So…after almost two years of my life, 400 hours of filming, great times with the film crew (and one nasty, brotherly conflict- the kind where you figure out if you are friends or not), and seemingly endless travel and conversations about church planting, shooting on the as yet untitled film project (got a title to suggest?) is done! We wrapped (as the lingo goes) in Orlando @ the National New Church Conference which hosted the Acts29 Bootcamp- a near must for North American church planters.

The film includes conversations with Mark Driscoll, Robbie and Chris Seay, Ed Stetzer, Bob Logan and a host of other people- some of them are not church world rock stars, just godly men doing a creative works with passion and fidelity. It touches on most models of church planting, but its real strength is the voices of the planters, worship pastors, and exec pastors. It also chronicles the journey of Terra as a narrative thread to the process. Some of you are in the film (and if you signed the waiver there is no geting out now!). There may actually be one day of shooting up @ Terra to interview some people about the experience of being part of a church plant.

The company we worked with, In Focus Productions (IFP) are good peeps. Bob Manasier, an accomplished film maker and documentarian, did a phenomenal job. The work would not have been possible with him and a crew of pizza eating, tattoed, ocassionally funny people working camera and lights. My favorite was “little Bono”, but that is another story.

Please pray for this project. The goal was to be able to give church planters, teachers, and denom leaders a tool to help them see in near real time where church planting is and hear from multiple POV’s on the topic. There will be a DVD series for this end. There will also be a cable based docu-piece (hopefully making the money back that IFP investors and your humble blogger put into the project). Shorter pieces will be released in weeks, the larger pieces in the fall.

On a personal note, I will be glad that I am not going to do that type of travel (especially rough and full since January) in a time to come. I am glad God can use Terra as a spring board in this dialogue. We have a unique community. I have never had a peace in ministry like being the head of this monastery, to use the terra talk. I look forward to seeing all the creative, buisiness, and peronal energies of this group blossom. I love that Christ has led me to you and you all here.

Blessings and PEACE

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