Cloud Ten, Saving God and Left Behind all don the front hood of Clint Thomas' racecar for his R12 Racing Ministry.

I don’t really follow the world of golf on a regular basis, but this year’s Master’s Tournament certainly had something for everyone. It’s generally considered the most significant golf tournament of the year. It marked the return of the game’s biggest name and recent tabloid scandal favorite Tiger Woods.

It also marked the return of Phil Mickelson, one of Tiger’s biggest rivals. But while Tiger had been away from the game hiding from his wife and sponsors because of numerous embarrassing and despicable sexual encounters, Mickelson had been away to be with his wife as she underwent treatment for cancer.

Incredibly, on the final day of the tournament, Mickelson was in the lead and continued to play the game of his life. On the 18th hole, his wife was there to see him win. As he dropped in his final putt they hugged and cried – as I’m sure did many, many others. What a story. And what a great guy to root for!
It’s something in any great story that you absolutely need: someone to identify with and ‘pull’ for.

The character doesn’t have to be perfect or always wonderful or even ‘good’ – but there must be something redeeming to them to make the story worth following. William Munny (Clint Eastwood) in UNFORGIVEN is described as basically the worst of the worst – yet because of his new focus in life, his code of honor, and his honesty, you still want him to ‘win’. In our film SAVING GOD, Ving Rhames plays a murderer with a nasty temper and a back-down-from-no-one attitude. Yet there’s a truthful core to him that still makes you get behind him.

Eric S. Highland of HOSFU, Clint Thomas, and Cloud Ten's Andre van Heerden pose at the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival 2009.

I’ve found that I often get invested into stories and events and teams just because of the personalities involved. I’ve always been a fan of the Miami Dolphins NFL football team yet over the past few years I found myself cheering for the Arizona Cardinals because of quarterback Kurt Warner. His life story is remarkable and by his words and actions he’s certainly a guy to look up to.

And recently I’ve also found myself more and more interested in car racing. This is because of Clint Thomas and his R12 Racing Team. While speeding around the track and posting some incredible results he never loses sight of his real goal which is to spread the Gospel message. One look at his car tells you exactly what he’s all about.

It’s often been said that your greatest ministry is how you live your life. I thank God that there are people who embody that. Everyone loves good guys to root for!

- Blog by Andre van Heerden, Executive Producer/Director at Cloud Ten Pictures