An Icon Crossed Over

12/19- I am saddened by the earthly loss of friend, pastor and personal hero Ken Hutcherson.  https://www.facebook.com/ken.hutcherson

Wahoo! Mobile Consultation was a Blast!

12/14- What a great time!  134 leaders and practitioners from 84 organizations for three days.  Lots of inspiring, informational, and beautifully awkward moments (Benjamin presenting from his iPhone on the big screen with his icon for "Apple Crap" visible to the world).  Check out the notes at www.mobmin.org/2013notes.

Mobile Ministry Consultation is here!

12/7- We'll have 120 people meet for three days from December 9-11.  100 will be in the room and another 20 will participate from around the world by Internet feed.  You can still sign up for one or the other at www.visualstory.org/consult2013.

Networking Gurus

12/3- I'm stoked to be with 60 global leaders of various networks for a first-ever gathering of cat-herders like me!  Big thanks to Bill Sunderland, Dave Hackett, Karin Butler et for their work.

Lausanne Global Media Consultation

11/21- We just finished 4 days at the Lausanne Global Media Consulation here in So Cal (#lgcgm).  Great times with Phil Cooke, Craig Detweiler, Bill Kinnon, Joanne Kwok, Dave Raley, Rudolf Kabutz, Phill Butler and many others. 

Great Time of Celebration

11/16- 62 of us gathered for a Visual Story Network celebration dinner at the Mohabat broadcast studio last night.  "I was so encouraged, I have no idea what God is doing around the world!" was a common remark.  Thanks to the Mohabat team, Johnathan Pulos and John Edmiston for making it a great evening.  

VSN Vision Evening

11/9- We're having a celebration dinner for all that God is doing through VSN on Friday, November 15 in Orange County. We have three spots available.  If you are interested let me know.  clyde@visualstory.org.

God-Anointed Time in Georgia

10/28- Wow! Eight of us gathered outside of Atlanta for two days of planning for a new Mobile Ministry Curriculum.  It was truly blessed by God. What a great picture of the body at work.  And the team at Renew World Outreach was an amazing host!

Encouraged By Generosity

10/16- The Lord has inspired me to invite a number of ministry partners to create a matching funds for our 2014 Strategy Plan.  In the last two weeks, 10 people have agreed to pledge up to $1000 each toward a matching fund for our 2014 Campaign.  We will make these matching funds available to double the gifts made in November and December.

Partnering is Happening

10/9- I learned today of three different collaborations taking place with in the Visual Story Network community!  Mary Beth Minnis will work with Ken Fife and broadcast her film into the Middle East.  Matt Cook will work with Steve Steele and Sovee.  The third partnership is in high security environment.  This absolutely floats my boat!

Life and Death

10/3- Yesterday, while starting a conference call with the Program Team of the Mobile Consultation, Benjamin Tangeman texted that he would miss because he was on the way to the hospital with his wife to welcome their first child into the world.  Not five minutes later, Keith Williams texted me that he would not be make the call because of his father's sudden-death the day before.  Too stark a contrast to put in words.

Record pace

9/27- Very stoked that 53 have registered for the Mobile Consultation and we're still two and a half months out!

Overwhelming Response

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9/24- Wow!  There are 43 who are in this session of the Mobile Ministry Course. It is not too late to jump in.  To learn more, go to www.visualstory.org/mobilecourse. 

51st Birthday

9/17- I'm thankful on my 51st birthday for (in this order)... 1. The amazing grace of God revealed in Jesus. 2. Love from family and friends. 3. The Federal government honoring my birthday by summoning me to jury duty today for a two-week long district trial.

This Moved Me!!

9/10- A friend of the family posted a call to action about "loving your future wife." Dylan started his senior year of high school today.  While this doesn't have a clear story arc, it is both true and beautiful.   Check it out under the video tab or at www.visualstory.org/dylan.

