I love the irony of it. On a day where little goblins, micro vampires and tiny ghosts wander our streets looking for treats is the same day we unleash GOSPEL Journey Maui on the wonderful world of youth ministry!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten months since we filmed this reality series on the island of Maui. The conversations that ensued were awesome. In a very real sense it was a party that lasted eight days, a costume party of colliding worldviews. But our “costumes” didn’t cover up who we really were, they revealed us!
Who was at this party? We had
….Jasser, my favorite Muslim of all time, a senior from Thomas Jefferson High School who was articulate, humble and kind.
…Jonathan, a weightlifting Jewish agnostic, who still held on to many of the Jewish traditions but struggled with the entire concept of a personal God. He was very much an intellectual. We nicknamed him “the walking encyclopedia”. Brains and brawn!
…Emma “Blue”, a yoga instructor from Boulder, Emma emmanated the teachings of the Buddha with eloquence, humor and intelligence and just maybe the most talented writer I have ever met.
…A-Rae, a Mormon girl living in Salt Lake, who was raised Baptist but recently converted to Mormonism. This girl was sharp as a whip and added some healthy tension to the week.
…Rachel, a girl who thought God was a big, black woman who baked cookies (think The Matrix not The Shack). Rachel brought some raw emotion and real vulnerability to the experience.
…Priscilla, a 7th Day Adventist young woman, who could sing, dance and light up a room like nobody’s business! She was the one with the most contagious smile!
…Zane, the surfing evangelical “dude” from the original GOSPEL Journey! This guy shines with the light of Jesus and I’m proud to have him as my friend and co-laborer in the field, er, I mean waves of ministry.
and, last and certainly least, me…the old man preacher (compartively to the age of the cast anyway…but hey, I didn’t break a hip surfing at least!)
What a party it was! And we caught all the best parts on film! My prayer is that this reality series goes viral and that God uses the conversations we had to spark more conversations in the context of your youth group meeting. Buy it. Buy it now. I am convinced that the outreach potential of this reality series could be, by God’s grace, huge.
Pray with me that God uses this thing in a big, big way to help reach this postmodern generation for Jesus! Go here to watch the trailer and buy it.
Aloha and boo!
