Don't Waste Your Life

We've been working on getting our new Memorial Day video, For Freedom up on our site and out to our various distributors. So, I've got Memorial Day on my mind. Meanwhile, my small group is studying through a John Piper book called Don't Waste Your Life (great read, highly recommended). This morning I picked up the book to read and God did one of those things that He's so good at. He brought the things in my life, on my heart, and in my mind together in a powerful way.We're in Chapter 7 of Don't Waste Your Life. The Chapter is called, Living to Prove He is More Precious Than Life. The chapter kicks off like this:

To make others glad in God with an everlasting gladness, our lives must show that he is more precious than life. "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." (Psalm 63:3)

In the chapter, Piper talks about what he calls a "wartime lifestyle." He illustrates how what we do with our time, our money, and even our very lives is what shows others that "he is more precious than life." He goes on to explain that during WWII, even the people at home here in the States made great personal sacrifices for the war effort. One of the mottos of that era was, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." In his explanation of a "wartime lifestyle," Piper exhorts us to remember we're in the midst of a great battle and the stakes are very high. Given the fact that, in times when our nation has been at war, people were capable of rising to great levels of sacrifice, how much more should we, as Christians, rise up and sacrifice for the cause of Christ (which he calls "the greatest cause in the world). To illustrate the sacrifices people are willing to make, he pulls from the book Flags of our Fathers, which Clint Eastwood recently made into a film. Flags of our Fathers is about the WWII battle for the small Pacific island of Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima was home to one of the bloodiest battles in our nation's history. 21,000 Japanese soldiers died in the battle, but our Marines suffered 26,000 casualties in the process. This was the only battle in the Pacific where the invaders incurred higher casualties than the defenders. The Marines spent forty-three months fighting in WWII, and yet, in one month of fighting at Iwo Jima, one third of their total casualties occurred. Many of those Marines who fought so bravely there are buried in the Pacific. It's here where I'll pick it up directly from the book, Flags of our Fathers:

Thousands of families would not have the solace of a body to bid farewell: just the abstract information that the Marine had "died in the performance of his duty" and was buried in a plot, aligned in a row with numbers on his grave. Mike lay in Plot 3, Row 5, Grave 694; Harlon in Plot 4, Row 6, Grave 912; Franklin in Plot 8, Row 7, Grave 2189.

When I think of Mike, Harlon, and Franklin there, I think of the message someone had chiseled outside the cemetery.

When you go home
Tell them for us and say
For your tomorrow We gave our today

Those were the lines that really hit me. How powerful, to live in the reality that we are engaged in a spiritual war, a war for the souls of all mankind. That we hold in our hands and in our hearts the spiritual antidote that can transform the lives of all the men and women living on this planet. We all long to be a part of something. To know and to have and to live for something bigger than ourselves. To find something worth not just living for, but worth dying for. And we Christians are blessed to have found the fulfillment of those longings, of that desire in our relationship with Christ. How powerful to be able to say to them, in the end, "For your tomorrow, we gave our today."

Better off Rock'd

Depression affects more than 19 million people each year in the US. In any typical high school classroom, it is likely that three students have made a suicide attempt in the last year. Among college students, there are an estimated 1,100 suicides per year (an average of 3 per day).

Those are some sobering facts. Better off Rock'd wants to do something about it. Started by a good friend of mine, Better off Rock'd is putting together their first tour to raise money for suicide prevention. This is a great endeavor and it's being put together by a guy who has a real heart for following Christ and for young people. And they've gotten some of the biggest names in Christian rock involved. The bill so far includes Seventh Day Slumber, Everyday Sunday, Nevertheless, and Stephen Speaks. Check out their Myspace page and if you're in the Austin or Ft. Worth area in June, be sure to check out a show. I'll be there shooting video highlights of the event. I hope to see you there!

My Friendship Connection

I am fired up. I had a great conversation yesterday with a guy named Vernon Brady who used to be the Vice President of the Church Growth Institute. He's spearheading an evangelism initiative called My Friendship Connection. And here's the awesome part for us: He wants eleven72 to help produce a series of videos for this oh so cool event (more on the event itself in a second). First a little background: Did you know that according to research done by the Church Growth Institute a full 86% of the people who trust Christ as their Savior do so because of the simple invitation of a friend. By way of contrast, only 2% come to Christ through the use of advertising. Wow. That is an amazing stat. The single most effective way to evangelize the people you know is to simply invite them to church. We didn't realize that the idea behind our video Just Ask was such a powerful one! But it makes sense when you think about it, because God is all about relationship.

Twenty years ago, Vernon was part of a program called Friend Day. The program, asking people to invite a friend to church, was used successfully by 47,000 churches. Since then, God has been growing up in Vernon a desire to see millions of people's lives forever changed through nothing more than being invited to church (and, of course, being reached by the Spirit and prompted to turn their lives over to Jesus). And the time is now. The seed that God planted with Vernon is poised to start a flood with My Friendship Connection.

