Did the Pope watch the same Opening Ceremonies?; DANIEL goes to the WeFunder den; Getting ripped at 70.

3 Things this week and a book recommendation

Not even the godless, ridiculous, shameful Last Supper scene at the opening ceremonies in Paris will stop me from watching the Olympics. They’ve always been a favourite event, The Games (all the world, together, a picture of what’s possible).

The Olympics brings the world together: humanity in its imperfection, its striving, its wonder. Big moments happen that we discuss for hundreds of years. See one such moment in my book recommend below.

Our extended family has real skin in the game, and we’re cheering loudly for Sophia Jensen who seeks the podium in Canoe. (My Opa, an athlete in his own right and own day) would be so proud.

Let’s all agree to do some sit ups or wall squats as we watch these incredible athletes go for Gold and live out their dreams.

Thanks for spending some of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down.

1. So, did the Pope watch the same Opening Ceremonies as us?

I don’t pretend to know the first thing about running comms for the @Pontifex. However, a little more nuance would have been nice in his tweet about the Olympic Games.

There are a lot of ways to read the word “authentic” here. When set beside what the world witnessed on the largest stage, the statement left too much room for interpretation.

If you want to reimagine da Vinci’s famous Last Supper painting as a declaration of self-will and put under erasure the critical moment in history in which Christ selflessly offered himself in obedience to God for the whole world, fine. You do you.

But if you represent more than 1 billion Christians for whom this has sacred meaning, it could be a critical global moment to highlight that there's a Spirit even more essential than sportsmanship, and One who towers over all of history, who has built a bridge back to God and breaks down the wall that divides us. The very Person, who, oddly, was removed from the art-to-life moment everyone was talking about.

The French (secularists) are gonna French. The Pope should do a little more Pope-ing.

2. DANIEL enters the WeFunder den

Over at

Unveil

, we’re sending Daniel to a new kind of lion’s den. We just launched a WeFunder for our big new film dream.

DANIEL, our new film project, is based on the incredible true story of the prophet of Lion’s den fame.

I pulled a clip from our first teaser. (You can watch the full teaser here).

We hope to raise the funds we’ll need to create a truly momentous film that is thrilling and entertaining and also invites people to stand for truth (just like the heroes of the story).

The crowd-funded model allows our friends and followers to invest first, before the general public. And that opportunity is open for the next few days.

5 things exciting me about the team behind Daniel:

• Our producer, Travis Mann, developed and produced the $110 Million dollar hit movie I Can Only Imagine

• Michael W Smith (the multi-platinum artist) has re-recorded the nostalgic hit "Awesome God" for the film (you can hear it in the teaser above)

• We, The Kooman Brothers (makers of She Has A Name, Breath of Life) have films and series now streaming on Prime, Tubi, & more with 25M+ views

• Our Cinematographer, Santosh Sivan won a prestigious 2024 Cinematography award at Cannes Film Festival

• Our marketing team was behind hit films including Jesus Revolution, Soul Surfer and The Shack

Perks and investments start at $100 and go up from there.

Your social currency - spreading the news - is so valuable and helpful too. Perhaps you know someone who loves this sort of thing. Please help us spread the word!

And most of all PLEASE PRAY FOR US. This is a big, bold, new adventure. We truly hope it will entertain… but more than that: inspire people to stand for truth in our day.

3. Getting ripped at 70

This video was so great. A woman decided to get fit at 70 yrs old and in a short video you see her transformation.

It’s a reminder that anything is possible. Humans are amazing. You are amazing.

It’s never too late to start. Just start (imperfectly, small, and go from there).

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A book recommendation

100 years ago, Eric Liddell did the impossible at the 1924 Paris Olympics and won a race he hadn’t trained for —the 400 meter sprint—winning gold (and glory for God). He didn’t compete in his signature event because it was on a Sunday.

What will happen in Paris 2024 that inspires us?

If you need some Olympic reading, check out For the Glory: Olympic Legend Eric Liddell’s Journey of Faith and Survival by Duncan Hamilton. It’s a beautiful book and tells the rest of Eric Liddell’s story.