Church In The Wild

The 2008 election of Barack Obama led many to believe we had entered a post-racial America, one in which the nation's traumatic and painful history of racism had finally been erased. In the years since, it's become increasingly clear that the deep roots of racism and white supremacy continue to run through our political, cultural, and religious institutions. Based on interviews and current research, the documentary film White Savior explores the historic relationship between racism and American Christianity, the ongoing segregation of the church in the US, and the complexities of racial reconciliation. Featuring interviews with Lenny Duncan, Soong Chan Rah, Jacqueline Woodson, Jim Bear Jacobs, Dominique Gilliard, and more.

There is a serious issue regarding biblical authority in the church today. As many pastors across the nation increasingly trust man’s word more than God’s Word, this approach is causing kids and adults alike to reject the history in the Bible and the gospel of Jesus based in that history. This major problem in our modern church is illustrated in shocking video clips by well-known Christian leaders.

Western and African cultures collide in Haiti resulting in religious conflict between Christianity and Voodoo. Despite centuries of vigilant opposition from the Christian Church, Voodoo has flourished in Haiti and continues to be one of the strongest elements underlying Haitian culture. This film dispels Hollywood stereotypes and presents Voodoo as a belief system that has been passed down from African ancestor to slave to present day Haitian. Traveling from the intensely overcrowded streets of Port-au-Prince to the serenity of the Haitian countryside, the viewer comes to see how the Haitian has accepted both the Christian and Voodoo mythology for use in daily life. The highly integrated Haitian culture is truthfully revealed.

Turning Points is a documentary about Presbyterians struggling with the denomination’s previous barriers to ordination for LGBT Presbyterians. It opens with the poignant visit of Susie Smith, now a minister in the United Church of Christ, to her former Presbyterian congregation in South Carolina. Congregation members speak to the camera and to Susie about how their lives were changed by her presence and her departure. The choice between one’s son and one’s church is the focus of the Calhoun family’s story in the second segment. The third story recounts a tragic moment of misunderstanding in the life of a young minister and a daring act of reconciliation twenty years later. The fourth segment considers how a thriving congregation in the Midwest welcomes and includes gay and lesbian members.