Last April at the Orange Conference in Atlanta, I stopped to grab a cup of coffee at the fair trade coffee roasters. I filled out an info card to get more information about how I could get more information to serve this coffee at the church. All I did was right down my city, and Andrew Morgan jumped all over it.

“You’re from Grand Rapids, MI! We’re headed there in July to do some filming for Anthem, a video project we’re working on.” And for the next 15 minutes, I heard Andrew’s passion for story, and more specifically stories of how people like you and me are impacting our communities for the Kingdom of God. He and his buddy, Matt, were traveling all over the country to capture and expose these people and celebrate how God is using them. They asked for help. I said sure, I’d do what I could. They grabbed my info, and that was that.

When you’re at conferences, this sort of thing happens. You meet people and promise a connection with good intentions, but life happens when you’re back at home and those plans fall by the way side. But sure enough, a few weeks later I get an e-mail from Andrew. We struck up a virtual friendship of prayer and encouragement. I tried to help him as I could. We made plans to hook up once he got to GR; I was even hoping they’d be able to crash at our place, but I had a wedding to officiate and family in town. We’ve never been able to actually meet face to face again though we’ve tried. Someday.

Last week, Andrew sent me an advanced copy of the finished product, Anthem. And I was blown away be the power of story. Check out the trailer:

“Six friends travel the United States in search of answers to these questions. Living on the road for a month in a borrowed (and crowded) RV, they encounter seven stories of normal people doing extraordinary things with their lives. This morning Broken Voices releases there first full length documentary film entitled “Anthem”. To pick up your copy today click here.”

I loved the film. The stories were well chosen and told with heart. I also enjoyed all of the fun: the RV mishaps and the “we’ve been in the RV too long” moments of insanity. These moments are endearing as the crew put their hearts out for all to see. I left knowing Andrew, Matt and their families as much as I knew the people they were filming. These are just a couple of guys with a camera and a dream to bring others into the story of God. It’s not overproduced, and that simplicity makes the stories raw and real and transforming. You need to grab a copy of this film.

I’ll close this out with one of my favorite quotes from the film. We all have a lot to learn from Anthem.

“Am I too consumed with my own story to notice the story of God happening all around me?” – Andrew Morgan