Nicholas Ma, son of world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, has released a new documentary titled "Leap of Faith," which features 12 Christian leaders seeking to bring about unity amid divisions. Ma, director of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", the celebrated film about the life of Fred Rogers, told The Christian Post that the film left people asking, "Where are the Fred Rogers of today?"
"I felt like there was this kind of longing, this sense of nostalgia, even the sense that maybe that era has passed and people that are that thoughtful don't exist anymore," he said.
The Rev. Michael Gulker of The Colossian Forum, a pastor dedicated to building unity amid differences, is helping lead the 12 pastors navigating faith and discord.
"Christians to think, act, and lead more like Jesus in the midst of conflict in their families, communities, churches, and institutions," the organization's aim states.
Over the course of a year, Ma documented the conversations held by the 12 leaders who attended retreats hosted by Gulker, where they met and attempted to connect with each other despite their theological and political differences.
"Relationship requires pain," Ma reflects in an interview, drawing an analogy to marriage. "Part of being married is to give someone the opportunity to hurt you."
He noted that viewers of "Leap of Faith" challenge viewers to consider what it means to "love thy neighbor."
"We talk a lot about 'love thy neighbor' right now, and I think what we forget is, generally, we fulfill that by choosing our neighbors, not by loving the people around us better. And that challenge is really hard," he explained. "There's a reason that we avoid it. So, to watch people try to do something really hard and improbable, to me, was fascinating."
Although "Leap of Faith" does not resolve these issues, Ma said that it doesn't intend to; rather, it was about the pastors' commitment to dealing with hard questions without compromising their beliefs or love for one another.
"Transformation is at the heart of the faith," he said. "Hopefully, we are transformed. That doesn't mean that we've compromised. That doesn't mean that we've given up our values. It just means that by providing that space for the spirit to work, something transforms. And that, to me, is what's beautiful about it."
WATCH: LEAP OF FAITH | Official Trailer | Picturehouse
Photo Credit: ©YouTube/Picturehouse
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.