Tell us a bit about your background and interests.
I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree
in English Literature. After teaching
and coaching in a junior high and a high school for six years, I became a church
youth minister and a Youth For Christ Campus Life director. I was blessed to win a Jefferson Award for
outstanding public service for my youth work in Montana, and a church asked me
to become their pastor. I'm currently
serving my third church as a pastor and have been married for 34 years with
three grown children and two grandchildren.
I enjoy golf and bow hunting, and I've run three marathons and rode a
bicycle across America.
You have done a variety of unique things over the years.
Tell us the story about your Guinness World Record.
While teaching at a junior high school in Upper Darby,
Pennsylvania, a couple of teachers were organizing their annual charity drive
for crippled children, blind children, and kids with cancer. On the creative side of things, no one was
coming up with any good ideas, so I was asked if I could help. Providentially, someone had left a Guinness
Book of World Records on my desk, so I thumbed through the pages and came upon "Balancing
on One Foot," where the current record was 7 1/2 hours. Once a foot was raised from the floor, the
challenger was not allowed to put the foot back down and there were no periods
of rest at all. I found the charity
director in the hallway and told him I'd give the record a shot. He said I was crazy, but he had no other
ideas and we went for it.
I lifted weights, including lots of legwork, for the next
three weeks as word of my quest spread throughout the community via the local
media. I practiced standing on one foot
a half dozen times while watching television in the evenings, and my longest
stand was just over an hour. All kinds
of monetary pledges were made by students, teachers and parents for each hour
that I could stand without touching my lifted foot to the floor.
The night before the event and feeling apprehensive, I
flipped through the Bible, and while the pages were flying by, I spontaneously
jabbed my finger down on a page. My eyes
fell immediately on these words from Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you. For everyone who asks receives; he
who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Overwhelmed, I dropped to my knees beside my
bed and asked God to give me the strength to balance on one foot for at least
two hours, and longer than that if He be willing.
The next afternoon, after teaching all day, I carried my
Bible into the school gymnasium where surprisingly more than 1200 students,
teachers, dignitaries, and newspaper reporters awaited my arrival. At 3 p.m. sharp, with my Bible at my feet, I
raised my right foot and began balancing on my left foot, a painful and
formidable feat which lasted until 11:05 that night. I called it quits and dropped to the floor
after 8 hours and 5 minutes, breaking the world record and raising twice the
monetary goal of the charity. My left
heel hurt so much that I was forced to use crutches for the next five days, but
I'm grateful that my foot totally healed and the event helped a lot of needy
children. Also, my students learned a
lesson that God can give us His strength to accomplish the
"impossible."
You have written several novels. Where did your love of
writing begin?
When I was nine years old, I began writing and I wrote my
first song titled "On the Bluegrass Mountains of Kentucky." At age ten, I hurried home from school each
day to write on my book of short stories which ended up being 400 pages. I was inspired to write from my love of
reading Walter Farley's books, including The Horse-Tamer, The Island
Stallion, and The Black Stallion series of books. Also, one of my high school English teachers
happened to jot on one of my creative writing assignments, "You should
keep this up. Something may become of
it." Greatly encouraged, I kept
writing.
How does a Pastor have time to write books and make
movies?
I've served as a pastor for three churches over the past 27
years. All of the church members have
been acutely aware of my creative inclinations, and all (almost!) have been very
supportive of me. I've written dozens of
contemporary Christian songs, for instance, that we've sung repetitively during
church services to the delight of the congregation. Also, my respective churches have numbered between
a hundred and two hundred-plus people, enabling me to have a bit more time for
enriching, personal endeavors than, say, a church of five hundred or more may
offer. Each of my congregations
graciously have allowed me to "be who God made me" and maintain a
full yet flexible schedule in which I have time to write or film or attend
creative events.
What inspired the idea for Sidewalk Singer?
The idea to make "Sidewalk
Singer" took place at an empty swimming pool in Concord, California on
April 26, 2009. I was sitting there alone,
having written hundreds of songs on my guitar and getting two Christian novels
published by B&H Publishing in Nashville, and I contemplated seriously
about using my writing and songwriting abilities to make a movie. After some soul-searching, I prayed to God
that He would give me the skills to write the screenplay and music, to produce
the film, and direct and do the cinematography if necessary. It was one of those "Me and You,
God" moments! I even asked Him to help
me act the lead role, since I had been a pastor for years and rather boldly
believed I was capable of doing a good job of acting. I also believed many of the talented members
of my church congregation would be there to help me wherever needed. After the prayer, I felt a sense of peace and
confidence, and I became determined to pull off this "miracle."
How was the film made….How did you raise funds, find crew
and talent etc?
The answer is most amazing. A fabulous musician and composer named Kent
Marcum, who has written lots of songs for Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Oz, CBS and the
Weather Channel, listened to my movie songs and decided to work with me as my
music supervisor for no upfront cost.
Jeff Thomas, who had directed two feature length films and won numerous
Telly Awards, read my screenplay, which had received “Five Doves all the way”
from The Dove Foundation, and joined the project on faith and a handshake. When news broke locally about this three-man
creative team and the forming of Panting Deer Productions, LLC, seven or eight
different people approached me and asked to read the script, then miraculously
offered and invested many thousands of dollars apiece without ever being
asked.
