I’m not going to pretend that I know what “worship” truly means. There seem to be many definitions out there, but I don’t think any of us ever fully “get it”. However, that doesn’t stop me from learning, exploring & wrestling with what worship looks like…for both my daily, personal life as well as the corporate gathering of the Church. At the end of the day, it’s all about amplifying God with our lives.

3D is all the craze right now; thank you, James Cameron! I’m sure one day 3D technology will be as accessible as an iPod, and it’s inevitable that a church somehow somewhere will implement 3D technology for worship. Maybe it will come via 3D glasses, Hologram, or some other technology invented just yesterday that we have yet to learn about. Who knows.

But as this new technology makes itself attractively accessible to us all, let’s make sure that WE are shaping the Church, instead of letting technology shape it. Let’s also remember that worship is for God…and not for us. So slippery a slope it is to lead worship…if we aren’t careful, we can start to “worship the worship” and even the leading of it. I struggle with this on a regular basis.

So if it’s really for God, what does 3-Dimensional worship look like through God’s Eyes? I stumbled across something that might help us better understand this. There are three dimensions to worship. Check this little graph out. (I’ll try not to go all “math” on ya.)

UP

“Up” is the vertical dimension of our worship. It’s a direct dialogue between God & His Church. It’s amplifying Him by declaring Who He is, what He’s done, and what He’s yet to do. There is revelation, and there is response. Corporate moments like this might include songs about God, prayer, & communion. This is the main dimension most of us think of when we talk about “worship.”

ACROSS

“Across” is the horizontal dimension of our worship. Yes, our worship is directed towards God, but there is an element of community & togetherness involved. These are those “one anothers” we hear about in the Scriptures. “Across” moments bring ourselves into the light, whether it’s through times of encouragement, edification, confession, forgiveness, celebration, healing, baptism or simply sharing someone’s story/testimony.

OUT

“Out” is the action part of our worship. This is where we put it all into motion & BE the Church. These are the moments of compassion, mercy, justice & mission. Sometimes it’s as simple as engaging in someone’s story with no agenda other than loving them or doing something for them and expecting nothing in return. It’s being the hands and feet of Christ. As it says in James, it’s going to the widows & the orphans…this is pleasing & acceptable worship to God. This is what makes our worship 3D! Without the “out” dimension, our worship is 2-dimensional and flat. Sure, we declare regularly Who God is and what He’s done, and we may get “community” like nobody’s business…but if we don’t do anything about it and love the world around us like Christ calls us to love, then we become stale, lukewarm & stagnant…and God will spit us out of His mouth eventually. Worship not in motion is a nasty, foul stench to God. We must be salt & light. Faith without deeds is dead.

Sometimes I wonder if our “out” is actually “in”. To be missional means to step out of your own context and into someone else’s, meeting them at their point of need. I’m not against inviting people to our churches & events, but if that’s the all-end of our efforts to “reach them”, I think we are missing it.

The great tension that I live with is trying to get all this with my own life, when I spend most of my days designing worship events & using new, cutting-edge technology. I see so much need out there…so many injustices…people who have never heard the name of Jesus… and yet I come home to help those of us (who have already heard) use motion backgrounds, triplewide screens & do worship “better”.

But I cannot discount the power of sacred times set aside for the Church to worship together…and I love to create environments where we can gather and meet with God. I see these times as exclamation points to our week of worship…and a launching pad for the next week. So I believe our content should be as 3D as possible! I’m all about leveraging technology & imagery to express in new, creative ways the things that are close to the heart of God.

The content of our gatherings usually falls into one of these dimensions. Even if there’s a moment that contains an aspect of each, there’s still a dimension that’s dominating the moment.  I look at the context I’m leading in, and I do all I can do make sure the visual content I’m choosing aligns with the focus/dimension of the moment.

Think about your worship services…the songs, the visuals, everything. What moments could you categorize as “up”, “across” & “out”?

More to come.

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Here is the continuation.

The NEWLY designed Continental teams are students who hit the road for 4 to 5 weeks (after a rehearsal week in Los Angeles), who will creatively advance the message of Jesus in a cool way through the performing arts (music, media and movement)!

There is a need for visual media directors for two summer tours. Each tour needs a tech director as well as a film-maker/storyteller.

One tour is for the “Young Continentals”. Ages range from 13 to 17, and the dates are June 26 – Aug 2.

