Contexting

Telling Other People's Stories

Looking for a good way to begin missional engagement of a people group or population segment? Try making a documentary film. 

Storytelling is a powerful communication tool. It can allow you speak truth to the audience. A story can serve as illustration, admonition, encouragement, lesson, history. Film is a great storytelling medium- it uses audio and video, it is increasingly accessible and inexpensive, and best of all, it is extremely portable and infinitely editable. Documentary films are unique in that they allow you to tell other people's stories in their own words. Through interviews, real-time footage, reenactments, or stream-of-conscious ramblings, you provide a platform for people who otherwise may not have a voice.

Churches are starting to look for ways to establish a presence in their own communities or in communities they're ministering to overseas. This is a great way to do that. If you're just getting started, here's a great how-to guide that breaks down the process of producing a documentary film.

First, you'll need a story to tell. Talk to people and find one worth telling. Without this, it doesn't matter what equipment you have. Casual conversation with random strangers in the neighborhood is good place to sart. Whether you're in San Diego or Stockholm, play up the whole "I'm a tourist trying to learn about your city" angle and ask lots of questions. As common themes, concerns, events, or histories emerge through your interviews, you can begin to shape that into a story that will translate to the screen. You may want to take note of who the good storytellers are. Or, you could just ask people who the good storytellers are.

Now, sit down and write a script. Not the words to be said- that's the job of your subject(s). Instead, consolidate all that you've heard into one coherent, essential message. What would be the best way to tell each part of your story?

Consider the best style for your film. Will you have a lot of head-and-shoulders shots of interview subjects? Will you be narrating or using voiceover? Plan out your shots; scout out good locations for filming. The ideal is something with an interesting background but minimal distractions. This is especially important when it comes to sound. After you've shot the "meat" of the film (the interview, the action footage), you can go back and record ambient noises, voiceovers and narration, and shoot establishing shots and cutaways.  

In terms of equipment, you'll need:

• A digital video camera (cheap if you use now-old-school mini-DV tapes). HD is better, but file sizes will be big. I use a standard definition Canon flash-memory camera. They have HD versions as well.
  
• A microphone. If your camera suppports it, spring for a decent mic that you can plug into your camera. Otherwise, use a separate audio recorder. I use Griffin's iTalk stereo ipod mic attachment with my old ipod, and set it up close to the subject.
  
• A computer for editing your video. I'm partial to iMovie (actually the now-replaced iMovie HD, if you've got it).
  

As you advance, these things might be helpful:

• A tripod.
• A boom mic (you can make a boom out of a painter's telescoping pole).
• Steadycam attachment (buy a cheap one, or make your own).
• Lights (something that will illuminate your subjects without distracting them or washing them out).

I know of several churches that have sent teams overseas to shoot documentary films. The process helps them get to know people in personal, natural, and non-threatening ways. The end result is a great tool to help raise awareness and mobilize volunteers. The film itself can be a gift to the subject and her culture. Try entering the film in film festivals or competitions. Show the work in a local gallery, bar, or cafe. Send it to the local television station. Find ways to share the story.

Good luck. Let me know if you've out together a documentary film. I'd love to hear about your experience.

Friendly Takeovers

Churches everywhere are obsessed with buildings. They spend countless hours and dollars on securing and maintaining space in which to meet. Large or small, traditional or non-traditional, nearly every church I know has 'space issues."

The answer to your troubles, though, may be right under your noses. Consider this: maybe God has you deliberately placed in your community for the church's sake.

Think about where you work. An office building? A school? A Garage? These places would be ideal meeting spaces for your church, church plant, or Bible study! Why work to build and maintain a "sacred" space (especially one that used only a couple times per week!), when you can intentionally move the church into your community by meeting in existing spaces?

The presence of believers in everyday spaces can make a transformational difference in your city. Yet there are places in your town where believers literally never go. What might happen if bars, warehouses, shops, and parks became seen as potential places of worship? How might the spiritual climate be affected by regular prayer on-site in the mundane places in your community?

I'm not talking about storming the city for Jesus. I don't mean entering uninvited. That would be a "hostile takeover." No, what we need are friendly takeovers- the kind were believers move in and the unbelievers who typically use the space see significantly positive effects of their presence.

Lots of churches meet in schools and movie theaters these days. But those deals are usually negotiated as business- "we pay you to use the space." The problem with that sort of arrangement is that doing business changes the parameters of the relationship. The benefit to the landlord/manager is the money, not the presence of godly people doing godly things. Also, the pressure on the body of believers to behave and to bless is diminished- they have, after all, paid to use the space- aren't they therefore entitled to put their feet on the furniture, leave the lights on, and raid the refrigerator?

When you're a snot-nosed kid scooping popcorn at a movie theater concession stand, you're not really in a position to use the space. But if you're the manager- the best manager the owner has ever seen, that's a different story.

What if all of your people lived in such a way that their employers, coworkers, clients, and friends invited you to meet in their spaces? What if those responsible for the laundromats, libraries, and showrooms in your town begged your church to move in?

Of course, this doesn't just happen. You've got to put in the effort. Your people have to be the best at what they do; model employees, ideal supervisors, gracious customers. It's not enough to be a regular at a coffee shop, you've got to to be the kind of regular that all the employees know and appreciate. The one that leaves the place cleaner than she found it. The one that is courteous, kind, and generous. The one who never wears out his welcome. The one that baristas and managers look forward to seeing every day.

But that's not all. You've got to actively tell those who manage the space what you're all about. You won't be able to use church words, and you can't demand their attention or interest. You'll have to demonstrate, with words and actions, that you are a transformed sort of person. Only then will they be open to the idea that if one of you is nice to have around, a whole group of you would be even nicer.

And then, you start moving in. Hang out every morning. Then, you start reading your Bible in the corner. Then, you meet with a friend to discreetly pray together. You have so much invested in the people and in the space, you're selective about who you invite in, who you associate with while there. You take the time to "train" newcomers to the space how they ought to behave while there. You see to it that your group and their presence are seen as a blessing to those who control the space.

That's the kind of presence Christians ought to have in a community. If this were the model, think about how radically it would  affect your church gatherings. If your permission to be there depended on the good relationships you've maintained with the owners and managers of the spaces, maybe you'd be more inclined to act like Jesus in public.

Or, you could just buy your own space and build your own building.

Raining, cold, Portland. Spring break for the kids is going to be an inside affair. Maybe we'll go to the Children's Museum.

Trying to work from home is like trying to eat healthy at a fast-food joint. Possible, but unlikely.

Birthday party for our neighbor's one-yr-old. Great to spend time with friends. First birthdays are more about the grownups than the kids.