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."