What is My Friendship Connection?

My Friendship Connection is a strategy designed to mobilize your church for a great day of outreach. Synergy comes by connecting churches across North America on the same day with a single focus. Therefore, we seek to engage the masses into the largest army ever assembled for the purpose of reaching, evangelizing and winning friends to Jesus Christ through the local church.

Go to their website and check it out. Tell your church about it. Right now about 500 churches in Virginia are on board, but that number is quickly growing. They've had inquiries from other countries and big groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board are expressing interest. Just hearing about it, I could tell that God is in this. Imagine what might happen if tens of thousands of churches get involved with this in the next few months. Imagine all the people who will walk through the door of a church on November 4th (that's the day when all of this culminates). My friends. Your friends. Tens of thousands of people. Imagine all the people who will come face to face with the life changing reality of Jesus Christ. What a great day for rejoicing that will be! All because friends simply asked their friends, "would you come to church with me?

I'm so excited that God brought this to Lee and I. So humbled that we might be used to serve God's Kingdom in such a powerful way. I have never met Vernon Brady face to face. We connected because of our media on the internet. He could have called anyone. He called us. God continues to amaze me daily. This life of following Christ is truly a great adventure.

I'll have more to post on this as things progress. For now, check out myfriendshipconnection.com. And get ready friends!

Living As An Ordinary Radical

Here's a great story that has inspired me. I just finished a book called The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical. It's a book by a guy named Shane Claiborne who is part of a group in Philadelphia called The Simple Way. I've got to be honest, this book made me really uncomfortable. It is a book that raises the ugly issues of poverty, inequality, and warfare. But it's never about throwing the issues in your face so you feel guilty or bad or defeated. Instead, it seeks to bring these issues to light so we might have the courage to imagine a world where they no longer exist. It's about what it really means to follow Christ fully and completely, written by a guy who is doing his best to do just that.

At times, while reading the book, I wanted to dismiss Shane as a hippie idealist, as an over zealous activist, as some kind of left-wing nut... but I couldn't. God wouldn't let me off the hook that easy. Shane lives in voluntary poverty in inner city Philadelphia at a house where he holds all things in common with his community. It's a hospitality house, where the door is always open to anyone with any need. In college, Shane followed Christ to India, where he worked with Mother Teresa and ended up living, serving and loving his neighbors in a leper colony. Recently, Shane was led by the Spirit to journey to Iraq, where he worshiped, encouraged and communed with the Christians living there (while the bombs were falling!). This is a guy who puts his proverbial money where his mouth is. He is a voice calling us out of the complacency that so easily infects us in this American life. Shane may be a little crazy, but he's crazy for all the right reasons. And I know he's crazy about Jesus.

Here's what Rob Bell (NOOMA, Velvet Elvis, Mars Hill) says about Shane:

Be warned, my friends: Shane is a poet, a friend, a brother - but underneath it all, he's a prophet with a fire in his belly and a story to back it up. If you listen - or in this case, read - you will not be the same.

AMEN!

Nike and The Art of Storytelling

Speaking of great storytellers, I think Nike does an awesome job of storytelling. I don't know if there's any other corporate entity that taps into our hearts, our dreams, our desires, like Nike does. They want to tie our longings and desires to their products. We know the only place we'll find satisfaction for those desires is at their source - God. It's easy to say that Nike is able to tell such great stories and do so much because of all the resources that their wealth provides. I often find myself using excuses like that. But sometimes, Nike does it so well and so simply that it lays my excuses bare. We can tell stories like this. Stories that inspire, encourage and point people to the Source. Watch this short video about Brazilian soccer superstar Ronaldinho and think about the stories you want to tell:

Click Image Above To Watch our Easter Worship Video, I Will Remember

We Remember

With Easter approaching, I've been thinking about our video, I Will Remember. The video is a simple illustration of a song that means a lot to us here at eleven72. It's a song written by the Music Director of our church, JJ Plasencio. JJ recorded it on an album of praise songs that he wrote for our church (you can get the CD at gatewaychurch.com). The album was recorded with and by Gateway's volunteer praise and worship band members. The singer on this track is a guy named Scott Leger who is the singer for what I think is the greatest unsigned band I've ever heard, WideAwake (you should check them out).

When our church first started out, we were meeting in movie theaters and hotel banquet rooms, loading in and out before and after the services, completely portable. At one point, we were moving around so often that our pastor joked, "if you can find us, you can go here."

Each week, as our little body grew and as more and more seekers became true believers, we would sing this song that JJ had written. We will remember your name! We will remember your grace. We were seeing Him do mighty things among us. Redeemer. Prince of Peace. The Lamb Who has Died in my Place. Lyrics from this wonderful song.

