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.

Christmas movies

12/28 - It is not often I get to see movies when they come out in the cinema.  I've enjoyed both the Hobbit and Les Miserables.  Both are bit long, but are well crafted and deal with great themes.  I give my two thumbs up for both films.

Get Your Story Started

12/20 - We're very honored to have Brian Bird (Not Easily Broken), David Nixon (Letters to God), and Ralph Winter (X-Men) share in our upcoming webinar series on "Getting Your Story Started."  Reserve your spot (it's free), but limited by going to Event Calendar and registering.