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McFaddens in Cambodia

Righteousness

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Preposterous Mograph

Here’s another simple video for episode #5 of the Preposterous Project.  (I’m not sure if you’re picking up on the trend, but I usually refer to all my videos as simple, that way, if you complain, I can say “well sure… but it was just a simple one 😀  ).  I recently started taking an After Effects expressions class at FXPHD, and use a “simple” expression to animate the swinging elements.  Rather than keyframing them by hand, the expression uses math to control the decay and overswing tied to the rotation property of the shape layer.  Here’s the full video for this episode:

 

Light of the World

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Working with the Preposterous Project

This is a simple Motion Bible video that I put together for the Preposterous Project.  I’m making a weekly motion graphics (mograph) clip for them that goes along with their main verse.  The Preposterous Project aims at being a “not-so-typical” Bible study, and I’m happy to contribute in a small way (really small way).  Not only does this give me some space to create the Motion Bible videos, but it also helps me to continually be creating.  I often get overwhelmed taking on huge projects, and this allows me to have some boundaries to keep me moving.

We’ll be using the Preposterous videos in some unique ways when we kick off our new year of ministry in September.  Here’s Episode #4 which the above video is in:

Help My Unbelief! The Bible in Motion

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Motion Bible

 

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything but cancer stuff.  I’m finally starting to feel better, so I spent some time this week “experimenting”.  I decided to drop all my classes for the summer but one, Spiritual Life.  It’s just a one credit class, which has been a perfect fit for my summer-o-cancer.  One goal of the class is to experience some new disciples for Christian maturity.

I love Spiritual Disciplines, at least I like learning about them.  I’ve often struggled with being consistent with them, but I’ve come to learn that I like spontaneity and change.  I’m also learning that I like to be creative, and that technology is not  pure evil.

How Is This A Discipline?

That’s a good question my inquisitive friend, this video has several elements that I’m trying to be disciplined about:

  • Slowly chewing, processing, and meditating on the Word.  I’m taking a break from intense reading plans, and trying to carry small portions of scripture that stick out to me, with me throughout the day and the week.  (That doesn’t mean I’m throwing context to the wind, but rather holding on to something small, that is packed with meaning)
  • Creating after consuming.   I really am a slow processor.  I like to doodle, and for me this video allowed me to visually doodle, and spend quite a bit of time with this one verse from Mark.  Simple as it may be, it took several hours spread out over several days.  I’ve often not allowed myself enough room to think after consuming scripture.
  • Consistency in the midst of spontaneity.
  • Rooted in scripture.  I don’t want to give up reading the Word, but rather digest it slowly (like a cow, processing it multiple times)

So I don’t know if I’ll do one these videos each week.  But I thought it would be fun to create a collection of scripture that’s “in motion”.  I may integrate this concept into some other projects I’m working on, or I may use them to build some curriculum around.  It would be awesome to have one for EVERY VERSE IN THE BIBLE, perhaps making this a collaborative project.

What do you think?  Hit me up with some feedback or a question.  What Spiritual Disciplines do you find most “helpful”?

Praying for Cambodia – A Visual Prayer Experience

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Short Intro:  Visual Prayer Experience

Visual Prayer Experience – A method of utilizing video that invites the viewer into an intentional space for a balance of education/awareness and prayer for a particular issue or organization.  Moving from viewer to participant, rather than just visual consumption.

This video is the first of hopefully many Visual Prayer Experiences.  It 100% finished, yet it’s a concept video.  I’m looking for feedback and critique, but more so for the prayer experience than the visuals.  Drop me a comment with how your responded to it.

 

The Long Version

Consumers.

We our a culture of consumption.  In regards to TV, online, and mobile video, the average adolescent consumes an average of 4 and 1/2 hours of visual media each day.  Very little of this content is reflectively engaging, and I’ve yet to see much that allows intentional space for reflection.  A Visual Prayer Experience aims to bring about an interactive experience that engages us in spiritual formation by using “visual media” (Proctor) to guide our prayers.  In the example video, there are 5 sections for prayer, each section is introduced with audio and video to provide a frame for which to pray though.  The introduction is followed by a minute of visual silence, with an audio track guiding the time.  Each prayer section has a pausing point for those who would want to pray for a longer period of time.  It may feel like the video is “missing something” at first, but the planned space allows people to become participants, rather than viewers.

Reclaiming Space.

