Radical Womanhood

Breaking the Wall of Silence

I've spent the last year developing a new documentary film called BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE. It's about the important topic of patient safety. It's been eye-opening to research this topic and learn about the risks that patients face in a healthcare culture that routinely hides medical errors behind a "wall of silence." 

The interesting thing to me is that I first came across this concept way back in 1996 when Ken Sande, a former lawyer who founded Peacemaker Ministries, gave a message titled "The Gift of Conflict." In it, he gave an illustration of a hospital where a baby was born during a nursing shift change and didn't make the "hand off"--neither shift was aware of the birth and the baby died. So the hospital predictably put both nurses involved on administrative leave and hustled them behind the "wall of silence" that prevented them from talking to the family. But the parents involved found out who these nurses were and went to each of their homes, assuring them that they were only there to offer forgiveness. Which made both of the nurses unleash a tide of guilt and shame, and eventually led one to become a Christian. The "deny and defend" response didn't have a place for the innate human need for forgiveness and reconciliation.

All these years later, I've never forgotten that story. In the healthcare industry, they sometimes call the affected healthcare professionals "second victims." That's a controversial term, but the concept remains the same--when intent to harm is not there, conscientious healthcare providers are horrified when they make preventable medical mistakes. But historically the healthcare system has engaged in high-risk activity without using the best practices to prevent harm that are typical of other high-risk industries, such as aviation. The result is that patients die in astounding numbers: it's been estimated that more than 100,000 patients die each year from preventable medical mistakes. 

Our film is about a group of doctors and patient advocates who are trying to transform patient safety through the principles of transparency, accountability, and honesty. They have started their quest this month and my company, Citygate Films, has been given access to film this undertaking. So watch this trailer to understand some of the issues involved. Then, if you feel this project has merit, my team and I would certainly appreciate your support for our all-or-nothing Kickstarter funding campaign. (For additional reading, I also recommend Rosemary Gibson's leading book on patient safety, Wall of Silence, from where we obtained our title. She is one of the subjects of our film.)

Losses at Christmas

A few weeks ago, I stood before friends and family members and gave my mother's eulogy. She had succumbed to injuries sustained in a car accident over Thanksgiving weekend. Just days before her accident, the Lord had given me Hebrews 12:28 to meditate upon as I made a list of things for which I was thankful. At the top of that list was the fact my parents were still alive and in relatively good health. 

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28 ).

Throughout her time in the hospital and after her passing, I had many occasions to meditate upon the faithfulness of the Lord. My mother's death rocked my world, but God and His kingdom were unshakeable. Whenever someone would muse aloud about why God allowed this to happen, I would acknowledge our mutual grief, but then I would try to gently turn the topic to the greater hope we have in Jesus. Even though we daily receive new mercies from Him, Jesus is not going to patch up this broken world. He is going to give us something much better: a new heavens and a new earth where there are no more tears and no more death. Until then, grief and loss are part of the human experience. These thoughts were what shaped my closing remarks in her eulogy:

When Mom passed away, we knew she wanted to have a funeral shortly thereafter. At first it seemed sad to interrupt the holiday season of feasting and celebrating with a funeral. But during her last days, I realized that a funeral during Advent is actually entirely appropriate. For without the wonderful truth that the Word became flesh and lived among us in the midst of our fallen world with all of its decay, destruction and death—we truly would grieve without hope. Instead, we could commend Mom in her final moments to the loving hands of Her Savior, for He surely knew what it meant to live and suffer in this body of frail flesh.

As the angel said in the gospel of Luke, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Those words proclaimed the good news of God’s divine rescue—a mission to send His only begotten Son into the world to live the perfect life we cannot, to pay the just penalty for our sins, and in turn give us His perfect righteousness. In this incredible exchange of grace, Jesus overcame the curse of sin and its penalty of death.

This is our true reason for celebrating Christmas. And this the true reason all those who put their hope in Jesus have for worshiping Him … even when we must say goodbye in this life to someone we love.  Our hope is not that God will spare us hardship in this fallen world, but that in His overflowing mercy we will one day receive a new heavens and a new earth – free from sin, free from death, free from tears – and be reunited with our all those we have loved once before.