The other tour is for the “Continental Singers”, which includes a live band and vocals, ages ranging from 18 to 25. The tour dates are June 26 – Aug 9. This tour will go through Barbados as well as part of the U.S.

You would be given the chance to work with a production team consisting of top notch professionals who are involved with GLEE, Disney, American Idol & the Veracity Project.

For more information, visit www.continentalsingers.org and if you are interested in going, then contact marco@continentalsingers.org or ashley@continentalsingers.org.

Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin with this post. I feel like I’ve only climbed the foothills of a giant mountain. Some of you have never even heard of this mountain or at least didn’t know it was a mountain to begin with. Some of you have been on similar trails and paths as me, and I just want to sit down and share stories. And for some of you, you’ve climbed the mountain…and the rest of us just need to sit as your feet and listen for days.

I have to get over the fact that I cannot even begin to express what’s on my heart in this single blog post. This thing with China is going to take a lifetime of exploring, discovery and processing. I’ve only been to mainland China twice and to Hong Kong twice. They are separate places…kind of. Maybe this will be best described in bullets points…because I can tend to ramble.

- I wish I had a video to show you that explains the history of China over the past 100 years. That would really help. Hong Kong was owned/run by the British up until 1997, when it was handed back over to Communist China (“The Handover”). But because it was already Westernized with capitalism…well, a square peg doesn’t fit into a round hole. However, China is becoming more like Hong Kong each day…not the other way around.

- Hong Kong is treated like a separate country. Separate Visa, flag, etc. However, it’s still owned by China…so it’s fully China…and yet it’s not. Hong Kong is very free. It’s very busy…like New York City crammed into a very small place. It’s very dense.  And it’s also the most friendly place I’ve been to. The main language of Hong Kong is Cantonese, and most everyone speaks English; they write using “Traditional” Chinese characters. The language of Mainland China is Mandarin; they write using “Simplified” Chinese characters.

- Wake-up call: While in Thailand, I had dinner with some of Hong Kong’s finest (leaders in financial, government & ministry sectors)…we were discussing religious freedom in China and how things are changing. We were discussing one of my past trips to China where Nate & I helped visually document the building of a Biblically-themed amusement park (in mainland China, mind you).  Then the conversation switched to America, and they asked me, “Are there Biblically-themed parks in America? Can you even get away with that? We wouldn’t think so; America isn’t very free. You can’t pray in schools anymore, you can speak freely, you can’t….”

- the Church of China is divided into a few factions: The Gov’t established registered “Three-Self Church” (did you know that the Chinese Gov’t actually trains pastors?) …some of these “Three-Self Churches” are very free…a few have restrictions, but it isn’t what you’d think. Then there are the “underground” house churches…these are the churches who hide and refuse to register with the Gov’t and use their Gov’t Pastors. Some are persecuted more than others…but most are not persecuted at all; it all depends on the Province you are in. However, there are a few churches popping up (mostly in Beijing & larger cities) that are not registered but are still meeting publicly…it’s the first of it’s kind. The Gov’t is choosing to turn a “blind-eye”, and they view these “Christians” as friendly and doing good. Pretty epic, huh?

Here’s a little #VisualEaster for you…this is one of those churches in Beijing I’m referring to. This is a line of over 1,000 trying to get in this past weekend. And this is very typical each week. (HT: Biscuet)

- The Church in Hong Kong suffers from a different kind of division. First is the division between Int’l and local Chinese speaking churches. Secondly is the division between Evangelical (Conservative) and Charismatic churches (in both Int’l and local Chinese). However, this is most prevalent in the older generation of leaders…for the younger generation is praying and yearning for unity…meeting together many times a week to pray and worship together. Most of these worshipers come from different churches. For them, the denominational lines are blurring & even disappearing! And the focus of their prayers is on their own generation and the local churches of Mainland China.

- All of these churches and young leaders share a similar passion: the use of visual artistry and technology in worship. They all have a laptop, projector and images. Even the local house churches in China are incorporating technology into their gathering experiences. Many of the young worship leaders are embracing this technology and have a burden for seeing it used correctly. We’ll hear more on this later.

- Opportunities are presenting themselves left and right. Camron, Nate & I are overwhelmed with what’s going on over there, and we’re praying about what’s next. We had no plan when visiting Hong Kong. No agenda. We just wanted to see what’s up and to encourage people along the way. Out of nowhere, we ended up meeting with pastors from some of the largest and most influential churches in Hong Kong…both Int’l and local Chinese. And we were grafted into the younger generation’s community and welcomed with open arms. There are even opportunities opening up to teach visual worship at one of the universities there. The people God aligned us with would blow your mind….we’re still processing it all and wondering what to do with all this.

