Francis Chan - BASIC Series

Early in 2008 the board of directors of Flannel met to plan for the future.  For years we had talked about who we are as an organization.  Flannel has always been an organization dedicated to telling the world the way of Jesus in creative ways.  We wanted to serve as a catalyst to a number of speakers who were great communicators whose mission aligned with ours.

NOOMA was accomplishing our mission in a tremendous way, but that second offering just did not happen.  We got close several times, but never quite got there.  At the meeting in 2008, we decided to get very serious about making it happen.  We started with a list of individuals who we thought might work.  We met with A LOT of potential speakers, but nothing seemed to gel.  After months of this, we decided to take a completely different approach.

We began to think about the "what" as opposed to the "who".  We came up with about a page of criteria outlining the qualities the type of individual who would be well suited.  High on the list was authenticity.  We wanted to find someone who lived their life in such a way, that it was obvious that teachings of Jesus was so real to them that they actually lived their life in such a fashion that there could be no doubt.  Honest, real, committed 100% to Jesus.

A year into the search, I was talking to a friend about the "what" (as opposed to the who) and she said "Oh that's Francis Chan".  I had never Francis, but had seen a video he did a couple years earlier called Just Stop and Think.  I contacted  Francis and he agreed to meet.  We met a number of times and the result is what we now know as BASIC.

Francis tells more about how this came together here http://support.flannel.org/category/news/basic/

So here we are in 2011 and five of our BASIC films have been released.  God answered our prayers and we did find someone who loves Jesus with every fiber of his being.  We are honored to work with Francis on BASIC.

Ed's Story - It Ain't Over

A few years ago now, Ed Dobson came to visit us at Flannel.  He had an idea for a series of short films that  discussed his journey since being diagnosed with ALS.  The meeting was somewhat surreal for me.  A few years before meeting Ed, I was diagnosed with Leukemia.  Sometimes in life, an event comes along that forever changes your perspective on things.  Ed has an expression he uses: "All of our days are numbered, it just doesn't mean anything until you hear the number."

Ed is right.  Unfortunately, most of us forget about our own mortality.  We tend to worry about the things that don't really matter and forget about the things that do matter! When you "hear your number" everything changes.  Ed has a perspective on life that is sharpened by his own circumstances. Ed's perspective is one that all of us can benefit from.  Ed's Story is a story of hope.

Please watch this first short film in our new series with Ed.  If it speaks to you, please pass it along to a friend.  Help us spread some hope.