Documenting the Launch of Something Important

Monday begins the shooting of my latest documentary, Green Fire. It will be an exciting time of interviewing people from various walks of life who have descended upon St. Marks Church in Dublin, Ireland. Various missionaries and ministries will converge on this small historical church to help prepare for what most are sensing to be the preparation of a great revival that will spread throughout all of Europe.

I find it remarkable that this little church would get so much attention, unless it is a strategic church that will be able to influence thousands with the same faith and hope that these teams bring with them. In fact, I feel like I’m bringing some of that faith and hope in shooting the documentary. After all, why would someone have a passion to document something that is mild or unimportant?

The preparation for the shoot seems to be all about faith. It’s as if faith is the actual substance of the things I’m hoping for. Put another way, it is the evidence of things not yet seen. The mere fact that several separate and unique groups are preparing for this two-week event proves that it is important.

The only thing that these volunteers from several different countries have in common, is their faith that this set of projects will indeed make a difference for those in the community, which will spread throughout Europe. They are all putting their faith into a future that no one has any certainty about. However, common sense suggests that it is quite odd for these groups to be coming together for such a time as this, unless something indeed is going to happen.

It’s been some time since I’ve shot a documentary. My first one was titled the Chileda Institute and featured a family that taught skills to children with developmental disabilities that helped each individual successfully adapt to community living. The project was picked up by CBS and launched my initial career that saw numerous releases on ABC, WGN, PBS, The Family Channel (Now ABC Family), and hundreds of syndicated stations and networks.

Based on the faith that everyone is bringing to the table for these projects, it seems to be somewhat poetic that I’m shooting my first documentary in years. I’m getting the sense that this experience will not only be life changing, but it will somehow launch me in a different direction – But not into documentary filmmaking, as some might think.

I get this uncanny sense that a miracle awaits me and that my life will shift to a new course heading. Oh, my personality and core values won’t change. I’ll still have the same passion to bring hope to the hopeless and awareness of wholesome and moral values to those who are thirsty for the truth. But, something will be engaged that alters the course of my life into a new and fulfilling direction.

The unique thing about this event in Ireland is that just about everyone I’ve talked to has a similar sense that something big will be happening in the lives of those participating. It is a hope that can only be explained by the faith that each individual brings to the projects.

This hope is not presumption, as each person clearly has no idea what will happen, nor are they trying to manipulate anything. Yet, each one is confident beyond their knowledge that this event will become a significant milestone. And, so it shall, even though I have no clue how or what it will look like.

If you’re interested in learning how things develop, plan on reading my blog over the next two weeks as I try to describe the series of unfolding events. I will attempt to blog daily, but can’t guarantee connectivity or how long my iPad battery will last (if I can’t figure out how to recharge it). So, the next time you read something from me, I’ll be engulfed in this documentary/short term mission project with a hope of watching each milestone unfold.

2 thoughts on “Documenting the Launch of Something Important

  1. Hi CJ, this is Mary Warner; I met you at the Collage Society Exhibit at Norris Center a couple of weeks ago and looked up your blog when I got home. Being a Christian also, I felt a little bond there with you being another Christian artist. My faith hopefully adds a dimension to everything in my life and I often make sure that shows in my work with bits of scripture or whatever. Your newest endeavor in Ireland sounds fascinating. I’ll be reading your blogs and praying for you and its success!

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