Camron & I got to visit a local Chinese speaking church:

This is where they meet:

And here’s their tech guy running sound & lyrics all at the same time (any of you out there relate?):

We also got the chance to visit Hong Kong City Church (one of the Int’l Churches):

Their worship style is very edgy and modern; their community is made up of local Hong Kong business people, Australians, Americans & many others:

And they meet at the top of the 2nd tallest building on Hong Kong Island. The owner of the building is a Christian and let’s them meet there for free! Talk about a powerful visual context for worship, especially when praying over the city. And some days, they’re literally caught up in the clouds!

- We have a vision for seeing the Western Church serving the Asian Church. Not Westernizing or commercializing…but truly serving and meeting their needs…training it’s leaders, encouraging them, and helping them to see what mistakes the Western Church has made so that they don’t repeat the same mishaps. But the fact is, when you go over there, you aren’t really teaching them much. You are learning more from them than you could ever imagine, and you are able to catch a clearer glimpse of how God is at work across the entire globe. You get a real sense that the awakening taking place in the Church is truly a global awakening! And visual worship is just a chapter in the story.

All that I have described to you barely scratches the surface. And I know that all that I have seen & will see in my lifetime is just a drop in the bucket.

Get ready. It’s bigger and more exciting than any of us could ever dream or imagine! As I learned when I was young, go where you see God moving. He’s moving in Asia people! He’s been there all along and I’m so grateful for getting to find Him there!

So I’m going. In fact, a bunch of us are going!

What will your response be?

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Our minds were officially blown. It’s still hard to process all that’s going on over there. But over the next few days I’m going to do my best to give you a glimpse into what I saw across the pond.

So after an extended “layover” from blogging about Asia, I’m picking back up where we left off. We’re departing from Thailand and setting course for one of the most spectacular cities in the Oriental World.

Click here to read previous posts on our journey through Asia.

An original and powerful spoken word piece from Mike Perez of City Community Church in Indianapolis.

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There are no words I can add to this.

Lord, teach us what true worship really looks like.

Later, Biscuet told me that he was leaving his “dream job” of producing events and VJ-ing for worship to go live in China and teach English. WHAT?!

You see, for Biscuet, worship is so much more than what our little subculture cracks it up to be. He isn’t easily impressed by all the latest, greatest hype on the who’s who of the current creative church culture. He has an opinion or two on what real worship looks like, but he won’t tell you about it unless you ask him over and over again. He will also tell you that no city in America has anything on Beijing…and I’d probably have to agree with him. To follow his story, go to biscuet.com – he’d be more than happy to be your friend and tell you what’s up.

Biscuet doesn’t claim to have any answers, except that life is all about relationships. And his love for the Chinese people overtakes him whenever he gets to share with others about the amazing things happening in China. For me, I had to go to Asia to see for myself what all this craziness was about. And man, was I blown away!

Imagine 500 Biscuets filling a room for a week…getting to worship together, pray for each other’s cities, and share the indescribable things that are taking place throughout Asia. Our main purpose for going to Thailand was to serve these 500 by doing what we love…projecting on walls, VJ-ing media, painting, and encouraging those we meet along the way. And I cannot even begin to tell you the stories we heard.

These 500 new heroes of mine make up an organization called ELIC (English Language Institute/China). Their purpose is to place passionate people in contact with students across Asia through teaching English. Their story is continuing to be written, and as some of it unfolded before our eyes during their conference in Thailand, our hearts were overrun with wonder and awe at what is happening in Asia.

So what? How does this apply to us? Well, I’m glad you asked. There are three things we all can do:

• GO – ELIC offers long-term and short-term opportunities to engage Asia. If you don’t have any plans this summer, you might want to think about going.

• GIVE – some of you are not in a position to drop everything and go (at least not yet), but you can actively play a role in their story NOW by supporting them financially. You can give to either individuals like Biscuet, or you can give to their overall budget which will help them build a new website, new graphics/marketing, and promo videos they hope to produce soon (which will help them to be more effective in telling their story).
• LEARN MORE – a little overwhelmed and needing to get back to work? Hey, it’s cool…we’re all there with you. But if you think about this post and your role in Asia’s story later down the road and want to learn more about what ELIC is all about, then come back and click here.