And then we will fall on our faces to worship Him who made it all possible.

Last year, I wrote about my memories of my Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Kevin, and how they taught me to be more sensitive about grief during the holidays. My mother was so proud of this blog post that she requested I print it out and send it to various family members who aren't online. Little did I know then that I would write a similar tribute to her this year. 

I am not the only one grieving this year. My cousins are also grieving the loss of their father, my mother's brother. Numerous friends are also grieving their family members. And our nation is collectively mourning with the families of Newtown, CT. In fact, grief and loss are entwined in the story of our Savior's birth (Matthew 2:16). 

So for all of us who are mourning this holiday, here is a short film my company produced for John Piper only weeks before my mother's passing. I had no idea then that I, too, would need a film titled "Hope for the Hurting This Christmas." But now that I look back over the last two months, I see the kindness of God in preparing my heart in many ways.

Tomorrow I will gather with my family and we will grieve Mom's absence in many ways. But in our mourning, we will be able to cling to the hope that the pierces the darkness of loss: For unto us, a Child is born. And for that reason, I can confidently wish us all a merry Christmas.

 

(Photo: Beth Altrogge Murphy took this portrait of my mother, Rosalind, during her 80th birthday party two years ago.)

After Darkness, Light

The motto of the city of Geneva, Switzerland, is the "Post Tenebras Lux." It is Latin for "After Darkness, Light." It was the motto of the early Reformers and is engraved on the Reformation Wall monument in Geneva. 

We at Citygate Films produced a short film about John Calvin's Geneva with John Piper for his ministry, Desiring God. We filmed there in May, as Dr. Piper was speaking at The Gospel Coalition's conference there. And since today is Reformation Day, in honor of Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the Wittenberg door in 1517, Desiring God released this short film.

One woman's name is also included at that monument (seen in this film). Her name is Marie Dentière. I read about her life in the book, Feminine Threads, which I highly recommend for an understanding of Christian women in history. Here is an excerpt from that book, written by Dr. Diana Severance:

Marie Dentière became abbess of the Augustinian convent of Tournai in Flanders in 1517, the year Martin Luther published his 95 Theses. Luther's ideas quickly spread to Flanders, and around 1524, Marie converted to the belief that salvation came by faith in Christ, not works in the Church. Forced from the convent and abandoned by her family, Marie fled to Strasbourg. There she met and married a former priest, Simon Robert. When Robert died in 1533, Marie married Antoine Froment, a Reformer in Geneva. Antoine at the time was a teacher and a merchant, though later he became a pastor. Marie helped Antoine in the shop while also caring for her three children. ...

[In 1536] Marie anonymously published the first Protestant history of the Genevan Reformation - The War and Deliverance of the City of Geneva. This small book described the victory of the gospel over the tyranny of the Pope and the Duke of Savoy. Her history was not merely a chronicle of contemporary events but a theological reflection upon them. She wrote to convince the Genevans of God's purpose for their city. Soon after, John Calvin arrived and worked with William Farel to establish the government of the city based on the Bible.

Marie's productivity as a wife, shopkeeper, and writer was grounded in her love for the Bible. Her passion for truth is the reason she, like the others honored there, are part of this monument. We share in that heritage. Happy Reformation Day.

Gifts with Benefits for Christmas

Two years ago, I met an incredible band from Uganda as I was there filming for my forthcoming film, A Note of Hope. The Macedonians are a group of talented musicians from northern Uganda who use their music to further social causes in the nation and to promote the cause of the many orphaned children there. They are led by a pastor named Joshua Ijala, who told me back in 2009 that he led a church that cared for 400 orphans. Four hundred orphans! Though many were orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, Joshua said the bulk of the children in his charge were orphaned by the brutal tyranny of the LRA rebel group. (LRA stands for the Lord's Resistance Army and they are certainly resisting the Lord in the way they have terrorized central Africa.)

