WCFC-TV38 was in some ways, a typical television station. Cameras, studio, set’s, lights, video tape machines, a master control, offices. But in other ways it was different. The call letters, W-C-F-C stood for “Winning Chicagoland for Christ.” At the time, TV-38 was the largest, independent Christian television station in America and part of an emerging trend that saw the rise and public fall of famous televangelists like Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert, the emergence of the religious right on the conservative political landscape, and a mainstreaming of the American Pentecostal movement.

TV-38 also nurtured a grass-roots ecumenical movement that crossed ecclesiastical, racial and economic barriers that had divided Christians in Chicago for decades.

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Order a DVD of the full, 42 minute documentary today for $19. Send your check to:
Tim Frakes Productions Inc.
2 South Park Ave
Suite 2C
Lombard, Illinois 60148

and I will personally ship you a DVD.  Include your shipping address.

On February 19, 1974, students and faculty at the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod’s St. Louis Concordia Seminary marched through the campus – out the doors of an institution, church body and well established educational system – and into self-described exile. This story begins in the 19th Century when a new method of Biblical interpretation known as the “historical-critical method”, tore many Protestant churches apart. Were Adam and Eve real people? Was Jonah actually swallowed by a fish? Or, did ancient authors reflect their own historical situation when addressing the people of their time and place?

For Missouri Synod Lutherans, the full impact of these theological debates and culturally conservative verses more modern world views came to a head decades after other church bodies had divided and drifted apart. The debate ruptured the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod at a time of vast American cultural and social upheaval: Viet Nam, the Civil Rights movement and Watergate.

For many students, faculty, administrators and Lutherans throughout North America, the events in St. Louis took a personal toll. The walkout would divide families, split congregations and have a lasting impact on the future of the church.

Interviews include John H. Tietjen, Herman Otten, Gerhard Bode, the grandson of Jacob Preus, author and historian Jim Burkee, and dozens of Seminex faculty and students.

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Anna Hauge was a Navy nurse on board the USS Tranquility, the hospital ship that rescued the survivors of the USS Indianapolis disaster in August, 1945. Anna is one of those unsung heroes who lived through an epic chapter in American history.

Nick Zanini served in Europe during World War II, crossing the Atlantic on the RMS Queen Mary, landing at Normandy and fighting his way across France and through the Battle of the Bulge.

James Homme is a retired Lutheran (ELCA) pastor. During the Korean War, Jim found himself occupying a forward observation post along the 38th parallel. “In the daytime it was a lark,” Jim relates. “But at night, it was terrifying.” In the video we see how Jim found comfort in the 27th Psalm.

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Featuring:
• Rev. Phil Blackwell, First United Methodist Church, Chicago Temple
• Tom Armstrong, Freedom Rider
• Ann Keating, Historian North Central College
• Rev. Martin Deppe, Civil Rights Activist
• Rev. Otis Moss III, Trinity United Church of Christ
• Brenda Russell, Chicago Attorney
• Rev. Julian DeShazier, University Church Chicago

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Thirty years before, Hank went ashore under fire as a USMC corpsman during the battle of Iwo Jima. He joined the Navy and had experience as an embalmer in a funeral home, so they made him a corpsman in the Marines. His vivid, candid, first-hand descriptions of combat helped me understand what honor, duty, and faithfulness are all about.

Hank told me a story describing an announcement after the battle. His unit was still on Iwo Jima preparing to invade the Japanese homeland. Hank’s unit was called into formation and addressed by a colonel who said, “A bomb has been dropped on Japan that destroyed an entire city. The Japanese have surrendered.”

“It was like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders,” Hank related. “It brought to mind an article I’d read in Popular Mechanics back in the 1930’s about nuclear fusion.”

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Here are the lyrics:
In the quiet of the twilight,
as the star rises,
Evening praise covers the earth,
And sweet stillness
will reign everywhere
As the blue sky quietly fades away,
Evening praise makes beautiful the silence,
And nature’s chorus sings to God!
And our hearts are filled
with a wonderful calm, which reaches to thee, my Lord.
From the depths of my heart
I will sing a song,
In the quiet of the evening,
May my song of joyful praise
Rise to Your throne!

The documentary is being produced for the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College. Our plan is to explore the long-term impact of the Graham Crusades in the years after the event took place. Graham conducted more than 400 crusades in 185 countries and territories on six continents between 1947 and 2005.

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The December 2012 issue of Christianity Today Magazine has reviewed “People of Faith: Christianity in America.” This is a documentary I produced for the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College. The six episode series was released by Vision Video and explores the history of Christianity in America.

You may read the review here.

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Most recently, Vision agreed to distribute People of Faith: Christianity in America.  Here is a list of documentaries available for sale through Vision Video that I have produced for the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College and earlier in my career, through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

People of Faith: Christianity in America
Is America now or has it ever been a Christian Nation?  What is the meaning of separation of church and state?  How can the church be a faithful Gospel witness in a pluralistic society?  What will the church look like in the future? People of Faith: Christianity in America brings perspective to these questions and more.

Saving the World?
In 1910 over a thousand Protestant missionaries, theologians and church leaders from around the world gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland for an unprecedented World Missionary Conference. Saving the World? chronicles the assumptions and expectations that Protestants carried into the 20th century and highlights some of the major — and unexpected — developments in the hundred years since that meeting in Scotland.

Glory to God Alone: The Life of J.S. Bach
In this video journey we are accompanied by Bach authorities including classical guitarist Christopher Parkening. They guide us through the development, personal crises, challenges, remarkable work output, and the compelling inner motivation of Bach and show why it was so important to the composer that his gifts be used for the glory of God alone.

Opening The Door to Luther with Rick Steves
Open the door to Martin Luther with public television travel host Rick Steves. He takes us to areas of Germany known as Lutherlands. From Eisleben, where Luther was born, to Wittenberg where he taught and preached, and to several other areas, we learn about the tumultuous events of the Reformation and the monk at the center of it all. We see how this Augustinian monk, who most wanted the quiet of a religious life, was thrust into the center of 16th-century world-shaking events.

The Morning Star of Wittenberg: The Life of Kaite Luther
This video documentary provides an intimate look at Katharina von Bora, former nun, 16th Century entrepreneur and wife of Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation. It is an in-depth look at the life of the woman who helped Luther change the course of history. We learn how she coped with incredible demands and survived the continual onslaught of unpredictable developments.

Zamzam: A Missionary Odyssey
A gripping, true story of faith on the high seas from World War II. An old Egyptian liner carrying 144 missionaries, bound for mission work in Africa, was mistakenly shelled and sunk by a Nazi warship off the coast of South Africa. The passengers abandoned ship, and their precarious plight was filmed by two photographers who just happened to be on board. Here is their amazing — and some would insist, miraculous — story.

Lives Of The Apostles Paul And Peter
In these two programs, author and Public Television travel expert Rick Steves takes us on location to explore the lives of two great apostles.

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