The film was commissioned by the
Lutheran Church in America. The film was shot in 1965 in "
cinéma vérité" style. It chronicles the relationship between the minister, L. William Youngdahl (1927-2012), and his white and black Lutheran parishioners. Youngdahl was the son of former Minnesota governor and federal judge
Luther Youngdahl. The film includes a meeting between Youngdahl and a black barber,
Ernie Chambers, who tells Youngdahl that his
Jesus is "contaminated." At one point another Omaha Lutheran minister, Walter E. Rowoldt of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, says, "This one lady said to me, 'pastor', she said, 'I want them to have everything I have, I want God to bless them as much as he blesses me, but', she says, 'pastor, I just can't be in the same room with them, it just bothers me'." Rowoldt and other ministers also discuss the concern that blacks moving into white neighborhoods will decrease property values. The attempt to reach out does not succeed and Youngdahl resigns as minister of the church. ==Legacy==