Ever since meeting Joshua, I've been working on a way to help raise funds for his work. Now I have a way to do it. The band's first U.S. project has been released through the ministry of Covenant Mercies. (You may recall that I sponsor a girl named Emebet in Ethiopia through Covenant Mercies.) When you purchase the $15 CD , you are helping to fund Covenant Mercies' work in Uganda and the cost of recording this project. But for an extra $10 donation, you can also support the ministry of the Macedonians. (This portion is tax-deductible, too.)

The Macedonians play indigenous instruments with amazing skill. They are mesmerizing. Below is a brief trailer that shows the spontaneous performance that erupted when the American musicians from A Note of Hope met the Macedonians. I don't recall any words being exchanged--everyone just picked up their instruments and began to play. The Americans were enthralled by the sound of the thumb pianos and bass harps. (This segment starts at 2:35 in the trailer and runs until 3:35. Joshua appears at 2:50 in the trailer. He's the man wearing a white polo shirt and sunglasses.) And below that trailer from my film is a full clip of the Macedonians performing, recorded by another production team.

I'm ordering this CD for my nieces and nephews because I want them not only to learn about the music of another culture, I want them to become aware of the plight of children their ages in other nations. I want them to think about Christmas not as what they can get, but what they can give. "Gifts with benefits" model the kind of giving that actually can improve the life of a fellow human being. 

I hope you will join me in supporting the Macedonians. If you place your order by this Friday, the 16th, you'll receive the CD before Christmas.  You can listen to three sample songs here. But you have to use this special link to order the CD and make the extra donation (it's a pulldown menu). 

Ever since we met, Joshua has patiently been waiting to find out what I could do to help him. I told him I don't have a lot of influence. But I do have many like-minded friends who care about people in other parts of the world. I said I would present the opportunity to help and pray that many people would respond. So here's a unique holiday gift. I hope you will consider it!

Reflections on the Closing of a Year

This is the time of the year when I, like so many others, reflect on the closing of a year and start to catalogue the highlights of the previous twelve months. But I don't think I've ever thought of it exactly the way John Piper does. Check out his thoughts on the passing of time in this short film--it starts out on a sober note but ends in a burst of joy. Despite the numerous times I watched it during post-production, I always found myself smiling back at John Piper as he gets excited about the future.

(Bonus: You also get to see some fun historical footage of John and Noël Piper early in their marriage; Noël and Talitha making pie together; and scenes from their home. It was a lot of fun to film this with them!)

Watch the Film, Save a Life

So, my friends, it's World AIDS Day, which actually kicks off AIDS Awareness Month. I know this isn't usually the topic people want to consider during the holidays, but I'm actually kind of excited myself. The reason is because for the past year, I've been immersed in the topic of HIV prevention and the AIDS pandemic in Africa, thanks to Citygate Films' newest film, THE ROAD WE KNOW. More importantly, there's actually some good news on the horizon about reducing HIV infections!

And that's the message of THE ROAD WE KNOW. This film follows seven college students in Botswana who are boldly challenging conventional wisdom about AIDS in Africa to bring the low-cost, dignified message of sexual restaint to their younger peers. They were filmed in 2009 by my colleague, Suzanne Taylor, who directed and edited this production. Suzanne found out about them through the global missions fund of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, GA. These Botswana college students are all Christians who are motivated by their faith to intervene in a crisis where one in four adults (ages 15 to 49) are infected with HIV. Can you imagine living among such an epidemic? It's almost unthinkable.

Yet as we were finishing the post-production on this project, we read a special report from the UNAIDS organization that talked about how young adults are leading the revolution in HIV prevention. In this 2010 report, UNAIDS could point to a 25 percent drop or more in new infections for young adults ages 15 to 24 in 15 of the most infected nations--primarily due to sexual behavior change! This confirmed that what we had documented in Botswana was not an isolated trend.

Today we are releasing this film. It won't be in theaters near you. It will, in fact, be even closer than that. Citygate Films has the privilege of participating in the beta project of an exciting innovation in online video viewing. We have teamed up with European technology company UbicMedia™ and its proprietary PUMit tool to allow audiences to digitally share our film, while simultaneously contributing to a fund to further develop youth HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Botswana. UbicMedia actually approached our film promotion team, CrowdStarter, to find an independent film to pioneer this technology and we were very pleased to be selected to be part of this beta project.

