Jesus Likes the Nikon D200 & Canon HV30 24p

 All right tech geeks, I’ve just graduated summa cumma laude from the University of Poindexter. With my graduation money (tax refund), I decided to stimulate the ailing economy and purchase a Nikon d200 and some accessories for the Canon HV30.
For the layman, a d200 is a mid-level 2nd generation DSLRcamera. Why not a d300, d700 or D3x you ask? Because Uncle Sam can only be so kind to a poor ISS teacher/YPwhen April 15 rolls around. Actually, I only purchased the camera body; my brother-in-law was kind enough to lend me everything else I needed for a decent setup. You can check out the noobie blunders and beginner’s luck gems here.
An HV30 is a consumer camcorder stretching to reach the height requirement for the up-and-down rollercoaster of the prosumer HDV market. This little am-cam shoots standard definition, HDV 24p, 30p, and 60i all for under $800. With countless accessories one can add to its arsenal including; a hot shoe shotgun mic, dead cat, wide angle adapter, 35mm adapter, lens hood, focus wheel, steadicam, high capacity battery, numerous types of filters and the list goes on, this is the MacGuyver-esque filmmaker’s dream. My additions are a Rode VideoMic, a Raynox 6600 pro wide angle lens with lens hood, a generic high capacity battery, and a DIY steadicam (by the way the DIY wasn’t me).
What does my growing dork collection have to do with anything? Well in the grand scheme of things it really isn’t that important. Stuff is stuff. I’d bet my best friend Eugene Peterson would agree we could paraphrase here, “For the love of stuff is the root of all sorts of evil.” So why point out my contradiction and add crispy kindling to the already blazing camp fire of Post-Modern Christian Hypocrisy? Isn’t it enough that my best bud P-Rob (and the like) is roasting liberal marshmallows and serving up numerous flame broiled whoppers that are juicy enough for almost any Christian to enjoy?
Okay scrap the meaningless metaphors. When it comes down to it, this stuff helps capture beauty and channel creativity. As a guitarist strums out vibrations that enter the ear and bounce around inside la cabeza creating an emotive response, so does a photographer capturing God’s creation from a unique perspective. As a sculptor reshapes a rock created thousands or millions of years ago, so does a videographer forming a collage at 24 frames a second.
Would Jesus like the d200 or Hv30? Jesus used the dirt to write in John 8. He did not use his own fish and loaves with the 5K and 4K. When you think about it (water to wine, healing the masses, fish and coin, Lazarus, numerous others, and yes; the Cross…), of all the truly beautiful things Jesus did, almost nothing was of his own possession. Jesus died on borrowed lumber. And, at the same time, all of it belonged to Jesus. All He had left to give was the only thing He could give. Jesus lived the life of a homeless king. Without a drachma to His name, He became the currency that absolved the debt of humanity. It all belongs to Him.

It all belongs to Jesus,  even the techie nerd stuff.
So no matter how many times I appear on Pimp My Camcorder, I must bear in mind the equipment is on loan.

Some Guy Named Matthew Sleeth and How I Still Don’t Get It

Written November 2008

I travel to Ichthus Music Festival every year. It is the longest running Christian Music Festival in the United States (39 years).  While I believe the big events with shiny bells and pretty whistles are on their way out the door, this was a special event. Besides worshiping with thousands of Christians to the tunes of D. Crowder, Casting Crowns, etc., I was able to connect a face and name with one of my favorite iTunes Podcast sermons. Yeah, yeah only nerds listen to podcast sermons and I enjoy nerdom with the other 40,000 or so that enjoy Mars Hill Bible’s Podcast (which is closely behind Name-it-and-Claim-it Olstein as one of the top Christian podcasts.)

Last year Mars Hill did a sermon series called God is Green, which seems to be the theme of many Christian groups trying to make a Kingdom sized difference these days. The recent realization that the carbon trails we leave behind look something like Sherman’s march has initiated a shift in even some conservative Evangelical thinking. “Screw the earth, I’ m busy  makin  converts” now sounds like “Maybe we should do something about this too.”

Here’s where Matthew Sleeth comes in. What does some no name have to do with saving the planet? Well I learned of his story from this nerdy Mars Hill Podcast. He shared his “conversion” experience from a fast car/huge house lifestyle to a $17 dollar a month electric bill and 4lbs of trash a week (family of 4) lifesaving style. His group recycled thousands of bottles at Ichthus last year and he shared about that as well. Sleeth’s book Serve God, Save the Planet chronicles his drastic lifestyle shift and how he has quietly moved to the forefront of the creation care movement.

This year Sleeth was back at Ichthus and he had reinforcements.  His group  was quite a bit more noticeable as they had sidekick recycling bins next to all of the trash cans. I was able to collect recycling with my youth group and help with collection each day of the festival. We came to the last night of the festival and I led my youth group out to pick up trash at the main stage area one more time and I had to make a decision. It went something like this:

Trash from 20.000 Ichthusers peppered the area directly in front of the main stage. We set out to clean the area at 1:30am as concerts were not over until 1am. Looking at the 500+ bottles scattered about like poorly hidden Easter eggs, a thoughtful student asked if we were going to sort out all the bottles and recycle whatever we could. Without thinking much, I said, “no” and we filled our bags and deposited them in the dumpster. In hindsight I realize that my late night “no” sounds a lot like “screw the earth, we’ve got a job to do.”