I can tell you this: I meet a lot of people and organizations in my profession. I’ve just about seen it all, and sadly, very few impress me. But what ELIC is all about…wow…this blog post barely scratches the surface. I’m not trying to hype up something that’s not…I’ve seen it with my own eyes, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. This isn’t about praising man or anything some organization has done…they are human and flawed just like all of us. And I’m not implying that anyone is less of a worshiper if you don’t go to Asia. But I highly recommend going and seeing for yourself sometime…trust me, it will blow your mind and remind you of what’s truly important. It will lead you to worship in ways you’ve never imagined!

Thanks for letting me share a little about Biscuet and his organization.
I count it a huge privilege to be able to go to Thailand for a week to serve these people. For most of them, this is the one time a year they can come together as a true community of faith with more than five peers in the room. For Nate, Camron & I, it was about humbling ourselves, not making their event about us, and serving them by creating a sacred space for them to gather and guiding them through a visual worship experience.

It’s only by God’s grace and mercy that He has allowed any of us to live these stories thus far.

Today, I want to begin taking you on a journey. In the next few blog posts, I am going to share a few of the places, people and stories I experienced on our recent trip to Thailand and Hong Kong. My desire is that you catch a glimpse of the amazing things happening in Asia in hopes that it will inspire you to worship and pray about what God has next for you.

The beginning of every journey, for me at least, is usually filled with excitement, expectancy, fear, curiosity, unknowns & hope all wrapped up into one. No matter the situation, experiencing a different culture brings on an adrenaline rush. And seeing what the Church is like outside of my own culture usually brings on everything from inspiration to tension; this usually results in asking more questions and priorities shifting in my life…both personally and in how I do my job.

Each of these journeys provide me with an opportunity to have a visual worship experience by choosing to see Jesus in all that I see. In these beautiful places, I stand in awe of the story of God unfolding, both in His creation and in the lives of others. If you have any questions along the way, don’t hesitate to ask!

Our journey begins in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A land filled with religion, tourism, history, and zero traffic laws.

(watch full-screen to get the best visual experience.)

The last thing we want to do is badger or guilt people into giving us money. I hope you know our hearts. We want you to know what God is doing in other parts of the world…we want to tell that story well…we are still learning how to be good storytellers as well as live good stories. We want you to be a part of what God is doing in Asia…. so that when you hear about the amazing things He is doing in other parts of the world, you can say “Sweet! I got to have a hand in that!”

To be honest, financial support has been trickling in, and we are nowhere near the goal we need to meet. So I thought about making this a little more interesting. It’s time to up the ante.

The reality is…we need some dough to go. And your reality is…you need some fresh new loops for Sunday. So, here’s the deal. You give …and we’ll give back! Whether you have been inspired, challenged, encouraged, frustrated, or bored-to-tears by our blogs/tweets/sessions/content/conversations/friendship/etc, we are asking that you give at least $20 towards our trip. And if you can give more, we won’t complain! ;) If you can do this, I will send you a link to some new, free visual media!

The media bundle will include:

- three brand new loops created from our past trip to Thailand (edited by the amazing Nick Rivero) … they are part of an new media product that we’re releasing this year.

- three Names of God loops by Visual Worshiper – one is his most popular title, and the others are two triple-wide formats of his Names of God loops, which have never been released other than personally thru his consulting gigs.

- there might be a few other surprises in there, too…but you’ll have to pay up to find out. :)

*they are in a QuickTime format (no MPEGs rendered yet) but please don’t let that be a reason not to go through with this.

Here’s how to give:

1) go to ELIC’s website (elic.org/orgdonate)

2) fill out the form & put “ATC” at the bottom where it says “Any additional notes regarding the processing of this gift.” YOU HAVE TO PUT “ATC” in the additional notes…DON’T FORGET!!!

We have about $1700 each to raise. The way ELIC has it set up, when you give, it goes into one bucket for the three of us going. And yes, your gift is tax-deductible!

After you have given, email me at proctor@worshipVJ.com & I will send you a link for the media loops. If you don’t have the dough personally, then technically you can make this a church/media deal since you’ll be getting content that your whole church will benefit from! :)

again, at least $20… and more if you can swing it. You guys rock!

Here are thumbnails of some of the media included:

I wish I could fast forward 2010 and see how it all turns out…I’m sure if I knew the outcomes of certain things, I might choose to live my story differently…maybe some things I wouldn’t place so much importance on, and some things & people I might pay attention to a little more. Who knows… but I DO know this: I want to live a good story this year.