If I were to do a survey, I’d wager that the majority of people wouldn’t describe their experience watching TV and videos as sacred space.  There are those rare scenes in movies, and videos to challenge us, but for the most part video can be rather neutral, if not all together destructive to our spiritual self.  Which is a shame, because there is such great potential in the medium of video to be a space for spiritual development.  VPE’s seek to reclaim moments on the computer, phone, and TV, and use them for the Kingdom.

Pedagogically Balance.

The VPE example illustrates that there needs to be a balanced pedagogical approach to connecting deeply with people.  There is always a level of cognitive knowledge that is passed along with just about any video.  The depth of the cognitive domain really depends on the target audience.  This VPE is designed for people who are already familiar with Rapha House and the issues in Cambodia, so the cognitive domain stays relatively shallow.  But the more people understand, both mentally and visually, about the topic being prayed for, the more they will able to connect with the prayer experience.

The affective domain can often been overused in videos that strive to make an emotional right hook.  The nature of the content sets the tone for the emotional structure in most cases, and with child sex trafficking the emotions are already elevated.  This VPE presents the issues of prayer and the visuals in a way that lets the emotional processing of the participant to drive the affective domains impact through their time in prayer.

A “call to action” is frequently used in TV and video, and this lives within the behavioral domain.  Whether it’s a commercial for deodorant, an advertisement for a non-profit, and a PSA about depression, there is always an intended result.  A standard video about the issues of sex trafficking in Cambodia would call the viewer to donate, get more information, or become an activist.  For VPE’s, the action is contained within the video itself through the guided prayer experiences.Pray for Cambodia - Visual Prayer Experience

The Tension of Technology and Spiritual Formation

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technology and spiritual formation small

Tension.

It’s uncomfortable to live in it, but often, good things come from trying to thrive in the balance.  This semester I purposefully took an independent study to give me some room to wrestle with how Technology and Spiritual Formation collide.   I’m well aware of the pitfalls and snares of technology.  The Christian community seems to have a certain fear of technology, I mean, if the Church Lady was still around, I’m sure Twitter would be… from SATAN!  I’m not suggesting that technology is the 18-wheeler crashing head-on into our holy minivan destroying everything good and holy.  But rather, how can technology assist and enhance our spiritual formation to move us deeper in our spiritual transformation?

So I started asking myself some tough questions, and ended up in three different places of experimentation:

  • Audio Divina
  • Alpha and Omega
  • Missional Prayer Experience

Audio Divina

Pumping the same blood as Lectio Divina (“Divine Reading”, a simple meditative process for ingesting scripture), Audio Divina seeks to bring a greater awareness of scripture primarily through listening.  The internet comes up short of examples on my take of Audio Divina, as most of what you’ll find is rooted in music rather than scripture.  AD is a immersive auditory experience, designed to help us enter into the context of the passage.  Here’s the full post about my first AD experiment.  I’ve learned a lot since then, and I’m looking forward to making my next AD.  However, for this class, the first experiment is all I have time for!

Alpha and Omega

Alpha and Omega is a new framework that overlays my current youth ministry programs, not replacing, but supplementing and enhancing both our discipleship and community.  Through the development of a Monday through Friday liturgy that is bookended with visually powerful media, and is filled with reflective questions and conversations, I hope to use technology to put even greater depth into the spiritual transformational that happens within our ministry, and within our families.  This concept is still in development, but jump to the main Alpha and Omega post to check it out.

Missional Prayer Experience

This one doesn’t sound to complicated right?  It’s not!  I don’t know about you, but I consume a lot of visual media each day.  It’s almost impossible not to these days.  TV’s, computers, phones, tablets, billboards, cars, and airplanes are overloaded with media.  But, how much of it moves us beyond fast-food style consumption of the content, into reflection and contemplation?  I’ve watched a lot of videos produced by church and missions organizations.  A lot of them are INCREDIBLE… but, what do I walk away with.  How did I really engage in the experience?  Similar to Audio Divina in that it enables us to slow down, a Mission Prayer Experience is designed to move beyond briefly connecting with basic knowledge, to prayerfully experiencing the heart of the mission.  I love this video from Charity Water featuring Timebomb from Beck.  But I walk away from it without having done more than consuming.  The “action” step, is an assumption that I’ll think about it later, or perhaps do a quick google search for Charity Water.  But really, what would be most powerful as a Christian, would be to enter into a space of prayer for those without clean water, and for Charity Water’s staff.  That’s what I want MPE’s to do.