Encouraged, Jeff and I stepped
out in faith and locked in the dates for shooting the movie, even though we had
accumulated only 50% of the budget. Jeff
received commitments from several crew members with whom he had previous
experience. We held numerous local
auditions and locked in the actors, many of which came from my church and my
own family, which kept costs low. And
remember, I played the lead role myself, so there was a lot riding on my
performance, a huge challenge which I definitely had to meet in order for the
film to be a success.
Amazingly, most of the remaining
50% of the budget rolled in through another seven or eight investors during the
two weeks leading up to the shoot, and those people weren’t approached,
either. They just came forward, pretty
much out-of-the-blue. How’s that for
funding a film?
Making the movie was really fun
because the people of Tecumseh got caught up in the excitement. They weren’t accustomed to this kind of
thing, so it was a special and unique event that brought a lot of attention to
a beautiful small town. We garnered the
full support of the City Manager, City Hall and the Police Department. Nine local restaurants, along with First
Baptist Church, donated and prepared free meals every day for the cast and
crew. Several businesses gave permission
for us to shoot scenes at their establishments.
Most of this would have cost a pretty penny in New York or one of the
entertainment hubs, but it all came to us for free. The generosity enabled us to complete the
movie within our budgetary constraints.
What advice would you give people who are endeavoring to make films in a church/volunteer context?
I am living proof that it can be
done, though I admit right up front that having a completed film is a big dream
and a big deal, which is not easy to achieve.
It’s almost like all the stars have to line up perfectly, all kinds of
good fortune has to come your way, God has to open all the doors, and then you
still have to get noticed by the right people who believe in your project. With all the odds stacked against all these
things happening, you have to have a strong conviction and total belief, or
don’t even begin the journey. Ultimately,
you have to “just do it,” believing that good things will happen in the end,
but make sure you devise a detailed plan that keeps you on track and gives you
clear-cut direction. Also, your chances
greatly improve if you can surround yourself with good, hardworking, talented
people who will fill all the holes and help to make you and your project
better, and most of them agree to do it "for free!"
In making a church-produced
film, you need to achieve excellent production value and shoot for high
standards of filmmaking.
Christian/church filmmakers must not strive just to "put out a
film;" they must set standards of excellence that a vast audience will
appreciate. Watching a poorly filmed or
poorly acted movie does not score points with any audience, neither secular nor
Christian. Since churches and Christians
represent Jesus Christ to the world, we must represent Him well and give Him
the best, making movies that "get outside the walls of the church"
and reach the masses with a life-changing message involving our Lord and
Savior.
Given the themes of Sidewalk Singer, how would you
counsel people who have suffered loss and who are struggling with bitterness?
First, I'd tell them to watch "Sidewalk Singer"
and read my novel, "A Choice to Cherish"! Just kidding, but not really! I happily report that those two entities
actually have ministered to many individuals and families in the areas of
dealing with loss and bitterness. Along
with that self-endorsement, let me say that everything I've written over the
past several years has dealt with those areas of life, which has surprised and
amazed me as I looked back. As a pastor,
I've counseled so many people concerning these subjects that I guess I'm deeply
touched by these human conditions to the point that it's just natural for me to
include these themes in my writing. I
feel like I've come to know the heart of a man, so I continue to find myself
writing in such a way as to capture a real, down-to-earth sense of recovery and
redemption for the human soul. My simple
answer, then, is to writing something that matters and will affect many
lives. Of course, attempting to
adequately explain how to deal with loss and bitterness is far too great a subject
for me to expound upon here. Let me just
say this, that anyone beginning to face a great loss or a bitter struggle
should first cling to Almighty God and study His Word. In all of my real-life experiences in walking
with people through loss or bitterness, those who realize they need to lean on
Jesus have a far more successful journey than those who do not. In fact, the main character in "Sidewalk
Singer" is Kris Kivi, who "tried" it without Jesus for a while
but soon discovered that he needed to come back to Christ in order to handle
the loss of his family and to forgive the man who caused the fatal
accident.
What are your hopes and plans for the future (future
books, movies etc)
My next project is a
faith-based movie titled "Mr. What."
Again, I wrote the screenplay and have the lead acting role in the
film. This time, however, I'm working
with my son Shaun, a 30 year-old budding filmmaker who has done a stunning job
as director and cinematographer of this movie.
Shaun is currently deeply involved in the editing, audio, coloring and
Foley work with the film. I believe
"Mr. What" will meet the pre-described high standards for Christian
filmmaking. Also, I've written another
screenplay for future consideration, along with the possibility of turning one
of my novels, "A Choice to Cherish," into a movie.
Shaun and I have formed a new
production company, Sun and Paw Films, LLC, under the umbrella of Panting Deer
Productions, LLC. My hopes are centered
around continuing to "team up" with Shaun for future projects, as his
wonderful talents "fill in all the holes" and make my chances better
than ever.
Anything else?
As a Christian writer/filmmaker, it has been impressed upon
me that I should write things that matter and resonate and connect with
people. The work needs to touch the
human heart in some fashion, and that means the heart of every John Doe, the
next-door neighbor, the mail man, the housekeeper, the caregiver, the family,
you name it. There are enough works out
there that seem to have no redemptive value at all; in fact, some endorse sin
and affect great harm. Since I am a
believer and an ambassador of Jesus Christ, I want to speak with a redemptive,
Christ-like, conciliatory voice. It's a
privilege to have the opportunity to wholeheartedly attempt to create such beautiful,
meaningful works.
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