Light In A Dark Theater: A Christian Filmmaker's Journey

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, a rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and moses fled from before it.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail.  And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand..." (Exodus 4:1-4, KJV) A very interesting thing happened to Moses when he met the LORD at the burning bush.  God had told Moses to go back to Egypt and bring out the Children of Israel, but Moses didn't think anyone would believe him.  So God asked him a question, "What is that in your hand?"  And then God told him to cast the shepherd's rod that was in his hand to the ground.  Then the miraculous happened.  The rod transformed into a miraculous sign to...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick. But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12, KJV) Why do we have to wait so long for things?  And what's the point of waiting if it seems like it's never going to pass?  Well if we're learning to be patient as filmmakers, it is so important not to give up and not to lose sight of hope in the future... because the proverb above teaches us that hope deferred can make us sick.  For most filmmakers seeking to make a living (even at something we believe God has called us to do) waiting for long periods of time for things to happen is usually a reality and a difficulty that we must face on many occasions.  And patience is the only thing that is really going to get us to persevere and make it to our "promised land". In this day and age, for those of us who  don't live in a 3rd World Country, we usually don't have to wait as long for many things we take for granted - things like fast food, airplan...

But the LORD said unto Samuel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7, KJV) When you see this image here of two people traveling through the desert- what do you see?  Do you see the outward appearance or something greater here at work?    It comes from a film released in the late 1960s. Do you see anything that would lead you to believe this film was made by someone who is referred to as one of the "most influential" and "successful filmmakers in the history of cinema"?  Who made this?  Well, Steven Spielberg did - It's called Amblin .  Oh... yes... "Amblin" is his famous film company with a logo containing the silhouette of a boy carrying ET in his flying bicycle.  "Amblin" is a huge name in the film industry and so famous that if you got a call...

Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house (Proverbs 24:27, KJV) This particular wisdom from Proverbs is an important one especially for young filmmakers who are not yet married.  Translating from King James language it basically tells us to prepare our work outside and prepare our fields first before building a house.  If you're a filmmaker and you have a family - the odds are already stacked against your family staying together.  Even the big budget filmmakers, whether above the line (like producer or director) or below the line freelancers (like grips and electricians), deal with the harsh realities of long hours, long periods of time away from family, and dry periods of waiting for the next job to come.  The film business has been notorious as an industry of workers with broken marriages and families.  Christian filmmakers are not exempt from this. Just because you're a believer does no...