"Ubicmedia is working with leading U.S.-based entertainment networks and file-sharing and content management companies," says UbicMedia's Olivier Pfeiffer. "The global importance of the theme addressed by Suzanne Taylor in THE ROAD WE KNOW is a perfect fit to showcase the flexibility and the virality of our solution. We're all very happy to potentially increase the awareness around the cause and the amount of collected funds through the use of UbicMedia's technology."

So I'm asking you to check out our "Watch the Film, Save a Life" campaign--and then spread the good news about both the film and the youth revolution in HIV prevention! And if you are in the Marietta area, come on out tonight to the premiere screening at Johnson Ferry. It starts at 7:00 pm, it's free, and Suzanne will be there for a director Q&A afterward.

But no worries if you still prefer the big screen experience. You can arrange for the film and/or our team to come out for a community screening for your group. Details are on the film's website. Help us populate that screening map with some love for the film! 

Watch the film, save a life!

 

Abstinence Rising Among Young Adults

The National Survey on Family Growth released a report yesterday on sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in the U.S. Of all the trends profiled in this report, one has captured the attention of most media: abstinence is on the rise among young adults. As the Washington Post reported:

Among the findings of a sweeping federal government survey of American sexual behavior is one that may surprise those bewailing a permissive and eros-soaked popular culture: More than one-quarter of people interviewed in their late teens and early 20s had never had sex.

And the number was growing.

The latest round of the quaintly named National Survey of Family Growth found that among 15-to-24-year-olds, 29 percent of females and 27 percent of males reported no sexual contact with another person ever - up from the 22 percent of both sexes when the survey was last conducted in 2002.

"The public's general perception is that when it comes to young people and sex, the news is bad and likely to get worse," said Bill Albert, chief program officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, an advocacy organization in Washington.

The seventh and latest round of the survey, first done in 1973, provides a corrective to that view.

"Many, many young people have been very receptive to the message of delaying sexual activity," Albert said. "There's no doubt about it." He added that the nearly 40 percent reduction in teen pregnancy since the 1990s - which experts attribute to both increased condom use and increased abstinence - represents "extraordinary progress on a social issue that many once considered intractable."

That young adults see the value of abstinence may be a surprise to some, but around Citygate's offices it's what we've been focused on for the last few months. I've been working with director Suzanne Taylor on her film, The Road We Know, which is about a group of young adults in Botswana who are facing the second-highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world and boldly advocating for behavior change in a culture where it's taboo to talk openly about sex and disease. I'd like to introduce them to you through two short videos: an opening excerpt where their passion for their message is evident and the current production trailer for the unfinished film. 

If you like what you see, you can become a patron of the film through Indiegogo. Your support would be so meaningful to us! Please help us spread the news about the film. Any financial and prayer support would be wonderful in these final stages of film production!

Photo: A production still from THE ROAD WE KNOW.

More Reasons to Be Grateful

The work week is winding down, thanks to the holiday. Therefore, I think it's a good time to give thanks for the people who make my work life fruitful and fun. I am grateful for the talented colleagues who invest their gifts, skills, and passion in Citygate's projects. Not only do they make my ideas look good, they are also hard workers who find the humor in every deadline situation. Some of my fondest memories are from film trips where crazy things happened and we survived them. This short piece will introduce you to the variety of contributions they make:

Suzanne Taylor is Citygate's newest staff member and she edited this piece, in addition to directing and writing THE ROAD WE KNOW. Her daily collaboration is a joy to me, and I'm so glad she's partnering with Citygate on her film! Michael Hartnett of Vinegar Hill was the director of photography for the U.S. and Korea units and he also was a cameraman in the Bahamas and Africa, in addition to providing color correction to the final piece. I would be totally at a loss without Mike's technical skills and sense of humor--not to mention his creative abilities. He was the one who bravely squeezed into the cockpit for the MACH ONE MAC footage. His business partner, David Altrogge, was the assistant director on most of these shoots. David enthusiastically throws himself into every project and keeps the team grounded in prayer. Drew Painter was the director of photography for the Africa unit and a cameraman in the Bahamas. Drew is an extremely talented cinematographer, but his calm manner under fire is essential to the team. Andrew Gallo of VstheBrain and his lovely wife, Carissa, did both motion and still photography in Africa, and Andrew also did the motion graphics for the Citygate and A NOTE OF HOPE logos. The Gallos are sensitive portrait artists, with the ability to capture special moments through the lens.

