30Sep, 2010

Storyline, An Open Letter to Attendeees!

Posted by Don
0

All of us involved in the conference are so grateful you came to Portland, and are even more grateful you are choosing to tell stories to the world rather than simply consume them. One thing I wasn’t expecting is to meet so many people who were in such very difficult places, still in very real pain, and yet trying to figure out how to give back to the world. I was blown away by that. The best part of the conference was meeting and talking with all the people we’d been praying for for months. It was surreal for us. Processing our first Storyline Conference has been interesting. There are things I love about the conference, the fact that even with 500 people in the room it felt intimate, and the fact that we got to hang out in places other than the Armory. I am already wondering how we duplicate those dynamics for our next event. We live in a world of open dialogue and I’d love your help. As I process, though, I also know the notebook needs to be made more robust, and the points need to be more clear. In addition, the story examples I use [...]

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30Sep, 2010

Fundraising Update: Creating History

Posted by Don
43

The writing of the book was a fun story. The book itself, I hope, was a fun story. The writing of the movie was a fun story. But the fundraising effort is not just another story: It’s world history. As we speak, enough small donations are coming in, one at a time, to fund a full-length feature film. And at the pace the campaign is moving, it will be the largest project ever funded on Kickstarter.com, and certainly the most people who have ever donated to fund a film. It’s a news story worthy of any news outlet on television. And we are watching it happen live. So many investors didn’t think you existed. Christians who wanted to be open and honest about their struggles, about their pasts, about their lives. It’s simply amazing. The world will know you exist, not just because of the movie, but because of the incredible story of getting this movie made. Steve and I are beside ourselves. We just don’t know what to say. Thank you is not enough.

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29Sep, 2010

Blue Like Jazz gets Saved?

Posted by Don
1

Ever seen something come back to life? I hear it’s happened before, but I’ve honestly never seen it myself. Until now, perhaps. Last week I blogged about the death of Blue Like Jazz the Movie, and Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson and I were encouraged by the outpouring of grief. If misery loves company, we had plenty of company. Honestly, that really meant a lot. When you are letting a dream go you can’t help but feel like a bit of a failure. And yet there was some talk about crowd sourcing, about raising money amongst thousands. To be honest, it’s not something I’d really heard about, but a couple guys in Nashville decided to take matters into their own hands and see if they could make something happen. The rest of the story is, well, amazing. Zach Prichard and Jonathan Frazier read the book years ago and had been looking forward to seeing the movie some day. When they read my blog, they got together with a friend of mine, Randy Williams, and began talking about starting some ground-swell support. They pulled a few half-nighters and launched an incredible campaign on Kickstarter complete with a film, a twitter identity and [...]

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28Sep, 2010

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell the Church

Posted by Don
5

Don’t ask don’t tell is  an attractive philosophy about homosexuality for the church in America, which is why so many Christians favor the policy in the military. But I don’t want to talk about the military, I want to talk about the church. Homosexuality is a closet issue in the evangelical church. With the fall of Ted Haggard, and now the accusations against Bishop Eddie Long (as I write this, a week before it will post, 4 men have accused Bishop Long of sexual misconduct, and he has denied those accusations while he is stepping down from his position.) What is so striking about the Bishop Long and Ted Haggard connection is their strong stand against homosexuality from the pulpit. When I saw the movie Jesus Camp (I’d not heard of Ted Haggard before the movie which came out right before the scandal) I thought to myself, that guy sounds like he is covering something up. I don’t know very many straight, sexually healthy men who talk about having sex with their wives or brag about their sexual prowess. Straight men just have sex, they don’t intentionally project a straight image so people will know they are straight. That’s not [...]

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24Sep, 2010

For Those of You Coming to Portland, Welcome

Posted by Don
55

It looks like the weather is going to warm up and stay dry for the Storyline Conference (see below about the name change) this Sunday and Monday. We can’t wait. We’ve been working for months on this, and it is by far the most preparation we’ve put into any event. Here are some things to expect: 1. Registration begins at 5 on Sunday. There’s a matinee of Sunset Boulevard in the theater, so we will be doing a changeover on the stage as registration takes place. The lobby is large and there’s an in-house coffee shop and cafe, so we can hang out in the lobby before the conference begins. Though we don’t start until 6:30, feel free to come at 5, get registered, and then explore the neighborhood. Powell’s, the largest new and used bookstore in the world is right across the street, and there are tons of shops and restaurants to check out. 2. Because we will be setting up our stage, we won’t be able to open the doors to the actual theater till 6 (the lobby will be open for registration). Come right at 6 and claim your seats. There’s not a bad seat in the [...]

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