2020 is nearly over, so it’s time for the annual review of the year, and a look ahead at what’s to come!
2020 will be remembered by most as an infamous year - I’m sure many of us are ready to see the back of it!
However, I will remember it fondly as the year I made “The Secret of Joy”. I’d been looking forward to this project for a while, and as the events of 2020 began to unfold, the message it contained just seemed to become evermore urgent.
God wants us to have joy, and he’s given us the principles for it in his Word. Recent scientific discoveries are beginning to uncover just how effective these principles are. So as the world rages around us, and even as so many become consumed with anxiety, bitterness, fear and depression, it’s encouraging to know we don’t have to succumb to it. We can, like Paul, learn the secret of contentment in all circumstances. We can have genuine happiness.
As expected, I really did enjoy working on this series, perhaps more than any other. It felt so nice to spend seven months of the year focusing on such a positive theme. I hope it’s an antidote for anyone who reads the book or watches the videos, and that the principles it contains genuinely have a lasting impact on your life. I know that I have started applying these principles to my own life and have felt all the better for it.
Of course, one of the principles of “The Secret of Joy” is that it’s good to express our gratitude. Therefore, I want to say thank you to everyone who bought the book, watched the videos, left positive reviews on Amazon, and who left nice comments and emails regarding the series. Once I’ve released something into the world, I often never know whether it’s actually been worthwhile or had any real impact. Therefore, it’s always a huge encouragement when someone writes to say it has helped them in some way. Thank you, everyone!
“Vlogs” (March - December, 2020)
Even though “The Secret of Joy” was the main focus for 2020, it was around March that Coronavirus really hit the headlines and turned the world upside down. Swiftly behind that came a lot of racial tension and rioting in the summer. As Christians, there was so much to say about those subjects that I began interspersing the regular “joy” videos with some vlogs to provide commentary on the events.
Below are some of the vlogs from this year covering Coronavirus, cashless developments, transgenderism, victimhood, lockdowns and “The Great Reset”. These will likely continue into 2021 as events continue to unfold!
As the year was drawing to a close, I hoped to squeeze in a second season of Answers videos. Answers is our apologetics series where we take a look at some objections to Christianity, and answer questions sent in by followers.
Since each season of “Answers” is intended to have 20 episodes and at the time of writing this report in late December, only 12 have been completed, it looks like Answers will be carrying over into the early part of 2021. The main themes so far have been the origin of our universe, the new earth, our response to authoritarian government, and Christian civil disobedience.
I should say that a key episode of this season was blocked by YouTube, but will be available in the downloadable version at thefuelproject.org/downloads. I’ve also registered an account with Rumble as a possible YouTube alternative, to avoid censorship in the future. But I’ll talk more about that further down the page. In the meantime, below is the “civil disobedience” sequence, as I feel that’s an especially important subject for these days.
Final Thoughts on 2020
Overall, it’s been a very busy year and there has been a lot to be thankful for. As it draws to a close, the number of people who have written to say they became a Christian as a result of The Fuel Project’s work is 142.
Like I mentioned earlier, due to the nature of online ministry, I often don’t hear about these things. Therefore, it’s always incredibly exciting to get these messages and to know that lives and eternities are being changed. This is, after all, the reason that The Fuel Project exists!
And now, let’s look ahead at 2021.
Series Options
As we go into 2021, there are a lot of projects currently being considered, and nothing has yet been decided. The first mission, of course, is to finish Answers S2, which will probably take us up until around February. Beyond that, there is a mountain of work to be done. Here is a quick rundown of some the projects being considered:
“The Problem of Pain” (working title)
The number one reason - by far - why people say they can’t believe in God, is because there’s pain and suffering in the world. It’s not even a close-run thing. It’s easily the most common objection to faith. It’s also easily the most common reason why people turn away from their faith. I think then, that it’s vitally important to consider this subject and set the record straight. Especially given the times we live in.
Originally, I had an idea to make “The Problem of Pain” a kind of double-album along with “The Secret of Joy”. TSOJ was to be the first side about how to find joy, and TPOP was to be the flip side about how to approach pain and sadness. In the end, I’ve kept them as two separate projects. But it does still make sense to follow TSOJ with TPOP in 2021.
(The name of this project will change as this title has already been taken by CS Lewis!)
“The God Shaped Hole” (working title)
About a month ago, I unexpectedly had almost an entire book/series outline drop into my head. I scrambled to note down all the chapters and have given it the working title, “The God Shaped Hole”.
Since it’s still a new idea, I’m not quite sure how to describe it yet. Essentially, it’s about how all the personal, social, and political problems we face today all stem from one problem - shutting God out. I’m super excited about this and want to get started on it straight away. However, it will probably have to wait until after TPOP.
“The Restless Church” Revisited (+Kindling?)
“Clothe the truth in beauty” is a guiding principle for The Fuel Project. The idea is not just to speak the truth but to work hard at developing production skills so that it can be presented in a beautiful way.
With this in mind, I had been planning to refresh “The Restless Church” for a while. Originally made in 2013, it contains an important message about the shape of the church, but having been made many years ago now, I felt it could do with a visual overhaul.
2020 has given another, more important reason to revisit this subject, however. Persecution is growing. Hate speech laws are threatening to make Christian words and deeds - indeed the very Bible itself - illegal in some places. 2020 saw Western governments closing churches and banning meetings for the first time in living memory. There has been confusion and weak church leadership in response. Many Christians were forced to meet underground in homes for the first time. Some of the things I talked about in 2013 as being somewhere in the distant future, have started to genuinely impact the church today.
