How did we do that?

Have you ever looked back on something and wondered how you achieved it – well that’s the position I am in at the moment – let me explain……………..

Back in the summer I was asked to look into the possibility of filming an event for broadcast LIVE on GOD TV from Nairobi, Kenya. It was an 8 hour prayer event called “TheCall” – however I was set a very restrictive BUT what I felt at the time was a realistic budget.

I then spent the next couple of months working on the project, I contacted people I knew in Africa and started putting together various options. There were primarily three solutions we looked at – 1. Hiring local equipment 2. Finding a good production solution outside the country BUT within driving distance (in this case from Zimbabwe) and 3. Shipping equipment and crew in from South Africa.

Well, here’s how it all played out:

1. Hiring locally – there is only 1 company we found who had the facilities needed – however because there is only 1 company their costs were CRAZY and way over our budget so we had to discount this option.
2. The Zimbabwe option – this fitted our budget PRAISE GOD – however after weeks of going back and forth they insisted on 75% payment up front – with no guarantee of us getting a penny back if they had any problems on route and didn’t turn up – in fact on more investigation they couldn’t refund money due to exchange laws etc. so this was a no go.
3. The South Africa option – unfortunately this was just too much for the budget as well (the costs for shipping the gear alone was nearly 60% of the total cost.

So that’s me, 2 weeks away from the event now with NO solution.

Then came a breakthrough!!! I had asked my PA to look into costs for sending equipment to Kenya for an event we were looking to do NEXT year and she happened to come back with a price for the shipping (from DHL of all people) – that I must say when I saw it my first impression was they had missed a “0” off the end – however it turned out to be genuine – this meant that on further investigation they could ship a FULL OB kit from Newcastle to Kenya at a FRACTION of the price the South Africans were talking – we were back on!!

Here though was the problem, this was Wednesday and the event was the following Saturday (11 days away) and we had no crew, no equipment and nothing organised locally – uplink, crew etc. PLUS we had to get nearly 2 TON of equipment there and clear customs PLUS get a filming license etc.

Well I have to say a number of people we spoke to in Kenya at this stage said NO WAY – the license alone takes 14 days and the equipment clearance could take a week easily. However we were NOT deterred.

Here is what amazes me – what you can do when you set your mind to it and refuse to take no for an answer.

We found (within a day) a core crew from the UK who would go, the video equipment (via Visual Impact Bristol – thanks Sam – the London branch said no) the sound equipment – via Total Audio and GOD TV combined, and managed to get it all sent to Sunderland to be checked, packed and shipped the following Monday.

I was also able to secure on the ground in Kenya the help of a fantastic clearing agent who said YES when everyone else said no and a local film company to do the license – and they made it happen!!! ALL the kit arrived safe and sound at the venue on the Friday to put the gallery together ready for the LIVE broadcast on the Saturday – believe me that was an AWESOME achievement.

Now here is another “God” thing. I didn’t mention in the middle of this I went to Israel for a LIVE broadcast (the Friday prior) – however that in itself was a God thing as by “chance” we happened to meet up with a guy (Rotem Cohen) who is based in Israel but works for a London based company who works extensively in East Africa – he was able to get us a satellite uplink, and a full local crew for the project as well – incredible stuff.

So on Saturday December 6th at 10am local time we went live for 8 hours with NO problems at all from a stadium in the heart of Nairobi to broadcast a prayer meeting to the world – and boy did it feel special!!!

I’ve been involved in so many projects over the years but rarely one which was so close to the wire and where we saw God’s hand move in so many many ways. It reminds me that when God is in something ALL things are possible – he of course MUST get all the Glory BUT there are a number of people who I also want to mention who should get credit for their “Can Do” attitude:

Firstly the Crew who joined me on the ground – you were awesome – Richard, Bal, Alan, John and especially Gavin – you were a tremendous help. Secondly Steve Cunningham for all your help in pulling it together and Richard (and all) at GOD TV for slaving away while we were in Israel, weighing equipment, pulling it together and making sure it worked etc. Sam at Visual Impact – thank you, Rotem for all your help and Lucy on the ground for coordinating our local crew etc. Kalpesh (our clearing agent) – you rock!!! Would not have happened without you thanks – if anyone ever needs a contact in Kenya you are it. And last but by no means least Sally – my PA – awesome job!!!!! You were the glue that held it all together – well done well done (by the way she’d only been in the job 3 weeks – baptism of fire or what).

I’ll tell you – I hate doing things last minute – particularly this time as we’d been working on this for months – BUT when it happens and you KNOW it was down to God – man does it feel good – God thank you for allowing me to be used by you!!!

This is a slightly different post in that I’m not doing it to engage debate etc. – though I’d love to hear your take on it – but really to say that NEVER SAY NEVER with God all things are REALLY possible – don’t give up, press on, press in and get GREAT people to help you (that’s KEY) – DON’T try and do it alone – its about teamwork.

Oh and by the way, all the equipment and staff returned back to the UK on time and safely and we were pretty well spot onto the budget I had been given originally – see God does know.

Blessings to you all – I probably won’t write again till the New Year so have an awesome Christmas and I hope and pray you exceed you wildest dreams in 2009.

To editorialise or not?

I have just had the pleasure of being involved in filming a fantastic set of programmes to air on GOD TV between December and February called “Apocalypse and the End times”. Essentially the programmes are a series of interviews with some of the leading teachers and proponents of Biblical Prophecy and the End times. These will be used as part of a season of programmes that will air on GOD TV exploring this whole subject.

Some of the ideas explored include who is the Anti Christ? Are we living in the last days? What is the Mark of the Beast? What is/who are the illuminati and the One World Government? Are Aliens real and who are they? I have to say some of the content was extremely “left field” for me and very out there – however it certainly makes for interesting TV that should get people talking - which is very much the aim!

Early on in the process we had to decide if we were going to editorialise – i.e. ONLY broadcast programmes and people that fitted with our “theological” standpoint. We had a long discussion around this and I am very glad to say in the end decided NOT to go down that route but instead to air a variety of views and perspectives – without significant giving weight to one over another.

The reasoning behind this was carefully thought through – basically we decided that we want to open up debate and get people thinking and exploring what the Bible says themselves – we should not spoon feed our theology to people that (we feel in this instance) is not our role – we should encourage people to deepen their exploration of the issues and get more “intimate” with God through a greater understanding of His Word and they won’t get that if we simply dish it up on a plate. The other issue is that there are many dissenting voices when it comes to this subject and many of the people who hold different views are people we admire and trust in other areas – so why not put it all out there and let the viewers decide.

I think because of this the programmes and all the content around this are MUCH stronger – they certainly have got me thinking and in some cases reassessing where I stand on some of these issues – they are VERY interesting, I would encourage you to watch them – they are also quite entertaining at times, and trust me when I say I will never look at Al Gore in quite the same way again – won’t say anymore, you’ll have to watch and find out.

We didn’t really answer any questions BUT that was not our aim – however we certainly explored some fascinating areas and I hope we achieve our aim of getting viewers thinking.

What do you think – as Christian Broadcasters should we editorialise? I’d love to hear from you and find out what you think – please post a comment and contribute to the debate – and if you know any aliens please tell us…………………………..