But the visuals are only half of the final product. Audio is what seals the deal. Lucien Dowdell is the man with a plan when it comes to location sound. He not only handled the live concerts in Africa for A NOTE OF HOPE, he rocked the sound rig from Uganda to South Korea. I never worry about the audio when Lucien is on the team. But there's no way that location sound can capture everything you'd expect to hear in a film segment. That's where Dallas Taylor of Defacto Sound comes in. He designs the rest of the sound in post-production -- everything from footsteps to bird calls -- and then mixes the vocals, music, and sound effects. And finally, the talents of composer Roger Hooper seal the deal. His scores for the opening segment and MACH ONE MAC provide the emotional color. Just as his scores are a breath of fresh air in the final piece, so are his faithful emails of encouragement.

Last, but far from least, I am grateful for the legal and financial team that keeps Citygate's operations ticking. Joy Butler is the world's most patient entertainment lawyer. More importantly, she is thorough and effective. Doug White of Glass Jacobson keeps the tax man happy and is willing to graciously answer lots of financial questions.

These are my faithful collaborators and I give thanks to God today for their gifts!

Film Fund Campaign

Greetings to new friends visiting from 9Marks or the Gospel Coalition blogs! It's a pleasure to "meet" you in cyberspace. Thanks, too, for those who have written to ask more questions about Citygate Films. Over the past two years, my company has started production on three feature films and completed a number of shorter films for nonprofit entities. But Citygate has not yet completed and released any of its feature-length films. 

However, if you are interested in supporting Citygate's social-purpose film focus, I'd love to have your help. While I've been raising other financing, I've also been participating in Indiegogo's collaborative concept of funding. Through Indiegogo, supporters can become patrons of a project, such as Citygate's A Note of Hope film, and receive perks such as being named in the film's credits, advance copies of the DVD, and an invitation to the film's premiere and cast party. 

Indiegogo has set a deadline of August 30 to raise $5,000 to continue production on the film. Many thanks to those who have already given! I'm encouraged by your support, especially when there are so many worthy causes in existence. If you think it would be fun to see your name in the credit roll, too, please visit A Note of Hope's project on Indiegogo. 

In the interim, the trailers have screened at two nonprofit events. After a presentation by one of the film's subjects, vocalist Rosella Washington, at a local school, I received the following note the same day. I was amazed by the passion it contained and asked if I could post it online. This is the kind of response every filmmaker lives for!

My name is Zach Hertel and I go to Episcopal Academy. I am in 7th grade and experienced a life changing preformance in our chapel this morning. We saw a video on boys and girls in africa in need of help, and how A Note Of Hope helped them. These two talks from two different classmates parents, made me think of what I want my proffesion to be. I want to be some sort of participant or a leader, in helping children in Africa live without having to ask this question, "Am I having lunch or dinner today." I want them to be able to say, "I CAN\'T WAIT FOR LUNCH AND DINNER!". God bless people like you guys. Now I know what I want to do in my life.

(Photo: Bassist Gerald Veasley meets some of his young fans at a children's home in Nagongera, Uganda, during the filming of A Note of Hope.)

Reflections on Korea

We have been back from our visit to South Korea for a little more than a week now, but I keep thinking about the hopes people have for the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea. This is a topic that came up in all the interviews we did there. One man we filmed, a seminary professor, remarked that only God's love that will truly unite a people so long divided. While there can be legal and economic unity, there can still be division between people who have no common experience. So the Korean church is praying for both physical and gospel unity of Koreans currently living on both sides of the DMZ.