Donald Miller wrote an amazing post about resolutions vs living good stories. His main points boil down to 1) wanting something, 2) envisioning a climatic scene, & 3) creating an inciting incident. I recommend reading it for yourself.

Originally, this blog post was going to be about what I plan to accomplish, the places I’m going to, the people I can’t wait to meet or reconnect with, goals I have, yada yada… instead, I want to write about a few stories I hope to live well this year:

STORY ONE: To See Visual Worship Have a More Missional/Global Perspective

I desire to produce, create & VJ more missional media that brings God’s global story into focus during times of corporate and personal worship. I hope I’m not the only one; I want to be a part of a revolution that changes the face of visual media as we know it today. And I hope this cause isn’t self-serving (or perceived as) but overflows with the spirit of giving back and serving those who suffer.

I’m sitting on a plethora of beautiful HD footage that we’ve shot around the world and it’s just waiting to be edited and mastered into a format suitable for VJ-ing and storytelling. I’m praying for the right individuals to come alongside us and help us in the production and release of that content. Like I said, I hope we’re not the only ones doing this. I want to spend 2010 encouraging other creatives to do the same. Worship is a response to the revelation of Who God is and what He’s done/doing; we’ve done a good job at projecting Who He is…but I feel that much of the available media out there lacks in the areas of Who He is & what He’s doing outside the four walls of the church building (which to me is the majority of His Kingdom…I dunno…just sayin’.) I want to see this change.

The Church as a whole (at least at the forefront) is definitely shifting its focus to more missional ways of worshiping. It’s happening everywhere, and it’s exciting. And our culture (including our churches) are becoming more globally aware and connected, which has never happened before (at least on this scale). I’m having more and more conversations about visual worship outside of America than inside. How is our visual storytelling & VJ-ing supporting/responding/leading these shifts?

STORY TWO: To Tell the Story of Visual Worship in New Ways

I have many dreams, ideas & goals for this year. Some, I believe will be carried out by others…and some, I believe, have been placed in my heart by God…entrusted to me to see it through. Some people would shy away from announcing things without having it “all together” and ready for “release”. To that, I say, “whatever!”. So I’m saying it now…publicly…and I’m involving other people with it. This very act forces me to move. As Donald Miller points out, saying things publicly and not following through creates a “social consequence”. I will let those I’ve involved down, and I’ll look stupid in front of everyone i’ve told (aka YOU). (maybe that’s the whole point for some of these things…but again, i can’t fast forward and find out.)

God has clearly spoken to me about a few specific things. One is software development. Another is for inspirational/educational media about visual worship. And the last is about writing a few books. I have a pretty good idea of what all these could look like, and have been carrying these ideas for some time now. But 2010, i’m hoping, is the year that I get to flesh some of these out. All, I hope, end up being for the edification of His Church.

I want so badly for everyone to experience the glory, splendor, awe, wonder, majesty, creativity & mystery of God in the midst of worship (whether corporate or personal). I believe the visual arts (media, environment, story, etc) have a huge role to play in this. And I don’t believe we are in a place where we are experiencing this as God has intended here on the earth. And I believe with all my heart that there needs to be a return to simplicity and authenticity in our worship (especially in the production of our worship experiences)…this to, we are lacking on a major scale. This is why you here me talk about “visual silence” so much…i really think there is something there, for all of us, on a corporate and personal level, from God.

I’m hoping through the small postage-stamp-sized platform that God has given me I will tell His story to the best of my abilities. Maybe through some new refreshing media, films, books, events, blog posts, conversations, worship gatherings, etc, I will be able to echo this well.

STORY THREE: Facilitating Relationships & Ways to Give Back

I desire to be a part of a nameless, faceless movement of the Church that gives back to those who are in need. More specifically, I want to be a part of a movement within the realm of “church creatives” that give back to other “creatives” who are in need. I don’t know exactly what this looks like yet, but I’m wondering if there are ways to facilitate some opportunities that we all get to play a part in.

Not all churches in the world can benefit from visual media in their services or in the daily life of their Church. Believe me, there are some indigenous churches that are doing JUST FINE without technology. In fact, it would cause more harm than good; it’s just not their culture. However, there are MANY churches around the world that could benefit from technology and visual media. But, for whatever reason, they can’t afford it or easily obtain it. What if those of us with resources stepped in and helped them?

