professors, much less travel expenses). The good news is that we (IMM/10X Productions) have been building an online learning platform: www.GlobalFilmTraining.org

GFT’s main purpose is to provide training in basic video production for Turkish Christians. We started with building an English web site which is now in the process of being translated into Turkish. Amazingly, we found a Christian Turkish media producer who just moved to Denver last summer after graduating from Regent University with his masters in film/communications. So, we are working with him to see our materials translated and uploaded to an all Turkish on-line classroom. The on-line course is a great way to “duplicate” ourselves and to be able to reach an even larger audience. (God is good!)

Back to IBC… The lectures have been prerecorded and uploaded to the site. So, what I did was Skype (on-line video chat) the students at the beginning of the class to get them going, then they watch the lesson. When they are done we get back on Skype and go through the quiz together. Finally, I assigned them an in-class project, like using their cellphone or camera to practice taking photos or video about a subject we’ve discussed. Pray for the students to be able to envision how this skill can be incorporated into evangelistic or discipleship outreach to their own tribe.

Divine Serendipity and En Apatia

We've watched God bringing things together for En Apatia, (In Apathy) the movie project we started last year.

We were offered three different contracts for distribution. We were told by the local producers' association that this was a "miracle" because no one, especially a new director on a first film, gets even one distribution opportunity much less three.

We asked God to confirm to us which company we should join forces with to distribute the film. Without our instigating it, a cinema contact called to chat and happened to ask us about our options and when the film was coming. He could speak positively of two companies. Another appointment on a different matter led to a recommendation for one of the companies. After several of these divine serendipitous events, we knew God had given us the confirmation we asked for.

We have a scheduled showing for pastors who we want to help us promote the film. This convention showing would be an opportunity to get them to understand how to use the film as an evangelism tool and to work with us. The theater for the showing went into bankruptcy and the convention only had a couple hours available for our showing. No time to go elsewhere. We scrambled to find alternatives. The next day the hotel manager called and said don't worry, the woman who is working there is on vacation. They had it all covered. The showing will go forward on March 1 as scheduled.

One of the actresses' agents called and offered support to do promotions in the Barcelona area. We explained about our limited budget and he said don't worry. He just wants to promote it for his client's sake.

We have had some amazing donations to the campaign to raise the funds for this distribution. $9,200 has come in but we have a long ways to go in a short time. It's a faith journey, but the entire process of En Apatia has been a faith journey. God keeps showing up in ways we don't expect. He will be there for the funding too. Check it out here.

It will be so exciting to see how God continues to use this in Spain and in Europe as it releases in May to a secular audience. We are praying for lives to be changed and we are excited to see God's amazing "coincidences" continue as we move forward.

In His time

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived

On the subject of time, God is eternal and not bound by time and its constraints.  Also, His timing is perfect, so He is never in a rush.  On the contrary, we as humans are aware of every tick of the clock.  We are driven by schedules and restricted by those 24 hours a day.  Time is our most precious commodity—like a non-renewable resource.  We might add more money or invest more effort to a particular situation; but, no matter how many things we need to accomplish, we have the same amount of minutes each day to get a task done before that deadline.

The patriarch Moses asked God for wisdom in order to use his time wisely.  Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  (Psalm 90)  We should follow this example, asking God to help us balance projects well so we don’t rush through the important stuff and don’t waste time on worthless pursuits.

What about the daily battles between running out of time and having to wait on something or somebody?  Flights are delayed, traffic is backed up, more information is needed, another trial must be made, etc.  We find it extremely difficult to wait, and “now” is when we want most everything.  In response to our prayers, God asks us to wait many times.  He understands our frustrations, but He will make things fall into place at the perfect moment.  We have experienced some of those “at the last minute” events at IMM during 2013 when projects and personnel have come together at just the right time!

Let’s trust God more and rest in His perfect timing.  He has shown His mastery of the world and its events throughout the past, and He will do it again.

He has all the time in the world and all the world in His hands.

All Believers Everywhere

We have been living in Spain for six weeks now and it’s really starting to feel different than when we’ve just visited another country.  Whether visiting or living in another culture, one neat thing for a Christian is to worship with other believers.  Spaniards praise with passion and worship with a wonder that’s so refreshing to us.  

Today that came with a little bit of conviction.  The pastor read a longer passage from Ephesians 6; and verse 18 stuck out to me: “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”  While trying to follow along with my very primary Spanish, I realized that for most of my life, I’ve failed to pray for the global, trans-denominational Church. 

This verse not only gives a clear instruction that we should pray for other Christ-followers, but it gives clues to how we can do it.

If you’re like me, you often don’t do something right away because you’re afraid you won’t know how.  I know I’m supposed to pray for someone who lives thousands of miles away in a different culture and climate and speaks a different language, but I’m afraid my prayer will be irrelevant.  One clue to how to pray for these is in the first sentence of the verse.  Praying in the Spirit helps us pray things that we could never know or understand.  It’s a practice of faith in a God that is bigger than our knowledge.