We need to talk about our response. We need to look at what the church was designed to be, and what it’s going to need to look like in the Postmodern Era. There’s an urgency now to prepare and plan for what’s coming further down the road. Ideally, coming back to this subject would also involve finally making “Kindling” - the planned discipleship program for house churches and home groups that’s been on the backburner these past seven years.
“The Holidays”
Every year I talk about this but never have the time to do it! I’d like to do a mini-series on Easter, Christmas, Halloween, and some other minor holidays like Valentine’s Day. These times of the year always cause a lot of arguments between Christians and I’d like to do a mini series about how we should approach each of them. I get requests for this quite a lot, especially around Halloween. It always gets side-lined for other things, but you never know…2021 could be the year!
“The War On Truth” pt.II
The War On Truth was a 2017 series looking at the politics of Right and Left from a Biblical perspective. By looking at the whole political landscape through a Biblical lens, we were able to make sense of the Postmodern Era in which we now live.
Since the series was made, a lot has happened and much more has become clear. Especially about what the rise of Cultural Marxism will mean for this Age. I’d like to revisit this topic and take a much more in-depth look at where we’re heading.
“More Vlogs”
2021 will likely throw up a lot more discussion points so expect more vlogs along the way. I’m also planning to do a personal testimony video as that’s something that gets requested every now and then and I’m finally going to try to make time for it! There are at least 3 or 4 other series beyond those mentioned above that I won’t be able to get to for several years. Something I’d like to squeeze in somehow, sooner rather than later, is a series on the eco-revolution/Grand Reset and the Christian response.
Long-Term Vision
A Team/ Studio
Many of you will know what my ultimate dream for The Fuel Project is by now.
The absolute dream is to eventually be able to afford a small studio and a team of 3-5 people. The studio would be divided into several areas for Christian content creation. An area for recording videos as I do now; an area for interviews; an area for podcasts; a few desks around for editing etc. Basically a dynamic environment of Christians producing the best quality content for reaching the world.
A permanent team would help take some of my workload, improve the quality and quantity of the output - meaning the projects mentioned above could be made a lot quicker. The team could also contribute with street interview footage, by doing live events, bringing to life ideas that are impossible right now, working on animations, cinematography, research, admin, graphic design, feature-length films, discipleship and more.
On a personal note, I think I would benefit from a team because as much as I love this work, it’s undoubtedly an isolating life. I think it would be good for me, and healthier, to have more people around me on this mission. I thank everyone who contributes to this ministry from across the world, but as 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, we need community for encouragement and to build each other up. When I think of a vibrant community in a studio, I also think of Hebrews 10:24: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” A local team, in my head anyway, could strengthen this ministry in many ways.
I’m not sure whether any of this will actually happen. I tend to have unrealistic ideas. Either way, rest assured I intend to keep doing all I can, for as long as I can, to complete the work that God has set before me.
Podcasts
Podcasts have been on my mind for at least a year now. I’m intrigued about the idea of discussing current events from a Christian perspective in a more informal way.
I personally find podcasts more compelling when they take the form of a group discussion or interview, rather than one person monologuing. Therefore, I don’t intend to launch one by myself. (I hear enough of my own voice when making videos!) I’d prefer that others were involved in the discussions if there were to be a Fuel podcast.
This is another area then, where a team would be helpful. However, in the event that a local team still isn’t possible in the near future, I’m considering the idea of podcasts over Zoom, or a similar conferencing platform. Essentially, putting together a team of regular remote contributors from around the world to be a part of this. I’m considering launching a search for people in the new year.
YouTube Alternatives
I mentioned above that I’ve registered a Fuel Project account with Rumble.
I hope to keep posting on YouTube for as long as possible but given that the social media giants have shown some hostility to Christian and non-woke voices, I’ve been keeping an eye out for a viable contingency plan for a while. In 2021 therefore, I may start uploading the Fuel Project back catalogue to Rumble, and posting all new videos simultaneously on both platforms. This will mean that if videos are censored on YouTube, they will still be available on Rumble.
My issue with most YouTube alternatives that I’ve seen so far, is that they are often poorly executed, and too focused on politics or extreme ideologies to have broad appeal. I’ve become so disillusioned with the options that I even considered whether it would be possible to build a Fuel Project alternative platform to YouTube. Another one of those unrealistic ideas!
In the past couple of months though, Rumble seems to have come to the fore as a the best platform option at this time. It does have some problems, but it’s new and the potential could be there to develop. I’ll maybe talk about this more in a video.
WRAPPING IT UP
So that just about wraps up the annual newsletter for this year! There is actually so much more to say. But I think I’ve covered the main areas.
If any of this has inspired you and you’d like to help out, please pray for this ministry. You can also become a supporter of The Fuel Project for as little as $2 a month on Patreon. $2 might not seem very much but this is a small ministry and every penny really makes a lot of difference. You can also donate via PayPal at authenticfuel@gmail.com, or go to the website at thefuelproject.org and click the “Donate” button at the top, right-hand corner of the screen.
On that note, I want to finish by thanking this ministry’s patrons who have supported and sustained The Fuel Project until now. It’s because of you that The Fuel Project can continue to exist. I don’t have the words to express how grateful I am for your help.
I also want to thank everyone who has prayed for The Fuel Project this year, or indeed for me personally. I want to thank everyone who has left a nice book review or social media comment this year. I want to thank everyone who has shared The Fuel Project with friends and family this year. I want to thank everyone who has written an email of encouragement this year. I even want to thank people who have just clicked “like” on a post this year (it tells social media algorithms that the content was worth viewing and makes future posts from The Fuel Project more visible). Every little thing you have done this year has helped, has made a difference, and you are all so appreciated.
May you all have a happy and peaceful time over the holidays, a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I’m going to take some time off during this period but I’ll see you again in 2021!
God bless
Mark Fairley