Early this week the largest church in China was raided and shut down by Chinese authorities. The news a sobering reminder of the persecution in China. (We’re posting about this news story because our most recent Deidox film, Li Yang, takes place within the Church in China.)
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The Golden Lamp Church was built to serve nearly 50,000 worshippers in the gritty heart of China’s coal country. But that was before hundreds of police and hired thugs descended on the mega-church, smashing doors and windows, seizing Bibles and sending dozens of worshippers to hospitals with serious injuries, members and activists say. Today, the church’s co-pastors are in jail. The gates to the church complex in the northern province of Shanxiare locked and a police armored personnel vehicle sits outside. The closure of what may be China’s first mega-church is the most visible sign that the communist government is determined to rein in the rapid spread of Christianity, with a crackdown in recent months that church leaders call the harshest in years.
Sobering news about the reality of the Church in China, and a good reminder that we need to be continually praying for the persecuted church. There was another big new item from China that slipped under the radar this week. A pastor in China was sentenced to 15 years in prison for telling his story publicly. You can read that article here.
Whenever we hear this type of news it greatly humbles us because of Li Yang’s courage to have his story told in a Deidox film. Greatly humbles us.
Fantastic news! Deidox has been nominated for two awards in Collide Magazine’s 2009 “best of” Awards! Winners are based on online voting, so if you’re a fan of Deidox we need you to vote away on the website to help us win:
2)VOTE for Deidox under“favorite church media producer” and Li Yang (Deidox) under “favorite church media short film.”
Thanks so much! Deidox is definitely a newcomer and underdog in these awards, but we figure it’s worth a shot. It would be pretty cool to win as it would definitely help more churches find out about Deidox. So, if you’ve got 5 minutes help us out and vote away.
Also, there’s actually one other thing on the list from the team behind Deidox… “Stories for Skid Row” under the “favorite non-sermon podcast.” This is a series the guys do for Union Rescue Mission on skid row in Los Angeles. If you’re bored at work you might enjoy checking the series out.
The 1st of December, World AIDS Day, is the day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Chronicle Project, the production team behind Deidox, has had the opportunity to produce several videos over the last few years to help bring awareness to this devastating issues.
In honor of World AIDS Day, Chronicle Project is offering a $5 discount on DVDs of their film Dear Francis.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Dear Francis, it’s a feature documentary the CP guys did in 2005 that has aired on Showtime television and been used by many non-profit organizations including World Vision in their 30-Hour Famine program. To learn more about the film, go to www.dearfrancis.org where you can view the trailer and find more information.
To buy Dear Francis click here and make sure you use the code “worldAIDSday” when you check out to receive $5 off.
Also, take a moment to view this video that was produced by Chronicle Project and see what one Pastor in Rwanda is doing to fight HIV/AIDS. We think you’ll find it inspiring. This short doc was done a few years before Deidox, but you’ll notice some similarities in the style of storytelling.
We’re excited to announce that fifth film in Chronicle Project’s Deidox series has been officially launched. It’s a story that we’ve been developing for quite some time, told from a point of view that western audiences rarely, if ever, get to experience.
Deidox | Li Yang is a personal story of how the gospel is spreading in China.
By purchasing the film Deidox | Li Yang you will not only be supporting Deidox, but a portion of the proceeds will go to China Aid. China Aid exists to advance religious freedom in China by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping leaders on behalf of the persecuted church.
We would love for you to watch the film, tell us what you think and then share it with your pastors, friends and family.
You asked and we’re responding. Deidox | Lindsay is now available for public sharing and embedding on your blogs, facebook pages, and websites.
Though many businessmen and businesswomen would advise against it, we’re throwing “standard Christian media operating procedure” to the wind and making the entire Deidox | Lindsay film viewable online through your websites. So please, share and dialogue away.
Grab the embed code from the video above (the boxes on the top right of the video), or at http://vimeo.com/3312951.
P.S. Our next film, Deidox | Dawn, comes out September 8. It’s a Deidox take on one of the most under-appreciated groups in America – moms.
The team at Deidox obviously loves to make and watch documentaries. So we thought you might be interested in some of our favorites. This is a two part blog. The following is a list of Dave Mahanes’ favorite docs. Tomorrow we will release Director Brent Gudgel’s favorites.
We have been in Riverside for the last two days filming our latest Deidox story. We are really excited about this latest story. It is definitely different from the first three films. Below are a few pics from production:
More info and pics to come after we get back home.
Welcome to the new Deidox website! Thank you for checking us out, we hope you enjoy our premier films, featuring a Pay-What-You-Want option – Lindsay, Robert, and coming in February, Deon. All three of these films comprise the Deidox Beta phase. These are the fruits of the work-in-progress that is the Deidox series, which we hope will in the future host dozens of films documenting the activity of God in and through His people. Click here to visit the “About” page and learn more about the vision and potential applications of Deidox for yourself, your church, or your small group. Don’t forget to keep up with the latest on our Blog, we would love to hear your comments and feedback! You can also review and discuss the films on these pages of the Blog: • Lindsay • Robert • Deon
Momentum has been picking up as the word about Deidox gets around!
This week (and it’s only Tuesday!) we had two very thoughtful and complementary pieces pop on the World Wide Web. Both were written by pastors who Twitter (@GregSimmons & @navets).
Greg attended one of our webcasts: “The pieces I’ve seen from Deidox are, simply put, amazing. The short films highlight God’s impact in one person’s life. While there are other short films/videos that tell someone’s story, these are different. The documentary, first-person style makes the storytelling so personal, so real.”
Stevan wrote a glowing review for us: “I have purchased and shown both of their current videos, “Lindsay” and “Robert” to our youth group during my LGLP series over the last few weeks. At $19.99/ea., the videos are comparable to most online short-form illustrative video price-wise, but I dare you to compare the quality. These are by-far some of the best-produced media for the Christian-community out there.”
Its posts and reviews like these that we love to read and share! And they are hugely helpful to the accumulating number of perked ears to “Deidox!” If you would like to write a review on your blog or website, let us know! We want to add your review and provide a link to your website to the curious on-lookers of Deidox.com.
