Having grown up in evangelical/quasi-fundamentalist spaces I have always been a bit of a sucker for high production value efforts to articulate the Gospel or Christian life. This particular stream of the Way of Jesus may be presumed to be like Ned Flanders in their affect, but generally, are quite sophisticated in their use of media for broadcasting their message (for every cringey God’s-Not-Dead movie there’s also the legacy of pre-bankruptcy Veggietales).

Growing up, Mars Hill’s Nooma video series left a long lasting impression on me. Those short form films combined genuinely creative storytelling, filmmaking, and Biblical teaching. For a 12 year old kid who’d spent his life immersed in Bible stories told with a steady (and stale) cadence they were a revelation. I think they left such an impression because they really tried to honor and work within the medium of film’s strengths and limitations for articulating Christian claims.

All of the above is background to say that I think Practicing The Way’s trailers for their online courses recaptures the old Nooma magic a little bit. I’m glad they’re out there and I hope the teachings they are meant to spark interest for find fertile soil.

The series so far:

Sabbath

”…it’s a rhythm that God the creator built into the fabric of the human body and creation itself.”

Prayer

”…to pray is to commune with the God who is closer to us than we are to ourselves.”

Fasting (my favorite vid so far)

”…it’s an ancient practice whose time has come.”

Solitude (the production values jump from here onward)

”…solitude is the furnace of transformation.”

Generosity

”…little by little He makes our souls incandescent.”

Scripture

”…our part is to remember.”

For at least the past decade, whenever I reflect on the life, legacy, or oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I repeatedly find myself returning to his final speech. Its most famous for the closing soliloquy about the Mountaintop, but in our times the whole speech is worth contending with. Those final prophetic words build on the other 40 minutes of reflection King offers on the state of the Prophetic/nonviolent wing of the Civil Rights movement.

Here’s the portion most folks have encountered (starting at 41:48):

Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the Mountaintop.

And I don’t mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the Mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I’m happy, tonight.

I’m not worried about anything.

I’m not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!