A related verse is this:  1 Peter 5:9 “Stand firm against [the enemy], and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” If we’re going through trials and challenges, so is someone else.  Someone with maybe nothing else in common but that trial or trouble.  By submitting our time in prayer we train our mind in an understanding of trust in God.

Christian Horror Movies!?

When I was seven, I saw the most terrifying movie of my life in a church. Childhood slumber became nights of dread. What should have been quiet afternoons in the yard were suddenly spiked with moments of wild distress. My little shoulders carried the horrifying knowledge that at any moment my safe world would crumble. Everyone I loved would vanish. I would be left defenseless and without hope in an empty neighborhood … and then the evil minions of Satan would hunt me down using unmarked choppers and dudes with walkie-talkies.

Many, many years later I met the producer of that movie at a Christian Media conference.  The man who created "A Thief in the Night" was a tall, grandfatherly man with a white beard. When I shook his gentle hand I looked into his kind eyes and thought "Is this the dude that made me claw my way out of a locked Airstream trailer one night at a church camp!?" Oh yes, it was the dude. We shared a cup of coffee.

He described how he produced "The Blob" in his younger days, and felt convicted to use the proceeds to create a Christian movie that wouldspur the younger folks on to a life devoted to Christ. So, he crafted "A Thief in the Night" with all the skills and passion that he gleaned from creating horror movies for the drive-in. Incredibly intense moments, disturbing cut-aways, Hitchcock-worthy camera angles all set to a Doom-laden soundtrack, he brought it all. While I did not reveal the depth of emotional trauma I suffered because of his devotion, I did begin to understand something

We Christians are unmatched in our portrayals of horror. We may bicker over Harry Potter and fuss at vampires and werewolves. Admittedly, shambling zombies are not always edifying. But consider, from the days Dante's "Inferno" written nearly 500 years ago, and including the recent wails of eternal torment in "Heaven's Gates Hell's Flames", when we put our minds to it, We Christians can maniacally bludgeon our audiences into hysterics. (A few years ago I even covered an entire sanctuary in aluminum foil to properly reflect the 500 watt red lights of eternal torment for one traveling production.)

However, if we succeed in scaring someone half to death, we don't have the luxury of telling them "Don't worry about it ... monsters aren't real ... that's just the movies ... now go to bed!"

And here is my caveat. When portraying the very real world of spiritual conflict in all of its depth and horror, don't forget to temper the creative powers you are given with grace. Sure, you can keep the shot of the rabid demon-possessed, man, gibbering curses in a strangled fit as he lurches from tombstone to tombstone. But don't forget to offer a genuine hope before the credits roll. Preach some mercy. Preach unconditional love. Let some of them teenagers get away.

All whipped up

I've noticed over the years that church worship leaders have a tendency to want the crowd to be excited and they go to great lengths of shouting or jumping to help get the participants interested or involved. While I know this is done with the best of motives, it often bothers me. I'd like to think that everyone will do their foundational work and when we arrive together that we will focus on God. Perhaps it's naive to think that way.

I compare it to script writing or story telling. If a story is well done, there is no need to stop the story to say -- Look, did you see that bad guy take that or did you see the protagonist say that. If you are too obvious, it's called "on the nose" shooting or writing.

When someone in a story says, "As you know..." and proceeds to tell the person what they already know, it's not good story telling.  It's not crafted -- it's straight up information dump happening. It's on the nose.

A satisfying story/script, and I would argue life experience, isn't one where the point hits you over the head, but one where you arrive at it on your own cognizance. You experience your sense of "Eureka! I've figured it out! I get it!"

Often, Christian stories feel the need to beat you over the head with the point rather than let you arrive at the point by putting 1 + 1 together for yourself. It is harder to write a story that will lead people by deduction to the point than it is to force feed them what you want them to get.

It seems that the evangelical worship style is the same. Rather than choosing songs that glorify God and just inviting him to show, we are waiting for a big reaction -- so we feel compelled to rev up the situation so everyone "gets it." To whip up the emotions.

Perhaps as people that are very oriented to our emotions and the sensations of excitement, we forget to leave room for the slow dawning of truth that happens naturally if we allow ourselves space to focus and hear the pieces that God might be putting it together. The ideas may give us a dawning moment that is more powerful or poignant or lasting than simple emotional moment of loud or exuberant worship. The most powerful stories are the same. We don't sit and discuss the philosophies of Spider Man, but a story that makes us think hard or reason brings out discussion.

If you read a story,  or go to a play, a film, you want the joy of discovering the story. The audience does not have to be force fed and really doesn't enjoy being force fed a story. It's not as satisfying for them.

I think a similar thing could happen in worship -- though I'm not worship leader and I bet they could teach me a thing or two about their process too. It seems in our harried, busy, technology driven world, we struggle to take time or relax enough to slip into the story to let it effect us.

God's story is the greatest one ever and He is constantly wanting to reveal more depths in the plot to us, but it isn't something that sticks when we whip up an emotion and leave quickly back to our lives. It's something that is important for us to "get" by putting the pieces of the story together and listening.