Follow the Story/Nepal Blogging

I want to remind anyone that might be interested of the locale of my Nepal blogging. It isn't here, but you can follow this link to get there: travelerfilms.org

Please visit the site regularly and keep us in your prayers as you follow the journey we are taking...


It is getting very close! I am in fact, worn out already, from the preparation and the late nights of work these past few weeks. Since I pretty much won’t be getting much rest these next few weeks, I am counting my blessings. Caffeine. Lukewarm showers (for now). A warm bed. Stuff in abundance…. and I am thankful to have the chance to work on a project like this. The hard work, weary travel and sleepless nights will all be worth it in the end! I can tell already by the response the trailer has received, as well as the excitement and dedication I personally have for the trip and film.

The vision for this trip and film project has been a team effort between myself and Caleb and Patrick, but there have been a few others who have had a great supporting influence on each of us.
One of those is a man who has been my mentor in no small way. His encouragement, and personal dedication to his work and also his creative genius have given me much to aspire to.
Since Shane has had a large part in helping prepare me for the field of media, I think it is fitting he is mentoring me through this project as well.
He has written a post that sums up much of the purpose and vision for the series on the City on a Hill blog.

This film series will be launched by City on a Hill Productions sometime around April as a DVD driven small group study guide. (We are still working on a name for it.)

So currently as I pack and make my last rounds of purchases and equipment gathering for the journey I am outlining the film project in my head and writing out as much as I can. The key to a successful trip like this will be proper planning. No project succeeded without it.

Goodnight and namaste.

Shepherd Ahlers/filmmaker

Thanksgiving is now a National Holiday!!!

"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

George Washington, October 3, 1789

That is pretty cool huh? A holiday to thank a Universally recognized God who is involved in the worlds affairs? What an idea.... I would like to see congress pass something like this lately.

Happy thanksgiving friends! I go to eat turkey, and rejoice in God's good graces.

peace.

No matter who is in the oval office...

"Who's your brother, who's your sister
You just walked passed him
I think you missed her
As we're all migrating to the place where our father lives
'Cause we married in to a family of immigrants

My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It's to a King & a Kingdom

There are two great lies that I've heard:
"the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die"
And that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican
And if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him

But nothing unifies like a common enemy
And we've got one, sure as hell
But he may be living in your house
He may be raising up your kids
He may be sleeping with your wife
Oh no, he may not look like you think"

[Lyrics sung by Derek Webb]

A Guide To The New Media For The Church

The New Media Frontier
Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting For Christ
Edited by John Mark Reynalds & Roger Overton

Is it possible to communicate the fullness of the ever changing, ever expansive category of “New Media”, using a book? That is just what John Mark Reynalds & Roger Overton attempt to do, as they bring together some of the best voices from the Christian movement in online media and blogging. The results are a fascinating and informative book, that for now is a complete and relevant guide to the things Christian media creators should know and should care about.

The book is written by a team of well-researched writers, who speak from experience. It begins especially well, and explains the history and the relevancy of the New Media from a Judeo-Christian worldview. From there it continues to build the case for Christians to learn to use the new forums of communication now open to us.

The points it raises are fascinating, and to the point. Each question is handled well, and nothing is simply dismissed or glossed over.
It explains why Christians should err on the side of liberty when it comes to the new media, and at the same time explores the pitfalls and weaknesses in the New Media movement.

The communication style of each writer is easy to read, but very well researched and full of information. I found myself highlighting and marking sections of the book to come back to. There possibly couldn’t be a better resource available for the Christian interested and/or involved in producing for a new generation highly attuned to the ever changing world of media. The author brings out this quote that; “as long as Liberty prevails, a chance for more entrepreneurial activity in information distribution will exist.”
The incredible tools that the New Media bring to the table will need to be defended, for freedoms sake. True Christianity has and will do well under the microscope of free information access.

If you are new to the realm of online media and blogging, this is a great start, but without mentioning up and coming and widely popular twitter.com and spending so much time on the awful Youtube, rather than the more relevant and high quality sites for video available (where is vimeo.com in this discussion?) I wonder how long this book will last before needing to be republished?
Of course that is the point… Technology changes, and the old media can only take the church so far before we are irrelevant.