What if the media/worship ministry of your church sponsored a church in Indonesia…giving them new computers, software, media, cameras, projectors, editing software, website, or ________??? But what’s more exciting is that this sponsorship would facilitate relationships! Imagine getting your head unburied from the laptop and going on a trip to this 3rd world church and engaging for a week or two in their creative leaders’ lives? Teaching and training them, yes…but what about praying for them and simply hearing their story? Priorities will resurface, and perspectives will change. And the way you lead worship (musically/technically/visually) will change… TRUST ME.

This is one reason I’m going back to Asia (and to other countries soon)… I want to figure this out and see what God has for us. His global story is epic… like, Lord of the Rings epic…and even more so, I’m sure. There is a place for all of us… and “visual worship” is just a small part of the bigger story taking place. How will we engage & fit our lives into His story?

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So, to heck with “resolutions” and goals. Yes, I have many of them…but when I look at them through the lens of a narrative, I’m much more motivated to go after them. And I may fail miserably at all of this. Or maybe it’s not until 2020 when some of these things I’ve mentioned finally come to fruition. And I pray that none of these are self-serving or build up any earthly empire that I might call my own. I guess we’ll both have to wait and find out.

Yes, I wish I could fast forward this year and see how everything turns out. But I can’t…for this is the essence of faith. Moving forward and believing in something I can’t see. Faith, by nature, is “visually-silent”.

So here’s to 2010. I’ve never been more excited about a new year before. Let’s journey well together.

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“I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” ~ Jeremiah 10:23

“A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?” ~ Proverbs 20:24

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prospers you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~ Matthew 6:34

In just a month, Nate, Camron & I set out for Asia. We’re going to lead visual worship & encourage those who have been serving long-term throughout the year. But instead of writing a long letter about it all, and since this is a blog about video, I decided flex some editing muscle and tell you face-to-face:

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Information about giving:

-go to ELIC’s website

- fill out the form & put “ATC” at the bottom where it says “Any additional notes regarding the processing of this gift.”

We have about $1700 each to raise. The way ELIC has it set up, when you give, it goes into one bucket for the three of us. And yes, your gift is tax-deductible!

Thank you so much for supporting us in prayer and for considering a financial gift to support our trip!

~ proctor, nate & camron

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Community in Asia:

Biscuet (+ check out “Visual Worship in China” w/ Biscuet)

Anthony Lee

Grace Campus Ministries

Lois Choy/Door Ministries

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check out this sweet video of the opening for the Passion World Tour in Hong Kong. (by the way, this event was a huge catalyst for Anthony & his friends in getting them interested in visual worship.)

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to read Camron’s letter about this trip, click here.

and then i get an email like this (a response to our latest video “Awayo”):

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I loved your movie. I’ve watched it three times, and cried each time. There is a young couple in our church that desperately want to be missionaries, but the guy’s parents were dead set against it, even though they are believers. Our church showed that movie on a weekend that they were visiting. After seeing it, the parents are nearly pushing them out the door towards New Guinea!

They are heading out to PNG as associate missionaries for a year, then they plan to return for the training so that they can go full time! Thank you so much for the movie. It has really changed their lives. And thanks to your work, there might even be more brothers and sisters around the throne one day! Thank you for your hard work.

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as soon as i start feeling like i need to shift my direction or the way i’m doing things, God gives me a subtle hint NOT to. Thank You, Lord. I’m still in this if You are!

I’m so proud of my Worship Guide at Journey, Drew Cline, who is doing an amazing job at leading the charge on Last Letter.

some of my friends in Nashville are featured in the video called “Ryan” on the Last Letter website. it’s not on Vimeo…but you should seriously go check it out now. i’m so proud of them… i regret being on the road so much b/c i have missed out on so much back home.

Here’s one more video from Last Letter… this one absolutely wrecks me.

what legacy are you leaving behind? cool motion backgrounds & the latest greatest creativity? what will come to mind when people remember you? What will your last letter be?

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tech: All of the Last Letter videos were shot on the new Canon 5D MKII (& 7D) cameras that can capture HD video. I’ve been seeing more and more videos shot with this amazing camera… it takes video to a place i’ve never seen before. Barton Damer recently blogged about the 7D. And Nick Rivero just got his 7D in… i’m jumping on the bandwagon soon.

