The Mission | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Films

My friend John paid some pirates to go to an island to talk to people about Jesus, when he knew that he had no business doing that. John’s parents brought him up to be Christian. He was just, like, full of light. I had a little bit of a crush on him. You couldn't have asked for a better young man. He reminds me of who I wanted to serve with.

He told me his plan was to go live in the middle of the jungle. It didn't sound that bad. I thought that John would get accepted. People whose language no one speaks, whose culture no one knows. There's a fine line between faith and madness. Once he found out about that tribe, he knew he was going to go all in.

John was telling a story, “I'm a climber. I'm an adventurer.” Here we are, hiking out! If things don't go well, he wanted to look like a young, arrogant, western person who did a stupid thing and move on. John said to me, “This is what the plan looks like.” “Have it right here.”

There are so many ways the seductions of this story can go wrong. This idea of people who exist out of time, that erases their humanity. These cultures that are isolated, when we cross that boundary, we're saying, “Your prohibition means nothing to us.” That there's a group that we would decide, “Sorry, you don't get to hear about Jesus,” that's a violation of their human right.

John did exactly what Jesus told him to do. John was pursuing a fantasy. In discerning the call, we can mess it up. My friend did something stupid and courageous and bold, and I wish I was that bold.