I work in producing media that falls into both the old media and new media categories, and I found this book to be extremely relevant to the questions I had in trying to navigate the expansive waters of the internet revolutions aftermath. Great discussions will come from reading this book, and I imagine most of them will be communicated, like this review, via the internet. This is the New Media Frontier. Have we missed it?

Introducing: my journey east...

http://vimeo.com/1819085

"in order of appearance:
Caleb Meeks
Patrick Covert
Shepherd Ahlers

December 22-Jan 8 2009

I have always admired people who choose to be missionaries. I have often wondered if it is something I could have chosen for myself. I want to have that mentality of self sacrifice and the freedom that comes from serving God with my life. Since realizing my calling in media and coming to City on a Hill Productions I have seen the need for a counter-cultural view on the power and purpose of media, within the church and otherwise.

The average person consumes media on an almost constant basis, and without building a case for missions using that language I think very few people will realize it's importance or existence. The youth in our generation, like myself, spend their time surrounded by music, movies, television, and online media for an average of 6.5 hours a day. If they are going to hear the cry for them to take action it must come in the language they are most attuned to. Most young people want to feel like they are a part of something, they want to make a difference with their lives, they want to stop world hunger, or end unjust war... but few ever move from wanting to do something, to actually getting their hands dirty in real change. The purpose of this journey to Nepal and the focus of me and Caleb and Patrick will be always to speak to that young person, and give them more than a cause, but a calling.

Why did we choose nepal? There is a huge need in that country for relief, and hope. This is what Christ called us to do, is to be his hands and feet, and to comfort the hurting, and to take care of widows and orphans, and to set the captive free from the chains that bind their souls. There is incredible poverty and despair in Nepal.

Approximately 40% of Nepalese live below the poverty line of $12 per person/per month. Discrimination on the grounds of caste is officially illegal in Nepal but is in fact widespread, especially in rural areas. Members of the lowest caste (dalits, or untouchable) are the most disadvantaged group. Most people in the dalit caste work as wage labourers for higher-caste farmers.
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/npl/index.htm

We will be creating awareness of poverty, and suffering, but in the metanarrative we will be bringing out the calling of God in each one of us, to be Christ to the world, especially young people. That is our hope for this project, and for our own lives.
We are there during the coldest time of the year, and we are going to be facing a lot of cultural challenges as well. None of us will be effective communicators to the Nepalese people on our own, and so we are doing our best to crash course ourselves in Nepali culture and phrases. The other part of the trip may include india, another unique culture, so we will have our hands full with preparing for this journey.
We will be online throughout our journey, so you should be able to follow our trip through daily blog posts through our soon to be announced site... 

Be sure to bookmark it for the future: journeynepal.org

To best keep up with this project, send an email to: shepherd@cityonahillproductions.com with "subscribe" in the subject line, and I will add you to our newsletter e-list.

Fireproofing the box office

The elements were there: Kirk Cameron Christian superstar ala Left Behind, a $500K budget, a soundtrack made of cheesy christian radio singles. I was ready to be treated to tired church platitudes and sermons preached by characters with heavy southern accents that almost sounded faked...

And somehow a film with all those elements I described beat out Brad Pit in the box office for the #4 spot, having opened on less than 1000 screens, and being marketed almost purely by grassroots means. It has caused a firestorm in Hollywood, and for good reason!

This movie wasn't just a success in the box office, it was a win in the heart of the story it tried to tell. I walked away, not thinking about the hit and miss supporting cast, or how bad the soundtrack was, or the obvious low budget camera work. I didn't care, because somehow the purity of the story got deep inside me. Someone said the movie made them want to be a better person, and that is how I felt.
It relied on too much "christianeze" for most outsiders, but for the Christ follower, and especially the person struggling with their marriage, this will be time well spent. For me, the most exciting thing is the way this movie will pave the way for more and better independent films, and change the way faith based films are marketed. To that I would give 5 stars.

I could write a review of the movie itself, and point out it's strengths and weaknesses, but someone else took the time to write an excellent review that I almost completely agree with, on both it's praise and criticism, both of which I believe are necessary for art to improve.
Patrol Magazine: 'Fireproof'

Also of note is the discussion surrounding this movie. It has captured the attention of Hollywood in a big way.