This week Mike Lewis the Jesus Painter released the official curriculum to accompany his recent DVD entitled The One Way Project. As part of the release Mike sent me a copy of the DVD to review. Here are my thoughts:
This DVD is exactly what I’m talking about when I say “The Church needs to be creating culture.” This wasn’t some lame Christian attempt to be relevant by copying someone else’s trend, but rather this offering breaks new ground and holds an indie cool factor all its own.
The One Way Project is a series of short movie clips that incorporate excellent music, spoken word poetry and the captivating art of Mike Lewis. Bonus features include interviews with Mike where he discusses the inspiration behind his painting in his trademark candid honesty.
The production level varies a bit on the DVD with some sections coming in as sub-par (my copy wasn’t properly mastered and at times the sound distorted my speakers), but the New York City segments are top-notch shot in 16mm film and very skillfully edited. You can check out a low resolution version of these clips on YouTube.
There was way too much cool stuff on this DVD to talk about it all, but I’ll list some of the highlights:
- Wendy Huckins‘ amazing voice. Especially on Fairest Lord Jesus during Christ Eyes.
- The intensity on Mike’s face as he paints shown in the close ups. This was something I didn’t get to enjoy when I saw him live.
- Slow-motion paint flicking on Intimate Portrait. Awesome.
- The DVD edit of Intimate Portrait. It’s different from the YouTube version. At the end there is a shot where Mike is standing next to the painting and the saturation drops to almost black and white. It then kicks up suddenly enhancing the reds of the painting. This beautiful moment of videography was my favorite element in the whole series.
- Mike’s commentary on the paint splatters on his clothes. He makes note to say that each paint fleck was from a time he was sharing Jesus with a crowd. He then laments in a profound moment the fact that his true skin isn’t that covered with Jesus.
Some potential applications for how I could see this DVD being used:
- In a corporate worship setting as an expression of worship.
- As a sermon illustration.
- In youth small groups. You can use this great youth group curriculum that’s tailor made to fit with the DVD. (Other groups could also use this small group curriculum with some adjustments.)
- Show it to your neighbor. Even if they won’t talk to you about Jesus and turn you down when you invite them to church, they’ll probably be willing to watch a short video segment. Especially one with this much compelling imagery.
- Just enjoy it with your family. (My daughter wanted to watch it again as soon as it ended.)
Of course you can get several of the best video segments for free on YouTube. However, if you enjoy the YouTube videos and use them in your ministry, you should buy the DVD to support Mike’s ministry so he can continue to put out more great stuff.
Billy Chia 
That DVD looks cool. I am so bummed that I missed the Sunday he came to CFC. I guess being out of the country on a mission trip was a good excuse, but still…!!
Amen Billy. I saw it too, and I agree with everything you said. Mike’s work is top notch.
Mike’s a good friend of mine from college. Thanks for posting this!!
Billy, that’s really interesting. Our church is looking into engaging visual arts during worship (we do it to an extent now), and would like to bring in somewhat of an “expert” to kind of serve as an example…it sounds like this guy might be worth looking into!
Yeah…this DVD was really cool. I especially loved the camera framing on Intimate Portrait.
WE THOUGHT WE WERE ALONG ON THIS ART WORK. WE ARE PAINTING IN CHURCH DURING WORSHIP SERVICE AND IT WAS AWESOME. JUST 3 LADIES. MY INSPIRITING PAINTING YOU DO IS OF THE LORD. AMEN. YOU ARE SENDING THE WORDART, WE GOTTA HAVE YOU IN OUR CHURCH SOMEDAY YOUR FAMILY WILL HAVE A PLACE TO STAY FOR YOUR VISIT MIKE. GRAND ISALND,NEBRASKA@ ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN CENTER STOP IN !!
DORA