Movie this Friday: The Ultimate Life

9/5- Brian Bird, Rick Eldridge, and Michael Landon Jr are behind this film.  I'm going to see it on Friday.  How about you?  www.theultimatelifemovie.com

Surviving Hitler

8/28- Wow! I discovered an amazing documentary on streaming Netflix called "Surviving Hitler."  After visiting the Shoah Memorial in Paris last week, this was an astounding tribute to those who resisted from within Germany.

Back to the USA

8/21- Headed back to the USA after several great weeks in Paris!  You've got to love Paris in the sunshine.

17th Century Visual Story

8/12- We are doing a home exchange with a French family.  The home we are in opens to the town square in Reuil-Malmaison just west of Paris.  A 17th century church fills the square. I have had great pleasure spending time with the Lord there.  Reading the windows, paintings, and chapels has inspired me with the ways stories were told visually long before we had digital screens. 

Paris Story Seminar Success

8/2- We had a great world premier with 25 participants from five countries.  We learned a great deal about the structure and art of story as it applies to ministry.  Special thanks to our Design Team: Francis Husson, Cynthia Hoppe, Mark Blaney, Luke Walton, Didier Heslon, and Paul Luebbers.

In Paris

7/29- I'm thrilled to be in Paris again.  We had a great time in worship and the Word at Hillsong Paris yesterday.  We have a great group attending the world premier of our Story Seminar tomorrow! 

Paris Story Seminar

7/22- Excited to be headed to Paris for the Story Seminar on July 30.  Looking forward to time with Didier Heslon, Benoit Wiener, Francis Husson, Mark Blaney, and more.

The Joy of Fund Development

7/16- I attended a fund development seminar today with board member Dave Triepke.  Here where the top five takeaways.  1. God has already provided for my ministry.  2. The person is more important than money.  3. Generous living is the key to generous receiving.  4. There are no "donors," only "investors. "  5. The best time to raise funds is when you don't need them.

Paris Story Seminar - 3 Weeks

7/10- Only three weeks until the story seminar Paris on July 30.  We have a great cast of presenters including Brian Bird, Sarah-Jane Murray, Didier Heslon, Luke Walton, Mark Blaney, and moi-meme.  Get more information under the Event calendar.

Mobile Ministry Course

7/2- Wow!  I'm very impressed with the students in this session for the online course. Lots of great interaction and peer-to-peer learning.  Special shout out to Keith Seabourn, Mary Oliveri, Gregory Schiller, and Christine Weddle for their contributions.

Great work ICVM !

6/26- The ICVM team did a great job! Props to Brad Mix, Dianne Becker, David Spohn, Dylan Marlow, et al.  I enjoyed speaking on "Five Roads to Your Distribution Destination."  Chris Bueno, Brian Bird, Victor Marx, and Shervin Youssefian were a great help.

ICVM Bound - St. Louis

6/18- I look forward to being in St. Louis with the gang from ICVM.  I'll be speaking on "Five Roads to Your Distribution Destination."  Hoping to catch some time with Shane Sooter.

Paris Story Seminar

6/11- Had a great day prepping for our Paris story seminar on July 30.  Special thanks to our design team of Didier Heslon, Francis Husson, Cynthia Hoppe, Mark Blaney, and Luke Walton.

Welcome Meredith

6/4- Meredith Bird is joining the team and will be helping organize the administrative side of VSN. Welcome Meredith!

Mobile Webinar Series

5/28- I'm excited about the new mobile webinar series.  Consider joining us this Thursday, at 9 AM Pacific.  Check out the event calendar for all the information you will need.  You will learn the latest and greatest and hear some amazing stories.

Call2All - Chiang Mai

5/20- I'm very excited for the gathering taken place in Thailand this week.  Great leadership by Carol and Calvin Conkey!  We work together closely on the media track for the Los Angeles event last year.