When we arrived, there was a sign in the airport noting the 60th anniversary of the Korean War and welcoming veterans. I thought that was unusual, but in the eyes of many Koreans we talked to, the war was a turning point in South Korea's economy. That region had always lagged behind the north, but after the war it was rebuilt and now it is a flourishing economy--and the north is in shambles. That point was highlighted in an article that ran in the New York Times the day we arrived home. Here is the opening illustration: 

Like many North Koreans, the construction worker lived in penury. His state employer had not paid him for so long that he had forgotten his salary. Indeed, he paid his boss to be listed as a dummy worker so that he could leave his work site. Then he and his wife could scrape out a living selling small bags of detergent on the black market.

It hardly seemed that life could get worse. And then, one Saturday afternoon last November, his sister burst into his apartment in Chongjin with shocking news: the North Korean government had decided to drastically devalue the nation’s currency. The family’s life savings, about $1,560, had been reduced to about $30.

Last month the construction worker sat in a safe house in this bustling northern Chinese city, lamenting years of useless sacrifice. Vegetables for his parents, his wife’s asthma medicine, the navy track suit his 15-year-old daughter craved — all were forsworn on the theory that, even in North Korea, the future was worth saving for.

“Ai!” he exclaimed, cursing between sobs. “How we worked to save that money! Thinking about it makes me go crazy.”

North Koreans are used to struggle and heartbreak. But the Nov. 30 currency devaluation, apparently an attempt to prop up a foundering state-run economy, was for some the worst disaster since a famine that killed hundreds of thousands in the mid-1990s.

Interviews in the past month with eight North Koreans who recently left their country — a prison escapee, illegal traders, people in temporary exile to find work in China, the traveling wife of an official in the ruling Workers’ Party — paint a haunting portrait of desperation inside North Korea, a nation of 24 million people, and of growing resentment toward its erratic leader, Kim Jong-il.

That portrait is hard to comprehend. Yet it is only relatively recently that any part of Korea had much wealth. Poverty was evident throughout the nation when the first missionaries arrived. Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries faced severe persecution in their initial attempts to share the gospel. Because many missionaries and converts were killed during the first half of the nineteenth century, the United States included a protection clause for missionaries in the 1882 Treaty of Amity and Trade negotiated with Korea. That opened the door for a wave of missionaries. The first Protestant missionary to Korea from the United States, Horace Allen, arrived in 1884. Allen introduced the first western medical facility in Korea, which grew into the Severance hospital now affiliated with Yonsei University. (We visited that impressive facility when one of the film team fell ill during our trip. I was equally as impressed that emergency medical care didn't bankrupt us there.)

Allen, like most of his fellow missionaries, is buried in the missionary graveyard near the Han River in Seoul. We were given permission to film an interview there, which was an honor. Before we set up our camera and gear, we watched a short film on the history of Korea's missionaries, which was informative and inspiring. Though Citygate Films was there to make a short documentary about a new church, being in that graveyard brought home the message that we were building on a rich heritage.

Those are the serious comments. But I can't end these reflections on Korea without commenting on the fine food we experienced there. I've eaten at Korean restaurants in the States, but the ones I've visited don't compare to what we experienced in Seoul! The first thing I learned is that Koreans use both a soup spoon and chopsticks for their meals. The second thing I learned is to expect a table full of small dishes containing big taste. The third thing I learned is that I like acorn. As in acorn pudding and acorn noodles. Squirrels know what's up! The fourth thing I learned is that Korean barbeque rocks. The meat is cooked right in front of you at the table and it is sizzling good. And the last thing I learned is that abalone is not just for mother-of-pearl jewelry or furniture inlays. The meat also makes a fine dish, which historically was considered a rare and luxurious ingredient. I definitely miss some of the fine eating we experienced there!

Photos from top: 1) Seoul's "prayer tower," a very tall commercial building that got its name from its resemblance to praying hands. (By Lucien Dowdell). 2) One of the gravestones in the missionary graveyard. 3) Larry Malament of CrossWay Community Church in the graveyard. 4) Korean silverware. 5) Korean barbeque requires the whole table!