Here’s some more videos shot on the same cameras. Make sure “HD” is on & watch it in fullscreen…you might have to go to the original vimeo page to do that…it’s worth it.

Awayo lives in the mountainous jungle regions of West Papua, Indonesia. His tribe is called “Moi”(’moy’); there are only 700-800 Moi in existence. The Moi have a language and culture completely their own. Their primitive lifestyle is one that you wouldn’t think still truly exists in the 21st Century. Awayo’s home is as “ends of the earth” as you can get.

This is Awayo’s story. Though he lives in an indigenous, remote tribe, Awayo’s life is anything but simple. Riddled with pain, murder & deception, life in the Moi tribe was spent in constant fear. There was no hope. Then something happened that shook the foundation of Awayo’s life.

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Backstory: During Thanksgiving last year, most of you were probably sitting at home, enjoying time off with your family and eating as much turkey and dressing as possible. Me? Well, I was with my tribal family, enjoying each other’s company and eating lots of amazing food (pig, chicken, rice, possum poo…you know, the essentials). I was in the middle of “Moi Land”! I was with our NTMfilms team filming Awayo’s story, on location in West Papua. Our team was made up of Nate Griffin (my business partner), Ben Smallbone (of Radiate Films), and three missionaries from New Tribes Mission (Macon Hare, Ian Fallis & Regina Sullivan).

I blogged about our trip a few times back in the Winter. You can see those posts & “behind-the-scenes” videos HERE.

The purpose of filming & producing “Awayo” was to provide New Tribes Mission with a video that helps communicate and promote the vision of NTM. Most organizations make overview videos & emotional infomercials, loaded with overwhelming statistics and heart-wrenching appeals to “pray, give or go”. All of that may be well & good, but we decided to do something different. We wanted to simply tell a STORY.

B/c of it’s broad message (aka, it doesn’t have NTM’s logo & name plastered all over it), we realized that this film could fuel many churches’ call-to-missions. So we have made “AWAYO” available on WorshipHouse Media. The version posted above has Awayo’s own voice with subtitles, but we also produced a version with an English voiceover. We also created a Leader’s Guide to go along with the film. When you purchase the film from WorshipHouse, you get both versions of the film, either in SD or HD resolution. When you purchase the film, part of the proceeds are going directly back into New Tribes Mission.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to Jason Morant, who scored the original music, as well as Paul Mills, who mixed the audio for us. They blew us away and are some of the most talented, creative artists in the industry.

To learn more about New Tribes Mission & how you can share Awayo’s story, visit ntm.org/reach.

what i experienced last Sunday morning will stay with me forever. and i want to share with you just a glimpse of what it was like for me and the Mocha Club team i was with. so as you are getting ready for/coming home from/taking a break between/or skipping church, take a peek into the Acholi tribe of northern Uganda, and get a taste of what worship is like there.

i started praying a few years ago that God would give me a glimpse into His global Church…to let me see what corporate worship looks like all over the world. He started to answer that prayer pretty quickly.

from infant tribal churches on small remote islands in the South Pacific to the largest house church in China…I’ve gotten to not only see amazing expressions of the Church, but i’ve also gotten to meet worship leaders that lead in ways that would blow your heart away.

The Acholi have been through more than any of us reading this have been through in a lifetime COMBINED. They have hardly anything…yet they have everything. Their war-torn lives and disorienting situations have only boosted the level of joy and passion. What touched me the most was that every time a person entered into the “worship hut”, they would fall to the ground…knees bent, face to the dirt…and pray… for about 10-20 seconds…. and then they would rise to their feet…singing and dancing….like they meant it! it was truly authentic. There was no stage, no hymnals or screens…nothing. There wasn’t even a main worship leader… the whole community just led themselves… and in each moment, a different person would “lead” the song, but it flowed from one person to the next very organically.

To see this… and to know their stories and what they have put up with … this led me in worship. They have to CHOOSE to worship… and they don’t need the latest songs or the coolest video setups to do it. It was crowded…many of them carried their own chairs or benches….they walked for miles, having been very sick the night before or having a dying family member left back home (one man i prayed with lost his brother to AIDS during the church service…he found out when he got home). Like i said, they have to CHOOSE TO WORSHIP. No where in America have I seen worship like this. it was more than refreshing.

i guess the light looks different in the darker places.

it’s hard to describe in words what my journey to Gulu, Uganda was like. So here’s a video that gives you just a taste of the experience. (all completely shot on the Flip mino HD!)