A Surprising Story from My Son

5/13- Our son Quinn has been serving with the ministry horizons in Beirut last few weeks.  He is an economics major, but has been serving in a variety of ways including becoming a visual storyteller for them.  For a 19-year old with a very little media experience, Shirin and I were very touched by the story.  View "Baptisms" under videos.

Call2All - Mexico

5/8- Great call with Hector Tamez today.  He is spearheading the upcoming Call2All Gathering in Mexico from November 5-8 in Peubla, Mexico.  He asked if I would help develop the media track for the event.  My response: "Only if I Carol and Calvin Conkey are willing to lead it (as they did in Long Beach) and are doing in Chiang Mai in two weeks."

Issachar

5/3- I enjoyed a recent luncheon with Paul Eshleman, Hector Tamez, Bob Brumleu, and others as part of the Issachar Initiative.  Paul (founder of the JESUS Film Project) is still running and gunning when most are retiring.  He's working hard to get the last unengaged, unreached people groups (UUPGs) adopted! 

Inspired to Enter the Big Story Together

4/26- I had some deep Holy Spirit moments this morning envisioning a way hundreds of us can become more deeply rooted in the Grand Narrative at the same time.  I'll be inviting you to join me from June 1 - July 25 for a Community Bible Experience.  I'll be posting more here. 

Story Movement - Hollywood Huddle

4/18: 20 of us will be meeting tomorrow to explore how to lay the groundwork for a story movement within the Body of Christ.  Excited to be with great minds like Dan Rupple, Nikki Hevesy, Key Payton, Jim Green, Jeff Holder, Paul Luebbers and more!

Q Conference Day 1

4/15- Crazy day full of brilliant thoughts from brilliant thinkers.  A hand-ful of God-connections (Aaron Thomson, Ken Fong, Charmaine Lillestrand, Erik Lokkesmoe, Stu Harris).   And to top it off... a nice, mindless film by Terence Malick, To the Wonder.   Not.   Profound film.  I've just got to figure out how.

Not Today the Movie out!

4/11- NOT TODAY premiers Friday, April 12 in theaters in the U.S.  An important film by Chris Bueno and others.   Check out the trailer that Chris posted here.

Heavy Hearted

4/8- Very sad to learn of the death of Rick and Kay Warren's son Matthew.  I don't know the Warrens, but have benefited greatly from their ministry through our role at Saddleback Church as members and small group leaders.  Please uphold this family in a very tragic time.

The Move of God's Spirit at the Local Level

4/2- The Spirit of God does is not moving globally if He is not revealed locally.  The Taber clan just spent the day visiting the campus of San Luis Obispo in California for our daughter who is consider colleges.  We just got back from the Cru meeting where 1000 students gathered to worship the Lord.  He is at work in a powerful way on this campus!

Overwhelmed… With joy!

3/31- What a day! What a sunrise! What a game-changer! All is made new.

Chicago / Producer Genius

3/28- I got back late last night from an amazing time in Chicago at the Mobile Ministry Forum Strategic planning time (only photos available now are on the VSN FB page).  Then had an amazing time with Ralph Winter in our webinar on "How to Produce Your Movie."  See the blog post on "Top 10 Roles of a Successful Producer."

Chicago Mobile Strategy Session Day 1

3/25- We just wrapped day one of our mobile ministry forum strategy group in Chicago. 12 great leaders from 12 great organizations. A special thanks to Ed Elliott and his wife Ginny for hosting us!

Mobile Ministry Strategy Session

3/22- We'll be a part of a three day strategy session with 12 leaders from 12 organizations from March 25-27 in Chicago.  Please pray for God's direction as we consider how to harness the power of mobile technology for kingdom purposes worldwide. 

Genaye Eshetu

3/18- Wow!  I had a great time Skyping Genaye Eshetu from Ethiopia today.  Look at her blog posts to learn more about her heart and vision.  I'm impressed for her heart to serve the Lord and be innovative. 

