Trouble in Amish Paradise is an amazing true story about Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus and and their respective families who go through the process of leaving the Amish community after reading and studying the Bible for themselves (something which is forbidden in many Amish circles).  The clarity of the gospel message and the theme of the powerful effect of these families’ faith in Jesus throughout this documentary is truly astonishing.  It is produced with the usual quality of any good BBC production, yet the message of salvation and hope in Jesus is as strong as if it had been produced by a Christian media group.

I have had the privilege of meeting several of the people featured in this work, people whose lives are being poured out for Christ’s Kingdom; and my prayer is that the usual “buzz” generated around a media production of this nature would bring glory to God and bring more people to know, understand and embrace the life and teachings of Jesus for themselves as a result of watching this story.

Broadcast exclusively in the UK on February 18th, it averaged 2.2 million viewers.  From what I hear, it is set to broadcast in the US sometime next month. Over 100 hours of footage was condensed into this one hour video chronicling the events of shunning, tent revival meetings, life-threatening illness in the family, and so much more.

For now, you can watch the first ten minutes of it from Youtube, below.

FURTHER READING:

From the BBC’s website:

An extraordinary insight into the secretive world of the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

When two radical Amish men, Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus, start to question some of the most fundamental aspects of their Amish culture, they face excommunication from their church and total rejection by their friends and family.

Broadcast on:  BBC Two, 9:00pm Wednesday 18th February 2009

Duration:   60 minutes

Update 3/14/2009: I was just made aware through a comment by Arlen Beiler about the new website www.troubleinamishparadise.com.  They have some slideshows featuring scenes similar to what is found in the documentary, Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus’ personal testimonies and links to Christian and Anabaptist resources as well as a preview of the new book being written by Ephraim.

Meanwhile, I just put the finishing touches on the website for our church that I recently converted to Wordpress CMS from static html/css. I hope to be able to post the weekly messages and the occasional article of interest or announcement.

I recently found myself starved for the spontaneous creativity that used to spring from my imagination. I think I need to take up photography more. This particular hobby helps me to “think outside the box” and look for the beauty in everything. Who knows? Maybe this blog will become more colorful and “picturesque”.