New documentary tackles division among Christians –with lots of real world advice

Leap of Faith

Directed by Nicholas Ma
Picturehouse, 2024.

Leap of Faith is a feature-length documentary directed by Nicholas Ma and Morgan Neville, the duo behind the acclaimed 2018 documentary about Mister Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Upon its release in October 2024, churches in the U.S. hosted screenings of the film, using it as a jumping-off point for new conversations about what it means to – as the tagline says – “Heal the Divide.” (Canadians can find out more about the documentary and keep up with release information at leapoffaithmovie.com).

The 86-minute film follows Rev. Michael Gulker, president of the Colossian Forum, over one year as he creates and leads an experimental cohort of 12 pastors from different theological, ethnic and political persuasions in Grand Rapids. The initial goal is to see if they can find reconciliation in these polarized times, as if this cohort might somehow “change Grand Rapids together,” as Pastor Artie reflects in the film.

Reconciliation is an abiding and underlying thread that sets the cohort of Pastors on a year-long exploration. The exploration, led by the Colossian Forum, begged the following questions: Can we disagree and still belong to one another? Can we truly love our neighbour as ourselves in a hope-sustaining, kindness-seeking way? Can we love God more deeply through our differences?

These questions mark the foundations for the Colossian Forum, a Christian non-profit that believes in the beauty and communion-creating power of conflict resolution in community. For 13 years, the Colossian Forum has been engaging in these discussions and emphasizing that faith communities have an “extraordinarily important and positive role to play in a time of such deep polarization.”

Leap of Faith follows this Pastoral cohort from all walks of faith and life as Rev. Gulker leads them into the depths of the tension-filled topics of the day, including gun control, race, class, human sexuality, poverty, policing in minority communities, violence and women in ministry.

Vulnerability is not a weakness

Interestingly, amid these critical discussions, the cohort comes back time and time again to human sexuality as the driving discussion. The topic often comes to the forefront without their desire to re-engage. While the cohort engages the complexity of human sexuality within their theological views and that of their church communities, viewers are simultaneously journeying with Pastor Gulker as he navigates his own internal and, at times, overwhelming tension – a tension between his personal theological beliefs and those of the organization of which he is president. As a father of a queer child, the film shows Gulker navigating his deep personal conflict. In this way, the film itself is a counterpoint between the intended purpose of this cohort of pastors actively seeking reconciliation and relationship and Gulker’s personal inward journey.

Michael Gulker’s personal story serves as a microcosmic example of the broader human sexuality discussion happening in this cohort and the church as a whole. “If I stated my position on gay marriage, I was afraid our partner organizations would pull out. So when I did, they pulled out,” says Michael Gulker in the film. “But when that happened, those within our organization that loved me, hardly batted an eye . . . I am hoping the more we are able to do that, that we will give each other the courage when we are struggling with fear, to show ourselves just a little bit more.”
At the film’s beginning, this cohort aims to see if these pastors can reconcile their beliefs. Gulker foreshadows the conclusion as he reflects on the value and importance of vulnerability in a community of faith seeking to work through conflictual stances: “Vulnerability is not a weakness; it is not a choice. It is an underlying, ever-present, and abiding undercurrent of our natural state. To run from vulnerability is to run from the essence of our nature.”

For our ever-polarizing society and church to find common ground, Leap of Faith suggests that the answer may not be clear stances, objective truth or the most adept theological argument but vulnerability – a willingness to be wrong, a willingness to listen and a willingness to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead.

All God’s children

This film does not offer viewers the golden egg of resolution to these tension-filled topics for polarized times within our faith communities. Instead, it provides a refreshing reminder that objective rightness cannot be the answer to reconciliation. The answer, it seems, is that vulnerable human relationships provide the beginnings of reconciliation. This approach is more than agreeing, disagreeing or going separate ways; it’s more than trying to create a response that can solve every difference between faith communities. The film encourages viewers to establish vulnerable friendships that equip us to see one another as children of God, made in his image and filled with his Spirit and divine love.

Leap of Faith is a profoundly thought-provoking film that I believe we will all benefit from viewing. As a Campus Minister on a multi-faith campus, I find it a particularly comforting reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit and the goodness that comes from human hearts joined in communion with one another, regardless of differences.