Mobile Course Beta Testers

3/11- We're looking for a dozen motivated people to take the new six-week online course in mobile ministry.   In exchange for a waived tuition, we want feedback on the course design and content.  For more info, email John Edmiston at johned@aibi.ph.

The Bible Premier

3/6- The Bible premier was huge.  27 million viewers.  I am grateful for the series, though I was surprised by the degree of artistic license.  We went to Saddleback Sunday eve to watch the show. We were shocked to see Rick Warren preaching with Mark and Roma on stage for the 5th service of the weekend! I didn't even know Saddleback had 5 services. And Mark and Roma sat on the stage through 5 sermons (Rick doesn't know what a short sermon is). We're in awe of Rick as well as Mark and Roma on their big premier night.

David Nixon - Entertain and Engage Spiritually

2/28- What a hoot to have David Nixon share his secrets in "How to Entertain and Engage Spiritually" in today's webinar.  Loved the God-stories behind the making of Facing the Giants and Fireproof.  We'll have a post up soon about his insights and how to view the recorded session. 

George Makeen

2/22- Had an great time meeting George Makeen, the Arabic Programming Director for SAT 7, this week.  He started there 10 years ago as a content reviewer and now finds himself producing, writing, programming, and more. Make yourself invaluable and watch the opportunities that will come your way!

Story Movement

2/18- Wow!  Just had a great time with Jim Green, Travis Mendel, Brian Bird, Key Payton, Craig Forrest, Paul Luebbers, and Jeff Holder discussing how to launch a "story movement" in the global church.  Great minds.  Great hearts. See the notes under the "Story Movement."

David Nixon and Giving Up

2/14- Travis Mendel and I WebEx'd David Nixon (Fireproof, Facing the Giants) today in preparation for his 2/28 webinar (see Event Calendar).  David: "After 30 years, I gave up on trying to make features.  Three months later the Kendricks brothers came to me with their movie Firefly and asked me to help their next project look like a movie."  Travis: "Why didn't you give up sooner?"  

How to Create Great Characters - Monday

2/11- How do you create characters your audience will fall in love with?  My personal favorite of late: The Dowager Duchess of Downton Abbey (Maggie Smith). VSN Board member Brian Bird will answer in a free webinar on Monday, February 11 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern.  Sign up at http://www.bestsellersociety.com/events/.

Internship Update

2/6- We've updated our internship outline to include majors most likely to be interested, benefits, and a tighter role description.  If you know someone who may be a candidate, have them look at www.visualstory.org/intern. 

How to be make VSN more dynamic?

1/30- A special thanks to John Oliver, Francine Wade, and McKenzie Brown for joining in a call to discuss ways to make the VSN online community more dynamic.  We welcome your input as well.  See the and contribute to the discussion under the blog section of VSN.  Thanks!!!

8 Ways to Know if You Have a Great Story

1/24- A BIG thanks to Brian Bird and Travis Mendel for hosting today's webinar.  Brian unveiled the eight secrets of knowing if you have a great story. We recorded the session and will be posting it soon. You'll want to know more about ideas like… do you have an 'aha' moment?, does your story cause a physical reaction?, etc.

Get Your Story Started

1/21- I'm excited to hear from Brian Bird on Thursday in part 1 of "Get Your Story Started."   He'll talk about "How to Know if You Have a Good Story."   It's free.  There are a few seats available.  Look under Event calendar to sign up and reserve your space.

Crossroads / Shervin Youssefian

1/10 - Just met with Shervin Youssefian.  He wrote and directed "Crossroads" on a modest budget.  God opened some great doors for distribution (ArcLight, DVD, international).  He's got a great story of seeing the film made AND making the film seen.  Check out the back-story on the video page.

Meeting with the Most High

1/3 - I invite you to take extended time at the beginning of this New Year to encounter God.  Sit. Listen. Fast. Pray. Worship.  Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.  I'm heading to a quiet (and inexpensive) retreat location (Mission San Luis Rey) for the next 20 hours to make sure I'm in alignment with what God is asking of me.