The video for I Will Remember was really a labor of love for Lee (see our about page to learn more about Lee). He put his heart and his considerable talent to work illustrating this beautiful praise song. And I think the love he put into it shows through in the work.

Over time, I Will Remember has become one of our most popular videos, especially at this time of year. It's a great piece to use as you give the congregation time to reflect on who Jesus Is and what He has done for us. It's a great video to use to end a sermon with. Build up your sermon about Jesus' life, death, resurrection and sacrifice and then let this video make a powerful ending statement that moves people closer to Christ. We've also heard that the video is really useful during the celebration of Communion as the congregation reflects on the body and the blood of Christ.

However you use it, know that it means a lot to us and we pray that it might mean something to you and your congregation as well.

The Story's the Thing...

The single most important thing you can do is tell stories! Let me explain.

The Bible is the very Word of God. We read it to know Him. And He uses it to speak to us. It is His Story... History.

We just finished producing a video for a local missions organization called Mission Possible of Austin. The project will be shown this weekend as part of their annual fundraising banquet. In the process, we had the opportunity to meet and interview three incredible people. People whose lives have been transformed by the power of God, through the ministry of Mission Possible. There was a woman who found herself pregnant and on the streets. There was a well to do foreign business student at a major university, whose family had an emergency back home that used up all his money, and he too ended up on the streets here in America. And finally, a young man with a Father in and out of jail and a Mother addicted to drugs who found himself all alone. Mission Possible helped all of them find a relationship with our living God, as well as helping them meet physical needs. And now all three are actively serving the body of Christ and giving back because they've been given so much!

I know there are similar stories of radical transformation and the incredible grace of God playing out in your local body. Those stories illustrate how your church is living out its' mission. How you are enacting your vision. You need to tell those stories. Stories connect the body to what God is doing through us. They show us that we are a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. And our people need to hear them.

So I encourage you to find creative ways to tell the stories of what God is doing. - globally, locally, and personally. Help people to see. Inspire them to act. It's all part of HisStory.

If you need any ideas on how to tell the stories of your people, even if you don't have many resources, email me at storme@eleven72.com. I'd love to help you find a way to get your story out!

Jesus at Crossroads

We received a really great call from the pastor of a church in Tucson, Arizona on Friday. After buying our video Jesus Is to use in one of their services, Pastor Kyle contacted us to see if they could use it on their website. They have a page directed at new comers and seekers that raises the question "Who Is Jesus?" He thought our video fit so perfectly with their purpose for that page that he wanted to incorporate it. We were really excited about the idea and they've already got it up - Check it out here!

Kyle is leading a really cool church in Tucson called CrossRoads Church. They are meeting weekly in an active movie theater in Tucson and are very much a community based church. Our home church here in Austin started out portable and meeting in movie theaters. We have really fond memories of that time in our church, so we were excited to hear about how they're doing church. They get a really early start every Sunday, set up in one of the theaters, have their service and have to get all their equipment and people out before the matinees start.

CrossRoads is focused on creating relationships and getting people involved in small groups/home churches and that approach is really paying off. By meeting in a movie theater, Kyle says the typical non-church going person is more intrigued by their set up and is more likely to come and check it out. He is really excited about what God is doing with their church and it's so cool that our media can be a part of helping CrossRoads reach people in Tucson.

The Art of Cinematography

I was just writing my new bio for our about page (look for it there any day now), and it got me thinking about one of my favorite things: Cinematography.

Wikipedia says a cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera (the art and science of which is known as cinematography). The Cinematographer's roles are many and varied and the job varies from picture to picture depending on the Director, the crew, etc. But at it's heart, cinematography is writing with light. Writing and light are two of my biggest passions and so I love cinematography.

The late Conrad L. Hall is my favorite cinematographer. The shot he captured of the boy standing at the edge of the water in the beginning of Road to Perdition is one of the most beautiful and profound images I've ever seen. And one of my top five movies of all time is a little movie called, Searching for Bobby Fischer, beautifully rendered by Hall in a style he termed: magical realism. I love the movie and I love that term.

To me, magical realism means showing the transcendent, the supernatural, in the every day. That God is all around even in the mundane moments of life. I hope I can one day photograph a feature that can capture and communicate that style.

My monthly cinematography guide is a magazine called American Cinematography. If you want to learn more about how your favorite movies are captured and the people who capture them, pick up a copy. It gets into the details of the way a movie was shot, the cameras and film stocks used, the types of lighting the used, the special effects. I've been reading it for years. I love it. They have a couple of articles online here.

Here are some great links and resources on cinematography:

http://www.cinematography.com/
http://www.theasc.com/
Wikipedia List of All the Best Cinematography Award Winners
The Cinematography Mailing List (a great resource - this is a forum where you can go looking for answers on how to capture the look and feel you want for your next film or video)