some time back i ordered my own copy of 'the ordinary radicals' a documentary by jamie moffett and focusing on the people and experiences that circled around the jesus for president book tour.
i was super stoked about the documentary. had these ideas of all the different people it would profile and story.
when i got the documentary i watched it at the first opportunity. my emotional reactions were somewhat uneasy, there was some stuff in there that made me uncomfortable, which i felt strange about because all the concepts and ideas were things i have been familiar with through readings of shane's books or others. many of the people in the video i had heard of and got what i would expect. but some of the lesser known, or unknown folks, stories were way powerful.
the documentary got really long for me. almost 2 hours in length it felt long. i might have done a shorter movie length with continued stories on a website. that might allow for more adaptability and continued conversations.. might even have a place where people upload their own videos of stuff they are doing.
at the end of it all the documentary ended up in moorestown, nj which was funny to me. i went to church at first umc in moorestown, growing up next door in cinnaminson. i spent many years with the people of moorestown. they were doing a contrast of moorestown and camden, which only are about five miles apart (with cinnaminson in part of the middle of that 5 miles). camden is notoriously one of the most violent and poverty stricken places.
what is funny to me is that i hung out in camden too. it was for various reasons, but i remember doing a driving lesson through parts of camden to pick up the next student. there was shopping spots and even a night club as i remember visiting. in my early days of hs we played various schools from in and around camden in sports (that changed when our schools restructured the whole league system). the waterfront was built up with the aquarium and concert amphitheater to check out. then there were my emt days where we went to cooper hospital over and over again. though i knew camden to be a dangerous place by reputation it was never some huge stark contrast.. but then again, back in those days moorestown isn't what it is today either. the divide of haves and have nots may have just gotten so much bigger.
back to ordinary radicals. its a good movie, great for stirring conversation. wish it was shorter to get allow people to get to that conversation without feeling they are leaving something out. as for teaching spots it has some great testimonies to pull from to share specific thoughts on empire, money, mission, homelessness, government, and more.
